Author Archives: rebornpipes

A Surprise in this Lot of Pipe Bowls – a BBB Virgin Own Make Billiard

Blog by Steve Laug

This package of pipe bowls to restem arrived this week. There were several surprises in the lot but one that the seller had listed as London Made turned out to be a BBB Virgin Own Make. The stamping had been buffed and was fairly faint but it indeed read BBB under the loupe. The left side of the shank is stamped London Made and the shape number 638. In the photo below it is in the center column the third pipe in the column. It came with a heavy cake and tar buildup on the rim. The bowl had been reamed in the past with a knife but was still fairly round. The chamfer/bevel on the inner rim is what had suffered the damage. The finish was dirty but would clean up fairly easily. Under the grime it appeared to be a beautiful cross grain – birdseye on the front and back of the bowl, on the top and bottom of the shank and cross grain on the sides of the bowl and the shank. It was going to be a beauty once it was cleaned up. The edges on the shank end were clean and undamaged and there were no cracks in the shank. The inside of the shank was also very tarry and caked.

Figure 1 Assorted pipe bowls for restemming

I used a PipNet reamer to ream the bowl and remove the heavy cake build up. I reamed it with a smaller cutting head first and then used the correct size to finish. I wanted to ream it back to bare briar so I patiently worked with the cutting heads until the bowl was clean. The next series of three photos show the reamer in place and the result of the reaming. Look closely at the top of the bowl in the third photo and you will see the damage to the chamfer/bevel on the inner edge of the rim. Also in the photos is the stem I picked out of my can of stems for this pipe. The great thing is that I had a BBB stem in the can that fit well with minimal work on the tenon.

The next photo shows a side view of the pipe. I took this photo because of the great cross grain that is visible on the bowl.

I sanded the tenon with 220 grit sandpaper to remove a thin layer of the vulcanite and make a good fit on the stem. The next two photos show the fit of the stem. I was unable to push it into the shank due to the tar buildup in the shank. Once I cleaned out the shank I would be able to tell if I needed to do a bit more sanding on the tenon.

I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs and Everclear. While I worked on that I also swabbed out the inside of the bowl and the rim with Everclear as well. It took many cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to get the shank clean and ready for the new stem.

When the shank was clean I tried to fit the stem again. It was still a little tight so I set it aside to work on when it was thoroughly dry. I have learned that if I fit it when the shank is wet the fit will be too loose once it dries out. The photo below shows how the stem fit after the cleaning of the shank.

When I returned from work the stem fit perfectly. I did not need to do any more sanding on the tenon. I wiped down the exterior of the bowl and shank with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish and grime from the top of the bowl. I also did some minor adjustments to the shank/stem union as the shank was slightly out of round and needed to have briar removed on the top and left edges to smooth out the union. I used 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge to even out the fit of the stem. The next three photos show the fit of the stem and shank after the work.

I sanded the chamfer/bevel on the inner rim of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to repair and minimize the damage to the rim from the reaming that had been done with a knife. I have found that I can set the folded sandpaper at a set angle and work my way around the inner rim of the bowl repairing the bevel. It takes careful work to get the angles to even out and give a finished look to the repair. The photo below shows the finished chamfer/bevel.

Once the bevel was completed and the shank/stem fit fine-tuned I needed to remove the rest of the finish from the pipe so that I could easily restain it and have a good match on the sanded areas. I sanded the rim and the shank with a fine grit sanding sponge and also with 1500-2400 micromesh. I then wiped the bowl down with acetone wetted cotton pads to remove the finish. The next three photos show the pipe after the wash with acetone. The finish stained acetone cotton pads are in the background.

I sanded the stem and the bowl with a fine grit sanding sponge after the wash to even out the look of the finish and to prepare it for staining. The next three photos show how the sanded portions now blend in with the finish of the bowl and shank. The scratches have been removed and the bowl and shank are ready to be stained.

I decided to begin working on the stem before I stained the bowl. I wet sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-1800 grit. Once I had it started as pictured in the first photo below I changed my mind about sanding the stem further at this point. I restained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain thinned 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. I applied the stain with a cotton swab and then flamed it with my lighter, reapplied the stain and reflamed it until I had the colour and coverage I wanted. Photos 2-4 below show the pipe after staining. I am happy with the blend of the stain on the rim and the sanded area of the shank. The coverage is heavy enough to give a good colour and yet it is not too heavy so that the grain really shines through. I had not buffed the pipe at this point merely stained it and let it sit while I went back to working on the stem.

I went back to sanding the stem with the micromesh sanding pads. I worked through the remaining grits of pad from 2400-12,000. Each successive grit of pad deepened the shine on the stem and progressed to a deep black look. I also sanded the bowl with the micromesh pads. The hardest area to remove the oxidation was around the brass BBB diamond insert. To clean that up I used a Bic lighter and passed the flame over the stem surface quickly and the oxidation burned. I also wet sanded the area with the edge of the sanding pads. To finish that area I also used the Scratch X2.0 plastic polish and then rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. The next three photos show the stem after sanding with the pads.

The final four photos show the finished pipe. There are some dents remaining in the side of the bowl that I steamed to lift but they still show. I tend to leave these on older pipes as signs of their age and character. I love the way the grain stands out on this pipe. The sides show the cross grain. I did not take photos of the ends of the bowl to show the birdseye grain that is situated on them but you can imagine the look from the straight lines of the cross grain. The rim and sanded areas on the shank look well blended in and the bowl smells fresh and ready to use. I am well pleased with how this old beauty turned out and know that it is ready for a life of service.

Cleaning Out the Shank of an Estate Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

Over the years I have been continually looking for better ways of cleaning out the shank of an estate pipe. I have tried and discarded many methods over that time. The one certainty about the cleaning is that it takes many pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and much alcohol. There are no short cuts to cleaning the shank and airway. Nothing takes the place of slow and repetitive cleaning. Even with using a retort, a short cut on one level, the cleaning of the pipe still takes time before and after the retort has been used. I thought it might be interesting to some of you to read about the process in detail. I have written about the cleaning process – with and without the use of a retort.

With a retort

When I clean the shank with a retort I clean the inside of the stem and remove surface grime in the shank and airway. Before setting up the retort I try to remove as much of the surface grime internally as possible. I ream and clean out the bowl to remove any crumbling or breaking cake. I clean out the stem and button as well to give the pipe a relatively clean surface before I set up the retort. Some people use the retort immediately after reaming and leave out the cleaning step that I begin with. I have done it both ways but like the results of my process. The surgical tubing on the retort slides over the button on the stem and if the surface is dirty or has calcified buildup it does not seal well and the boiling alcohol will seep out around the tubing and make a mess. I clean out the inside of the stem to accelerate the cleaning in the shank. Even with pre-cleaning the pipe it often takes multiple uses of the retort to actually remove all of the tars and oils.

