Tag Archives: acrylic

Someone Must Have Loved Smoking This Stanwell FM 2008 113 Conical Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 01/26/2023 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another dirty pipe with a lot of wear and tear and obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] FM 2008. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with a 113 shape number near the stem/shank junction. The FM2008 stamp had me a bit mystified though I figured it was probably made for a smoking competition thanks to Jesper’s previous help. I would need to check that out. The dirty smooth finish was not able to hide the beauty of the grain around the bowl and shank. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The finish on the first ½ inch of the shank was lighter than the rest of the pipe and it is not clear why. There does not appear to be cracks or a previous band so I am uncertain why it is there. Perhaps in the clean up Jeff will figure it out. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a heavy lava coat. The inner edge was so heavily coated that it to assess its condition. The stem was a black acrylic taper stem without a logo stamp. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim was so thickly caked that it was not possible to know with certainty the condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth to the finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. It shows some promise. He also took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above.I decided before I started my work on the pipe to try and unravel the stamping on the underside of the shank. I did a Google search of Stanwell FM 2008 and got no hits. I changed the search to hunt for a Stanwell Made in Denmark FM 2008 and came up with one solid hit to a discussion the Brothers of Briar pipe forum where Bas Stevens had a pretty extensive post on the shapes of Stanwells (https://www.brothersofbriar.com/threads/basil-stevens-stanwell-shape-list.8421/). Toward the end of that discussion he had three notes on unique stamping. The final one listed was a not on the FM stamp. I quote:

Pipes stamped with FM are ones that were made for the Frederikshavn Pipe Smoking Championship.

I wrote to Jesper Klith on Facebook and asked if that information was correct. He replied quickly with confirmation and an interesting personal note that I have included below.

That is correct, the club in Frederikshavn held some large contests, I attended once and met both Anne Julie and Peter Hedegaard there.

So now I knew! The FM 2008 stamp was referring to a large smoking contest in Frederikshavn in 2008. The pipe was made to be used in the competition and was also a commemorative piece. Now it was time to start my work on the pipe.

I was looking forward to looking over the lighter coloured shank end after Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. I was curious to know what was happening there. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. I examined the first half inch where the lightening had been and there were no cracks or marks left behind by a band so it was a bit of a mystery. Jeff’s scrubbing had evened up the stain a bit and I would do a bit more in my work on it. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove any remaining grime on the surface and inside. The fit of the stem to the shank made it look like an original even though there was not a Stanwell logo on it. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top looked very good but there seemed to be light damage and darkening to the top and inner edge of the bowl. There is a small fill visible in the first photo on the top of the shank near the bowl. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the silver plate on the left side of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. The pipe looked so good that I started my work by polishing the smooth rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The pipe began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl.  I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I polished light tooth marks and chatter out of the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Stanwell Frederikshavn in 2008 Danish Style 113 Canadian and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Stanwell Frederikshavn in 2008 Canadian – the acrylic taper stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41  ounces/41 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Breathing New Life into a Danish Design Stanwell Royal Guard 32 Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

The rain has stopped for the moment here in Vancouver and I am up early so I decided to work on another pipe that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a classic Danish Straight Bulldog with a mixed finish and a diamond shank. It is another Danish Design Stanwell. The finish on this pipe is smooth and almost a matte finish. The brown stains highlight grain. The pipe is stamped on the left underside of the diamond shank and reads STANWELL [over] Danish Design [over] Royal Guard in script. On the right underside of the shank it has the shape number 32 stamped. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The mixture of brown stains highlights some beautiful grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was an overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The inner edge looked quite good. The stem is acrylic and was dirty and had light tooth marks, chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is a stamped white crown S logo stamped on the top side of the diamond saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the lava coat on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. It is interesting that the bowl bottom is clean. The inner edge looks to be okay. He took photos of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the uniquely stained grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth to the finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was on the underside of the shank and is shown in the photos below. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the white stamped crown S on the top of the diamond saddle stem. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Danish Design Royal Guard Line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand. But there is nothing specific on the Danish Design Royal Guard.

I did a Google search for the Danish Design Royal Guard 32 Bulldog. I wanted to find out why the additional stamp “Danish Design” was present. I found a listing on smokingpipes.com that I am including below.

Stanwell’s “32” Bulldog is an old shape, given a bit of a revamp back in the 1990s by Tom Eltang. The plumper style of bowl works wonderfully with the hard lines of the diamond shank, and its overall compact size makes it an easy choice when searching for that smoker to take with you wherever you go.

That pretty well captured the description of the pipe I have in my hands.

There was also a link to a shape article on Pipedia written by Bas Stevens that I originally published on rebornpipes. I looked up the 32 shape number to see who had designed that shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I quote that below

  1. Two versions of this shape number:
    a) Straight bulldog with a saddle stem; Stanwell’s first pipe shape (originally designed in 1942).   
  1. b) Bent Dublin-strawberry hybrid with a rounded rim and saddle stem, by Sixten Ivarsson. Redesigned by Tom Eltang in the early 1990s.

Further down the article there was this note on the shape 32a. I quote it below:

32: Poul Stanwell’s 32(a), the first shape designed for Stanwell, a classical straight bulldog, released in 1942. It was reworked by Tom Eltang and given a facelift in the 1990s.

