Category Archives: Pipe Refurbishing Essays

Essays and pictorial essays on the art of refurbishing

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s Irish Whiskey 338 Bent Billiard

by Steve Laug

This particular Peterson’s sandblast pipe was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It really is another beautiful smaller Bent Billiard with a gentle curve to the shank and stem. The bowl is sandblasted and stained with a contrast of browns. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] Irish Whiskey [over] the shape number 338 [over] Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of thick lava in the sandblast rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish and dust and debris the sandblast. There was a triple ring band on the shank – two brass sandwich a flat yellow band. The vulcanite bent taper stem has the gold “P” logo on the left side. It was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the thick lava on the sandblast rim top and inner edge. He also captured the condition of the stem showing the oxidation, calcification and tooth chatter and oxidation on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain in the sandblast. It is a beautiful bowl. It is nice looking bent billiard and one is eye catching. Have a look. The next photos Jeff took show the stamping on a smooth portion on the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in places but still readable as noted above.I looked in my usual spots on Pipephil’s Stamping and Logo site as well as Pipedia to see what I could find on the Irish Whiskey line. There was nothing on either of those sites that I could find on the line.

I googled the Peterson’s Irish Whiskey Line and found a link to the line on Mark Irwin’s Peterson’s Pipe Notes site (https://petersonpipenotes.org/sweet-petes-a-2015-gallery/). I turned to that and found the following information. I quote

The Irish Whisky line was available from 1997 to about 2005, and while the smooth finish was nice, the rustic has always popped for me and other Pete Nuts. When I saw not one but two of the rustic P-Lip Chubby 107s within a few weeks, I was amazed. Someday one will come around at the right time!

I then turned to The Peterson Pipe by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg. There on page 304 I found this information.

Irish Whiskey (1997-2005) Tan polished finish or sandblast line with brass domed double ring band, P-lip or fishtail mouth piece with brass P.

This gave me information regarding the date of the line. It was available between 1997-2005 and the description fit the pipe I have in hand. It is a sandblast pipe with the bands as described and a taper P-lip with a brass P logo on the left side of the stem.

I did find a shape chart on the Pipedia site (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson) that had the shape number 338 shown on it. I have drawn a red box around the shape on the second row of the chart below.Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and took it back to briar. He then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the remaining oxidation. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were. The rim top and bowl look good. There is some slight damage in the blasted rim top on the back of the bowl.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is faint but readable. I took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe.The bowl was in such good condition after the clean up that I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the plateau and sandblast portions. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth chatter and light marks on the underside of the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian after each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. This Republic Era Peterson’s Irish Whiskey 65 Bent Billiard with three rings on the shank and a vulcanite taper stem with a P logo on the left side turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the grain in the sandblast around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in `excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s Irish Whiskey 65 Bent Billiard is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 46 grams/1.62 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Irish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

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

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s Irish Whiskey 65 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

This particular Peterson’s sandblast pipe was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It really is another beautiful smaller Bent Billiard with a gentle curve to the shank and stem. The bowl is sandblasted and stained with a contrast of browns. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] Irish Whiskey [over] the shape number 65. That is followed Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of thick lava in the sandblast rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish and dust and debris the sandblast. There was a triple ring band on the shank – two brass sandwich a flat yellow band. The vulcanite bent taper stem has the gold “P” logo on the left side. It was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the thick lava on the sandblast rim top and inner edge. He also captured the condition of the stem showing the oxidation, calcification and tooth chatter and oxidation on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain in the sandblast. It is a beautiful bowl. It is nice looking bent billiard and one is eye catching. Have a look. The next photos Jeff took show the stamping on a smooth portion on the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in places but still readable as noted above. I looked in my usual spots on Pipephil’s stamping and logo site as well as Pipedia to see what I could find on the Irish Whiskey line. There was nothing on either of those sites that I could find on the line.

I then turned to The Peterson Pipe by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg. There on page 304 I found this information.

Irish Whiskey (1997-2005) Tan polished finish or sandblast line with brass domed double ring band, P-lip or fishtail mouth piece with brass P.

