History of BBB Pipes

Blog post by Fiona Adler, translation Steve Laug

I have been doing some research into BBB pipes for sometime now because of my own interest in the brand and I found an online article in French. (The original article was produced with the assistance of Fiona Adler. I want to thank Guillaume Laffly for giving me this new information on the origin of the material in French.) I have adapted the article below from a google translation that I did of the article on http://www.fumeursdepipe.net/artbbb.htm (I alone am responsible for the English translation and any errors probably are the result of my poor translation!)

Origin and history of Adolph Frankau and Co. Ltd.

Adolph Frankau arrived in London in 1847 and quickly grasped the opportunities which the enlarging tobacco market introduced. He started “Adolph Frankau and Co.” and began importing meerschaum pipes and tobacco supplies. The Company took a young 14 year-old boy, Louis Blumfeld under its wing. The Company quickly thrived and did so until the untimely death of Adolph Frankau in 1856. His widow decided to sell the company.

Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881), author of “Hero and worship of the heroes” came on the scene at this point. He recommended that the widow Frankau not sell, but rather that she should entrust the future of the company into the hands of young Louis Blumfeld, then 18 years old. Carlyle had to have had a very high opinion of the young Louis to make this recommendation, and his trust proved to be justified as Blumfield took care of the company with enthusiasm and bottomless energy. Louis quickly realized, as others had before him, the potential of the newly acknowledged pipes made of briar.

Louis Blumfeld developed important international trade relations from the beginning, and had particular success in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Europe, as well as Switzerland and Denmark. The USA had never been an extraordinary market for the company, but nonetheless a subsidiary was opened in New York. His commercial strategy focused on the countries of British Empire. Just prior to 1914, Frankau & Co. was the sole agent for Ropp Cherry Wood pipes in the United Kingdom and its colonies.

While BBB is the most widely known of Frankau & Co. pipes the company also produced several other brands of pipes: Capt. Kidd, Fairway (” F ” in white; FAIRWAY / LONDON MADE / ENGLAND), Frankau’ s (London Made in England), Glokar, Major Daff, and Snap-Fit. It also seems that Ultonia and Nec Plus Ultra must be considered to be brands in full measure, in spite of the fact that they were introduced as being product lines under the label BBB. It would explain their absence in many of the BBB catalogues.

The necessity of making briar pipes in London became more urgent, that’s why, at the turn of the century, Frankau & Co. opened a warehouse and offices at 121 Queen Victoria Street, an export service at Upper Thames Street and a plant in 1898 at Homerton, High Street 112 (then 154). The Homerton plant lasted into nineteen-eighties when Cadogan regrouped its manufacturing activities to Southend-on Sea.

In those days, Frankau & Co. also produced calabash pipes. They used calabashes that came originally from Southern Africa. Supply of the calabashes became more difficult to maintain due to the growing demand for them. BBB set up a special department to make calabash pipes. They used meerschaum to make the bowl while some of their rivals used asbestos or plaster of Paris. The manufacture of calabash pipes survived until the war in1914/1918. The war destroyed the supply of calabashes from South Africa.

The 1920s were not an easy decade for pipe producers. Frankau & Co was purchased by “Oppenheimer and Co. Ltd¹”. Also during this decade Comoy’ s of London, Dr. Plumb and Loewe & Co. came under the control of Oppenheimer. The purchase of all of these various brands pushed the company to create “Cadogan Investments Ltd.²” at Cadogan Square, London, in the 1930s, to manufacture and sell its pipes. The plant at Homerton passed under the control of “Marechal Ruchon & Co.” (In 1970s, the plant took the name of “Fairfax Traders”), and continued producing BBB pipes in a traditional way. They finished pipes with a silver ring and stampings. However, BBB continued, as an independent company within the Cadogan Group. BBB concentrated on making a certain number of system pipes and on new finishing processes.

Richard Esserman thinks that Dunhill subcontracted the manufacture of stummels to BBB for the Bent Magnums until 1923. In fact, when the companies within the Cadogan group argued with one another, a new plant was established in Stratford, Carpenters Road. They also bought machines from Zuckerman as they were more efficient. The finishing workshops were closed, and pipes were finished in Aldershot and sometimes also in Shoeburyness.

In this era, it was a current practice in trade to give surplus stummels to other companies at agreed upon prices. Cadogan sold Rank I stummels to Dunhill, and bought Rank II, III and IV stummels from Dunhill. But they did not finish pipes for other companies: to sell Rank I stummels to Dunhill was more beneficial than making them into pipes!

The BBB Logo

The initials BBB in a rhombus were quickly used as a symbol for the company, and that trademark was the first to be recorded when “Trade and Marks Act” took effect in 1876. Rather strangely, BBB registered under two numbers, numbers 39 and 40. In number 39, the acronym BBB in the rhombus (dates from deposit: January 1st, 1876; published on May 3rd, 1876 in page 21 of the Trade Mark Journal) for the class 341 (Tobacco, raw or fabricated and cigarettes), in number 40, a simple B for which no picture is available (the same references of store and publication) for the class 50 (fabricated Property from ivory, in bone, wooden, substantially plant or animal, pipes with tobacco, cigars and cigarettes (cigar and cigarette tubes). Note that Oppenheimer registered BBB again (number 39) for a new logo under the number 2288663 (December 20th, 2001; published on February 13th, 2002 in page 2634 of the Trade Mark Journal) for classes 14 (cases with cigar and cigarettes, soft packages of cigars and cigarettes, doors-cigars and cigarettes, all in precious metals) and 34 (Tobacco and products of tobacco, articles for smokers, pipes, tobacco pouches, door – pipes, lighters, equipment of cleaning for pipes, doors-cigars and cigarettes, cases with cigars and cigarettes, humidors). At the European level, Oppenheimer registered BBB under the number 002100907 (February 22nd, 2001, date of recording: October 7th, 2002), for classes 14 and 34 and under the number 0863111 for the class 34 (October 20th, 2005).

BBB Production

Some think that the first BBB pipes were imported, and that initials were intended to stand for Blumfeld’s Best Briars. Later these initials came to be understood as standing for Britain’s Best Briars.

At first, BBB produced two qualities of pipes. The one, BBB Own Make, became BBB Best Make, other pipes simply being stamped BBB. There are reasons to think that the Own Make was produced in fact in London (Reject pipes were stamped R). While simple BBBs were imported until the beginning of the 20th century. It is probable that the regular line of BBB pipes were imported from Saint-Claude, France.

