Author Archives: rebornpipes

Resurrection of a Well-Loved, Tired Old Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

Sometimes when we get around to working on a pipe I am struck with asking why we picked this one up. That is the case with the next poor old Dunhill. It has been either well loved or abused depending on your perspective. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. Probably the Shell finish and the Dunhill stamp is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads 4106F on the heel of the bowl. That is followed by Dunhill Shell [over] Made in England25. It has a classic Shell briar dark brown/cordovan/black finish sandblast that is a stark contrast to the two silver coloured inlaid rings in the stem. From the side view it is a great looking sandblast pot. However, when you turn it over and examine it from the top down that can begin to see the abuse or love. The bowl appears to be moderately caked at first glance but it is actually quite thick at the bottom half of the bowl and hard as aged concrete. The inner edge and the top show lava overflow and it is hard to know if there is rim damage at this point because of the lava. And let’s talk about that stem. It is oxidized and calcified which is quite normal for what I see. However, the deep tooth marks and chomp marks on the stem surface and button edges are deeper than they first appear. You can picture the old pipe man (or maybe a young one though I doubt it) chomping down on the stem while concentrating on whatever his hands were doing in the shop. Cleaning it up will truly reveal the depth of the mess but first impressions are not good! There were two inlaid metal rings in the taper stem – sandwiching a piece of vulcanite. This is something I have not seen before on a Dunhill stem. The classic white spot is on the top of the stem and looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. What are your impressions? Would you have bought it or left it? He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the lava on the rim top and edges as well as part of the cake in the bowl. It is thicker starting about half way down the bowl. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is actually far worse than even the photos show. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed a great sandblast. It is a great looking piece of briar at least on the outside at this point! He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. There was some faintness to the stamping of the shape number on the heel of the bowl but it was still readable.As is my regular practice, before I started my work on the pipe, I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Shell Pipes to get a refresh the information I know regarding the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Shell

A deep craggy sandblast with a black stain finish (usually made using Algerian briar) – the color of the stain used has varied over the years. Although there is some doubt as to them being the first to sandblast pipes, Dunhill’s Shell pipes, and the sandblasting techniques developed to create them are considered one of Dunhill’s greatest and most lasting contributions to the art of pipe making.

The documented history of Dunhill’s inception of the Shell is largely limited to patent applications — there are no catalog pages or advertisements promoting blasted pipes at the time. The preliminary work on the English patent (No. 1484/17) was submitted on October 13, 1917. The patent submission was completed half a year later, on April 12, 1918, followed by the granting of the English patent on October 14, 1918. This was less than a month before the end of The Great War on November 11th.

In 1986 Dunhill released a line of premium Shell finish pipes – “RING GRAIN”. These are high-quality straight grain pipes which are sandblasted. Initially only Ring Grain, but now in two different finishes. In 1995 the “Shilling” was introduced with Cumberland finish – it is an extremely rare series. These pipes exhibit a deeper blast characteristic of that of the 1930’s – mid-1960’s (and the limited ‘deep blast’ pipes of the early 1980s) and show a fine graining pattern. These are considered the best new Dunhills by many enthusiasts today and are very rare. The finish is sometimes described as tasting like vanilla at first, with the taste becoming more normal or good as the pipe breaks in.

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png).I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a superscript suffix 25 after the D in England it points to the 1960 line on the chart below. To date it just add 1960 +25 for a date of 1985. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent section in the chart.I now knew that I was working on a Shell that came out in 1985. The shape of the pipe is called a Pot with a 4106 Shape number on the heel of the bowl.

I turned to Pipephil’s shape list (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html). At the bottom of the list of shapes (with the 06 being a pot) is a key for interpreting the digits in the stamp I have included that below.

