John has started a great blog on his restorations. He wrote this morning to let me know he had posted this shout out to me. Thanks John… now visit his blog and enjoy his work.
Written and photographed by John M. Young This was what may have been my first restoration. It contains mistakes, early photographs and is written …
An MLC Hell Maria Restoration
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Kildare” Apple shaped pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It came to us from an Antique Store on 10/20/2022 in Vancouver, Washington, USA. This Lightweight Apple was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the number 87 near the shank/bowl junction. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was thickly coated in lava and it was hard to know how the rim top and edges looked underneath. The stem was dirty with oxidation and calcification on it. There were tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button and on the button edges as well. The P lip portion of the stem was bent downward putting the airway on the end of the stem. There was no “P” stamp logo on the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe.
Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is thickly caked and the rim top has a lava coat flowing down the outside of the bowl and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl is rough but I will know more once it is cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip has been heated and turned downward making the airway enter at the bend end! 
Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that is peeking out from underneath that overflow of lava and grime on the surface around this bowl. It is appears to have a nice looking pipe hidden underneath it all!
He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above.
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 turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.
Kildare (1965-) First issue of line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes, P-Lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue C.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte-brown, P-Lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-, burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to smokingpipes.com.
Judging from the description above I believe that I am working on a First Issue of the line in the time period of 1965-1979. It is a late Republic Era Classic Shaped pipe with a matte-finish and a P-Lip stem. Now it was time to work on the pipe.
With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. 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. There were portions of the bowl sides where the tars had stained the briar but it was clean! He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I started to work on it. 
I took some close-up photos of the rim top, bowl front and heel as well as the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the front and back of the bowl. The bowl front and heel had some darkening from the tars staining the briar. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the light tooth marks on the stem ahead of the button that do not show up well. The button was also bent downward and the airway was at the stem end.
One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe.
I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top, inner edge of the bowl and the darkening on the front of the bowl. I worked over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I used a medium grit sanding sponge and 220 grit sandpaper to sand the darkening on the bowl front. It looked better but still was too dark to my liking. I mixed a batch of oxalic acid and wiped down the darkened areas to see if that method would lighten it more. Each step took more of the darkening away. I sanded it again with the sanding sponge and 220 grit sandpaper and finally it was as good as it would get. Some of the darkening remained but it was still a big improvement.
I stained the bowl with a light brown aniline stain to try to cover and blend in the darkening on the rim top and front of the bowl. I applied the stain with a wool dauber and flamed it with a Bic lighter to set it in the grain. I set it aside to let the stain coat cure.
I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on cotton pads to lighten the opaque stain and make it more transparent. I like the way the pipe looked at this point in the process. I still needed to use micromesh on it but it was looking better.
I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. 
I rubbed the bowl and rim 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 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive.
I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. Someone had heated the tip of the button and bent it down to bring the airway on the top of the P-lip down to form a straight opening in the stem end. I heated the tip with a heat gun and carefully bent it back up and straight once again. The airway opening is certainly closer to the original than it was when I started. A bit more shaping is going to be necessary but it is better. 
I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem 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 a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. 
Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87 Apple with a taper stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87 Apple was another challenging pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.
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.
Great pipe company. Great pipe. Thanks Charles.
One hundred years of operation is a milestone for any company and pipe makers are no exception. Blatter Pipes was established by brothers Ernest and …
Going The Extra Mile for a Blatter Centenary Pipe
By Al Jones
This is 2nd Comoy’s on my workbench this week and the first 202 shape I’ve encountered. I would have called this one a Billiard shape, but the Comoy’s shape chart identifies it as a “Cutty”. There is a very slight cant to the bowl. Below is a photo from a 1975 catalog showing the shape. This one weights only 26 grams!
The pipe has some build-up on the bowl top, the sandblast was very dirty and the stem heavily oxidized. There was a very thin cake, as if it had been maintained at that level.
Below is the pipe as it was received.
I used a piece of scotch brite to remove the build-up on the bowl top. The stain was lightened some, so I used Fieblings Medium Brown dye to match the rest of the bowl.
I reamed the cake and soaked the bowl with sea salt and alcohol. The shank was thoroughly scrubbed with a brush dipped in alcohol, until the brush came clean on a paper towel.