The BBB collection followed along similar lines as other pipe producing companies during the second half of the 19th century. Shapes were similar to the popular models in vogue during that time with a predominance of bent pipes. Some of them had a silver ring. At the same time, BBB continued to deliver meerschaum pipes.

BBB was probably the first to offer pipes made to accommodate a paper filter. The Mackenzie, which was available in two qualities (Mackenzie, second brand of BBB, could have been produced in Republic of Ireland. Pipe stems were made of vulcanite). This technique dates from around 1900 as is stated in a letter dated from August 27th, 1891 from Mr. Morrel Mackenzie (1837-1892) in which he suggest that they make models with a longer stem. The Mackenzie brand survived into the 1960s.

It is thought that BBB was one of the first to call the pipes they had conceived with a long shank for a cooler smoke a “Lovat”. However, “Friedlands” could have adopted this name at the same time. Lovats appeared long before 1914 and were offered for sale by BBB in four different sizes, of which a series were stamped Highland. Colonel Henry Francis Fraser (1872-1949), Lord of Lovat, must have enjoyed the advertising of this shape made in his honour. It is still a popular shape at present. While BBB briar pipe shapes were similar to those of other brands, their models developed a very sought-after distinct character by the collectors. BBB earned the gold medal at the French-British Exposition in London in 1908 (Frank Bowcher, on 1864-1938) and at the World Fair and International in Brussels in 1910, the Medal of Godefroid Devreese (1861-1941). You can find pictures of these medals, notably on the advertising brochures of the 1950s and 1960s.

In this era the common practice was to set a pipe’s value by the material the stem was made of: ebonite, horn, amber, ambrolith etc. Also, price varied according to the size of the pipe. For instance, in 1914, the wholesale price of a simple billiard varied between 15 shillings and 22 shillings and 6 pence because of the size of the pipe and flock (no screw or tenon). Though this generally was true it seems that there were exceptions; for instance a Liverpool of five inches long with a stem in genuine amber had a wholesale cost of 12 shillings in larger quantities; the same pipe with a stem of ambrolith cost 19 shillings. BBB made different special series of pipes such as Chubby, Golfer, Dreadnought (probably named after different warships), Bellerophon (sic) and Cutty (small models). BBB offered some 20 lines of pipes that had different clever combinations of stems, finishing and decoration. Some of them had a silver ring. Around 1910, BBB Own Make pipes sold for 2£ 10 shillings while pipes only stamped BBB were sold for 5-6 shillings.

In the 1930s, the top pipe of the line was “BBB Best Make” with variants such as “Great Dam” and “Ultonia Thule”. The BBB Carlton, sold retail in 1938, was endowed with a complicated stinger system; the same system was also used on the BBB London Dry. The Blue Peter was not stamped BBB but BBB Ultonia, and BBB Two Star (**) was the stamping on lesser quality pipes. The calabash pipe was removed from the catalogues at this time, but some pipes with cases and some meerschaum pipes were still produced. Shapes of BBB pipe were typical of other companies pipes made in this era: half were billiards, some princes and bullcaps, bulldogs and some bents. It is also in this period that the inlaid metal BBB was put on more upscale pipes, while series of lesser quality had only the stamped BBB on the stem.

During the middle of 1950s and 1960s, BBB lines were comparatively stable. The top pipes of the line were stamped Own Make “Rare Grain”, followed by Own Make “Virgin”, Own Make “Walnut” and finally Own Make “Thorneycroft”.

Today, Cadogan uses Spanish briar for most of its pipes, and reserves the Moroccan briar for the production of high quality pipes. Before being sent to them for manufacture into pipes, the briar has been dried and cured for a time period of between 6 and 12 months.

To avoid any confusion about the ranking systems of their pipes in the Cadogan Group brands the company adopted a system of eight common ranks for all of its brands. Rank A is briar with nice grain, without any visible imperfections. Rank B has nice grain, but with some small black points and maximum of three sand pits which will be filled. Rank “Best Make” also has nice grain, with maximum of five small sand pits. The stummels with grain of variable quality and maximum six sand pits are ranked MB. The second rank pipes are of briar of mediocre grain but without defects or of nice grain but with up to eight fills or two big sand pits. The third, fourth and fifth ranks are given to pipes whose quality decreases proportionately.

¹Adolph Oppenheimer started an import/export company in 1860, and his brother, Charles, joined the company later that year. Adolph retired in 1870 and moved to Germany, where he became British Consul then Consul general, letting Charles take the control of business. Louis Adler, who was the brother-in-law of Oppenheimer, became a colleague when Adolph left the company. Both brothers did not have heirs, so the ownership of the company passed to the family Adler. By 1870, the company imported GBD pipes into Great Britain from Paris. The association of Oppenheimer with GBD was such a success that in 1897, Oppenheimer became the sole agent of the French company. Five years later, the French owners of GBD, Marechal Ruchon and Co., merged with A. Oppenheimer.

²Cadogan’s slogan, “Pipemakers Since 1825” refers back to the first clay pipe which Francois Comoy fabricated in 1825. Cadogan’s pipes were fabricated in numerous places disseminated around London and to Saint-Claude, but with the purchase of Orlik Pipe Co. In 1980, Cadogan regrouped the entirety of its manufacture in the new plant of Southend-on-Sea, plant especially constructed for pipe making industry. Cadogan continues to fabricate GBD, Comoy’s of London, BBB, Dr. Plumb, Loewe and Orlik pipes (since 1980). They also make Kaywoodie pipes for the British market and have recently agreed to make Sasieni pipes for James B. Russell.
I have attached a few pictures of some of my BBB’s. I love these old pipes and have quite a few.

New Life for an Old Barling

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I have often written on the blog that good refurbishing begins with observation of the work at hand. I never fail to spend time looking at a pipe and noting areas of concern before I work on it. That is probably why it is pretty simple to record the work I have done on the pipe after the fact. In the old Barling bent, who’s refurbishment is recorded in the following post, I chose to post the notes from my observations. Enjoy!

At Smokers Forums a friend and I have exchanged ideas and thoughts through pm’s, emails and phone calls for several years now. Our talks have covered much ground but seem to also involve at least a fair amount of chatting about refurbishing estate pipes. A couple of weeks ago he contacted me with an idea of somehow collaborating on a refurb. He had an old timer he wanted me to look at and talk over with him. It came in the mail and I gave him a call with what I saw as I handled the pipe and took it apart. The list below gives some of my observations about the pipe as I checked it out carefully.

