Kaywoodie Four Pipe “Matched Grain” Set

By Al Jones

Steve’s recent blog entry on the his 7-pipe Kaywoodie Matched Grain set reminded me to get off my duff and write up the story on this set. My buddy Dave picked this up at the 2017 Kansas City show.

I found no other four pipe Kaywoodie sets for comparison. There are numerous five and seven pipe sets that I found. The only reference that I can find is a 1955 price listing of $50.00, from the Pipepedia site. Unfortunately, there are no pictures to accompany that price listing.

The set came in a fitted, triangular shaped case with these four shape models:

86B – Large Apple
11 – Extra Large Billiard
69 – Pot
12B – Saddle Bulldog

Unfortunately when I was working on this set in December, I was in a rush to get it done before the holiday and accidentally deleted my “before” pictures. The pipes were in very good shape, with two exceptions. The stem on the 86B was damaged, on the button and sides, almost like it was filed down to be more narrow. The shape 69 Pot also had some minor damage to the bottom of the button.

The other pipes only had mile oxidation. The briar didn’t need any attention, but I gave them a light buff with White Diamond and several coats of Carnuba wax. The stems were all polished using 800, 1500 and 2000 grade paper, followed by Micromesh sheets of 8,000 and 12,000 grades. The stems were then buffed with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic Polish.

The two pipes with damaged stems were repaired with the Stew-Mac Black superglue and accelerator. Getting the shape back to the 86B was very challenging and I’m not completely satisfied with the result.

All four pipes had a “Drinkless” stamped, four-hole stingers. Dating via the nomenclature and stinger isn’t an exact science, so the following is my assumption. The details are:
– smaller, four hole ball
– “Drinkless” only stamp, no Patent or Reg. info

From just after WWII, Kaywoodie transitioned to four hole, smaller ball stinger, which was used into the mid 1950’s.

The finished set and case.

The individual pipes are shown below.

86B – This one had the strange damage to the stem, as shown in these two “before” photos. Getting the shape back on the sides was quite challenging.

And the finished pipe.

69 Pot – this one had minor damage to the bottom of the button, with the repair shown below.

11 – Extra Large Billiard

And finally, my favorite of the set, the 12B – Bulldog.

A Unique Estate Find – A Kaywoodie Matched Grain 7 Day Set

6 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Just a warning up front – this is one of the longest blogs I have posted on rebornpipes. I made a decision to post the work on each pipe in the Matched Grain Seven Day set of Kaywoodies in the same blog. They were brought into this world together, kept together for at least 60+ years and I figured it only right to keep them together in the restoration. If you can’t wade through all the details you can scroll through each section and look at the finished pipes individually. Thanks for your patience. Enjoy the read.

Jeff sent me some links to a Matched Grain 7 Day Set of Kaywoodies he had found listed at an estate auction. He wanted to know what I thought. I was pretty excited to hear that he had found such a set as I had heard of them but never seen one. I had heard of the high quality of the pipes and the idea of a matched set of seven pipes was intriguing to me. This set was available and there were several other bidders on the sale. He ended up winning the auction and got the set at what turns out to be a decent price for the quality of pipes that it contained.

The seven pipes were stamped on the left side of the shank with Matched Grain over Kaywoodie and on the right side of the shank with Imported Briar and below that with the shape number for each pipe. The numbers included were: 80B, 67, 53, 59, 11, 13 and 14. The two digit shape number on each pipe helps to narrow down the dates to the time period between 1939-1953. Looking at Pipedia’s article on Kaywoodies there is a dating list by shape. Here is the link to the article: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie_Shape_Numbers

Using that link I was able to match the shape numbers to the shape of each pipe in the seven day case that my brother found.

80B is a medium sized Apple with a long stem. The shape was made between 1938-1970.

67 is a small billiard with a long shank and a short stem. I would call the shape a Lumberman. The shape was made between 1927-1928, and again between 1935-1970.

53 is a medium square bulldog (diamond shank) with a taper stem. This shape was made between 1932-1972.

59 is called a Boswell (Chubb billiard) that was made between 1936-1937. It could also be a 59 and come from a later manufacture date and it is called a Chubb billiard. That rendition was made between 1947-1955.

11 is a large billiard and was made between 1935-1972.

13 is an extra large Dublin and was made between 1927-1972.

14 is a full bent medium billiard with a taper stem and was made between 1927-1972.

Jeff took photos of the set when he brought it home from the auction. His photos enabled me to see the set as he saw it – from the closed floral pattern fabric covered case to the embossed lettering on the satin lining on the inside of the lid on the left side of the case to the photos of the pipes inside in molded positions on the right side of the opened case. The embossed lettering on the cover read: “Matched Grain Kaywoodies” and under that it read “Kaywoodie Company” over “New York – London”. It was really a beautiful set of pipes. All of them had been smoked but were in good condition. There was lava build up on the obvious favourite shapes but the finish on each and the stems were in excellent condition. They would clean up very well. I have decided to post all of the pipes in the same blog for reference sake. This will be a long blog by necessity of covering all of the pipes. Thanks for your patience. While I waited for the set to arrive in Vancouver I did some more research on the brand. I read the entry on Pipephil’s site and got more information on the composure of the Matched Grain sets that Kaywoodie put together (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/kaywoodie-matchedgrain-7.html). I also looked on Google to see if I could find any magazine advertising or other information on the sets. I did find a vintage advertisement in a Sunday paper from 1937 that included similar pipes to the ones in the set we picked up at the sale. The Google link follows:

https://books.google.ca/books?id=kj8EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=Kaywoodie%207%20day%20sets&source=bl&ots=OmZO3t6SuA&sig=Wmi8KP7FfJaxGj5qnPsCYALJXJo&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjt3Me9-fjXAhUX3mMKHY0uAdM4ChDoAQg5MAQ#v=onepage&q=Kaywoodie%207%20day%20sets&f=false

I also found the same advertisement on a blog. The Google photo was much clearer so I am including that photo here. The link to the blog is: http://blogonomicon.blogspot.ca/2008/01/sunday-vintage-pipe-ad-1937-kaywoodie-7.html.

The writer of the blog included some interesting comments on the set and I have included them in full below:

The “seven-day matched set” is, I think, the absolute pinnacle of pipe collecting. It is very difficult to create, and therefore much more expensive than simply the cost of all the pipes added together.

The briar must be carefully selected for matching grain, color and texture. As always, in the process of carving a pipe, some flaws will be found that necessitates discarding the burl and starting over again with yet another carefully-selected burl that matches all the other burls.

