Restoring a Danish Mr. Andersen Hand Crafted 3 Freehand with acrylic saddle stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a beautiful freehand in a brand we had not seen before. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Wellsville, Kansas, USA on 12/09/2024. Probably the fact that it is a Danish and Hand Crafted caught our eye on this one. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Mr. Andersen in script [over] Hand Crafted [over] Made in Denmark followed by the number 3. It is a nice looking Freehand “Dublinesque” Freehand that had great grain around the bowl and shank. The rim top was smooth and rectangular with a bit of scoop running from front to back of the bowl. The finish looked good other than the usual dust. The bowl had been recently reamed and the rim top was quite clean other than some oils. The edge of the bowl looked to be in good condition. The acrylic saddle was a bit off at the shank end in terms of a smooth transition between the shank and stem and there was tooth chatter and light tooth marks on both sides near the button. There is no logo stamp on the stem. The surface of the button looks very good on both sides. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is clean and the rim top looks good. The inner edge of the bowl is in excellent condition. The stem has some fitting issues at the shank and there is light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the condition of the smooth finish around this bowl. The grain is quite beautiful and it is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the stamping on underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took photos of the part to give a sense of the look of the pipe.Before I started working on the pipe I wanted to get a sense of the provenance of the pipe. It was a brand with which I was unfamiliar. I turned first to Pipephil’s site and there was nothing on that brand. I turned then to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Mr._Andersen). The was some interesting information on the brand and help with the carver of the pipe. I quote:

It had previously been reported that Jørgen Larsen made Mr. Andersen pipes. However David Field, the importer for Larsen states, “Jørgen Larsen never made Mr. Andersen pipes to my knowledge.”

As it turns out, there are two Jørgen Larsens making pipes!

Søren Eric Andersen writes, “the brand MR: ANDERSEN was introduced by Remo Sørensen, a well known pipe dealer in Copenhagen. The pipes were made by several pipemakers, although I personally only knew one of them, Jørgen Larsen, formerly with Larsen & Stigart. It is unlucky that there are TWO Jørgen Larsens in this small trade, but the name is rather common in Denmark. I was not happy with [them using] that brand [name] for obvious reasons, but Andersen is quite a common name too. With my best regards, Søren Eric Andersen.”

José Manuel Lopes states in Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks that these pipes were also made by Jarl and Chieftan.

Nikolaj Nielsen, proprietor of The Danish Pipes Shop reports that Finn Andersen was the maker (or perhaps one of the makers) of Mr. Andersen pipes for Remo Sørensen. It is unclear if this Finn Andersen, is Finn Meyan Andersen, who was instrumental in setting up the machinery at the Briar Workshop, but that seems possible, if not likely.

Now I knew the pipe was probably sold by Remo Sorensen a well known pipe dealer in Copenhagen. Jorgen Larsen of Larsen & Stigart was probably the carver. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Armed with that information I turned my attention to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. He cleaned up the reaming with a PipNet pipe reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brushes and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the light lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. He cleaned the acrylic stem alcohol and pipe cleaners to remove the oils and tars. He scrubbed the surface with some Soft Scrub to clean up the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the dust and oils on the top and the edges of the bowl. It looked very good. The stem had a sloppy fit to the shank and there was light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank sides to show the condition. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo to show the parts of the pipe. It is a beauty.I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the bowl with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust. The bowl began to look amazing. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm 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. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I worked on the fit to the shank with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to smooth the stem on the sides and underside to match the flow of the shank. The topside took a bit more work to flatten the transition and smooth the flow. I smoothed out the sanded area with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. Once it was smooth I stained the top of the shank with a Cherry Stain pen.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The tooth marks and chatter had disappeared.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil. I finished by polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both fine and extra Fine and then wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This is a beautiful Mr. Andersen Hand Crafted Freehand Dublin with a square shank and square acrylic saddle stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the scooped rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The Mr. Andersen Freehand Dublin polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich stains work well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches wide x 2 ½ inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.33 ounces/66 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the Danish Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Restoring a Handsome Peterson System 1312 Sandblast

