Author Archives: rebornpipes

Learning something new while repurposing this damaged pipe bowl – adding a shank extension.

Blog by Steve Laug

One of the pipe bowls I was recently gifted was an unsmoked Mastercraft Drysmoke bowl that had the shank cut back to half of its original length. The cutback was done poorly – crooked cut with a dull saw. It had cut right through the stamping on both sides of the shank and was crooked.

The bowl had a very heavy coat of urethane on it as well. There was some nice grain on part of the bowl but the bottom had some hack marks where it looked like the saw had jumped. I took some time to look it over and try to figure out what I was going to do with it. I was not sure and looked at the end of the cut off. I knew I would have to face the end of the shank to even things up no matter what I did with it. I could easily have just drilled the mortise large and cut a new stem for it. It would have ended up a short shank billiard and that would have been fine. However in the midst of the review I decided that it was time to learn something new. I have always wanted to learn how to do shank extensions so I figured this was a great candidate for my schooling. I flattened the end of the shank squaring it like I do when topping a bowl. I had an old vulcanite shank extension I scavenged somewhere. I had played around with it and sanded away part of the end that faced on the shank of the pipe before I threw it in my parts box. It was a mess as it was but it might just work. I also had some white Delrin tenon material that would work well. I had already turned it almost to the correct size with my Dremel and sanding drum. Maybe these parts would all come together and help me craft something different. What the heck it was worth a try and I would learn a lot in the process.

The photo above shows all the parts laid out for the connection. I faced the end of the shank using a sanding board in the same manner I used to top a bowl rim. It took a bit of work and focus to get it flattened out and perfectly horizontal. (Oh to have a lathe to do this kind of thing.) I used the Dremel with the sanding drum to fine tune the diameter of the Delrin so that it would fit well in both the end of the cut of shank and the vulcanite extension. I wanted the two parts to face smoothly against each other. I put it together to make sure I had the fit right

I put glue on the end of the tenon and pressed it into the shank and then repeated the process and pressed the extension in place. The fit against each other was exactly what I wanted. I ran some superglue in the joint between the two materials and when it dried I would sand it down. I had an old stem that had the right tenon size and inserted it to have a look. I wanted to see what the newly glued shank extension would look like with a stem in place. The joint looked good and a stick bit stem would work well when I got to that point in the process.

I removed the excess material of the extension with the Dremel and sanding drum and a lot of hand sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to make the extension slightly flared and the transition between the shank and the extension smooth and seamless. I was going for a taper back from the bowl to the end of the shank. I also wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the urethane finish. It was a tough go so I sanded the bowl and shank. I decided to not worry about sanding the partial stamping that was left on the shank as it was no longer a Mastercraft pipe at this point.

In the process of adding the Delrin I noticed that there was a crack in the shank on the right side of the pipe. It was present before I inserted the tenon, but the insert opened it up. I dripped some super glue in the crack before I put the Delrin insert in place. I knew that the insertion of the tube in the shank from the cut end to the end of the airway would give strength to the repair and also remove the pressure on the shank. I also knew that there would no more stress on the crack once the extension and tube was in place. After sanding the shank and extension I did some cosmetic work on the crack and filled it with superglue and briar dust. Once it was dry I sanded that area of the shank until it was smooth.

With the crack and repair being very visible and knowing that it would not disappear in the stain I decided to rusticate the shank and the bowl bottom. I did not worry about the visibility of the repair as the entire pipe is a repair job. I have been reading a lot about John Calich and his use of rustication and smooth finishes in the same pipe and the contrast stains to highlight the transition between finishes so I decided to try that out with this bowl. I wanted a thin band of smooth briar around the joint so I taped off the area and did the rustication with my modified Philips screwdriver. I rusticated the shank and the bottom of the bowl. I used a brass bristle tire brush to go over the rustication and knock off the rough areas. I buffed it with red Tripoli to further smooth out the rustication slightly.

I stained the bowl bottom with black aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the staining and flaming until I had a good even coverage on the rusticated portion of the bowl. I cleaned up the smooth areas next to the stained rustication with sandpaper to remove the slight bleed from the black stain. I wiped those areas down with acetone on a cotton swab to clean the transition areas.

I found the stem I wanted to use in my can of stems. It was a slender military bit with a slight taper. I liked the look of the stem. I put it in place for the next photos. It is not stuck deeply enough into the mortise because of the taper to the end of the stem. It will need to be turned down slightly to get a good snug fit deep in the mortise.

