Cleaning up a Peterson 312 System Pipe

Blog by Steve Laug

The Peterson I picked up on my trip was in great shape externally. The seller at the antique mall had cleaned up the outside of the pipe and polished the stem and bowl. The pipe was clean and shiny. The stamping was very clear on the ferrule and shank. The ferrule was stamped K&P Peterson’s and had three faux hallmarks as usual on the nickel ferrule of Peterson pipes. The shank was stamped on the left side with an arched Peterson’s over System and over Standard. On the right side of the shank the shape number has been stamped over with Made in the Republic of Ireland. The shape number is present under the over stamp and I can read the first two numbers clearly – 31_, but the third number is covered with other letters so it is not readable. I wanted to figure out the number stamping that lay hidden under the Made in the Republic of Ireland stamping. I went to the Peterson site and looked for the shape charts. I was able to identify the shape as a 312. Here is the link to the shape http://www.peterson.ie/p/5291/312-standard as well as a picture of the shape 312. I also found this shape chart of Peterson System pipes on Pinterest and included the link to it here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/464996730250913354/ I was particularly interested in noting the size variation between the 312 and the 314. While the shapes are very similar the 314 is significantly smaller than the 312. The bowl had been wiped clean and had no cake inside. The rim was dirty and darkened with a thin buildup of carbon and oils. The inside rim was clean and the bowl was in round. There were no serious nicks in the bowl edges. The nickel band was polished and undented. The stem was lightly oxidized and had a light tint of brown. There were no tooth marks or bite marks on the stem. The pipe was in good shape and would be one of my easier clean ups. The inside of the shank and sump had a lot of tars built up inside. The airway was also dirty. The seller had used silver polish on the ferrule and there was a white buildup on the inside edges of the shank. The next photo below shows the underside of the bowl and stem. Both the finish and the stem were in great shape with no visible dents or damage. The tenon was wide open like it had been made for a filter. It could hold a paper Medico style filter. I have never seen a filter version of the system pipe. I am wondering if the stem is a replacement or possibly it was drilled out to open it up to receive the paper filter. Obviously the internals had not been cleaned. There was a buildup of hard carbon on the tenon end and on the inside of the tenon. It was hard and would not easily be removed. I cleaned up the stem and the sump with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol until they came out clean. I used a lot of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs before it was clean. I softened the carbon buildup on the tenon with alcohol and then sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and scraped it away with a small blade to remove the hardened carbon. The bowl and shank had a heavy aromatic tobacco smell so I stuffed them both with cotton balls and used an ear syringe to put alcohol in both the bowl and shank. I set the bowl upright in an ice-cube tray and let it sit while the alcohol and cotton wicked out the oils and tars and sweetened the pipe. By doing this the pipe would be reset and could be smoked with any tobacco without picking up residual tastes. While the bowl sat soaking I worked on the stem to remove the oxidation. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I buffed it with White Diamond on the buffing wheel. Then I gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it to a shine with a soft flannel buffing pad. After the bowl had been sitting for 4 hours I took the photo below and then pulled out the cotton balls. The alcohol had evaporated and left behind a brown/amber residue on the cotton balls. Once the cotton was out I ran a folded pipe cleaner through the bowl and the sump area of the shank. It came out clean. I ran a straight cleaner through the airway into the bowl. It also picked up a slight bit of residue from the soak but it was clean after a few swabs. Best of all the smell of the aromatic tobacco was gone and what was left was a clean new pipe smell. When the shank was dry I put the newly polished stem back in the shank. I gave the pipe a quick buff with some carnauba and polished it with a shoe brush to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It has some slight rim darkening from the previous owner but otherwise it is like new. The bowl and shank are fresh and ready to be loaded with a bowl of fine Virginias or some Virginia/Perique. I have some aged 5100 sitting in a jar here ready to smoke and also a small jar of some blending Perique so I may have to mix a small batch just for the inaugural smoke on this pipe…The briar is beautiful and the refurbished pipe came out very nice. I am looking forward to having a bowl very soon – just have to let the bowl dry out and air for a couple of days before I load it up and smoke it. In the meantime I will just look it over and enjoy the beauty of the pipe.