The “seven-day set” concept came from the idea of having a set of matching pipes, with one for each day of the week, so you could smoke one per day and be able to give it an entire week to rest before smoking it again. In reality, seven-day sets are far too rare and valuable to smoke. Unless you really want to completely destroy any collectible value, of course.

This set sold for $100 in 1937. Adjusted for inflation, that’s more than $1,400 today. Of course Kaywoodie was not the only one to create seven-day sets. Other pipe makers who are known for more expensive pipes have created sets that sold for much more than that.

Shapes, from top: acorn, Liverpool, Dublin, apple, bulldog (with a saddle bit), another Dublin, and lastly a simple bent billiard. You may dispute me on the names of the top two. The first one looks more acorn-ish than apple-ish to me. Number two looks to me like it has a round shank, which would make it a Liverpool instead of a Canadian.Jeff took photos of each pipe before he did any cleaning work on them. Pay attention to the grain on each pipe. It is remarkable how closely they matched each other.

The first pipe in the set was marked with the shape number 80B. Kaywoodie designated it as a medium sized Apple with a long stem. The shape was made between 1938-1970. The finish was in great condition with dust and some grime on the exterior of the bowl. The bowl had been lightly smoked and there was some darkening around the rim top. There was no thick buildup of tars or carbon on the bowl or rim. The finish on the bottom of the bowl was lightly scratched and dirty. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. The stamping on the pipe was very clean and readable. The first photo shows the left side of the shank reading Matched Grain over Kaywoodie. While the second photo shows the stamping on the right side reading Imported Briar and the shape number 80B.The stem shows some oxidation and scratch marks in the vulcanite. There was also some light tooth chatter near the button on both sides.The second pipe in the set was marked with the shape number 67. Kaywoodie designated it as a small billiard with a long shank and a short stem. I would call the shape a Liverpool. The shape was made between 1927-1928, and again between 1935-1970. The finish was in great condition with dust and grime on the exterior of the bowl. The bowl on this one was also lightly smoked and there was some darkening around the rim top. There was a light cake in the bowl but no thick buildup of tars or carbon on the bowl or rim. This pipe had the most damage. The metal fitment in the shank end was scarred and damaged with what looked like marks from a pair of pliers. This made me wonder what the stinger looked like. The finish on the underside of the bowl looked good. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. The stamping on the pipe was very clean and readable. The first photo shows the left side of the shank reading Matched Grain over Kaywoodie. While the second photo shows the stamping on the right side reading Imported Briar and the shape number 67.The next two photos show the damage to the metal fitment in the shank/mortise of the pipe. There were a lot of scars on the metal from what appeared to be someone trying to remove it from the shank.The stem was scratched and lightly oxidized with tooth chatter on the top and underside near the button.The third pipe in the set was marked with the shape number 53. Kaywoodie designated it as a medium square bulldog though I would say that the shank is a diamond shape as is the stem. The shape was made between 1932-1972. The finish on this one was in excellent condition with a little dust and grime on the exterior of the bowl. The bowl on this one was also lightly smoked and there was some darkening around the rim top. There was a light cake in the bowl but no thick buildup of tars or carbon on the bowl or rim. The finish on the underside of the bowl looked good. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. The stamping on the pipe was very clean and readable. The first photo shows the left side of the shank reading Matched Grain over Kaywoodie. While the second photo shows the stamping on the right side reading Imported Briar and the shape number 53.Like the other pipes in the set that I have shown above the Kaywoodie Club logo is black and inset in a white circle. In all the pipes it is in excellent condition. The stem is scratched and lightly oxidized. There is some light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem near the button.The fourth pipe in the set was marked with the shape number 59. Kaywoodie designated it as a Boswell shape or a Chubb Billiard. The shape was made between 1936-1937. There was a later edition of the shape 59 pipe that was called a Chubb billiard that was made between 1947-1955. I am pretty certain that the one I am working on is from the earlier time period. The finish on this one was also in excellent condition with a little dust and grime on the exterior of the bowl. The bowl was lightly smoked as were the previous pipes. There was some darkening around the rim top. There was a light cake and some fragments of tobacco in the bowl but no thick buildup of tars or carbon on the bowl or rim. The finish on the underside of the bowl looked good. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. Like the other pipes in the set that I have shown above the Kaywoodie Club logo is black and inset in a white circle. It was in excellent condition. The stem is scratched and lightly oxidized. There is some light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem near the button.The fifth pipe in the set was marked with the shape number 11. Kaywoodie designated it as a large billiard. The shape was made between 1935-1972. The finish was in excellent condition with the same dust and grime on the exterior of the bowl as the rest of the set. The bowl was lightly smoked as were the previous pipes. There was some darkening around the rim top. There was a light cake and some fragments of tobacco in the bowl but no thick buildup of tars or carbon on the bowl or rim. The finish on the underside of the bowl looked good. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. The stamping on the pipe was very clean and readable. The first photo shows the left side of the shank reading Matched Grain over Kaywoodie. While the second photo shows the stamping on the right side reading Imported Briar and the shape number 11.Like the rest of the pipes in the set that I have shown so far, the Kaywoodie Club logo is black and inset in a white circle. It was in excellent condition. The stem is scratched and lightly oxidized. There is some light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem near the button.The sixth pipe in the set was marked with the shape number 13. Kaywoodie designated it as an Extra Large Dublin. The shape was made between 1927-1972. The finish was in excellent condition with the same dust and grime on the exterior of the bowl as the rest of the set. The bowl was lightly smoked as were the previous pipes. There was some darkening around the rim top. There was a light cake in the bowl but no thick buildup of tars or carbon on the bowl or rim. The finish on the underside of the bowl looked good. The stamping on the pipe was very clean and readable. The first photo shows the left side of the shank reading Matched Grain over Kaywoodie. While the second photo shows the stamping on the right side reading Imported Briar and the shape number 13.Like the rest of the pipes in the set that I have shown so far, the Kaywoodie Club logo is black and inset in a white circle. It was in excellent condition. The stem is scratched and lightly oxidized. There is some light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem near the button.The seventh and final pipe in the set was marked with the shape number 14. Kaywoodie designated it as a Full Bent Medium Billiard with a Taper stem. The shape was made between 1927-1972. The finish was in excellent condition with the same dust and grime on the exterior of the bowl as the rest of the set. The bowl was lightly smoked as were the previous pipes. There was less darkening around the rim top than on the other pipes in the set. There was a light cake in the bowl but no thick buildup of tars or carbon on the bowl or rim. The finish on the underside of the bowl was in good condition as well. The stamping on the pipe was very clean and readable. The first photo shows the left side of the shank reading Matched Grain over Kaywoodie. While the second photo shows the stamping on the right side reading Imported Briar and the shape number 14.The stem on the final pipe in the set showed the same Kaywoodie Club logo is black and inset in a white circle. It too was in excellent condition. The stem was scratched and lightly oxidized. There is some light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem near the button.Jeff did a thorough cleanup on each of the bowls and stems in the set. He reamed each bowl back to bare briar with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall reamer. He cleaned the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs – scrubbing out the mortise as it was dirty. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipes with Murphy’s Oil soap and a tooth brush and was able to remove all of the oils and dust in the smooth finish on the briar. He was able to remove all of the grime from the rim tops and left them looking very clean. The rim tops and outer edges were very clean and the inner and outer edges were in good shape. He soaked each stem in an Oxyclean bath to raise the oxidation to the surface of the vulcanite. When the set arrived I took some photos of each pipe to show how each one looked before I did the restoration. I worked through the pipes in the order they were in the case.

