Tag Archives: Aldo Velani Pipes

Recommissioning Another Barontini Aldo Velani Trio of Italy – A Classic Billiard

Blog by Dal Stanton

The Aldo Velani Trio Classic Billiard now on the worktable represents the 6^th of 7 pipes Daniel commissioned from the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection. It also represents the second Aldo Velani Trio Daniel included in his trove of 7. I acquired 4 Aldo Velani Trios in 2018 in what I have called the St. Louis Lot of 26 that my son, Josiah, found in an antique shop. The original 4 Velanis are pictured below.The Bent Apple and Rusticated Volcano have already found homes with new stewards. The Pot on the bottom is waiting for the Billiard to be completed to join Daniel’s commissioned pipes all which benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. This is a classy line up of pipes! Looking at their current restored states: With the Classic Billiard next, some pictures provide a closer look. The nomenclature on the left shank side is cursive script, ‘Aldo Velani’ [over] ‘TRIO’. On the shank underside, the COM, ‘ITALY’ is followed by the shape number ‘52’. As I noted with the Pot, when I first looked at the logo it was difficult to figure out but found in Pipedia’s Aldo Velani article, an example and details of the stamping on an original Aldo Velani box (courtesy of Doug Valitchka). The stamp depicts a pipe as the front leg of the ‘A’ for Aldo and the back leg of the ‘A’ forms the front riser of the ‘V’ of Velani. Again, I repeat the previous research here: The article cited from Pipedia provides helpful information understanding the provenance of the Aldo Velani Trio line:

Most Aldo Velani pipes are made in Livorno, Italy, for the USA market by Cesare Barontini. They were previously imported by Lane Limited. Lane spokesman Frank Blews once described Velani’s stylish, intrinsically Italian designs as “Billiards with more ball, bulldogs with more jaw.” The name “Aldo Velani” is actually fictional.

Another Barontini 2nd is named “Cesare”.

I learn two interesting things from this information. First, Aldo Velani is a faux name that does not describe an Italian pipe house but a specific line of pipes. Secondly, the Aldo Velani is made by the Casare Barontini name based in Livorno, Italy. Further information is available cross referencing to Casare Barontini in Pipedia:

In 1890 Turildo Barontini opened a factory for the production of briar. In 1925 his son Bruno began to produce the first pipes. Cesare Barontini, son of Bruno, started direction of the factory in 1955, and still runs it together with his daughters Barbara and Silvia.