The band is crooked and turned on the shank. It may take heating the band to it to loosen it.
The silver hallmarks are an anchor, lion and a shield. The shield should have a letter in it to identify the year but it is worn away. The band is made in Birmingham, England, and it is Sterling Silver. As for the year, the best I can do is estimate; it lies within a 20 year period – 1876-1895. We would need to check the dates on Barlings made in the 1800s, to see when it fits into their history. That could narrow it down. It also may be an aftermarket band that was added to repair the shank.
The only stamping is Barling in script. I cannot see an “s” on it and certainly no apostrophe. That should also help date it. The tail on the “g” hooks or curls under several other letters.
The divot in the bottom edge of the shank, for lack of a better word, is not a worn spot in the shank – interestingly once I cleaned the shank I lined up a pipe cleaner in the centre of the divot and it is perfectly aligned with the drilling of the airway. With the pipe cleaner in place (think drill bit) the divot is gone and the walls are all equal. I am thinking this is the divot that is often found in Oom Paul or bent shapes to drill the airway straight to the bowl. I am going to give that a bit more thought before I step in with a repair to the shank. I may get away with building up the tenon instead.
The bowl is in very good shape. I cleaned it out and the walls are all sound and the bottom of the bowl is also sound – no sign of damage to the briar; though the airway comes out a little high on the side of the bowl. I may need to smoke a cigar to make some pipe mud to raise the bowl bottom a bit!
There is a little damage to the front outer edge of the rim but it has been rounded with time. The inner rim was damaged by a reaming with a knife and is slightly out of round. I have already remedied that with sandpaper.
The design of the tenon is very interesting. It is almost a reverse funnel (think inside of a funnel). The curvature at the tenon and step down is such that it provides a bit of a cooling chamber in the sump of the pipe almost like those new fangled calabash things that are hitting the market now.
The vulcanite is very hard and does not seem to show any oxidation. I have seen that before on these old timers – they use a very good quality of rubber and maybe less sulfur in the mix to vulcanize it. Not sure but for some reason they hold the black colour without any browning.
The stem has a few tooth marks – 2 on top and two on the bottom. Some minor tooth chatter as well.
The silver band is also angled like it was put on crooked after it was misaligned. The hallmarks should be on the side but seem to be on the top.
It appears that there is a crack in the shank that was repaired and then banded.

Chuck and I talked through this list a bit on the phone and then through pms on Smokers Forums and he left it to me to see what I could do with the old pipe. Here are some pictures of the pipe when it arrived. The finish was pretty much gone but there was some great looking grain underneath. The issues I pointed out above will be clearly visible by looking at the photos in the first series of three. All of the external issues are visible in these photos.

Once the stem was removed from the pipe several other issues became apparent. The biggest one that we discussed was the way the mortise was worn and out of round. You can see the dip or divot in the bottom of the shank that makes the mortise almost oval. Inside the mortise you can also see the tar buildup where the step down end of the tenon sat. It has the reverse of the shape of the step down. Where it had a curved shoulder between the tenon and the step down, the mortise had the reverse. The tars were built up to the point that the tenon step down sat firmly in place. The rest of the tenon was loose in the mortise as years of use had worn away a part of the mortise. The question we were left with once the pipe was cleaned was how to address the wear in the mortise and tighten up the fit of the tenon. The options were two:

Build up the inside diameter of the mortise – this could be done by inserting briar and redrilling it or by using a build-up of glue and briar dust.
Build up the outer diameter of the tenon – there are several ways of doing this including the use of clear nail polish or superglue applied to the tenon and then sanded to fit correctly.

Each method had a few issues involved in using them.

– To build up the mortise with an inserted piece of briar would be difficult in that the mortise was no longer round and once the mortise was redrilled the walls of the briar plug would be very thin. Also the stem itself was cut to fit the out of round shape of the shank and mortise so it would have to be reshaped.

– To build it up with glue and briar dust would work but be a bit hard to control the amounts and if it was built up too much removing it and sanding it would be difficult to control.

– To build up the tenon with nail polish is a temporary fix and would need to be repeated over time and use. To use the superglue is more permanent but are there any long term effects from the use of the glue on the inside of the pipe. Even if, as in this case the tenon is not in contact with the mouth. The glue would only be used on the upper portion of the tenon and not on the step down portion.

Chuck and I discussed these options and issues and he left it to my judgment to choose one. I thought about it and laid aside the pipe for the night and came back to it in the morning. I examined the tenon and mortise once again to get another view of the problem before I worked on it. I inserted a pipe cleaner at the angle of a drill bit from the shank through the airway to the bottom of the bowl to see where the edge would land. The drilling of the shank matched the notch in the bottom of the mortise. It had been enlarged due to the age of the pipe and its use but it matched exactly. This influenced my decision where to go with the repair. Once that was decided it was time to work on the finish of the pipe and the internals. I dropped the bowl in the alcohol bath to let it soak and remove the grit, grime and old finish. I was hoping that the soak would also loosen the glue on the band so that I could turn it into the correct position on the shank. It soaked for about an hour and a half while I did other things. I removed it from the bath and laid it on my work table. The pictures below show it before I dried it off.

I steamed the dents on the top and also sanded out the remnants of them on the surface. I wiped down the bowl with acetone to remove any remaining finish on the bowl. I picked the thick tars in the sump of the shank and tapped out the crud that came loose. It took a lot of detailed picking to get the surface free of the build up. I then cleaned out the sump of the shank with many cotton swabs until they were clean. The picture below shows the pipe after the cleaning and wiping down with acetone. The second picture shows the rim with the dents removed and the roundness of the bowl restored.

After thinking through the options on the shank and the mortise situation I decided that the best way of dealing with this old war horse was not to build up the mortise and cause problems with the fit of the stem and shank but to work on the tenon on the stem. I had read elsewhere of the use of super glue to build up the tenon so I gave it a coating. The best way I have found it to work for me is to drip it on the tenon and turn it as it drips. The fluid thus gives the entire tenon an even coating. The first two pictures below show the tenon after the application of the layer. Once it was dry the tenon was obviously too big so I sanded it, while repeatedly checking for the fit. The third picture shows the tenon as it is now – a perfect snug fitting stem on the Barling this morning!

To highlight the beautiful grain in the pipe I used a brush dipped in black stain to follow the grain patterns on the bowl. I applied it with an art brush to give it a good coverage. Before applying the stain to the bowl I warmed the briar to open the pores in the wood to receive the stain deeply. The pictures below show the bowl after staining with the brush. It looks odd and actually less than charming but the process works as will be seen in the next series of photos.