Somewhere along the way in my reading I came across discussions on when the stamping changed from Made in Denmark to Danish Design. It is linked to the move from Denmark to Italy. I did a bit of searching for where I may have come across the information and found this discussion on Pipesmagazine Forum (https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/italian-stanwell.20233/). There was discussion on the change in locale and the change in stamp. I quote some sections of the discussion below.

Brief summary of Stanwell:
1942-1982 the family era
1982-2003 Rothmans International (absorbed by British American Tobacco in 1999)
2003-now Scandinavian Tobacco Group
Italian produced pipes began 01/01/10.

Essentially the whole issue boils down to perspective, either that of a pipe-collector or a pipe-smoker.

The pipe-collector is very interested in nomenclature, as well as timeframes of production periods. Such is the case with Pre-Transition Barling’s or Pre-Lane Charatans. There’s also a romantic side on the emotive level which invests heavily in tradition and mystique. These are important considerations of course, but has not much to do with the actual smoking qualities of the pipe itself.

The pipe-smoker simply wants a well-performing pipe and in this case I’d say the Danish Design pipes are pretty close to equal with the final years of Stanwell production, what I call the “decal era”.

Now I knew that the pipe was made after the move to Italy. It was an Italian Made Stanwell that came out after 2010. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. The rim top cleaned up very well. There is some slight darkening and some nicks on the smooth rim top. The stem looks clean but still has light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above.I took photo of the stamping on the undersides of the diamond shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. The briar is quite beautiful and the brown stains really make the grain stand out.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the rim top and the inner edges. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the top and the edges.I polished the smooth portions bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush to get into the two rings around the bowl cap. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks on the vulcanite stem surface near the button with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove them all. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry. This Stanwell Danish Design Royal Guard 32 Straight Bulldog and an acrylic saddle stem is a great looking pipe with a beautiful grain. The stain once cleaned up really highlights the grain around the bowl. The polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Danish Design Royal Guard 32 Bulldog fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 40 grams /1.41 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Breathing New Life into a True Beauty – An Ivarsson Product 389 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is the third of three pipes that came to me for restoration from a friend in the US. I finished the restoration of two of them – a 1913 GBD 347 Straight Apple (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/09/23/breathing-life-into-a-1913-mrco-gbd-london-england-347-apple/) and the Preben Holm made Ben Wade Connoisseur Collection First Edition Danish Style Canadian (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/09/24/breathing-new-life-into-a-stunning-ben-wade-danish-canadian/). All the pipes are gorgeous examples of pipe craft and all were incredibly dirty and showed various issues with their finishes. I am turning to the final one he sent, an interesting Ivarsson 389 Product Apple. In the email that he sent to me about the pipes he included this interesting tidbit of information. I thought it was interesting enough to include it here.

The Ivarsson was quite a surprise. I almost sold this one in a lot with 36 other pipes on Ebay before I got suspicious of all the emails wanting pics and a Buy it Now price. I did some research and pulled the auction when I realized my mistake. The retail price of these pipes is crazy. I believe it may been made by Sixten himself as Nanna and Lars both carve their initials next to the nomenclature (per Pipedia: Lars’ and Nanna’s pipes carries the same stamp, but can always be identified by their initial letters or names on the pipes as well (L.I. and N.I.). Not 100% on this, but a classic pipe nevertheless. You may notice that the bottom of the bowl is a little rougher than the sides. When I initially saw the pipe, the bottom was lighter than the top, indicative of moisture (I am assuming since I work with walnut, teak, rosewood furniture). I put a coat of mineral oil on the entire stummel, but that part may need to be lightly buffed to give it a smoother finish like the sides. But, of course, take care of the nomenclature (I’m sure you know that but just worth mentioning 🙂).    

I turned the pipe over in my hands and examined it carefully to get a sense of the condition of the pipe. I turned first to the stamping noted above. It reads as follows. On the underside of the shank it read An Ivarsson Product in a circle with a dot between each word. In the centre of the circle is the shape number 389. Under that number is another stamp that looks like an I with a bar next to it. The pipe was in dirty condition. The finish on the bowl and shank were worn and dirty with grime and darkening ground into the surface all around the bowl and shank. The underside of the bowl (heel) were worn and the finish gone. As noted above it appeared to be water damage. The cake in the bowl was very thick but broken and soft. The lava flowed over the rim top and inner and outer edges of the bowl. It seemed to be in fair condition under the lava but cleaning would tell the story. The grain under the filth was beautiful. The acrylic saddle stem had no logos or marks. It was dirty and had deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started my clean up work on it to give a clear picture of the condition of the pipe before I started my work. I took a photo of the bowl and the rim top. The bowl had a very thick cake on the walls and bottom. There was tobacco debris in the bowl as well on the sides. I wondered what the inside of the bowl walls would look like once the cake was gone but I was a bit nervous because of the softness of the cake. The lava coat on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl made it hard to know what it looked like underneath. The acrylic stem shows some deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button as mentioned above. The fit against the shank is also not smooth or clean. The pipe showed some real promise but it was dirty!I took photos of the shank sides to try to capture the stamping on the briar. I took photos of the stamping on the right top side, underside and right top side of the diamond shank. It was clear and readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to get a sense of the length of the shank and overall look of the pipe. It is a beauty!I turned to Pipedia and read through the various articles on the Ivarsson’s pipes – Sixten, Lars and Nana (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ivarsson,_Sixten). It is a great read and well worth the time to work through the three articles. The stamping on each involves the “An Ivarsson Product” circle but all are slightly different. The stamping on this one is clearly like the one the is shown in the article on Sixten’s pipes. I copied the section on the Nomenclature of his pipes and included it below.