There was a slight tooth indention on the bottom of the stem at the button. I used my heat gun to lift the indention,and set it with cold water. The stem was mounted and I removed the oxidation with 600,800, 1500 and 2000 grade wet sandpaper. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic polish. The bowl was hand buffed with Halycon wax.
Below is the finished pipe.
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe I chose to work on came from a lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was traveling in Europe. In the box were 5 Stanwells, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, and 1 Brigham.
The pipe on the table is a mixed finish (sandblast and smooth) Bent Apple with a diamond shank and acrylic amber shank extension from the lot above. It is the pipe in the lot that is in the worst condition with a snapped shank at the bowl. The pipe is faintly stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Stanwell [followed by] the shape number 15 [over] Antique. Underneath it is stamped Made in Denmark. There was a thick cake in the bowl, cobwebs in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and down on the sides of the bowl and shank. The edges of the bowl were so thickly coated with lava that it was hard to know the condition. The finish is oily, dirty and dusty around the bowl and shank sides. The sandblast was almost filled in with lava. The smooth panel on the front was also heavily tarred and covered in lava. The amber coloured shank extension was so coated with tars that it was hard to see its true colour. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside. The snapped shank is a clean break and there is darkening around the airway on both parts. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. 
I checked my usual sources for information on the Antique line but there was nothing specific on either Pipedia or Pipephil’s site. I also checked on Pipedia in the article on shape number and shape designers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers).
15. Two versions of this shape number:
a) Quarter-bent footless cutty with a round shank and tapered churchwarden stem.
b) Bent apple with a triangular shank and saddle, or half-saddle, stem.
The data was all coming together finally – I was working on a Stanwell Antique in shape 15 which is a Bent Apple with a triangular shank and amber coloured extension with a saddle stem. Now it was time to work on the repair of this tired and worn looking old timer.
I reamed the bowl portion of the broken pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer using the third cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out.
I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and the broken shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It looked surprisingly better and the tars and lava filling in the sandblast was gone. I scrubbed the broken face of the shank and bowl with the tooth brush to remove the lava around the airway.
I used a short piece of aluminum inner tube to bind the two parts together. I measured what it would take to have some of the tube in each side of the break. I cut it to fit with a hacksaw blade. I inserted it in the parts and took a look at the fit. I glued it in the airway in the bowl end with clear CA glue and painted the tube and the two briar faces with the clear CA glue. I pressed the two pieces together and held them together until the glue cured.
I filled in the areas in the crack repair that were visible with another coat of clear CA glue and briar dust.
I worked the area over with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the high spots on the repair and wiped off the excess CA glue with a cotton pad and acetone (fingernail polish remover). The photos below show the repair at this point.
I wiped off the bowl with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust from the clean up at this point. I took photos of the repaired bowl at this point.
I used a Dremel and a burr to clean up the worn sandblast patterns around the bowl and shank. I used it to also carry the blast across the repaired area. It looked much better.
At this point in the process it was time to stain the pipe. I used a Cordovan to approximate the reddish brown stain that was on the original Antique pipe. I applied it with a wool dauber and then flamed the grain to set the stain. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage.
I wiped the bowl down alcohol to make the finish more transparent and give some depth to the grain. I used cotton pads and isopropyl to remove it. I repeated the process until I was happy with the new coverage.
I remembered at this point that I had not cleaned the internals. I scrubbed out the internals with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the shank and the airway into the bowl and the stem were clean. You will notice that there was some red stain that came out of the inside of the shank with the cleaning. 
I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the darkening on the high spots on the blast. The sanding would give depth and contrast to the finish. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top took on a deep shine that highlighted the grain.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush 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 “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a “Bic” lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to raise them some but not completely. I filled in the remaining marks on the button edge and the surface with black CA glue. Once it cured, I used a file to shape the button edge and also smooth out the fill. I sanded the remaining marks with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the surrounding vulcanite. I started polishing the stem surface with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.
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 finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. 
This Stanwell Antique 15 Bent Apple with a Triangle Shank and a saddle vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of Cordovan and black stains highlights the sandblasted grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe turned out great even in the repaired area. 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 Antique 15 Bent Apple 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 62 grams/2.19 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over what appeared to be a hopelessly damaged pipe. This Stanwell Antique 15 Bent Apple turned out fairly well. It will make someone a great pipe at a great price. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know! 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.
