Daily Archives: April 18, 2026

Restoring a Tom Howard Saddle Stem Bullmoose Rhodesian

by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was purchased on 01/28/2026 from a seller in Delafield, Wisconsin, USA. It is a rusticated squat Bullmoose Rhodesian that is in fair condition. It is stamped on the sides of the shank. On the left side it is stamped Tom Howard. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar. The stamping is clear and readable. I have worked on quite a few of Tom Howard’s pipes in the past and later in the blog will give a bit of the history (thanks to Dal or Pipesteward.com). At this point I have to say that the pipe is well made and actually has a similar rugged beauty and finesse to a Tracy Mincer Custom-Bilt in my opinion. The age of the pipe and the oils in the finish has given the pipe a rich reddish brown finish. There is also some nice grain that the shape follows well. The finish was dirty with dust around the nooks and crannies of the worm trail rustication. There were some spots between the twin rings around the bowl cap that were chipped but it stilled looked good. There was a thick cake in the bowl and the rim top showed darkening and some lava. The inner edge appeared to be in good condition. The vulcanite saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button on both sides. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the darkening and lava overflow on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter on the surface and on the button on both sides. The photo of the side and heel of the bowl shows the carved worm trail rustication and the grain on the smooth portions of the pipe. You can also see the nicks in between the twin rings around the bowl cap. It looks quite nice under the grime and dust. The stamping on the sides of the shank is shown in the photos below. It looks very good and readable. It reads as noted and explained above. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to refresh my memory of the brand. I remembered that Tom Howard was a notable figure beyond pipe making. I also remembered that Dal Stanton had worked on one and done a great job ferreting out the history of the brand and the maker. I turned to his blog on the brand and read what he had written during his restoration of one of the Howard pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/09/16/the-vintage-notoriety-of-tom-howard-and-his-jumbo-squat-rustified-tomato/). I have included the portion of the blog on the history below for ease of reference. (Thanks Dal!)

I had never heard of a Tom Howard stamp on a pipe and after I put the name in search tool on Pipedia I was surprised to find what I found. Tom Howard was a vintage celebrity in America during the 1940s and 50s. Here’s what Pipedia said about Tom Howard the man:

Tom Howard was a popular comedian and personality in the 1940s/50s, known for vaudeville stage and radio work. But he also was a skilled pipe maker. In a Popular Mechanic article from 1947 he is written up as the “Hobbyist of the Month, Tom Howard.” He made pipes in his workshop outside his home in Red Bank, NJ. Starting about 1939 and looks like into the late 1940’s or later. He purchased briar blocks by the bag as well as stem blanks, and in his well-equipped shop he handcrafted his pipes, in about three hours on average. He was a true craftsman, also specializing is intricate model boats, trains and brass canons, all built to scale.

I was intrigued – this vaudeville and stage comedian made pipes and this pipe came from his workshop made by his hands. How cool is that? Desiring to find out more about Tom Howard the man, I searched Wikipedia and found a fun and informative article about his professional life and how he hosted a I was intrigued – this vaudeville and stage comedian made pipes and this pipe came from his workshop made by his hands. How cool is that? Desiring to find out more about Tom Howard the man, I searched Wikipedia and found a fun and informative article about his professional life and how he hosted a zany Q&A game show that was spoofing the ‘serious’ Q&A game shows. It was called “It Pays to Be Ignorant”. Here is what the Wikipedia article said:

It Pays to Be Ignorant was a radio comedy show which maintained its popularity during a nine-year run on three networks for such sponsors as Philip Morris, Chrysler, and DeSoto. The series was a spoof on the authoritative, academic discourse evident on such authoritative panel series as Quiz Kids and Information Please, while the beginning of the program parodied the popular quiz show, Doctor I.Q. With announcers Ken Roberts and Dick Stark, the program was broadcast on Mutual from June 25, 1942 to February 28, 1944, on CBS from February 25, 1944 to September 27, 1950 and finally on NBC from July 4, 1951 to September 26, 1951. The series typically aired as a summer replacement.