Restoring a Diamond Shank Bent – Andrew Selking

9 Replies

Blog by Andrew Selking

I have been following Andrew’s refurbishing work on Pipe Smoker Unlimited Forum for quite some time now and decided it was time to ask him if he would be willing to write some of his work up with photos for the blog. I sent him a message and he responded that he was glad to do so. I am happy to be able to present him to the readers here. He has been doing some great work in restoring pipes and has some great adaptations and innovations in terms of tools and equipment used to restore pipes. Besides he also takes amazing photos compared to me! Thanks Andrew for being willing to write for us here. So without further words from me I turn it over to Andrew.

It was a great honor when Steve asked me to write up a restoration for his blog. This pipe came in a lot of three. It’s a very chunky, diamond shank pipe marked Made in London England. It has a couple large fills near the end of the shank, one on the bottom of the bowl, and one on the rim. It also has an amazing feel in your hand and some very pretty cross grain. I decided to do this one for myself.

The first thing I do with all of my pipes is soak the bowl in isopropyl alcohol, usually for at least 24 hours. This serves multiple purpose; loosens the gunk inside the pipe (especially in the shank), makes the cake easier to remove, and usually takes of the exterior finish and softens any fills. Here is the bowl taking a bath.While the bowl marinated, I soaked the stem in a solution of hot water and Oxyclean. After sitting for several hours, I rinsed the stem under running water, this removes some of the oxidation. Next I took a pipe cleaner and used the Oxyclean solution to remove the built up tar and tobacco from inside the stem. I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. In the case of this pipe, the alcohol was not enough to remove all of the finish. When this happens, I use 0000 steel wool soaked in acetone. The steel wool is fine enough that it doesn’t damage the stampings on the shank, but aggressive enough to make short work of any remaining finish.Next I turned my attention to the bowl. I use a Castleford reamer (available on eBay for around $20.00) to remove the cake.I usually go down to the wood. I’ve found it’s better to use a reamer that is slightly smaller than the inside of the bowl to prevent damage to the wood.

Next I worked on the shank. I have some small brushes that I bought in the baby section at Walmart (normal people use them to clean baby bottles, but I find they work great for the shank of a pipe). Although the brush gets most of the gunk out, I use a retort to really clean the inside of the shank and the stem. I started using this method when I couldn’t fit the end of the rubber tube over the wide button on a pipe. The tenon was a perfect fit and the tube also fits perfectly into the shank. This saves a lot of time and pipe cleaners. After doing the retort, I run one pipe cleaner through the stem and a pipe cleaner and q-tip through the shank and it’s done. Now that the inside of the pipe is clean, it’s time to start working on the outside. For the stem, I used 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper with water. This gets the majority of the oxidation out, the wet sand paper also makes it easier to get the underside of the button. Next I used micro-mesh pads (1500-2400 grit) with water. I wiped the stem dry and turned my attention to the bowl. I used a progression of micromesh pads, 1500-12000 grit. I also used the same progression on the stem. Now the pipe was ready for stain. This next part might be kind of controversial (I have never seen this method anywhere else). I use shoe polish for stain. Now before you dismiss this as crazy talk, consider this. It is very simple. I apply the polish, heat it with a heat gun, and buff it out with a shoe brush. I also protect the finish with carnauba wax and have never had any issues with the polish melting or coming off in my hand. Polish applied. After melting with the heat gun and buffing with a shoe brush. It is also very simple to even out the stain.Next up the heart breaker (also known as the buffing wheel). This little gem makes the difference between a really nice application of carnauba wax and an average looking pipe. It will also grab what you’re working on and fling it to the four winds and shatter the pipe you’ve just spent the last few hours working on. Hold what you’re working on with both hands, place as much padding as you can under and behind the buffer, and work on the stem and bowl separately. Sorry about the quality of the picture. I didn’t lose the pipe to the buffer and here’s the results. I anticipate that this pipe will pass on to my kids, or be part of the estate sale. I can’t wait to smoke it.

Chris Askwith “Hand Finished”

2 Replies

Blog by Al Jones

I have admired the work of British pipe artisan, Chris Askwith work for some time now. He recently released a new line called “Hand Finished” pipes, at very reasonable prices. This new line came up on a SmokersForum.uk thread and this bent Billiard caught my eye. It had that classic British profile that I love.

I’ve had the pipe for about six weeks not and thought that I would share my observations.

