Category Archives: Pipe Refurbishing Essays

Essays and pictorial essays on the art of refurbishing

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 302 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is another smooth finished Peterson’s System – this time a System Standard shape 302. It came to us from our source in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/29/24. It had fishtail stem rather than a P-lip stem. The finish was smooth with some nice grain around the sides and shank. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [arched over] System [over] Standard. On the right side of the shank it was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) over the shape number 302. It was dirty with grime ground into the finish around the bowl and shank. There was a moderate cake in the bowl and some light lava spots on the rim top. The nickel ferrule was in good shape but had some scratches that would need to be polished. It is stamped as well and reads K & P [over] Peterson on the left. The vulcanite fishtail stem was unstamped and there was some oxidation, calcification and light chatter near the button that would polish out. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started my work. He took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top and edges have a spotty lava overflow. The stem looks good but it has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain that was very visible around the bowl and shank. He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides and the ferrule. It read as noted above and was clear and readable. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the sytems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equalled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Late Republic Era between 1950 and the present day. Personally I think this is probably a 60s-70s pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants 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. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. Somewhere along the way as it sat here it picked up some stickiness on the top of the stem that looks a lot like what is left behind by a gummed label. I took photos of the pipe 3 years later when I finally got around to working on it. As you can see it is another beautiful looking pipe. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem to give a sense of the condition of both. The rim top and the inner edge had some darkening and burn damage on the inner edge on the back of the bowl. The stem was clean but had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. They are clear and readable as noted above. I took the stem out of the shank and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. It is another beauty. There are a few small dings from the journey of the pipe that will remain as a part of its story. I started my work on the pipe by working on the damage to the top and inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the darkening on the top completely but I also took care of the burn damage on the inner edge to give it a slight bevel. It looks much better. I worked the top and edge over with a 320 grit sanding sponge and wiped it down with a damp cloth. It looked much better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works 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. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jeweller’s cloth to protect and polish the metal. It really adds a sparkle to the metal ferrule. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 302 Bent Apple with a vulcanite, fish tail,  saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. 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 the 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 System Standard 302 fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 69 grams/2.43 ounces. This pipe has been spoken for so it will soon be heading out with a couple of others that have been set aside for their new trustee. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Lions Head (Comoys) Author 256 Restoration

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By Al Jones

The Comoy’s “Author” shape 256 is one of my favorite shapes, similar to the Sasieni Ashford. This one is a Comoy’s seconds line, “Lions Head” version. I’ve had numerous Comoy’s seconds line pipes over the years, including multiple versions of the shape 256. However this is the first Lions Head to land on my workbench.

I don’t find anything in Comoy’s literature for the shape 256. If anyone has a catalog depicting this shape, please send me a copy. This pipe caught my attention because of the “Made In England” round country of manufacture stamp. This stamp dates to the 1930’s and was used until the start of World War II. We read this about the stamp from Pipedia:

Made in England

This is stamped in a circle with “MADE” at the top, “IN” in the middle, and “ENGLAND” forming the bottom of the circle. This can be seen on a Cecil as early as 1910 and on an Old Bruyere of 1921 and more frequent from the 1930s. It can also appear as “MADE” arched, “IN” below, and “ENGLAND” arched the other way. These stamps are in an oval rugby-ball shape rather than a circle round shape.

The pipe as delivered was in very restorable condition. The finish was faded from the sun, the stem heavily oxidized and some black build-up on the bowl top. The stem fitment was very good and the button was also not damaged. The stamped L stem logo was still visible. I wasn’t sure that could be salvaged. Below is the pipe as it was received:

I used a piece of worn scotch brite to remove the build-up on the bowl top. I revived the finish with a heavily diluted Feiblings Medium Brown stain (diluted with 91% isopropyl alcohol). The bowl was then lightly buffed with White Diamond rouge and several coats of carnuba wax, taking care around the stamping. The bowl was then soaked with alcohol and sea salt. Following the soak, I scrubbed the shank with a bristle brush dipped in alcohol, until it came out clean.

The stem was mounted, and oxidation removed with 600, 800, 1,500 and 2,000 grade wet paper. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars plastic polish. Surprisingly, the stamped L logo is still visible.