The first pipe I worked on was marked with the shape number 80B. It was what Kaywoodie designated as a medium sized Apple with a long stem. Jeff’s work on it had left the finish very clean and the rim top and bowl were spotless. He had cleaned off much of the oxidation of the vulcanite stem. What remained was still lightly oxidized and there was some visible tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. I took photos of each pipe before I started my work. The rim top and bowl looked really good. The finish was in great shape and the bowl was ready to load and smoke again. It was really clean. The Oxyclean soak had really raised the oxidation to the surface of this stem. The topside of the stem was more oxidized than the underside but both had a lot of scratches in the vulcanite. The stem was internally very clean but the surface was heavily oxidized when it arrived. Since the oxidation was quite minimal I decided to work over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the vulcanite – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I am revisiting the Before & After Pipe Stem polishes on this set of pipes. I polished it with the Fine Polish and wiped it down. I followed that by polishing it with the Extra Fine Polish. I buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.I set the stem aside and rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I put the stem back on the bowl and took the pipe to the buffing wheel to work it over. I carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem at the same time to raise the gloss on the vulcanite carefully working around the inset KW Club logo on the stem top. I gave the bowl and stem several coats carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished first pipe of the matched grain set is shown in the photos below. The second pipe I worked on was marked with the shape number 67. Kaywoodie designated it as a small billiard with a long shank and a short stem but to me the pipe is a Liverpool. I was anxious to start working on the pipe so I completely forgot to take photos of it before I started my restoration. It was in similar condition to the first pipe and the rim and bowl were very clean. The stem had light oxidation but it was not an issue. Since the damage to the pipe was on the metal fitment in the shank end. It was scarred and damaged with marks from a pair of pliers. When I removed the stem I found that the threaded metal tenon was stuck in the metal fitment. When I unscrewed the stem the fitment came out of the shank. The shank end was marked the same way as the fitment and would take some work. The next two photos show the damage around the edge of the fitment and the fact that the end of the stinger had been clipped off. The stinger and threaded tenon was stuck in the metal fitment. The corrosion had caused it to be welded together. I could not budge it no matter how much heat I applied to it or how much alcohol I scrubbed it with. I decided to put it in an alcohol bath to let it soak. I came back to it after several hours and I was able to hold the tenon with pliers and unscrew the fitment from the tenon. The photo below shows the corrosion and buildup that held the two parts together. I went through my jar of stingers and found a Drinkless stinger that matched all of the other stingers in the Matched Grain set. I cleaned it up with 0000 steel wool to remove all of the tars. I cleaned out the fitment with alcohol and cotton swabs until it was spotless. I smoothed out the scratched surface with 220 grit sandpaper and 1500-4000 grit micromesh sanding pad.I used a cotton swab to apply all purpose glue to the threads on the fitment and turned it into the threaded mortise. I turned it in to the shank as far as it would go and let it dry. I put the same glue on the threads of the stinger and turned it into the airway in the stem. I aligned the stem in the shank and let the glue harden. I carefully turned the stem out of the shank and let it cure. Once it had hardened I put the stem on the shank of the pipe and took photos. I set the stem aside and polished the damaged areas around the end of the shank with micromesh sanding pads. I restained the damaged area with a dark brown stain pen. I polished the repaired area to smooth out the briar. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. Since the oxidation was quite minimal I decided to work over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the vulcanite – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the bowl and took the pipe to the buffing wheel to work it over. I carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem at the same time to raise the gloss on the vulcanite carefully working around the inset KW Club logo on the stem top. I gave the bowl and stem several coats carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The third pipe I worked on was marked with the shape number 53. It was what Kaywoodie designated as a medium square bulldog. With the diamond shank and stem I would call it a classic bulldog. Jeff’s work on it had left the finish very clean and the rim top and bowl were spotless. He had cleaned off much of the oxidation of the vulcanite stem leaving behind a very light oxidation and some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. I took photos of each pipe before I started my work. The rim top and bowl looked really good. The finish was in great shape and the bowl was ready to load and smoke again. It was really clean. The Oxyclean soak had really raised the oxidation to the surface of this stem. Both sides of the stem had a lot of scratches in the vulcanite. The stem was internally very clean but the surface was heavily oxidized when it arrived.Since the oxidation was quite minimal I decided to work over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the vulcanite – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I rubbed the stem down with Before & After Pipe Stem polishes. I polished it with the Fine Polish and wiped it down. I followed that by polishing it with the Extra Fine Polish. I buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine. I set the stem aside and rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I put the stem back on the bowl and took the pipe to the buffing wheel to work it over. I carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem at the same time to raise the gloss on the vulcanite carefully working around the inset KW Club logo on the stem top. I gave the bowl and stem several coats carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The fourth pipe on my work table was marked with the shape number 59. It was what Kaywoodie designated as a Boswell Shape or a Chubb Billiard. Jeff did his usual thorough work on the pipe and it had left the finish very clean and the rim top and bowl were spotless. He had cleaned off much of the oxidation of the vulcanite stem leaving behind a very light oxidation and some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. I took photos of each pipe before I started my work. The rim top and bowl looked really good. Once again the finish was in great shape and the bowl was ready to load and smoke again. It was really clean. The Oxyclean soak had really raised the oxidation to the surface of this stem. Both sides of the stem had a lot of scratches in the vulcanite. The stem was internally very clean but the surface was heavily oxidized when it arrived.Once again the oxidation was quite minimal so worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the vulcanite – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I rubbed the stem down with Before & After Pipe Stem polishes. I polished it with the Fine Polish and wiped it down. I followed that by polishing it with the Extra Fine Polish. I buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine. I set the stem aside and rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. If you have stuck with me this far in the blog then you know that I put the stem back on the bowl and took the pipe to the buffing wheel to work it over. I carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem at the same time to raise the gloss on the vulcanite carefully working around the inset KW Club logo on the stem top. I gave the bowl and stem several coats carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The fifth pipe on my work table was marked with the shape number 11. It was what Kaywoodie designated as a Large Billiard. Jeff had repeated his usual thorough work on the pipe and it the finish very clean and the rim top and bowl were spotless. He had cleaned off much of the oxidation of the vulcanite stem leaving behind a very light oxidation and some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. I took photos of each pipe before I started my work. The rim top and bowl looked really good. The finish was in great shape and the bowl was ready to load and smoke again. It was really clean. The Oxyclean soak had really raised the oxidation to the surface of this stem. Both sides of the stem had a lot of scratches in the vulcanite. The stem was internally very clean but the surface was heavily oxidized when it arrived.Like the rest of the set, the oxidation was quite minimal so I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the vulcanite – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I rubbed the stem down with Before & After Pipe Stem polishes. I polished it with the Fine Polish and wiped it down. I followed that by polishing it with the Extra Fine Polish. I buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine. I set the stem aside and rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. On this fifth pipe I used the same process I have used on all the pipes I work on. I put the stem back on the bowl and took the pipe to the buffing wheel to work it over. I carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem at the same time to raise the gloss on the vulcanite carefully working around the inset KW Club logo on the stem top. I gave the bowl and stem several coats carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The sixth pipe on my work table was marked with the shape number 13. It was what Kaywoodie designated as an Extra Large Dublin. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned the pipe inside and out. The finish very clean and the rim top and bowl were spotless. He had cleaned off much of the oxidation of the vulcanite stem leaving behind a very light oxidation and some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. I took photos of each pipe before I started my work. The rim top and bowl looked really good. The finish was in great shape and the bowl was ready to load and smoke again. It was really clean. The Oxyclean soak had really raised the oxidation to the surface of this stem. Both sides of the stem had a lot of scratches in the vulcanite. The stem was internally very clean but the surface was heavily oxidized when it arrived.Once again the oxidation was quite minimal so I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the vulcanite – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I rubbed the stem down with Before & After Pipe Stem polishes. I polished it with the Fine Polish and wiped it down. I followed that by polishing it with the Extra Fine Polish. I buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine. I set the stem aside and rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. On this sixth pipe I used the same process I have used on all the other pipes. I put the stem back on the bowl and took the pipe to the buffing wheel to work it over. I carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem at the same time to raise the gloss on the vulcanite carefully working around the inset KW Club logo on the stem top. I gave the bowl and stem several coats carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The seventh and final pipe on my work table was marked with the shape number 14. It was what Kaywoodie designated as a Full Bent Medium Billiard with a Taper Stem. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned the pipe inside and out. The finish very clean and the rim top and bowl were spotless. He had cleaned off much of the oxidation of the vulcanite stem leaving behind a very light oxidation and some tooth chatter and marks near the button on both sides. I took photos of each pipe before I started my work. Just like the rest of the pipes that were in this set, the rim top and bowl looked really good. The finish was in great shape and the bowl was ready to load and smoke again. It was really clean. The Oxyclean soak had really raised the oxidation to the surface of this stem. Both sides of the stem had a lot of scratches in the vulcanite. The stem was internally very clean but the surface was heavily oxidized when it arrived.Like the rest of the set the oxidation on the seventh pipe was quite minimal so I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the vulcanite – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I rubbed the stem down with Before & After Pipe Stem polishes. I polished it with the Fine Polish and wiped it down. I followed that by polishing it with the Extra Fine Polish. I buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine. I set the stem aside and rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, let it sit for a few minutes and then wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. On this final and seventh pipe I used the same process I have used on all the other pipes. I put the stem back on the bowl and took the pipe to the buffing wheel to work it over. I carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem at the same time to raise the gloss on the vulcanite carefully working around the inset KW Club logo on the stem top. I gave the bowl and stem several coats carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I wiped down all the pipes in the set with a cloth impregnated with Briar Wipe and put them back in the case. Before I place them in the case I cleaned up the inside of the case and put all of the seven restored pipes in their prospective slots on the right side of the case. The grain on them is quite matched and the combination of the seven pipes looks really good. The case has been reupholstered somewhere along the path of its long life with a furniture fabric that is in very good condition. It appears to have been put over the original case material. On the inside, the green right side of the case is in excellent condition. The slots where the pipes fit have been form cut and are lined with a cream coloured material. The green and the cream coloured fabric is in very good condition. On the right side of the case the lining is a pillowed satin type of material that is cream coloured and has the writing on the left side that came with the original cases set. It is in good condition. The lower portion of the pillowed fabric is stained with water or coffee stains but is otherwise undamaged.