Chris makes the “Hand Finished” line from a stock of old English briar. The stem material varies, and this one is vulcanite. This was also from some old German stock that he found. The stem fitment is perfect. The slim, fish-tail button, is sublime and just to my liking. The shape and feel is similar my older Sasieni pipes. The stem has a great mouth feel and Chris reports it doesn’t oxidize in use (one concern that I had). I find the blast work and stain to be very appealing.

I was a little concerned as the pipe will not pass a cleaner. As I suspected, Chris said the strummels were pre-drilled, so he had to work within those shaping confines. I am happy to report, that after two smokes, the pipe was dry as a bone and cool. The wall thickness is also just to my preference.

Chris uses a bowl coating, but I found it to be flavor neutral and the pipe broke in almost immediately. This is my second new pipe purchased this year with a bowl coating. I now consider myself a fan of bowl coatings, if they are created in this manner.

Ordering was smooth and easily completed via email. It was pleasant to have some interaction with the maker. In email communications, Chris tells me that he is still learning to work with this supply of strummels and was appreciative of my feedback.

I’ve been smoking this pipe fairly regularly (2/3 times per week) and it is quickly becoming a favorite. I had it with me at the recent Richmond CORPS show and several pipe club meetings. The folks I’ve shown it to seemed impressed. In fact, this pipe seems to end up in my bag for the various pipe club nights I attend. The draw is open, but it is not fussy about the way it needs to be packed. Typically, a bowl is a one match affair with no moisture, so a cleaner is not required. The way it smokes, the shape and weight all conspire to make a pipe that really works for my needs. This pipe has definitely whetted my appetite for a future Chris Askwith “Hand Made” pipe.

Rode Hard Put Away Wet – A Tired Julius Vesz shape 31 Zulu/Canted Dublin

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

When I walked by the display case in the antique mall and saw the classic Vesz finish and the O logo on the stem I knew I was looking at one of Julius’ pipes. It was in very rough shape. The stem was covered on the topside and underside from the button forward for about an inch with a lot of dents and bite marks. On the topside there was a bite through – not large, more of a pinhole sized hole. There was also a lot of calcified buildup on the stem. The stem was over bent and the flat bottom of the bowl and shank did not rest on the desk top when laid down. The stem arch kept it from happening. The button and crease had were also worn. The rest of the stem was oxidized. The bowl finish was dirty and worn with white paint spots on the bowl. The stem was very tight and hard to remove but when I did remove it the tars on the end of the tenon were thick. The inside of the stem was so filled that the airway was virtually clogged. The slot on the end of the stem was plugged but for a hole the size of a pencil lead. The rim was damaged and worn from tapping it out on hard surfaces. There were large dents and worn areas. The inner edge was blackened and on first glance looked to have burned damage. It was hard to tell for sure but it also looked to be slightly out of round due to the damage to the inside edge. The bowl was heavily caked with a concrete like carbon build up. I tried to ream it and found it too hard to cut as it stood. The inside of the shank had heavy carbon and tar buildup. The pipe is stamped on the flattened bottom of the shank. Toward the front of the bowl it is stamped Circle 3 which denotes the price point of the pipes. Julius stamped them 1-6 to denote the price. That is followed by the shape number – in this case 31. The final stamping is Julius Vesz over Hand Made. To soften the concrete like cake so that I could ream it more easily without damaging the briar I put the bowl into an alcohol bath to soak for a while. I also wanted to remove the grime from the rustication on the bowl and the soak would facilitate that. While the bowl soaked I worked on the stem. I cleaned the inside of the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. I also sanded the calcification with 180 grit sandpaper and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the build up from the surface of the stem. The tooth marks are very evident in the photos below. I took the bowl out of the alcohol bath to ream it and found that indeed the alcohol had softened the cake enough to make reaming a very easy task. I reamed it with a PipNet reamer starting with the smallest cutting head and working up to the size of the diameter of the bowl. I topped the bowl and removed the damaged surface of the rim. I set up a topping board and used 220 grit sandpaper to gently and carefully remove the damage. I sanded the bowl in a circular pattern on the board as I find that doing so does not leave as deep scratches in the finish. Once I had removed the damage I could see the state of the inner edge of the rim. It had some darkening but it was still solid. There were no deep burned areas that needed to be removed. I set up a heat gun and heated the bent stem to reduce the bend to a point where the pipe would sit up right on the flat bottom of the shank and bowl. I also heated the tooth dents to raise them as much as possible before I sanded them. Once the stem was heated and flexible I inserted it in the shank and pressed down on the bend to adjust the bend to allow the bowl to sit without falling over. The tooth marks did lift quite a bit and are visible in the last two photos of the foursome below. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and then with medium and fine grit sanding sponges to clean up the dents as much as possible. The surface needed to be cleaned and prepped for the work of filling the dents with black super glue. I washed down the dents with alcohol to remove the sanding dust. I filled the holes and built up the dents in the button lip with black super glue until they were overfilled, then sprayed them with the accelerator to harden the glue. I sanded the fills with 180 grit sandpaper and then with 220 grit sandpaper to begin the process of smoothing them and blending them into the surface of the vulcanite. I continued to sand with the 220 grit sandpaper to shape the crease and the button as well as the surface of the patches until they were at the same level as the surface of the stem. I sanded the stem after that with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to further blend it into the stem surface. It took a lot of sanding to blend it into the surrounding vulcanite. I rubbed down the stem with Obsidian Oil to make the scratches and trouble areas very visible. I also rubbed down the bowl with olive oil and wiped it off and set it aside overnight to let the oil be absorbed into the wood. In the morning I took the following set of two photos to show the state of the pipe when I began to do the finishing work on it. I sanded the stem with fine grit sanding sponges to clean it up further and remove the deeper scratches. I then sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I finished the stem work by buffing the stem with White Diamond on the wheel to finish the polish. I gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff to raise the shine. The bowl had a heavy ghosting of aromatics – it was overwhelming and no matter how many times I cleaned it the smell remained. I filled the bowl with cotton balls, pressed them down and then filled the bowl with isopropyl alcohol with an ear syringe until the cotton was soaked. I set the pipe bowl in an old ice-cube tray that holds it upright and let the alcohol and cotton do their work to pull out the oils from the briar and sweeten it. I have moved more and more toward using cotton instead of coarse salt. It seems to work just as well and is less of a mess in the clean up stage. I let the pipe sit with the alcohol and cotton balls for about three hours. The photo below shows the oils that were drawn out of the bowl. The cotton turned a yellow-brown and was almost dry. I took the cotton balls out of the bowl and cleaned the shank and bowl with pipe cleaners. I put the stem back in place on the pipe and gave the pipe a hand polish with some Halcyon II Wax. I hand buffed it with a shoe brush to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown below. The look and feel of the pipe is far better than when I started. The repairs to the stem and button worked well and blended in nicely to the stem. The topping of the bowl removed the damaged portion and the blackening of the inner edge of the rim is merely a character trait. This is one that will stay in my collection. It smells sweet and is ready to smoke.