Sixten’s Nomenclature:

After Sixten became independent, Sixten’s pipes were always stamped with “an Ivarsson product”, written in a ring. Lars’ and Nanna’s pipes carries the same stamp, but can always be identified by their initial letters or names on the pipes as well (L.I. and N.I.). According to Lars, until about 1965, Sixten also stamped his pipes with at least 2 figures inside the ring. The first (one or two) figure(s) was referring to the price. When he started, the cheapest pipe cost 35 Danish kroner (about 5 $). This was marked with a 1-figure. From 35 dkr. the price was added by 5 kroner for each step (40-45-50-55….) and the figure was added 1 for each step. The last figure was referring to the year of production starting from 1950. So a pipe stamped 55 cost (35 + (5X5)) = 60 kroner and was made in 1955. Pipes sold to the USA were often stamped with a figure outside the ring referring to the bill on which the pipe was included. I guess Sixten could not imagine the sky high prices for his pipes later on, when he created his system of stamping. From the middle of the 60’ies, he just stamped the year, e.g. 1982.

Given that background information it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer to remove the thick cake on the walls so I could see what they looked like. Once again, I touched the cake with the tip of the cutting head and the cake crumbled out onto the paper. It was very soft and crumbly and the entire cake come out of the bowl with the first touch of the reamer. I followed that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape off the bits of remaining cake on the bowl walls. There was some burn damage toward the bottom of the bowl sides. There were fissures though they were not too deep in the briar. I sanded the walls of the bowl until they were smooth with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls looked much better at this point though I would need to do more sanding to remove more of the damage. I took a photo of the large mountain of carbon that came out of the bowl with the reaming. It seemed like there was a lot of carbon. I rolled a piece of 180 grit sandpaper and inserted it in the bowl and sanded the walls smooth to further remove the checking on the bowl sides. I tried to capture the bowl walls to show the damage to the inside toward the bottom right side of the bowl. I cleaned out the airway and mortise in the shank and the airway in the stem. I used 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the tars and oils. It was extremely dirty and once cleaned smelled and looked better.I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the build up on the surface of the briar and clean off the lava on the rim top. I scrubbed it and then carefully rinsed the bowl with warm water. I dried it with a soft cotton cloth. It certainly looked significantly better and the patina remained in the wood. I decided to deal with the remaining buildup and darkening to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl next. I used a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to work over the rim top and the inner edge. I wetted the briar and then worked the pad over the surface. I was able to remove the lava on the top and inner edge. There were still some burn marks on the inner edge that I needed to deal with but it looked better.I steamed out the dents in the heel of the bowl and on each side with a steam iron and a wet cloth. I put the wet cloth on the briar and put the hot iron on the top of the cloth to steam out the dents in the briar. I was able to raise the dents in the briar significantly. There was one small one that remained on the lower left side of the bowl. The ones on the right side of the bowl all steamed out. The dents on the heel looked much better. There were two small cut marks in the briar that would not raise with steam. I used a tooth pick and a drop of clear CA glue to fill in the cuts in the briar on the heel of the bowl. Once the glue cured I used a small piece of 220 grit sandpaper (worn) to smooth out the repairs and reduce them to the size of the cut. It is shown in the second photo below. I touched up the stain on the heel of the bowl with a Cherry stain pen to match the rest of the bowl. Once the stain cured I polished it with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. It looked significantly better. I worked on the finish around the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads to dry sand the briar. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth after each sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I have been using it for quite a few years and really appreciate the product. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for ten minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.  I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I painted the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them some but not enough for blending them in. I repaired what remained with some light spots of CA. I would have left them but the marks were large and needed to be addressed. I sanded out the repairs and blended them into the surface with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down Obsidian Oil on a cotton cloth. I know that it is said not to work with acrylic but I find that it adds some additional bite for the sanding pads and helps a deeper shine to develop. I finished my polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra-Fine polishes. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set aside. I set the stem aside and moved on to address to checking and damage on the bowl walls. I mixed up a batch of bowl coating – a mixture of sour cream and charcoal powder. I stirred the mix with a dental spatula to blend to two together. I inserted a pipe cleaner in the airway to keept the mix out of the shank. I folded a pipe cleaner and painted the walls of the bowl with the mixture to fill in the fissures in the bowl walls. I spread it evenly on the walls and repeated the process. I set it aside to let the coating cure. In the morning I buffed the pipe. I am excited to finish the restoration of my first Ivarsson restoration – An Ivarsson Product 389 Apple. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. I love the look of the polished grain on the pipe with the polished black acrylic stem. This smooth, beautiful Ivarsson Product 389 Apple is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is quite light for its size and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams/1.76 ounces. It turned out to be a stunningly, beautiful pipe. I will be sending it back to the pipeman who sent it to me now that I have finished this last pipe. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Italian Made Savinelli Sistina 606 Bent Billiard with a Filter Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking smooth brown bent Billiard with a brass and orange acrylic band/adornment on the acrylic stem that I picked up in a lot of 10 pipes from a fellow on Vancouver Island who was selling his collection. The stamping on the left side of the shank reads Savinelli [over] Sistina. On the right side it was stamped with a Savinelli Shield followed by the shape number 606 [over] Italy. The twin brass bands sandwiching a piece of golden acrylic on the stem has no stamping. The acrylic taper stem has a stamped gold shooting star on the left side. The pipe is a nice looking pipe with a black understain on the grain and a medium brown finish. It is light weight and comfortable pipe to hold. I picked up the pipe and turned it over in my hands. It was in good condition.