I did find a shape chart on the Pipedia site (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson) that had the shape number 65 shown on it. I have drawn a red box around the shape on the second row of the chart below.Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and took it back to briar. He then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the remaining oxidation. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were. The rim top and bowl look good. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is faint but readable. I took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe.The bowl was in such good condition after the clean up that I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the sandblast. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian after each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. This Republic Era Peterson’s Irish Whiskey 65 Bent Billiard with three rings on the shank and a vulcanite taper stem with a P logo on the left side turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the grain in the sandblast around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in `excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s Irish Whiskey 65 Bent Billiard is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 38 grams/1.31 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Irish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

New Life for an Edward’s 20 Algerian Briar Bulldog

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on my workbench is a pipe that has been in my boxes for a long, long time. But there comes a time when a pipe calls out and wants to be restored. That’s what happened for this charming bulldog, made by the American pipe house, Edward’s. It has an interesting rustication on the bowl and a variegated acrylic stem which complements the stummel well. I always thought highly of this dapper pipe and I’m sorry to see it go, but happy to give it new life in someone else’s hands. Let’s look at the markings. On the right topside of the shank, we see Edward’s. On the left underside of the shank, we see Algerian Briar [over] 20. I can only assume that the number 20 is a shape number, but wasn’t able to find any official confirmation of that. No markings on the stem.I knew about Edward’s, but thought it was a good idea to refresh my memory. At Pipephil, they provided this tidbit of information:

Edward’s Pipes, headquartered in Tampa, FL, got its start importing pipes from France and continued to do so from 1958 to 1963 when it started producing pipes in Florida from prime Algerian Briar, a practice they continue to this day (2010). Randy Wiley, pipecarver in the USA, got his start at Edward’s.

At Pipedia, they write the following:

Edward’s pipes were originally produced in Saint-Claude, France when Francais [sic] actually was a world-class pipe maker with longstanding business & political connections to Colonial Algeria that allowed them to obtain the finest briar. During the tumultuous 1960’s, Edward’s created a business model to offer the finest briar available in both Classic and Freehand shapes – all at a fair price. They bought the company & equipment and cornered the market on the finest, choice Algerian Briar just before the supply vanished in political turmoil of Algeria’s independence. Edward’s packed up both machinery and briar-treasure to America, safely caching the essentials to create a new pipe-making dynasty. This was a coup, for the 70’s and 80’s were grim years for pipe smokers as quality briar all but disappeared. Edward’s Design Philosophy is hard to pin down, think of their style as the “American Charatan” with unique & clever twists all their own. Today, they fashion pipes in several locations across the USA. All of Edward’s pipes are Algerian Briar – a fact very few pipe companies can claim, and all are oil-cured utilizing natural finishes – no strange concoctions are used to interfere in your tastebud’s dance with the briar. Algerian, Calabrian, Sardinian, Corsican – take your pick, but Algerian Briar is generally considered the finest smoking briar ever used. When combined with oil-curing, Algerian takes on a magical quality that even Alfred Dunhill recognized as far back as 1918 as the choice for both his Bruyere and Shell.How about the condition? The stummel is in very good condition – the pipe was well maintained. There is a bit of cake in the bowl and lava on the rim, but truly not that much. There is a noticeable fill on the front of the bowl, but I am happy to leave that as it is. The stem is a bit trickier. It’s dirty – although no more than average. However, the previous owner must have been a clencher. There are some serious chomp marks in this stem, but I can resolve that. I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. However, I also used some tube brushes and cream cleanser to really scrub the insides. That helped! Since this stem was made of acrylic, there’s no oxidation and I can skip those steps and go right to repair. I set about fixing the marks and dents in the acrylic – of which there were quite a few. This was done by filling those divots with clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the acrylic. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the acrylic, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful shine on the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. This pipe was quite clean and needed very little reaming. I used a pipe knife and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim.

Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. I also used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with the same mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand only the smooth (non-rusticated) parts of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Edward’s 20 Algerian Briar Bulldog looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅞ in. (148 mm); height 1½ in. (38 mm); bowl diameter 1⅔ in. (42 mm); chamber diameter ⅞ in. (23 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅛ oz. (34 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a lovely Jess Chonowitsch Designed Stanwell Golden Danish 139

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by Steve Laug

This particular Stanwell sandblast pipe was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It really is another beautiful smaller Bent Billiard with a gentle curve to the shank and stem. The bowl is sandblasted and stained with a contrast of browns. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads Golden [over] Danish [followed by] 139 [over] Stanwell [over] Made In Denmark. The bowl had a moderate cake and some spots of lava overflow in the sandblast rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish and dust and debris the sandblast. The vulcanite taper stem has the Stanwell Crown S logo on the left side. It was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the spotty lava on the sandblast rim top and inner edge. He also captured the condition of the stem showing the tooth chatter and oxidation. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain in the sandblast and the smooth portions. It is a beautiful bowl. It is nice looking bent billiard and one is eye catching. Have a look. The next photos Jeff took show the stamping on a smooth portion on the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in places but still readable as noted above.I read the history of the brand on Pipedia and would recommend that you have a look at it. It is a great read (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell).

I then turned to an article on Pipedia on the shape numbers and designers by the late Bas Stevens to see if I could find any info on the shape number and the designer of the pipe bearing the number 139 (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I found the shape number there.