Before going to bed last evening I rubbed down the bowl and stem with Olive oil. I wanted it to penetrate the vulcanite extension, stem and the bowl (smooth and rusticated portions) to give a bit more life to the rubber and the briar. This morning when I got up I worked on the end of the stem to get a deeper fit into the mortise. I used the PIMO tenon turning tool adjusted as small as possible and turned the first inch of the stem to get a tenon. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to bring it down to the diameter of the inside of the mortise. The next two photos show the stem sanded enough to go half way into the mortise. It would take a lot more sanding before it sat against the end of the mortise.

Ah progress! Got the stem fit right – it is snug and deep in the mortise now. I sanded the tenon until it fit well. I also sanded the transition from the end of the tenon to the taper on the rest of the stem. I wanted the fit against the shank extension to be snug without the edges of the tenon showing when the stem was in place. This pipe has turned out to be a great lesson for me in the school of pipe repair up to this point. I am looking forward to “graduating” from this project at this point.

I sanded the bowl, the smooth band at the union of the extension and the briar and the vulcanite of the stem and extension with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads to remove any scratches in the briar and the shank extension from sanding with the fine grit sanding sponges. The photos below show the bowl and stem after I had sanded them with the early grits of micromesh. I wiped down the bowl and the stem with a cotton cloth and then rubbed Obsidian Oil into the vulcanite extension and stem.

I stained the smooth parts of the bowl and shank with a cherry stain using a cotton swab and wiped it off with a soft cloth. I hand buffed the bowl and shank with a shoe brush to give it a quick polish.

Once that was finished I continued to sand the stem with the micromesh sanding pads. I had already wet sanded the extension and the stem with the earlier grits of pad so now it was time to dry sand them with the remaining pads – 3200-12,000 grit.

When I finished sanding with the micromesh sanding pads I rubbed the vulcanite extension and stem down with Obsidian Oil and when it was dry gave the stem, extension and smooth portions of the pipe a buff with White Diamond. I gave the smooth areas of the pipe and the vulcanite multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed with a soft flannel buff to give it a shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It has come a long way from the cut off bowl that I started with in the beginning of this restoration. I think rather than restoring this one I have actually repurposed a bowl – a phoenix rising from the ashes. Now I have another new pipe to fire up and try out later today.

Reflecting on My Collection of John Calich Pipes

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I don’t remember when I first became familiar with Calich pipes. They were not a brand that I had heard of or seen. I do remember that the first time I saw one of his pipes was when I was visiting Mike Glukler of Briar Blues and he had a John Calich pipe for sale. It had to have been before 2003 because of health issues that tied me up from 03-04. I know that I was immediately drawn to the rusticated finish it had and the two tone stain that Calich had used to accent the rustication and the smooth portions of the pipe. He used a dark brown stain as an under stain with an oxblood top stain. The contrast was well done. The pipe was a large Lumberman shape. The stem was vulcanite with a small tooth mark on the top of the stem. It was stamped CALICH 02 over Hand Made 4E over Made in Canada. I had no idea of the age of the pipe or the meaning of the stampings but I paid for it and it became mine. It smoked very well so I began to keep an eye open for John’s pipes.

From my research I found that John’s pipes are graded 3E – 8E. Retail prices range from$ 145.00 to $ 500.00. Each pipe is stamped “CALICH” and the E grade. His earlier pipes were graded from 3-14, and a single, tiny silver dot is applied to the top of the stem. http://pipedia.org/wiki/Calich Armed with that information I found that the first pipe I purchased was a newer pipe of John’s and was stamped 4E which made it a mid-grade pipe.

Soon after that I found two more of his pipes on EBay. This was a time when you could still pick up good deals on relatively unknown pipe makers. The first pipe I picked up was a nice billiard that obviously had seen some use and had a replacement stem. The fit of the stem was poor and the gap and space between stem and shank was large. The scratches in the vulcanite made the stem a real mess. The pipe had beautiful grain under the grime and was stamped CALICH EE over Hand Made. I bid on it and won. The EE stamping did not fit the grading information that I had found on the internet.

I wanted the seller to send it directly to John for a new stem. This put a bit of hurry into the equation so I hunted down John’s number to see if he would be willing to make a replacement stem for this pipe. I called him and we had a great conversation on the phone. We talked about all things pipe and pipe making. It was delightful to talk together and we did so for quite a while before I got around to asking him if he would make a stem for the old billiard.