This is what I saw when I over the pipe.

  1. The finish was very good with only some light dust and grime ground into the finish around the bowl sides. The matte brown/black stain is dull but the it really highlights the grain around the bowl sides and shank
  2. The smooth rim top looked very good and the beveled inner edge and outer edges look very good. There was no lava build on the top and the edges were clean and undamaged.
  3. There was a light cake in the bowl. It held the aroma of the tobaccos smoked in it – fortunately not aromatic. The walls looked to be undamaged but once I removed the light cake I could confirm that.
  4. The band on the stem is twin brass bands sandwiching an amber/orange yellow piece of acrylic and looks to be good condition. It is undamaged and clean. The band looks really good with the finish on the bowl and the black acrylic taper stem.
  5. The acrylic taper stem has a gold shooting logo stamped on the left side that identifies it as a Savinelli pipe. It is in excellent condition with just some light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button.

To summarize what I saw – this Savinelli Sistina 606 Bent Billiard is a well made pipe. It is a little dusty but otherwise in good condition. The acrylic stem is lightly tooth marked but otherwise undamaged. The tenon has a converter taking it from a 9mm to a standard unfiltered stem. There does not appear to be any calcification on the stem surface. The look and feel of the pipe in the hand is great. It is going to clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe before I started my clean up.   The bowl of the pipe looked very good. The rim top is clean does not seem to have any damage to the smooth finish. The edges of the bowl were undamaged and looked very good. I see no warning signs in the rim top or the edges of the bowl. I took photos of the stem to show the condition of each one. Though hard to see there are light tooth chatter on the surface of both sides ahead of the button but it should clean up easily with polishing. The next photos capture the stamping on the shank. It read as I have noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of it to give a sense of proportion. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning the internals. The cake was quite thin but it can hold residual oils from previous tobaccos and I wanted to check the bowl walls for burn damage or checking. I reamed it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife and took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I worked on them until they were smooth. There was no checking or burn damage to the bowl walls. It was quite clean.I cleaned out the internals of the shank and the airway in the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I also cleaned the adapter that had come with the pipe. I worked them over until they were clean. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step.   I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish on the bowl and shank. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. Once the bowl was covered with the balm I let it sit for about 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth and the shoe brush. I polished it with a microfiber cloth. I took photos of the pipe at this point in the process to show what the bowl looked like at this point. The light sandblast finish looks very good and has a real touch of beauty. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I dry sanded both sides of the stem with 1500-12000 grit pads to polish it further. I wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. Though I know that it does not do much with the acrylic I find that it still adds depth to the final shine on the stem which grew deeper with each sanding pad.   I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I wiped the stem down with some Obsidian Oil afterwards and buffed it with a soft microfiber cloth.   I took the Savinelli Sistina 606 Bent Billiard to wax and polish. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond polish on the wheel to polish out the scratches in the acrylic. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and then buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The contrast of the dark understain on the briar brings out the grain and the medium brown stain looks excellent with the shine of the polished acrylic stem is quite stunning. The rich finish around the bowl and shank is quite remarkable and gives the pipe an incredible presence. The Savinelli Sistina Bent Billiard is a beautiful pipe and one that will be a great smoking pipe. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below with each of the stems. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the large pipe is a light and comfortable 53 grams/1.87 ounces. This is a great looking Bent Billiard. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. If you want to add it to your rack let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Restoring a Stubby Italian Made Savinelli Pocket 106 Billiard with a Filter Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking smooth black and brown Billiard with a thin silver band/adornment on the acrylic stem that I picked up in a lot of 10 pipes from a fellow on Vancouver Island who was selling his collection. The stamping on the left side of the shank reads Savinelli [over] Pocket. On the right side it was stamped with the Savinelli Shield followed by the shape number 106 [over] Italy. The thin silver band on the stem has no stamping. The acrylic taper stem has a stamped silver Savinelli S shield. The pipe is a nice looking dark finish. It is short, light weight and comfortable to hold. I picked up the pipe and turned it over in my hands. It was in good condition.

This is what I saw when I over the pipe.