To prepare the pipe for the retort, I stuff a cotton boll in the bowl and do not press it down to hard into the bowl. I want it to plug the top so that the boiling alcohol does not come out the top but still allow it to circulate within the bowl and the shank. I use isopropyl alcohol in the test tube of the retort and I heat it over a tea light/small candle. The boiling point is quite low so it does not take long for alcohol to begin to boil. The stem and shank heat up as the alcohol goes through them. When it is removed from the heat the alcohol will be drawn back into the test tube and will be a dark brown. I empty out the dirty alcohol, refill the test tube and repeat the process until the alcohol come out clean. I remove the retort and run cotton swabs and pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol through the stem and the shank to absorb anything that has been left behind. When the pipe dries out it smells fresh and new.

Without a retort

The process of cleaning a shank without a retort begins the same way as the above description. I ream the bowl and clean out the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I use both the bristle and the fluffy pipe cleaners and also shank brushes. The process for cleaning begins with removing the surface grit and grime. This takes many pipe cleaners before they begin to come out semi clean. Then I use the drill bit that is built into the KleenReem reamer and twist it into the shank. It scrapes the sides of the airway all the way into the bowl and removes the tarry buildup. I clean the bit off with alcohol and repeat the process several times until the bit slides through the airway with no impediment. I then wrap a cut pipe cleaner around the drill bit, dip it in alcohol and run it through the shank and airway until it comes out clean. I finish the cleaning process by scrubbing out the shank and the airway with cotton swabs dipped in alcohol and then pipe cleaners folded and unfolded.

Once the pipe cleaners and the cotton swabs come out clean I smell the pipe and shank to see if it smells clean. If not then I stuff cotton bolls in to the bowl tightly. I leave about ¼ inch of clearance from the bowl rim and then fill the bowl with alcohol using an ear syringe. I have found that this keeps the alcohol within the bowl and off the finish of the pipe. I set the pipe in an old ice cube tray that I have and leave it overnight. The alcohol leaches out the oils and tars that are in the shank and bowl. I remove the cotton and wipe out the shank and bowl and repeat the process until the cotton is clean on the next morning. Once that is done the bowl and the shank are cleaned a final time with pipe cleaners and alcohol. The pipe is now ready to be used.

My Pipe Collecting Habits

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I have been reading over the years about different people’s pipe collecting habits and what they look for in buying pipes. It is always a pleasure to read about their finds and purchases and to enjoy the photos of their pipes. I have seen folks beset with what has jokingly been dubbed, PAD (pipe acquisition disorder) who purchase all kinds of stuff seemingly indiscriminately. (I have to admit that when I first discovered Ebay that is pretty much what I did). It has literally taken me years to purge my collection of many of the ones I bid on and won. I have to say that I am glad to say that the majority of them have passed out of my hands either through trades or sales. Since then I am becoming much more selective. I now have focused my pipe purchases, whether on Ebay or through carvers, to 4 different groups. These groups have very different focuses and also very different purposes. By virtue of purpose they also can stay with me for longer or shorter periods of time.

Group 1: Pipes for refurbishing

Figure 1 Assorted pipe bowls for restemming

Figure 2 Assorted bowls for restemming

This is probably the largest portion of pipe buying that I do. In fact I would say that most of the pipes I purchase from thrift shop, antique malls, rummage shops while on the prowl looking for pipes fall into this category. I periodically get emails or personal messages from people who wonder if I keep all the pipes I purchase or if I sell them. To be honest I think my wife and daughters have the same question. But the answer for me is that any pipe is always open to be sold or traded (with very few exceptions). Over the years I have sold, traded and given away hundreds of pipes. As far as I can predict with any certainty that will always be true as long as I am in the hobby. The joy of the hunt and the process of finding and restoring pipes are a large part of the hobby for me.

But truly buying these lots and pipes is an investment for me. So far I have not, nor is it likely that I ever will make a lot of money on these pipes. But that is not the point of the investment. I do not collect pipes like I invest for the future. It is an investment in terms of my education and skill development. Every pipe I purchase that crosses my refurbishing bench is part of my ongoing development as a pipe refurbisher. I love the process of bringing an old pipe back to life but even that is part of learning methodologies and become adept with tools. It is all about becoming skilled and proficient at something I love to do. And if there is no other reason that satisfies at least it gives me a justification for a part of the hobby that I really love.

With that in mind you will better understand that whatever I plan to work on in my skill set is determines to some degree what I purchase.This is somewhat arbitrary and determined by what I find but nonetheless it governs what I buy and work on. But even with that there are layers at work. For example I collected bowls that needed restemming over the past months because I wanted to work on honing my ability to restem and shape stems for a good fit to the shank.I wanted to learn to work with round, saddle, diamond and oval shanked pipes to be able to cut, fit and shape the new stem. Because that was my purpose the brand etc. of the pipe was utterly irrelevant to me. I just wanted a variety of shapes, styles and challenges. It is always a bonus if there is crossover with some of the other part of my collection but the primary purpose is skill training.

I have purchased pipes over the years for the purpose of learning about staining and finishes on bowls. I wanted to learn about application of stains, mixes and blends and even multi layered stains. I wanted to learn to make the grain stand out and how to make the flaws less visible. I wanted to learn how to replace fills and repair dents and damages to the finish of bowls. Because of this purpose I looked for rough-looking pipes that needed TLC to make them shine again. This included bowls that needed topping, finishes that were peeling, bowls that were scratched and dented. Again the purpose was educational rather than building pipes into my permanent collection. If that happens, again it is a bonus.

I have also purchased pipes knowing full well that they had broken shanks for the sole reason of having the opportunity to learn how to repair shanks and fit bands. This involved learning how to repair a cracked shank from within and without, how to repair a shank with a band and without using a band. The point was to learn methods and skills so the purchase of pipes to some degree was a search for those that needed this kind of work.

You get the point of what I am saying, I am sure. For me this aspect of my collecting will be a permanent feature. From it I will sell, trade or gift the majority of the pipes I have repaired or refurbished. All have been learning opportunities. This will also help explain why I take on what often seem to be impossible refurbs – I do it for the challenge and I will definitely build my skill set in the process.

But this is not the sole focus of my pipe collection. It is not the only kind of pipes I purchase. In fact this first group is where I carry on my education for the purpose of refurbishing pipes that will end up in my second group.

Group 2: Pipes from an Early Era

Figure 3 Some of my GBD 9438 pipes and others

This aspect of my pipe collecting is one that I enjoy and which has some definite overlap with Group 1 pipes. I am constantly on the lookout for old-time pipes or just pipe bowls. I work to restem them with an age appropriate stems and bring them back to life. It is something that is relaxing and therapeutic for me in an otherwise busy time of my life. I find that I can unwind and relax while my hands are busy rehabilitating an old pipe. I can listen to books on disk, sermons, music, lectures whatever while I work away at the minute tasks of refurbishing. These pipes often become a part of my permanent collection.