Dunhill pipes are stamped with a four digit code.
Digit 1: (from 1 to 6) denotes the size of the pipe (the group).
Digit 2: denotes the style of the mouthpiece (0,1=tapered, 2=saddle)
Digit 3 and 4: denote the generic pipe shape (in yellow in the chart on top) 

Example: 5102
(5 = size | 1 = tappered stem | 02 = Bent)

When 5 digits occur, the meaning of the 4 first remain the same

The 4106 was thus a Group 4 size, with a taper mouthpiece, and in an 06 or Pot shape.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good but there was a thick ring at the bottom of the bowl. The question was whether it was more cake or damage to the bowl bottom. The airway appears to be drilled at the bottom. This will take some more work. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean but if you look closely you can see the thick ring toward the bottom of the bowl. The stem was clean but the tooth damage is very visible on both sides of the stem and button. The pipe has potential but it will be a lot more work to bring it back.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable even though it is faint in spots. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.It did not take long to decide where I would start with this pipe. I tried to raise the tooth marks as much as possible by “painting” the surface with a lighter flame. It did very little to lift the marks in the stem. I forgot a photo of this but you have seen them before. I filled in the deep marks by layering in the rubberized black CA glue. Once it had cured I flattened the repairs and recut the button with a small file. I reshaped the button top and edges and further flattened and blended in the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was a big improvement but still more work to go! I continued the sanding process with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The repairs began to disappear into the surface of the vulcanite and the stem began to take on a smooth new look. Progress for sure.It was ready for the next step. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to finish this step. I fit the polished stem with a Vauen Dr. Perl Junior 6mm filter in the tenon. It fit perfectly and as normal the filter reduced the draught on the pipe. The pipe can easily be smoked without the filter.I set the stem aside and worked on the bowl. I worked on the thick “concrete” like build up at the bottom of the bowl. It was very hard and thick. I used a PipNet Reamer to work on it a bit and a lot came out of the bowl. I chipped away at it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the build up until the bottom and walls were clean.I cleaned the shank and the bowl again with alcohol and pipe cleaners to remove the dust and debris from the work on the bowl bottom. The exterior of the bowl was in excellent condition. I did not need to sand or do anything in preparation on the pipe. I set the stem aside and worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to finally seeing the 1985 Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The repaired and polished vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of Shell stains on the bowl and shank. This Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard was a lot of work to bring back to life. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.31 ounces/ 38 grams. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section soon. Let me know if you wish to add it to your collection.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Breathing new life into a BBB Own Make Made in London England 636 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a BBB pipe with a silver shank band and a vulcanite taper stem. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads BBB in a Diamond with Own on the left side of the Diamond and Make on the right side. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in London [over] England [over] 636. The silver band is stamped Sterling Silver under BBB in a Dimaond on the left side of the band. It is oxidized and scratched. The finish is a reddish-brown colour that really highlights the grain around the bowl and shank. The bowl colour is a stark contrast to the silver band and the black taper stem. There is a BBB Diamond brass logo inlaid on the top of the stem. The bowl was moderately caked and there was some lava on the inner bevelled edge of the rim and the top. The vulcanite stem had some oxidation and some chatter and light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. It also looks like it had a softee bit on the stem at one time as it left a defined line. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim edge and top. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is oxidized and appears to have had a Softee bit on it at one time. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain. It is a pretty piece of briar. He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the Sterling Silver band. The stamping was clear and readable on both shank sides and the band as noted above. He also took a photo of the BBB logo on the topside of the taper stem. Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was very clean and showed that the inner tube sitting in the bottom of the bowl. The stem looked good with very light tooth marks and chatter. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I decided to start my work on the bowl by polishing the rim top and 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 to remove the dust and debris. I gave the bowl and shank a coating of Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the silver band with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and oxidation. It took some elbow grease but the cloth works to clean and protect the silver from further tarnishing. It looks significantly better than when I started. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I finished polishing the stem with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. This BBB Own Make 636 Made in London England Billiard turned out to be a great looking pipe. With polishing, the grain shines through clearly. The black vulcanite stem is in excellent condition and works great with the polished briar. The polished silver is a touch of class. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished BBB Own Make 636 Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 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 43 grams/1.52 ounces. It is a great looking pipe that I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a W.O. Larsen Handmade Made in Denmark 0

