by Kenneth Lieblich

Next up on my restoration adventures is this Savinelli Punto Oro Mister G 602 bent billiard. In my opinion, the 602 is one of Savinelli’s most attractive shapes. It’s a classic: beautiful and understated. I acquired this pipe in a local auction and I was charmed right away. The stummel has a gorgeous sandblast, with a smooth rim. The tapered, vulcanite stem is a perfect complement, with a brass and briar band at the end. This is also a 6mm filter pipe (though they smoke very well without) and the tenon is made of acrylic. It’s a wonderful pipe and it deserves to be part of someone’s collection again.

This pipe promises to be a great smoker. Let’s look at the markings. The underside of the shank reads Savinelli [over] Punto Oro [over] Mister G. Savinelli, of course, is an Italian company, and the words Punto Oro mean literally, ‘gold point’. Next to that is the lovely Savinelli crown; and next to that are the marks 602 [over] Italy. Naturally, the number refers to the shape and Italy is the country of manufacture. Finally, there is a gold-coloured dot on the stem (made of brass) – a very nice touch.

Savinelli is one of the most recognized names in pipe smoking and they have a long and storied history. You can read about them from their own website or from Pipedia’s article about them. However, I was particularly interested in learning more about the Punto Oro line. Sadly, Pipedia had nothing on this subject. I checked with Pipephil and they did have a bit of information, which I display below.

I also found a bit of information on the Punto Oro line from Savinelli’s own website. They write:

PUNTO ORO pipe was the first pipe created by Achille Savinelli after the opening of the factory in 1958; a pipe that has always distinguished the Savinelli brand, its elegance, reliability and tradition. It is a top quality pipe with a wonderful grain. It is important to know it is very difficult to find a briar piece suitable to become a PUNTO ORO: just 1,2% of the whole choice is selected for this series, therefore not all our shapes are always available for these pipes.

What about Mister G? This is quite interesting. A comment on the PipesMagazine forums mentioned that the Mister G line was developed in the 1980s by Giancarlo Savinelli (grandson of the founder). According to the comment, he added a ring to the pipe as a design element for this line. This would seem to be corroborated by an entry on MBSD Pipes, which reads:

The Mister G was a subset of Punto Oro pipes that debuted toward the end of the 20th century, and which was a little flashier than even a typical Punto Oro. In addition to their superior briar and finishing, Mister G pipes—named for Giancarlo Savinelli, a connoisseur for the finer things in life—included extra, decorative accents, lending a little more flair to the overall design. It’s been years since I saw a new one, however, which leads me to believe that it is no longer in production. Either that, or they only leave the Savinelli factory once in a blue moon.

Let’s take a closer look at the condition of this beauty. On the whole, it is very good – more drab than damaged. The stem has some oxidation (not much) and has a few small tooth marks. No big deal. It’s dirty, but easily cleaned. The stummel has some cake in the bowl, lava on the rim, and a bit of dirt in the blast. Again, no big deal.

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.

Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.

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 reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed.

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.

My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim. This worked perfectly!

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. I also used a toothbrush in the crevices of the sandblast. 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 some micromesh pads to sand only the smooth rim and patch on the underside. 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.

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 conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Savinelli Punto Oro Mister G 602 bent billiard 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 ‘Italian’ 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 5⅞ in. (149 mm); height 1⅞ in. (48 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅜ oz. (42 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.