This part of the collection is made up of two larger subsets of pipes – English and North American pipes from days gone by. In both subsets I look for pieces that represent the shapes that I appreciate and are in excellent condition or can be returned to that condition. This means that in both subsets there will be turnover as I find better examples in the course of my refurbishing and in the course of the hunt. This portion of my collection represents about half of my entire collection. It is pretty much equally divided between English and North American. In both I am not looking for newer pipes I am looking for pipes from the late 1800s through the early to mid-1900s. I am looking for signature pieces from that time period made by companies that in many cases have either disappeared with time or have been bought out by others. The briar in these old pipes is generally very good.

In terms of brands that I collect they are as follows. In the English line I collect GBD, BBB, Orlik, Loewe, Simms,Weingott, Barlings, Sasieni, Parker, Friborg&Treyer,Charatan, Comoy’s, Bewlay, older Dunhill, and others. In the North American line I collect old CPF, GFB, WDC, KBB, Kaywoodies, Yello Bole, Dr. Grabow, Barclay Rex, Custom Bilt, Custombilt, Tracy Mincer,Malaga, Blatter and Blatter, Brigham and others.

When I am in the antique shops and malls in the states and in Canada I have an eye out for these kinds of pipes. It is amazing where they turn up and the condition I find them in. I have become picky if they are intended to be keepers for me so I select hard, unless of course, they fit a learning/skill objective that I have set for myself. Even then I choose according to what I want to work on and leave behind some that just do not fit the collection or the objectives.

Group 3: Pipes that are Oddities

Figure 4 Odd Pipe 1 – a British Buttner Bakelite pipe bowl with a clay insert

Figure 5 Odd Pipe 1 – a British Buttner Bakelite pipe bowl with a clay insert

Figure 6 Odd Pipe 2 An LHS system pipe

Figure 7 Odd Pipe 2 An LHS system pipe

Figure 8 Odd pipe 3 a Dr. Plumb Metal

Figure 9 Odd pipe 3 a Dr. Plumb Metal

Figure 10 Odd pipe 4 a Chinese Chicken Wood Dragon

Figure 11 Odd pipe 4 a Chinese Chicken Wood Dragon

Figure 12 Odd pipe 5 a Swedish Broma Nylon Pipe with screw on briar bowl

A third category of pipes that I collect is more accidental than by choice. It is made up of uniques and oddities. For some reason I am drawn to odd pipes that were attempts at finding and ensuring the perfect smoke. The variety of creativity and experimenting intrigues me and I like taking these apart and cleaning them up. They are often more of a collection of historical pieces and are not in the regular rotation. The collection itself is quite indiscriminate and in many ways strange. They are misshapen, built with internal gizmos and gadgets for trapping moisture, made out of alternative woods, metals, Bakelite or other unique materials. But all of them have in common inventive designs that caught my attention. This part of my collection is actually quite small and broad in scope. It contains pipes from England, Scotland, North America, South Africa, Canada, France, Holland, Hungary, China, Nepal, Vietnam, and other places. The oddity of the pipe is what catches me. Again this group is somewhat transient as I look for better examples of the various types of pipes some of the original pieces are sold or given away to make room for better examples. I am always looking to upgrade the pieces that I have so that I can have the best examples that I can find for this group of pipes.

Group 4: Artisan Pipes
This part of my collection is specialized to some degree. I love beautiful hand carved pipes with hand cut stems. In this part of my collection there are pipes from a variety of countries and a variety of artisans. I enjoy having some of them commissioned for me personally and being part of their creation. I also enjoy purchasing some of them directly from the craftsman. In both cases the point for me is to have works of art/hand craft that I enjoy looking at and smoking. In this group are pipes by Stephen Downie, Rad Davis, Oliver Camphausen, Larry Roush, Michael Parks, Tony Fillenwarth, Frank Axmacher, Brad Pohlmann, Paul Bonaquisti, Peter Heeschen, Peter Matzhold, Steve Morrisette, Dan Cheblove, Jack Howell, Trevor Talbert, James Gilliam, Mark Tinsky, John Calich, Blatter Brothers and Jeff Gracik of J. Alan Pipes are just some of the ones that I have examples of in my collection. This is an aspect of collecting that I take seriously and have built up slowly and consistently over the years as I could afford their pipes. It continues to grow and develop as pipes from Group 1 provide the funds for expansion.

As I finish writing this piece, I am struck by the breadth and variety of the pipes in my pipe cupboard. There are many but only a few of them hold places that are at least semi-permanent. I have one simple rule in my collecting – pipes are always for sale for the right price and the right reason. That reason for me is to upgrade and fill out places in the collection.

A Peterson Pipe Finds Its Way Home

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I don’t think I have ever had a pipe I gave a way or sold come back to me years later. Usually they are gone from my radar. I have a record of the pipes I have sold but rarely record the ones I give away. They are gifts and as such the moment they leave my hand they are no longer on my radar. There has been times when I wished they would come home but never truly expected it to happen. That is until yesterday!

The pipe that came home has been there and back again! Its residence with me began when I visited Mike Glukler in Aldergrove many years ago. Periodically I would visit and look through the pipes he had for sale through Briar Blues. This time I looked through and was drawn to a Peterson Special in a rusticated Dublin shape. I checked it out and the purchased it. I brought it home with me and smoked it a couple of times but never quite enjoyed it enough to make it a regular in my rotation. So it sat neglected for a while. On day I was going through my rack and deciding which pipes to sell and which to keep and I came across this one. I almost put it in the “to be sold pile” but instead I cut a new fishtail stem for it. I smoked it more often then.

I have always had a curiosity about the estate pipes that I purchase. I want to find out as much as possible about them. In the case of this Peterson that meant I would contact Mike Leverette. I wanted to get an idea of what I had in my hands. I wanted to know a bit about the age and details of the pipe. Mike was excited when he heard about this pipe. He said he had never seen a Special in this shape. I sent him photos of it and he sent back replies about it that were very helpful to me. I had it in the rack and smoked it occasionally with the new fishtail stem but never truly seemed to reach for it that often.