I still remember the conversation. He asked about the stamping on the pipe and within a short few moments he told me when he had carved the pipe. For the life of me I wish I had written it down because today I cannot remember what he said. He said to go ahead and have the pipe sent to him and he would make a new stem for it. I emailed the EBay Seller and asked him to send it directly to John Calich in Mississauga, Ontario. He gladly did so and the pipe was on its way to John.

It was not too long before John called me and told me the pipe was finished. He packed it up and sent it to me. I was excited because I had not even seen the pipe in person yet. I had no idea about the real size of the pipe or the actual condition though it looked a bit rough in the photos. I couldn’t wait to see it. When it arrived in the mail I opened the package and unwrapped the pipe. John had not only restemmed the billiard but he had cleaned it up and polished it so that it shone like new. It did not even look like the same pipe. It was a cross cut piece of briar with stunning birdseye on the sides of the bowl and shank with cross grain on the front and the back of the bowl.

I did a bit more digging on the internet to find out some information on the dating of Calich pipes as the information on Pipedia was not complete. What I found was very helpful. His early pipes were graded with numbers from 3 – 14. By the late 1980’s Calich introduced 15, 16, and even one 17. In the mid-90’s the grade system changed employing a number of E’s. The more EE’s the higher the grade. This helped me understand the stamping on the billiard. Thus the pipe was a double EE grade and was made in the mid-90’s.

The last gradings that were used on the pipes were a number and an E. For example the stamping went 3E – 7E (10E was the top level but levels exceeding 7E or 8E seemed never to have been used). This information came from http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html and has been edited for my use.

The third Calich I bought was also on EBay. It is a Liverpool with a very nice flame grained tall bowl. This one is stamped CALICH 83 over Hand Made 10. It was dirty and the bowl was caked and the rim covered with tar and oils. The stem was original, bearing the silver dot on top. The vulcanite was oxidized and had small tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem. It cleaned up very nicely and is a great smoking pipe. From the information above it is clear that the pipe stamping means that the pipe is the earliest one I have – made in 1983 and a grade 10 pipe.

Thus the three pipes I have in my collection by John Calich come from the three different periods of his carving. The first I purchased, the Lumberman 4E, was the latest Calich. It was made in the third period of his classification numbers. The second one, the Billiard EE was from the middle period where the classifications were multiple E’s. The third pipe, the Liverpool 10 is the oldest pipe from the first period of stamping when Calich used just numbers 3-14. I had not realized that my pipes covered most of the years that he was carving.

Here are two photos of the threesome together. I took these photos to give an idea of what the size of the pipes were in comparison to one another.

I learned from my reading that John was a full time pipe maker for over 40 years. His pipes were mostly traditional shapes. His signature style was rustication and smooth on the same pipe along with a unique skill to stain a pipe in contrasting colors. He used only top quality Grecian and Calabrian briar. The mouthpieces are hand finished Vulcanite “A”. Each pipe was entirely made by hand. John Calich was featured in the summer 2005 issue of Pipes & Tobacco.

John Calich died in 2008. From my limited exposure to John I have to say that he was a gentleman and a great pipe maker. He was known as one of Canada’s finest carvers. I conclude this article about John’s pipes with a tribute written by Maxim Engle on John’s passing in 2008. Maxim says it very well in my opinion and his words match the various interactions I had with John over the phone.

John Calich – Pipemaker 1928-2008.

John passed away late last week as a result of cancer and heart failure. His cancer was caused by exposure to asbestos many years ago. John originally worked in the sheet metal and the air balance industries. In his early forties, he decided to become a pipe maker. He was largely self taught and developed his unique two tone staining on his own. He travelled widely in the US and Canada seeking pipe knowledge. He went to New Orleans to find out about the manufacture of Perique. He drove on his motorcycle to visit JT Cooke in Vermont. There his bike fell over in slow motion as the asphalt melted under the stand on a hot summers afternoon as he and Jim looked on and laughed. He continued to drive his bike into his late 60’s.

John shared his knowledge and enthusiasm with colleagues and member of the Burlington and Toronto pipe clubs. He was always encouraging to younger pipe makers and new pipe smokers. John’s pipes were mostly sold in and around Toronto. I was privileged to have been able to give John’s pipes a wider audience through the web site and always sold all he could supply me with. His pipes were extremely popular in Japan.