Snooping a bit more, I found an online site that had the July 5, 1951 episode of ‘It pays to Be Ignorant’ available for viewing. I watched it and it was like I was in a time machine! The video also included period advertising for cars and tobacco and Tom Howard in form, dawning a professorial gown and a gravelly 1950s vaudeville tin can voice. It’s great! I clipped a picture of the episode. If you want to see it yourself, here’s the link: The Internet Archive.

The Pipedia article I included above, referenced one more source to learn a bit more about Tom Howard. In a 1947 Popular Mechanics edition he was named ‘Hobbyist of the Month’ – but it didn’t say which month! With a little bit of help from Google, I found Archive.org that housed old editions of many periodicals including Popular Mechanics. I started in January and started searching – thankfully they had a search tool I utilized for each month. Finally, I found the article in the Popular Mechanic 1947 June’s edition. For the absolute nostalgia of it, and for the interesting information it adds about Tom Howard and especially his pipe production, I’m including the pages here for you to read – including the cover page! I couldn’t pass it. Armed with the great information Dal had provided it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had carried out his thorough cleanup of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake and cleaned the reaming up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked much better when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. It looks good with the tars and oils removed from the rim top. The condition of the bowl and rim top were very good. The vulcanite stem looked much better with some light chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the top and underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and reads as noted above. It was hard to capture in the photos. I removed the stem from the shank and took photo to show the overall look of the pipe. I decided to start the restoration on this one by working on the damage and darkening on the inner edge and the rim top. I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper and gave the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel to remove the damage and blend it into the rest of the rim edge. I polished the smooth parts of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used a Walnut stain pen and a black Sharpie pen to restain the chipped areas between the twin rings. Once they were stained they looked significantly better.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned to the sten. I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Tom Howard Imported Briar Bullmoose Rhodesian turned out to be a great looking pipe. The rusticated finish looks quite good while not obscuring the grain around the bowl. The stain used on the bowl served to highlight the grain on the bowl. The polished black vulcanite saddle stem adds to the mix. With the dust gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and is eye-catching. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Tom Howard Rhodesian is a large pipe and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 63 grams/2.22 ounces. I will be adding it to the American Pipe Makers Section soon if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe.

Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Cleaning Up an Aged Algerian Churchwarden

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next up is a charming billiard churchwarden that I found in one of my bins and it piqued my interest. It’s got the typical shape and feel of a regular churchwarden, but this one is a full-length one – a full twelve inches. It’s hard to know how old this one is, but it feels like it’s been around for a few decades. I’m looking forward to cleaning this one. Frankly, this one didn’t look like it had been smoked much. It was certainly dirty, but that seemed to be from questionable storage rather than much smoking. The only markings were on the left side of the shank: Aged Algerian. There is also a nice sterling silver band on the shank which reads, appropriately, Sterling Silver. Those weren’t exactly helpful in identifying the origins of the pipe, but Steve said that it looked American and could have been made by an outfit like Bertram’s or Ansell’s, in Washington, DC. Having looked at their respective markings, it seems quite similar to an Ansell. So maybe that is it.The pipe is in good condition. There are some dark marks on the briar of the stummel and a bit of cake in the bowl. Nothing serious. The stem is just fine, aside from some tooth chatter. Let’s get on with it. I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, ochre-coloured mess – but better off the stem than on it.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a pipe knife and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. But I took the silver band off first.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with the same mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood.I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. I also glued the silver band back in place and gave it a polish with my jewellery cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Aged Algerian churchwarden looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 12 in. (305 mm); height 1⅞ in. (47 mm); bowl diameter 1⅜ in. (36 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1½ oz. (43 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