Through my work I would travel to Atlanta several times a year and stay for a week or more at a time. I always took along pipes and tobacco that I would gift to other pipemen that I would call and meet for a bowl and a chat. I met John Offerdahl and Mike Hagley on some of those trips. But I would always get together with Mike Leverette. He would drive up from his home to Atlanta where I was staying in a hotel by the airport and we would have lunch or dinner together. We would talk about all kind of things – history, Vikings, architecture, pipes, history, pipes. WE kept in touch by email and phone over the years and when he was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery we talked and afterwards we met together. When I was diagnosed with cancer and was scheduled for surgery we talked and met together. Mike was my friend and a kindred spirit in terms of pipes, history, writing and many other things. If you have a picture in your mind of two old gents sitting together over dinner chatting and later adjourning to the open space near my hotel to smoke our pipes and talk some more you have the right image in your mind. I always enjoyed those visits. Several times John Offerdahl would join us for dinner and a pipe. I have missed those visits and conversations since Mike died.

LTR: John Offerdahl, your’s truly, Mike Leverette

It was on one of those trips, quite a few years ago now, that I gave that Peterson’s Special Dublin to Mike when I visited him in Atlanta, Georgia. I remember sitting in an Italian restaurant near the hotel and each of us pulled out our gift pipe and tobacco to exchange. It had become a bit of a ritual with us. We would exchange our gifts before even opening the menu! I remember on this particular occasion Mike gave me two old sandblasted Barling Canadians that needed to be restemmed and a tin of Virginia Flake tobacco. My gift to him was wrapped like most of my presents (at least that is what my daughters tell me) in a grocery bag. When he opened it and took out the Pete Dublin the look on his face was a mixture of surprise and excitement. He turned it over in his hands and read the stamping and commented on the history of the pipe. He took it apart and looked down the long shank and examined the stem. He loved that pipe a lot. I had included a tin of Latakia Flake for him as it was a favourite of his.

We finished our dinner that evening and went back to the hotel and adjourned to the bench out front. He loaded up the pipe with some of his own tobacco and I loaded mine. He smoked it and thoroughly enjoyed the smoke. I am sure there was much more that went on that evening but this is what my memory brings up. That evening was in the pre-cancer days for both of us so we did not have a care in the world or a worry on our minds. I remember a bit of the conversation that evening – we spoke of the route of the Exodus of Israel from Egypt. Mike had done a lot of work on that in a paper he sent me and he wanted some feedback. It was a great evening and we talked and smoked until the sun went down. We parted company that evening both richer for the conversation and friendship. That was the last I saw of the Dublin.

Now jump ahead about 12 or more years. I was on the phone with a buddy who is selling Mike’s pipes for Mike’s widow, Jeanette. We were talking about the pipes in the lot that he was selling. There were several of them that he wanted to send me to recondition and document the process I used on them. As we talked I asked him in passing about the Peterson Special Dublin. I was curious as to what happened to that pipe after Mike died. I told him a bit of the story I have written above. He laughed and said that he happened to have that pipe in his hand at just that moment. I asked him about its condition and what he thought of it. It was at that point he offered to send it back to me. He would call Jeanette and tell her about our conversation and then ask her about the pipe coming back to me. She told him she was more than happy to have it come home! He let me know that it would be shipped out to me soon!

I knew it was coming but not when. Today I came home from work and found a package waiting for me. It was addressed from my buddy in Texas. I excitedly opened it and carefully unwrapped “Mike’s Pipe”. It had come home to Canada. As a kindness my friend had include a small bag of HH Dark Flake tobacco for me to try. I know he had said it was too strong for his liking but the funny thing is I think it is just the tobacco that Mike would have loved. I took the pipe down to my work table and gave it a thorough examination. It was actually in great shape. The cake was minimal, just the way I like it. The finish was in excellent shape with no dings or scratches. There was a little darkening and dust on the rim but that would clean up easily. The stem had some oxidation around the P stamp and on the underside as well (to be honest I think this was there when I gave it to Mike, or at least it looked like I remembered it). There was some small tooth chatter on the top of the stem and on the underside just ahead of the button and the shelf, but none of it was too deep. I decided to clean up the pipe right then. The next three photos show the pipe as it looked when I took it from the box.

I used a Bic lighter and passed the flame over the tooth chatter on the top and underside of the stem. I then sanded it lightly with 1500 grit micromesh to make the tooth marks very visible. I used 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth ridges and remnants left after the heat of the lighter raised the dents. I wet sanded it with the 1500 grit micromesh to smooth out the scratches left by the 220 grit. I also decided to add some white to the stamping on the stem. I use a whiteout pen to do that. I apply the whiteout heavily to the stamping and once it is dried I sand it off with the 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad.

The next series of three photos show the progress of polishing the stem with the micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit. The recoloured stamping is also visible. At this point in the process I scrubbed the top of the bowl with warm water and a tooth brush. The darkening and light build up was easily removed by this method. I then buffed the stem with White Diamond to give it a final polish and lightly buffed the bowl. I buffed the stem with carnauba to protect it from oxidizing and then took the pipe back to my table. I gave the bowl a coat of Halcyon II wax and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. I have found that this keeps the rustication crisp and fresh where a buff on the buffer can flatten the rustication and change the feel in the hand.

The next series of four photos show the rejuvenated pipe. The stem is a bright black and the tooth marks are gone. The bowl and internals are also cleaned and the pipe is ready to load up with the HH Dark Flake and smoke. This pipe will always be “Mike’s Pipe” to me. I raise the bowl in his honour!

Concerning a Vintage Portland London Made – Robert M. Boughton

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It is a pleasure to have another article by Robert Boughton. In this article he demonstrates his skills in the restoration of a Portland Pot shaped pipe. Thanks Robert for your additions to the blog.

The particulars of said pipe being that it is an elegant, very small straight pot (5’’ length with a 1.5” x 1.25” bowl), and is believed by the author to be a BB&S, or Barling, seconded to Topsall Portland
Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton

Introduction
Irish author James Joyce, in a memorable example of poetic license, called his collection of short stories assembled in Dubliners his “little epiphanies.” Rare stones are known as gems. Wise men have written that the smoking pipe is “the poor man’s friend”and“the fountain of contemplation, the source of pleasure, the companion of the wise,” and that it “draws wisdom from the lips of the philosopher, and shuts up the mouth of the foolish.” To me, the moment I first saw on eBay this fine specimen of pipe-making, its simple and classic lines and curves shining through the obvious considerable use by its previous owner(s),“sudden as the spark from smitten steel” I was effected the same as the hammer striking metal in a forge. I had to have this pipe, and for a penny less than $20 it became mine. Knowing nothing at the time of purchase of its possible history, my only desire was to restore the beautiful little pot to its original splendor.

As I sit here on the only piece of comfortable furniture so far moved into my new apartment in a much better and safer part of town than I described in my previous blog, with the morning view of a golf course outside my window, I am smoking in my little Portland pot – now restored to the above-sought condition – a gentle bowl of Stokeby’s 4th Generation 1855 ready-rubbed mixture with its natural Virginia sweetness, and feeling so happy I made the small investment of money and time. Although I am comfortable taking credit for the full restoration of the pipe, this being my first such complete endeavor in the art and craft of such work, I must again give thanks for the collaborative contributions of several friends, in this case Chuck Richards, Hunter Brooks and Leigh Brady, whose parts in the task will be described in time.