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next up is a pipe that came in a recent lot I acquired – and it’s a classic. This is a republic-era Peterson System Standard 1312 bent billiard. The sandblast on it is really craggy, attractive, and satisfying. Naturally, the stem has the classic Peterson P-lip. The 1312 is exactly the same pipe shape as the 312 – the initial ‘1’ simply indicates that it was made for the Canadian market. Looking on the underside of the stummel, we can see the marks. First, we have Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. To the right of that we see Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland. Then the shape number 1312. On the nickel ferrule, there are more marks. K&P [over] the symbols (not hallmarks) of a shamrock, a lion and a standing figure. Next to that is the name Peterson’s.Steve and I have written about the Peterson System many times in many blogs. The Peterson System pipes are well-storied among Peterson collectors/admirers. I took the opportunity to read the article on Pipedia, specifically about the System pipes, by Jim Lilley. There is lots of good information there and I encourage you to read it: https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe.As usual, I owe a debt of gratitude to Mark Irwin of Peterson Pipe Notes. He has a very interesting article on the various System shapes and I highly recommend having a look: https://petersonpipenotes.org/146-a-guide-to-system-shapes-1896-2019-part-1-the-300-shape-group/. Here is a screenshot of the relevant bit:On to the pipe itself. It appears to be in very good shape, albeit a bit drab from use. There’s cake inside the bowl, but the outside looks perfectly sound. The stem has a bit of tooth chatter, but (fortunately) very little oxidation or calcification.I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those spots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. However, I did notice a few small craze lines on the inside. Someone must have been smoking with great gusto! No problem – I can fix that.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds and used a nylon-bristle brush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.To deal with the little craze lines, I used an epoxy adhesive that is extremely hard, resistant to high temperatures, and completely inert when cured. It worked superbly. I thinly applied it to the affected area and let it cure for a full 24 hours. The next day, I roughened up the epoxy’s surface with 220-grit sandpaper for the next step. I thinly coated the inside of the bowl with a mixture of my wife’s homemade yogurt and activated charcoal. Once hardened, this provided a good, faintly rough surface for a new cake to build.I then buffed the nickel ferrule with a couple of very gentle Micromesh pads, then then buffed it with a jewellery cloth.I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Peterson System Standard 1312 bent billiard looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Irish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅔ in. (143 mm); height 4 in. (102 mm); bowl diameter 1⅓ in. (34 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1½ oz. (46 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a beautiful Tilshead England Made by Hand Dublin

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a Peterson Rusticated Meerschaum Bulldog. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/21/2024. Probably the fact that it is a Tilshead Hand Made caught our eye on this one. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Tilshead [over] England. On the right side it is stamped Made by Hand. It is a nice looking Dublin that was made by James Upshall company. The finish is a bit dull and dirty with dust and grime. The bowl has a light cake and the rim top has some darkening and some possible damage around the inner edge on the back. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and light tooth marks on both sides near the button. There is no logo stamp on the stem. The surface of the button looks very good on both sides. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is lightly caked and the rim top looks good. The inner edge of the bowl has some possible burn damage and darkening toward the back of the bowl. 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 smooth finish around this bowl. The grain is quite beautiful and it is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides and the top of the stem. It is clear and readable as noted above.Before I started my work on the pipe I looked up Tilshead Pipes on Pipephil’s site to see what they had in terms of information (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t6.html).I looked up Tilshead on Pipedia and it sent me to the listing for Upshall pipes as they also made Tilshead (https://pipedia.org/wiki/James_Upshall). I read through the article and found the section on Grading & Sizing Information really helpful. I have included that below. I have highlighted the pertinent text in red below.

James Upshall pipes are graded by various finishes, i.e. bark, sandblast, black dress and smooth etc. Then by cross grain, flame grain, straight grain and, last but not least, the perfect high grade, which consists of dense straight grain to the bowl and shank. The latter being extremely rare. In addition, the price varies according to group size, i.e. from 3-4-5-6 cm high approximately Extra Large. We also have the Empire Series which are basically the giant size, individually hand crafted pipes which come in all finishes and categories of grain. All our pipes are individually hand carved from the highest quality, naturally dried Greek briar. In order to simplify our grading system, let me divide our pipes into 4 basic categories.

  1. It begins with the Tilshead pipe, which smokes every bit as good as the James Upshall but has a slight imperfection in the briar. In the same category price wise you will find the James Upshall Bark and Sandblast finish pipes, which fill and smoke as well as the high grades.
  2. In this category we have the best “root quality” which means that the grain is either cross, flame or straight, which is very much apparent through the transparent differing color finishes. This group will qualify as the “S”- Mahogany Red, “A” – Chestnut Tan and “P” – Walnut. The latter having the straighter grain.
  3. Here you have only straight grain, high grade pipes, which run from the “B”, “G”, “E”, “X” and “XX”. The latter will be the supreme high grade. Considering the straightness of the grain the latter category is also the rarest. Usually no more than 1% of the production will qualify.
  4. Lastly, we have the Empire Series. These are basically Limited Edition gigantic individually hand crafted pieces, which again are extremely rare due to the scarcity of large, superior briar blocks.