The picture to the left shows the pipes after restoration in their appropriate spots in the case. The second photo shows the case as a whole opened to display the pipes and the case. It is a beautiful and what I can find out a very rare set of pipes. The likelihood of me finding another one in my life time is quite low and to find one that has all of the original pipes in matched grain is even more unlikely. It was a privilege to work on this set of pipes. Thanks for reading the process of this labour intensive and long blog. I wanted to post the entire set as a whole and not break up the parts. If you have made it through the entire blog at this point you have done well and I thank you for your perseverance.

Restoring an interesting SMS Meerschaum Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

On a recent trip to Idaho to visit my parents, brothers and families I had the opportunity to go with my brother Jeff on a pipe hunt. We visited some of the shops where he has developed a relationship with the owners and had good luck on pipe purchases in the past. We visited a shop that belongs to the daughter of an old pipe man who I have known through business for quite a few years. I have purchased pipes and tobacco from him in years past and Jeff and I have bought a few estate pipes from him in recent years. On this trip we stopped and visited with his daughter a bit and had a look through her shop. Her dad had a few pipes there and a few sealed tins of Velvet Pipe Tobacco. These sealed tins still had the tax stamp on them and someone had the foresight to wrap a piece of duct tape carefully around the seal to keep the air out of the tin. I had to have one of those. There was one pipe that caught my attention – an oval shanked Meerschaum Canadian with an amber coloured acrylic stem made by SMS in a black vinyl covered case with a tan velour lining. I brought both the tin and the pipe to the counter and the daughter called her dad to let me dicker with him on the price.

We had a great conversation and caught up a bit regarding the past year for both of us. He is in his 80s and I always enjoy the conversation we have on all things pipe. I don’t think I have ever seen him without a pipe in his mouth and a wreath of smoke around his head. I expect that is what he looked like on the other end of the phone. We came to an agreed price for the pipe and tin. He always starts high in terms of price and I low ball him. We go back and forth and both end up feeling like we made a good deal. We said our good byes and I handed the phone back to his daughter. I paid the bill, said our good byes to his daughter and headed out to the next antique shop on the docket for the day.