By Al Jones
This pre-Cadogan (made prior to the 1981 merger) came to me via eBay. It is only the third “Patina” finish Comoys that I’ve had on my workbench. The Comoy’s shape chart calls the shape 87 the “Woodstock” It is shown on the shape chart, but I’ve never seen it in a catalog. From the index in Neil Archer Roan’s magnificent “Comoy’s Blue Riband” book, the shape was originally called the “Boston” and originated in the early 1900’s.
From a blog entry of a previous Patina pipe, historian Jon Guss shared some information about the Patina grade,and a catalog price list.
Hi Al, I can tell you a little about the Patina but only a very little. It was in the middle to lower tier of Comoy’s branded models, introduced in 1973 and withdrawn in the early Eighties. There are a number of 1970s Comoy catalogs floating around and anyone who has one (I don’t) can transcribe the entire copy for you. I’m pretty sure advertisements and/or catalogs referred to the briar as “specially selected” and “aged”, and to the “reddish walnut color” stain as a special selling feature (hence Patina). At least one ad labeled the pipe as “moderate in price, exceptional in looks”. In 1975 the Patina was retailing at $12.50. Cheers, Jon
The pipe was in very good condition, and was an easy restoration. The finish was faded, with some very slight build up on the bowl top and a slightly oxidized stem. Below, is the pipe as it was received.
I used a worn piece of scotch-brite to remove the build-up on the bowl top. The bowl itself held nearly no cake, so I used a piece of sandpaper to remove what was there. The bowl was in excellent shape. The bowl was then soaked with alcohol and sea salt.
Following the bowl soak, the stem was mounted and oxidation removed with 800, 1,500 and 2,000 grade wet sandpaper. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond rouge and Meguairs Plastic polish. The bowl was buffed lightly with White Diamond and then several coats of carnuba wax.
Below is the finished pipe.
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe I chose to work on came from a lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was travelling in Europe. In the box were 5 Stanwells, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, and 1 Brigham.
The pipe on the table is a mixed finish (rusticated and smooth) freehand from the lot above. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Nording [over] Made in Denmark. There was a thick cake in the bowl, cobwebs in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. There was a light lava overflow in the plateau of the rim top. The edges of the bowl were in good condition. The finish is dirty and dusty and there was some spotty varnish on the bowl and shank sides. The stem was oxidized on the top and underside. The stem had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it.
I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows some thin lava spots on the smooth finish and in the plateau. The inner and outer edges of the bowl looked good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. 
The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. 
I removed the stem from the shank and was not surprised to see the Brigham Hard Maple filter in the metal tenon. 
Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to learn more about where this pipe fit into the Nording lines so I turned to the first of two sites that I always check to gather information on a brand. I turned first to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%B8rding). Nording’s were exclusively freehand shapes, graded from A, B, C, D, up to its highest grade, extra. Later an “F” grade was added—less expensive than the “A.” I could find no other information on the rest of the stamping on the pipe.
I did find a great collage of photos of Erik Nording that I have included below. 
I turned to the second information site – Pipephil’s (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-n2.html) did not find any more helpful information on the Nording Made in Denmark stamp.
I began my work by wiping the finish down with acetone to remove the varnish coat on the briar. It was spotty and uneven so wiping it down removed the remainder of the coat.
I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the third cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out.
I scrubbed out the internals with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the shank and the airway into the bowl and the stem were clean.
I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and the rim a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone.
I polished the bowl and the rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top took on a deep shine that highlighted the grain.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush 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.
With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. 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 finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem.
I am excited to finish this Nording Made in Denmark Freehand. 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 microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the mixed smooth, rusticated and plateau finish. Added to that the polished black, fancy turned vulcanite stem was beautiful. This mixed grain on the Nording Made in Denmark Freehand is nice 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: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.90 ounces/54 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.
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.
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe I chose to work on came from a lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was travelling in Europe. In the box were 5 Stanwells, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, and 1 Brigham.The pipe on the table is a rusticated Brigham Bent Billiard from the lot above. The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads 224 [shape number] followed by Brigham in script. Underneath it is stamped Made in Canada. There was a thick cake in the bowl, cobwebs in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. There was a light lava overflow on the smooth rim top. The edges of the bowl were in good condition with a few small nicks on the outer edge. The rusticated finish is dirty and dusty. The stem was oxidized and spotty on the top and underside and around the shank end. The stem did not have tooth marks or chatter. There were two brass dots on the left side of the taper stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. 