Armed with that information I turned my attention to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brushes and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils on the top and the edges of the bowl. It looked very good. The stem had some remaining oxidation and some light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides to show the condition is after the clean up. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo to show the parts of the pipe. It is a beauty.I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the bowl with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust. The bowl began to look amazing. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm 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. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The tooth marks were blended in quite well.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil. I finished by polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both fine and extra Fine and then wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This is a beautiful James Upshall Made Tilshead England Made By Hand Dublin with a vulcanite tapered stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the beveled rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The Tilshead England Dublin polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich stains work well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.76 ounces/50 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the British Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

New Life for an English Pipe Shop Algerian Briar Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is a beautiful mix of grains on a straight apple. We bought it from antique shop in Wheeler, Oregon, USA. It is a truly beautiful piece of briar that is stamped English Pipe Shop on the left side of the shank and Algerian Briar on the right side. It is a brand I have not seen before but I really like the classic shape and the chunky shape. The grain on it is beautiful. The had a thick cake that had overflowed onto the rim top in thick lava. The inner and outer edge of the rim top was protected by the lava coat. I am hoping it will look good once it is cleaned up. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there was some chatter and tooth marks on the top and bottom of the stem near the button. The fit of the stem is perfect to the shank and there was no stamping or logo on the side of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The bowl had a thick cake and a thick overflow of lava on the rim top that hopefully protected the crowned rim. The outer edge looked to be in decent condition. The stem showed some oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. He also took a photo of the side and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl under the grain. The photos show the general condition of the bowl and it is quite clean and another beautiful pipe. Jeff took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. The photos show the stamping. It is clear and readable as noted above. The stamping is deep on all the downward tails of the stamping on both sides.I cannot find any information on the brand though the stamping seems to point to an American made pipe. That is all I can determine from my observation of the pipe. It was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the crowned surface of the rim top. Jeff scrubbed the interior of the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and when finished he rinsed it off with warm water and dried it off with a soft cloth. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The stem also looked better. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils but you can now see the darkening on the top and the edges of the bowl. The stem had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides to show the condition is. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I also removed the stem and took a photo of the appearance of the parts of the pipe.
I decided to address the rim top first. To remove the darkening on the rim top and edges of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper. That removed a lot of the damage on the rim top and outer edge.I sanded the bowl and rim with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to begin the process of removing the scratches and blending the restored rim top into the rest of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris. The photos tell the story. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the bowl with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust. The bowl began to look amazing. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm 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. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I “painted” the tooth marks on the stem with the flame of a lighter. I was able to lift them all. I smoothed out the surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The tooth marks were blended in quite well.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil. I finished by polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both fine and extra Fine and then wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This is a beautiful English Pipe Shop Apple with a vulcanite tapered stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the beveled rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The English Pipe Shop pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich stains work well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the American Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Restoring a Millville Unique Made by Hand in London City Acorn

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is a beautiful cross grain Bent Acorn. We bought it from a friend in Barrington, Rhode Island, USA. It is a truly beautiful piece of briar that is stamped Millville [over] Unique on the left side of the shank and Made by Hand [over] in [over] London City on the right side. The City stamp is slightly different that the stamping on Made in London. I have had a few Millville pipes come across my table over the years but this one is stunning. The cross grain on it is beautiful. When Jeff received it the bowl had been reamed and the pipe was quite clean. The stem was lightly oxidized and there was some chatter and tooth marks on the top and bottom of the stem near the button. The fit of the stem is perfect to the shank and there is a very faint characteristic M that graces this brand of pipe. It is almost gone from over-buffing but I am hoping it will still show when we have finished cleaning up the pipe. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it.Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The crowned rim top was very clean with a slight bit of darkening on the back inner edge. The outer edge looked to be in decent condition. The stem showed some oxidation and light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. He also took a photo of the side and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. The photos show the general condition of the bowl and it is quite clean and another beautiful pipe. Jeff took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank and the stem. The photos show the stamping Millville [over] Unique on the left side and Made by Hand [over] in [over] London City on the right side. He also captured the M stamp on the stem side.I wanted to know more about the brand so I did a bit of searching on the web to see what I could find out about Millville pipes. I turned first to Pipephil’s site to see what he had for information (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m5.html). I did a screen capture of the section on the brand and have included that below. I also included the sidebar information below the picture. The pipe I am working is stamped like the second one below and is a Unique.Artisans: Dennis and John Marshall (father and son). They formerly worked at Charatans factory.

I turned to Pipedia for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Millville). I have summarized what I found below:

Dennis Marshall started the brand in 1980. He had worked for Barling and Charatan for many years. His son John now makes all of the Millville pipes as Dennis is retired. Their pipes still very closely follow the artistic, freeform designs and grading of the old Charatan lines. The pipes are sold almost exclusively in Piccadilly, London in a stall in the market in front of St. James’s Church. Though you can sometimes find them online at British pipe sellers such as Bond’s of London. According to Pipedia the prices of their pipes “start at about 20 £ – hardly the price of a cheapish Stanwell. These were made from pre-turned bowls. The better pipes, entirely hand-made freehands in the old Charatan style, are made from a stock of very old briar, as John stresses. They use several grades like “Unique” or “Executive”. A “Bamboo” can make it up to 500 £.”