1 Billiard, slightly bent, conical bowl, by Jess Chonowitsch

The pipe is a sandblast slightly bent Billiard that was designed by Jess Chonowitsch. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed the bowl and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the remaining oxidation. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were. The rim top and bowl look good. There is some slight damage in the blasted rim top on the back of the bowl.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is faint but readable. I took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe.The bowl was in such good condition after the clean up that I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the plateau and sandblast portions. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian after each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. This Jess Chonowitsch designed Stanwell Golden Danish 139 Bent Billiard with a vulcanite taper stem turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in `excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Golden Danish 139 is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 36 grams/1.27 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

Restemming and Restoring a Danish Pride by Ben Wade Hand Made in Denmark Bowl

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by Steve Laug

This particular mixed finished Freehand pipe was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It really is another beautiful smaller Freehand Bowl that combines a plateau rim top and smooth patches that flow up from the bowl sides. The shank end is sandblasted like the bowl and shank with a spot of plateau. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the left side of the shank and reads Danish Pride [over] by [over] Ben Wade [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The bowl is a mix of sandblast on the majority with some smooth grooves on the front and sides. The shank is also sandblasted with the underside being smooth for the stamping. The bowl had a moderate cake and some spots of lava overflow in the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish and dust and debris in the plateau valleys on the shank end. The finish was a rich oxblood colour that really highlighted the grain in the sandblast. The stem was missing so I would need to fit a suitable replacement. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the spotty lava on the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain in the sandblast and the smooth portions. It is a beautiful bowl. It is a smaller size freehand and one that catches my eye. Have a look. The next photos Jeff took show the stamping on a smooth portion on the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in places but still readable as noted above. In a previous blog I had researched the brand quite a bit. I have included it below for information on this pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/10/03/restoring-a-danish-pride-by-ben-wade-mixed-finish-handmade-freehand-sitter/). I quote:

I remembered that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement.I quote the portion of the article that summarizes the Danish period of the history of the brand:

Young Copenhagen master pipemaker Preben Holm had made a meteoric career heading a pipe manufacture employing 45 people at the age of 22! But around the turn of 1970/71 he was in major financial difficulties. His US distributor, Snug Harbour Ltd. in New York City, left him in the lurch. Holm had three unpaid invoices on his desk and another large shipment was ready for the USA, when Snug Harbour’s manager told him on the phone that there was no money at all on the account to pay him.

So the Dane went to New York for an almost desperate search for a new distribution partner. He made contacts with Lane Ltd. and met Herman G. Lane in February 1971. Lane Ltd. had no interest in Holm’s serial pipes produced at that time but so much the more in the hand-carved freehands because the hype for Danish freehands and fancies in the States was still on its way to the climax then. The meeting resulted in an agreement to start a cooperation. Lane insisted to improve the quality considerably and in return he assured to be able to sell essentially larger quantities.

Holm went back home to work on new samples with all-new designs and altered finishes for Lane. Both, Lane and Holm, agreed that it would be unwise to sell the pipes under Preben Holm’s name as long as Snug Harbour had a considerable stock of Preben Holm pipes and might sell them pipes at very low prices just to bring in some money.

So on Mr. Lane’s proposal it was determined to use the name Ben Wade belonging to Lane Ltd. Lane spent considerable amounts of money for advertising the new brand in the big magazines– the centerpiece being whole-page ads showing a very exclusive Seven Day’s Set.

The cooperation with Lane Ltd. proved to be an eminent business success for both partners. Within a very short time Ben Wade Handmade Denmark sold in much larger quantities and at higher prices than they had ever dreamed of. And the hype these freehands and fancy pipes caused went on unbroken long after Herman G. Lane deceased. Preben Holm – obviously much more brilliant in pipe making than in pipe business – was in major troubles again in 1986 and had to sack most of his staff. The Ben Wade production was significantly lowered but continued until his untimely death in June of 1989.

Up to now Preben Holm made Ben Wade pipes are cult and highly sought for on the estate markets.

With that information my initial thoughts were confirmed. This pipe was a Preben Holm made Freehand distributed in the US by Lane Ltd under the name Ben Wade. The freehand rage occurred in the late 70s and the pipes were made until Preben’s death in 1989. My guess would be that this pipe was made sometime during that time period and potentially in the late 70s.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed the bowl and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the plateau rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the remaining oxidation. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were. The rim top and bowl look good. The shank end was sandblasted and had a spot of plateau on the top right.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is faint but readable. It is clearer on the top half of the stamp than the lower but it is still readable. I went through my stems and found a variegated cream and brown acrylic taper that would work well with the bowl. It would take some work to fit it but I took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe. The bowl was in such good condition after the clean up that I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the plateau and sandblast portions. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I set the bowl aside and started working on the stem. I used a flat file to shape the stem to fit in the shank. It took some work to shape it but it looked much better. I cleaned up the stem work with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish blending it into the surface of the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2-inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian after each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am happy with the way that this Preben Holm Made Danish Pride by Ben Wade Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and mix of smooth and sandblast finishes around the bowl and shank. The rugged plateau on the rim top and shank end are beautiful. The fancy original vulcanite saddle stem works well with the reddish brown of the stained briar. The pipe really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Danish Pride by Ben Wade really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches wide x 2 inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. The pipe will be staying with me, at least for awhile as I appreciate the craftsmanship. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Restoring a Lovely “Malaga” Custom Carved Bent Brandy Sitter

