by Steve Laug

The “Malaga” Prince and black vulcanite stem is next on the table. I started it before I went to the hospital in the end of May and finally finished it in July when I left the hospital. The pipe came to us from a seller on eBay in Akron, Ohio, USA on 12/18/25. The carver did a great job of shaping the pipe to follow the grain on the briar. The bowl top is smooth and slightly beveled inward. The rim top had spotty lava and had some burn damage on the top and inner edge. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of lava onto the thin rim top. The sides of the bowl and shank are very dirty with grime and oils from prolonged use. The briar around the bowl had some great birdseye that would clean up well.  The stamping on the left side of the shank read “MALAGA”. On the right side it was stamped Algerian Briar. The black vulcanite stem had light tooth dents and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem. Jeff took these photos before he started the cleanup work on the pipe.Jeff took a close up photo of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The rim top had some lava overflow and some darkening. It was dirty but you could see that there was rim damage on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem photos show the condition of the surface of the vulcanite with light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. He also took photos of the sides and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful birdseye and mixed grain around the bowl. The photos show the general condition of the bowl and wear on the finish. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. Jeff took a photo to capture the stamping on the right and left side of the shank. The photos show the stamping “MALAGA” on the left side and Algerian Briar on the right side. The stamping is weak in spots but readable. I am also including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. I have written an earlier blog to give a little history of the Malaga Brand and the pipemaker, George Khoubesser. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/.That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and you could see the damage to the flat surface of the rim and the inner edge in different spots around the bowl. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils but you can now see the damaged areas on the surface clearly. There are damaged spots all around the top surface and on the inner edge of the bowl. The vulcanite taper stem had tooth chatter and some tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near and on the button surface.I took photos of the stamping on the shank to show how good the condition is. The stamp is faint in spots but it is still legible on the left side and the right side. I decided to address the damage to the rim top first. I worked over the inner edge and top of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage. I gave it a slight bevel to hide the burn damage on the inner edge of the rim. The photos tell the story. The damage to the rim top is gone and the inner edge looks far better with the light bevel. I sanded the bowl and shank sides with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the nicks and scratches in the surface of the briar. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the debris.I polished the rim top and the exterior of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The damage on the rim is pretty much invisible after polishing and the rim top really looked good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm 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. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. The reworked rim top looks really good and matches the colour of the rest of the pipe. I am very happy with the results. This is where I left it at Mid May when I went to the hospital. I still needed to work on the stem but it sat on the desk until I returned to my desk mid July. I picked up the work but moving to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the oxidation and the scratches in the vulcanite. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth to remove the sanding debris. It looked significantly better once I finished.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil on a cloth. This is a beautiful “Malaga” Algerian Briar Prince and the vulcanite taper stem gives it a nice touch of class. The rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the mixed grain around the bowl sides. I polished the stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The “Malaga” Algerian Briar Prince polished up pretty nicely. The pipe came back to life with the last work and the grain took on some dimensionality in its appearance with the buffing. The rich oil cured colour works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.20 ounces/34 grams. I will be adding the pipe to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the process with me.