I will miss smoking a pipe with him in his workshop while he either showed some me restoration technique or we just sat and talked. During his brief illness, before he passed away, many of you conveyed to him your best; I knew he really appreciated that. The pipe smoking community will miss him.

If you own one of his pipes light it up with your favorite tobacco in memoriam. He would like that.
Be Well, Smoke Well
Maxim
http://www.pipes2smoke.com/

A Hilson Meerlined Tall Dublin Reborn into a Briar Calabash

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Blog by Steve Laug

I received this old briar bowl from a friend and decided to see what I could do with it. It was in pretty rough shape. The shank had been damaged and repaired with some kind of epoxy as the gel surface of the crack was hard as rock. The repair was actual the most substantial part of the bowl. The bowl had an amazing deep and craggy blast to it but the finish itself was worn. Fortunately the wear was not deep and the cragginess was not too badly affected. The rim was smooth but the edges were slightly worn. The bottom of the exterior of the bowl showed the most nicks and damage to the finish. There were marks from looked to be a band on the shank. The inside of the bowl was quite clean. Originally it looked as if it had a meerschaum lining and the glue that had held that bowl in place was gone and just a small remnant of the glue was on the interior walls of the bowl. The bottom of the bowl was stained with tobacco so evidently the meerschaum lining must have crack and seepage darkened the bottom of the bowl.

I cleaned out the inside of the bowl with cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. Once I had it clean I worked on the resin on the shank repair. I sanded it until it was flush with the surface of the rest of the shank so that it did not bulge. I continually checked to see if I was weakening the repair but the shank was solid. I used the dental pick and my modified Philips screwdriver rusticator to rusticate the area around the resin repair. I also found a band in my box that fit the shank perfectly and pressed it into place. The band was more for bling than as the shank was not cracked or damaged. I also went through my stem can and found a stem that fit the diameter of the shank, turned it with the PIMO tenon turning tool and fit is in place. It would need to be reduced slightly in diameter to fit well with the band. I wiped down the bowl and shank with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad. I did not want to chance acetone as I was worried about it dissolving the resin on the shank repair. As I did not know what was used in the repair I did not want to chance further damage.

I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain. I applied it, flamed it, applied it again and flamed it again. To get an even coverage on the sandblast finish it would take more than three applications and flamings to make the stain even. The photos below show the bowl after three coats of the stain. It would need to be repeated later in the process to get the rough places stained.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to make the fit against the band work well. Once the shape and the fit of the stem were correct I used a heat gun to bend the stem to an angle that worked well with the look of this pipe. For the angle I used the curve of my buffer to press the softened stem over. When I had it bent I held it as it cooled and then set the bend with cool water.

After bending I resanded the stem with the sandpaper and sanding sponges. Once the majority of the scratches were gone it would need to be sanded with the micromesh sanding pads but I wanted to do some more work on the bowl and shank before finishing the stem.

I roughened the shank some more to give it a closer look to the sandblast of the bowl. I heated the bowl with the heat gun to warm up the briar before giving the bowl and shank yet another coat of the aniline stain. I gave it the fourth coat of the stain, flamed it and the coverage was finally what I was looking for on the pipe. The shank and the bowl bottom took the stain this time and matched the rest of the bowl.

I hand buffed the bowl with a shoe brush and then gave it a light buff with White Diamond on the buffing wheel. I took it back to the work table and gave it several coats of Halcyon II wax which works well on sandblast and rusticated finishes. I buffed it with the shoe brush to bring up the shine. The next three photos below show the bowl after the final stain and light buff.

At this point in the process I used a cotton swab dipped in stain to touch stain the places on the shank the underside of the bowl that were lighter than the rest of the bowl. I let it dry completely over night and then hand buffed the bowl.

In a phone call with Tim West of J.H. Lowe Pipe Repairs I discussed the possibility of making this pipe a Briar Calabash. I gave Tim the dimensions of the bowl and he happened to have a bowl that was originally made for Pioneer Calabash pipes that was the correct dimensions. He sent along several strips of cork that would be used for making a gasket to give the meerschaum cup a snug fit in the briar bowl.

I cut a strip of cork and glued it to the bowl with super glue. I used a small piece of the cork to fill the gap between the ends of the strip. Once the glue dried I sanded the cork gasket until it was the proper diameter for the briar bowl.