Jeff cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the on the back side of the inner edge. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The stem also looked better. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove the darkening on the back inner edge of the bowl and any remaining grime. It looked very good. The stem looked very good. The oxidation was all removed and the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button were less visible and would polish out.I took photos of the stamping on the shank to show their condition. They are clear and readable. The M stamp on the left side of the stem is faint but readable and I am hoping to be able to touch it up with white acrylic to make it stand out. I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of the look of this Unique. I polished the rim top and the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded the bowl with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm 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. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I touched up the faint M stamp on the left side of the stamp with white acrylic fingernail polish. I worked it into the stamp and scraped it off with my nail. I cleaned up the excess with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. It looked quite good though faint in spots.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil. I finished by polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both fine and extra Fine and then wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This is a beautiful Millville Unique Hand Made in London City Bent Acorn with a vulcanite tapered stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich oil cured colour works well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished Millville Unique Bent Acorn has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.48 ounces/43 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the British Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Breathing new life in to a Beautiful “Malaga” Imported Briar Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The “Malaga” Canadian is next pipe on the table. The carver did a great job of shaping the pipe to follow the grain on the briar. The bowl, oval shank and straight tapered stem look very good. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed with thick lava onto the rim so that it was impossible to see if there was damage on the inner edges. The sides of the bowl and shank are very dirty with grime and oils from prolonged use. The grain around the bowl and shank is very nice straight grain. The stamping on the top of the shank read “MALAGA”. On the underside it is stamped IMPORTED BRIAR. The stem had tooth dents and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem. There was some thick calcification and also some oxidation deep in the vulcanite of the stem surface. Jeff took these photos before he started the cleanup work on the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The rim top had thick lava overflow and darkening. The outer edge looked to be in decent condition. He also took a photo of the side and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. The photos show the general condition of the bowl and dirt and wear on the rich oil finish. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. Jeff took a photo to capture the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. The photos show the stamping “MALAGA” on the top and IMPORTED BRIAR on the underside. The stamping is very readable on the topside and fainter on the underside.I am also including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. I have written an earlier blog to give a little history of the Malaga Brand and the pipemaker, George Khoubesser. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/.That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the flat surface of the rim top and the inner edge had some burn damage on the front and back side. The outer edge was rough and nicked. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The stem also looked better. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils but you can now see the damage on the top and the edges of the bowl. The top of the rim is rough and the outer edges are chipped and rough. There is some darkening on the inner edge but the bowl is still round. The stem had tooth marks and chatter on both sides near and on the button surface on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank to show the condition. The “MALAGA” stamp is clear and readable but the IMPORTED BRIAR stamp is faint but still readable.I decided to address the rim top first. To remove the damage on the rim top and edges of the bowl I topped it on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. That removed a lot of the damage on the rim top and outer edge. I used a wooden sphere and 220 grit sandpaper to work on the inner bevel of the rim and remove the darkening and clean up the damage. I sanded the bowl and rim with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to begin the process of removing the scratches and blending the restored rim top into the rest of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris. The photos tell the story. I polished the rim top and the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the bowl with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm 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. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I turned to the stem to address the issues on the surface of both sides at the button. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the indentations. Since vulcanite has “memory” it often will return to its original condition when heated. It worked pretty well leaving behind light chatter and some tooth mark that will need to be repaired. Once the repairs cured I flattened them with a small file. I cleaned up the repairs and blended them into the surface of the vulcanite with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. I think I finally beat the oxidation.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil. I finished by polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both fine and extra Fine and then wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This is a beautiful Malaga Canadian with a vulcanite tapered stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the beveled rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich oil cured colour works well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.62 ounces/46 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the American Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Breathing Life into a 56 F/T Dunhill Tanshell Made in England 0 4T Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that came to us from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 08/09/2024. It is another Dunhill sandblast that is shallow really shows the grain underneath. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank with the shape number 56F/T followed by Dunhill [over] Tanshell. Next to that it is stamped Made in [over] England with the date number 0 after the D in England. After that it is stamped with a 4 in a circle [followed by] T for Tanshell. The stamping is faint in spots but is otherwise clear and readable as noted above. The pipe has some darkening on the rim top and edges of the bowl. There is some amazing grain under the blast that the shape follows well. The finish was dusty and oily around the nooks and crannies of the sandblast but otherwise looked good. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was light lava on what appeared to be a smooth rim top or edges. The edges looked to be undamaged and possibly protected by the lava. Cleaning would make that clear. The taper stem was oxidized, calcified, dirty and had scratches, light tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the wear and lava in the smooth rim top to show the general condition of the pipe. The photos of the stem to show the condition of both sides of the stem as noted above. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain in the sandblast around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also dirty with dust ground into the finish. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the heel of the bowl and underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.One of the first things I like to do is to unpack the stamping and understand each element in it. I turned to Pipephil helpful site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/tanshell1.html). The stamping is interpreted as follows: The number 56 is the shape number for a Bent Billiard. The F/T signifies a Fish Tail stem. The Tanshell stamp refers to the finish which is corroborated the T at the end of the stamping. The size of the pipe is shown in a circle is a Group 4. The 0 following the D of England gives the date the pipe. Pipephil also has some helpful dating keys on the site that are basically flow charts that you can walk through to date your pipe (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1.html). I turned to Part 1 of the Dating Key and followed the chart. This pipe has a 0 following the D in England. It is the same size as the D so that took me to the section on the chart below (column one) which instructed me that the pipe could be dated as being made posterior to 1954. I followed the link following the “Your pipe is posterior to 1954. Narrow down your dating”. That took me to Page 2 of the dating key (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html).   The first column (suffix 0) led me to the section with a 0 after the D in England that is the same size as the D. There was a directive for dating the pipe spelled out as follows: 0 the same size as the D in England gives the pipe a date of 1970. I then turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Root Briar to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Tanshell