Again, when I bought this pipe, I did so without any initial research. By the time it arrived in the mail four days later, however, I had found references online that seem to identify it as a BB&S (Barling’s) second made for a company known as Topsall Portland. Other sources include eBay and the Brothers of Briar. I am satisfied with the pipe regardless of its origins, though, and any better information would be appreciated.

Chuck Richards. Photo © by the Author

Hunter Brooks. Photo © by the Author

Leigh Brady. Photo courtesy of L. Brady

Restoring the Portland

First, there’s the sanding that I expected to reveal a small crack in the top of the shank near the stem, which in fact was my original excuse for the full restoration of the pipe as opposed to the initial refinish I had completed to remove the bad discoloration of the bowl and stem…but after sanding down the entire bowl and shank, the “crack,” I was actually disappointed to discover, was only a mirage created by the old finish.

Then, after the initial setback of discovering there was no need to fill a crack and use a metal band to seal the shank, I micro-meshed the wood:

Following the micro-mesh, I used a light brown leather stain recommended by Chuck, which I found at Hoffmantown Shoe and Boot Repair, after which Hunter at Stag Tobacconist(owing to my lack of supplies and equipment) buffed the bowl with Red Tripoli Wax and the stem with White Tripoli.
I bought a very cheap wheel buffer to apply Halcyon II Wax, which gave the pipe a decent but still somewhat wanting finish.

Chicago Electric Mini Grinder/Buffer

Finally, I tackled the hardest, and therefore most satisfying, task of micro-meshing the stem where it connected to the shank, which appeared to have been replaced at some point during the pipe’s long life. By my estimate, this Portland London Made pot was crafted no later than the 1960s. Perhaps this accounts in large part to my dread of fitting the stem to the shank, a job that even I could feel was necessary to call the overall work a full restoration but which I approached with considerable trepidation for fear of overdoing this step – and in so doing botching the entire effort! But, at Chuck’s insistence, I applied gentle, patient micro-meshing and at last achieved the desired effect. Again I am indebted to Chuck’s guidance, without which my own inclination to put the helpless stem to the wheel almost surely have obliterated all of my hard work!

The next Friday night, at our weekly pipe club meeting, I presented the pipe for scrutiny by my fellow members. I was gratified by Chuck’s initial pronouncement, which was a simple “Nice!” but even more so for his almost immediate observation that I had attached the stem upside-down – and his final contribution of a quick carnauba Wax spin on the shop’s high-speed buffer wheel as well as a small amount of beeswax to tighten the loose stem, rendering the following finished product:

Conclusion
It is with a sense of humility and responsibility for the admitted first attempt at such a work that I present this finished product to the pipe smoking world at large for its final judgment and, I hope, suggestions for how to approach future restorations.

My final word of appreciation is owed to Leigh, a fine British friend and fellow lifelong member of the Stag Pipe Club, for his contribution concerning this pipe’s possible history being linked to the Great Portland Street of London, which he wrote in an email is known for its tobacconists as well as being “very close geographically to the famous Baker Street which was the choice of abode for the great Sherlock Holmes.”

Experiencing a New Smoke Shop in Bellingham, Washington – The Senate Smoke Shop

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Blog by Steve Laug

For many years now I have been making the trek from Vancouver, British Columbia into the US to Bellingham, Washington to visit a pipe shop in old Bellingham, a place called Fairhaven. The shop is called the Fairhaven Smoke Shop and is located at 1200 Harris Avenue Suite 100 Bellingham, Washington. When I first started visiting shop 15-18 years ago it was operated be an older gent who seemed like he could have cared less if he had customers, but he had a huge assortment of estate pipes and some great older tobaccos. I got to know him over the years and enjoyed his company. About 8 years ago a young fellow – mid 20’s bought the shop and took over. I had visions of it becoming yet another head shop! But you got to give him credit. He kept it as a pipe and tobacco shop (mind you he added the typical glass pipes and hookahs). He upgraded the shop layout and look, added new pipes and tobaccos and continued in the tradition of a pipe shop. He set up a web presence at http://fairhavensmokes.com/ I really expected the place to shrivel up and disappear in the anti-smoking environment of Washington State. But instead it seems to have done well.

On Saturday I made the trip to Bellingham once again. I really was hoping to get a side trip over to Fairhaven but we did not have time to visit the shop on this trip. My wife and I brought along two of our daughters for the day. Whenever we are in Bellingham my wife and I always visit a little coffee and donut shop on Holly St. called Rocket Donuts so we wanted to show it to the girls. As we made our way to the shop my youngest daughter pointed up the street to a sign that said The Senate Tobacconist and Smoke Shop. I have walked down that street for over 20 years and I had never seen that shop. You know how sometimes you wonder if you missed seeing something because you were focused on other things? That is what crossed my mind when she pointed out the shop. My wife and the girls went in for coffee and donuts but needless to say, I had to go check out the shop.

In a world in which more and more head shops with glass pipes, bongs and the like are replacing the old bona fide tobacconist shops I had really low expectations about this shop. I walked up the street toward it and paused to read the sandwich board on the street. As yet I had not looked in the window. I have to say the sign had elements of both hopefulness and resignation in its words – hopeful: tobacco at the top of the list, and cigars – resignation: herbs and glassware. Before getting to the shop I had already made up my mind as to what I could expect when I entered. Glassware! Herbs! Sheesh, it was almost like experiencing again what I had experienced when the Tinderbox Tobacco Shops became glorified gift shops that also sold tobacco and cigars. So was this going to be a head shop that also sold a few cigars and some tobacco? I tell you what, I almost turned and went back to the coffee and donuts. I really did not want yet another disappointment.

But my curiosity got the better of me and I shrugged my shoulders and went over to the window and looked in. I fully expected a typical smoke shop/paraphernalia shop but what I saw was not that. I could not believe my eyes. The glassware was not that visible and what I saw through the window was a pipeman’s feast – lots of display cases with pipes and tins and jars of bulk tobacco front and center. Then in the back, away from the window were bookcase style humidors with many cigar choices. Off to the side in the corner was the collection of glassware. To be honest I never went over to that corner to have a look. It is truly amazing in this day and age to see a shop like this in my neck of the woods. This was a fully-fledged tobacconist!