Sub-brands & Seconds: Aldo Velani. Cesare, L’artigiana, Stuart, Cortina

Additional information is found in Pipephil’s site. Aldo Velani line was produced primarily for export. The stem stamping on the Aldo Velani line had different variations provided by Pipephil:Looking now to the condition of the Aldo Velani Trio Billiard, much like his Apple and Pot brothers, the chamber has a thick cake which needs cleaning. The lava crusted on the rim too, is thick. This will need cleaning. The stummel with the ruby/burgundy is soiled and generally in good shape. I’m hopeful of keeping the hues consistent between the Pot and Billiard now on the table. The clear acrylic stem, like the Aldo Velani Trio Apple, is soiled and has some tooth chatter. There is one tooth compression on the lower bit which was the same on the other Aldo Velani Trio pipes – forensics pointing to a sole steward passing these pipes on. The clear acrylic always gives a pause to ask the question about whether it is the earlier acrylic known as Perspex, on older GBD pipes. This stem is not Perspex and therefore alcohol may be used to clean without concerns of the material crazing. The airway does have a burgundy coloring, so after cleaning, it should still be burgundy but more translucent. I take a picture of the starting point of the clear acrylic stem. To start the airway’s cleaning process, I put the entire stem into a soak of lemon juice to help soften the oils in the airway. As a natural acidic cleaning agent, I use lemon juice when working on Perspex stems. I decide to experiment to see how it works on the Aldo Velani stem. I assure you; the stem is in the lemon juice!While the stem is soaking in the juice, I begin the cleaning process of the chamber and rim. I’m hopeful that there will be no heating issues with this Aldo Velani Billiard as was the case with his brother, the Pot. The rim is capped with a thick lava flow crust. The cake in the chamber is thick and I take a picture to show the starting point.To begin the reaming of the chamber, starting with the smallest of 4 blade heads provided by the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I use 2 blade heads. Next, I transition to scraping the chamber wall using the Savinelli Fitsall tool and finish by sanding the chamber with 240 grade sanding paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad to remove carbon dust residue, an inspection of the chamber reveals healthy briar ready to go again. Looking to the rim, using the edge of my Winchester pocketknife, I carefully scrape the crusted carbon. I avoid gouging the briar by pulling the edge over the surface rather than pushing the blade. Next, using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and starting with a cotton pad, the ruby/burgundy external surface is scrubbed. I also employ a brass wire brush to work on the rim. After scrubbing the bowl and rim, I take the stummel to the sink and continue the cleaning using warm water to rinse the Murphy’s Soap. Using shank brushes, I then work on the internal mortise chamber with anti-oil liquid dishwashing soap. This helps to break down the tars and oils which have built up through use. After a thorough rinsing, the stummel is transitioned back to the worktable. After the cleaning, the rim shows some bald spots where raw briar is exposed. I’ll need to address these, but the challenge will be to match and blend the stummel ruby/burgundy and the rim contour so that it doesn’t draw attention.I also find a small fill needing attention in the crook of the bowl and shank. It is not too noticeable.The cleaning continues with the internals using cotton buds and pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 99%. After some effort, the cleaners and buds emerge lighter. The job is done, and I move on.I continue with the stummel and take another look at the rim. I had to do some work on rim of the Aldo Velani Trio Pot that I just completed. I saved the dye mixture I used to color the rim and I’ll use that dye mixture on the Billiard’s rim. The hue will be consistent between the two restorations of the same colored pipes. I take another picture of the Billiard’s rim, which is not in bad of shape as was the Pot’s, but the finish on the rim is thin at places and uneven. First, I apply the 1500 grade micromesh pad to clean the rim.This is followed by applying the full battery of micromesh pads to smooth the rim surface.As I mentioned above, I saved the dye mixture that I used to restore the Aldo Velani Pot, in my last restoration project. After testing and some experimentation, I used a mixture with the base of Fiebing’s Oxblood Leather Dye with a few drops of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye to deepen the hue. It worked well on the Pot so I’m hopeful the Billiard will be just as happy! I apply several applications of the dye mixture with a cotton bud until the rim seems to be fully colored.I take another look at the fill I found earlier at the crook of the shank/bowl union. While I have the dye on the worktable, I apply some of the mixture on the fill to see if it would help camouflage the area. Unfortunately, it didn’t. Next, a red Sharpie Pen is used to attempt to blend the fill in. After touching up the fill, the Sharpie has helped somewhat but the fill is still somewhat visible. The reality of the challenge of this seemingly small repair is that to remove fully it would require refinishing the entire stummel. Yet, desiring to preserve the original ruby/burgundy finish so that it matches the Aldo Velani Pot also in Daniel’s Trove of 7 commissioned pipes, creates the necessity of leaving small imperfections in the original finish. If I attempt a spot repair by sanding and then refinishing, I’m afraid the result would be to draw even more attention to it! I’ll be satisfied at this point with the Sharpie repair.Putting the stummel aside and turning now to the clear acrylic stem, the stem has been waiting in a lemon juice soak. Using lemon juice allowed the natural acidic hopefully to help clean the airway of staining. The original stem airway has a burgundy coloring. I fish the stem out of the lemon juice. The airway continues to be darkened. We’ll see if the lemon soak had any benefit.Using bristled and smooth pipe cleaners, I use isopropyl 99% to clean the airway. Using smaller diameter shank brushes also helped to clear the staining from the airway. As I work, I can see the cloudiness dissipate and more of a translucent airway emerges. It looks much better now, and I move on!Looking now more closely at the upper and lower bit, there is tooth chatter on both and the lower also has a small tooth compression. Using 240 sanding paper, the tooth chatter and tooth compression are easily sanded and dispatched. After inspecting the entire stem, I can find no scratching in the acrylic stem other than the bit sanding to repair the tooth chatter. With most of the stem in pristine condition, there is no need to sand the entire stem. I will focus the sanding with 600 grade paper on the bit and then apply 0000 grade steel wool to the entire stem. Therefore, using 600 grade paper the bit area is wet sanded. Following this I apply 0000 steel wool to entire stem.Transitioning now to micromesh pads, the stem is wet sanded with pads 1500 to 2400 followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. Even though it really doesn’t protect the acrylic stem from oxidation, I like applying Obsidian Oil to condition it. The stem looks great. To shine the gold nickel shank ring, I use Tarn-X Tarnish Remover which gives the metal a new spark of life. I apply some of the Tarn-X to a cotton pad and rub it into the ring, making sure I get it into the crevasse between the two ring risers. I also am careful to keep the cleaner off the briar which would probably leech the dye. After applying the Tarnish Remover, I wipe/rinse the fluid off with a cotton pad wet with water. I then buff up the ring with a cotton cloth. It looks great – the bling factor is increased with the ring!Next, after reuniting stem and stummel, a cotton buffing wheel is mounted on the Dremel and the speed is set to about 40% full power. I then apply Blue Diamond to the pipe avoiding the ring – this would create a black gunk that could stain the briar surface. After applying the Blue Diamond over the entire pipe, the pipe is given a buffing with a felt cloth to remove the residual compound dust before applying the wax.The unique Aldo Velani stem stamping needs refreshing to augment the classy look of this Billiard.Using European Gold Rub ‘n Buff metallic paint, I use a pointed cotton bud to paint over the stem stamping. Once thoroughly covered, I wait only a few moments because the paint sets up very quickly. I then use the side of the pointed cotton bud to scrape excess paint. I then flip the bud to the clean end and wipe/buff up the remaining excess to sharpen the stamping. The results are nice – it looks great!Next, another cotton cloth buffing wheel is mounted onto the Dremel. Remaining at the same speed, carnauba wax is applied to the stem and stummel. After applying the carnauba, the pipe is given a rigorous hand buffing to remove excess wax and to raise the shine.I’m pleased with the results of this second of the Aldo Velani Trio pipes that Daniel commissioned. The ruby-burgundy finish initially draws one’s attention and then the clear, glass-like acrylic stem. Finishing the ensemble is the golden double-bumped shank ring joining stem and stummel to present this classic Billiard after-dinner pipe. Both Aldo Velani brothers that Daniel commissioned, this Billiard and the Pot, will provide great fellowship with one’s favorite blend and adult beverage. Daniel has the first opportunity to claim the Aldo Velani Trio Billiard in The Pipe Steward Store which benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria. Thank you for joining me!

