By Al Jones

I found this GBD Rhodesian at my local tobacco shop down here in Covington, Louisiana. Jewels Cigar & Briar Shop is a great small town shop and I’m fortunate to have it my new hometown. It is an “old school” shop with cigars, pipes, shop blends and some great barbers chairs to enjoy. (and no televisions!)

The earliest I can find the Fantasy grade is in a catalog from 1969.

The 9438 is one of my all time favorite shapes, a classic saddle stem Rhodesian. With the brass rondell and London,England stamping, this one was made approximately between 1969 and the merger in 1981. (known as a pre-Cadogan era pipe) The pipe was only going to require a mild clean up, with an oxidized stem and a slight cake. Below is the pipe as it was found.

I used my reamer set to remove the cake and found the bowl was in excellent shape. The slight build-up on the polished bowl top was removed with 2,000 wet sandpaper. I soaked the bowl with alcohol and sea salt to remove any ghosting. After the bowl soak, I mounted the stem and removed the oxidation with 600, 800, 1,500 and 2,000 grade set paper. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond rouge and Meguiars Plastic Polish on a dedicated buff. I hand waxed the sandblast area of the briar and polished the smooth panels carefully with Diamond and carnuba wax.

Below is the finished pipe.