  1. The finish was very good with only some light dust and grime ground into the finish around the bowl sides. The dark brown/black stain is dull but the it really highlights the grain around the bowl sides and shank
  2. The smooth rim top looked very good with some spots on the inner bevel and the out edge where the finish had lightened. There was no lava build on the top and the edges were clean and undamaged.
  3. There was a light cake in the bowl. It held the aroma of the tobaccos smoked in it – fortunately not aromatic. The walls looked to be undamaged but once I removed the light cake I could confirm that.
  4. The band on the stem is silver in colour and looks to be good condition. It is undamaged and clean. The thin band looks really good with the finish on the bowl and the acrylic taper stem.
  5. The acrylic taper stem has a silver Savinelli Shield logo stamped on the topside that identifies it as a Savinelli pipe. It is in excellent condition with just some light tooth chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button.

To summarize what I saw – this Savinelli Pocket 106 Billiard is a well made pipe. It is a little dusty but otherwise in good condition. The acrylic stem is lightly marked but otherwise undamaged. The tenon has a converter taking it from a 9mm to a 6mm stem. There does not appear to be any calcification on the stem surface. The look and feel of the pipe in the hand is great. It is going to clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe before I started my clean up. The bowl of the pipe looked very good. The rim top is clean does not seem to have any damage to the smooth finish. The edges of the bowl were undamaged and looked very good. I see no warning signs in the rim top or the edges of the bowl. I took photos of the stem to show the condition of each one. Though hard to see there are light tooth chatter on the surface of both sides ahead of the button but it should clean up easily with sandpaper.The next photo captures the stamping on the shank. It read as I have noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of it to give a sense of proportion.Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning the internals. The cake was quite thin but it can hold residual oils from previous tobaccos and I wanted to check the bowl walls for burn damage or checking. I reamed it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife and took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I worked on them until they were smooth. There was no checking or burn damage to the bowl walls. It was quite clean. I cleaned out the internals of the shank and the airway in the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I worked them over until they were clean.     I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step. I used a Walnut stain pen to touch up the faded spots on the rim top and edges. I set it aside to let the stain cure. It matched the rest of the stain on the bowl top and sides. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish on the bowl and shank. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. Once the bowl was covered with the balm I let it sit for about 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth and the shoe brush. I polished it with a microfiber cloth. I took photos of the pipe at this point in the process to show what the bowl looked like at this point. The light sandblast finish looks very good and has a real touch of beauty. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I dry sanded both sides of the stem with 1500-12000 grit pads to polish it further. I wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. Though I know that it does not do much with the acrylic I find that it still adds depth to the final shine on the stem which grew deeper with each sanding pad. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I wiped the stem down with some Obsidian Oil afterwards and buffed it with a soft microfiber cloth. I took the Savinelli Pocket 106 Billiard to wax and polish. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond polish on the wheel to polish out the scratches in the acrylic. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and then buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The contrast of the dark stain on the briar with the shine of the polished acrylic stem is quite stunning. The rich finish around the bowl and shank is quite remarkable. The Savinelli Pocket 106 Billiard is a beautiful pipe and one that will be a great smoking pipe. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below with each of the stems. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the small pipe is a light and comfortable 35 grams/1.23 ounces. This is a great looking Savinelli Pocket Billiard. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. If you want to add it to your rack let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Rebirthing a Stanwell 1985 POY Sandblast Dublin with a smooth Rim Top

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 12/13/2022 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another horribly tired and dirty pipe with a lot of wear and tear and obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe has an identifying silver plate on the topside of the shank that reads Stanwell [over] 1985. There was no other stamping on the shank and the silver plate confirmed for me that it was a Stanwell Pipe of the Year. The dirty sandblast finish on this was worn and tired looking. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The shank had a hairline crack on the left side of the top that would need to be dealt with. The sandblast showed some nice grain around the bowl and shank and though it was a little dirty it was a nice looking pipe. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the lightly crowned rim in a thick coat of a lava and showed potential damage on the top and the inner edge. The stem was a black vulcanite saddle stem with a silver Crown S on the topside of the saddle. It had some deep and wide tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was also some oxidation and calcification on both sides of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work.  He took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and thick lava coat covering the rim top. It really was filthy and a mess. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The sandblast is nicely done and highlights the grain. The brown stain on the briar adds depth finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out. It shows some promise. He also took a photo of the stamped silver plate on the left underside of the shanks. It reads as noted above. I have also boxed the hairline crack on the top of the shank in red in the photo below.Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the thick coat on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the incredibly thick cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top showed damage on the surface and the inner edge of the bowl. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar around the sandblast. The second photo of the three below shows the crack in the shank (once again boxed in red). The stem looked better, though there were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the silver plate on the topside of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.I started my work on the inner edge and rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove that damage on the rim top and bring the inner edge back into round. It looked much better. I repaired the hairline crack in the shank with a dab of clear CA glue. I clamped the shank together to let the repair cure. Once it had cured I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend in the repair. It looked much better. To stabilize it further I will need to put a thin band on the shank end so that with the addition and removal of the stem does not rebreak the crack.I started polishing the rim top and smooth portions of the briar (including the repaired hairline crack) with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast areas. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. To stabilize the crack further and stop it from reoccurring each time the stem was removed I banded it. I had a band that would work on the shank but it needed to be reduced by half to get the depth more aesthetically pleasing to my eye. I used a coarse 180 grit sanding pad and worked the band against it until I have removed approximately half of the width. I heated it with a lighter and pressed it on the shank. The fit was perfect and to me it looked very good. I polished the band with a jeweler’s cloth to protect and give it a shine. I gave it another coat of Restoration Balm and buffed it off with a clean cloth. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks with clear CA glue. I flattened the repairs with a small file. And sanded the smooth with 220 grit. I started polishing the whole stem with 600 grit sandpaper until the sanding marks were gone. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I gave it a further polish with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Stanwell Pipe of the Year 1985 Dublin pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite stem. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Stanwell POY 1985 – the vulcanite saddle stem and crowned rim top and sandblast finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The polished black, vulcanite stem looks really good with the rich browns standing out in the sandblast. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.38 ounces/39 grams. This pipe has already been spoken for as an Anniversary present. It will soon be going to the fellow who ordered it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Discovering Beauty under the grime on a Stanwell Sterling Silver Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 01/10/2023 as part of another group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another tired and dirty pipe that obviously had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe has no stampings on the shank sides. The silver band is stamped Stanwell Sterling. The dark brown sandblast finish was dirty and tired looking but showed some great grain in the blast. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The silver band on the shank was original and was stamped Sterling [over] Silver. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the rim in a thick coat of a lava in the sandblast top. The stem was a black vulcanite taper stem with a silver Crown S on the left side. It was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was also a small bite through on the top and underside ahead of the button. I think it would clean up to be a beautiful pipe. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work.  He took photos of the rim and bowl to show the moderate cake and lava coat covering the rim top. It really was filthy and a mess. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. You can see the two bite throughs on both sides of the stem. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show beautiful grain in the sandblast around the bowl and shank sides. The rich brown stains highlights the grain and adds depth to the finish. It shows some promise. He also took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the Sterling Silver Band and a photo of the inlaid Crown Silver S on the left side of the stem. It read as noted above. Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the thick coat on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl was in surprisingly good condition. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar around the sandblast. The stem looked better, though there were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button as well as a small bite through on each side ahead of the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the Sterling Band. It was clear and readable as noted above.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.I started my work on the bowl by going over the sandblasted rim top with a brass bristle wire brush. It removed the remaining dust and debris from the sandblast. It gave the finish a better and cleaner look. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean them. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the damage on the stem. I took a photo of the bite through on the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. You can see the small bite through on the top of the stem and the larger hole in the underside of the stem. They will need to be filled in and smoothed out and reshaped.I greased a folded pipe cleaner with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly and inserted it into the airway in the button. I filled in the holes on both sides with black CA glue and set it aside for the repairs to cure.I removed the pipe cleaner from the airway and set aside the stem to let the repairs cure. Once they cured, I flattened them out with a flat file and then sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the stem. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I gave it a further polish with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Stanwell Sterling Sandblast Billiard pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. Considering the mess the pipe was when we received it I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Stanwell Sterling Sandblast Billiard – the vulcanite taper stem and rim top and sandblast finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The polished black, vulcanite stem looks really good with the rich browns standing out in the sandblast. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.23 ounces/36 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Restoring a 2007 Limited Edition Set of Stanwell 65th Anniversary No. 01 Straight Bulldogs

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pair of pipes were purchased on 11/10/22 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. They were both smoked, though the briar one was more heavily used. The lighter Beechwood pipe had been smoked and had a light cake and some darkening around the inner edge of the rim top. The Beechwood pipe is stamped on the left underside of the shank and reads Kyrringe [over] Made in Denmark [over] No. 1. The darker briar pipe had a thick cake and a lava overflow on the rim top. It was stamped on the left underside of the shank and read Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] No. 1. The finish on the Beechwood one showed some nice grain around the bowl and shank and though it was a little dirty it was a nice looking pipe. The Briar one had some rich grain around the bowl and shank and was dirty. Both stems were black acrylic saddle stems. Both have light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. The Briar one had the Stanwell Crown S on the left side of the saddle stem while the Beechwood had nothing on the stem side. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work.  He took photos of the rim and bowl of both pipes to give a sense of what he was dealing with. He also took photos of the stem surfaces on both to show the condition of the stem when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The twin rings on both are very nicely done and show no damage. The light natural colour of the Beechwood and the reddish stain on the briar adds depth finish on the pipes and makes the grain really stand out. They are a beautiful pair of pipes. He also took photos of the stamped name on the left underside of each of the shanks. It reads as noted above. Before I started my work on the pipe I turned to Pipephil to see what I could learn about the pair. I knew that Kyrringe was the name of the brand started by Poul Nielsen (later Stanwell)  during WWII (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html). I did a screen capture of the information there and also included the sidebar information below that.During WWII Poul Nielsen managed the Kyringe company. They made briar and beech wood pipes (see enlarged views). Some few years after the war Poul Nielsen will create the Stanwell brand.

I turned to Pipedia for some more information and was delighted to read the history of the brand that fleshed out the information I had found on Pipephil (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell). I quote a section of the article below. If you want more information the article is worth reading.

When pipe smokers talk about pipes that are consistently great smokers, exhibit the creative and beautiful designs that exemplify Danish pipemaking and offer the best value in factory produced pipes, they are talking about Stanwell. We hear time and time again, from customers and top pipe makers from around the world, that Stanwell is the best factory produced pipe in the world. Stanwell maintains the most modern pipe making facility in the world and for many years has enjoyed some unique relationships with many legendary Danish pipe makers. In fact, Stanwell occupies a pivotal place in the history of the world-wide popularity of Danish-made pipes. During WWII, Danish pipe smokers could no longer buy the English made briar pipes they preferred to smoke. In 1942, because of the unavailability of English pipes and raw briar, Poul Nielsen began making pipes from beech wood for Danish customers. At the time, Poul was managing a company called Kyringe, which made various wood products.

At the end of the war, briar became available again, so Nielsen began importing his own briar and started making briar pipes to compete with the English manufacturers. It must be remembered that in 1948, England was the single great center for pipe making. Therefore, Nielsen changed the name of his pipes to “Stanwell”, which sounded much more like a proper English name than “Nielsen”. He also created the horse drawn carriage logo for its English connotations. He later changed his own last name from Nielsen to Stanwell, a testament to his devotion to the pipes he made. Stanwell’s relationships with Danish pipe makers goes back to Sixten Ivarsson, who is considered the originator of modern Danish pipe making. Ivarsson was commissioned to design Stanwell shapes. In 1969, the factory was moved a town called Borup, just outside of Copenhagen to be closer to Ivarsson.

I am also including several photos of the original pair of pipes that were released under the Kyrringe name. They are very similar to the pair that I am working on which were released to honour those early days on the 65th Anniversary of Stanwell.I followed the Google trail further and found a great description of the set that I had in hand on Smokingpipes.com. It described and the pipes and the foundation information on these pipes and their history in the early life of Stanwell and Poul Nielsen during WWII. Here is the link (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/denmark/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=255998). I quote:

These two-pipe sets were made in 2007 to celebrate the 65th anniversary of Stanwell. Stanwell began as Kyringe, a manufacturer of various goods from beech. Given the unavailability of briar during the Second World War, Poul Nielsen, founder of Stanwell, made pipes from beech wood. This, the ’01’, was the very first Stanwell (then Kyringe) shape. It was later redesigned and became the ’32’, but the original version of the shape is presented in this two pipe set, with one from briar and one from beech.

It’s nice to see one of these sets again. We had just two of them when they came out in 2007 and they left our shelves immediately; they were pretty limited as I recall. – Sykes Wilford Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed some of the black stain on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the Beechwood pipe and it looked very good. He also was able to remove the thick cake and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos of the Briar bowl above. Both pipes cleaned up very well but had some damage on the inner edge of the rim. The stem looked better on both pipes as can be seen in the photos below. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button on both pipes. I took a photo of the stamping on the left underside of the diamond shank of both pipes to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of each pipe to give a sense of what they looked like.I started my work on the inside beveled edge and rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove that darkening on the right front and the back inner edge. It looked much better. I started polishing the bowls of both pipes with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I wet sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. I rubbed the bowls of both down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the wood. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The bowls really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of them at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. They are beautiful bowls. I set the bowls aside and worked on the stems at this point in the process. I sanded the tooth marks and chatter out of the acrylic stems with a folded piece of 220 sandpaper. I sanded them with 600 grit sandpaper until the marks were gone.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.I put the stems back on each of the Stanwell 65th Anniversary 01 Bulldogs (a Beechwood one and a Briar one and took them to the buffer. I buffed the bowls and acrylic stems with Blue Diamond to polish both. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowls and the stems several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipes with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed them with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipes polished up really nicely with a great contrast between the Beechwood and the Briar. The finished pipes are shown in the photos below. These are beautiful small Stanwell Bulldogs – the Beechwood is stamped with the original Kyrringe stamp and the Briar with the Stanwell stamp. Both are stamped Made in Denmark and No. 1. Both have acrylic stems though the Stanwell one has the gold Crown S logo on the left side. The polished acrylic stems look really good with the two pipes. The dimensions of the Kyrringe Beechwood pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .95 ounces/27 grams. The dimensions of the Stanwell Briar pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .99 ounces/28 grams. This pair of 65th Anniversary pipes (as a pair) will be put on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding them to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this set!

 

Is it possible to give this Horribly Abused Stanwell 1986 POY Dublin New Life?

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 11/14/2022 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was a horribly tired and dirty pipe with a lot of wear and tear and obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe has an identifying plate on the left side of the shank that reads Stanwell [over] 1986. There was no other stamping on the shank and the silver plate confirmed for me that it was a Stanwell Pipe of the Year. The dirty sandblast finish on this was worn and tired looking. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The silver band on the shank was an later addition to address a crack in the shank on the underside. one showed some nice grain around the bowl and shank and though it was a little dirty it was a nice looking pipe. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the lightly crowned rim in a thick coat of a lava and showed potential damage on the top and the inner edge. The stem was a black vulcanite saddle stem with a silver Crown S on the left side of the saddle. It had some deep and wide tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was also some oxidation and calcification on both sides of the stem. For me the question was would it clean up well enough to make it worth doing a thorough restoration. Time would tell once it was cleaned up and I had a chance to look it over. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work.  He took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and thick lava coat covering the rim top. It really was filthy and a mess. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The sandblast is nicely done and highlights the grain. The brown stain on the briar adds depth finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out. It shows some promise. He took a photo of the crack in the underside of the shank. It had been repaired before but the band had slipped off a bit and the crack had opened up. He also took a photo of the stamped silver plate on the left underside of the shanks. It reads as noted above. Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the thick coat on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the incredibly thick cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top showed damage on the surface and the inner edge of the bowl was in rough condition. It was chipped and out of round. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar around the sandblast. The last photo of the three below shows the crack in the shank. The stem looked better, though there were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the silver plate on the left side of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.I started my work on the inner edge and rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove that damage on the rim top and bring the inner edge back into round. It looked much better. (I also filled in the remnants of the crack on the underside of the shank with clear CA glue to further strengthen the  previous repair. I forgot to take pictures of this step.)I started polishing the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The crowned rim top began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I wet sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. I used an oak stain pen to touch up the stain on the rim top to match the other smooth portions of the bowl and shank.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I polished the silver band and plaque on the side of the shank with a jewelers cloth to remove the slight remaining oxidation and to protect and preserve it. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. The stem sat straight in the shank but the fit was thicker on the right side of the shank rather than the left side. I would need to reduce the diameter of the stem on the right side to get a more centered fit. I sanded the side with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the diameter on that side. At the same time I filled in the deep tooth marks with clear CA glue. I flattened the repairs with a small file. And sanded the smooth with 220 grit. I started polishing the whole stem with 600 grit sandpaper until the sanding marks were gone. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I gave it a further polish with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Stanwell Pipe of the Year 1986 Dublin Calabash pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. Considering the mess the pipe was when we received it I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Stanwell POY 1986 – the vulcanite saddle stem and crowned rim top and sandblast finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The polished black, vulcanite stem looks really good with the rich browns standing out in the sandblast. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/38 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Life for a Heavily Smoked Randy Wiley Patina Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff purchased this pipe on 05/01/2022 at an antique mall in Bozeman, Montana, USA. It is hard smoked freehand with a smooth inward bevel to the rim and a plateau strip left around the outer edge of the bowl. The shank end is tapered at an angle and is smooth. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Wiley[over] Patina [over] U.S.A. [over] 7. The orange/amber acrylic stem has no stamp on it and is a fancy turned piece that appears to me to be a replacement. It will need to be fitted to the shank with more of a taper but it is okay. There was a heavy cake in the bowl and lava overflowing onto the beveled rim top and plateau outer edge. The finish showed some nice grain around the bowl and shank even through the grime that was ground into it. The stem was had some shine that seems to stay with acrylic even when worn. It was dirty and there were tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. He took photos of the rim and bowl to give a sense of what he was dealing with. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show the condition of the stem when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show beautiful carving around the bowl and shank sides. There is some were and roughness on the ridges on the heel of the bowl.The brown stain adds depth finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a unique piece. He also took photos of the stamped name on the underside of shank. It reads as noted above. I looked on my usual sites for information on the brand. I turned first to Pipephil’s site and did not find a listing for the brand. That is unusual. I then turned to Pipedia to see what was available there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Wiley). I quote from that article below:

A Young Randy Wiley (courtesy of Doug Vatlitchka)

Having been apprenticed in wood carving, Randy Wiley fell into pipe making in the 1970s as a means to follow to his passion. At the age of 25, and after two years with a Florida based pipe manufacturer, Wiley struck out on his own and has since become one of the most recognizable craftsmen in American pipe making.

Randy Wiley is a distinctive maker as he never sandblasts his work and remains one of the few makers that will oil-cure a pipe. He currently produces around 1000 pipes annually, and the majority are smooth or completely rusticated. Sometimes he will carve a feather over a sandpit, which allows the beautiful grain to not be covered in texture. Aside from his shallow rusticated pieces (done with a rotary tool), Randy also makes some craggy carved pieces for his Old Oak line. All of his stems are made from acrylic, and many of them are very colorful, and twisted by design. Courtesy, Smokingpipes.com

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed some of the black stain on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the incredibly thick cake and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The plateau outer edge and the beveled inner edge of the rim look quite good. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar. There was still some darkening on the rim bevel that I would need to remove. The stem looked better, though there was staining in the airway in the stem. The tenon and the cone shaped end of the stem has some file marks on it and the tenon was not straight. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I have noticed on some repairs that folks don’t pay much attention to the stamping when they are restoring a pipe. To me this is a critical part of the restoration to leave undamaged as it is the only link we have to who made the pipe. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.I started my work on the inside beveled edge and rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove that darkening on the right front and the back inner edge. It looked much better.I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the dust and debris as well as the spotty stain. I started polishing the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I wet sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the plateau top.  I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I built up the uneven tenon surface with clear CA glue to straighten the tenon out. Once the repair cured I used a small file to flatten the repairs and reshape the tenon. I sanded the repairs with a folded pieces of 220 to remove the marks and the light brown colouration on the stem surface. I sanded them with 600 grit sandpaper until the marks were gone and the oxidation was gone. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Randy Wiley   Patina 7 Freehand pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Randy Wiley Patina Freehand – the fancy turned acrylic stem and plateau rim top and smooth shank end give the pipe a great look. The polished golden acrylic stem looks really good with the rich browns standing out in the grain. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.83 ounces/52 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!