The first lot was distributed in 1952 (usually made using Sardinian briar). The prototype was called “Root Shell “, produced in 1951. The Tanshell is a light tan sandblast. Sardinian briar was used for this sandblast. There is a distinct contrast in the sandblasts using Sardinian as opposed to Algerian briar. The Sardinian is much denser and much harder. The resulting pattern, when blasted, is far more even and regular both in terms of the surface texture and the finish.

The Tanshell was Dunhill’s fourth finish and its first major post-war line addition. Introduced in 1951/1952 the Tanshell was a naturally stained sandblasted pipe made exclusively from Sardinian briar through the 1960s. The Tanshell apparently was not simply a light stained Shell but rather was also the product of “certain processes [unrevealed] not previously employed.” Initially, it appears that the pipe was to be named the Root Shell and a stamp to that effect was ordered and received by Dunhill in May 1951. Ultimately, however, the name Tanshell was settled upon but the stamp for the Tanshell name was not received by Dunhill until the beginning of December. Thus, while the Tanshell was in production in 1951 it appears that most if not all Tanshells made in that year did not enter into retail distribution until 1952 and were given a 1952 date code. Loring, J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998).

I have also included a chart from the site from Dunhill spelling out the Standard Pipe Finishes and giving short information and a timeline.Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. 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 undiluted 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 far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The smooth rim top and the inner edge of the rim look good. There is a darkening on the top and edges that I will address and see if I can lessen. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There is light tooth chatter on the stem surface on both sides but otherwise it looks good.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in spot but otherwise it is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe.The pipe was in excellent condition with a light blast around the bowl. It was clean and free of debris. I decided to see if I could lighten the darkening on the smooth rim top before using the Balm. I went over the top lightly with a brass bristle wire brush to see if the finish was sandblast. I examined the rim with a lens to see if I could see the finish. Surprisingly, it was a smooth rim top that should clean up well and lighten the darkening. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge of the bowl and smooth out the damage to the smooth crown rim. In the third photo you can see the grain in the rim top. It is going to be a great looking pipe when I am finished. I sanded the darkened top with 320-3500 grit pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The grain really stands out and it looks much better at this point.I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the debris. It is looking much better after polishing. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. There was some residual oxidation on the stem surface particularly around the button on both sides. I worked over the oxidation with cotton pads and Soft Scrub cleanser. It took some scrubbing but I was able to remove remnants of oxidation. I worked over the tooth marks on the button on both sides and on the stem surface ahead of the button with 220 grit sandpaper. I reshaped the button at the same time. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This 1970 Dunhill Tanshell 56 F/T Group 4 Bent Billiard with a Taper Stem has a beautiful, unique Dunhill Sandblast finish that was shallow and distinctive. The Tanshell finish highlights a classic Dunhill sandblast around the bowl and shank. The polished black vulcanite fish tail taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished lightweight Dunhill Tanshell 56 F/T Bent Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. I will be adding it to the British Pipemakers Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I appreciate you taking time to read the writeup.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the 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.

New Life for a Republic Era 1994 Peterson’s “Dublin” Lovat with Sterling Silver band

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Dublin” Lovat pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It had a tarnished Sterling Silver band on the shank. It came to us from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 14/11/2024. This Lovat was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Dublin”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines). The Sterling Silver Band is stamped on the top with three shields K & P over Sterling Silver. On the right side of the band it has three hallmarks – Hibernia seated arm on a harp (signifies country of manufacture), a crowned harp designating Sterling quality and finally a Date Letter mark – in this case it is an italic “I” (1994). On the left side it is stamped 1997. The pipe was in filthy condition when we brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. The bowl had a cake and there was some lava on the rim top and edges. The inner edge of the bowl appeared to be okay and a burn mark on the outer edge on the front. The stem was dirty and moderately oxidized. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was a white “P” stamp logo on the left side of the saddle 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 and was heavily caked and the rim top had a spotty lava overflow. The inner edge of the bowl looks good and you can see a burn mark on the front outer edge of the bowl. The photos of the stem show the light 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 underneath the grime and grease coat on the surface. 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. He also captured some of the stamping on the Sterling Silver band on the shank. 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 London Made England line. On page 298 it had the following information.

“Dublin” (1992-2003) An orange-brown smooth line with a brass-nickel-brass sandwich band, vulcanite fishtail mouthpiece, consisting mostly of D shapes released for the Danish market. Stamped PETERSON’S in script over “DUBLIN”. A tenth anniversary pipe for the line was produced with a sterling band stamped 2001. Market demand fell shortly thereafter and several pipes stamped “DUBLIN” were released in ’03 for the Fourth of July commemoratives for the US market.

I knew a date range for the pipe I was working on from the stamping on the silver– 1994-1997. My guess is that it was made in 94 and purchased in 97 by the pipe man or woman who held it in trust. Since the one I was working on did not have a D shape it is not provable that it was made for the Danish market. However, other than the shape number, the colour, the silver band and the fishtail stem is the same on the pipe. 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, shank brushes and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted 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 had some dark spots on the briar but it looked far better 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 had some looked good but there was darkening on the rim top and inner edge and some burn spots on the front and back outer edge of the bowl. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near 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. The P logo stamp on the stem side is clear but will need to be touched up. I took photos of the stamping on the silver band to try and capture what was on the band. It is readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I moved on to address the damage on the rim top and the front inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and bring the bowl back to round. It looked much better at this point in the process. I wiped down the dark spots on the edges of the rim and the heel of the bowl with some oxalic acid on a cotton pad. While it greatly lightened the spots it did not remove them.I sanded the bowl and rim with 320-3500 sanding pads to minimize the dark spots further on the rim edges and the heel of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth between pads to remove the sanding dust. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth and raised the shine. The bowl looks great at this point. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to continue to blend the repairs into the surface of the vulcanite. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding dust and preserve the vulcanite.I touched up the P stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it dried I scraped off the excess and sanded the surface with 1500 grit micromesh pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat and set it aside to dry. I polished silver band with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and protect the finish from further tarnishing. It took on a rich shine. I am excited to finish this Peterson’s “Dublin” silver banded Lovat. 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 sandwich brass/nickel/brass band on the shank and made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Peterson’s “Dublin” banded Lovat 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 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 32 grams/1.13 ounces. 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.

Restoring a Father’s Legacy of 10 Brigham Pipes Gathered throughout his life #6

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by Steve Laug

Last month I was contacted by Donna to see if I knew anyone interested in purchasing her father’s pipes. She wrote as follows: “I am wondering if you would be interested in my father’s collection of Brighams.” She further spelled out what he had in the collection. He had 1 – 2 dot pipe, 3 – 3 dot pipes, 2 – 4 dot pipes and 4 – 5 dot pipes. There was a total of 10 pipes. I asked for a photo of the pipes and she sent the photo below. I was very interested.We emailed back and forth and the short story is that I paid for the collection and she shipped the pipes to me. On Tuesday after Easter the box arrived and I was happy to be able to see them up close. They were obviously well-loved pipes and in varying degrees of needing work. I wrote her and told I received them and that I was pleased with the lot. I was looking forward to working on them. She asked me to send her photos along the way as I finished the pipes. I will be sending her the links to the blog so she can see the work and the process of bringing them back to a semblance of their original beauty. Thanks Donna for the opportunity to work on your Dad’s pipes.

The sixth of the pipes I have chosen to work on from the lot was the one sitting three down on the right column in the photo above. I would call the pipe a Bent Billiard shaped pipe with a vulcanite taper stem. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Brigham in script. To the left of that it is stamp with the shape number 523. The stamping will help me date the pipe. From the cake in the bowl and the other pipes I could tell her Dad love aromatic tobaccos. This pipe was heavily caked with an overflow of lava on the rim top and on the inner and outer edges of the bowl. There was burn damage on the rim top and inner edge and down the right side of the bowl. The shank end even that had a coating of tar build up. The finish was smooth with a rusticated panel on the left side of the bowl. The finish was washed out and very worn. It was probably the most worn of the lot of 10. The stem did not sit all the way in the shank so I assumed it was very dirty in the shank. I removed the stem and the Hard Rock Maple Distillator that was sitting in the tenon. The shank was black, tarry and oily. The stem was dirty, calcified and oxidized with thick oil and tar in the airway from the tenon to the button. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The left side of the taper stem bore five brass pins though I had to clean that area to even find them. That would also help with identifying the pipe. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top had a thick coat of lava overflowing down the crowned top with heavy burn damage around the top, inner and outer edge. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the light tooth chatter on the vulcanite stem surface. It is heavily oxidized and calcified and is quite dirty on the surface of the vulcanite.The stamping is very, very faint and hard to read in the photo below. With a bright light and lens, it reads as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to show the parts of the pipe. The finish on the pipe is very worn and tired looking. The brass dots on the stem are hidden under the grime and oxidation. For the needed background I am including the information from Pipedia on Brigham pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes). Charles Lemon (Dadspipes) has written book on the history of the brand. This 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…

I then turned to a second article by Charles Lemon called, “A Closer Look at the Dots, Dates, and Markings of Brigham Pipes” to be able to pin down the time frame that the pipe was made in and to help interpret the stampings and shape number on the pipe. Here is the link to his article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes_%E2%80%93_A_Closer_Look_at_Dots,_Dates_and_Markings).

I have dubbed the decades between 1980 and 2000 the Late Canadian Era, a period that saw several changes at Brigham that are of note to the collector. First, the traditional 8-grade pinning system (the famous Brigham “Dots” which denoted the quality of the pipe) was changed to a 7-grade system to simplify pinning (more on this below), and the Norsemen and Valhalla series were merged to form the President Series, which represented the very finest pipes coming out of the Toronto factory. Early pipes from this era (left, below) are stamped with a shape number and “Brigham” over “Canada”;later pipes (late 1980s+, on right below) are stamped simply with a shape number and the Brigham logo.

I read further in the article to the section entitled Revised Dot System 1980. I quote from that below.

Brigham changed the Dot system in 1980, adding a 7 Dot at the top of the line, dropping the names of each series and eliminating the confusing vertical and horizontal 3 Dot configurations. The Norsemen and Valhalla series were combined to form the President series of freehand pipes, which adopted a 3 Dot pattern with a larger dot on the right as shown below. The 7- grade pinning system stayed in place from 1980 to 2001.

With the information from article and the chart above I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I learned that this Late Canadian Era was made between 1980-2000. The pipe is a Brigham (5-Dot) 523, a Bent Billiard to my mind. The Brigham Canada stamping pins it down to the period between 1990-2001 when the aluminum tenon was replaced.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first and second cutting heads and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the deep mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that Donna’s Dad had really enjoyed and used this pipe. I cleaned the inside of the aluminum tenon and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed  the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The damage on the bowl front and rim top is very clear. The burn damage on the right side of the bowl, the rim top and inner bevelled edge were going to take a lot of shaping work. There was also a place on the right side about 2/3 up from the bottom that appeared to be a flaw in the briar. I topped the bowl on a 220 grit sheet of sandpaper on a topping board. I also used my Dremel and sanding drum at a slow speed to work over the burn damage on the right side of the bowl. I was able to remove most of it.Once I had sanded the rim top smooth and the right side of the bowl with the Dremel I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper. I filled in the flaw with clear CA glue and pressed briar dust into the flaw. I continued my sanding and shape of the rim top and side with the sandpaper until I had removed the majority of the damage. It looks much better in the photo below. I also sanded the repair at the same time.I forgot to take photos of the bowl after I had sanded it with the 220 grit sandpaper. I finished that and moved on to it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish minimizing the burn damage and reshape the rim top and the top half of the bowl. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the burn damage was by and large gone. The photos tell the story.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain really started to rise to the surface as I polished it. The depths of the rustication looked very good as well. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the rusticated portions. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I scrubbed the oxidation on the stem with Soft Scrub cleanser and was able to remove a large amount of it. I sanded the area around the button edge and the remaining oxidation with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Progress was happening! I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to remove the remaining oxidation. I dry sanded the surface until I have removed all of the oxidation and the stem started to really shine.I refit the aluminum tenon with the new Brigham Rock Maple Distillator. It is a unique and cool smoking experience. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The smooth, nicely grained bowl sides and the rusticated blaze on the left bowl side looks great with the vulcanite stem. The Brigham 523 Bent Billiard with a vulcanite taper stem feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below.  The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Canadian Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking 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.