I opened the door and went in. I laugh now, but I must have looked like a kid in a candy shop. I eyed the open topped display case of tins and pouches of tobacco for sale on my left. I looked at the brands of tobacco that were carried and available and was pleased to see many of my favourite blends. I proceeded down the display counters on the left and looked at pipes – Vauen, Peterson, Ascorti, Big Ben, Stanwell, Butz-Choquin and others beautifully laid out for the buyer to see. There were both briars and meerschaums of every shape and size and price range. The display cases were well lit and the pipes were well displayed. It was a briar feast for the eyes. I only wish I had had more time to look things over more carefully. I walked past the cash register and the Three Brass Monkeys on display in front of it, past the tobacco scales on the counter to have a look at the bulk tobacco selections. There was an unbelievable array of blends – Aromatics, Virginias, English and some straight blending tobaccos – Latakia and Perique. There were even some cigarette cut tobacco. I went through the well labeled Virginia, Virginia Perique and English blends and took each lid off to have a good sniff of the blend in the jars. I skipped over the aromatics – chocolate, raspberry, cherry, vanilla, mocha, caramel and other mixtures with edible names as it has been a long time since I smoked them. I could easily have spent more time going through the many blends that were carried by the shop. As I was only in Bellingham for one day I could only purchase a 100 gram pouch and hope to not get dinged with duty at the border. But I would be back!

I wandered through the cigar humidor sections – I loved the cherry wood cabinets that each housed cedar lined walls and shelves and a humidor unit so that each glass doored cabinet was a sealed unit. The only thing missing that I could see were the Cubans that we have in Canada. There were all kinds of cigars and all kinds of sizes. I am pretty cigar ignorant but the selection seemed to cover a wide range of country of origin, price, blend and style.

I went back to the bulk tobaccos and picked the blend I had chosen, a Dark English – Virginias, Stoved Virginias, Latakia, Orientals and Perique and carried the jar to the scale to have the proprietor weigh it out and bag it up for me. To my surprise the gent behind the counter was the same fellow who had purchased the old Fairhaven Shop, now eight years older. He recognized me and remembered our first meeting many years earlier when he had given me two tins of Erinmore Flake on a visit I made to the shop. I asked him how that shop was doing and he said it was doing well. I asked him when he had opened the Senate and why. He responded that he had always wanted a shop in this area and had opened the doors four months earlier. Business was doing well and he loved the new location. We had a great visit and I asked him about several tobaccos that he did not have. He said he would order them in. I paid for my tobacco and a couple of bundles of pipe cleaners before I headed out the door. I am looking forward to another longer visit soon.

If you find yourself in the Bellingham area, I would heartily recommend that you stop by the shop and have a visit. The shop is called the Senate and is located at 215 West Holly Street, Suite H-20. The phone number is 360-756-7552. It has a great selection of pipes and cigars as well as house blends and tinned tobacco to purchase. The proprietor Mike Waters is a great guy – personable, knowledgeable and genuinely interested in serving the pipe and cigar smoking public. Stop by and say hi. In this anti-smoking state of Washington in the anti-smoking climate of our world it was great to see a new tobacco shop open its doors. It was encouraging to see this young fellow doing well enough in his first shop to open this second one. The store will have a web presence soon as the shop website, http://www.senatecigar.com is under development. Check it often as Mike says that the full site will be open soon. Who knows we may run into each other at the shop. Until then enjoy your pipe!

Steve Laug
06/17/13

Tobacco Review – Burlington on Whyte’s Montego Bay Blend

Reworking a Mastercraft Custom Deluxe Billiard and Removing Mold

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Blog by Steve Laug

This old Mastercraft billiard is the second pipe of the threesome that was sent to me last week as a gift. In his email asking if I wanted them he said they were either going to the rubbish bin or to me so I was not surprised when I opened the box and unpacked them. It had some nice looking grain underneath all of the grime and peeling varnish. But this one was in very rough shape. The stem was chewed in half so there was not enough to save. The inner tube apparatus inserted into the stem looked like it had been destroyed and then somebody bent it close to shape and cut a X cut in the end of the tenon so that it would fit into the stem. The shank was grimy and dark with a white mold residing inside both the bowl and the shank. The pipe reeked of mold. The bowl itself had a heavy but broken cake underneath the mold. It had a coat of varnish that was spotty and peeling where it was worn off the briar. In those worn spots the briar was almost black. The rim was also in very bad shape. The front was burned down from repeatedly lighting the pipe in the same spot with a torch. The back side of the rim looked like it had been scraped on concrete or hammered out on concrete because it was worn and broken down. The three photos below (I apologize for the poor quality – still getting used to this new camera!) show the state of the bowl and stem.

I sorted through my stems and found two options that I thought might work on the pipe. The first one was an acrylic saddle stem that I thought might look good with the bowl (pictured in the first photo below). I turned the tenon and fit it to the pipe but did not like the proportion of the stem and shank length. I then took the second stem – a shorter, straight tapered stem and fit it to the pipe (pictured in the second – fourth photo below). It looked like it belonged on the pipe so my choice was made. It was an old previously used vulcanite stem from my collection of old pre-used stems that I collect. This one would take some work as it was oxidized and had a calcified buildup around the button area. It was also clogged and the slot was plugged to a small pin hole. But it had the right look so it would be worth cleaning up.

I set the stem aside and worked on the bowl. I reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer to get rid of the cake and the mold. I cleaned the reamer with alcohol before putting it away. I cleaned the bowl and the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and Everclear to remove as much of the tars and oils and moldy smell as possible.

When I finished it still smelled moldy, but I had several plans in mind for addressing that. But first I topped the bowl with my usual flat board and 220 grit sandpaper. I place the bowl rim down flat against the sandpaper and work in it a circle to remove the damage on the rim. This one took quite a bit of work to even out the top and get rid of the damage from the burn on the front side of the rim and the roughened back edge done by beating the pipe against concrete. I sanded it, repeatedly checking to see if I was removing enough of the damage to get a sharp edge on the bowl. On the outer rim next to the shank there was a chunk of briar missing that I would try to minimize after topping the bowl. I was able to remove all of the damage of the burned area and most of the damage of the battering the old pipe had taken. The rim looked good. I used a folded piece of sand paper to work on the inside edge of the rim and clean up the damage that was done there and keep the bowl in round.

I wiped the exterior of the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the grime and the finish that remained. I repeated this until I could not remove any more finish or grime. The next two photos show the wipe downed bowl.

I placed the bowl in an alcohol bath for several hours while I worked on the stem and worked on several other old pipes that I have on the go. When I took it out of the bath, I dried it off with a cotton cloth and scrubbed it with a tooth-brush dipped in alcohol from the bath. I dried it again to check on the finish. There were still several spots where the varnish remained – the shank and the bottom of the bowl. One benefit of the bath was that the glue softened on the over pressed band and I was able to remove it from the shank. I sanded and scrubbed the old glue off the shank and sanded the bowl with a fine grit sanding sponge. I wiped it down with another acetone cotton pad. It still needed to soak a bit longer to finish breaking down the varnish that remained. While it soaked I cleaned up the silver band with silver polish and the jeweler’s polishing cloth. Under all the tarnish I found that the band was stamped Sterling.
I removed the bowl from the alcohol soak and dried it off. I used a lighter to burn off the alcohol from inside the bowl and the shank. I then recleaned the inside of the bowl and the shank with Everclear and many more pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. The amount of tars and sticky oils and grit that came out of the shank was incredible. It was no wonder that the pipe still reeked like mold. The next series of three photos show the pipe after soaking and sanding.

I scoured the shank until it was fairly clean and then set up a retort to do a more thorough clean. The retort sends vaporized alcohol into the bowl and shank and in essence boils out the grime with hot alcohol. As the alcohol cools it returns to the tube and with it the grime and oils from the pipe. I repeated the retort three times on the pipe until the alcohol came out clean. I then took apart the pipe and cleaned out the shank with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs a third time. There was even more oil and grime that came out of the shank. I cleaned off the surface with an acetone wipe and then reset the silver band with Weldbond glue. I turned it so that the Sterling stamp was on the top of the shank and pressed it on to the shank until it was even with the edge of the shank. Weldbond dries fairly quickly to touch so that the band would not be loosened when I went on to the next step in my cleaning process.

After removing the retort I cleaned the bowl and shank. Yet even more grime came out. I put the stem back on and took the four photos below to show the state of the pipe at this point. I did this more for an encouragement to me as this one was proving a difficult rework. The photos gave me a picture of what I was aiming for in cleaning this one up. If I lose sight of that it will end up in the bin as rubbish.

When the alcohol dried in the bowl and the visual showed a clean bowl and shank I took a sniff of the bowl. After all of this work the moldy smell still was present in the bowl and shank. This called for more drastic measures. I used the Dremel with a sanding drum on it and sanded the inside of the bowl until the briar was bare and clean. Then I filled the bowl with salt and alcohol to leach out the oil from the inside of the bowl and shank. My hope was that in doing this I would also kill the stench. I plugged the shank with a cork, filled the bowl with kosher rock salt (I was out of my normal cotton bolls) and set it up on an old ice-cube tray. I used an ear syringe to fill the bowl with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I set it aside and went to bed to let the treatment do its work while I was sleeping. The two photos below show the bowl after filling with alcohol.

In the morning the salt was a dark brown as pictured below. I emptied the now darkened salt and dried out the inside of the bowl by flaming the alcohol with my lighter. It still smelled like mold though the smell was definitely losing strength.

I cleaned out the button area of the stem with the dental pick and then ran several bristle pipe cleaners through it and then followed up with regular pipe cleaners. I soak both in Everclear to clean out the stem. I then sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification that was all over the stem. I also gave the stem a quick sand all over with the 220 grit to remove the top oxidation. I ran the flame from the Bic lighter over the surface to burn off the oxidation. It did a great job of removing what I had loosened with the sandpaper. I continued sanding it with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the remaining oxidation. I rubbed down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside with the bowl while I went off to work. The Obsidian Oil sat on the stem and soaked in for the 9 hours I was at work.

I refilled the bowl with salt and put a cork in the shank. I again used the ear syringe to fill the bowl with alcohol and set it aside to work on the stem. It too sat for the nine hours I was at work.

When I got home from work the stem looked quite good. It was significantly more black and the oxidation was gone except around the stem shank union. More work to do there. The salt was a dark brown, but slightly lighter than the first treatment. I dumped out the salt and cleaned out the bowl and shank with cotton swabs again. When I finished the smell was better but present nonetheless. I cleaned out the bowl with alcohol and cotton swabs again.

I needed another bit of encouragement at this point so I decided to stain the pipe with a dark brown aniline stain cut 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. I applied the stain, flamed it and then buffed it on with Tripoli and White Diamond (photos 1-4 below). The brown did a fair job of coverage but I would need to give it a second coat of stain using a oxblood colour to do some blending with the dark areas on the bowl.

I worked on the stem with fine grit sanding sponges and 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. There were some minor tooth dents that still showed up so I passed over them with a Bic lighter and was able to raise them. More sanding was needed and I repeated the sanding described above.

Once the bowl dried out it still smelled so I decided to repeat the salt and alcohol treatment a third time. I filled the bowl with salt and isopropyl and set it aside over night (photo 1 below). In the morning the salt was little lighter brown this time (photos 2-3 below). I dumped the salt out and cleaned the bowl and shank again. This time the cotton swabs came out fairly clean. I flamed the inside of the bowl. Once the bowl dried out it still smelled so I decided to repeat the salt and alcohol treatment again. I filled the bowl with salt and isopropyl and set it aside over night. In the morning the salt was once again a dark brown. I dumped the salt out and cleaned the bowl and shank again. This time the cotton swabs came out fairly clean. I flamed the inside of the bowl. Though the inside of the bowl and the shank was very clean the musty smell still remained, though less prevalent. This was one stubborn pipe bowl to clean.

While the inside of the bowl dried out I decided to restain the bowl. For the second/top coat I used a oxblood stain. I applied it and wiped it off (first photo below). The coverage this time was much better. The dark reddish stain blended well and covered the dark areas of the bowl. The finished colour is a nice older deep reddish brown look (second-fourth photos below).

I decided to sand back the inside of the bowl yet again. I used the Dremel with the sanding drum a second time. When I was finished the inside of the bowl was very clean and fresh looking. The smell was still there. I stuffed the bowl with cotton bolls and then used an ear syringe to fill it with white vinegar and set it in the ice-cube tray to let it work. I have used that in the past to remove stubborn ghosts so I thought I would give it a try on this one.

While the bowl soaked I worked on the stem with the remaining grits of micromesh sanding pads – 3200-12,000 to bring back the deep shine on the stem. Sanding them with the higher grits of micromesh really gives a deep shine to the stem. It is amazing to see the difference between each of the successive grits of micromesh. I did not take photos of the steps as almost all of my refurbishing posts have shown the polishing process with the micromesh. The next two photos show the finished stem. Once the bowl is finished I will buff the bowl and stem with White Diamond and then give the whole a buff with multiple coats of carnauba wax to polish.

Once the vinegar had soaked in the bowl for several hours I removed the cotton boll and dried out the bowl. I then used a Dremel with a sanding drum to sand back the sides of the bowl yet again. This time I extended the diameter of the bowl to get rid of the surface area of the bowl interior. Once I was finished with the Dremel I hand sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the small ridges left behind by the drum sanding. The last two photos in this sequence show the newly sanded bowl.

I took the bowl outside and put it in the bright sun on my patio. I wanted to let the heat and the UV rays from the sun do more work on the potential mold in the bowl. The evening is cooling down and the sun is no longer as warm. I brought in the bowl and wiped down the inside of the bowl and shank with an alcohol based anti bacterial wipe. I took it to the buffer and gave the whole pipe a buff with White Diamond. I then gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean flannel buff. The pipe is like new and it SMELLS GREAT. I finally beat the moldy smell. The final four photos show the finished pipe.

Beautifying a Sasieni Mayfair

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Blog by Steve Laug

Yesterday I picked up this beautiful little Sasieni Mayfair. It is stamped Mayfair on the left side of the shank and London Made on the right side. The bowl was tarry with a sticky aromatic and the top had been burned on the front side and then poorly topped to get rid of the burn. This left the bowl slanted toward the front side where the burn had been. The rim was also covered with the aromatic goo. The stem was tight but I was able to remove it from the bowl at the shop and found the typical stinger apparatus intact. It was a flat metal blade that ended in a round tube that inserted into the tenon. The tube was slotted to allow the smoke to pass into the airway of the stem. The stem was slightly oxidized and had a tooth mark on the top and the bottom of the stem. Other than those things it was a nice piece of briar and the finish was actually in excellent shape. There were several small sandpits on the bottom of the bowl but they did not detract from the beauty. The shape is kind of a cross between a Prince and a Rhodesian. The shank is a pencil shank. Dimensions for this little pipe are: length 5 ½ inches, height 1 ¼ inches, bowl diameter ¾ inches, bowl depth ¾ inches, shank diameter 3/8 inches. The two photos below show the pipe as it was when I found it. We went for supper at a Mexican Restaurant and I took these photos on the table top.

This morning I went to work on it. I took the following photos on my work table. The first three show the externals of the pipe. The damage on the rim is visible as is the state of the bowl. In the third photo note the angle of the bowl top in comparison to the one above it in the second photo. The angles are different and the bowl top is slanted toward the left and the front of the bowl.

I took the pipe apart to check on the internals and remove the stinger apparatus. The next two photos show the top and bottom of the stinger. It is also clear in these two photos the damage to the right inside edge of the rim as well. It is slightly out of round.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using two different cutting heads. I start with one size smaller than the diameter of the bowl to start the reaming. I then follow-up using the correct size cutting head in the bowl. I find that it is easier to cut the cake carefully and not do any further damage to the roundness of the bowl.

Topping the bowl on this one was a bit tricky. I needed to take down the back left side of the rim and even out the back side of the rim without removing any from the front edge. I used the flat hard surface that I always use for topping. I held the bowl with the back side pressed into the sandpaper and the front edge off the paper. I move the bowl right to left across the sandpaper checking to see the effect (photo 1 below). I did not want to make the top worse than it already was. Once I had the back left and right sides even and the front and the back even I was ready to do a slight topping on the bowl to even it up neatly (photo 2 below).

At this point I sanded the top a little more to clean off the burn damage on the front of the bowl. Once I had that minimized I sanded the top with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge until the scratch marks were gone. I also used the Dremel to even out the diameter of the bowl and bring it back into round.
I then removed the stinger apparatus and cleaned it with alcohol and cotton pads. I picked the slot clean with the dental pick. I did not intend to use it on the pipe once it was clean so I put it away in case I sold the pipe and the new owner wanted the stinger.

I set up the retort and filled the test tube with isopropyl alcohol and boiled out the inside of the bowl and stem. The next four photos show the set up and the process. I heat the alcohol with a tea candle and once the alcohol has cooled from the boil it returns back to the test tube and carries the oils and tars of the bowl and shank with it. I repeated this process twice.

I cleaned up after the retort with pipe cleaners and Everclear. Both the stem and the shank were cleaned of all the internal grime. The pile of pipe cleaners in the picture below show the sheer volume of pipe cleaners used in cleaning up after the retort. Once this was finished the interior of the shank and stem were clean and pipe cleaners came out pristine.

It was time to work on the stem. I ran the flame of a Bic lighter across the tooth marks on the topside and bottom side of the stem until they lifted. I then sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the remaining signs of the marks. And then I sanded the entire stem with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the oxidation and to deal with the scratch marks from the sandpaper.

I stained the top of the bowl with dark brown aniline stain that I thinned 2:1 with isopropyl to match the colour of the bowl and shank. I flamed it and then repeated the process until the colour was an exact match to the rest of the pipe.

I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the bowl with White Diamond to shine up the bowl and the newly stained rim. I also buffed the stem with Tripoli and White Diamond at the same time to further shine the stem. The four photos below show the buffed and polished bowl and stem after the White Diamond buff.

I took the pipe back to my desk and sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I worked through the various grits of micromesh from 1500-12,000 to polish the stem.

I gave the entire pipe another buff with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it to a shine with a clean flannel buff. The final four photos show the finished pipe.

Refinished Rims and Touch-Ups – Alan Chestnutt

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A while ago Alan posted this on Smokers Forums and I kept a copy of it. We spoke of the process and how well it worked. Since then I have been hunting for them in my area and so far no luck. I thought I would post Alan’s piece so that you all could read it and give it a try. Let us know how it works.

When restoring pipes, I nearly always like to refinish the rim. I think a nice clean sharp rim always sets a pipe off. As well as this it is just as easy to sand and refinish a rim as to try to remove tar and staining to the old rim. One of the problems though in refinishing a rim is trying to match the stain to the rest of the bowl. I always shied away from getting leather dyes, simply because you would need to be artist to be able to correctly mix all the differing shades.

I always remember my grandfather staining shoes and the smell of the dye always lingered in my brain. In more recent times that memory was triggered when smelling a sharpie marker, so my thoughts were that it must contain a similar alcohol based dye. I used a sharpie a few years ago to restain a black sandblast bowl and it worked a treat. “If only they were available in shades of brown” I thought to myself.

So while walking through a local discount store a few months ago, I spied furniture repair markers. Exactly what I had been thinking of.

They come in 5 shades of brown plus black and cost £2 (about 3 bucks). I couldn’t wait to get home and try them. They are a chisel shape marker and apply a translucent stain exactly like an alcohol dye. Perfect! With the variety of shades a match can be made 99% of the time by application of a couple of coats or moving to the next darker shade. Simply cover the rim by wiping the marker over it and a few seconds later remove the excess with a soft cloth.

A refinished Tilshead rim.

They are excellent for touch ups on other areas of the pipe and I often use them to just refinish the whole pipe to brighten up the grain. Needless to say I acquired a few more packs, but I have refinished literally hundreds of pipes and I am still on my first pack. Simple to use, no mess, a variety of shades and cheap. I class them as my best purchase ever for restoring pipes, so keep your eyes open for them. Available on eBay too, but at a premium.

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