Restoring a Paronelli Bent Apple

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I picked up a large bent apple-shaped pipe from one of the antique shops I visited on my journey in Alberta. It is a filter pipe with a Lucite stem and a metal spacer between the shank and stem. The spacer was loose and would need to be glued in place. The stem had sticky gum on it from the sales tags that were on the pipe. There is a stylized pipe stamped on the left side of the saddle portion of the stem. The bowl had a light cake on the top 1/3 of the bowl and some darkening on the rim itself. There was no damage to the rim or the briar of the bowl. The piece of briar used had some great grain on the right side and the back and front of the bowl. The left side had a bald spot but overall the pipe had some nice grain. There is one fill on the back side of the bowl midway between the top edge and the junction of the bowl and shank. The finish was covered with a glossy varnish coat that was dirty, worn and had darkened in some spots on the bowl. The stamping was quite simple – Paronelli on the left side of the shank in script and on the underside of the shank next to the stem is ITALY. I was drawn to the shape as I had not heard of the brand before. Before I started working on it I did a bit of digging on the web to see what I could find out about the brand. I found quite a few oddly painted Paronelli pipes and quite a few in wild colours with appliqués. But I did not immediately find anything on just simple briar pipes. Finally I found Paronelli pipes listed on http://www.theitalianpipe.com/artisans/paronelli.htm

I copied the picture of Alberto Paronelli to put a name with the face for this pipe. The following is adapted from the site.

“Alberto Paronelli, now in his eighties, is undoubtedly one of the true fathers of the art of pipe design and craft. He continues to design and make briar and clay pipes. Many world-famous pipe makers, such as Tommaso Spanu, are indebted to him for their knowledge and fame. Among his endless achievements are the founding of the International Pipe Academy, the Pipe Museum in Gavirate (Italy), and the publication of the now out of print magazine called “La Pipa” (The Pipe).”