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by Steve Laug

I love working on older W.O. Larsen Handmade pipes. The shapes, the finishes and the feel of the pipe in the hand always catch my attention. The way the carvers capture the grain in the shapes of these pipes. This one is kind of a Diplomat shape with a slight bend to the stem. It is a smooth finished pipe that is stamped on the underside of the shank and clearly reads 0 [over] W.O. Larsen [over] Handmade [over] Made in Denmark. We purchased this pipe on 05/22/2024 from a friend in Denmark. The pipe was in good condition in terms of the finish on the bowl – just a few nicks and scratches on the bowl sides. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls and the rim top and inner edge had some darkening and some lava overflow. Otherwise it was a beautiful pipe. There is a vulcanite taper stem was in good condition with light tooth chatter but no deep tooth marks on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up to capture the condition of the pipe when it arrived. It is a real beauty. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the lava on the top and inner edge of the bowl. It looks like a combination of burn damage on the front and back mid bowl. The stem was very dirty with grime and sludge build up from the button forward on both sides of the stem. Jeff captured the smooth finish and grain around the bowl sides and it is stunning. There is a lightly bevelled rim cap and inner edge. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in spots but it is still readable. The stamping reads as noted above.I wanted to refresh my memory about the pipes coming out of Ole Larsen’s Copenhagen tobacco shop. I knew that many famous Danish Carvers started their careers carving for the shop. I turned first to pipephil wesite to get and over view of the brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-l2.html). I did a screen capture of the section on the site showing a summary of the brand and the typical stamping. I have also included the information in the sidebar.In the 1960s Ole Larsen, owner of the Copenhagen tobacco store, retails pipes carved by Sixten Ivarsson, Poul Rasmussen, Sven Knudsen or Peter Brakner. Faced with the success and urged by Sven Bang (store manager), Sven Knudsen and Former (Hans Nielsen) are successively hired to carve pipes in the basement of the shop at the beginning and in the old Larsen cigar factory afterwards. Carver like Teddy Knudsen, Tonni Nielsen, Jess Chonowitch, Peter Hedegaard work a while in this context.

When Nils, son of Ole Larsen, succeeds his father he acquires the Georg Jensen pipe factory to focus on less expensive pipes. This turns out to be an error ending with the sale of W.O. Larsen trademark to Stanwell.

The famous tobacco shop at Strøget, Amagertorv 9 closed down for good on Dec 31, 2004.

I then turned to Pipedia to do a bit more reading about the brand and the various lines making it up. Here is the link (https://pipedia.org/wiki/W.%C3%98._Larsen). The link took me to some pages on the finepipes.com website. Here is the link to the summary of the history of the brand. I quote it in full. I have marked the pertinent section with bold font to mark out the section on the SELECT series (https://www.finepipes.com/pipes/danish/w-o-larsen?sort=20a&page=2&zenid=562ff4b9d62f4f612d0f6ee60cab1224).

W.O. Larsen was one of the most famous tobacco shops in Copenhagen, with a beautiful store located on Copenhagen’s famous “Walking Street.” During the flowering of the Danish pipe in the ’60’s, they first began retailing pipes by such carvers as Sixten Ivarsson, Sven Knudsen, Poul Rasmussen, and Brakner. Urged on by his store manager Sven Bang, the owner, Ole Larsen, decided to begin making pipes in the basement of the shop. He first hired Sven Knudsen as the pipe maker, who soon passed the job to his protégé Hans “Former” Nielsen. Larsen’s fortunes rose along with the rest of the Danish pipe business, and Former was soon managing a group of carvers in the old Larsen cigar factory. Among these were Teddy Knudsen, Tonni Nielsen, Jess Chonowitch, Peter Hedegaard and others, who were responsible for the Select and Straight Grain series before they branched out on their own. After Former left to start Bentley pipes in Switzerland, his duties were taken over by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen, while the straight grains were made by Teddy’s student Benni Jorgenson. As Ole’s health began to fail, the reins were taken over by his son Nils. Nils became convinced that the way for Larsen to prosper was by entering the low-end market, and acquired the Georg Jensen pipe factory to make an array of less expensive pipes. This turned out to be a fatal error, and Larsen was recently sold to Stanwell, who continue to produce so-called “Larsen” pipes in their huge factory. Thus, ended an important part of Danish pipe history.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim show the darkening that I mention above. I am very pleased that it does not appear to be deep burn damage. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. The tooth chatter more or less disappeared with the cleaning.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank – it was faint in spots, but clear and read as noted above. The second photo below shows look of the bowl and stem taken apart.I started working on the pipe by addressing the rim edge and top darkening first. I started using a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge and remove the darkening. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the debris from the sanding process. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It looks very good now and the bowl is back in round. The pipe was clean and free of debris. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sandpaper to smooth out the remaining chatter on the stem surface. It also removed the remnants of oxidation on the stem surface.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it down with a coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.I put the W.O. Larsen Diplomat back together and polished the stem and bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain on the natural brown briar came alive with the buffing. The finish worked well with the polished black vulcanite stem. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ 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 1.73 ounces/49 grams. This beauty will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section. It will make a beautiful addition to somebody’s pipe rack. Thanks for walking through the restoration of this Danish take on the Diplomat shape from the 60s with me as it was a fun pipe to work on.