I took some pictures of the pipe case to show its condition before I started my restoration work on the pipe. The faux leather case is in pretty good condition – just a few scuff marks but the edges are smooth and there is no peeling happening with the covering. The golden/tan velour interior is also in good condition – a little dusty and a few flakes of tobacco left behind in the fabric. It should clean up nicely as well. The pipe inside was in pretty decent condition. There was a cake in the bowl and some rim darkening and lava overflowing over the back of the rim. The bowl and shank had a lot of scratches and nicks in the finish with a bit of “road rash” on the bottom edge of the left side of the bowl. There were also some colour developing on the long shank of the pipe and some odd spotting around the top of the bowl. It was patina developing but it was spotty and strange – I have never seen that kind of colouring on a meer before. The stem was in good condition but had tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stem had a threaded tenon that screwed into and inset in the shank. It aligned perfectly. The SMS brass logo was set in the top of the stem and had been covered with a spot of clear acrylic to make it smooth and even with the surface of the stem. It should clean up well with a few character marks from its journey through the hands of different pipe men. I took some close up photos of the bowl, rim top and sides of the bowl to show the scratching and general condition of the pipe. The nicks and scratches on the left side of the bowl are visible in the second photo. The colouration process on the pipe is also visible through the scratches. The tooth marks and chatter are visible in the photos of the stem. They are predominantly around the button area on both sides. There are also some scratches and nicks on the sides and close to the shank/stem junction.I have to say how spoiled I have become when it comes to cleaning up pipes before I can do the restoration work. Thank you Jeff for the great work that you have been doing behind the scenes at rebornpipes. It is times like this when I have to clean up a pipe before I begin working on it that I am reminded of how much you do before I ever get the pipes. On this one I began with the cleanup work. I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and took out all of the cake on the walls.I unscrewed the stem from the shank and wiped down the tenon with a damp cotton pad to remove the tars and oils in the threads on the outer edge of the airway. Afterwards I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until it was clean.I sanded out the tooth chatter and marks with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I also sanded out the nicks and marks further up the stem sides and near the shank/stem union.I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the amber acrylic – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with damp cotton pad after each one. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I wiped it down a final time and dried it off. I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the meerschaum bowl. I polished the meerschaum bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads to remove the damage of the scratches and nicks in the bowl. I was able to remove almost all of the surface scratches (leaving behind only those that add character) and most of the heavy damage to the marks on the lower left side of the bowl. I dry sanded the bowl and shank with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim down after each pad with a damp cotton pad. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully worked the pipe on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond to further polish the bowl and the shank. It really brought life to the meerschaum. I also buffed the acrylic stem at the same time and worked it to a shine. I gave it several coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine in the meerschaum. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 6 1/4 inches, Height: 2 1/4 inches, Diameter of the bowl: 1 1/2 inch, Diameter of the chamber: 7/8 inches. I will be adding this one to the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. It is an unusual shape in my opinion and it will make a fine meerschaum addition to the rack. If you are interested email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS: How do I repair a bite through on an amber coloured stem?

Cleaning up a 1962 Gourd Calabash Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff picked up this Calabash at a local estate sale in Idaho. It is a big pipe – large gourd, with the meerschaum insert and stem in place it is 8 ½ inches long and 5 inches tall. The diameter of the meerschaum cup is 2 ¾ inches and the chamber diameter is 1 1/8 inches. It is a bit different from other gourd Calabash pipes that I have worked on in that is has small flowers carved in the surface of the body of the gourd and in the meerschaum cup. The end of the gourd shank is capped with a plastic/hard rubber end cap and extension that are joined by a metal tube. The stem is acrylic and is a bright yellow colour. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started cleaning it. The gourd is in good condition and the overall appearance of the pipe is good. Jeff took some close up photos of the gourd to show its overall condition. You can see the carved flower patterns and small straight cuts around the flowers looking like blades of grass.The rim top had some scratching in the surface of the meerschaum as well as some more carved flower and leaf patterns. The bowl had some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and there was a cake buildup in the bowl itself.Jeff removed the bowl to give a good look at the inside of the gourd. It was in good condition. Both the inside of the gourd and the underside of the meerschaum bowl had the number ’62 written on them in pencil. This makes me think that it is likely a date mark for the pipe – that is why I date it as a 1962 Calabash. The cork gasket around the inner edge of the gourd was in excellent condition. The cork was dry but otherwise undamaged. The black extension on the end of the shank was connected to the shank cap with a metal inner tube that lines the extension and provides a metal mortise for the stem. The stem was in excellent condition with light tooth chatter on the surface on both sides near the button with a little wear on the top and underside of the button itself.Jeff did a thorough cleanup on the meerschaum bowl, the inside of the gourd and the stem. He carefully scraped the cake in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He cleaned the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs – scrubbing out the mortise as it was dirty. He scrubbed the exterior of the meerschaum cup and the gourd with Murphy’s Oil soap and a tooth brush and was able to remove all of the oils and dust in the carved flowers on the gourd and bowl. He was able to remove all of the grime from the top of the meerschaum bowl and left it looking very clean. Once he had removed the lava on the rim top and inner edge they were very clean appeared to be good shape. Some of the scratches in the meerschaum were deeper than others and would take some work to smooth them out. He cleaned internals of the stem with alcohol. When it arrived I took some photos of it to show how it looked before I did the restoration. I took some close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem to show how they looked after Jeff’s cleanup work. He was able to remove much of the grime and lave on the rim top. There was a little tar around the inner edge but the bowl itself was clean. The stem was in great condition. The Delrin push mortise was clean. It fit well in the metal tube in the mortise. I removed the meerschaum bowl and rubbed the gourd down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the smooth finish, enliven and protect the gourd. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and buffed it with a horse hair shoe brush to work it into the flower patterns on the gourd. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. The gourd really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I rubbed Vaseline into the cork gasket to soften and enliven it. I rubbed it in, let it dry and repeated the process until the cork was softer.I took some photos of the pencil marks on the inside of the gourd and the underside of the meerschaum bowl. Both of the photos below show the marks and clearly reads 62.I polished out the sanding scratches and marks in the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-4000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and wiped it down with the damp cloth after each one. It looked better than before but I still was not satisfied so I buffed it again this time using Blue Diamond. I brought it back to the table and sanded it with the final three 6000-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with the damp cloth after each pad. When I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final wipe down and set it aside. The final photo showing the underside of the meerschaum cup shows a previous repair that had been done before the pipe came to us. It was a good repair and the chip was smooth and there was no roughness to the outer edge of the cup. I polished out the tooth chatter in the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I buffed the stem using a light touch with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I brought it back to the table and did a final polish with the 12000 grit pad, gave it a final wipe down with a damp cloth and set it aside to dry. I worked over the black plastic end cap and extension with micromesh pads to polish them and remove all scratches in the surface. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect and polish it. I gave the gourd bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed gourd and meerschaum cup with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The polished gourd, the rejuvenated meerschaum cup, black end cap and shank extension work very well with the bright yellow of the bent acrylic stem. The pipe is clean and ready to load and smoke with a favourite tobacco. It feels good in the hand and I would think it be cool, dry smoke. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 8 ½ inches, Height: 5 inches, Diameter of the meerschaum cup: 2 ¾ inches and Chamber diameter: 1 1/8 inches. I will be adding this one to the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. This is a larger pipe and it’s a nice addition to the rack. If you are interested email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.