After stain dried I sanded it with a fine grit sanding foam that allows me to follow the curves. I was careful around the faint stamping on the shank. Here is the pipe after it has been wiped cleaned with Isopropyl alcohol after sanding. The grain is highlighted well. The final picture below shows the grain on the front of the bowl.

I set aside the bowl for awhile and dealt with the tooth marks on the stem. After steaming them to raise them I sanded with 240 grit sandpaper to remove the remaining signs of the tooth marks and the tooth chatter. I then sanded with fine grit foam sanding pads to work out some of the scratches in the surface.

I did some more sanding with the micromesh sanding pads on the pipe bowl to get the black stain tamed a bit so that when I put the overstain on it would show through but not dominate. I wanted to get a stain on the pipe that fits the older Barling pipes that I have here so I thinned down some oxblood stain for the overstain. I applied it and flamed it. Then I took it to the buffer and with a light touch removed the excess and left a nice top coat of rich reddish brown stain with the black shining through to highlight the amazing grain on this old pipe. The three pictures below show the pipe with the stem on but the stem was not finished as it still showed some of the browning of oxidation.

From there I removed the stem again and sanded it with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sand paper and water. I finished the stem with 1500-6000 grit micromesh pads dipped in water to give bite to the sanding disks as I polished it. The way I use the micromesh is to dip it in water and then sand, dip again and sand again through the various grits until I am finished and the stem has some depth to its blackness. I coated the stem with several coats of Obsidian Oil and then a coating of wax by hand.

I put the stem back on the pipe and took it to the buffer. I buffed the whole thing with White Diamond and then cleaned the silver band with silver polish and polished the entire pipe with multiple coats of carnauba wax.

GBD Tapestry 9438 Re-boot

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Earlier this year I refurbished a GBD 9438 in Tapestry finish and vowed never to touch a chair-leg stem again. That pipe proved to be a wonderful smoker and is a frequently used pipe in my rotation. A few weeks ago I found the identical pipe on Ebay and won the auction. This second 9438 was in a little better shape and the stem was not nearly as oxidized. The Rondell appeared to be damaged.

The bowl was in terrific shape, with very crisp nomenclature. There is an “E” stamp just at the end of the stem. If anyone has an insight as to what that means, please comment. The bowl was lightly reamed, then soaked with Everclear and sea salt. After the bowl was soaked, I buffed the briar with some Tripoli, White Diamond and finally a few coats of Carnuba wax. The briar is in really nice shape and the polished top is unmarred.

My attention then went to the stem. From the Ebay picture, I thought a piece of the brass rondell was missing. But that proved to be only grime. These rondells now appear to be unattainable, so I was pleased to discover this. The stem was soaked in an oxyclean solution. It was then cleaned with 2000 grit wet paper, than the last few grades of micromesh. After sanding, I buffed the stem with white diamond and then plastic polish.

I’m very pleased with the finished pipe. The briar a bit nicer than my first 9438 Tapestry. I bought it with the intention of giving to a family member as a Christmas gift, but now.….

Perspective of the pictures makes it appear the pipes are different sizes. However, they are identical in size. The tenon on the recent addition is curiously a bit longer than my first 9438.

Before:

The fisnished pipe and some shots with the sister 9438 Tapestry:

Al Jones aka “Upshallfan”

Reshaping a button and stem on a Bewlay Bulldog

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I picked up this nice older Bewlay Bulldog in a group of pipes I got off of Ebay. It was part of a lot that included two other Bewlay’s and two Barlings as well as quite a few other older pipes. This one is a nice little Bulldog – 4 ¾ inches long. When it arrived the stem was really a bit of a mess. The previous owner seemed to have cut off a portion of the stem and cut a groove on the top of the stem and the bottom as well to form some sort of new button. You can see from the first two photos below what the stem looked like. There were channels on the top and bottom of the stem that were about a ¼ inch wide and went the width of the stem. The stem was a bit oxidized and the bowl was dirty and tars and carbon were built up on the rim.

The next two photos show the stem in profile and you can see the channels if you look closely at the button area of the stem. The button had no real profile or shape to it. The briar was very nice on this one so I really wanted to rework the stem and keep the original stem intact.

I used needle files to begin to reshape the stem and the button. There was a lot of material to remove to even out the slope of the stem to the button. I also needed to reshape the button to make it truly a button. The slot needed to be cut in the button as well as there was only the end of the airway and it was very close to the top of the button. The next series of four photos show the work of the needle file in reshaping the stem. The groove on the top of the stem is shown in the first photo and you can see that it was not too deep. The angle of the blade to the saddle however was very steep and the stem was thick. While the groove is gone there still was a lot of work to do in reshaping the angles of the stem. In the second photo you can see the work done on the underside of the stem. This groove was very deep and there was a lot of work to do to smooth the surface to remove the groove and reshape the angles on the blade of the stem. All the work done at this point was done with flat blade needle files to smooth the grooves, flatten the stem and shape the button. The third and fourth photos in the series show the stem in profile so that you can see the button begin to take shape and the grooves begin to be blended into the surface of the stem blade.

I decided at this point to use my Dremel with the sanding drum to thin the stem down and to work out the groove on the underside of the stem. The next series of five photos show the stem after the sanding with the Dremel. I was careful to not cut too deeply in the top of the stem as the airway seemed very close to the surface of the stem. I thinned the upper portion of the stem just before the saddle. I wanted the slope from the saddle to the button to be gentler and to make the bit thinner. The first two photos show the stem after sanding the top of the stem with the Dremel. The third photo shows the underside of the stem where I sanded to thin the stem and to remove the groove. At this point the groove is just a simple line that is cut in the stem. The groove is gone. The rest I decided to remove with sandpaper and hand sanding. The last two photos in the series show the stem in profile to give an idea of the slope from the saddle to the button and how the shape is beginning to develop. There was still much sanding to do.

From this point on I used sandpaper to shape the stem. The next series of four photos were taken after I sanded the stem with 240 grit sandpaper to remove the marks and scratches from the Dremel sanding drum. The shape is beginning to get close to what I am aiming for in terms of thickness and slope of the stem from saddle to the newly formed button. You will note that the top edge of the button is still pretty shallow – that is because the airway is pretty close to the surface at this point and I do not want to sand through it. The groove on the top and the line that was left in the above photos of the bottom of the stem are gone.