I used some Vaseline and lubricated the cork gasket and then used my finger to coat the inside edge of the briar bowl where the cork would sit. I then pressed the meerschaum cup into place in the briar bowl. The finished Briar Calabash pipe is shown in the photos below. The polished gloss of the white meerschaum bowl looks great against the sandblast dark brown briar bowl. The silver band gives a bit of contrast to the pipe. The draught on the pipe is perfect and the feel of the new Calabash in the hand is great. The pipe is still light in weight and the thin pencil shank and stem work well. Now all that remains is to load it up and have the inaugural smoke.

Restoring an old Bruyere Extra Chubby Billiard

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Yet another gift pipe is on the worktable. It is an interesting bowl. The exterior is carved with what looked like scales. There were several sandpits in the trails surrounding the scales. The shank had several cracks and looked as if it had previously sported a band. By appearances the band that was missing looked like it had been original rather than an addition for repairs. But the repairs were there nonetheless. The bowl was caked and the finish very dirty. It was worn away to a large degree. The fascinating part of the bowl was the drilling of the airway. The end of the mortise, which is quite large, is concave. At the end of the concave mortise there are two holes drilled looking like a colon “:”. The top hole is the airway leading into the bowl and the bottom hole is about a ½ inch deep and ends. With a stem in place the mortise looks to serve as a second chamber for cooling the smoke. The shank is stamped Bruyere over Extra in and oval with the ends flattened. There is no other stamping on the shank.

I went through my box of bands and found one that would work well on the cracked and repaired shank of the pipe. I also found a stem in my can of stems that would work well with this pipe. The tenon needed to be quite large in diameter to fit the large mortise. The stem I had was a faux Peterson stem. The airway was directly in the end of the button not on the top. Thus the look was Peterson like but the stem was actually a straight airway from tenon to button.

I added some wood glue to the area of the shank that the band would be pressed on and then heated the band and pressed it onto the shank. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to take the cake back to bare wood. I also scrubbed the rim down as it had a chamfered inner edge around the bowl.

I wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the remnants of the finish and to clean up the debris and dust in the carved trails between the scales on the bowl and shank. I picked out the debris in the flaws in the trails, scratched the surface surrounding the flawed areas and then packed in briar dust with a dental pick and dripped superglue into the dust. I lightly sanded the areas of the fills and wiped the bowl down again with acetone on the cotton pads.

With the repairs completed, the band in place and the stem fitted to the shank it was time to stain the bowl. I wiped it down a final time to remove any remaining dust and debris before staining. I decided to use a dark brown aniline stain and applied it with the dauber that comes with the Feibings Shoe Dyes. The dauber works well on the wider grooves between the carved scales on the finish. I applied the stain, flamed the finish, reapplied the stain and flamed it again until the coverage of the stain was even.

I wanted a contrast to the finish – dark stain in the grooves of the trails and a bit more opaque stain on the surface of the scales so I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to reduce the stain colour on the smooth surfaces of the finish.

I buffed the bowl with Red Tripoli and White Diamond on the buffing wheels to polish the bowl and give me an idea of the look of the finish once polished.

I sanded the smooth surfaces of the bowl with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to further lighten the stain and allow the grain to pop through. The smooth surfaces had birdseye on most of them and I wanted that to stand out on the pipe.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to make the fit the shank even around the circumference of the saddle portion of the stem. I sanded it with medium and fine grit sanding sponges to remove the deeper scratches on the stem. I then used my normal line of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I also sanded the nickel band to polish it and remove the small scratches that were present in the finish.

I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and once it was dry buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond. I gave the pipe and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and polished it with a clean flannel buff to finish the process. The old pipe has a new look and a great feel. I look forward to giving it a try to see how the second chamber – the reverse calabash actually works on this pipe. The photos below show the finished pipe ready to use!

Giving New Life to a no-name Sandblast Apple

6 Replies

I was gifted this old apple bowl. It was a nicely shaped apple with a light sandblast finish. There were some significant problems with flaws and crevices in the bowl. The major flaw was on the right side of the bowl toward the top and on the top of the rim itself. It extended into the bowl for about a ¼ inch. There was no cake or build up and the bowl seemed clean and lightly smoked if smoked at all. It had a rounded shank so it was clear that the original stem had been a stick bit of some sort – though sadly it was lost. I had it sitting in my box of pipes to be refurbed for awhile while I worked on other pipes. Its turn finally came up.

I went through my can of stems and found the kind of stick bit free hand style stem I thought would look good on this pipe.

I turned the tenon end of the stem with a PIMO tenon turning tool and then used the Dremel and sanding drum and finally some hand sanding with 220 grit sandpaper to get the stem to fit well in the mortise of the shank. With the fit nice and snug I would need to sand the saddle area and clean up the tenon to make it shine.