A Few Firsts on a GBD Garland II Calabash 9552

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Blog by Aaron Henson

Before you get into this write up, I need to confess that despite my best efforts, I did a poor job of photo documenting this repair and restoration. I had good intentions, but the project was spread out over two months, working on it as I had time. Because of this, some of the pictures were taken out of sequence and others were chosen that best show a repair but also show repairs that have not yet been covered in the write up.

I realized a while back, that I had not restored a pipe recently that I was really excited about. There have been a number pipes that have crossed my work table and some have even posed some new challenges but the pipes themselves were hardly memorable. With the pickings at the second hand store in my area being slim – I turned to eBay to see if I could find a project pipe that would peak my interest. After a few hours of browsing I, found just what I was after: a stemless, GBD Garland II stummel – shape 9552. I submitted my bid and picked it up for a price that I thought was reasonable.

I don’t typically like to buy pipes on eBay. I prefer to be able to see them first hand so I know what I am getting myself into. But in this case the seller was forthcoming in the auction description, revealing that the pipe had a major crack in the bowl and another in the shank and of course, it lacked a stem. But what really fascinated me was the shape of the stummel and what promised to be some beautiful grain patterns.

The following pictures were from the seller auction page: Wanting an idea of what kind of stem was originally on the pipe, I headed on-line to see what I could find. My first stop was here at Reborn Pipes. In a 2016 article, our host, Steve, restored a GBD Colossus Fantasy 9552. I found additional examples of the 9552 shape in the GBD’s Prehistoric, Prestige and Virgin lines. In all cases the 9552 originally came with a bent saddle bit – some fancier than others.

These next two pictures are of a Garland II I found online. I was not going to try to duplicate the band in the stem, but knew I was going to need a band on the shank and that wouldn’t look too bad. Then I ended up at a Pipedia article for GBD Models where I learned that the Garland is a seconds line from GBD. I found this surprising because the Garland that I have and the ones I have seen online are excellent specimens of briar. Admittedly, my eye is not that experienced, but just from the quality of the briar and the lack of fills and pitting I would guess that the Garland line is GBD’s higher end seconds consisting more of fabrication errors rather than materials flaws. Can anyone confirm my guess?

Another interesting fact that I note is that the 9552 shape is often stamped with “Colossus”. The term Colossus was used by GBD as plus sized pipe designation. This size designation is used on all the GBD lines of pipes, but is lacking on this particular Garland II stummel. When the stummel arrived, I eagerly open the package and began to inspect the damage up close, fearing that some of the worst damage may not have been disclosed. But the seller’s pictures and description were accurate and I didn’t find hidden issues. The pipe was indeed big; the bowl height is 2.4 inches and the outside diameter is 1.75 inches. The chamber is 0.96 of an inch in diameter and 1.9 inches deep.

The left side of the shank is stamped GBD in an oval over Garland II. The left side has the COM (Country of Manufacture) stamp: MADE IN LONDON in a circle over ENGLAND and the shape number to the right: 9552. There was a heavy amount of the lava on the rim and the bevel at the edge of the chamber was a little distorted. The chamber too seemed to be drilled a little off center. Perhaps this was the why it was a second? The chamber had been reamed but not back to briar. The horizontal crack in the bowl was located on the left side and was a little over an inch long. I suspected that it went all the way through bowl wall but I could not be certain until I finished reaming the chamber. The crack in the stem was about half an inch long from the end of the shank right through the COM stamp but missing the shape number. Looking the pipe over closely, I noted quite a few dents in the heel of the stummel and handling scratches on the sides of bowl and the rim. I guessed that this piece of briar had been rattling around in a drawer for some time.Now that I had the stummel in hand I could measure the shank diameter (.610” at the end) and estimate the length that I wanted the new stem to be; about 3-1/4 inches. I took these measurements to the Vermont Freehand website and selected a stem that best fit. I chose the vulcanite stem blank number 722, a round saddle bit 21/32” diameter and 3-1/16” inches long. I always order two in case I ruin the first one. I also ordered four nickel plated shank rings, two 15.5 mm and two 16 mm not being sure which would be the better fit. With the parts on order, I started cleaning up the interior of the stummel. I reamed the chamber back to bare wood with my Castleford reamer and Decatur pipe knife. I also cleaned the shank alternating with bristled and soft pipe cleaners dipped in 91% isopropyl alcohol. The last person who tried reaming the chamber must have also ran a pipe cleaner or two through it because it only took five or six pipe cleaners before they started coming out as clean as they went in. The mortise I cleaned with cotton swabs. In all, the stummel was relatively clean. I wiped down the outside of the stummel with alcohol and acetone to remove the grime. Underneath the dirt and oils was some beautiful straight grain with a birds-eye heel. I looked closely and could not find any fills. Next, I addressed the thin crust of dried tars on the rim. I wetted down a green pad (mine was actually blue and did not work as well as the original green ones) with a mixture of tap water and granulated Oxy-clean. Placing the pad in a shallow dish, I pressed the rim of the pipe down on the pad and scrubbed in a circular motion. A little elbow grease and the moist Oxy-clean solution did its job. I dried the stummel with a paper towel and set it aside to dry for a bit.Next, I wanted to remove the ghosts of the previous tobacco that I could still smell in the chamber with an alcohol soak. I use the cotton ball method because it seems to do the job and is easier to clean up than the salt method. This chamber needed three cotton balls and I used 98% grain alcohol for the soak. I placed a cap over the top of the bowl for the first couple of hours to keep the alcohol from evaporating too fast then I removed the cap so the evaporative action can draw out the tars from the briar.When I got back to it the next day I was disappointed (though not surprised) that the crack in the bowl was wet where alcohol had been seeping through. At lease now I knew for sure that the crack went all the way through the bowl wall. The good news was I could easily see the ends of the hairline crack. I used a dental pick to mark the ends so I could find them later, then I removed the cotton balls and wiped out the chamber with a dry paper towel. I began the crack repair by using a small drill bit (0.5 mm) and hand drilled the stopper holes at the location I marked with the dental pick. Since the crack went completely trough the chamber wall I also drilled the hole all the way through the wall. I have not dealt with a crack that was this deep before so I was on unfamiliar ground. I packed the hole the half full with briar dust using a tooth pick then placed a drop of clear CA glue into the hole – coaxing it in with the tooth pick. I filled the holes up the rest of the way and dripped more glue. I used a magnifying glass to locate the end of the shank crack and gave it the same treatment.