I then switched to a finer grit sanding pad. The pad is pictured in the photos below. It is pink foam with fine grit sandpaper attached. It allows me to follow the bends of the stem and to get in close to the button and smooth the scratches out even more. I also used it to sand the saddle to remove the oxidation on the flat parts. The next series of two photos show the new look to the stem and button. They are close ups of the stem in profile. I wanted you to see the slope of the stem and the shape of the button. The sanding foam worked great to be able to smooth out the lines and the edges of the stem so that the edge of the diamond saddle follow to the end of the button in a nice smooth slope. The last four photos show the stem once it has been wiped down with some Isopropyl alcohol after finishing with the sanding foam. There is still a bit of oxidation on the stem but the angles and flow of the stem look natural and the button is clearly visible.

I restained the bowl at this point just for a change of pace. The next series of photos show the bowl of the pipe after I had wiped it down with acetone. From that point I went on to restain it with some oxblood aniline stain.

This series of photos show the restained bowl and the remaining oxidation that needed to be dealt with on the stem.

In the next photos the pipe is finished. Before it got to this point I sanded the bowl and the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-6000 grit to polish the bowl and rim and to finish polishing the stem. The 1500 grit micromesh worked well to remove the remaining oxidation on the saddle and the remaining scratches on the stem. From there each course of sanding with the different grits of micromesh added more and more shine to the stem. The biggest change in the polishing comes with the shift to 4000 and 6000 grit. I then took the pipe to the buffer and used White Diamond to finish the polishing of the entire pipe and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax to make it shine.

Restoring an Astor Belge

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This was one of the pipes I picked up recently on a trip to the US. It is a small Astor Belge shape which is one of my favourite shapes of pipes. Astor pipes were made by Comoy as a second line of pipes. From the number of fills on this one it can easily be seen why it is a second. It is a shame as it also has some amazing cross grain on the front and back and some beautiful birdseye among the fills on both sides. The extent of the birdseye grain can be seen in the second photo below.

The pipe was dirty but really in pretty good shape for its age. I reamed the bowl and cleaned the bowl and shank with Isopropyl alcohol (99%) to remove the tars and oils from the inside. Then I dropped the stem in some oxyclean to soak and wiped the bowl down with acetone (fingernail polish remover) to remove the finish. I dropped the bowl in the alcohol bath for awhile to give it a good soak and worked on several others for awhile.

After an hour in the bath, I removed the bowl and dried it off. The next series of three photos show the pipe after removal from the bath. I used micromesh 1500 grit sanding pads to remove the grime and tar from the rim and the inside bevelled edge. It took a bit of work to smooth this out and keep the angles the same all the way around. The third photo below shows the finished bevel and the top after quite a bit of sanding. The top took a bit more sanding with the micromesh to remove the darkening as it was on the surface and not too deep into the briar.

At that point I decided to remove the fills from the bowl as I personally dislike the pink putty fills that are often used on these old timers. I used the dental pick to remove the as can be seen in the next series of three photos. They were all pretty deep and would need to be repaired. After picking out the fill I wipe the bowl down with a soft cloth and Isopropyl alcohol to clean the surface of any remaining bits of putty. When they are clean and dry I fill them with briar dust that I have saved for this purpose.

After filling them with briar dust I drip the super glue/krazy glue into the dust and it dries almost instantly. The next three photos show the newly filled holes at various stages of the repair. The first photo shows the dust and super glue in the bottom holes before I sanded them. The top holes in the photo have been sanded a bit to smooth them out but are not finished. The second photo of the front of the bowl shows both the sanded ones and a newly filled hole with the super glue patch before it dried. The final photo in this series of three shows all the holes filled and the initial sanding completed.

The next two photos sow the holes patched and sanded smooth. The super glue and briar dust turned black in this case. This does not always happen but it did this time. I have no explanation for that in this case but they do look better than the previous pink fills. I have also learned that they can be hidden a bit with a dark understain. In this case I decided to stain the entire bowl with black aniline stain for a first coat. I flamed the stain and when it dried I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the entire bowl with Tripoli to remove the excess stain and leave the black in the grain and around the fills. You can also use black permanent marker to build the grain pattern around the fills to help hide them though I did not use that method on this pipe. I then sanded the bowl with the 1500 and 1800 grit micromesh pads to remove more of the overstain. I washed the bowl down several times with acetone to also lighten the black. Once it was at the saturation I wanted it was ready for the overcoat of stain.

I decided to use oxblood coloured aniline stain for the finish coat on this one. I wiped it on and then wiped it off before it dried to get good coverage I repeated that several times and finally gave it a full coat and flamed the stain to set it. When it was dry I took it to the buffer and buffed it with Tripoli and White Diamond to give the final coat a real shine.

I finished the stem with my usual regimen of micromesh pads from 1500-6000 before putting it back on the bowl and buffing the pipe with White Diamond. I coated the stem with several coatings of Obsidian Oil and then gave the whole pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax to finish. The pictures below show the finished pipe. Though the fills are still visible they are diminished in their overall presence in the pipe. They no longer stand out in the finish. I personally love the depth of colour that this old Belge has with the new stains.

Carving one of my own

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Every so often I get the urge to carve a pipe of my own. I have done it from scratch, drilling the airway and bowl but often it is just as much fun for me to buy a pre-drilled block with its own stem and rework it into something I like. The pictures and essay below will take you through my process with a pipe I picked up off EBay for almost nothing. When you look at it some of you will recognize that for awhile in the 80’s and maybe earlier Singleton sold these pipes as Caveman Pipes. They were rough and were stained and waxed, stamped Singleton Caveman pipes and sold as is. I have always thought that they were ugly and looked unfinished. This one just begged to be reshaped – at least that is the excuse I gave when the package arrived and my wife commented on “yet another pipe”.

The first four photos give a good sense of what it looked like when it arrived at my house. It was a fairly small piece of briar and there was no way of knowing what lay beneath the surface of the block. It was stained and waxed. The stem was oxidized a bit but it did not matter as I was going to reshape it and make it my own. The last photo of the four shows the Caveman stamping I was referring to earlier.

I took out my Dremel with the larger sanding drum, replaced the sandpaper cylinder with a new one and began the process of removing the briar and making a shape that I liked and that I felt the briar held inside. The next three photos show the block with much of the briar removed and a shape is beginning to come out. I bring it to this point in the shaping process with the Dremel and the sanding drum. It works great for me. Some of you may notice the nicks from the Dremel on the saddle of the stem. Those are a pain but I was not worrying too much about it as I planned to shape the stem a bit more as well and those would disappear in the process. Also note, the shank is still not the diameter of the saddle on the stem at this point. From this stage one I do the shaping by hand with 100 grit sandpaper. It makes short work of the remaining excess briar. You will also see some burn marks at the bowl shank junction from the sanding drum – nothing that will not sand off. There are also sand pits and flaws beginning to show up in the surface of the briar.