I cleaned up the crevices with a cotton swab and dental pick and isopropyl alcohol. I then packed some briar dust into the filled crevices and dripped super glue into the briar dust. I repeated the process until the flaws were filled and the surface of the bowl and rim bulged slightly. I sanded the rim and the fill on the side with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess fill. I scratched the surface with the dental pick to give it a similar texture to the surround sandblasted bowl. I sanded the saddle on the stem at the same time with 220 grit sandpaper. I finished the repair and the saddle area with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge.

Once the area was filled and the texture finished it was time to stain the pipe. I decided to use a dark brown aniline stain that I would later wipe down with alcohol to give more transparency and aid in a contrast on the surface of the bowl. I wiped down the surface of the bowl with isopropyl alcohol before staining the bowl to remove the dust. I applied the stain and flamed the bowl and repeated the process until the coverage was even.

I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to give the stain some more transparency and to lighten it.

I buffed the bowl with a light touch on the buffer using White Diamond. I took it back to the work table and hand buffed it with a shoe brush to give it a shine. There were spots on the shank and the bowl where I would need to touch up the stain as it was too light and shiny.

Once the coverage looked good I gave the bowl a coat of oxblood aniline stain to build a contrast. In the photos below you can see the way it worked to highlight the blast and show the grain. The birdseye grain under the blast on the left side of the bowl showed up with a nice contrast look.

I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads using the 1500-2400 grit pads to sand the surface of the bowl and give it more contrast with the crevices in the blast. I polished the stem with my usual pattern of micromesh pads – wet sanding with the 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with the 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it soak in. When it had dried I hand buffed the stem.

I buffed the pipe and the stem with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean flannel buff to raise the shine on the bowl. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below.

In closing I include two photos of the repaired areas of the bowl to show the finished repair. The super glue and briar dust repair worked well and is quite hidden by the stain and finish work. The trick was not to overfill the areas surrounding the crevice so that the filled area would blend into the texture of the bowl. I am pleased with the finished product.

Kaywoodie Ruf-Tone

An Edwards 7377 Pipe Cleaned & Repaired

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I first talked with Morty from Ontario on Pipe Smokers Unlimited online forums (PSU). She had found an old Altesse Briar with an Amber stem and found that I had the same pipe. In fact from what we could find and the responses we got we had the only two around! We exchanged quite a few emails and I did a few repairs and some stems for her. She has caught the refurbishing bug and has posted quite a few pictures of her work on the PSU Pipe Restoration Forum. She has been smoking a pipe off and on most of her adult life. She enjoys buying old estate pipes and cleaning them up and refurbishing them. She says that she has learned much from the blog and from other members on PSU. I have enjoyed seeing her work and have asked her to write-up some of her work and post it on rebornpipes for others to enjoy. Thanks Morty for being willing to do this for us. Enjoy this first post she has provided. I love the lines of this old pipe and the grain. Morty did a great job on restoring it. Without further introduction I give you Morty’s own words regarding this refurb.

I bought this Edward 7377 Long Bent Stem Pipe that was in bad condition and needed quite a bit of TLC.

I first reamed the bowl, did an alcohol and salt treatment. The bowl shank had a crack that was mostly covered by the silver band. I sanded the bowl with 100 grit, 220 grit sandpaper, and used medium and fine grit sanding sponges. I also topped the bowl as it had some slight char and some nicks that the topping easily dealt with.

I continued sanding the bowl with very fine grit sand paper before I dealt with the crack.
The crack in parts went right through, I wiped down the bowl with acetone to remove any remaining dirt and dust. I super glued the crack. allowing some to soak through to the inside.
I left this to set overnight.

I soaked the stem in Oxy Clean overnight as well. The next day I first removed most of the raised oxidation by scrubbing it down with a Magic Eraser, I find this makes the next steps easier and go much more quickly. The Magic Eraser removed most of the oxidation, I wet sanded with 1500 – 2400 grit, dry sanding with 3200 – 12,000 grit micromesh pads. Cleaned the inside of the stem with a test tube brush, and with many soft and bristle pipe cleaners, making sure the button is also spotless. Finally when the pipe cleaners come out spotless I will run a soft pipe cleaner through with Rum 151, this not only sanitizes the stem it can also grab any missed gunk.