I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows some thin lava spots on the smooth finish. The inner and outer edges of the bowl looked good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It looked very good under the spotty oxidation.
The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. The two horizontal brass dots on the left side of the stem side were slightly tarnished.
I removed the stem from the shank and was not surprised to see the Brigham Hard Maple filter in the metal tenon. You can see the two brass dots on the left side of the stem in the photo below.
For historical background for those unfamiliar with the brand I am including the information from Pipedia on Brigham pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history and background on the pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes). Charles Lemon (Dadspipes) has recently published a book on the history of the brand. If you can get a hold of a copy it is a great read. The Pipedia article is a good summary. I have included it below.
Roy Brigham, after serving an apprenticeship under an Austrian pipesmith, started his own pipe repair shop in Toronto, in 1906. By 1918 the business had grown to include five other craftsmen and had developed a reputation across Canada for the high quality of workmanship. After repairing many different brands of pipes over the years, Roy noted certain recurring complaints by pipe smokers, the most common referred to as “tongue bite”. Tongue bite is a burning sensation on the smoker’s tongue, previously thought to be due to the heat of the smoke (i.e. a “hot smoking pipe”).
He soon began manufacturing his own pipes, which were lightweight, yet featured a more rugged construction, strengthening the weak points observed in other pipes. The problem of tongue bite intrigued him, and he decided to make overcoming it a future goal.
About 1938, Roy’s son Herb joined him to assist in the business. The business barely survived the great depression because pipes were considered to be a luxury, not a necessity, and selling pipes was difficult indeed. In approximately 1937 [1], after some experimentation, Roy and Herb discovered that tongue bite was in fact a form of mild chemical burn to the tongue, caused by tars and acids in the smoke. They found that by filtering the smoke, it was possible to retain the flavour of the tobacco and yet remove these impurities and thereby stop the tongue bite.
Just as Thomas Edison had searched far and wide for the perfect material from which to make the first electric light bulb filaments, Roy & Herb began experimenting with many materials, both common and exotic, in the quest for the perfect pipe filter. Results varied wildly. Most of the materials didn’t work at all and some actually imparted their own flavour into the smoke. They eventually found just two materials that were satisfactory in pipes: bamboo and rock maple. As bamboo was obviously not as readily available, rock maple then became the logical choice.
They were able to manufacture a replaceable hollow wooden tube made from rock maple dowelling, which when inserted into a specially made pipe, caused absolutely no restriction to the draw of the pipe, yet extracted many of the impurities which had caused tongue bite. The result was indeed a truly better smoking pipe…
Charles Lemon has also written a great article on the stamping and marking on the Brigham pipes that fit into a time line that he has drafted. It is well worth a read and is fascinating. (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes_%E2%80%93_A_Closer_Look_at_Dots,_Dates_and_Markings). I quote from the pertinent section on the time frame for this pipe.
Around the late 1960s or early 1970s, at the beginning of what I’ve called the Canadian Era (roughly 1970 – 1980), the stampings changed again as Brigham moved to modernize its logo. Pipes are stamped with the 3-digit shape number and “Brigham” over “Made in Canada”.
This solidly places the pipe I am working on in the period of Brigham production that Charles calls the Canadian Era (1970-80). It is a great looking pipe with a slightly different rustication pattern than some of the early Brighams I have worked on.
Charles also put together a chart that helps the restorer to understand the Brigham dot system. I quote from the same link on Pipedia as noted above.
The Original Brigham Dot System 1938 – 1980
Brigham pipes are renown in the pipe world for their famous “Brigham Dots”, a system of brass pins inset in the stem to denote the grade of each pipe. The original 8-grade pinning system, used for 42 years between 1938 and 1978 (spanning the Patent, Post-Patent and Canadian Eras) looked like this: 
With the information from Charles’ article and the chart above I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. The pipe was made between in 1970-1980 because of the style of the stamping noted above. The 2 dots on the pipe told me that it was a Brigham Select. Now it was time to work on the pipe.
I began my work by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the third cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.
I scrubbed out the internals with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the shank and the airway into the bowl and the stem were clean. You will notice that there was some red stain that came out of the inside of the shank with the cleaning. 