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took back the cake on the top 1/3 of the bowl back to bare wood. I cleaned out the shank and the tenon/filter area with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. I scrubbed until they came out clean. I cleaned the metal spacer and reglued it to the stem. I wiped down the bowl and stem with alcohol to remove the gummy substance on the stem and on the sides of the bowl. Once I had the inside of the bowl, shank and stem clean I worked on the finish of the bowl. I decided to try to remove the shiny varnish finish so that I could clean off the dirty and worn areas. I wiped it down with acetone on cotton pads until I had cut through the finish. I sanded it with a medium grit sanding sponge to further break up the varnish and then wiped it again with the acetone. I worked on the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three sanding pads. Fortunately the Lucite stem was in excellent shape other than some minor scratching so it cleaned up quite easily. I reapplied the logo on the side of the stem with white out and lightly buffed the pipe stem with White Diamond when I had finished. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and set it aside while I worked on the bowl. I buffed the bowl with White Diamond and then rubbed it down with a light coat of olive oil. I wiped the oil on and then off again and let it sit overnight. In the morning I buffed the bowl with White Diamond once again and then gave the pipe several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff. The finished pipe is shown below. I will either have to get a 9mm converter to fill the open tenon or put a filter in place. I have some filters that I picked up in Europe when I was there that fit perfectly so that may well do the trick with this one.

UPDATE: The pipe is on its way as a gift to a young pipeman to add to his growing rotation. Hope you enjoy this one Justin.

Giving new life to a Savinelli Product – a David’s Choice Canadian

Kaywoodie 8783B Drinkless Restoration (1935-1938)

6 Replies

Blog by Al Jones

The Shape 8783B is one of my favorite Kaywoodie shapes. This shape is more common in the Supergrain grade and this is the first one I’ve seen available in the Drinkless grade. This shape is almost identical in shape and size to my Comoys 499 Extraordinaire, but is significantly lighter at 54 grams.

Kaywoodie introduced the Drinkless grade in 1935. The four digit shape stamp was last used in 1938. This one has the four hole stinger with a large ball. It is also my first vintage Kaywoodie with the “Reg No 213598” and “Drinkless” stamps on the stinger. These details make it easy to date the manufacture of the pipe between 1935 and 1938. “Drinkless” grade pipes seem to have nicer grain patterns than Supergrain pipes. This one has some straight grain radiating around the bowl with birdseye on the bowl top.

The pipe was advertised as cleaned and polished. But as you can see from these picture, there was still considerable oxidation on the stem. The briar had some bruises with some rim darkening and one dent on the bowl top.

The nomenclature was worn, but visible to the naked eye. This pipe is stamped Aged Bruyère with Drinkless over Kaywoodie. Kaywoodie switched to the “Imported Briar” stamp in 1936, so it is possible that this pipe could be from 1935. There are overlaps between years, so there is no definitive way to determine the exact year.

The bowl appeared to be reamed and cleaned, but I soaked it with alcohol and sea salt just to be sure. The stem presented a problem as it was completely blocked. Using a piece of heavy copper wire, I was able to push out some dirty pipe cleaner debris and clear the stem. The detail work and funneling on the button end is very impressive and comparable to Comoys buttons of that era.

I was able to partially lift the dent from the bowl top with steam. I heat an old kitchen knife heated with a propane torch pressed onto a wet cloth over the dent. I then removed some of the rim darkening with a worn piece of 8000 grade micromesh sheet. The briar was then buffed with several coats of carnuba wax. I was careful to stay away from the worn nomenclature to avoid any more damage.

The oxidation on the stem was pretty stubborn. The stem appeared to have had some of the oxidation buffed or sanded off. I started with 600 grit wet paper, then progressed thru 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grades. I then used 8000 and 12000 grade micromesh sheets. The stem was then buffed with White Diamond rouge.

Below is the finished pipe.