Much sanding went on before I took the next series of three photos. I used the 100 grit sandpaper to remove much of the excess and then progressed to 220 and 240 grit sandpaper to bring the shape to the stage in these photos. I also sanded the saddle of the stem and the edges of the blade to match the line of the shank. I wanted the flow to be uninterrupted by the juncture of the two materials and I wanted the transition to be smooth. There were many sand pits visible at this time on the sides, top and bottom of the bowl and the shank. It is always a bit of pain to get to this point in the shaping and sanding and not be able to get rid of them. This left me with a bit of a quandary. What should I do to get the best finish on this pipe? I dislike fills and did not want to use putty in any form on this pipe. I figured the next bet would be to rusticate the pipe and give it an interesting texture for the prestained finish.

I used a tool that I fashioned out of a fistful of galvanized nails, a piece of steel pipe, a cap and nipple coupling. It looks like the photos below. It is the tool on the left. I also used a florist’s frog (pictured on the right) to give the finished surface a different touch.

Before I used the tool on the surface of the briar, I wrapped the saddle of the stem and a 1/8^th inch band with black electrical tape. I wanted to protect the saddle and the small band of briar from being rusticated with the tool. It is a work horse but is not subtle in its deep cuts. I wrap the cap end with a thick towel to protect my hand when I pushed the points of the nails into the briar. I pushed the head into the briar and twisted the tool back and forth to cut the surface of the briar and roughen it. The next series of four photos show the rusticated surface of the pipe after I finished with the nails and also after I rubbed the florist’s frog across the surface to knock off high points. I was aiming for a finish that has the look of aged leather so I wanted no roughness left but I wanted a crinkled, wrinkled look to the briar.

The next two photos show the pipe after I gave it a black understain. I used black aniline stain and applied it with a dauber. Once the pipe was covered I used a lighter to flame the stain to set it deeply in the briar. My goal was to have the black stain set deeply into the crevices of the rustication once I had buffed it. (I have learned that when I am staining to always start with the darkest stain and work toward the final lighter coat.) Once the stain was dry I took it to my buffer and buffed it with Tripoli. The buffer removed all of the black stain from the smoother, higher surfaces and the band next to the stem and the rim. The only black stain remaining was in the crevices and pits in the briar. At that point I restained the pipe with a medium brown aniline stain and flamed it as well. I took it to the buffer and this time buffed with Tripoli and White Diamond. I wanted the brown to give a top coat and allow the black to show through. I also wanted to smooth the surface a little to make it smooth in the hand.

The final series of photos show the finished pipe. I think I achieved the look of old worn leather I was aiming for with this rustication and staining. I worked on the stem and smoothed it out with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and water. Once the scratches were gone I worked through the usual regimen of micromesh pads from 1500 to 6000 grit. These gave the stem a good polished look. I finished it on the buffer with White Diamond and multiple coats of carnauba. The bowl was waxed with Halcyon 2 wax so that I could avoid the wax build up from carnauba in the crevices of the rustication. I gave the entirety a final buff with a clean flannel buffing pad. This one has become a favourite smoker of mine. It is perfect size to fit in my jacket pocket and it is a veritable furnace for good Virginia Flake tobacco.

Cleaning Up Estate Meerschaums – Fred Bass

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Blog by Fred Bass

Fred Bass, who is the moderator of the All Things Meerschaum Group on Smokers Forums, wrote this article and has given permission to have it posted on rebornpipes. Thanks to Fred for his continued work in educating many of us to the joy and delight of the meerschaum pipe.

There are an abundance of ideas about how to clean up used meerschaum pipes and return them to active service. Some of these ideas are good while others can generate problems of greater magnitude than those you sought to remedy. I don’t have all the answers and my repair skills are limited by spartan equipment and my lack of finesse with the tools that I do have. Just the same, many of the meerschaums in my collection were smoked by others before I acquired them and cleaned them up, using simple methods to get years of further use from these old soldiers. I’ve written essays and articles on the pleasures of smoking the seasoned meerschaums I’ve acquired, and which I continue to enjoy smoking. This can be done by anyone who cares to invest a bit of time and patience in acquiring vintage meerschaums to resurrect, and cleaning them up so that they can provide you with years of smoking pleasures as well. I don’t claim to be an expert or an artisan, but using the scraps of knowledge I’ve acquired over the years, as a student and devotee of these pipes and their cultures, has been a benefit to me and it is my pleasure to share what I’ve learned. These are things that I would like to pass along, not as the perfect example that should be followed, since there’s already plenty of that from all of the persona in the pipe community, but as something that I can contribute to the body of available knowledge, while not perpetuating myths and hearsay that are commonly held to be fact. The opinions and preferences of meerschaum pipe smoker are as numerous and diverse as the people who smoke them, and I have no intention to slight or refute them. If you read something in this essay that you think might be useful to you, then I will have achieved my intent to provide you with viable information.

Large Bent with scalloped underside, Amber mouthpiece, 7″ overall length

I will discuss things to consider prior to purchase of a vintage pipe, which means a pipe that is less than 100 years old, assuming that you don’t already have a pipe that you want to clean up; the basics of removing the debris of past use; routine cleaning to maintain a pipe that will smoke with clarity; and the choices you will need to make about the general appearance of the pipe. I have my own opinions, like everyone else, which you will find throughout this essay, but I will not tell you something that is outside of my experience without giving notice that it either speculation or something someone else has discovered by trial and error. If this sounds like it is something that is worth your time to read, then this is for you. Hopefully, you will find these old veterans of past fires to be as worthwhile as they are to me.

When considering the purchase of a used estate pipe or fixing up a meerschaum that you already have, it is important to get an idea of how much it will cost to fix the pipe, prior to a purchase and/or investing the cash, time and materials that will be required before it can be smoked again. Any good discussion about cleaning up estate pipes should take the value of the pipe and the cost of getting it back in service into consideration, as the two issues are linked to each other, unless you plan to use it for display in its’ current condition. It is best to be able to examine the pipe yourself, which is not always possible since many estate pipes are sold in online auctions.

