Blog by Al Jones

I’m a big fan of the pre-transition era Sasieni “Four Dot” pipes. This era was from 1946 to 1979 and while that makes a precise dating impossible, I’ve found them to be very well made and excellent smoking pipes. This Grosvenor Ruff Root Bulldog showed up on Ebay last week, complete with small and somewhat fuzzy photographs. From what I could see, the pipe looked solid and it pretty much flew under the radar. When the pipe arrived, it was easy to see that I had made a wise choice. The stem was only slightly oxidized with no teeth marks or other damage. The nomenclature was very clear and complete. The first picture was from the eBay ad.

I own a Sasieni Grosvenor Walnut, an “S” model, which indicates the tapered stem. But, my favorite pipes are Bulldog or Rhodesians with a tapered stem.

The bowl had only a slight cake and the shank was very clean. I carefully reamed the cake out and soaked the bowl with some alcohol and sea salt.

I polished the stem with 800 grit paper, then 1500 and 2000 grade wet paper. Then I moved to the 8000 and 12000 grade micromesh paper, also wet. The stem was lightly buffed with white diamond. I’ve learned that the light blue Sasieni stem dots can fade over time, but the color of these dots was perfect.

I polished the bowl by hand with some Halycon wax and the pipe was complete, a very easy restoration.

If you follow my restorations on Steve’s blog, you already know I love the Rhodesian shapes made by classic British pipe makers. I have a “Holy Grail” list of desired shapes and marques. The GBD 9242 has been at the top of that list for three years. In the past few years, this shape has been hotly contested and infrequently sold. I had resigned to myself that the probability of finding one, within my means, was slim. This week, a somewhat tired New Standard grade 9242 was listed and I was surprised to win the auction at a modest price. The pictures were fuzzy and showed it would need a lot of work. The stem did look quite promising and I hoped the tars and cake build-up on the bowl top would come off. The nomenclature, button, rondell and bowl beading all looked to be in very good condition.

I used some distilled water and a rag to remove the tars from the bowl top, which did come off. That revealed a few dents and dings. I then removed the cake with my Castleford reamer and was pleased to find some very solid wood inside the bowl and a nicely drilled pipe. The shank was filthy inside and required a lot of cleaning with brushes and alcohol.

I worked on removing or minimizing some of the dings and marks on the briar. I used a kitchen knife, heated with a propane torch and a wet rag to steam out the dents. Some of the crease could not be removed, but I was able to minimize them.

The bowl and shank were then packed with sea salt and alcohol to soak. The bowl and shank came out very clean inside, which should help reduce any ghosts. The stem was soaked in a mild Oxyclean solution, with a dab of grease on the rondell.

After the bowl soak was complete, I started to work on the stem. It had a pretty rough layer of oxidation near the button and I used 600 grit wet paper on that area. Then, progressively, I used 1000>1500 and finally 2000 grade wet paper on the rest of the stem, button and crease. Miraculously, the stem only had some mild teeth chatter under that oxidation. I then moved to Micromesh sheets in 8000 and 12000 grades. The stem was then polished, mounted on the pipe, with White diamond rouge (lightly!). The briar was also polished with White Diamond, but I was careful to stay away from the all important (to me) nomenclature.

Below is a comparison shot with a GBD 9438 New Standard. The 9438 weighs 55 grams and my scale shows the 9242 comes in at 45 grams. Now I can see why this shape was so appealing to me, and others. That tapered shank and stem really make the pipe.

The pipe still has a few “character marks”, but I’m quite pleased to add this one to my collection. A piece I thought was almost unattainable.

The iconic GBD 9438 saddle stem Rhodesian is one of my favorite shapes. I really wasn’t on the look out for an additional 9438, but this Century model was one I didn’t have and the asking price was too good to pass up.

According to Pipepedia, the Century model was released starting in 1950 and had “A golden finish created to celebrate over a century of manufacturing the finest briar pipes.” The finish is somewhat unique among my other GBD’s, so that description is apt.

The pipe was in pretty good shape. It had a little rim darkening, one dent on the bowl top and an oxidized stem. The rondell looked to be in good condition. There were two teeth indentions, one on each side of the stem.

I reamed the bowl of the slight cake and soaked it with isopropyl alchohol and sea salt, sharing space with a Comoys Tradition I was also working to complete. The stem was soaked in a mild Oxyclean and water solution with a dab of grease over the rondell to protect it.

I worked on the bowl top dent, which was really a small crease. Using a heated table knife and a wet cloth, I was able to steam most of the dent out.

Being careful around the weak nomenclature (but 100% legible with the naked eye), the bowl was buffed lightly with white diamond and then several coats of Carnuba wax. The rim darkening was some build-up and I was able to minimize it.

I used heat to lift the two teeth marks. The one on top was removed completely and the one below reduced to just a wave mark. I started removing the stem oxidation with 800 grit wet paper and then moved thru 1000, 1500 and 2000 grades. I used the 8000 and 12000 grade Micromesh papers before going to the buffing wheel. The stem was buffed lightly with White Diamond and then Meguiars Plastic Polish.

Below is the completed pipe, it will make a welcome to my rack of existing 9438 shapes. I thought this was number Seven, but it turns out that I have eight 9438’s in various finishes/grades. Factory made GBD pipes are now known for their grain, but this one has a nice little splash on the rondell side.