An Old 1923 Adolph Frankau Billiard Restemmed and Restored

6 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

On a recent road trip to Alberta I drove over 3300 kilometres and stopped along the way at antique shops and antique malls to look for old pipes to add to my refurbishing box. I am always on the lookout for old pipes that show promise or will make good additions to my own collection. In one of the shops in Nanton, Alberta I found an old billiard and a Savinelli Made Canadian pipe bowl. Both bowls were missing their stems. The billiard bowl was stamped with a stacked lower case o and an N with C over the top of it. Above the stamped letters was a crown. There was no other stamping on the briar. I have looked around the web for this stamping and have not been able to find out who made the pipe from the stamping and the logo on the shank. The photo below gives a clear picture of the stamping on the top of the oval shank. If it looks familiar to any of you reading this article please post the information in the replies at the bottom of the page. There was also a band on the shank that was factory installed. It was not a repair band or one that was added at a later date. The sterling silver band also bore stamping. On the top of the shank band there was an AF in a hexagon stamped in the silver. That AF stamping seems to point to the pipe being made by Adoph Frankau and Company as far as I can ascertain. Stamped underneath the AF there were three hallmarks in the silver. These hallmarks included the following – each of them was in a cartouche. The first was a letter h, the second was a lion, and the third was a lion’s head. The stamping and the order in which they were stamped identifies the silver band on the pipe in the following order – the h is the year 1923, the lion is the stamp for sterling silver and the third stamp, the lion’s head is the stamp for the city of London. The close up photo below shows the stamping on the silver band.The finish on the bowl was worn and spotty but otherwise was in good shape. The rim was slightly darkened but did not have any tarry build up. The bowl interior was clean and appeared to either have been reamed or lightly smoked. The shank had a threaded mortise and would have taken a threaded tenon. I went through my can of stems and found a stem that was oval and of a similar diameter as the shank. It had a broken off tenon that needed to be sanded smooth to flatten it against the face of the stem. With some sanding and cleaning up it would fit the shank well. Once I had faced the stem I drilled the remainder of the old broken tenon out of the stem and fit a piece of Delrin tenon into the hole. The piece of Delrin was too long and I cut it off with a hacksaw. The tenon was not threaded to fit in the threaded mortise however the diameter would make a snug fitting push tenon. The diameter of the stem was slightly larger than the shank and band so it would need to be sanded to remove the excess material. I cut of the tenon piece and then glued it into the drilled out stem with superglue. I sanded the stem to adjust the diameter of the oval to make the fit more precise. When the stem was in place the fit was better with the logo side of the stem facing down. I decided to sand that side to fit it against the shank. The inlaid logo was not set too deeply into the vulcanite and with sanding it would be easy to remove. Once I had sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess vulcanite I fit it in the shank to get an overall look at the pipe with stem. More sanding would be necessary to get the fit perfect against the band and shank. To further shape the stem I removed it from the shank and sanded it some more with 220 grit sandpaper and then with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. I sanded the stem until the diameter matched that of the shank. I sanded the tooth marks next to the button on the top and bottom of the stem. The photo below shows the shaped and sanded stem. All tooth marks and damage to the stem was removed in the sanding and the stem was ready to polish. I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the spotty finish on the bowl. It took some scrubbing to remove the varnish coat on the pipe. I scrubbed the silver band with silver polish and wiped it down with a silver polishing cloth. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I sanded the tenon smooth as well. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three sanding pads. I buffed the stem with White Diamond to further polish it and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buffing pad to raise the shine. I buffed bowl with White Diamond on the buffer and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect and polish it. I then buffed it with a soft flannel buff to give it a shine. I put the stem back in place on the shank and the buffed the pipe a final time. The finished pipe is shown in the next set of four photos below. It is ready to smoke with its inaugural bowl. It will be a treat to fire up this lightly smoked pipe from 1923.

Tobaccoland, Chapter 37 the Pipe Repairing Department – by Carl Avery Werner

2 Replies

Blog by Chris Chopin and Steve Laug

Chris Chopin, a reader of and writer for rebornpipes sent me a link to an old chapter on pipe repair that he thought I would enjoy reading. He was right, I love it. It is a chapter from the book Tobaccoland, by Carl Avery Werner. It is Chapter 37 and is entitled “The Pipe Repairing Department”. It is a great read and well worth taking the time to reflect on if you are one who, like me, loves to repair and bring old pipes back to life. I wanted to pass it on to all of you who read the blog so I converted the entirety of the chapter into photos so that I could post the pages on the blog for you to read. If you would like to read it in PDF format click on the link below and download it in that format http://library.albany.edu/preservati…rt7_chpt37.pdf.
As usual with me, one thing leads to another and I wanted to read more of Werner’s book. Having read the chapter on pipe repair I was intrigued enough to do some digging to see if I could find the book as a whole. I wanted to read more of Werner’s Tobaccoland and see if the rest of it was as enjoyable and entertaining. I was able to find the following link to a full online version of the book https://archive.org/stream/tobaccolandbooka00wernuoft#page/n9/mode/2up.