Koncak Andreas Bauer Paneled Billiard

First, determine if there are any cracks, dings or break lines in the block, because if the block isn’t sound, then there is no reason to consider the pipe as being a candidate for future use. Online sellers should be able to provide this information, even if they don’t know a whit about pipes and have poor skills at photography. Reputable sellers are happy to answer your questions. Repairs to damaged block meerschaum are difficult, costly and generally not worth the investment. The presence of a metal band on the distal portion of the shank, where it meets the bit, may be there because of a repair, which is not a good sign for continued block integrity if you intend to smoke the pipe. Metal bands that adorn the pipe for effect don’t present this problem, but it is wise to consider how easy it will be to maintain a bright finish on them without creating problems for the block. Personally, I prefer to avoid having to clean metal on a pipe, especially around the bowl’s plateau, or to have to deal with the metal getting hot while discoloring the block during the smoke. Another aspect of the condition of the block is how much it has been smoked. Yes, well developed coloration is attractive but the more use a meerschaum has provided, the greater the possibility of diminished strength in the block’s integrity, especially in the older pipes, which are prone to being brittle. This is more of a consideration for Turkish block than it is for African block, because Turkish block is softer and hasn’t been strengthened by a calcification process, commonly used by factories that produced African block meerschaum pipes. That rich patina might also be there because the previous owner smoked a cheap aromatic blend and never spent a cent on a pipe cleaner, so you could be spending years trying to exorcise the ghosts from the pipe. I’ve been fortunate in that most of the estate pipes I’ve purchased were smoked by someone who enjoyed virginia blends, but the few that I discovered had been used to burn cheap aromatics were a real trial to clean up. Remember, you can’t use a retort or the salt-alcohol treatment on a meerschaum pipe. I know a few meerschaum pipe smokers that have drilled out the chamber and shank on pipes that have seen decades of abuse and neglect, but I don’t have the skills to do this. Others have used denatured alcohol as a cleaner but I prefer to rely on the FDA standards that Everclear must meet as a food grade solvent. The alcohol concentration is 95% with Everclear and I don’ need to be concerned about what the remaining 5% has in it, which is likely water. You should scrape the cake down to the block and clean the shank with Everclear, a shank brush and plenty of pipe cleaners before the first smoke, but you will need to repeat the cleaning between every smoke until the pipe starts smoking with clarity. Once the block has flushed the debris left by the last guy from burning his blends in it, the pipe will smoke well and it is up to you to keep it clean if you want it to remain smoking with clarity. After you scrape the cake out of the bowl’s chamber, then use a doubled over pipe cleaner with Everclear on it to get more of it out, and a paper towel to ream it. I don’t recommend using a pipe reamer because the force that is required to use one might crack the block. The shank brush with Everclear will help you clean the pipe’s draft, and it might take more than one to do so because a fouled draft can destroy a good number of them before the job is done. When the pipe cleaners start coming back white, then you will know that the pipe is clean. Smoking the pipe will cause more of the trash to migrate out of the block, so be prepared to use a lot more pipe cleaners, shank brushes and Everclear. Some of the abused estate pipes I’ve cleaned up have made a pint of Everclear look like engine sludge with the first cleaning. This isn’t the fun part of cleaning these old pipes up, so it deserves your consideration prior to a purchase or a decision to clean up that old meerschaum that’s been in the family for generations.

The next thing to consider is the bit and the bit-to-shank connector. I prefer derlin push/pull connectors and bone screws.

The Delrin connectors are easily replaced, providing that the threads in the bit and the shank are intact. The bone screw connectors in some of my pipes have lasted for 35 years or more. The downside to them is that they must be kept clean or they can foul the smoke and they can require advance skills in the use of a pipe cleaner. I’ve never been able to appreciate the taste that metal connectors impart to the smoke, so I avoid them. If the bit and the connector need replacing, then either I’ll do it or send it to a pipe repairman if it requires more skills than I have in order to fix them. In the past, I have sanded and refinished bit that were badly oxidized. These days, after discovering that it involved a lot of work, I prefer to just have them replaced if they are in poor condition. There are guys that are happy to work for days on restoring a bit. I’m not one of them. If I can’t clean the bit up using Everclear, a shank brush, pipe cleaners and bit polish, then I send it to Floyd Norwood. If the bit is light colored so that the lumen of the draft is visible, then I’ll use hydrogen peroxide to help remove old stains in the plastic, which is a timely process because I use a shank brush to scrub them in my routine cleaning and do not let the bits soak in the hydrogen peroxide. Get used to the fact that everything about meerschaum pipes is a slow process. If the pipe has an amber bit with chunks missing, I will have it replaced with and a new acrylic bit. Amber is expensive and many artisans will not work with it. Amber is fragile and the ‘cultured amber’, which is made from the dust and chips left over from cutting and polishing the raw material, is the most fragile. I use regular pipe cleaners, Everclear and bit polish on them. Shank brushes and bristled pipe cleaners should never be used to clean amber bits, as they are brittle and break easily.

The general appearance and condition of the block’s exterior must be taken into account. Dirt and grime on the block can be removed by using a clean, white cotton cloth, moistened with Everclear. In a recent reply to my e-mail inquiry to S.M.S. Meerschaums about re-waxing meerschaums, Beth Sermet replied as follows:

Rewaxing a Block Meerschaum
Preparation: 100% beeswax cakes — confectionery quality
Old towel or cloth — to prevent hot wax from dripping or spattering onto other surfaces
Hair dryer — multiple temperature and fan settings
Cotton swabs — for brushing the melted beeswax
Polishing cloth — soft white terry cloth towel or white flannel

STEP 1: Use a hair dryer set to hot temperature setting, but low air speed. Heat the beeswax cake to consistency of lip balm. Hold the pipe by the stem. Smear onto the bowl directly from the beeswax cake like lipstick. Do not touch the bowl with your fingers during any of the steps.

STEP 2: Continue to heat the section of the surface of the bowl until the wax becomes liquid. Use the cotton swab like a brush to paint the area with a coating of wax. Push (the) molten wax into crevices and hard to access areas. The swab may unravel as it absorbs excess wax. Coat the entire bowl surface evenly. CAUTION: Try to prevent wax from dripping into the tobacco hole since it will leave a bitter taste.

STEP 3: Heat the bowl again to allow complete absorption of the wax. Set the pipe down on the towel to cool.

STEP 4: After the bowl cools to room temperature. Buff the surface to a high gloss using a towel first then the flannel cloth for the final buffing. If the surface is tacky, too much wax is on the surface. Heat this area again and remove excess wax with a cotton swab and buff again.