I cleaned the silver band with fine steel wool. The next day I worked on the crack that was set now with the super glue. I sanded this down carefully and replaced the now clean silver band. The bowl cleaned up well as did the stem. I decided to use Olive Oil to bring out the grain, but also to darken the bowl a bit. Following Coastie’s (John William’s) method, I applied a small amount, rubbed it in with my hands, removed any excess and let it sit overnight. The next day buffed with a micro fiber cloth, and wow. !!! This had really brought the grain out and left a nice rich color to the bowl. I polished the bowl with Paragon Wax. I am pleased with the results on this very nice old Edwards Pipe.

A Danish Pipe Magazine STOP – articles provided by Jacek A. Rochacki

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In correspondence with Jacek he spoke to me about a magazine that he had in his possession called STOP. It is a Danish Pipe Magazine with what sounded like some exceedingly interesting articles. It is written in Danish and I would love to have some of our Danish readers translate some of the articles that are included in these scans that Jacek sent.

Here is part of the email Jacek sent me with the magazine portions attached. In it he spells out what he included in his scans of the magazine pages.

I acquired this free copy No 31, April 1970, 7th year of existence of the STOP in late summer 1970 in Copenhagen, if I remember correctly in famous Pipe House W. Ø. Larsen, where I was a frequent, and I think welcome visitor during my trips to Denmark. I scanned at the best of my present technical possibilities 9 pictures. First two show front cover and next/following two pages. Then on pages 21 and 22 there is text on Anne Julie. Then at page 24 begins text on once famous Lillehammer pipes – G. Larsen – founded by Gudbrand Larsen in town Lillehammer in Norway. In July 1970 I received as gift of friendship in Uppsala, Sweden, the G.L. Lillehammer Best Make, Topper shape that I have kept up to now. The Lillehammer and Norway story continues on the next pages. At the end, after page 46 I enclose picture/scan of the back cover. If you think that despite Danish language it may be of interest to friends on your blog, then please make choice of what I am sending or publish all these documents. I hope that this email letter with attachments is not “too heavy” and will not block your inbox.

Again, if any of our Danish friends would like to provide a translation of these articles for our non-Danish speaking readers that would be greatly appreciated. Thank you Jacek for providing this great magazine.

An Old envelope – empty, but still full of memories – Jacek A Rochacki

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I see, that I have become more and more talkative, maybe it is caused by age, maybe I feel more and more at home with friends… So posting my comment below Steve’s story on the Fairhaven Smoke Shop I mentioned old envelope with address: Mr. Charles Rattray, Tobacco Blender, PERTH, Scotland. Encouraged by kind suggestion by Mark Domingues I am enclosing picture of this envelope.

Browsing on Steve’s blog I found with joy the publication of an old Rattray’s Booklet on Tobacco Blending https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2012/08/11/charles-rattrays-of-perth-catalogue/ So all the more I would like to continue with following story connected with Rattrays.

Rattray’s is known as a manufacturer of pipe tobaccos, which are now manufactured in Germany, but names of blends like Marlin Flake, Old Gowrie, Hal o’the Wynd remain the same. Beside this “tobacco aspect” Rattray is the family name of an old Scottish historical family, and their house is the Craighall Castle by the town of Blairgowrie, Perthshire, Scotland. The Craighall Castle like many other castles has a big clock in the castle’s tower. The clock demanded regular maintenance. In “my” time there this service was provided by clock and watch specialist – a watchmaker, whom I happen to know.

During one of my visits to Scotland this watch and clock specialist invited me to join him on his next visit to the castle. We entered the hall and I was surprised to see many photos of soldiers in uniforms with well known to me Polish distinctions and badges from the time of WWII. Soon I learned that the Craighall Castle, like many other locations in Scotland, was at the time of WWII converted to a hospital and convalescent centre for the Polish wounded soldiers. Many men in uniforms shown in photos were smoking short pipes – bulldogs or lovats, which, as I remember from stories, were popular with some military formations. On the wall there was a marble plate with the Polish Eagle, badges of some Polish military formations and words of gratitude to the people of Blairgowrie, Rattray and district, in commemoration of their hospitality.

Then our host – the Right Honorable Rattray appeared who, after complimenting my acquaintance for his clock service, kindly offered us a nice cup of tea. I was so surprised by seeing one more sign of Polish presence in Scotland that I simply forgot to ask our host, if his respectable family had any kind of connection with the well known tobacco brand.