I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and the rim a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone.
I polished the smooth rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top took on a deep shine that highlighted the grain.
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush 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.
With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation on the surface of the vulcanite. It came out looking much better. 
I sanded out the remaining oxidation and the tooth marks with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. 
Before polishing the stem further, I decided to fit it with a new Rock Maple Distillator.
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 finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem.
I am excited to finish this Brigham 2 Bent Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond 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 and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rusticated finish. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem with the shining brass pins was beautiful. This mixed grain on the rusticated Brigham Select 2 Dot Bent Billiard is nice 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.90 ounces/54 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Canadian Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.
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.
Blog by Kenneth Lieblich
Next on the chopping block is a personal pipe – and one that is staying in my collection. This pipe is a charming apple shape with a straight stem of what I assume is amberoid – and not real amber. I do not know where my grandfather acquired it (or under what circumstances), but I suppose it does not ultimately matter. My grandfather was an enthusiastic pipe smoker and he clearly enjoyed this one. I am definitely looking forward to cleaning this one up. It has a value well beyond dollars.
As the photos show, this pipe has a stem that tapers towards the button. In addition to this, it also has an orific button. These two facts suggest a pipe from the pre-WW2 era. For more information on the orific button, take the time to read Steve’s interesting article on the subject. This type of button is a feature that apparently disappeared by the 1930s, but the metal tenon suggests a date that is more likely in the 1940s.
The pipe’s markings read Racine de [over] Bruyere [over] Garantie (on the left side of the shank). Alas, there are no other markings to be found. As you may know, Racine de Bruyere Garantie means “Guaranteed Briar Root”. This indicates that the pipe almost certainly comes from St Claude, France, but gives no indication of who made it. As previously mentioned, I do not know the exact date of the pipe, but it is likely from the 1940s.
Anyway, on to the pipe – and it’s a pipe that just makes you smile. There is something wholesome and comforting about the look of the pipe. I must admit, however, that I may be thinking of my grandfather more than the pipe!
This poor pipe was not without its issues. The stummel had the following problems: lava on the rim, charring to the rim, a bashed rim, plenty of cake in the bowl, a few substantial and ugly fills, and a tired, worn-out colour of wood. By the way, some of the strange “marks” on the bowl are, in fact, old bits of newspaper. After my grandfather died, the pipes were wrapped in newspaper and stuck in a box. The newspaper got wet at some point in the intervening years. Meanwhile, the stem had its own set of problems: major tooth marks and dents, a bite-through, and a filthy stinger.
The stem was first on my list. The stinger actually screwed into the tenon – and it was being quite stubborn about coming out! I opted to warm the stinger with a heat gun and this provided just enough softening of the internal goo to allow me to pull it out. The stinger then went for a soak in some lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I let it set for several hours and then cleaned it off and it looked much improved. I then finished it with some 0000-grit steel wool, greased the threads with some petroleum jelly and moved on.
I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. As I mentioned earlier, I think this stem is made from amberoid. This is a synthetic of small pieces of amber, pressed together under great pressure and high heat.
Now it was time to make a fix the damage. I tried desperately hard to clean the discoloration inside and outside the stem, but this met with limited success. I ended up filing the dents etc. with clean cyanoacrylate adhesive. I first plugged up the stem’s draught hole with a pipe cleaner coated in petroleum jelly. This ensured that any of the cyanoacrylate would not accidentally plug up the air passage in the stem.
I then used a miniature file to shape the button and make it suitable for sanding. I then sanded the stem down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. This ensures that it keeps its shape and looks like it should. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stem to make look as much like amber as possible. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. It is worth noting that a repair this big on a stem will never be invisible, but I was pleased with how the stem finished up.
On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I used the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake, and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to remove as much as I could. I wanted to take the bowl down to bare briar to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel – it took many pipe cleaners et cetera to clean it out. Have a look at the photos – disgusting!
I decided that a de-ghosting session would be a good idea. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this.
One interesting point of note is that the mortise on this pipe is lined with cork (another sign of the pipe’s age). This complicated the cleaning process, as I needed to ensure that the alcohol etc. didn’t degrade the cork. I worked carefully and it turned out alright.
I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. That removed the bits of aforementioned newspaper and any remaining dirt. I also soaked the rim in Murphy’s for a while, then used a toothbrush to loosen up the lava.