I unsuccessfully tried working some CA glue into the bowl crack. The glue just seemed to set too fast and did not penetrate the crack. The shank crack on the other hand I could work open and get the glue to flow into it. I put a clamp on the shank while the glue set. Then when dry, I sanded the glued repairs smooth with 220 grit paper, careful not to over sand and change the shape of the pipe or damage the stamping on the shank. I resolved to repair the bowl crack by applying coat of heat resistant epoxy to the inside of the chamber. In this case I used the two part JB Weld – not the Quick Weld, which is useful for other pipe repairs. For pipe chamber repairs, I like the original JB Weld epoxy, it is easy to use and when cured it has a 550 degree (F) heat resistance. It is also easy to sand smooth. I apply it with my finger because it is much easier to get an even coat. I highly recommend wearing a pair of powder free Nitrile blue gloves for this operation! By this time the parts from Vermont Freehand arrived and wanted to band the shank. I have fixed a few banded pipes before but never put a band on an unbanded pipe. I tried dry fitting the two different sized bands I had bought. The smaller band would only just slip on the first fraction of an inch so I was glad I had ordered the next size up. The bands were a bit wider than I wanted because I did not want it to cover up too much of the stamping. Not sure what to do about the band width, I kept focusing on the seating of the band. I used a heat gun to heat up the band and get it to expand. Then with the band resting on a wood block, I pressed the shank down into the ring. The first attempt didn’t go well. The band was a bit cocked and only seated about a quarter of an inch. I realized that the shank’s taper was going to prevent the band from going on much farther and that was going to resolve the width issue; I was going to have to trim the band.

I removed the band and heated it up again. I smeared a little CA glue around the end of the shank and was able to seat the band squarely. This time about 3/8” onto the shank. Once cool, I used a skinny wheel on a rotary tool to trim of the excess band material and flush it up to the end of the shank. Although the band covered up the COM stamp and ‘AND II’ of ‘GARLAND II’ it was necessary and it gives the stummel a touch of class. I was pleased that the replacement stem I had chosen seemed to be a good fit although it was going to need some work. I started by using a fine tooth file to square up the face of the stem so it sits flush to the shank and removing the casting burrs.The tenon on the blank was way oversized as was the body of the stem. I don’t have a tenon turning tool, so I use my drill press to turn the stem. Wedging a bamboo skewer into the air hole at the tenon end, I leave about an inch of skewer exposed that I can secure into the chuck of the drill. Setting the drill to about 1300 RPM I use small pieces of 60 grit sand paper to slowly reduce the diameter of the tenon and the stem until it the correct size. The drill press method works well in theory. Once in a while the stem slips loose from its friction fit with the skewer and I have to reseat it. I work the vulcanite with 60, 120 and 220 grit sand paper, leaving the polishing to be done by hand with micromesh pads.

I kept a caliper nearby set at the correct tenon diameter to check my progress. As I got closer to the correct size, I switched to 120 and 220 grit paper. But I didn’t switch soon enough! By the time I got some of the deep scratches of the 60 grit out I had overturned the tenon and it was a hair too small. I finished turning the body of the stem before addressing the tenon issue.I thought at first that a little bee’s wax on the tenon would be enough to tighten the fit but in the end I had enlarge the tenon. To do this, I heated the tenon and inserted a drill bit into the air hole to enlarge the tenon. Letting the tenon cool with the bit in it I checked the fit: A little too big. I didn’t want to take anymore material off the tenon because if the tenon gets hot during a smoke it will return to its original size, vulcanite has a memory. I looked around my tool box and found a small punch that had a slightly smaller diameter than the drill bit and repeated the heating process. This time the fit was much better.

With the stem fitted it was time to bend the stem. I have jig for holding round stock and I used this to hold the assembled pipe steady with the bit resting on a 1-1/4” round dowel. Using my heat gun, I heated the bit until it draped over the dowel. I dipped the bent stem in water to cool the vulcanite and set the shape. Then I checked the angle of the bend and had to repeat the process a couple of times until I had what I thought was the original stem shape just right.Stem polishing started with 220 grit to remove the remainder of the casting burrs. Then I wet sand with micromesh pads 1500 – 4000.I removed the plastic guard after the 2400 pad. I used the 3200 and higher micromesh pads to also polish the band.After the 4000 pad I coated the stem with mineral oil and let it sit for a few hours. Then I finish polishing with pads 6000 to 12000. I started finishing the stummel by giving it a steam treatment to raise the dents and handling damage. Holding a wet terry cloth rag on the briar I press a hot iron on to it. This method works very well but I have two points of caution: 1) don’t burn your fingers in the steam; and 2) do not press the iron near the stamping, it will ruin stamping very quickly. I only apply the iron around the bowl body and the heel where the dents are the worst anyway.

I sanded the stummel with micromesh pads 1500 through 3200, with special attention paid to the rim to make sure it was smooth. I selected Fiebing’s dark brown aniline dye to better hide the repairs and applied the stain, without dilution, using a cotton swab straight from the bottle. I used a flame to heat and set the stain. I wiped down the stummel with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the excess stain. I kept wiping it down until the level of color was what I thought it should be. After staining the stummel I like to refresh the briar with a light coat of mineral oil and let the oil soak in overnight. All of the alcohol in the stain and the wiping down tends to dry out the stummel and I find the mineral oil helps to bring some of the life back to the briar. It also seems to give the finished pipe a healthy look.After the oil soaked in, I polished the briar with the 3200 – 6000 micromesh pads. Wiping it down with a clean cloth when finished.I took the assembled pipe back to my drill press/buffing station and ran over the entire pipe with red diamond polishing compound. Two or three passes of the pipe seems to prepare the pipe well for the final finish. I wiped the pipe down with a microfiber cloth to remove the buffing compound and then changed the buffing wheel for the waxing wheel. Three coats of carnauba wax put a nice shine on the pipe.

The last step in this restoration was the bowl coat. I had earlier sanded the epoxy chamber repair and wiped out the bowl with alcohol so the inside was relatively smooth. I mixed up a small batch of bowl coat using 2 teaspoons of sour cream and about three activated charcoal capsules. This made a thick, black, creamy paste that I spooned into the chamber with a wood spatula made from a popsicle stick. Donning the Nitrile gloves again, I used my finger to evenly spread the coating around the inside of the chamber. Wiping the excess coating off the rim with a cotton pad I set the pipe aside to dry for a few days.