STEP 5: Repeat when the surface becomes soiled or dull. Excessive waxing may cause too much wax accumulation (tacky surface and dripping).

Peterson African Block Meerschaum Prince Estate Pipe Made in Great Britain

In the past, I’ve used aggressive methods to clean up the exterior of the pipe. These days, I try to preserve as much patina as I can, which means that I wax the meerschaum while smoking it, using white beeswax, instead of resorting to the heroic measures of the artisan. Sanding the block to remove scratches and stains will change the shape of the pipe and it could be years before the patina returns, anytime you disturb the color progression. If there is a buildup of cake on the scorched plateau of the bowl, then scrape the carbon off as best you can without scoring or exposing the surface of the block. The beeswax will serve to make the black color soften and become more diffuse in time with continued waxing and smoking of the pipe. This is a more conservative approach but I’ve found it to be preferable to waiting years for the coloration to return to the pipe. These pipes will often take a lot of beeswax because they likely have not been waxed since they received it from the carver, which will produce rapid onset of coloration in pipes that have been heavily smoked by others. It is like having the benefits of a professional smoker- a service that the wealthy and nobles have paid for in the past. Here is a bit of history that Ben Rapaport ran across while digging thru the stacks of resources.

There is no doubt that the industry of colouring meerschaum pipes was, and probably is still, thriving in Paris. I remember, when living in one of the streets surrounding the Palais-Royal, to have seen opposite the house in which I lived a man, with his window open, smoking all day long and all the year round curiously elaborated meerschaum pipes. I met him one day, and could not help asking him how he could resist such inhalation of nicotine. He told me he was a professional ‘meerschaum colourer’ for the account of Madame Hubert, an extensive pipe-dealer in the neighborhood. He was paid a yearly salary of 1500 francs, and supplied gratis with tobacco. (“Very Like ‘Smoke,” Notes and Queries: A Medium of Inter-Communication for Literary Men, Readers, Etc., Fourth Series.–Volume Third, June 12, 1869, 567)

These days, I’m more selective about the pipes I take in to clean up. If they look like they are going to be a real trial, then I pass on them. There are guys that enjoy working long hours to salvage the pipes that have been abused for decades. I’ve discovered that I’m simply not one of them. The additional cash that I might spend on another pipe that is in better condition is worth it to me. I know my limitations. Some of you already know that dwelling in the realms of the White Goddess can be devastating to your bank account. In many ways, the estate meerschaum pipe market offers some degree of respite as long as you think about the hidden costs, such as what it takes to clean these survivors up, and/or repair them. In The Thrill of the Hunt (PipesMagazine.com, 10/19 2010): http://pipesmagazine.com/blog/put-that-in-your-pipe/the-thrill-of-the-hunt-a-guide-to-estate-meerschaums/, I wrote about some of the realities of this market and expanded on it in Time Travelers (PipesMagazine.com, 6/2012). It pays to do the homework before playing with the past glories of this seductive mistress because the rewards can be great. Whether you have found grandfather’s old meerschaum, while rummaging thru the attic, or have acquired the vintage pipe of your dreams from an auction, knowing that returning these old veterans of past fires to active duty will take time is just another of the many lessons in delayed gratification that the White Goddess teaches. Come with me and discover for yourself why these pipes have been so highly prized for the past 300+ years. Care to join me in a smoke?

Fred Bass founded the All Things Meerschaum Group on October 14, 2008 for anyone interested in meerschaum pipes, carvers, culture & history, and the care & maintenance of meerschaums. If you have an interest in, or are curious about the meerschaum experience, you can contact Fred at FBass16117@aol.com or on Smoker’s Forums, http://www.smokersforums.co.uk/

Edwards Contour or Criterion Restoration

A WDC Milano Hesson Guard Reworked

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I just worked over this old timer – A WDC Milano Hesson Guard. In order to know more about the pipe I was working on I searched for information regarding the patent number stamped on the pipe and went to the US Patent site where I found documentation. The patent was filed for it in 1932. It is an early example of the pipe. It is in the acorn shape. It has the patent number stamped on it as well as the other WDC labels. The triangle on the stem is silver or steel inlay. For me this is a part of the mystery of unpacking the history and life of the brand and mark. I always like to know as much of the back story as I can find on any of the pipes I refurbish. Patent numbers stamped on the pipe provide a means of ferretting out information on the design and the particular part of the pipe that is patented. I have included the patent site information on the pipe for your reading pleasure. At least to me this part is fascinating information.

The pipe was caked with a crumbly thick cake that pretty much filled the bowl when I picked it up. I reamed it out to field dress the pipe. I generally do this with most of the pipes I bring home for renewal. It keeps the mess of the carbon from the cake outside and away from my work desk. In the photos below you can see that the finish was pretty dirty with a lot of hand oils and grease ground into the bowl surface. The rim was caked and tarred and it looked like it was damaged. The finish was worn and the stain faded in many places on the bowl sides. The stem was oxidized and had some bubbles in the surface along the button – the bubbles are visible near the button in the second photo below.

I scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil soap, undiluted. I wipe it on with a cotton cloth and immediately wipe it off. Others have said that it removes the stain if left to long and it does indeed do that. But I have found it unsurpassed in quickly removing grime and grease if rubbed on and rubbed off quickly. I worked on the rim as well with a soft bristle tooth brush and the oil soap to remove the buildup. Once that was done I put it in the alcohol bath and removed the finish that was on it. It seemed to have had some built up waxes and also some kind of varnish coat over the stain. It came off with a bit of elbow grease after soaking. I decided to not stain this pipe as the briar looked great as it was. I just sanded it with the micromesh pads to polish it and remove the surface scratches. Then I took it to the buffer to give it a buff with White Diamond.

I worked on the stem while the bowl soaked in the bath. I soaked it in the Oxyclean mixture for a while to soften the oxidation. I dried it and buffed it with Tripoli to remove the surface oxidation. I sanded it with 240 grit sandpaper to get the deeper oxidation. I also had to lift a few tooth marks from the underside of the stem near the button. I used the heat gun to do that. The bubble on the top of the stem also was heated to try to smooth it out. It was evidently not a blister but a bump from teeth. It went back in place with the heat. I sanded the remaining signs of bite with 240 grit sandpaper and then 400 and 600 grit wet dry and water. I finished it with the normal regimen of 1500-6000 grit micromesh pads to polish. I put it back on the bowl and then gave the entirety a buff with White Diamond to polish it and finished the restoration with several coats of carnauba wax.