There were several notable dents and nicks on the rim. Normally, I would top the pipe on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. I didn’t do that this time because I wanted to maintain the rounded profile of the rim. I still used 220-grit sandpaper, but made sure to keep the look of the pipe.
Having completed that, I was able to address the fills on the stummel. I used a dental tool to dig out the old, crumbly putty. I filled the divots with a mixture of cyanoacrylate adhesive and briar dust – then let it cure. Now, with the nicks filled, it was time to sand down the stummel. I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand everything smooth.
After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. What a difference that made! 
I felt that this pipe really needed some colour for two reasons: some dark colour would contrast nicely with the orange of the stem and it would help obscure some of the dreadful fills. I applied Fiebing’s Cordovan Leather Dye with a cotton dauber. I flamed it with my Bic lighter, let it set, then coated it again with dye, flamed it again, and let that set too. I decided to let the pipe sit overnight. Upon the morrow, I used isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the pipe and remove excess stain. I am very happy with the results.
Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood look absolutely beautiful.
This is a wonderfully crafted pipe and has a very elegant feel to it. It took a lot of work, but I am proud of it and the final product is (hopefully) worthy of my beloved grandfather’s memory. Obviously, this is one pipe that I am keeping for myself and adding to my collection. I am sure that I will be enjoying this one for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅜ in. (136 mm); height 1⅝ in. (43 mm); bowl diameter 1⅜ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¼ oz. (40 g). If you are interested in more of 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.
Blog by Steve Laug
The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s London& Dublin Apple shaped pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It came to us from an Antique Store on 10/20/2022 in Vancouver, Washington, USA. This Lightweight Apple was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] London & Dublin. It was stamped on the right side near the shank/stem junction it is stamped with the shape number 86. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was thickly coated in lava and it was hard to know how the rim top and edges looked underneath. The stem was dirty with oxidation and calcification on it. There were tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button and on the button edges as well. There was no “P” stamp logo on the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe.
Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is caked and the rim top has a lava coat and the inner edge of the bowl is rough and shows knife damage. The photos of the stem show tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. 
Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe.
He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above.
I have restored a few Peterson’s Dublin & London in the past so I turned to my blog to have a look at the background information that I included in those blogs. I found the following link to a one of those pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/02/24/restoring-a-made-in-ireland-petersons-dublin-london-999-rhodesian/). I also am including the background information I had gathered on the line from the previous blog. I quote:
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).
I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Dublin & London Pipe. On page 298 it had the following information.
Dublin & London (c1940-97, 2016-) First mentioned in a 1940 brochure, but probably not widely distributed until ’45, Dublin & London was the highest quality line (aside from the Supreme, introduced in ’53) until about ’86. P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, polished finish, although sandblast described in ’70 Iwan Ries & Co. catalog. COMs include MADE IN over IRELAND (1940-80) and MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC over OF IRELAND (c1980-97)…
…London & Dublin – English made version of the Dublin & London, made in Peterson’s English factory until it closed in 1962. Classic Range shapes were not as a rule banded and no genuinely hallmarked specimens of the pipes with this model name have been documentd. Rare examples may be additionally stamped Natural. COM on all pipes is LONDON MADE over ENGLAND. Mouthpiece maybe stamped P.
Judging from the description above, the pipe I am working on is stamped with the stamp noted in red above. It does not have a COM stamp or if it did it has been buffed out. The London & Dublin stamp identifies the pipe as an English made version of the Dublin & London. 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, 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 the darkened spots 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 Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived.
I took 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 had some looked quite good and the inner edge had some darkening and damage. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks on the surface near the button on both sides and on the button itself.
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 removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look.
I decided to address the damage on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and bring the bowl back to round. 
I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the bowl after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. 
I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank 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 “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a “Bic” lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to raise them some but not completely. I filled in the remaining marks on the button edge and the surface with black CA glue. Once it cured I used a file to shape the button edge and also smooth out the fill. I sanded the remaining marks with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the surrounding vulcanite. I started polishing the stem surface with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.
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 finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem.
I am excited to finish this English Peterson’s London & Dublin, Apple 86. 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. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl and brass band on the shank and made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Older Peterson’s London & Dublin English Made Apple 86 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 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 34grams/1.20oz. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.
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.
rebornpipes 