Restoring a Sandblast Handmade in Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that came to us from the group of pipes that Jeff and I purchased from our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark on 10/17/2022. It is clearly a Danish Freehand style sandblast that is in good condition. It is stamped on a smooth panel on end of the shank and reads Handmade in Denmark stamped diagonally across the shank end. There is no other stamping on the pipe so it is unclear who made it. The rim top and shank end are plateau briar and quite rugged. Everything about the pipe suggests that it is a Preben Holm made pipe but of course I cannot prove that. The pipe has a mix of black and brown stains on a sandblast finish and some amazing grain that the shape follows well. The finish was dusty around the nooks and crannies of the sandblast but otherwise fairly clean. The rim top had a thick lava cake on the top in the plateau that was heavier on the left side. There was also lava on the inner edge flowing from thick cake in the bowl. The fancy saddle stem was oxidized, dirty and had light chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a thick lava in the plateau on the rim. He captured the condition of the stem when it arrived. The stem has light chatter ahead of the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain in the sandblast around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also dirty with dust ground into the finish. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above.Once again it is on pipes like this that I really appreciate Jeff’s thorough cleaning process. It gives me real freedom in dealing with pipes when they arrive here. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed it under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. He soaked the vulcanite stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and once finished rinsed off the remaining product when he removed it from the mixture. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. Look at the amazing sandblast grain on this beauty. I took photos of the bowl and rim top from a closer angle to show how good it looked. The darks stain on the rim stop is slightly washed out and will need to be restained. The stem photos show how good the stem looks and even the tooth chatter is gone. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the look of the parts of the pipe to give a sense of size and perspective.I tried to capture the diagonal stamp on the underside of the shank. It is clear but I did not capture it well. It reads as noted above.I touched up the stain on the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a black stain pen. It looked much better after staining. I went over it with a brass bristle brush to knock off an loose pieces in the plateau.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get it into the nooks and crannies of the plateau and blast. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned to the vulcanite stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the remnants of oxidation on the and finish blending in the chatter. It looked very good once finished.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect it. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it looks better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Handmade in Denmark Freehand back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished fancy vulcanite saddle stem. This Handmade in Denmark Freehand is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/65 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Byron Harwood All Briar Sandblast Capped Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on was one that we purchased on 12/28/2024 from as part of an estate that belonged to a pipeman and carver, Byron Harwood from Missoula, Montana, USA. This unique, capped all briar pipe was one of Byron’s own handmade pipes. As with the previous pipe of Byron’s this one does not bear any stamping. It is a lovely piece of briar that was shaped with an apple bowl and sandblasted to highlight the grain. The airway in the mortise and shank are well executed and the draught is very good. The bowl had a moderated cake and there was some darkening and lava around the inner edge of the bowl and top. The cap on the bowl was pressure fit and attach to a shank band. It sealed the bowl so it would be a good pipe to load and carry in a pocket or bag for later use. It is not a wind cap. The chain and band are tarnished and are made of Sterling Silver. Smoking the pipe had removed the stain and finish on the inside of the cap. The stem is briar in a half saddle shape. It is smooth and nicely grained. It has been stained with a tan stain and has a great fit to the shank. The tenon is a black Delrin that is set in the stem. The button is well finished and the exit of the airway is orific or round rather than slotted. The pipe fit well in the hand and was short and stubby like a nose warmer. There was a charm to it! Here is what it looked like when Jeff received it. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the light cake in the bowl and the darkening and light lava coat on the inner edge and rim top. He also took photos of the all briar stem. It is dirty and has light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the sides of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed rich sandblast, highlighting grain around the bowl sides. Under the dust it was a nice looking bowl and cap. It is a nose warmer sized pipe sandblasted briar cap. It is on pipes like this that I really appreciate Jeff’s thorough cleaning process. It gives me real freedom in dealing with pipes when they arrive here. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush at the same time as the bowl. Once it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top and cap cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. The pictures show it with the cap in place on the top of the bowl and with it removed. I took a photo of the pipe with the briar stem removed to show the Delrin tenon and the look of the parts of the pipe to give a sense of size and perspective.I polished the bowl rim top and the inside of the bowl cap with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned to the all briar stem. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect it. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it looks better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Byron Harwood All Briar Nose Warmer back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished All Briar stem. This Byron Harwood All Briar Capped Nose Warmer is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches without the cap and 2 ¼ inches with the cap, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.79 ounces/78 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by American Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Made in Ireland Peterson’s of Dublin Irish Harp 150 Straight Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is another Peterson’s pipe with a red and black swirled acrylic stem. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the left underside of the diamond shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] of Dublin [over] Irish Harp. To the left of that it is stamped Made in Ireland and to the right the shape number 150. The Sterling Silver band is stamped on the left topside of the diamond shank and reads Peterson [arched over] a Harp with Sterling Silver arched underneath. On the right underside it bears the Peterson silver Hallmarks. It reads Peterson [over] the first hallmark, Hibernia seated arm on a harp for the country of manufacture. That is followed by .925 which help to date the pipe as after 2003 and designates the sterling quality. The final Hallmark is the date stamp and in this case is an italic upper-case I which dates it as made in 2019. The finish is a rich reddish-brown sandblast that is a stark contrast to the silver band the red and black streaked fishtail stem. The bowl had been recently reamed and there was tobacco debris in the bottom of the bowl. It was also lightly smoked. The fish tail stem was red acrylic with black swirls and was a tapered. The stem was lightly soiled and had light chatter on both sides There was an inlaid silver Peterson’s “P” logo on the left topside of the diamond taper. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up.He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the tobacco debris in the bowl and the light cake. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is looks very good. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed a great sandblast. It is a pretty piece of briar. He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the silver band and its hallmarks. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the “P” logo on the left side of the taper stem. Before doing my part of the work on the pipe I turned to see what I could find out about the line. I turned first to the Peterson’s website to see what they had listed. I quote below from that site (https://www.peterson.ie/pipes/premium/irish-harp/moreinfo.cfm?pd_product_Id=950).