Unleashing the Bling of an Aldo Velani Trio 51 Pot of Italy

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Blog by Dal Stanton

With 4 of 7 of Daniel’s commissioned pipes completed, the pipes remaining are the last 2 Aldo Velani Trios that remained in the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection and what I have called a, ‘Spotted Bent Billiard’ or perhaps, dragon skin! This pipe is a ‘specialty pipe’ where the stummel was wrapped with a carbon resin material. The ‘skin’ almost looks like dragon hide to me. The 2 Aldo Velani Trios remaining were acquired in 2018 in what I have called the St. Louis Lot of 26 that my son, Josiah, found in an antique shop. He was impressed by the quality of pipes in the Lot and emailed me in Bulgaria with a proposition of going in together for the Lot of 26. His part in the purchase would be his Christmas present to me – that I would choose a pipe for my own from the Lot. My part of the purchase would be to restore the pipes to benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria. It was a proposal hard to refuse and some weeks later I unwrapped the St. Louis Lot of 26 in Denver where our family had gathered for Christmas. The original 4 Aldo Velani ‘brothers’ stand out among the St. Louis Lot of 26 below. The upper Bent Apple and the lower Rusticated Volcano have already found homes with new stewards. The Pot and Billiard are next on the worktable.All the Aldo Velani pipes have in common the bling of nickel gold-plated shank rings and acrylic stems. The Billiard’s stem is a clear acrylic, but the Pot shows off an eye-catching ruby/burgundy stem complementing the characteristic red burgundy Aldo Velani stummel. With the Pot first in line, some pictures provide a closer look. The nomenclature on the left shank side is cursive script, ‘Aldo Velani’ [over] ‘TRIO’. On the shank underside, the COM, ‘ITALY’ is followed by the shape number ‘51’. The Aldo Velani stem stamp is interesting and in the previous research discovered what it was. I found in Pipedia’s Aldo Velani article, an example and details of the stamping on an original Aldo Velani box (courtesy of Doug Valitchka). The stamp depicts a pipe as the front leg of the ‘A’ for Aldo and the back leg of the ‘A’ forms the front riser of the ‘V’ of Velani. As a good refresher, I repeat the previous research here: The article cited from Pipedia provides helpful information understanding the provenance of the Aldo Velani name:

Another Barontini 2nd is named “Cesare”.

Sub-brands & Seconds: Aldo Velani. Cesare, L’artigiana, Stuart, Cortina

Pipephil’s site has several examples of the Aldo Velani line depicted which tend to be very stylish and nice-looking pipes which confirms the Pipedia assertion that Casare Brontini produced the Aldo Velani lines primarily for export. It is evident that there was not a consistency in the stem stamping or name style for Aldo Velani as different examples are given. Here are the stem stamping variations provided by Pipephil:Looking now to the condition of the Aldo Velani Trio Pot, the chamber has some cake build up as well as a crusted layer of lava flow over the broad Pot rim. Taking a close look, I can see fissures on the back side of the chamber wall. This could be an indication of burning problems with the Pot. He’s been well used and when I ream the chamber, I’ll be able to see if the fissures are only the cake or if it goes deeper into the chamber wall briar – not something I’m hoping for!The ruby/burgundy stummel is sharp but covered with grunge. The challenge in restoring these two Aldo Velani Trio brothers together, first the Pot then the Billiard, is to maintain the consistency of hue. The ruby/burgundy is a unique, eye catching hue that sets the entire line apart in a classy way. They strike me as ‘after dinner pipes’ when the pipe is packed with one’s favorite blend and the glass is poured with one’s favorite adult beverage! It is possible that during cleaning and possible repairs to the stummel that the hue can change a bit or a lot. With the previous Aldo Velani Apple, all the stummel needed was a cleaning. I’m hopeful of the same for the most part with the Pot and Billiard. A few pictures show some closer looks at the surface’s need of cleaning. The ruby red acrylic stem has amazing ‘fire’ and presents a spectrum of colors which will be beautiful when the stem is cleaned. The chatter on the bit is more severe on the lower side with a characteristic, singular tooth compression which is consistent with all the Aldo Velani pipes I’ve worked on. This indicates a common steward of all. To begin with the cleanup of this Aldo Velani Trio Pot, the Pipnet Reaming Kit is employed to begin the process of clearing the chamber of the cake build up which hopefully reveals a healthy chamber. I take a few more pictures to mark the starting point. Working on a piece of paper towel to help cleanup, starting first with the smallest blade head and moving toward the larger from the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I use 3 of the 4 blade heads available. Next, the Savinelli Fitsall Tool is employed to scrape the walls. This is followed by sanding the chamber with 240 sanding paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. Finally, a cotton pad wetted with alcohol is used to wipe the chamber to clean the carbon dust residue. An inspection of the chamber shows some chamber damage from heating where fissures have developed. The thickness of the carbon cake buildup was deeper toward the backside of the chamber where the damage is located. It’s important to remove all the charred wood and in doing this, the contour of the chamber is wider or ‘bowed out’ where more char was removed toward the shank-side.Another result of this damage is shown in the next picture. The shank-side of the rim is thinner just a bit and this has created a flatness on the back of the rim lip. The result is that the chamber mouth is out of round. This can be seen in the next picture with a downward perspective. As I continue to clean the rim and stummel, it will give me time to consider how to approach the chamber repair.Next, I work on scraping the lava caked on the rim. Both a Winchester pocketknife and the Savinelli Fitsall tool are used to gently scrape the buildup off the rim. I don’t scrape too much to risk scratching or gouging the briar. Next, I transition to cleaning the rim and stummel using undiluted Murphy’s Oil. A cotton pad is used to scrub the stummel and a brass wire brush is used to help break up the remaining lava clinging to the rim.Transitioning from the worktable, the next stop is to the sink to continue the cleaning. Using shank brushes and anti-oil dish washing soap, the mortise is scrubbed with warm water. The stummel is then rinsed thoroughly with warm tap water. Back on the worktable, I take another picture.The stummel cleaned up well. The rim reveals places where the finish has thinned and is absent. This picture also continues to show the issue of the ‘out-of-round’ chamber. The challenge in restoring the rim will be to continue to clean the rim and to match the burgundy color of the rim after the repairs are done.While I think about this approach, I continue to fine tune the internal cleaning by using pipe cleaners and cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 99%. After several buds and pipe cleaners they start emerging lighter. I move on!With the stummel cleaned, I decide to address the rim issues before going on to the stem work. I take a fresh picture of the rim to shape out the issues. First, the reaming of the chamber revealed some heating problems resulting in some smaller fissures on the shank-side of the chamber. The picture below is facing toward the back or shank-side of the chamber. You can see the heating cracks. They are not serious enough to take extraordinary measures to repair – using a product like J-B Weld, a heat resistant epoxy which I’ve used with success with past projects. To address these heating veins, later I will apply ‘pipe mud’ to the chamber which is made of water and cigar ash. This mixture will provide a protective layer to help enhance the natural development of a protective carbon cake of about a dime’s width. The following picture also shows, though not easy to see, the chamber bowing toward the shank because of the charred briar removed. The rim is also out of shape above this – flattened, throwing the entire rim out of round. The second picture shows this as well.My plan is to sand the upper chamber on the shank-side (right side below) and transition the sanding up toward the rim. My goal is to ease the chamber bowing and ‘re-round’ the chamber mouth. I’m considering after the sanding, creating a sharp, internal rim bevel which should help the rounding and appearance.The next issue is the rim itself – the finish is shot and needs help. I’ll start by lightly sanding the rim with micromesh pads to see if this cleans things while retaining a measure of the hue. I’ll seek to match the hue with bottle dyes or dye sticks.Starting on the chamber sanding, I use 240 paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. This not only gives me some leverage but helps with the rounded shaping needed on the flattened portion of the rim. After sanding with the 240 Sharpie, trying to regain as much rounding as possible, I use a round hard backing behind 240 paper to cut a bevel. I hope to gain more rounding doing this. The picture below shows the result of this approach. There is a sacrifice of the narrowing of the shank-side rim surface as the sanding and rounding is achieved to some degree. There is no perfection, but I like the progress made.Next, I sand the rim top, or almost a plateau, to clean and smooth the surface instead of a full topping of the stummel.I follow by applying the full regimen of micromesh pads to smooth the rim – pads 1500 to 12000.The next challenge is to color the rim to match, as closely as possible, the ruby/burgundy stummel finish. The closest color that I have to matching the stummel, after testing several candidates on a cotton pad, is Oxblood. Yet, I’m concerned that Oxblood hue by itself might not be dark or deep enough. I decide to use Fiebing’s Oxblood Leather Dye as the base, but I add a drop of Black Leather Dye to deepen the hue a few degrees. I use a shot glass to mix the dyes. I use a large eye dropper to draw out a small portion of the Oxblood and place it in the shot glass. After cleaning the dropper with alcohol, I then draw some Black Dye and allow one drop to join the Oxblood. I use a cotton bud to place some of the mixture on a cotton pad and compare. Well, this isn’t rocket science and it looks good to me.I then use a cotton bud to apply the dye mixture carefully to the rim. The next picture shows the result. It looks good, but I decide to add another drop of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye to the mixture and give the rim another application.This mixture was hitting the bull’s eye a bit more it seemed to me. As I apply the dye with the cotton bud, I’m careful to apply dye to the small inner rim lip bevel but not to drift into the chamber. After applying a few coats of dye, I put the stummel aside to allow the dye to settle. I also save the mixture in case it’s needed for the next pipe on my table, the Aldo Velani Trio Billiard. In this way I’ll have consistency of color between the brothers!With the stummel now in the wings, I turn to the acrylic stem and use pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 99% to clean the airway. It does not take a lot of effort and I move on.The stem is dirty, but the main issues are the tooth chatter and a singular tooth depression that has been consistent with all the Aldo Velani Pipes that came from the St. Louis Lot. The steward who had these pipes was consistent in his clenching habits! The button has also experienced some clenching and will need to be addressed. I begin with the lower bit looking at the lone tooth compression, most likely from the steward’s eyetooth. Before sanding, I use regular clear CA glue to fill the compression. I first clean the bit with alcohol and then, using a toothpick, I spot-drop CA glue in the compression. I also apply some CA on a compression on the button lip. I set the stem aside for the CA patches to cure.After a time, the patches are cured and using a flat needle file, the patches are filed down to the acrylic surface. I also refresh the button lips with the file. Next, I continue to sand with 240 paper on first, the lower side then the upper bit. The patch looks good.On the upper side, along with sanding out the tooth chatter with 240, the button lip is refreshed with the flat needle file.Next, using 600 grade paper, the entire stem is wet sanded. This is followed by applying 0000 grade steel wool. Moving next to applying the full regimen of micromesh pads, the stem first is wet sanded with pads 1500 to 2400. After this, the stem is dry sanded with pads 3200 to 4000 then 6000 to 12000. Between each set of thee pads, Obsidian Oil is applied to the acrylic stem. The stem’s swirls emerged nicely during the process. Before rejoining the stem and Pot stummel, I refresh the nickel gold shank ring. This ring is one of the aspects of the Aldo Velani Trio line that augments the ‘bling factor’. I use a product called Tarn-X Tarnish Remover that works well with several metals to remove the tarnish and increase the shine.I take a closeup to provide a comparison of before and after application. Using a cotton pad, I carefully apply some of the Tarn-X to the ring and rub in it in well avoiding the briar. Per the directions, I then immediately use another cotton pad wetted with water to rinse off the remover.I buff up the ring with a cotton cloth and the bling factor has increased!After reuniting the acrylic stem and Pot stummel, a cotton cloth buffing wheel is mounted onto the extender arm of the rotary tool. With speed set at about 40% full power, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the stem and stummel. In the picture below you can see that the rim is still dull from the dye that was applied earlier after having plenty of time to settle. I start with the rim and remove the excess and continue with the rest of the stummel and stem with the mildly abrasive Blue Diamond.After applying the Blue Diamond, I use a felt cloth to wipe and buff the stummel and stem to remove compound dust. I do this before applying wax. The compound is an abrasive and is the final sanding phase in a restoration to sand out fine blemishes and scratches. It leaves abrasive particles behind which would not be good to mix with a carnauba wax application – which is not an abrasive.

There is still one more cosmetic project before applying wax. I use European Gold Run ‘n Buff to refresh the Aldo Velani stem stamp. The gold of the metallic paint will match nicely the gold shank ring.I place a small amount of the Rub ‘n Buff on the end of a toothpick and rub it over the stamp imprint. After making sure that the paint has found all the crevasses of the lettering, I first lightly scrape the excess paint over the stamping with the flat edge of the toothpick then rub the area with a cotton pad. The results are great!Next, after mounting another cotton cloth buffing wheel onto the Dremel, set at 40% full power, I apply carnauba wax to the stem and stummel. Little wax is needed on the highly glossed surface of both the bowl and the acrylic stem. After applying the wax over the entire pipe, I give the pipe a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth. This not only raises the shine but removes excess wax from the surface.After completing the application of wax, one mini project remains. Earlier during the chamber repair of the heating issues, I decided I would apply ‘pipe mud’ to the chamber walls to provide a starter for a protective cake. In the picture below, not only am I giving a close up of the now beautiful rim, but also visible are remnants of cracks in the chamber wall. Earlier sanding almost erased the cracking. I decide to do a mini tutorial on making pipe mud to conclude the restoration of this Aldo Velani Trio Pot.Pipe mud consists of cigar ash and water. If you have cigar smoking friends, ask them to save the ash of the cigars they enjoy! Often, cigars will come in heavy duty plastic tubes or flutes, with caps. They can use these tubes to store the ash. When I collect cigar ash, seldom is it ‘clean’. Often it as chunks of debris left that isn’t great for making pipe mud. I have my ash in a ‘throw-away’ salt grinder that you can buy at the supermarket with salt in it. When the salt is used, the grinder works well with grinding up cigar ash!I also have a strainer that I use to catch big stuff that comes through the grinder. Placing the grinder on a paper plate I grind the ash into the strainer. When I have enough ash ground, I then sift the ash onto the paper plate. The picture below shows the ‘big stuff’ caught in the strainer and the finer ‘gold’ on the paper plate.The paper plate is helpful because it then becomes a funnel by bending the plate. Then with the plate folded and functioning as a funnel or a chute, I transfer the ash to the mixing glass.Using a large eye dropper, I then add a small amount of water into the ash and stir it with a pipe nail tool. CAUTION! Go slowly on the water. If too much water is added, then the resulting concoction will be more like an ash slurry rather than a mud that will hold its shape and adhere to the chamber wall. If too much water is added, then more ash must be added to again thicken the consistency.The mud below is looking good. It’s holding its shape as I press it against the glass.I place a pipe cleaner through the draft hole to guard against blockage. Then, using the pipe nail, mud is troweled into the chamber and spread over the wall. I start at the floor of the chamber and work my way up to the rim. The flat side of the nail is good to use as a trowel and the round side is good to spread. The picture below shows the finished job. When the mud dries, it hardens. During the curing time, I place the pipe with the bowl down so that leaching water won’t settle in the bottom of the chamber but spread out toward the mouth of the chamber. It seems to dry better this way. The hour is late, so I’ll let the pipe mud cure through the night. The next morning in Golden, Colorado, I’m up with coffee in hand. The pipe mud has cured, the protective layer is in place and this pipe is ready to go. I give it one more hand buffing with a microfiber cloth for good measure.This is the 5^th of the pipes that Daniel has commissioned – the first of the Aldo Velani Trio brothers. This Aldo Velani Trio Pot had some chamber and rim issues that had to be addressed and I think the results are great. The style of this Pot stummel brings attention to the broad Pot rim – could almost be described as a plateau. The characteristic that predominates on the Trio line though, is the ruby red/burgundy finish. It catches the eye very quickly. The gold shank ring dials up the bling factor as it transitions from the bowl to the kaleidoscopic acrylic stem alive with all shades of reds, ruby, burgundy and colors that I don’t have a name for! This pipe, packed with one’s favorite blend, is an after-dinner player which looks good next to a glass of one’s favorite adult beverage – for me, a single malt. Daniel will have the first opportunity to claim this pipe in The Pipe Steward Store benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria. Thanks for joining me!

New Life for a Velani Classica Brut 202 Rusticated Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an online auction out of Romney, West Virginia, USA. It is an interestingly rusticated Pot shaped pipe with a taper vulcanite stem with a briar and brass ring on the stem. The bowl has a rich reddish brown colour combination that highlights deep rustication. This pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the left side of the shank and reads Velani [over] Classica [over] Brut. Next to that is the shape number 202. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a thick overflow of lava on the rim top. The rim top and the inner and the outer edges of the bowl are pretty beat up. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the vulcanite stem near the button. The pipe looks to be in good condition under the grime. I have worked on quite a few Aldo Velani pipes over the years but this is the first small classic shape that has come across my work table. It is an interesting piece. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup.He took photos of the rim top to show the thick cake and the heavy lava coat. The outer edges of rim are in rough condition but it hard to know what the inner edge looks like at this point. It is an incredibly dirty pipe but obviously one that was a great smoker. He also captured the shape of the stem and the tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem near the button. Jeff took a photo of the pair of rings around the stem – a briar and brass ring. Once they are polished they should look very good. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the rustication around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. You can see the grime in the rustication and ground into the surface of the briar. You can also see the wear on the top edge of the bowl. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank and stem. It is clear and readable as noted above. The stem has the typical AV stamp. I turned to Pipephil to refresh my memory of the brand. I knew that it was a Barontini made pipe but was not sure of the details (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a3.html#aldovelani). I am including a screen capture below.From the side bar on Pipephil I was reminded that Aldo Velani is the fictional name for a sub-brand of Barontini that was mainly intended for export.

I turned to Pipedia to see if I could learn a bit more about the brand and the link took me to Cesare Barontini’s page (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Velani). It also confirmed the information from the side bar above. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

As usual Jeff had done a thorough cleanup on the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He cleaned the internals and externals of the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water and cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol. Other than the damaged rim top the pipe looked good. I took a photo of the rim top and stem to show the condition. It is clean but it is very damaged. It looked like the pipe had been hammered against a hard surface. The inner edge of the bowl showed chipping and burn damage all around. The vulcanite taper stem had light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button edges. The stamping on the left side of the shank reads as noted above. It is clear and readable. The stamp on the left side of the stem is readable but shows some damage.I removed the stem and the extension from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is a Pot shaped that should be interesting once it is all cleaned up. Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. I started by topping the bowl on a topping board to remove the damage on the rim top and minimize the damage on the inner and outer edges. I worked over the inner rim edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage and smooth it out. I polished the briar and acrylic shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the bowl after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I recut the button and flattened the repairs with a needle file. I followed that by sanding out the tooth marks on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing process with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem. This rusticated Velani Classica Brut 202 Pot with a fancy taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar around the bowl is clean and the rustication really came alive. The rich brown stains of the rustication took on a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. I put the vulcanite stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Velani Rusticated Pot is a beauty and feels in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Refreshing a Saucy Italian Aldo Velani Trio Bent Apple

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Blog by Dal Stanton

The St. Louis Lot of 26 that my son, Josiah, found in an antique shop before last Christmas is where I landed the Aldo Velani now before me. He was impressed by the quality of pipes in the Lot and emailed me in Bulgaria with a proposition of going in together for the Lot of 26. His business proposal would be that his part would be his Christmas present to me – I would choose a pipe for my own from the Lot. My part of the purchase would be to acquire this Lot and posting them in my online collection, For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! for pipe men and women to commission to add to their collections benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria. It was a proposal hard to refuse and some weeks later I unwrapped the St. Louis Lot of 26 in Denver where our family had gathered for Christmas. I chose as my gift from Josiah an unbelievable find in the picture below, a huge Champion Churchwarden. The Aldo Velani Trio Bent Apple is situated on the right just under the Churchwarden stem.Pipe man Michael saw the Aldo Velani in the Dreamers collection. Originally in the Lot, there were 4 pipes in the Aldo Velani Trio set. A Rusticated Volcano already found a home with a new steward (See: Rebuilding a Rim and Chamber for an Aldo Velani Trio Rusticated Volcano). The common characteristics of the set is the bright burgundy/reddish hue, the double-bumped gold banding and an assortment of acrylic stems. The set is attractive.Michael was drawn to the Bent Apple and after communicating back and forth, he decided to commission it. Here are more pictures taking a closer look at the Aldo Velani Bent Apple. This line is a ‘bling’ line of pipes. The fancy acrylic stems with the double-bumped gold-plated ring, and the shine of the finish – all together give a bling, after dinner pipe feel. The Apple has an elegant presentation. The chamber shows moderate buildup of cake and some lava flow over the rim. The clear acrylic stem has a burgundy airway that through the stem some build up is detected. I’m assuming that it’s burgundy colored and that its not supposed to be clear as well! We’ll see. Whenever I see a clear acrylic stem, the question is whether it’s a Perspex acrylic, an earlier more temperamental material that will not tolerate cleaning with alcohol and may craze or even shatter. I don’t think I need to worry about this because Perspex would be on older GBD pipes and early acrylic. The bit is in great shape – almost no detectable tooth chatter.The gold band I’m assuming is nickel plated as there are no markings showing a gold metal content. The double-bumped ring or shank facing is attractive and adds a touch of class as it joins the acrylic stem and Apple bowl. The ring will shine up nicely.The nomenclature on the left shank side is cursive script, ‘Aldo Velani’ [over] ‘TRIO’. On the underside of the shank is the COM ‘ITALY’ and to the immediate right, the shape number ‘56’.The stem is stamped with a unique mark which I was able to figure out the last Aldo Velani I restored.The Aldo Velani stem stamp is interesting and takes a closer look to figure out. I found in Pipedia’s Aldo Velani article, an example and details of the stamping on an original Aldo Velani box, courtesy of Doug Valitchka. The stamp depicts a pipe as the front leg of the ‘A’ for Aldo and the back leg of the ‘A’ forms the front riser of the ‘V’ of Velani.From my earlier Aldo Velani post, the article cited from Pipedia provides helpful information understanding the provenance of the Aldo Velani name:

Another Barontini 2nd is named “Cesare”.

I learn two interesting things from this information. First, Aldo Velani is a faux name that does not describe an Italian pipe house but a specific pipe line. Secondly, the Aldo Velani line is made by the Casare Barontini name based in Livorno, Italy. Further information is available cross referencing to Casare Barontini in Pipedia:

Sub-brands & Seconds: Aldo Velani. Cesare, L’artigiana, Stuart, Cortina

Wow – what a party pipe! This pipe certainly has flare and bling and it’s the type of pipe that one wears matching cuff links! The Bent Apple shape provides a touch of elegance and the ensemble works well with the striking burgundy – reddish finish, the gold double-bumped ring and acrylic stem – with its matching airway running the length. Michael commissioned this Aldo Velani Trio Bent Apple and he will have the first opportunity to acquire it from The Pipe Steward Store benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria. Thanks for joining me!

Cleaning a Second Aldo Velani Ultima 1 Straight Billiard

Life for a Really Filthy Aldo Velani Ultima 1 Bent Billiard

Repairing and Restoring an Aldo Velani Fumata Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have been corresponding with Paresh for some time now and have repaired and restored two of his pipes and sent him others as well. We carry on conversation via WhatsApp on the internet and discuss the various pipes he is purchasing as well as ones that he has inherited from his grandfather. This little Aldo Velani was one of the first pipes that he sent me from India to work on. It took a long time to arrive. When it did it appeared as shown in the photos below. It was stamped Aldo Velani on the left side of the shank and Fumata on the underside of the right of the shank. It also had Italy stamped on the underside of the left of the shank next to the shank/stem union. I am assuming that the Fumata referred to the black paint like finish on the cap and partway down the bowl and the shank. It was flaking off and really did not look good. Paresh had reamed the bowl and cleaned the rim and in doing so did a great job removing the flaking finish on the rim. The bowl was clean as were the internals of the shank. When he was working on the acrylic stem the entire upper portion of the button broke off leaving the button top missing. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition it was in when it arrived in Vancouver. You can see the rim is quite clean there are a few stubborn spots that will need to be worked on. You can also see the chipped portion missing from the button on the topside of the stem and the tooth marks in the underside of the button.The grain on the bowl was quite nice so I decided to remove the paint from the cap and the shank. I used acetone on a paper towel to work over the bowl. As you can see from the following photos the finish came off quite easily. There were some nicks and dents in the sides of the bowl and the twin rings around the cap were very dirty. I buffed the bowl once I had removed the finish to get a better idea of what I was working on and to see what the grain looked like at this point in the process. It really was a pretty little bulldog and with some sanding and polishing it would really look good. Personally I like the pipe better without the black rim cap. I sent pictures to Paresh on WhatsApp to show him the progress at this point and he also liked the new look of the bowl. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to cut off the damaged portion of the stem and give me solid material to work with to reshape and rebuild the button.I put the stem back on the bowl to have a look at what the pipe would be like now that the bowl was stripped and the stem was cut back. I sent the photos to Paresh on WhatsApp as a progress report. He liked the new look and said he could not wait to see what the stem looked like with the new button cut. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I cut the new button in the surface of the acrylic stem with a needle file. I did not worry about shaping it yet, I was more interested in getting the sharp edge defined. I matched the two sides of the button so that both sides would be equal. I sanded the surface of the stem on both sides with 220 grit sandpaper to further define the edge of the button. Once the edge was defined I built up the top and bottom surface of the button. I used clear super glue to add more definition to the button. I checked out the inside of the shank and noticed that there was a build up of hardened tars and oils on the walls of the mortise. I scraped them out with a dental spatula. I was able to remove a lot of hardened tars with the spatula. Once the inside was scraped clean I scrubbed the mortise and airway in the shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and bristle and smooth pipe cleaners until they came out clean. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with bristle pipe cleaners to remove more of the oils on the inside of the airway. Once the inside of the stem was clean I build up the newly cut button with clear super glue. It would take a lot of thin layers to get it to the point that I would be happy with it but it was starting to look like a button. When the repair had hardened I cleaned up the edges and the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I used needle files to funnel the slot in the end of the new button. The stem is definitely beginning to take shape at this point.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads. When sanding Lucite it is important to wash the pads repeatedly to remove the fine sanding dust that otherwise clogs the pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth. The briar on the bowl has some nicks that are really character marks. I chose to leave them and not fill them in and sand them. To me they are parts of the story of the pipe. I decided to polish the briar and raise a shine. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove any sanding dust. The grain in the briar really began to stand out. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar to lift out the dust in the grain, enliven and protect the newly stripped bowl. I let it sit for a little while then buffed it off with a soft cloth. I like the way the grain stands out now. I am not going to stain the pipe as I like the way it looks at this point. I will check with Paresh and see if he wants me to darken it at all, but to me it looks grand. With the stem reshaped and polished I put it back on the pipe and buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. I used a light touch on the stem to polish out any remaining scratches. 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 pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is the fifth pipe I have worked over for Paresh. Once I finish the other two pipes that he has in the queue I will pack them up and send them to India. I look forward to hearing what he thinks one he has them in hand. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as this one provided a few different challenges to the restoration craft. Cheers.

Refreshing a Beautiful Aldo Velani Bent Dublin

Restoring a Long Diamond Shank Aldo Velani Grande 39

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Blog by Steve Laug

This pipe came to me through my brother. I am not sure if it was one of his eBay finds or his pipe hunting adventures. Either way it is a unique and unusual pipe. It has a long diamond shaped shank ending in a tapered diamond shaped stem with a slash of briar inserted into the Lucite. The bowl is a variation on a Dublin shape with the diamond shape of the underside of the shank carrying through to the bottom of the bowl. The rim had been obviously tapped out on some hard surface and the top and the outer edges of the rim had nicks and dents. Somewhere along the way someone had cracked the shank and put on a poorly installed Sterling silver band. The stem had some slight tooth chatter on the top and the bottom near the button and there were several small tooth marks on the underside.It is stamped Aldo Velani Grande on the left side of the shank. The centre portion of the top line of the stamp is faint. It is stamped on the right underside of the shank with the shape number 39. There was no other stamping on the shank. The stem bore an AV stamp that had originally been gold in colour but had faded. In the second photo below you can see the glue from the band oozing out onto the shank. It was that way all the way around. Someone had carelessly used the glue and not cleaned up the overflow. You can also see that the stem does not fit properly against the shank end.The stem listed to downward and to the left side of the shank and was crooked. Once I pulled the stem out I could see that the tenon was no longer straight.The next two photos show the top of the rim and the bottom of the bowl respectively. You can see the light cake and the rounding of the outer edges of the rim in the first photo. The underside of the pipe looked pristine. The finish was dirty and a bit spotty.

My brother, Jeff cleaned up the pipe. He scrubbed out the internals and the external of the pipe. When it arrived in Canada it was very clean and the finish had basically been removed. I am really growing to like having these pipes arrive cleaned and ready to restore. Thanks Jeff! The next photo shows the rim after he had cleaned up the surface. There was a burn mark on the front edge of the rim that would need to be addressed. You can clearly see all the nicks and chips in the rim edges in this photo.Once I removed the stem the band fell off in my hands. I could see the band covered a sloppy crack repair. Though the repair held and the crack was sealed there was a lot of glue. I am not sure whether it was for the crack or for the band. Either way it was over kill. The glue had hardened and somewhere along the way the silver band had picked up the ridges and valleys of the hard glue underneath.I sanded the glue until it was smooth on the shank end. I squared up the band and made the angular corner of the diamond shape more sharp. I smoothed out the dents in the band as much as possible from the inside of the band. I slid band on the shank and used a small ball-peen hammer to carefully tap the band flatter from the outside. I was able to remove much of the damage to the silver band with this process. I used a small bit of glue to hold the band snug on the shank.To take care of the rim damage and to reduce the damage to the outer edge of the rim I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded until the edge was clean and then worked on the outer edge of the rim with sandpaper. In the second photo below you can see the area where the burn has affected the outer edge at the front of the bowl.I wrapped a KleenReem pipe reamer with 220 grit sandpaper and used it to sand the interior of the bowl and clean up the inner edge of the rim.On the right side of the bowl there were two larger chips in the outer edge. I used crazy glue and briar dust to fill in the divots. Once the repair dried I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to reshape it.I heated the tenon with a Bic lighter until the tenon was flexible and then carefully inserted it into the mortise and aligned it with the shank. I held it in place until the tenon cooled. That repaired the fit of the stem to the shank.Since I was working on the stem I decided to finish polishing it. I sanded out the tooth marks and tooth chatter with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished it by wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 3200-12000 pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth. Once the pipe was finished I would buff the stem and pipe together. I used European Gold Rub n’ Buff to touch up the AV stamp on the side of the stem and hand buffed the stem.I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain cut by 50% with isopropyl alcohol. I flamed it and repeated the process until I got an even coverage.I took the next set of photos to show the bowl after the stain had dried. It was too opaque for me and hid the grain on the pipe but I would deal with that in the morning. I set the pipe aside of the night and let the stain dry. In the morning I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on a cotton pad to thin the stain coat and make the grain stand out. With the stain looking good and the stem finished I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the pictures below. It is a beautiful pipe. It is ready for whoever wants to add it to their rack. Send me a message or an email at slaug@uniserve.com if you are interested in this beauty. Thanks for looking.

An Unsmoked Aldo Velani Trio 56

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have never worked on or seen an Aldo Velani Italian made pipe before. I have read about them but never had one in my hands. This one came to me from my brother and it needed no clean up or refurbishing. This pipe was spotless and appeared to be unsmoked. I am always dubious when I get what appears to be an unsmoked pipe. I spent some time going over the internals of this pipe to check that out. It did not smell like tobacco or smoke. When I ran a pipe cleaner through the stem and shank it came out pristine. So I am fairly convinced that the pipe is unsmoked. The bowl has a dark neutral tasting bowl coating on the walls. The finish is clean and unblemished. There are no scars or damage to the finish on the bowl. It has a combination of cross grain on the top and underside of the bowl and shank and up the front and back of the bowl. There is also some great birdseye grain on the bowl sides. It is not a pipe that I will be keeping. If any of you who are reading this blog want to add it to your rack it can be yours for $60 + postage. The shape is great in the hand and it would be one I would keep if I did not have so many already. The stamping on the bowl read Aldo Velani over Trio on the left side of the shank and Italy 56 on the underside. There is no stamping on the right side of the shank. The stem was a shiny black Lucite and there was a brass end cap/band on the shank. The band sat between the bowl and the shank. The stem had the stylized Aldo Velani stamp – a kind of AV that ran together. The pipe came with a thick velvet pipe sock with drawstrings.I took the pipe apart to make sure that it was clean and had no dust or debris from sitting in the bag and it was very clean. There is no smell of tobacco in shank or the stem. The stem has a well done funnel at the end of the tenon. The drilling in the shank is at the top of the shank but comes out at the bottom of the bowl and is centred. The draught on the pipe is open and easy. Once again if you are interested in adding this one to your collection email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. We can work out a deal. Thanks for looking.