Restoring a Duca Carlo Italy Bent Rhodesian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is an interesting Bulldog or Rhodesian without the rings and with a triangle shaped taper stem. Jeff purchased this pipe from an antique mall Ogden, Utah, USA on 03/25/2021. There was a moderate cake in bowl and the rim top looked amazingly good. The rim top and the inner edge were not damaged and showed no nicks or lava buildup. The finish was dull and had grime ground into the surface of the briar. Though hard to see there are a few fills in the bowl, but the stain and finish may be hiding them at this point in the process. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads DUCA CARLO and at the shank/stem union it is stamped ITALY. I remembered that the pipe was a Savinelli made pipe but I could not remember much more than that about connection. I would need to check the blog to see what I had found when I worked on other Duca Carlo pipes. The stem was made for a 6mm Savinelli Balsa filter. It was lightly oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides at the stem – both on the stem surface and on the button itself. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I like to have an idea of how the pipe was smoked before we got it and what the bowl and rim top looked like. Jeff always takes some photos of the bowl and rim from various angles to show what it looked like. The stem looked very good under the oxidation. The was a gold crown logo on the topside of the stem. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the grain on the pipe. You can also see the fills on the right side of the bowl. The next two photos show the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in spots but otherwise clear and readable as noted above. The gold crown on the stem top is in good shape.I did a quick scan of the rebornpipes blog and found a link to the Duca Carlo pipe that Dal Stanton had restored (https://thepipesteward.com/2021/05/04/liberating-the-grain-of-a-candy-apple-finish-a-savinelli-duca-carlo-poker-of-italy/). I always appreciate the research that Dal does when he works on pipes because it is what I like doing when I am restoring the pipes on my table. I quote from the portion of the blog that gives the background information on the brand. (Thanks Dal for the leg work on this one!)

Whenever I work on a pipe, I’m always interested to know something of the pipe.  My first stop at Pipedia reveals that the Duca Carlo is a second of Savinelli, the well-known Italian pipe manufacturer. Savinelli’s history as an Italian pipe maker goes back to 1876 – a rich history and tradition which can be read in Pipedia’s Savinelli article.  The Duca Carlo is listed in the main Savinelli article within an extensive listing of “Savinelli made sub-brands, seconds & order productions”.  The Duca (Duke) Carlo is listed with the Duca di Milano and Duca di Paolo giving the impression that Savinelli produced these as special lines commemorating these historical figures.  With a quick internet search brings me to a Wikipedia article.  Duca Carlo reveals an interesting story of a child that died of smallpox at age 3 (See: Carlo, Duke of Calabria):

Carlo of Naples and Sicily (Italian: Carlo Tito Francesco Giuseppe; 4 January 1775 – 17 December 1778) was Duke of Calabria as heir to Naples and Sicily. Born at the Caserta Palace near Naples, he was known as the Duke of Calabria at birth as the heir apparent to his father’s throne. His mother was a daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and thus sister of Marie Antoinette.

A member of the House of Bourbon, he was a prince of Naples and Sicily by birth. He was the hereditary prince of Naples. His birth allowed his mother to have a place in the Council of State, pursuant to his parents’ marriage contract.

Carlo died of smallpox[1] aged 3. Six of his younger siblings would die of smallpox also: Princess Maria Anna (in 1780), Prince Giuseppe (in 1783), Prince Gennaro (in 1789), Prince Carlo Gennaro (also in 1789), Princess Maria Clotilde (in 1792) and Princess Maria Enricheta (also in 1792).  He was buried at the Church of Santa Chiara in Naples.

The only other reference to the Duca series in the Savinelli Pipedia article comes from a photo that does not mention a name, but the stem stamping is clearly from the Duca series of pipes listed.  No dating on the picture can be seen. The Savinelli Duca line is confirmed by my next stop. Pipephil (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-d9.html) gives two examples of Savinelli Ducas – a Duca Carlo and Duca Eraldo.  Consistent between each example is the crown stem stamping. Armed with the information that I had gleaned from Dal’s blog, I turned my attention to the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the bowl exterior with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime on the finish of the bowl and the rim top. He rinsed it under running water. One of the benefits of this scrub is that it also tends to lift some of the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. When I received it the pipe looked very good. I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl were in good condition. The stem was vulcanite and there were some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button and on the button surface. The gold crown had lost some of its lustre in the clean up and would need to be touched up.The stamping on the pipe is faint in spots but still is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth and raised the shine. The bowl looks great at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks and chatter on the stem and was able to raise most of it. I filled in what remained with black, rubberized CA glue. Once it hardened I flattened the repairs with a flat file. I cleaned up the repairs and blended them into the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs on the surface. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good.I touched up the Crown logo stamp on the topside of the triangle taper stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the stamp with a toothpick. I buffed off the excess with a paper towel and polished the stem with some Obsidian Oil.I polished it 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. The photos below show the polished stem. I fit the stem with a Savinelli 6mm Balsa System filter. The fit was perfect and the draw seems remarkably open.This Savinelli Made Duca Carlo Italian Bent Rhodesian with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich browns and blacks of the contrasting stains came alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl 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 Duca Carlo Rhodesian is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.87 ounces/53 grams. This beauty will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!