One of the warmest finishes in our portfolio, the Irish Harp debuted in 2002 and combines an array of our Classic range shapes with deep, ruby-tinged walnut stains, cumberland-patterned acrylic fishtail stems, and bright bands of sterling silver, applied by the hands of our most experienced silversmiths.

I then turned to La Pipe Rit – St. Claude for their description of this particular Peterson’s line of pipes (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=608936). I quote from the description by Truett Smith l below.

Peterson’s “150” straight Bulldog is a pert, upright rendition that fits in perfectly with the Irish firm’s characteristically muscular shaping style. It’s quite the forthright take on the classic English shape, but in keeping with the marque’s tradition, it features an incredibly robust, crisp diamond shank… Marked by a concise sandblast, dark walnut stain, and acrylic stem to match, the Irish Harp line from Peterson poses an elegant aesthetic, the bowl and mouthpiece separated by a generous band of sterling silver. Peterson’s craftsmen spend years training under the factory’s senior smiths, and the Irish marque is esteemed for its use of sterling silver. In the Irish Harp series, Peterson pays tribute to one of Ireland’s most iconic symbols: the Celtic harp or cláirseach in Irish. The traditional instrument is here emblazoned on the silver accent, celebrating Peterson’s Irish origins while simultaneously showcasing their superlative silverwork.

Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was very clean and showed that the pipe was very lightly smoked. The stem looked good with no tooth marks or chatter. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable. I also took a photo of the stamping on the shiny nickel band. It was readable and clear. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. The bowl was in excellent condition. I did not need to sand or do anything in preparation on the pipe. I set the stem aside and worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I polished the silver with a jeweller’s cloth to protect and polish the silver and keep the tarnish at bay. It looks very good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. There were no deep tooth marks and very little chatter on the stem surface so I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I am excited to finish this one and look forward to seeing the 2019 Made in Ireland Peterson’s of Dublin Irish Harp 150 Bulldog put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny red and black swirled acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the rich brown/red stain on the bowl, thick shank and Sterling Silver Band. This Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Apple was a fun pipe to work on. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/48 grams. I will be putting this one on the store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. Let me know if you wish to add it to your collection.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

A Refresh of a Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Bent Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a Peterson’s pipe with a red and black swirled acrylic stem. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin [over] 03. The bright nickel band is stamped Dracula in a banner on top with a Bat before and after the name as well as underneath it. The finish is a dark coloured, almost black sandblast that is a stark contrast to the silver band the red and black streaked fishtail stem. The bowl was lightly caked and there was a tobacco debris in the bottom of the bowl. The fish tail stem was red acrylic with black swirls and was a tapered. The stem was very clean with no tooth damage. There was a white or silver Peterson’s “P” logo on the left side of the taper. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up.He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the tobacco debris in the bowl and the light cake. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is looks very good. Jeff took a photo of the side of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed a great sandblast. It is a pretty piece of briar.He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the nickel band. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the “P” logo on the left side of the taper stem. Before doing my part of the work on the pipe I turned to see what I could find out about the line. I turned first to the Peterson’s website to see what they had listed. I quote below from that site (https://www.peterson.ie/pipes/classic/dracula-sandblasted/moreinfo.cfm?pd_product_Id=303).

The Dracula line started as a special commemorative line of pipes, first released in 2012, celebrating the death centennial of fellow Irishman and esteemed author Abraham “Bram” Stoker. Characterised by jet-black sandblasted finishes, bright nickel bands, and black-and-red-swirled acrylic fishtail stems, the Dracula Sandblasted appeals not only to fans of gothic horror, but of quality classic pipes in bold presentations.

I then turned to La Pipe Rit – St. Claude for their description of this particular Peterson’s line of pipes (https://www.pipe.fr/en/peterson-dracula-pipes-417). I quote in full below.

Peterson must be the most famous pipe brand in the world. Since the late 19th century, the company began to hire and train Irish men and women (whereas some other manufacturers used to hire French craftspeople from Saint-Claude). Nowadays, Peterson pipes are made with a real know-how thanks to a team of passionate craftspeople that share their expertise. The company “Kapp & Peterson” creates traditional pipes of great quality. On this webpage, we present you the incredible “Dracula” collection. First released in 2012, this series was designed to pay tribute to the Irish writer Abraham “Bram” Stoker to mark the centenary of his death. With the red and black stem, this must be one of the favorite pipes of horror stories readers, and more generally Peterson pipe enthusiasts. To stick to the spirit of the novel, the pipe is designed with a black finish (lacquered or sandblasted), a “bloody” acrylic stem, and is decorated with a nickel band (on which is stamped “Dracula”)…

Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was very clean and showed that the pipe was very lightly smoked. The stem looked good with no tooth marks or chatter. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable. I also took a photo of the stamping on the shiny nickel band. It was readable and clear. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. The bowl was in excellent condition. I did not need to sand or do anything in preparation on the pipe. I set the stem aside and worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the “P” logo with some white acrylic nail polish. I applied it with the brush and once it cured sanded off the excess with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad.There were no deep tooth marks and very little chatter on the stem surface so I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to seeing the Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Bent Apple put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny red and black swirled acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the black stain on the bowl, thick shank and Polished Nickel Band. This Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Apple was a fun pipe to work on. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 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 1.80 ounces/ 50 grams. I will be putting this one on the store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. I remember reading Dracula in High School so I had to pause and think about letting this one go, before putting on the store. Let me know if you wish to add it to your collection.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a 1923 cased Finest H.G. London Quality Briar Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

One of the things I love about pipe hunting – whether in person in a shop or online at a sale. This is one of those interesting pipes that we picked up on 12/09/2024 from a seller on Facebook Pipe Exchange. It came from Wellsville, Kansas, USA. It is a smooth Bulldog with a Sterling Silver Band on the shank. It is faintly stamped on the top left side of the diamond shank and reads H.G. in an oval [over] London. The silver band is stamped H.G. in a lozenge followed by three hallmarks. The first cartouche holds an anchor which is the mark for Birmingham. The second cartouche holds a rampant lion which is the mark for Sterling Silver. The third cartouche holds a lower case y which gives the date of the pipe. The pipe was in good condition in terms of the finish on the bowl. The bowl had been reamed quite recently and there was some slight checking on the bowl walls. The rim cap was quite clean with some wear around the top and on the inner edge. Otherwise it was a beautiful pipe. There vulcanite saddle stem had light oxidation on the surface and some tooth marks and chatter on the surface. Jeff took photos of the case which bears a stamp that reads Finest Quality Briar in the outer ring of the oval. On the inside of the oval it is stamped H.G. He also took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up to capture the condition of the pipe when it arrived. It is a real beauty. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the damage on the top and inner edge of the bowl. It looks like a combination of burn damage and over reaming damage on the front and back mid bowl. The stem was very dirty with grime and sludge build up from the button forward on both sides of the stem. Jeff captured the smooth finish around the bowl sides of the bulldog and it is stunning. There are twin bands below the rim cap. The bowl shows some great grain. He captured the stamping on the top left side of the shank. The stamping is faint but readable. It read as noted above.  He took a photo of a the silver band on the shank with the hallmarks that I noted above.I did some checking online on Pipedia and Pipephil for the HG brand and could not find anything about the stamping. I did however, find a silver Hallmark chart. I have included that below. I drew a red box around the section that includes the year stamp “y” on the band. It identifies the date as 1923. This is an old timer.Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim show the damage that I mention above. It definitely has burn damage and also reaming damage on the front and back inner edge. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. The tooth marks and chatter are clear in the photos of each side ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the top left side of the shank – it was faint but it read as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank to show the look of the pipe.I set the stem aside and started working on the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the nicks on the inner edge of the bowl and the top of the cap. It was looking better when I finished.I sanded briar bowl with 320-3500 sanding pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The grain of the briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them. They come up very little. I filled in the remaining two deep marks with black rubberized CA glue and set it aside to cure. I recut the button edge with a small file and sanded the repairs smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I continued to sand the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The stem looked better at this point. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem from UV and slow down future oxidation. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it does indeed look better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Cased 1923 H.G. London Finest Quality Briar Bulldog back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished clear acrylic stem. This 1923 H.G. London Bulldog is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 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 .92 ounces/26 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by British Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Stanwell S. Bang Designed Sandblasted Horn (205) (9mm)