Now am I looking forward to the weather warming up so I can break in this pipe. I think it might become one in my regular rotation. Thank you for sharing in my adventure. If you like the tamper in the picture above, it is one that I made and is for sale. Please see the Reborn Pipes Store page for it and other tampers. All proceeds go to charity.

The Minklings of Budapest

1 Reply

Blog by Laci Németh

Greetings pipe smokers of the world! 🙂 This post is coming to you from Europe. Budapest, Hungary. I am one of the many silent readers of this blog. I am a pipe smoker myself for arround 15 years now. This post has mentioned me. In October I gathered a group of pipe smokers to form a regular pipe smoking fellowship, and Steve asked me to share about it. So here we go.

Why a smoking fellowship?

Yes I know, pipe smoking is an “indivudual sport”, but it does bring an interesting experience when “simple” people share time, thoughts, hearts together. My first encounter with this experience was on a mountain overlooking the city of Sarajevo in Bosnia and Herzegovina. I was visiting a friend who was on a mission there and choose pipe smoking as a way to go deeper with those who are opened to him.

Two Americans, few Bosnians, me as a Hungarian, a bottle of whisky, our pipes, and an open fire. It started with them chanting this quote almost as a prayer:

“I have some friends, some honest friends, and honest friends are few; My pipe of briar, my open fire, a book that’s not too new.” — Robert W. Service

Wood was burning. Pipes smoked. Books opened to read poems. One Bosnian fellow shared his own poem that he has wrote since the last time he attended. And I was just sitting there…breathing in every second, every emotion, every heartbeat. A wonderful, life changing memory from 2006.

I asked them where did the idea came from?

They said: Inklings. (few of them were big C.S. Lewis and Tolkien fans)

Later I found out that one of them was influenced by the Wheaton version of this group: Whinklings.

11 years later. In Budapest I got to gather several pipe smokers arround an open fire. We have called ourselves: Minklings (M stands for Hungarian in our language, and the first four words also mean “us”. So its a play with the words.) 🙂

Yes, I am aware that we are nothing to compare ourselves to these giants of world literature. We are counselors, buisiness people, church pastors, programmers, etc. But we have many things in common. Among which the pipe smoking might be the least important.

I was very much surprised that almost each person had a poem (or poems) written before. They shared it. It was unique time. One of us has brought his own home
brewed beer. Some played a song.

We got to know each other through what we brought to the table.

in my point of view, we are all unique, worthy and special. we all have talents, gifts, capabilities that can be treasures to others. But we have many things in common. Among which the pipe smoking might be the least important.

I was very much surprised that almost each person had a poem (or poems) written before. They shared it. It was unique time. One of us has brought his own home brewed beer. Some played a song. We got to know each other through what we brought to the table. Every human being is a treasure.

If you want to discover it, all you need to do is organize a meeting for people you know that are pipe smokers. Announce a subject, for example: Bring a poem, a song, or something that describes you, that introduces you. Have an open fire. And let the magic happened. You will not regret it.

We are now meeting (only) every three months in organized way. But several of us have posted times when “we ran” into each other for a smoke wherever we met in the country.

PIPE SMOKERS UNITE! 🙂

Renewing a large Calaman Brunette Unique Bent Billiard

Merry Christmas too all the rebornpipes family

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I want send out this short Christmas wish to each of you and your families for a Merry Christmas and a Blessed New Year. It has been a great year in many ways for me at rebornpipes and thank each of you who are part of the family for your support. It is each you who make this place what I had dreamed it would be.

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Refreshing & Restemming a Missouri Meerschaum Great Dane Spool

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother was going to pitch this old cob but when I saw it I told him to throw it in one of the boxes he sent my way. I figured I could do something with it. I think he told me that the stem had collapsed but I don’t remember. It didn’t matter anyway because the stems are not expensive to replace. It arrived several months ago and I chucked it in the pipes to be refurbished box and forgot about it. Yesterday (first day of my Christmas holiday time off work) I was going through the boxes and consolidating a bit. I came across this one and brought it to the work table. The bowl and shank were in pretty good condition – just a little cake in the bowl, lava on the rim and tars and oils in the shank. The stem looked ok other than some tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem. You might wonder why I would even bother cleaning up a cob, but remember that every pipe that comes across the worktable provides an opportunity to practice skills and potentially learn new ones. I took some photos of the pipe before I started to clean it up. I took a picture of the rim and bowl to show the condition of the light cake and the lava overflow and scorching on the back side of the rim top. Otherwise the bowl looked decent.I took some photos of the stem to have a look at it and see what I was going to do. You can see the dent in the stem on the first photo. I have circled it in red to make sure you can identify it. It looks like a dent but it actually was a collapse in the airway that was blocking it off part way. The cheap plastic stems on the cobs do not do well with heat in my experience. I have ruined a few of them trying to raise dents and even just from the heat of buffing them.I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board to remove the lava build up and scorched area on the back of the rim top. It cleaned up really well leaving behind a pretty pristine looking rim. The inner and outer edges were in good shape.I reamed the bowl with Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to take back the cake that had formed around the middle of the bowl and smooth out the inside walls. I ran a folded piece of sandpaper around the inner edge of the bowl to clean it up a bit.I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. At this point I was not sure what I would do with the stem so I figured I might as well clean it up.I sanded the top of the stem to see what I could do with the dent. I put a pipe cleaner in the airway and painted the surface with the flame of a lighter. The area did not lift but collapsed further. The stem was a going to be a loss. It was time to look for another one that would work on this pipe.Jeff had sent me a couple of bags of stems that he had picked up on Ebay. In one of them there were quite a few Missouri Meerschaum stems that might work. I found a nice looking reddish amber plastic one that was bent the same angle. It was new and unused and it would look really good with the spool cob. I put the two stems side by side and took a couple of photos. You will notice that the new stem is slightly shorter than the original but the shape and the bend were more classic and elegant.I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. Each pad brought more of a shine to the cob and it matched the rest of the bowl well. I gave it a coat of Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a soft cloth. I put the new stem on the bowl and gave the pipe a hand buff with a microfiber cloth to give it a bit of a shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The cob is in great shape and the shank is made to look like a cob. The transparent red plastic stem looks really good with the golden yellow of the cob. This old cob has lots of life in it and it would be a great addition to anyone’s rack. Have you been wanting to give a cob a try? This is your chance to pick one up at a great price. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 inches. I will be adding this one to the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested. If you are interested email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.