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by Steve Laug

In a recent box of pipes I received from Jeff were several Malaga Pipes to work on. The one on the table now is an interesting Malaga I would call a Brandy Sitter. It has a rope like rustication pattern on the left side of the bowl and the rest is smooth with a flat bottom. We purchased it on 03/20/25 off eBay from a seller in Howell, Michigan, USA. The grain on the smooth portions of this pipe is also quite nice. The rustication on the left side of the bowl is another pattern of rustication that I have never seen before on the Malaga pipes that I have worked on. The pipe was obviously another favourite of the previous pipeman. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read “MALAGA” and on the right side of the shank it was stamped Custom Carved. The finish was dirty and worn. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the rim top with some thick lava. It was hard to clearly assess the damage to the inner edge. The condition of the rim edge and top would become clear in the cleaning process. The vulcanite taper stem was oxidized, calcified and there was chatter and tooth marks on the top and the underside of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the cake and lava on the rim top and edges. The pipe was a dirty one but still a beauty. The vulcanite taper stem is very oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the interesting rope like rustication and the birdseye smooth grain on the left side. The briar is quite nice all around the pipe. The oil curing/finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. The heel is flattened. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It read “MALAGA” and is clear as noted above. Jeff did captured the stamping on the right side reading Custom Carved. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am also including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also am including a link to some printed material on the Malaga brand that came to me from the daughter of George Koch (we purchased George’s pipes from his daughter) to help identify the particular stamping on the pipe. The link takes you to the entire collection of materials that were sent to me (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/27/malaga-pipes-catalogue-of-pipes-and-tobaccos/).

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime from around the bowl sides. It looked better, even the darkened rim top and edges were improved. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The stem looked much better and the light tooth marks on both sides were still visible and would need a little work. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top was better than when it started. There was some darkening around the bowl edges and top. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank to show that the clean up had not damaged it at all. It looked good. It was faint in spots but still readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth and sanded the smooth portions of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The finish began to have a rich shine. The work on the rim top made it certainly look better. The briar and the bowl looked very good. I polished the bowl sides and the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. It really began to be beautiful. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I worked it into the rustication on the left side with a shoe brush to get deep in the grooves. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the reshaped bowl of this “MALAGA” Custom Carved Bent Brandy Sitter and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. The grain popped and the depth of the rope rustication was stunning. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is beautiful smooth finished “MALAGA” Custom Carved Bent Brandy Sitter and rusticated patch combine with the vulcanite taper stem to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.15 ounces/60 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

A Fascinating, Rugged Finish on a Direttore di Mauro Armellini Italy Rusticated Dublin

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on was one that we purchased on 03/06/2025 from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA. It is a deeply rusticated Dublin with a flumed rim top and top edges. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Direttore [over] di [over] Mauro Armellini. On the junction of the stem and the shank it is stamped Italy with the bottom edge of the stamping on the stem. The pipe is a Dublin with an acrylic shank extension that combines black and a brass ring. The acrylic saddle stem is dirty with some tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. There is an Armellini white dot enclosed in a brass circle on the top of the saddle. On the underside of the saddle it is stamped HAND [over] CUT. The heavily rusticated rim top thick with lava overflowing from a thick cake in the bowl. The exterior of the pipe had some oils and grime ground into the bowl sides under a shiny varnish coat. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and there was heavy lava in the rustication on the rim top and inner edge. I am hoping that once the lava is removed the edge will be okay. The stem looked good under the dirt and grime. It had some light tooth marks or chatter. It should cleanup very well. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the details of the heavy rustication that was around this bowl even though the grime on the finish hides it some. The pipe had obviously been well loved and enjoyed by the previous pipeman. He took photos of the left side of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint in spots but is still readable in the photos below as noted above. The stem had a large Armellini white Dot surrounded by a brass circle on the topside and a small stamp HAND [over] CUT on the underside. I decided to hunt down a bit of background on the brand before I started my clean up on the pipe. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a7.html). It had a great summary listing and photos. I did a screen capture of the section and the side notes and have included them below.After Mauro Armellini passed (1936 – † 2004), his daughter Vilma Armellini answered for the brand’s destiny. Seconds: Mauro, Converti

For more detail on the brand than the notes above gave me about Armellini, I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Armellini). I quote:

Mauro Armellini and Vilma Armellini. Courtesy of italianpipemakers.com

Mauro Armellini factory has born in 1960. When he was 24, my father decided to begin this business and after several difficult years, he was able to produce freehand pipes for foreign markets. Our factory has always been on the surf(?) because it has solid bases: quality and price.

I have always worked with my father and when I lost him, back in 2004, I had to learn to “walk on my own two legs”.

Someone called me “white fly” because I am probably the only women in Italy making pipes. I only work with briar which has been seasoned for at least one year; I think that after one year of seasoning the briar becomes old and dark. I prefer hand crafting, using only very few machines: in this way I am able to extole my predilection for freeforms.

Over the sale of pipes, I think that this work should transmit the genuineness and love for the pipe and for those who smoke it; The philosophy of the factory is the same that moves my work: quality and price

Mauro Armellini stands for the true meaning of self-made and self-taught pipe makers. He started his pipe making career back in the early 1960s, working at the famous Italian pipe factory “Rossi”. Years later, and when the Rossi factory shut its door, Armellini moved to Savinelli where he stood out immediately. He perfected the rustication technique and till today some of the most famous rusticated finishes, such as the “Roccia” and the “Corallo” exist only thanks to him. He worked for Savinelli for several years and till the day he realized that he decided to create his own workshop and make pipes under his own name. At those times, and in spite of the fact that the pipe market was huge, it was a big risk to start his own pipe brand, due to the costs involved and the difficulty of obtaining the right equipment and tools.

Once the name Armellini found its rightful place on a piece of briar, Armellini never looked back. Thanks to his friend and neighbor, Alberto Paronelli, he was able to attract foreign markets, such as the US one and that of other European countries. Armellini’s four daughters slowly and gradually became involved in the business by lending their dad a helping hand whenever possible. However, it was Wilma that became truly interested in the business and gradually became her father’s right hand, not only in the administrative aspect of the business, but also, and above all, the actual pipe making in all its various stages. Indeed, and many years later, Armellini retired from full-time pipe making, and it was Wilma who took over.

When Armellini passed away recently, it was natural, and yet very difficult, for Wilma to decide and continue the Armellini production, according to her father’s own standards and vision. What encouraged her is the fact that for over 20 years she had been making pipes, from A to Z, and so, she knew that the quality Armellini has always been known for could and would continue.

Today, in the small town Barasso, in northern Italy, Wilma and her 20-year-old son are running the workshop and producing all of the Armellini pipes. Matteo, Wilma’s son, is an enthusiastic young man with a love for pipes and pipe making that he could have only inherited from his grandfather. He’s determined to carry on and keep alive his grandfather’s pipe making tradition while creating new shapes and finishes that he is confident his grandfather would be proud of.

Today the name Armellini bears the dreams, the dedication, the passion, and the pipe making talent and expertise of three different generations, united by one objective: Offering the best pipes possible, out of the best material possible, at the lowest price possible. The legacy lives on …

Jeff did a great job cleaning off the debris and grime on this old pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet reamer and smoothed the walls of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim and shank with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to the oils and tars on the bowl, rim and shank. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the grime was removed the finish underneath was in stellar condition. The rich patina of the rusticated briar looked great. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub then soaked it in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed off the deoxidizer with warm water and wiped the bowl and stem down with a light coat of olive oil to rehydrate both. The pipe really was quite stunning. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the rim top and edges to show how well they had cleaned up. The flume around the rim top and sides looks very good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth chatter on the surface ahead of the button on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to show the proportions of the pipe. It is a beauty.There were spots of shiny varnish left on the shank, rim top and bowl sides. I wiped the bowl and shank down with acetone on a cotton pad and was able to remove the varnish spots and leave a cleaner natural finish. I went over the rustication on the rim top and the fluming down the outer edge of the bowl with a brass bristle wire brush. Once I cleaned it up it looked better. I restained the fluming on the top and rim sides with a Walnut Stain Pen. It worked well. I polished the acrylic shank extension and the tarnished brass band on the end with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads and polishing it with some Obsidian Oil on a cloth to remove the debris. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a shoebrush to work it into the heavily rusticated briar. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the tooth chatter. The pipe stem was looking very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the Direttore di Mauro Armellini Italy Rusticated Dublin back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the reddish, browns of the bowl. This Direttore di Mauro Armellini Italy Rusticated Dublin was a great pipe to spruce up. It is a very comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 51 grams/1.76 ounces. This pipe will be going on the Italian Pipe Maker section of the rebornpipes store if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

A Lovely Monte Verde Made in Denmark By Hand Golden Tan Rusticated Bent Egg

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was purchased from a seller 08/10/25 from Livingston, New Jersey, USA. It has that verve that I have come to associate with pipe made by Preben Holm as they are always unique and beautiful. The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside. It reads Monte Verde [over] Made in Denmark [over] by Hand [over] Golden Tan. The shank extension is vulcanite with no stamping but it is oxidized. I have refurbished several Monte Verde pipe so if you are interested in the brand here is a link to one I did back in 2019 that has a similar finish to this one (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/09/new-life-for-a-preben-holm-monte-verde-twin-finish-freehand/). This one was quite dirty, like the rest of the pipes we tend to work on. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a lava overflow in the rustication of the rusticated rim top. The inner and outer edges of the bowl looked very good. The black/silver acrylic saddle stem was dirty and had scratches and light tooth marks on the top and underside. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup process. He took close up photos of the bowl and rim top from different angles to show the condition of the rim top. The bowl has a thick cake that lining the walls and overflowing lava and build up on the rim top and flowing over the inner edge of the bowl onto the top. He also took photos of the stem to show the surface of the top and underside of the acrylic stem. You can see the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the lay of the rustication and grain around the pipe. It is a beautiful piece of briar. It had a very unique double rustication! The green acrylic shank extension works well with it. Jeff took several photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank to capture all of the stamping. It was clear and read as noted above. There was no stamping on the stem surface.I turned to Pipephil’s site to get a read on the brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m6.html). It confirms that the Monte Verdi line was made by Preben Holm. The pipe in the photo had a very similar rustication to the Monte Verdi I was working on. I did a screen capture of the section on Pipephil. I have included it below. There were also photos that were included on Pipephil of what this particular pipe looked like when it left Denmark. The rustication around the bowl and shank is very similar. The pipe I have has the same shank extension and finish. The pipe in the photo had a fancy turned vulcanite stem. The stem on the one I have in front of me is missing so I will need to replace it with one similar to the one in the photos below.I also Googled the brand and found a thread on Pipes Magazine about the brand that gave me some more information (http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/monte-verde-pipes). I include that below.

The Monte Verdi line was indeed a pipe style offered by Holm. It usually features heavily blasted and rusticated briar and smaller group sizes than some of his other lines. Some refer to this line as a “second”, but it provided an outlet for briar that had flaws and therefore unsuitable his other lines. Holm marketed many different lines featuring a variety of finishes in both stains and carvings and this is merely one of those. The ones I own are good pipes and smoke well. The blast finish is very interesting to look at and the tactile sensations make it fun to hold.

Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to the lava build up on the rim top and you could see a little darkening in the finish on the top of the bowl. I took photos of the pipe bowl to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of the pipe. I took photo of both sides of the stem to show its condition. Overall the pipe was in great condition.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. There was some darkening on the smooth portion but the stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the proportions of the bowl and stem.I scrubbed the darkening on the shank with some Before & After Briar Cleaner and a tooth brush. I wiped it off with a soft cloth remove the product. I repeated the process several times.I sanded the oxidized vulcanite shank extension with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the shank extension down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth to remove the debris. It looked significantly better. I polished the vulcanite shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the debris. It began to have a rich shine. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the tooth chatter. The pipe stem was looking very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the stem with some Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished the polishing with some Before & After Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside. This beautiful, double rusticated Preben Holm carved Monte Verde Golden Tan Freehand Full Bent Egg is a special looking pipe and it feels amazing in the hand. I polished stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The multi-coloured grain shining through the rustication came alive with the buffing. The rich contrasting brown colour works well with the polished vulcanite shank extension and the black and white Lucite stem. The finished Monte Verde Golden Tan Freehand Full Bent Egg is a beauty and feels great in the hand. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.72 ounces/76 grams. I will be putting this Monte Verde by Preben Holm on the Danish Pipe Making Section on the rebornpipes online store soon. It is such an interesting tactile pipe and if you have been looking for a freehand then this might be the one for you. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this interestingly shaped Preben Holm Hand Made pipe.

New Life for a Caminetto Business KS 154 Handmade in Italy Cucciago (CO) Full Bent