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by Steve Laug

One of the things I love about Stanwell other than being great smokers is that they were able to draft some of the world-renowned Danish Pipe Carvers to design pipes for them and some how machine their equipment to make the shapes in duplicate. This is one of those interesting pipes that was designed by S. Bang, in other words Per Hansen and Ulf Noltensmeier. It is a sandblast horn that is stamped on the underside of the shank and clearly reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark. On the top of the shank it bears a brass oval that is stamped S. Bang. We purchased this pipe on 05/22/2024 from a friend in Denmark. The pipe was in good condition in terms of the finish on the bowl. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls and the rim cap had some lava overflow. The inner edge had lava buildup and also was out of round from either burn damage or reaming damage. Otherwise it was a beautiful pipe. There 9mm acrylic saddle stem was in good condition with light tooth chatter but no deep tooth marks on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up to capture the condition of the pipe when it arrived. It is a real beauty.He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the damage on the top and inner edge of the bowl. It looks like a combination of burn damage and over reaming damage on the front and back mid bowl. The stem was very dirty with grime and sludge build up from the button forward on both sides of the stem. Jeff captured the sandblast finish around the bowl sides of the horn and it is stunning. There is a smooth rim cap and a smooth band around the shank end. The stamping is on the smooth panel on the underside of the shank end. He captured the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable. It read as noted above.  He took a photo of the brass S. Bang emblem on the topside. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim show the damage that I mention above. It definitely has burn damage and also reaming damage on the front and back inner edge. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. The tooth chatter more or less disappeared with the cleaning.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank – it was clear and read as noted above. The second photo below shows the S. Bang logo on the topside. It is also very clear and undamaged.I removed the stem from the shank to show the look of the pipe and to also show the 9mm tenon on the stem.I started working on the pipe by addressing the rim edge and top damage first. I started using a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge and remove the nicks and chips. I topped the rim top lightly on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper.I used a small sphere and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work on the inner edge of the bowl. It preserves and cleans up the inner bevel on the rim edge. I used a Mahogany stain pen to touch up the rim edge to match the rest of the rim cap. I polished the rim cap and top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It looks very good now and the bowl is back in round. The pipe was clean and free of debris. I rubbed the bowl and smooth cap down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoebrush to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I fit the stem with an adapter to convert it from a 9mm tenon to a regular tenon. It is removable so it can be used either way – filter or with the adapter. The adapter is Delrin and slides into the tenon and is held by the ring in the middle.This S. Bang Design Stanwell 205 Horn with a 9mm Acrylic Filter Stem has a beautiful, classic sandblast finish that highlights the grain. The polished black acrylic saddle stem adds to the mix. I fit the saddle stem with an adapter that allows it to be either a 9mm filter stem or a regular stem. 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Stanwell Made in Denmark 205 Horn is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.29 ounces/65 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section. If you would like to add it to your rack let me know.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Byron Harwood Olivewood Apple Shaped Churchwarden

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on was one that we purchased on 12/28/2024 from as part of an estate that belonged to a pipeman and carver, Byron Harwood from Missoula, Montana, USA. This Olivewood pipe was one of Byron’s own handmade pipes. It is a lovely piece of olivewood that was shaped with an apple bowl that highlighted the grain. The bowl and shank were smooth and highlighted some beautiful grain around the bowl sides and shank. The airway in the mortise and shank are well executed and the draught is very good. The bowl was lightly smoked and there was debris in the bowl. There was some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and top. The stem is a clear acrylic with spots or bubbles of white that look quite intriguing. It has a great fit to the shank, has been bent to fit the angles of the pipe. The tenon is a white Delrin that is screwed into the stem. The button is fishtail and well finished. The pipe fit well in the hand and had a small bowl but there was a charm to it! Here is what it looked like when Jeff received it. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the light cake in the bowl and the darkening and light lava coat on the inner edge and rim top. He also took photos of the stem. It is dirty and has light tooth chatter on both sides at the button. Jeff took some photos of the sides of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed grain around the bowl sides. Under the oils and grime it was a nice looking bowl. It is a large pipe with a smooth rim top and heel. Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The stem looked good just some light tooth chatter and marks near the button. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. The stem is long but the pipe is mini Churchwarden.I sanded the olivewood bowl with 320-3500 sanding pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The grain of the olivewood began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The stem looked better at this point. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem from UV and slow down future oxidation. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it does indeed look better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Byron Harwood Olivewood Mini Churchwarden back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished clear acrylic stem. This Byron Harwood Olivewood Churchwarden is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 7 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/52 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by American Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.