A Visit Back in Time – The Fairhaven Smoke Shop, Bellingham, Washington

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I have lived in the Vancouver, British Columbia Region of Canada for over 25 years and early on I used to travel down to the Fairhaven Smoke Shop in Bellingham’s Fairhaven District. The old owner used to be a Viet Nam War Veteran who I enjoyed visiting with and jawing while we smoked a pipe. His shop was crammed to the roof with pipes and tobacco. It was the real deal in terms of old pipe shops. I still remember the first time I walked in the door. The shop is not very big as can be seen in the photos below but it is a pleasure to visit. In those days you could still smoke in shop so the owner would be sitting in a corner near the window at the front puffing away on a pipe with a fog of blue smoke around his head. The Fairhaven Smoke Shop has been open in Bellingham since 1985 so that is about 29 years now – contrary to the website that says it is celebrating its 25th anniversary.

I don’t remember when the turn over happened but one day I went in and a new face was behind the counter. The old veteran had sold the shop with all its contents to a young man who wanted to make the business grow. Mike took over and over the years the shop has grown. In fact Mike since then Mike has opened a second shop called the Senate Smoke Shop in Bellingham. I wrote about my visit to the shop and did a brief review of it already on the blog. The Fairhaven Shop was the mother ship. https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2013/06/18/a-new-smoke-shop-in-bellingham-washington-the-senate-smoke-shop/

I think that the amazing thing to me is the amount of stock and tobaccos that the small shop packs into such a small space. On the back wall behind the counter and in the display case is a large selection of pipes – briars, meerschaums and corn cobs.

There is also a large selection of tobaccos that can be purchased – both bulk house blends and tins and pouches. Mike carries some bulk blends that are readily recognizable – McClellands and Stokkebyes as well as some blends that are house blends of both of his shops. I for one love the open jars that are readily accessible for taking a whiff before purchasing. The tins and pouches are not behind locked doors. The shop really has the feel of an old time pipe and tobacco shop. When you have chosen your blend of tobacco you take the jar to the counter and Mike or his staff weighs out the amount you need and bags and labels it.

The shop also carries a great selection of cigars. These are stored in humidors lining one side of the shop. Fairhaven is the Alaska cruise ship terminal so many of its customers buy cigars to take on the cruise or to celebrate their return. There are old style shop ladders on the sides to access some of the accessories on the shelves around the ceiling of the shop.

Over a series of reproduction Van Gogh’s there are shelves of cigarettes, both typical American brands and specialty and European brands as well. On the bottom shelf there is also a large selection of lighters and even Swan Vesta matches for those of us who love using these old English brand matches to light our pipes.

Their website states that the goal of the shop is to provide the largest selection of premium tobacco products to its customers. I think if you look through the photos in this article you will agree that they have achieved their goals. In speaking with Mike he stated that he is always on the lookout for new blends to bring into the shop and new pipe brands as well. One of the great things about the shop is that they have a fairly large selection of estate pipes in various degrees of repair. There is something for the hobbyist refurbisher of what ever skill level to choose from and restore. There are great options there for even the person considering trying their hand at cleaning up estate pipes. Just ask Mike or one of his sales staff about them. When I was there they climbed the ladder and brought down several boxes of estate pipes. Well worth asking.

It astounds me that in the anti-smoking atmosphere of Washington state that Mike has been able not only to maintain one tobacco shop but to open a second shop in Bellingham’s downtown. If you have never stopped by for a visit I would encourage you to do so. If you have been hankering for a walk down memory lane – memories of old style tobacco shops then visit the Fairhaven Smoke Shop. Say hi to Mike if you do and let him know you read about the shop on rebornpipes!

The hours of operation are Monday – Saturday: 10:00 – 8:00 and Sunday: 11:00 – 7:00. The website gives directions which I have included herein their own words. I love the closing lines of the directions.

“We’re located close to I-5’s Exit 250 (Old Fairhaven Parkway). Travel west on Old Fairhaven Parkway about one mile after the exit. Turn right onto 12th Street. We’re located about two blocks further north on the intersection of 12th & Harris Avenue, look for the large brick building on the southeast corner of the intersection. We’re on the ground floor.

We do not ship tobacco products. It’s illegal in Washington State.

We are a tobacco-only establishment. No herbs, incenses, bath salts, K2, or salvia.”

To contact the shop you can call (360) 647-2379 or email mike@fairhavensmokes.com or you can visit their website http://www.fairhavensmokes.com/index.html. The photos for this article are taken from the site.

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