What a Beautiful GBD International London Made Conquest 262 P Lumberman

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by Steve Laug

This darker mixed finish, beautifully grained oval shank, saddle stem was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a great looking Liverpool with a dark, smooth finish on most of the bowl and shank and a bit of rustication on the right side and bottom of the bowl. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem. The bowl is stained with a contrast of blacks and browns that highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads GBD in an oval [over] International [over] London Made [over] Conquest. On the underside of the shank it is stamped London, England with an upper-case P near the shank end. The bowl had a thick cake and some tobacco debris on the walls. There was an overflow of lava on the rim top that was heavier toward the back of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish which left the finish looking quite dull. The oval, vulcanite saddle stem has a GBD oval logo on the topside. There was some light oxidation on the surface and some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the spotty lava overflowing onto the top and over the edges. The short saddle stem is oxidized, calcified and has some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It is another dirty pipe. He took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition of the pipe and the interesting grain around the sides and heel. The photos of the right side and heel of the bowl show the unique rustication present on those areas. It really is a beautiful pipe bowl. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank and it is clear and readable as noted above. He also captured the GBD oval logo on the saddle stem top. I like to unpack the stamping if I can before I work on a pipe. I knew that the GBD International was a Line of GBD pipes that generally have a rusticated or carved plateau style rim top. They are made in either France or England. The London Made stamp says it is made in England. The International is a unique line that combines black and brown stains. Instead of a carved rim top this one had a carved heel of the bowl and right side of the bowl. The Conquest stamp identifies it as a large pipe. The 262 is the shape number. Now I wanted to see if I could find some more information.

As is my usual practice I turned to the Pipephil’s site to see what I could find out a bit more information on the International line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-gbd.html). The site had some photos of various examples of this line. This one is stamped on the topside and is like the first one below and has a GBD in a rounded rectangle on the shank top.From there I turned to Pipedia to see what I could learn. I followed the link to the section on the Model information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Model_Information). I quote from the site below:

International — France and England made: medium brown smooth, carved top rim, rim stained black. -TH: Matt take off finish “with just a hint of surface waxing” -catalog (1976)’.

There was a section there labelled Plus Sized Pipes. I am including the information there below.

In addition to the pipe line and shape information stamped on the pipe GBD also had codes for plus sized pipes. These codes in ascending order of size were…

Conquest
Collector
Colossus

International – France and England made: medium brown smooth, carved top rim, rim stained black. In addition to the pipe line and shape information stamped on the pipe, GBD also had codes for plus sized pipes. These codes in ascending order of size were Conquest, Collector, Colossus.

From there I followed another link on the Pipedia GBD article on specific shape number and Model Information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Model_Information).

It provides a lot of information on their interesting history. The shape number 262 corresponds to GBD’s identification of this pipe as Liverpool. The problem for me is that the pipe does not have a round shank or taper stem that are characteristic of the Liverpool shape. It has an oval shank and a saddle stem. To me this configuration makes it a Lumberman rather than a Liverpool.

I followed another link on Pipedia to help me understand the various shapes of the Canadians (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Lpool.gif). I have included the information below. It is a shape chart with descriptions of the various Canadian off takes. It fits my description of the Lumberman shape above.With all that information it was time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and shank brushes. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He was able to remove the lava on the rim top and edges and the grime from the bowl. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the calcification and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the debris and the product that remained. The pipe looked better when I received it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. It looks good with the tars and oils removed from the rim top. The condition of the bowl and rim top were very good. The vulcanite stem looked much better with some light chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the top and underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and reads as noted above. It was hard to capture in the photos. I removed the stem from the shank and took photo to show the overall look of the pipe.I polished the briar on the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I touched up the GBD oval logo stamp on the topside of the saddle stem with Antique Gold, Rub’n Buff. I worked it into the light stamp with a tooth pick. I buffed it off with a soft cloth to remove the excess material. I polished it with a soft cloth. It looked good. I sanded it with 320-1500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I dry sanded and after each pad wiped the stem down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. By the final pad the stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I finished by wiping it down with Obsidian Oil and buffing it to a shine. I always look forward to this part of the restoration when all the pieces are put back together. I put the GBD International London Made Conquest 262 Lumberman back together and carefully buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a soft cloth to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the new black vulcanite saddle stem almost glowing. This GBD International London Made Conquest Lumberman is nice looking and feels great in my hand. It is one that could be clenched and smoked while doing other things as it is very light weight and well balanced. It must have been a fine smoking pipe judging from the condition it was when I received it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. I will be putting it in the English Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. This will make a great addition to someone’s pipe collection. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.