Helping fulfill the “Gandalfian” Dreams of a Hungarian Friend

7 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Last month Laci, a friend from Hungary, came to our offices for training and work related ventures. We spent quite a bit of time together in training sessions over the course of his stay in Vancouver. Each day I picked him up at the bed and breakfast where he was staying and drop him off again in the evening. We talked, walked and ate together. The first day he was here he was sitting in my office next to my desk and we were planning our week. At this point in the visit I was utterly unaware that he was a pipe smoker. He noticed the pipe on my desk and asked about it. I told him about my love of restoring old pipes and all things pipes and tobacco. We started talking about pipes and tobacco and he shared what he liked to smoke and what pipes he had in his collection. He was by and large an aromatic smoker as he liked the sweet tastes that came with the tobaccos.

That evening we went out to dinner near his bed and breakfast and continued the conversation we had begun at the office. He spoke of the friends he had in Budapest who he met with to enjoy a pipe and the conversations to be had while smoking their pipes. He talked about the pipe he had and what shapes he particularly like. The conversation was no different from a hundred other conversations that I have had with pipe smokers around the world. You can probably fill in the blanks of the conversation and pretty accurately because I am sure you have had the same conversations yourself. Eventually the conversation came around to the types of pipe he dreamed of one day owning. He spoke of liking apple-shaped pipes whether bent of straight. He spoke of his dream of one day acquiring a Lord of the Rings style churchwarden pipe and smoking some LOTR tobacco. He said it like this “…the ultimate dream of mine is something like what Gandalf had…” At the moment he had no plan or date in mind for acquiring the pipe but he knew he wanted to get one.

We parted company that evening and I went home and looked in my pipe cabinet. I had several churchwarden pipes in my collection and most of them I smoke regularly. But there was one that I rarely picked up. There was nothing wrong with it but I don’t often pick up a CW to smoke and the one I made with the pipe I had purchased the day my eldest daughter was born always seems to get the attention. I took it out of the cupboard and turned it over in my hands. I waxed it again with a new coat of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff. It is stamped either VI-RA or VERA but it is hard to be certain of the spelling. I have hunted down both names online and in my reference books and have not found any information on the brand. The stem is vulcanite and the bowl is a sturdy briar with a rusticated finish. The base of the bowl was flattened so that the pipe can be set down on the desk or table and it remains upright. The stain is a medium brown with some black undertones. It was clean and had only been smoked once or twice since I bought it.

The pipe was my first churchwarden. I had been looking for one for quite a while and I purchased the pipe at an antique mall in Langley, British Columbia many years ago for a pretty decent price. The stem was badly oxidized and the bowl was dirty and worn. The finish was gone and the stain was spotty. I cleaned and restained the bowl with the brown stain. I polished and waxed the stem. The shank had a small crack in it on the right side so I pressure fit it with a nickel band. The band really sets off the pipe nicely and gives it a touch of class. Several days later Laci came to our home for dinner with the family and I presented him with his wished for churchwarden. I wish I had taken a picture of the look on his face when he took it in his hands and turned it over to take in all he could. He was excited with his new pipe. I included some tobacco with the pipe to further meet his wish – a Tolkien LOTR blend from Burlington on Whyte Tobacconist of Edmonton, Alberta called Longbottom Leaf. It is a gentle aromatic with a delightful smell in the bag and a great room note for those who are in the room when it is smoked.

The next morning he brought his pipe to work and we were able to take a walk along the Fraser River and smoke our pipes. He packed a bowl of the Longbottom Leaf in the CW and entered the world and realm of LOTR. We walked for about a half hour and then settled on a park bench overlooking the river to enjoy the rest of our bowls. We walked back to the office when we had finished quite satisfied with the day. I could tell that once he went home this new pipe would occupy a central place in his pipe collection. I gave him several other tobacco samples to take home with him including one made by Robert Boughton who writes on the blog. These will be shared with his Hungarian pipe smoking cadre the next time they gather.

Laci, if you happen to read this post let us know how the pipe is smoking for you. Give us a glimpse of the folks you smoke the pipe with and be sure to give them our greetings.

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this:

Share this: