Restoring a Briarmeer Rhodesian 175 ED that was Made in Canada

Blog by Steve Laug

I received an email from Andrew saying that he had a pipe he wanted to send my way. It was my kind of shape – a Rhodesian. He said that it was an odd pipe in that on the bottom of the bowl it had a slightly inset circular divot. The round inset was almost like a poorly made plug on the bottom of the bowl, or one that had shrunken with time. He thought that it would be a great challenge for me to do a repair on it. The stamping on the pipe shank was Briarmeer 175 ED Canada.

The brand was one I had not heard of before. And since I am in Canada I wanted to try to figure out where the pipe was made and what the plug was about. The name seemed to suggest that it was a meerlined pipe or at least included meerschaum in some form or fashion. Yet when I emailed Andrew about it he replied that there was no meerschaum lining present in the bowl. Instead it was just a nice looking briar pipe with the strange, misfit looking round plug on the bottom of the bowl.

This would require some research to see what I could find out. I went online and searched for any information that I could find regarding the brand. I wrote to the trademark attorney who was listed as the representative of the brand and received a very cryptic answer that was not helpful at all. I did learn however that Briarmeer pipes were made by Briarmeer Pipes Limited, 226 Park Street, Brockville, Ontario. The business was no longer present at that address and did not show up in any Brockville Business Directories available online or through the Yellow Pages .I searched the Canadian, American and British patent sites hoping to find a patent registration for the pipe but was not able to find one. I found a trademark registration document from the US patent office that showed that the brand or trademark was registered in the US in 1973. The document pictured below gives that information as well as the Canadian Registration Number 180,805 and that it was registered in Canada on January 21, 1972.

Using these registration numbers I searched both the Canadian and US patent records but could find no patent information available. From the public records it appears that the Briarmeer Company went out of business sometime in the late1980’s or early 1990’s and the name became public domain.

I was able to find out through further digging that the pipe is a variation on what Kaywoodiedid with its famous Carburetor.Kaywoodie had drilled a hole in the bottom of the bowl and inserted a metal airhole to introduce air into the bottom of the bowl to enhance burning of the tobacco. In the Briarmeer the drilled out area in the bottom of the bowl was significantly larger.It had been drilled out and a meerschaum disk inserted in the resultant hole. The draw hole was to be perfectly centered at the bottom of the bowl. From what I could find out the idea of using the meerschaum insert came to a Canadian engineer about 30+ years ago. He reasoned that the meerschaum bottom of the bowl would allow for a drier and cooler smoke while the briar would be sturdier than the meerschaum for the walls of the bowl.Now I knew what the inset on the bottom of the bowl was and where the Meer portion of the Briarmeer name came from.

I decided to see if I could hunt down some photos of the pipe. I had not noticed them before and did not figure I would find many available. I was wrong. I found quite a few clear photos online that showed the novel meerschaum insert with clarity. In all of the photos it was clear that the insert sits inset into the bottom of the bowl and there is a variance in the external bowl bottom and the depth of the inset meerschaum disk. I have included four of the photos I found to show the insert in the exterior bowl bottom. Some of the photos show a new and unsmoked pipe and other show an estate pipe. All have the pipes show the same variation in the depth of the bottom of the bowl and the depth of the meerschaum disk.

I also learned that the American Company, Briarcraft who made the Smokemaster pipe also made a pipe with called the Briarmeer Acadian. The Briarcraft version of the pipe was a meerschaum lined pipe and was stamped with the Briarcraft logo, a B in a diamond on the shank and on the stem.However, the pipe I was gifted was not a meerschaum lined briar and it did not have the B stamp on either the shank or the stem. The stem appears to be original and the stamping on the shank clearly says that the pipe is Canadian made.

The pipe from Andrew arrived and it was indeed one of my favourite shapes. The finish was a little dirty and the rim had some carbon build up. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth marks on the underside of the stem near the button. There was also a darkened spot like a burn mark on the underside of the shank near the insert. There were several fills in the grooves of the rustication but I was fairly certain that when I restained the pipe they would be hidden. The meerschaum insert looked to be in very good shape from the outside of the bowl. Inside was caked with a fair amount of carbon and the insert was not visible looking into the bowl.

Upon closer examination it was evident that there was a crack in the shank on the right side that ran at an angle from mid-shank toward the back of the bowl shank union. The crack did not start on the bottom of the shank but rather started midway up on the right side of the shank and ended near the top middle of the shank. It was very clear under a lens that it was present. The next two photos, though slightly out of focus show the crack. It runs across the rustication pattern mid-shank.

I cleaned out the crack with a dental pick to remove the buildup of grime that filled it. The grime was evident through the lens. Once I had it clean when I viewed it through the lens I used superglue to repair the crack. Fortunately the crack did not go all the way into the airway. I checked the inside of the airway with a penlight and it was smooth and flawless. The repair externally would remove the visible damage.

I left the superglue to cure overnight and in the morning used the dental pick to clean out the grooves of the rustication and sanded the smooth portions of the briar surface with 220 grit sandpaper and then medium and fine grit sanding sponges. The photo below shows the repair after sanding and shaping.

I wiped the surface of the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the damaged finish and enable me to blend in the patch when I restained the pipe. I scrubbed the rusticated rim of the bowl with the pads as well and was able to remove the carbon build up.

I sanded the darkened area (burn?) on the bottom of the bowl to lighten it in preparation for staining. I wiped that area down with acetone on cotton pads afterward.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove the oxidation. I sanded the tooth marks on the underside of the stem near the button and was able to remove them.

I wiped the bowl down a final time with acetone, being careful not to scrub the insert with it. Once it was cleaned off I stained it with a dark brown aniline stain applied with a cotton swab. I avoided the meerschaum insert as I did not want to have the stain penetrate the meerschaum. I flamed the stain and reapplied it. I flamed it again and reapplied it again. After the final flaming of the bowl I set it aside to dry.

When the stain had dried I buffed it with White Diamond on the buffer to even out the stain and give it a shine. I also applied a coat of Halcyon II wax to the rusticated surface and hand buffed the bowl with a shoe brush. The next four photos show the bowl after the buffing and waxing.

I worked on the stem with my usual group of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads. I then buffed the stem with red Tripoli and White Diamond before going back to the work table and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit micromesh pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it soak into the vulcanite.

I buffed the finished pipe with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The meerschaum disk inset into the bottom of the bowl is an interesting touch. I look forward to loading up a bowl and giving it a test run very soon. At the very least this is a great piece of tobacciana that still leaves a bit of mystery unsolved.

Restoring a Second Lumberman Deluxe Canadian by Comoys

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Blog by Steve Laug

Andrew had a second LUMBERMAN DELUXE that he mentioned to me in a previous email when he sent me the other Lumberman to restem. He graciously gave the second one to me. In the photo below it is the one with the stem. It is slightly larger than the first one and also slightly longer as can be seen from the photo. It is stamped LUMBERMAN over DELUXE on top of the shank and on the underside there is no Made and London circle stamp. It is only stamped 309S. The pipe was in very good shape. There were no cracks in the long shank. There was one small sand pit in the top near the stamping. The bowl was slightly caked and the rim had some carbon buildup and many tiny pin pricks in the surface of the rim. The finish was dirty and had several sticky spots on the sides of the bowl. It was a gummy spot that seemed like the residue left behind by a price sticker. The stem was larger in diameter that the shank. It extended beyond the edge of the shank on both sides of the stem and also slightly on the bottom edge. The top edge fit well. There were also two tooth marks – one on top and on matching on the bottom of the stem near the button.

Before seeing these two pipes I had not heard of the Lumberman brand so Andrew had sent along some information that he had found on the web regarding the brand. He had gleaned the information from a Mr. Can EBay listing. In the previous blog post on the first LUMBERMAN I included Andrew’s information. I am also including it now as a quick reminder of the provenance of the brand. That posting read as follows:

“This Collectible Briar pipe is unique, extremely rare Comoy’s 309XL – a classic Canadian Shape. It has the arched Comoy’s nomenclature stamped over Deluxe (just as it appeared in the early 1930’s) both of which were stamped over Lumberman. For anyone already familiar with the stamping of Comoy Canadians that is enough to recognize that this is a rare and collectible Comoy.”

“During its history, Comoy’s has had three distinct sets of nomenclature, though they became somewhat blended in later years. The earliest Comoy nomenclature either had no Comoy stamping or a scripted, signature like forward leaning Comoy’s beneath which were featured names instead of shape numbers. Few of those names (Like Leman, Naval, Adelaide, and so on) are recognized even by the most ardent collectors. Then after World War I when Comoy began introducing what is sometimes called their Old Nomenclature (featuring the Prima, as the Top of the line with other lines like the Old Bruyere, Grand Slam, Lions Head, Lumberman, Lumberman Special and so forth) and arched Comoy’s stamping was used. In the 1930’s the Prima gave way to the Deluxe as the top of the line Comoy. Then just before World War II newer nomenclature started to appear (like Blue Riband, Specimen Straight Grain, and so on) and the Deluxe was replaced by the Royal Comoy. That New Nomenclature expanded dramatically after the War and blended with the modern nomenclature today.”

“The use of the arched Comoy’s ended with World War II and was replaced after the War with a straight line Comoy’s (along with the now famous country of origin stamping of a circular “Made In London” over a straight line “England”.”

“Prior to World War II with manufacturing facilities in both France and England, Comoy had pipes made in both locations. Most were easily identifiable by their country of origin stamping. There were several versions of Comoy’s Lumberman made in France and/or England. (They might have been the dame pipe but with different nomenclature.) “The Lumberman” and “The Lumberman Special were made in both factories. But none had the arched Comoy’s stamping.”

“After WWII Comoy’s reintroduced the Deluxe, discontinued the arched Comoy’s and continued various versions of the Lumberman. Perhaps Comoy’s best graded Lumberman was stamped Lumberman Deluxe – but it had no Comoy stamping. Lumberman was always stamped over Deluxe.”

“Normally Comoy offered to Canadian sizes designated by shape numbers 296 and 309. The difference was in the length of the Canadians. The 309 shape was Comoy’s longest Canadian and the 296 was shorter. However, the extra long Canadians were upgraded with the additional stamping of XL and the very longest were sometimes stamped XXL. Either upgrade was rare.” – The above was taken from correspondence Andrew included when he sent the pipe to me.

The previous blog post can be found at this link: https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2014/01/29/repairing-and-restoring-a-lumberman-deluxe-canadian-by-comoys/

The difference between this pipe and the previous one was that the stamping on the underside of the pipe lacked the Comoy’s circle Made in London stamp and also bore the shape designation of 309 but instead of X or XL it is stamped “S”. It is larger than the previous LUMBERMAN but the stamping appears to be a bit of an anomaly.

The next series of photos show the pipe as it appeared when I received it from Andrew. There was slight oxidation on the stem and the stem was larger as noted above.

I took several close-up photos to show the fit of the stem and how the sides and the bottom edge of the stem was larger than the diameter of the shank.

I refit the stem and sanded the sides of the stem until it matched the shank. I also sanded the shank lightly in order to make a smooth transition between the two. I used 220 grit sandpaper to take off the excess vulcanite and bring the stem in line with the shank. At the same time I sanded the tooth marks on the top and bottom of the stem at the button and was able to remove them.

I sanded the stem and shank with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge and then a fine grit sanding block. The refit stem is shown in the next series of four photos.

I wiped the bowl and shank down with acetone and clean the stem and shank with isopropyl alcohol and pipe cleaners. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to take the slight cake back to the wood and even the buildup on the walls. It seemed to have a slight ridge of cake mid-bowl and I wanted the walls clean so that I could build up my own cake.

I sanded the stem down with medium and fine grit sanding sponges and then used my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with the 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with the 3200-12,000 grit pads.

I rubbed the bowl down with a light coat of olive oil and the stem down with Obsidian Oil. Once it had been absorbed in both places I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed it with White Diamond on the wheel. I gave bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and then buffed the pipe with a clean flannel buff to give it a finish shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The fit of the stem matches the lines of the pipe and the oiled finish gives the pipe a look that is fresh and new. It is ready for its new maiden voyage.

ADDENDUM – I am copying this from the responses below so that it gets more readership.

Here is the info from the link Jacek supplied. Very helpful additional information. Thanks Jacek.
As many realize, Comoy is one of the oldest London Pipemakers with production started in France in 1825. Francois Comoy started making smoking pipes with his brothers in St. Claude, France in 1825. His son, Louis, took over the company and in 1848 helped guide it into the era of power-driven machines beginning what Comoy called a “Century of Progress.” His son, Henri, followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather and moved Comoy’s to Clerkenwell in the City of London in 1879, and thus began “Comoy’s of London.” And his son, Louis, was the last family member to run the company.

During its’ history, Comoy’s has had three distinct sets of nomenclature, though they became somewhat blended in later years. The earliest Comoy Nomenclature either had no ”Comoy” stamping or a scripted, signature-like (forward leaning) “Comoy’s” beneath which were featured names instead of shape numbers. Few of those names (like the “Leman”, “Naval”, “Adelaide” and so on) are recognized even by the most ardent Comoy collectors. Then after World War I when Comoy began introducing what is sometimes called their “Old Nomenclature” (featuring the “Prima” as “Top-of-the-Line” with other lines like the “Old Bruyere,” “Grand Slam,” “Lions Head,” “LUMBERMAN,” “LUMBERMAN SPECIAL,” and so forth) an ARCHED “COMOY’S” stamping was used. In the 1930s the Prima gave way to the “DE LUXE” as the “Top-of-the-Line” Comoy. Then, just before World War II newer nomenclature started to appear (like “Blue Riband,” “Specimen Straight Grain,” and so on) and the “DE LUXE” was replaced by the “Royal Comoy”. That “New Nomenclature” expanded dramatically after the War and blended with the modern nomenclature of today.

The use of the ARCHED “COMOY’S” ended with World War II and was replaced after the War with a straight line “Comoy’s” (along with the now famous Country of Origin stamping of a circular “Made in London” over a straight line “England”).

Prior to World War II with manufacturing facilities in both France and England, Comoy had pipes made in both locations. Most were easily identifiable by their Country of Origin stamping. There were several versions of Comoy’s “LUMBERMAN” made in France and/or England. (They might have been the same Pipe but with different nomenclature.) “THE LUMBERMAN,” and “THE LUMBERMAN SPECIAL” were made in both factories. But NONE had the ARCHED “COMOY’S” stamping!

After World War II, Comoy reintroduced the “DE LUXE,” discontinued the ARCHED “COMOY’S” and continued various versions of the “LUMBERMAN”! Perhaps Comoy’s” best” graded “LUMBERMAN” was stamped “LUMBERMAN DE LUXE” – – – but it had no “Comoy” stamping. ”LUMBERMAN” was always stamped over “DE LUXE”!!!

Now look at the stamping on this Comoy Canadian – – – the ARCHED “COMOY’S” is stamped OVER “DE LUXE” (just as it would have been on a “Top-of-the-Line” Comoy’s De Luxe” in the early 1930s! In addition, that stamping is OVER “LUMBERMAN”!!! This Canadian is the only one I have ever seen with such stamping(s)!!!

Comoy offered truly elegant Canadians that were always perfectly shaped, light weight and fitted with “wafer thin” mouthpieces that are easy to hold in the mouth. Of course, they came in different lengths and finishes.

Normally, Comoy offered two Canadian sizes designated by Shape Numbers 296 and 309. The difference in the length of the Canadians. The “309” Shape was Comoy’s LONGEST CANADIAN, and the “296” was shorter. However, EXTRA LONG Canadians were ”upgraded” with the additional stamping of “XL” (creating a “309 XL”) and the very longest were sometimes stamped “XXL”!!! Either upgrade was rare, and this exceptional Canadian is stamped “309 XL”!!!

So looking at the title of this description one would expect to see a long, sleek Canadian of special length. It is not! It is a mere 6 3/8” LONG which is barely longer than average for most pipe makers!

The grain is not exceptional nor is the size (although the Bowl is a large Dunhill Group 4/5 Size which is larger than most “average” Canadians). But the Pipe has a HAND RUSTICATED RING around the Rim as well as a small HAND RUSTICATED “ARROWHEAD” or “TRIANGLE” on the bottom of the Shank! Both are unusual for any Comoy and ensure that this Canadian is UNIQUE (if only because no two rustications are identical).

Combining these features, you are looking at an EXCEPTIONALLY RARE, UNIQUE COMOY “LUMBERMAN”!!!

We cannot be certain of a date for this Comoy. It is an ARCHED “COMOY’S” over “DE LUXE” which dates it from the early 1930s. It is also a “LUMBERMAN” with a COMOY’s 3-PIECE “C” LOGO in the Mouthpiece dating it to the post-World War II timeframe; and it has the newer Country of Origin stamping which did not exist before World War II. So it would seem that this Comoy Lumberman/Canadian most likelydates from the late 1940’s which would seem to be the most reasonable time for such a Pipe to appear.

As the pictures reflect, this Canadian remains in PRISTINE CONDITION! The STRONG NOMENCLATURE confirms that! There are NO chips, dents or scratches to detract from the exterior finish. NO varnish, lacquer or shellac has been used to improve the appearance of the Pipe for the pictures (and temporarily fill scratches and toothmarks). And, NO coating has been applied to the inside of the Bowl to hide cracks, heat fissures or even burnouts. The Pipe shines as it did when it left the factory in London over 60 Years Ago!!!

This Canadian measures 6 3/8″ LONG with a Bowl 2″ TALL!!! The nomenclature is crisp and clear: “COMOY’S [arched and over] DE LUXE, LUMBERMAN, MADE IN LONDON [in a circle and over] ENGLAND, 309 XL”. The Famous Comoy’s 3-Piece White “C” Logo is inlaid in the Bit. So what you are viewing is an EXCEPTIONALLY RARE, and COLLECTIBLE COMOY CANADIAN!!! The fact that it is in PRISTINE CONDITION with particularly STRONG NOMENCLATURE makes it worthy of consideration by those desirous of accumulating a special Comoy collection!

House of Bewlay Pipes & Tobacco Leaflets

21 Replies

Blog by Jacek A. Rochacki

Jacek A. Rochacki, who has written several helpful pieces for the blog, emailed me with the attached photos of two older leaflets from the House of Bewlay. The first one presents their pipes and the second one their tobaccos. I am including the information here that Jacek sent in his email.

Let me turn our attention to the House of Bewlay.

Pipedia does not say much http://www.pipedia.org/wiki/Bewlay
“Bewlay House was a chain of English pipe stores whose pipes were made by Barling, Charatan, and Loewe, so the English considered the Bewlay pipes a quality pipe in its own right. The English brand of Bewlay & Co. Ltd. (formerly Salmon & Gluckstein Ltd.), was in business from the early 20th century until the 1950’s. The brand ended up being sold and taken over by Imperial Tobacco Co. The shop chain closed in the 1980’s but there seems to be one shop still in business on Carr Lane in the city of Hull.”

In 1969 I acquired in Copenhagen two Bewlay leaflets. The one on the Bewlay pipes dates establishing of the House of Bewlay in London to the year 1780. The other leaflet, also bearing date of establishing – 1780 – presents Bewlay’s offer of pipe tobaccos, and short history of the House of Bewlay.
There is not much on Bewlay in famous pipe markings repository “pipephil” http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b4.html#bewlay

And I cannot find any information in Pipepages. In December 2011 I contacted Chris Keene, and he answered me as follows:
“…Unfortunately, I am not currently adding any new images. It’s been almost a year since I’ve added anything as my last computer crashed, along with my web-building software. Between the necessity to acquire new software and new demands in my work, I find that I need to let the site sit “as is” for the indefinite future…”

Considering above I taken the liberty of attach pictures/photos of these two Bewlay leaflets and emailing them to you. As they are “heavy”, I attach the pictures of leaflet with pipes here, the tobacco leaflet I’ll send by next email. I do this under inspiration by what you have done already publishing unknown materials, completing in a way the Chris Keene’s pages.

Thank you Jacek for sending this information to me. I am always on the hunt for pipe and tobacco leaflets, brochures and books that help give historical data to a hobby that I have come to love. Whenever I find them I photograph them and post them here on rebornpipes. Your contribution will join the others here on the blog. The first leaflet is below – Bewlay’s Pipe Chart.

The leaflet below entitled Bewlay Pipe Tobaccos gives a list of the locations of the shops and also includes a brief history of the House of Bewlay.

An Old Kaufman Brothers & Bondy CPF Catalogue

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I am not sure where I came across this old Kaufmann-CPF (Colossus Pipe Factory) Catalogue but it is a great old piece of pipe history. It links the CPF brand to Kaufmann Brothers and Bondy, perhaps better recognized by the stamping on their pipes: KB&B. In an earlier piece on the blog I wrote that I had learned through my online research that by the mid 1890’s CPF was owned by Kaufman Brother & Bondy (KB&B). This catalogue further confirms the connection and adds information to the history and background of one of my favourite old brands. I love the old photos of the CPF pipes as many of them reflect shapes of some of the pipes in my own collection. The ornate bling that is added to the pipes not only dates them to an era that is far more refined than our own in many ways but also gives the CPF pipes a distinctive and recognizable look. The photos also provide a great hunt list for me as I am on the lookout for various CPF pipes.

Barling’s Guinea Grain Restoration

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A member on the Pipe Smokers Forum recently acquired this Barling’s “Guinea Grain” pipe and I jumped at the opportunity to restore it for him. I don’t currently own a Barling’s pipe, but recent posts by brand authority, Jesse Silver, had piqued my interest. In conversation with Jesse about the pipe, he shared that “Guinea Grains are a higher grade designation and distinctive for several reasons. They’re the only Family Era pipes with a cursive “Barling’s” logo and they’re the only pipes that Barling also used oil in the curing process to bring out the contrast of the grain.” I enjoyed learning more about this fabled British pipe maker as much as working on it. I need to thank Jesse for his input and information. It is really wonderful to have such a brand authority available for comment. Since the pipe is stamped “Barling’s” in the possessive, Jesse dates the pipe to the 1940’s as a pre-Transition piece. The pipe is stamped EXEXEL, a size grade started in 1940. It also has a very faint “Reg” stamp and the letter “E”. Jesse tells me this is most likely the remnant of EB WB (Edward and William Barling), whose initials form the Barling sterling makers stamp and were used as part of the company nomenclature. Their initials were used on 1940’s era Guinea Grain pipes.

The pipe as I received it.

When the pipe arrived, it had heavy tar build-up on the bowl top and many dings and cuts in the briar. The stem was in relatively good condition with only surface teeth abrasions and no dents. Curiously, there was what appeared to be a pinhole near where the Barling’s Cross stem logo would be placed. There was no remnant left of the logo, even under magnification. At first, I thought the stem might be a replacement, but the button ends appears to have the distinctive ovalized and funneled button.

The bowl had a heavy caked which was reamed and then soaked with alcohol and sea salt. While the bowl was reamed a little out of round, the interior of the bowl was in relatively good condition. The bowl top had a number of scars and dings. I have been using Mike Gluklers method of soaking the tar covered bowl tops in just a millimeter or two of distilled water to soften the build-up. I removed it with a cotton cloth using the distilled water. There is some rim darkening, but I didn’t want to sand the rim and restain and think the patina fits the pipe

Using a dinner knife heated by a propane torch and a wet cloth, I went to work on the numerous dents and cuts. Some lifted out completely, others were minimized. I wasn’t able to do much about the chatter around the bowl rim. I suspect the previous owner knocked ash out of the bowl. Staying away from the valuable nomenclature, the bowl and rim was buffed with white diamond and several coats of carnuba wax. I gave the nomenclature area a hand-wax with Halycon pipe wax.

I put a drop of black superglue on the hole in the briar. After it was dry, I sanded off the worst of the oxidation with some 800 grit wet paper. I then moved to 1500 and 2000 grades wet paper and finally 8000 and 12000 grades of micromesh. I used a slim knife blade to hold the paper into the button crease to remove that oxidation. Then the stem was buffed lightly with white diamond and finally a plastic polish. The Barling’s stem has a unique feel to it, unlike my similar era Comoys or Charatan stems. The button air hole shapiong shows a lot of care was shown making the stem. (and also makes me think it is an original Barling’s stem).

And finally, the finished pipe.

Remembering My Trip to Frederick Tranter’s in Bath, England in 2002

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Blog by Steve Laug

Back in 2002 my wife and I celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary and were gifted a trip to the United Kingdom. We traveled from Gatwick to Cambridge, York, up into Edinburgh, Oxford, Bath and then London. In each spot we stopped along the way to visit tobacco shops. I was pretty sure that many would disappear over the years and I was not sure when we would get back for another visit. One of my favourite shops was the Frederick Tranter shop in Bath. It was not a big shop but it was packed with pipes and tobacco. It smelled and looked like a proper tobacco shop.

I decided that I would buy a new pipe from the shop to commemorate our anniversary and the trip. I picked out a little bulldog with a coral like rustication. It is stamped Fredk Tranter over Pipe Shop Bath over Centurion and also shape #28. I purchased some Cigarummer from the shop to smoke while I was there. It is a nice blend of Cavendish, Dark Virginia spiced with Cigar leaf and laced with Jamaica Rum. I went outdoors and sat down and smoked a bowl of the tobacco in my new pipe. That was the beginning of a new relationship with this pipe. I smoked the rest of the Cigarummer throughout the trip and when I returned home. The pipe delivered a good smoke that was made better with the memory of having picked it out personally from the shop.

The interesting thing that I found when I bought the pipe was that it came with a printed guarantee that was folded and placed in the envelope that is pictured above. I have photographed that guarantee and included it below. The front side of the sheet contains a list of the various fine Tobaccos blended and sold exclusively by Frederick Tranter shops in Bath, Oxford and Cambridge.

On the other side of the sheet are a few notes “…intended to assist you to obtain the maximum pleasure and long service from your new pipe and are drawn from the personal pipe smoking experience and accumulated trade knowledge of successive generations of Guild Tradesmen.” With those words the page goes on to describe how to Break in a new pipe, Special care for block meerschaum and meerschaum lined pipes, Common Faults in Smoking and finally the Conditions of Guarantee.

The Common Faults listed are unique to this document as I have not seen them listed in this way elsewhere. They are as follows:
Burning
Cracking
Cleaning

I love the words of the Guarantee so I quote them here:

“Smokers must bear in mind that briar root is wood, and of its very nature combustible and cannot be absolutely guaranteed against burning. Our guarantee covers the bowl only of pipes for ninety days against faulty materials or workmanship also against cracking or burning – always provided reasonable care has been taken. This guarantee covers only one replacement and does not cover bowls burst by over carbonizing, bowls worn thin by constant scraping, or pipes which split or snap at the junction of bowl and stem. Such breakages are usually due to accidental damage.

WARNING. The most vulnerable part of a pipe is the spigot (or ‘peg’) joining bowl and stem. Always take care when separating: never attempt to separate them while the pipe is hot, and never ‘knock’ a pipe out – be patient and enjoy it, it could save you a repair!

This guarantee is offered in addition to the Consumer’s Statutory Rights, which it in no way affects.”
The words of instruction are even present in the guarantee. The almost tongue in cheek choice of words is well done and quite clear as to the limitations of the guarantee. The page ends with the name of the pipe, who sold it and the date of the sale – in this case 5 May 2002.

I continue to enjoy the pipe and it delivers a good smoke. It is well broken in and it is now dedicated to Virginia flakes. It is a good smoking flake pipe. I have not had to exercise the guarantee as the pipe is as good as new – only broken in and having a bit of tooth chatter. One day if I get back to Bath I will take the pipe with me and for old time sake pick up some more of the Cigarummer blend to run through it. If you are ever visiting in Bath why not stop by and visit the shop. Who knows, you might just find a pipe for the rack.

Some remarks on dealing with damaged stems of smoking pipes by Jacek A. Rochacki

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Blog by Jacek A. Rochacki

This is Jacek’s second article on pipe repairs. I appreciate the slant that Jacek brings to the work of pipe refurbishing. His art restoration background lends itself to some beautiful solutions to the challenges that face the pipe refurbisher that are far different from those that have been used by myself and others as we deal with the work we do. I am very appreciative of Jacek’s willingness to share his methodology with us here on rebornpipes. Thank you Jacek for taking the time to write-up these pieces and sending them to us. They are a significant contribution to our work and love of all things pipe.

We all have known many different ways in which the stems/mouthpieces of our pipes are damaged. Let me indicate some of them: – broken mouthpiece – sometime in the middle, often in the “lip”/”button”area – tooth dent – this is often at the lip/button area and it does not look so nice – different holes/losses, mostly in the lip/button area, often such holes are”bitten up” by willing smoker. – broken tenon (sometime it is stuck/jammed in the shank) Let me begin from few words on materials. In general we deal mostly with vulcanite/ebonite and transparent Perspex (some models of GBD). But those are not the only materials. There are some similar materials like Ashtonite invented by late William “Bill” Ashton Taylor and used in his Ashton pipes; it is a little harder than typical vulcanite/ebonite. In older pipes we often see mouthpieces in yellow color looking like and named “Amber”; these are seldom made of original amber, more often of yellow glass-like material and are hard and break easily. (There are also yellow stems of softer materials like vulcanite/ebonite, and I would proceed with them as I usually proceed with black or Cumberland vulcanite/ebonite). Their tenons are often made of different, more appropriate material for their function, possibly bone, and sometimes such tenons are of screw in type. In some briar pipes tenons are made of metal – aluminum. And I know cases when owner wanted such metal tenons to be removed and changed for tenons made of vulcanite, modern Teflon etc. in belief that these materials will “cooperate” better with briar wood. I mention this not as advice as it is “intrusion” into originality of the pipe but as some kind of curiosity. As a matter of fact I note that even in case of vulcanite mouthpieces there was/is tendency to remove original tenons and fit tenons of Teflon or other modern material. Here is list (partial to be sure) of some of the different kinds of vulcanite/ebonite materials that have been used for mouthpieces:

Ace – American Hard Rubber Co., USA
Super-Ace – American Hard Rubber Co., USA
Amcosite – Siemens Bros. & Co., UK
Bulwark – Redfern’s Rubber Works, UK
Cohardite – Connecticut Hard Rubber Co., USA
Dexonite – Dexine Ltd., UK
Endurance American Hard Rubber Co., USA
Gallia-Rubber – French ebonite
Keramot – Siemens Bros. & Co., UK
Level Chuck – American Hard Rubber Co., USA
Luzerne – Luzerne Rubber, USA
Mercury – American Hard Rubber Co., USA
Navy – American Hard Rubber Co., USA
Onazote – Expanded Rubber Co., UK
Permcol – British Hard Rubber Co., UK
Resiston – American Hard Rubber Co., USA
Rub-Erok – Richardson Co., USA
Rub-Tex – Richardson Co., USA
Solid Rubber – used by some English makers in 1914-1918 years

I have seen these names/markings on stems/mouthpieces of old pipes. Sometimes it is of help in dating and attributing a pipe that is so marked. Remember that vulcanization of natural rubber with sulfur was invented by Charles Goodyear in USA in 1839 and was patented in 1843; in the same year Thomas Hancock patented it in Great Britain. Here is have good source on vulcanite
http://www.seattlepipeclub.org/content.aspx?page_id=22&club_id=969877&module_id=16894

In the’30’s vulcanite of different mixed colors became popular in making pens and is similar to what we see in some mouthpieces of pipes named “Cumberland”.

As vulcanite consists of vulcanized natural rubber, it may be of help to mention that oil (like in old days was used in oil lamps) and/or turpentine may serve as solvents, helpful with restoration if needed be.

I said all this in order to point out the importance of recognizing the material that our mouthpieces are made of in order to find best matching material for making eventual repairs to missing elements etc. The practical solution seems to be making one’s own “stock” of repair materials – simplest would be to collect broken, unrepairable mouthpieces. But there other ways: I found vulcanite rods that were used in schools for experimenting with electricity to be good material for fixing damaged mouthpieces. In the field of transparent materials I have been using old fashioned artificial plastic glass (sometime named Plexiglas) that was used in aviation some half of century ago. It is also important to choose right type of glue.

Beside the matters of tenons, I would briefly divide our work into two categories:
– joining together broken elements
– filling in holes or broken areas.
Of course, in practice these categories will “mix up” together.

In the case of a repairing a stem or mouthpiece that broken in half, the solution is quite simple. What is to be done is to use a strengthening/enforcing invisible element that will serve as sort of “hard core” – constructional element. The simplest way would be to use thin tube of internal diameter corresponding with diameter of the air channel of our mouthpiece. “Walls” of such tube, if it is tube of metal, may be of 0.3 – 0.4 mm in thickness. In order for it be fitted properly, we have to drill a kind of “nest”/mortise/”channel” for it, drilling the air channel with drill bit of proper diameter making this “nest”/mortise as long as required by length of our tube. The choice of such tube is important as not only air but also condensate will be in contact with the tube, so I would avoid brass, copper etc. The best IMO would be a tube of pure silver or high percentage silver alloy, or some aluminum like that which was used by Dunhill for his Inner Tubes, just of larger diameter. Silver tubes may be available in goldsmith’s supply places.

After making proper strengthening/enforcing tube and making sure that all parts fit well, I use simple glue of cyanoacrylic type – kind of “super glue”.

A more advanced way would be to make the strengthening/enforcing/ element – a drilled tube/cylinder from vulcanite/ebonite. It is possible to make it without using a lathe, just the laborious and precise use of files. The starting material could be the broken tenon from unrepairable mouthpiece from our “stock” of materials. The “nests”/mortises in parts to be glued should be of larger/proper diameter, because it is practically impossible to hand make the vulcanite mini tube with walls of 0.3 or similar thickness, so the outer diameter of our vulcanite tube will be larger than in case of metal tube. We make “nests”/mortises/”channels” of required diameter using drill bits of proper diameter. If we are not sure about precision of our fingers necessary for hand making short tube of vulcanite, we may make just a small cylinder of vulcanite of desired size which would make/allow parts to be glued to fit perfectly, and after gluing all parts together, drill the air channel from the tenon side with a long drill bit of right diameter corresponding to diameter of the air channel and in delicate, secure direction-wise way, drill the inserted cylinder through the air channel so the air/draft channel will be “operational” again.

Summary: use the enforcing/strengthening elements and we may be surprised how many unrepairable looking elements may be repaired and then serve really well.

Now for filling in holes or broken areas.

The relatively simple thing seems to be filling in tooth dents. I begin by cleaning the surface of the dent with some sharp tool – scraper or blade of size of small pocket knife, better with rounded tip, such as those found on pipe knives. This is to remove oxidation from the surface that is to be filled. After “cleaning” the surface I take a needle, scraper or similar sharp tool with sharp pointed tip and “score”/”draw” delicate lines/”mini-groves” on the cleaned surface. This is the old trick used in enameling for better adhesion of filling material (extender) that will be “put” on the prepared surface. This material is simple and known us vulcanite dust – the result of filing a properly chosen piece of vulcanite, sometimes it is result of filing the stem that is to be repaired, sometimes we may use another piece of vulcanite from our “stock” if we are sure that it will fit well. Then I mix this dust with cyanoacrylic glue making my “filling material/paste” – kind of putty, and I apply it on scored dent. After some time – rather longer then shorter – say – good couple of hours depending on thickness of the filling, I use a file and sandpaper and finally polish on the patched stem – this is known as the finishing procedures.

After all this please, be prepared for unpleasant surprise at the first glance. The filled up area may be of different color than the color of the stem. Please do not worry! It is not without reason that I have mentioned before that oil (like in old days was used in oil lamps) and/or turpentine may serve as solvents that are helpful with restoration… so a drop of oil or turpentine applied on the repaired area and “distributed”/”smeared” all over will turn the surface of the glued parts to match the rest of the stem. When the surface dries, I would return to delicate polishing and be prepared for repeating such finishing operation as many times as necessary. At very end I would apply a wee drop of olive or proper mineral oil and smear it all over with soft cotton textile; this is old method of conservation of surfaces of objects made of vulcanite/ebonite – “hard rubber”.

This was an easy case. What about situations when the lip or end of the stem/mouthpiece is partly broken, “eaten up”, has holes, or part is missing? Please, take a look at illustrations published by our host at the beginning of his text “Cutting and shaping a new button on a severely damaged stem”
https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/2014/02/25/cutting-and-shaping-a-new-button/

Instead of cutting/removing the damaged part and carving the lip/button of what is left, I would proceed in different way. Keeping in mind my wish of keeping original dimension, proportions, form, I would try to reconstruct damaged stem/mouthpiece as following:

By using sharp cutting tools – engravers/burins, scrapers or in case of better equipped “workshop corner” – cutters, like those used by jewelers for stone settings, or even a sharp pocket knife, a frame saw and needle files I would work on the damaged area making it a proper shape a piece of the same material carved that I will later shape/carve to fit what is missing. The words “making it of proper shape”, may be a subject for another longer text. But as sort of inspiration may be the different ways dentists use to “elaborate” holes in teeth so that the filling will be kept securely in place. In a stem the situation is easier as we have good binding glues and are binding together the same kind of materials – vulcanite/ebonite to vulcanite/ebonite.

When the newly carved material is fixed into the missing area with glue, I work with files and drill bits to achieve desired missing shape. Then I proceed with finishing techniques. Let us look at the pictures:

In case of stems/mouthpieces made of transparent material I have been proceeding as described above, just choosing proper equally transparent material for making missing parts. After polishing the seams are invisible. I would use fast cyanoacrylic glue of kind that creates transparent seams.

In Steve’s article one commenter mentioned a missing lip on his Peterson P-Lip pipe. Again: in glue we trust: just proceed as described above and if the work is done properly, it should be impossible to distinguish reconstructed lip from the rest of the stem by the naked eye. In general, if the whole lip is missing, I would glue in a large piece of matching material and would shape it by files etc. The air channel can be easily drilled (easily as we are dealing with comparatively soft materials) with drill bits of proper diameter.

I would deal with problem with missing or broken tenon in ways described above, depending on particular situation. Sometimes I use the reinforcing “inner tube” glued in place as described above. Other times I drill the “nest”/mortise of a diameter corresponding with diameter of new tenon to let it fit tight and correct/straight then glued in place. The old and best known method of removing broken tenon from the shank is:
– use of strong alcohol to dissolve eventual dried condensate and/or residues that “glued” the broken part in the mortise.
– take a self-tapping screw often used in construction, by woodworkers etc. and screw it into the air channel of broken jammed part in the mortise.
– keeping the head of this screw firmly in place carefully use pliers to twist it out while at the same time pulling on the broken part. If it does not come out it often means that it is still “glued” in place by dried condensate, tars, etc., so go back to the strong alcohol and please, repeat over a couple of hours or even days.

In conclusion I would like to present some simple hand tools that I find useful in working with pipe restoration. I would like also to say, that for cutting vulcanite/ebonite I use the typical jeweler’s frame saw with proper blades, similar to this shown here together with workbench pin and set of blades.

Cutting and shaping a new button on a severely damaged stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have actually come to enjoy the process of cutting a new button on a stem. It has taken a lot of practice but I can honestly say that I am getting better at it. I still have more to learn; as I am sure will always be the case. But the method I use now can be fine-tuned and personalized by others who choose to use it. That is why I thought that for this article I would walk you through the steps I take when cutting and shaping a new button.

1. A stem that is unrepairable and has sufficient meat to it that if I remove the first ¼ inch or less still has material above and below the airway in the end of the stem. This is a candidate for reshaping and reforming a button. I often take a picture of the remaining button and angles before I trim it back.

2. I cut off the damaged end of the stem using a Dremel with a sanding drum. I know others use various other tools for cutting it off – saws, carving tools, knives, Exacto knives and a variety of others. The idea here is to remove the damaged material just far enough back on the stem to leave a solid base to recarve the button. At this point the goal is to cut off the material and leave a straight line at the end.

3. Once I have the straight edge I often trim the corners and round them slightly. My goal is to match the original button as much as possible.

4. I use a sharp, straight rasp or a needle file to cut the sharp edge of the button being careful to align the top and the bottom sides of the stem. At this point I am merely marking the button area. The key here is not to make the button to broad but to aim for the original width from the end of the stem to the edge of the button.

5. I use the same needle file to carve back the stem angle from about half way up to reduce the angle to the button and give more depth to the button. This involves using the file like a draw knife and working it from mid stem to the edge that you cut with the file.

6. I generally start with the top of the stem and then work the underside to match the angles of the top. You have to be careful not to draw too deeply with the file as you work it. The end product of the cutting is a gentle taper that when sanded out looks natural. This process also give shape to the button.

7. When I have the taper trimmed and even I work it over with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the file marks. I continue to work and shape the stem. I try to crown the flat blade of the stem slightly by sanding the edges to give the stem a thin profile. This also gives shape to the button.

8. I use the sandpaper to also shape the button in a flattened oval or eye shape. If there is room above and below the airway I also gently slope the button toward the end. I am always using the stems and buttons that I have that like as models for the final look of these reshaped buttons.

9. I use three different needle files to open up the slot on the end of the button. I first use a round file to open the airway and start to cut the funnel in it. When I am done with this first file the airway is beginning to look oval. I then use a slightly oval needle file to further shape the funnel and widen it toward the outer edges of the button. The third file is a flattened oval that gives me the ability to open the edges of the slot and the funnel so that finished airway has a flattened oval or eye shaped look to it. In general I work so that the slot has a shape similar to the shape of the button.

10. I sand the inside of the newly cut airway/funnel with folded sandpaper until it is smooth. I have also used emery boards that I found in the cosmetics department of local drug stores. They are commonly used on fingernails but work well for the inside of the slot.

11. I fine tune the slope of the taper with medium and fine grit sanding sponges to make sure that the slope top and bottom matches. I also work on the sharp angle of the inside edge of the button to give it distinction from the slope of the stem.

12. I sand the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to polish and bring back the deep shine. I use these on the end of the button and on the edges of the airway to make sure that the slot is smooth.

13. I buff the newly cut button and stem with White Diamond and then give it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect and preserve it.

14. At this point the stem repair is complete and the new button looks like it was designed for the pipe it graces. (In the first photo below the Perspex stem is pictured next to another identical stem in vulcanite. Compare the two buttons.)

Some remarks on dealing with cracks and splits in briar pipes – by Jacek A. Rochacki, Bydgoszcz, PL, 2014

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This morning I received the following email and article from Jacek A. Rochaki from Poland. I have included Jacek’s email in full as he gives a great introduction to himself. He comments on his English and does not need to as it is very good. Thank you Jacek for a wonderful article on repairing cracks in briar pipes.

My name is Jacek A. Rochacki – Jacek for Friends. I am a retired sculptor, silver and goldsmith, conservator, also author of texts on history, theory and practice of applied art in metal and applied art in general plus on conservation; my second professional “incarnation” is historian of applied art. I have been also teaching these subjects in Denmark and in my native Poland.

My imperfect command of English has prevented me from writing much, but my sincere wish to help in repair/restoration of pipes and thus saving them has prompted me to write some remarks with hope, that you will kindly forgive my eventual linguistic mistakes. Let me say that this text in much shorter form has been already published in English-speaking pipe-internet, unfortunately it somehow disappeared so after revision I decided to make the second edition. I should also say that it should be rather written in past tense, not in present tense, as I am not anymore active in my studio.

With kindest regards, Jacek in Poland
—
Jacek A. Rochacki
Skype: jarochacki

Cracks and/or splits in the stem and in the bowl of briar pipes are often repairable; let me indicate step by step how I have been dealing with such problems. Let me begin by dealing with cracks in the bowl.

1. On the very end of the crack/split the tiny hole should be drilled by a drill of, say, 0.5-0.6 mm in diameter. But kindly keep in mind that this hole should not go through the wall of the bowl just should be drilled deep enough to serve as “stopper” preventing the crack/split to continue. This is an old technique known to woodworkers and restorers/conservators knowledgeable in techniques, tools, workshop of applied art objects. In case of the bowl (or shank) of briar pipe it is not necessary to use the drilling machine but you can twist the drill bit with your fingers.

2. Delicate but thorough cleaning of the crack/split in order to remove any sort of dirt, especially to degrease the crack/split itself and the adjoining/neighboring area. I often use “pure” alcohol, say, 98-99%. Then the cleaned bowl should dry for a period of, say, two-three days.

3. When the crack/split and the adjoining area of the briar is clean and dry, I simply use the properly chosen glue. Some sources recommend the cyano-acrylic glue, possibly in the consistency of gel rather, then in very liquid form. I was told that so called Super Glue should do the job, but I use a two part epoxy resin with a hardener, which meets two conditions: it is heat-resistant, and it creates a “flexible” joint. This is important because during thermal operations (pipe smoking) the briar “works” – gets larger and smaller according to the change of temperature.

The two part epoxy resin which I use, according to the representative of the manufacturer of this glue will be “working” – getting larger and smaller when “exposed” to change of temperatures in a way similar to briar. This very glue – as I’ve been informed – is heat resistant up to 200 C/392 F. Unfortunately I was given the epoxy as a gift in two small samples and not the original jars, so I can’t give more precise information. All I know is that the manufacturer is Chester Molecular Company. So when I have the glue ready, I apply it into the crack/split as deeply as possible; the experienced restorer, “clever with his hands” may even try with utmost possible care to split the crack a little wider in order to let the glue penetrate as deeply as possible. Here I do not have to mention, that it is an extremely risky operation, because the widening of the split may cause the bowl to break! When the glue is applied, you have to press the glued bowl in order to let the glue do its job. I often place the glued bowl (wrapped in some soft textile, leather or felt in order to prevent damage of the surface) in a vice jaws and carefully apply the force; a simpler method would be just to use thread wrapped tightly several times around the glued briar. I let it sit for rather long time to dry thoroughly – details should be provided by the glue manufacturer.

Gluing stems pressed by “force wrapping” with thread

4. When the glued bowl has dried, there is time to clean the surface. At first I would got rid of eventual “overflow” of the glue from the surface by use of engraving tools, scrapers or even ordinary, but sharp pocket knife. Since I often deal with a sandblasted bowl I would not go for sandpapers, just do the job with sharp tools mentioned above, trying to follow texture/grooves of the sandblasted finish. In case of various Dunhills that came through my hands I didn’t find necessary to improve the color by staining the bowl. I just ordinarily use a professional polishing/buffing machine with polishing textile mops with turning with speed of approximately 2200 – 2800 r.p.m. with use of (gradually):

a. A pre-polish paste/material (like German Menzerna, or other modern equivalent of traditional Tripoli compound).

b. A”white” polishing material (like White Dialux (ed. White Diamond in North America).

c. Carnauba wax/resin, known to the pipe world does the job well.

In many cases it is enough; typing this text I am smoking my Dunhill ES Shell Briar, vintage 1967 which came into my possession with a bowl severely damaged, and since I applied the procedures described above it smokes perfect, with no signs of reappearing cracks that are repaired.

Restoration of crack in a Dunhill ES

Restored Dunhill ES

But in some cases it would not be amiss to enforce the glued bowl by applying the element of metal – possibly of silver of high quality – a ring. In some cases it would make sense to create not just a top ring/band but whole “cap”, sometimeswith metal “mustaches” that will cover and enforce the fixed cracks.

Top “cap” and stem band

Band with LK monogram

Top “cap” with “mustaches”

Continuing the topic of repairing cracks or/and splits: I know about different metal – often silver – elements, used in repair procedures. They are used mainly in order to re-enforce the construction/structure weakened by the crack/split/mechanical damage, and to mask the place that has been damaged as well. This simple sentence/statement should be a topic for longer explanation; let me just say, that “silver” – more precisely: the two component alloy of silver and copper is recommended because of its softness – thus it has a better ability for three dimensional forming – but it is also (unfortunately) a good conductor and “keeper” of heat. So I would keep this in mind, and always take this under consideration, when thinking on using large portions of silver element to be fixed on the surface of the bowl. The wrong distribution of the heat may result in a burned/charred smoking chamber at the place, where the fairly large piece of the “heat keeper”=silver element is permanently fixed on the outside of the bowl. I say this with regard to what I read sometimes on the internet about the usage of metal – maybe silver – fairly large elements in the process of repairing such or similar damages.

I believe that we should pay attention to the kind of silver – silver alloy employed in the repairing process. Remember, that the higher amount of pure silver (or gold) in the alloy, the easier the process of forming will go (of course after proper “softening” which goldsmiths and silversmiths call annealing). So I am a smith, who, for dealing with many cases, instead of using “Sterling Silver”, so common these days which is an alloy of 92.5% of pure silver and 7.5% of copper, will go for “old fashioned” alloy once popular among British top silversmiths, named Britannia Standard and which consists of 95.8% of pure silver. For some purposes I would use even pure silver plate or elements like clasps, because of the absence of copper prevents the “bad” chemical processes which may eventually trigger out, when elements containing copper contact with condensate and make foul taste in a carelessly repaired pipe. The higher amount of pure silver or gold in the alloy, the more such alloy is usable for forming.

I mentioned clasps. I use them often when repairing long cracks/splits in the shank of a pipe, especially at the bottom of Canadian shaped pipes, when the use of “traditional” silver or gold band would cover part of the signature or, because of technical reasons I do not want to go over the whole area of the shank at the repaired area. I want to avoid intrusion into the markings area at all costs as I am an applied art conservator. But sometimes it is impossible to make a repair band with sort of “windows” showing the signature – the whole area or part of it. I put strong accent on this aspect as signatures/markings must never be masked/covered/destroyed, like in restoration of other objects of art. I make my clasps usually of 0.4 mm in diameter pure silver wire and I place them in specially elaborated/carved grooves/”nests”, always keeping their tops at the level of briar surface of the repaired area. Then I usually cover the area repaired in such way with very thin (0.3-0.4 mm) plate of silver, leveled up to the surface of the outer briar area at repaired place.

Cracks reinforced by clasps of pure silver in order to avoid bad chemical reaction with condensate and ready for fixing silver plaquettes or repair ring with “window”

Cracks reinforced by clasps of pure silver in order to avoid bad chemical reaction with condensate or ready for repair ring with “window” – before and after fixing silver plaquettes or repair ring

Silver plaquettes with monograms covering cracks fixed with clasps

Sometimes I put my signature, and even the stamp REP (repaired) on it as it should be done in professional conservation to mark change in the original object, or just an engraved ornament in order to make such plate looking nice. This we may consider as symbolic homage to great British and not only British tradition of silver craft, where the way of placing the hallmarks, maker’s marks etc. used to be an important part of the aesthetics of the composition of the stamped object. And I go similar way in case of repair band/ring if I deal with split at the end of the shank. I believe that we all are familiar with ornamental silver rings; some of them may be repair rings first of all. (The following photos show some of the ornamental rings that I have crafted and used.)