Below is the finished pipe:

Peterson’s Emerald Republic Era 03

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a lovely Peterson’s style briar pipe. We purchased it from a seller in Spring Branch, Texas, USA on 02/29/2024. It is a classic Peterson’s 03 shaped bowl. It has a smooth, rich brown stained bowl that really highlights the grain in the briar. The bowl is dirty with grime in the finish. There is a moderate cake in the bowl and a light lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The stamping on the pipe is clear and readable and on the left side it reads Peterson’s [over] Emerald. On the right side it reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) [followed by] the shape number 03. There is an interesting light green shank band sandwiched between two brass bands that adds distinguishing Emerald line touch to the pipe. The stem had a P logo stamped on the left side of the taper. It is oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the P-lip button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top and edges have a light coat of lava overflowing on to them. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the condition of the finish around this bowl. It has some great grain. He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. You can see that it is clear and reads as noted above. The P logo is also clear on the left side of the stem.I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson Company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry (Harry) Kapp.

I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950 and the present.

I turned to The Peterson Pipe book by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg for more information. On page 299 there was a summary of the Emerald Pipe. I quote

Emerald (1987-) Moderate-priced line in Bordeaux and black rustic finish with a shank band of green acrylic between brass rings, P-lip mouthpiece; smooth walnut version added in ’91. Fishtail mouthpiece added in ’97. Identical line and finishes named Jade from early eighties until ’87.

This information narrowed down the date even further. The smooth walnut finish was added in 1991 so this one came out after 1991 and has a P-lip style mouth piece. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, shank brushes, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked very good when it arrived. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top looked very good. The bevelled inner edge was in excellent condition. I took photos of the stem to show the light chatter and tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has some great grain around the bowl and shank. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the bowl down after each sanding pad. The grain really began to shine through. It is a beautiful pipe. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I touched up the gold P stamp on the left side of the stem with some Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I pressed it into the stamp with a tooth pick and wiped it off with a soft cotton pad.I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter in the surface and the button edges with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil to preserve and remove debris. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s Emerald 03 Bent Apple.  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 buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished triple brass and emerald acrylic band and the black vulcanite stem. It is a real beauty. This Classic Peterson’s Emerald 03 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 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 53 grams/1.83 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Kaywoodie Handmade Rhodesian Restored (1940’s -1955)

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By Al Jones

This is the second vintage Kaywoodie that had been on my bench in less than one month. This one is stamped as a Supergrain Handmade. It went largely unnoticed on Ebay . The seller didn’t show pictures of the stinger, and on delivery, I was delighted to see an intact 4-hole “Drinkless” stinger. With no shape number, this one is a little harder to date, but my original estimate was from 1936 to the early 1950’s. Key factors include:

  • “Imported Briar” stamp – use started in 1936 (I’m not clear when it was changed)
  • Just prior to WWII, the four-hole stinger ball was downsized and the shaft only said “Drinkless” (no “Reg” number). The four-hole stinger was replaced by a three hole stinger in the early 1950’s

Update: Nathan Davis, the new owner of Kaywoodie pipes commented on the Kaywoodie Pipe Smokers Facebook page that the pipe was made from the early 1940’s to 1955

The stinger was unusual as I’ve never seen a four-hole with the holes on the top and bottom. All the other four-hole stingers I’ve encountered had the holes on the left and right.

The pipe had a thick cake and the stem was heavily oxidized. There was some buildup on the bowl top. Below is the pipe as it was received.

Using a screw extractor, I removed the female stinger insert and scrubbed the shank with a bristle brush dipped in alcohol. I plugged the shank and soaked the bowl with Sea Salt and alcohol. Following the soak, I used a piece of scotch brite to remove the buildup on the bowl top. That lightened the stain, so I used a very diluted solution of Feiblings Medium Brown stain to bring back the color. I wiped the bowl with a paper towel dipped in the stain then rubbed it off. The bowl was buffed with White Diamond and several coats of carnuba wax.

I mounted the stem, and used heat to lift the minor teeth indentions. I used 600, 800 grades of wet sandpaper to remove most of the oxidation. Then, it was finished with 1,500 and 2,000 grade paper. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars plastic polish. I used some steel wool to remove the buildup and oxidation on the stinger, then some Mothers Mag and aluminum polish to brighten it up.

Below is the finished pipe.

Restoring Five Pipes at Once

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

One of my customers very kindly sent me five pipes to clean up for him. I had the pleasure of working on some beauties and I thought I would share the results with all of you. I was sent two Jobeys and three Peterson Sherlock Holmes pipes. On this occasion, I did something different than I usually do: I restored all five at once, rather than one at a time. The results on the pipes were as good as usual, but the results on your author’s sanity were perhaps less good. This blog is more of a show-and-tell than my usual restoration stories. Onward ho!

Let’s examine the five pipes. First is a Jobey Band E79 partially rusticated bullmoose with a variegated, acrylic, fishtail, saddle stem. Second is a Jobey Hand-Rubbed 680 smooth bent egg with a black, vulcanite, fishtail, saddle stem. Third is a Peterson’s Sherlock Holmes Professor large bent billiard with a sterling silver band and a black, vulcanite, P-lip, tapered stem. Dated 1998. Fourth is a Peterson Sherlock Holmes Hansom large (and very tall) bent bulldog with a sterling silver band and a black, vulcanite, P-lip, tapered stem. Dated 1997. And fifth is a Peterson Sherlock Holmes (without a specific name) large bent Rhodesian with a sterling silver band and a black, vulcanite, P-lip, tapered stem. Dated 1987. I cleaned the outside of all of the stems with Murphy’s and the insides with pipe cleaners and Q-tips dipped in isopropyl alcohol. The vulcanite stems were tossed into the oxidation removal fluid for a good soak. I later cleaned off the oxidation and went to fill in the tooth dents with black cyanoacrylate adhesive. I worked off the high points with my needle files and sanded them all with Micromesh pads and Obsidian Oil. On to the stummels. I reamed out all the bowls and removed all of that old cake. Some bowls had lava on the rim, so I carefully removed that without damaging anything further. I also cleaned the outside of the stummels with Murphy’s. These stummels had been quite well maintained over the years, so there wasn’t much difficulty in cleaning out the gunk inside – with one exception. The Jobey bent egg had a hidden trap of debris inside that had evidently never been noticed. As the photos show, there was some dreadful goo to remove from there! I set all five pipes up for a de-ghosting session and, since I was doing them all at once, an egg carton made an excellent holder for multiple pipes at once.Again, four of the five stummels were in great condition and didn’t really need much work to the outside briar. The exception was that same Jobey egg – it had a couple of significant blemishes which I repaired with briar dust and cyanoacrylate adhesive. After this, all of the stummels were sanded down with Micromesh pads and then left to sit with a coat of Before and After Balm. It sort of moisturizes the wood and gives it a lovely gloss. I took the pipes to my bench buffer and spiffed them all up with some White Diamond and carnauba wax. My last stem was to polish the sterling silver ands with my jewellery cloth. And voilà! These beauties are already on their way back to their owner. I trust that he will enjoy their new and improved status. I hope you enjoyed reading this quick write-up of this lovely bunch of pipes. If you are interested in my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Damaged Tan Peterson’s Meer in a Shape 302

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a tan coloured Peterson’s style meerschaum pipe. We purchased it from a seller in Spring Branch, Texas, USA on 02/29/2024. It is a classic Peterson’s 302 shaped bowl and probably made like all their meerschaum by Laxey Pipes Ltd, on the Isle of Man. It has a tan rusticated bowl that really gives depth to the pipe. The bowl is dirty with grime in the meerschaum. There is a cake in the bowl and a lava overflow in the rustication on the rim top and edges. It looks like the rim top and first 1/8 inch of the rim top have a dark flume coat. The only stamping on the pipe is on the nickel ferrule and it reads K&P over Peterson. The ferrule has some oxidation and is dull but otherwise undamaged. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the P-lip button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top and edges have lava overflowing on to them. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the condition of the rusticated finish around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the nickel ferrule to show the stamping around it. You can see that it reads as noted above. I took some time to remind myself of the provenance of these Peterson’s Dublin Meerschaum pipes. I am pretty sure the pipe was made by the Laxey Pipe Ltd. on the Isle of Man for Peterson’s in Ireland (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Laxey_Pipes_Ltd). I quote from the Pipedia article in full:

Laxey Pipe Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved. The company specialized in the production of Meerschaum Pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania). Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipe Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipe Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distributed by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meer from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipe Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.

I know that the pipe was made on the Isle of Man by Laxey Pipe Ltd. out of African Meerschaum. It was made for export for Peterson’s of Dublin. The flumed top on the bowl and the rustication around the bowl and shank make me think that it is a 1970s era pipe. That was as much as I could figure out.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare meerschaum. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He cleaned up the tarnish on the nickel ferrule. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked very good when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges were in rough condition. The back rim top and edge were thin and the front left top and edge were damaged. It looked like the rim top had been rusticated like the bowl at one point but it was not clear due to the damage on the top and inner edges. The stem showed some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the ferrule. You can see that once the tarnish was removed it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe.This pipe needed a bit more work than the previous Peterson’s meer. The rim top had a lot of damage and was burned and chipped on the front inner edge of the  bowlw. The back of the bowl rim top and edge were very thin and also had damage. I cleaned up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. While I was able to remove the damage on the inner edge the bowl top and out edge on the front were damaged and there was a dip in the front outer edge. To deal with this issue I gently topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished I used a Dremel and dental burr to rusticate the rim top to match the finish around the bowl sides. I restained the finished rim top and edges with a walnut and a black stain pen. The original bowl had a dark stain on the rim top and on the first 1/8 inch of the bowl side.I polished the nickel ferrule with a jeweller’s cloth to shine and slow down the process of oxidation. The ferrule really looks good. I rubbed the meerschaum down with Clapham’s Beeswax/Carnauba mix. I worked it into the surface of the meerschaum with my fingertips and a shoebrush to protect it. I let the wax sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The pipe is looking quite good. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I sanded out the chatter and tooth marks with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It really began to take on a shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I put the bowl and stem of this Peterson’s Meerschaum back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the meerschaum and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’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 meerschaum has a rich glow with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the rich developing patina of the tan bowl and the polished ferrule. It really is a stunning pipe whose shape and finish make it stand out. The thick/chubby shank makes it a very comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 54 grams/1.90 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe.

Restoring a Peterson’s Meerschaum in a Shape 302

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a white Peterson’s style meerschaum pipe. We purchased it from an estate sale at Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA on 09/16/23. It is a classic Peterson’s 302 shaped bowl and probably made like all their meerschaum by Laxey Pipes Ltd, on the Isle of Man. It has a slight patina making it almost golden with a black flume around the bowl and rim top. It is a rusticated bowl. The bowl is dirty for sure with grime in the meerschaum. There is a cake in the bowl and a lava overflow in the rustication on the rim top and edges. The only stamping on the pipe is on the nickel ferrule and it reads K&P over Peterson. The ferrule has some oxidation and is dull but otherwise undamaged. The stem is lightly oxidized and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the P-lip button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top and edges have lava overflowing on to them. The stem is oxidized and has tooth chatter and tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the condition of the rusticated finish around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the nickel ferrule to show the stamping around it. You can see that it reads as noted above.I took some time to remind myself of the provenance of these Peterson’s Dublin Meerschaum pipes. I am pretty sure the pipe was made by the Laxey Pipe Ltd. on the Isle of Man for Peterson’s in Ireland (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Laxey_Pipes_Ltd). I quote from the Pipedia article in full:

Laxey Pipe Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved. The company specialized in the production of Meerschaum Pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania). Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipe Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipe Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distributed by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meer from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipe Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.

I know that the pipe was made on the Isle of Man by Laxey Pipe Ltd. out of African Meerschaum. It was made for export for Peterson’s of Dublin. The flumed top on the bowl and the rustication around the bowl and shank make me think that it is a 1970s era pipe. That was as much as I could figure out.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare meerschaum. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He cleaned up the tarnish on the nickel ferrule. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked very good when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. There was still some debris in the rustication on the rim top that would need to be removed. The stem showed some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the ferrule. You can see that once the tarnish was removed it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe.I cleaned up the debris in the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush and was able to remove it all. I touched up the rim top and edges with a black Sharpie Pen. Once it was finished it looked very good.I polished the nickel ferrule with a jeweller’s cloth to shine and slow down the process of oxidation. The ferrule really looks good. I rubbed the meerschaum down with Clapham’s Beeswax/Carnauba mix. I worked it into the surface of the meerschaum with my fingertips and a shoebrush to protect it. I let the the wax sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I sanded out the chatter and tooth marks with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It really began to take on a shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I put the bowl and stem of this Peterson’s Meerschaum back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the meerschaum and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’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 meerschaum has a rich glow with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the rich developing patina of the bowl and the polished ferrule. It really is a stunning pipe whose shape and finish make it stand out. The thick/chubby shank makes it a very comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 51 grams/1.80 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe.

Restoring the third of the Antique Collectible Finds – a Jeantet Fait Main 9 Bent Freehand Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last weekend on April 27 Kenneth and I went to an antique and collectible sale at an arena in New Westminster, BC, Canada. I wrote about the adventure and posted it in a previous blog last weekend (https://rebornpipes.com/2024/04/28/you-have-to-join-kenneth-and-me-on-a-great-morning-pipe-hunt/). On the hunt I picked up four pipes that I have listed below:

  1. Jeantet Fait Main Bent Freehand Dublin 4 with a diamond shank
  2. Jeantet Fait Main Bent Apple 9 with a uniquely shaped shank and stem
  3. Republic Era Peterson’s System Pipe 1307 Bowl sans stem
  4. Brigham Made in Canada 625 Squat Straight Bulldog

I have included photos of the foursome below. They are in the order of the list above. I chose to work on the second pipe in the above photos. It is shown in the photos below and is stamped Jeantet [over] Fait Main (Hand Made) on the left topside of the shank. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with the number 9 (shape number perhaps) [over] Made in France. There is a Jeantet logo J in a silver oval on the left topside of the diamond stem. It is kind of a Freehand Bent Apple with a unique panelled shank. The pipe has some great grain around the bowl sides and shank. The rim top is bevelled inward and slightly oval. The bowl had a moderate cake on the walls and some lava on the rim top or edges of the bowl. The briar is dry and lifeless with some grime and grit ground into the briar. The stem was oxidized and had light toothmarks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The photos below show what I saw when I examined the pipe. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the bowl. The rim top has some heavy lava around the back half. There was some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and there is a moderate cake in the bowl. The stem is lightly oxidized and is very dirty from the shank to the button. There are light tooth marks and chatter on the stem on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the topsides of the shank. It reads as noted above. It is faint in spots but is still very readable. I took the stem off and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the size of the bowl. Before I started my work on this pipe I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what I could learn about Jeantet pipes (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-jeantet.html). There was nothing specific about Hand Made line though was a brief summary of the history. I quote from the top bar below:

The company joined the Cuty-Fort Entreprises group (Chacom, Ropp, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix…) in 1992. In 2010 it dropped out and the brand isn’t part of the group any more. The label is owned by the Jeantet family (Dominique Jeantet) again. The pipe production is discontinued. Dominique Jeantet retired in 2000. See also: Antidote, Duke of Kent, Grand Duke, Hermes, Sir Bruce, Sir Duke

I turned to Pipedia to get a more detailed history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jeantet). There as a short history there that I have reproduced below.

The firm of the Jeantet family in Saint-Claude is first mentioned as early as 1775. By 1807 the Jeantets operated a turnery producing in particular wooden shanks for porcelain pipes and wild cherry wood pipes. The firm was named Jeantet-David in 1816, and in 1837 the enterprise was transformed into a corporation as collective name for numerous workshops scattered all over the city.

The manufacturing of briar pipes and began in 1858. 51 persons were employed by 1890. Desirous to concentrate the workers at a single site, the corporation began to construct a factory edifying integrated buildings about 1891 at Rue de Bonneville 12 – 14. This took several years. In 1898 Maurice Jeantet restructured the business. He is also presumed to enlarge Jeantet factory purchasing a workshop adjoining southerly. It belonged to the family Genoud, who were specialized in rough shaping of stummels and polishing finished pipes. (In these times it was a most common procedure to carry goods from here to there and back again often for certain steps of the production executed by dependant family based subcontractors. Manpower was cheap.)

Jeantet was transformed to a corporation with limited liability in 1938. By that time a branch workshop was operated in Montréal-la-Cluse (Ain), where mainly the less expensive pipes were finished. 107 employees – 26 of them working from their homes – were counted in Saint-Claude in 1948 and 18 in the Ain facility.

The Saint-Claude factory was considerably modernized by ca. 1950 installing (e.g.) freight elevators. In 1952 the southern workshop was elevated. 80 workers were employed in 1958. The factory covered an area of 2831 m²; 1447 m² of the surface were buildings.

The climax of the pipe production was reached around 1969, when thirty to thirty five thousand dozens of pipes were made by 72 workers (1969). But then the production continuously dwindled to only six or seven thousand dozens in 1987 and only 22 workers were still there. Even though, around 1979 a very modern steam powered facility for drying the briar had been installed in the factory’s roofed yard.

Yves Grenard, formerly Jeantet’s chief designer and a great cousin of Pierre Comoy, had taken over the management of Chapuis-Comoy in 1971. Now, to preserve the brand, the Jeantet family went into negotiations with him, and resulting from that Jeantet was merged in the Cuty Fort Group (est. 1987 and headed by Chacom) in 1988 along with the pipe brands of John Lacroix and Emile Vuillard. Chacom closed the Jeantet plant, and the City of Saint-Claude purchased it in 1989. After alternative plans failed, the buildings were devoted to wrecking. The southerly workshop was wrecked before 1992.

Today Jeantet pipes were produced as a sub-brand by Chapuis-Comoy who’s mainstay is Chacom of course.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl sides with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls showed no heat damage or checking. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the top of the rim and the inner edge to make it look better.I scrubbed the externals bowl and shank with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and debris from the scrubbing. I scrubbed the internals of the airway and mortise in the shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until the airways were clean and the pipe smelled fresh. I took a photo of the shank end to give a sense of the shape of the stem and shank. The top half of the stem and shank are three panels. The bottom half of the shank is half of an oval. Together they form a unique shape.I sanded the surface of the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It took on a real shine on the briar as I worked through the pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris left behind. The pipe had cleaned up so well that I turned to polish the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. By the final pads the briar really had a shine. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really came alive with the balm. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. To help remove the oxidation I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub Cleanser and cotton pads. It took some elbow work but the stem definitely looked better and the sulphur smell of the oxidation is gone!I sanded the surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further clean up the spots of oxidation on the surface of the stem. I wiped it down with a soft damp cloth following each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. It really took on a shine and I knew that once it was buffed it would look amazing. This Jeantet Fait Main Freehand Bent Apple 9 with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain around the bowl sides stands out very well with the contrast of the polished vulcanite stem. I carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I 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 Jeantet Fait Main Freehand fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 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 52 grams/1.83 ounces. I will be adding this one to the French Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring the second Antique Collectible Find – a GT&Co Peterson’s System Standard 1307

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last weekend on April 27 Kenneth and I went to an antique and collectible sale at an arena in New Westminster, BC, Canada. I wrote about the adventure and posted it in a previous blog last weekend (https://rebornpipes.com/2024/04/28/you-have-to-join-kenneth-and-me-on-a-great-morning-pipe-hunt/). On the hunt I picked up four pipes that I have listed below:

  1. Jeantet Fait Main Bent Freehand Dublin 4 with a diamond shank
  2. Jeantet Fait Main Bent Apple 9 with a uniquely shaped shank and stem
  3. Republic Era Peterson’s System Pipe 1307 Bowl sans stem
  4. Brigham Made in Canada 625 Squat Straight Bulldog

I have included photos of the foursome below. They are in the order of the list above. I chose to work on the third pipe in the above photos. It is shown in the photos below and is Peterson’s with a forked tail [over] System [over] Standard on the left side of the shank. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] 1307 the shape number. There is a very clean nickel ferrule that is stamped on the left side and reads K&P over Makers Marks which makes it pre-circa 1963.The three symbols are a Shamrock, a Wolfhound and a Tower without a door. That is followed by the stamping Peterson’s. The pipe has some great grain around the bowl sides and shank. The rim top is flat and the edges look good. The bowl had a moderate cake on the walls and a light lava coat on the rim top and edges of the bowl. The briar has some grime and grit ground into the briar. There was no stem so I would need to fit a new one on the bowl. The photos below show what I saw when I examined the pipe. I took photos of the stamping on the undersides of the shank. It reads as noted above. It is faint in spots but is still very readable. I took the stem off and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the size of the bowl.I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the other pipes. It is a Peterson’s System Standard pipe with a 1307 shape number. The 307 is identical in shape, size and marking. I started my hunt for information by turning to a Peterson Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes and looked up the System Standard pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. But there was nothing to give me any information on what number 1 meant in the shape number 1307 that I am working on. Since this is stamped with the same “1” as previous Peterson pipes that I have worked on I turned to the blog and had a look. I am including the information on the unique numbering. Mark pointed me in the direction that I needed. I quote the pertinent part of his email. The underlined portion was the clue I was looking for on this pipe. I have already cleaned up several of Bob’s pipes that were sold through GT&C (Genin, Trudeau and Company, Montreal, Quebec).

The index at the back of the book is pretty good, and points you to all the GT&C goodies, but 155 has a photo from the catalog with your 1307, while 318 and 323 explain the rationale for the “1” prefix. In a nutshell, just drop the “1” and you’ve got the shape. My theory is that GT&C added this to aid them in warranty work, so they’d know the pipe was bought on Canadian soil.

I turned then to a previous blog I had written on a Kapruf 54 that had an odd shape number stamp and referred to the Canadian numbering system used by GT&C. Here it the link to that blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/08/09/back-to-bob-kerrs-estate-another-canadian-import-petersons-kapruf-a-54/). In the blog I included a link to a blog I did on the GT&C Catalogue that came to me in some paperwork the family gave me. I have included the cover of the catalogue and the page on the system pipes showing the 1312 shape. I have put a red box around the shape for ease of reference (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/13/petersons-pipes-brochure-from-genin-trudeau-co-montreal-quebec/). Be sure to check out the rest of the document on the link.

The GT&C Catalogue combined with the earlier Peterson Pipe Catalogue page make the link definitive. I am also including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the sytems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. I also knew that the pipe was brought into Canada by the Canadian Importer, Genin, Trudeau & Co. in Montreal, Quebec. Noting above that the catalogue postal code puts it in the late 60s early 70s which also fits the story. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I cleaned up the thin cake in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and sanded the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the top of the rim and the inner edge to make it look better.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime. I rinsed it off with warm running water and dried it off with a soft cloth. I cleaned the mortise and the airway in the shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. They were dirty but the pipe is clean now.   I sanded the surface of the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It took on a real shine on the briar. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris left behind. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim down after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris from the sanding. The rim top was looking very good after the final polishing pad.  I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to fitting a new stem. I chose a new stem for the pipe from my lot of new stem blanks. It is a Peterson’s Made Replacement stem so it should fit well once the work is done.I used a flat rasp to sand out the casting marks on the sides and ends of the stems. I followed that up with a folded piece of 220 sandpaper. I flattened out the casting marks and the sanded them smooth and blended them into the surface. I also sanded out the casting marks on the end of the stem and around the P-lip button. It looked much better at this point. I took a photo of the pipe bowl and the new stem. I still needed to do a lot more work on it to smooth out the scratches and file marks. It is going to look very good.I reshaped the shank end with 220 grit sandpaper to get a snug fit in the ferrule. It took time but as I shaped the angles the stem fit very well deep enough in the shank. I heated it with a lighter to soften the vulcanite and bent it to fit the angles of the bowl. I fit it in the shank and took photos of the pipe put back together. It looks good. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the debris left behind. It is beginning to look much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cotton pad to remove the sanding debris. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I finished by wiping it down with Obsidian Oil and buffing it to a shine. It feels good to be finishing the restoration of this Made for Canada GT&Co Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 1307. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I polished them 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 is quite stunning and really pops with the wax and polish. The newly fit shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Peterson’s System Standard 1307 Bent Billiard is a beauty. The polished nickel Ferrule works as a contrast between the stem and the briar and binds it all together. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 68 grams/2.40 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the rebornpipe store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This was an interesting estate to bring back to life.