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on my worktable is another Caminetto Business pipe but different from the others that I have worked on in that it is an Oom Paul (Full Bent). With each one that I have worked on I am increasingly impressed by the craftsmanship. The pipe has a rugged rusticated finish and a stepped variegated gold acrylic saddle stem. It had come to us from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA. It was a filthy pipe with grime and oils ground into the rusticated finish on the bowl. The pipe had some rustic beauty shining through the dust and debris in the valleys of the rough finish. The rustication covered the rim top, bowl and shank with a smooth panel on each side of the shank. The finish was dull and lifeless and dirty from sitting around. There was a very thick cake in the bowl with lava flowing out of the bowl and over the rim top. The lava had filled in the deeper grooves of the finish on the rim top. The inner edge of the rim appeared to be in good condition under the lava coat but we would know more once it was cleaned. The stamping on the left side of the shank read Caminetto in script over BUSINESS. To the right of that toward the stem was the shape number 154 and below that it read KS. On the right side of the shank it was stamped HANDMADE IN ITALY [over] CUCCIAGO (CO). The saddle stem was variegated gold and had the larger Caminetto Moustache on the top side. The surface was dirty and there was light tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the condition of the bowl and rim top edges. You can see the lava overflow and debris in the rustication of the rim top. You can see the cake in the bowl. This was a dirty pipe but it was the finish was in great condition. The stem is also very dirty with light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the beautiful incredibly deep rustication around the bowl. It is similar to the rough finish on Castello Sea Rock and Savinelli Capri Pipes. You can see the oil, dust and debris in the finish on both sides of the bowl. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above. The stamping is clear and readable. There is no photo of the stamping on the right side of the shank.I have worked on several Caminetto in the past so I turned to one of the restorations on the rebornpipes blog and reread the background information on the brand. I am including that info here with this restoration (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/04/19/pretty-tired-and-dirty-messy-restoration-of-a-caminetto-business-tomahawk-182/).

When the pipe arrived I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html) to see if he included not only information on this Caminetto Business 182. He gave some interesting information about the brand. It was created in 1986 by Guiseppe Ascorti, Luigi Radice and Gianni Davoli as the distributor. It states that in 1979 the first Caminetto period ended with Luigi Radice leaving the company. Guiseppe Ascorti continued making the pipe with his son Roberto. In 1986 the New Caminetto period began by Roberto Ascorti.I turned to Pipedia for more information on the Caminetto and how to date the pipe I had in hand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Caminetto_(shapes,_stamping,_articles,_etc.). I quote a pertinent paragraph:

Stampings and dating: First off, dating earlier Caminetto’s is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, there were three phases, some in which were much earlier, of development that occurred in the stamping process of Caminetto. Before that though, every pipe had the stamp of Caminetto in one of two ways: Caminetto in script or Caminetto within quotation marks in block letters (I do not know how it was decided which pipe got which stamp, as I have had EARLY Caminetto’s with both)…

The stampings are shown in the photo to the left. The stamping on this pipe is like #2.

…Now, the question is which stamps are earlier and more likely to have been made by Ascorti and/or Radice. The answer is #1. The differences in #2 and #3 seem to be minute, as Cucciago is simply a suburb of Cantu. Pipes stamped like #1 are the most valuable Caminetto’s as they are the earliest production of the brand, as well as what some would claim the most perfect of Ascorti and Radice’s work. The last tidbit is, of course, debatable…

… There is also another factor in stamping, that is, which series the pipe falls in. The majority of Caminetto’s one sees are those of the “Business” series, which are stamped such with their collective shape (see photo of shapes below). Another stamp that sometimes follows the “Business” one is “KS,” which from what I know means “King-size” (this could be wrong, as there are pipes stamped with KS1, KS2, and KS3).

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done an amazing job in removing all of the cake and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration. To show how clean the rim top and stem really was I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and cake free. The rim top is very clean with no residual lava in the finish. The inner edges of the bowl look good. The variegated golden acrylic saddle stem cleaned up nicely. The surface had some light tooth marks but the button edge looked really good. I took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panels on each side of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable and reads as noted above. I took the stem off the bowl and took a picture of the pipe to give an idea of the look of the rustication and the stem. It is going to be a pretty pipe. The bowl looked very good so I did not need to do any further work on it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers and with a horse hair shoe brush to get it into the nooks and crannies of the deep rustication of the finish on the bowl and shank. I let it sit for about 20 minutes to let it do its magic. I buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button with a folded piece of 200 grit sandpaper. It looked significantly better.There was a faint large moustache stamped on the top of the saddle portion of the gold acrylic stem. It was faint but I filled in what remained with some white acrylic. I pressed it into the stamping with a tooth pick. Once it cured I scraped it off and sanded the surface with a 1000 grit sanding pad to remove the excess. It was fain but identifiable.I sanded the stem with 320-23500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The stem began to take on a rich shine. This Caminetto Business 154KS Oom Paul with a variegated gold arylic saddle stem is a real beauty and has a lot of life left. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the rusticated bowl so as not to fill it in with the polishing product. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The rustication is very tactile and feels great in the hand. It is comfortable and light weight. The finished Caminetto Business 154KS Oom Paul is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 81 grams/2.86 ounces. This great looking rusticated Caminetto turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Breathing Life into a Republic Era Peterson’s Kapet 606S Pot

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by Steve Laug

This beautifully grained well used briar pipe was purchased on 04/11/2023 from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and clearly reads Peterson’s [over] Kapet. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland [three lines]. The shape number 606S is stamped below and to the right of that next to the bowl/shank junction. The 606 is the shape number for a Pot and the S is for the saddle stem. On the underside it is stamped with a large interlocked HG. It has a smooth finish around the bowl and shank have oils, debris and grime ground into the finish. The bowl had been recently reamed and was quite clean. There were spots of lava on the rim top and edges. The inner edge had darkening. The smooth finish was dirty with debris and oils. The vulcanite saddle stem has a “P” stamped on the left side of the saddle. It was oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. It was a beautiful looking pipe even through the grime in the finish. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started cleaning it up. Have a look. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the bowl and the rim top. You can also see the light lava on the rim top, inner edge and the relatively clean bowl. He also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem. He took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain around the bowl. The grain is birdseye and mixed. Jeff also took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is faint in spots but readable as noted above. He did not capture the condition of the P stamp on the stem side. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). There was a short note toward the bottom of the page about the series. It is definitely referring to the newer line that came out later. I quote:

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson) to first pin down a date that the pipe was made. I knew that the Made in Ireland stamp would give me that. I quote:

As usual when trying to get accurate facts in regard to Peterson history, something will jump up and get in the way. They are missing many of their records. The following is the best that we can do for a guide to the myriad markings during the period 1922 – 1949. Prior to 1920 it was rare for a country of origin to be stamped on the pipe, just Peterson’s Dublin on the band. After 1921/22, if it is stamped “MADE IN IRELAND” and the “Made in” is stacked over “Ireland” or “MADE IN EIRE” or several other forms, it was made between 1922 and 1938. A considerable number of Peterson pipes were stamped “Irish Free State”. From about 1930 to 1949, most of the pipes (those which were stamped) were stamped “Made in Ireland”.” If the stamp reads “MADE IN IRELAND” in a circle, the pipe was made between 1939 and 1948. These are all “Pre-Republic” pipes. I can tell you that the mark “Irish Free State” was adopted in 1922; and replaced by “Eire” in 1937 and then by “Republic of Ireland” in 1949.

That gave me a date for the pipe – it was made after 1949 as can be proved by the Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp on the right side of the shank.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Kapet Line. On page 305 it had the following information.

Kapet (1925-87) Line first described in 1925 brochure and featured in occasional catalogs through 1987. Early specimens will be stamped IRISH over FREE STATE. Described in 1937 catalog as available in dark plum or natural finish. Featured an aluminum “inner tube” or stinger until 1945. Mid-century specimens may be stamped Made In over Ireland. Specimens from 1970 on may have mounts with hallmarks.

Judging from the Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp, the pipe I am working on is probably made after 1945 when the stinger or inner tube was removed. Those dates work also for the Kapet information above. The stem has the original P stamp on the saddle side and no stinger.

Finally, on the underside of the shank it is stamped Huber [over] Munchen. From a past restoration I did a lot of work on the stamping (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/10/14/petersons-kildare-special-hg-republic-of-ireland-10-canadian/). Have a look if you are interested.

To learn more about the Huber Munchen stamp I turned to page 300 of “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg as noted by him in the previous blog and found a great paragraph on the stamping. I quote in full.

GH Retailer’s Monogram (c. 1960s) George Huber of Munich, Germany, a Peterson distributor and retailer for decades, stamped their monogram on pipes sold in their store, G overlaid on H. Peterson shared in the 1988 commemoration of Huber’s 125^th year in business by producing a special pipe with a sterling rim cap, stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION.

The pipe I have is one that has the GH Retailer’s Monogram (1960s) and does not appear to have ever had the sterling rim cap and was not stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION. The Monogram attaches it to the Huber Tobacco shop in Munich, Germany. With that information I turned my attention to working on the pipe.

Armed with the information above, I turned my attention to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brushes and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the inner edge of the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. There is some darkening on the sides of the bowl as well. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge look beautiful. The stem was clean and did not show either tooth marks or chatter.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is very clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I sanded the bowl and shank with 320-3550 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the scratches and darkening on the rim top and sides of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I sanded the exterior of the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with each pad and wiped the briar down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding- debris. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl and shank for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the “P” stamp on the left side of the saddle with some white acrylic nail polish. I let it cure then scraped off the excess and sanded the remnant off with a 1500 grit sanding pad. I sanded the stem and tenon with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. Each successive pad brought smoother shape and definition to the stem. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad and by the end it was starting to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. I am excited to finish this beautifully grained, Peterson’s Kapet 606S Saddle Stem Pot. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. The straight Pot looks great with the black vulcanite saddle stem. This smooth Classic Peterson’s Kapet 606S Pot is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.34 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration as I brought the pipe back to life.