Tag Archives: Bari Select Nature Old Briar Dublin

Restoring a Beautiful Bari Select nature Old Briar 7963

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from one of Jeff’s pipe hunts in Utah, USA back in 2018. Now I am finally getting a chance to work on it. The pipe is a classic Bari Bent Dublin like pipe. The pipe was a mess which probably accounted for how we ended up purchasing it for a fair price. On the left side of the shank it is stamped with the Bari [over] Select nature [over] Old Briar. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made In Denmark [over] the shape number 7963. The mix of stains makes the grain just pop even with the grime ground into the finish. It was very dirty with dust and debris in finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top that is heavier on the back of the bowl. The edges look to be in good condition as far as we can tell until we clean up the pipe. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stem had a white Bari stamp on the left side of the fancy saddle. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below.

Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was heavily caked with a lava overflow on the rim top. The inner and outer edges look very good. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button. In person the tooth marks are far deeper than they look in the photos. Jeff took a photo of the heel and the side of the bowl and shank to show the grain on the pipe. It is a beauty.Jeff took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the Bari stamp on the left side of the stem. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) to see if I could find a listing for the Bari Select nature Old Briar with this four digit number. There was nothing specifically listed for this line of Bari pipes. There was also good info on the brand as a whole and that it was founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and he ran it until 1978 when Age Bogelund managed the production for them. In 1993 it was sold to Helmer Thomsen. I have included a screen capture of the section below.Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari) that is well worth reading. There were also photos of the Bari stamping on the Select nature Old Briar line of pipes.

Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked very good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better other than the light oxidation that remained and the deep tooth marks and chatter on the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks very good and the bowl is spotless. The stem has light oxidation remaining and some tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was faint but readable. It reads as noted above. I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on the surface of the stem and was able to lift them significantly. I filled in the remaining spots with super glue. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out with a file to bend them into the surface. I further smoothed them out with 220 sandpaper to blend and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I touched up the Bari white logo on the stem with Liquid Paper. Once it dried I buffed off the excess with a cotton pad. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil once more. Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained Bari Select nature Old Briar 7963 Dublin is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy breaking it in. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 18grams/.63oz. This is one that will go on the Danish Pipemakers section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

New Life for a Bari Select Nature Old Briar 7980 Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an antique store in Bozeman, Montana, USA. The pipe is another interesting looking Bari pipe. It has a Danish take on an oval shank Dublin. It is a smooth finish pipe with some cross grain on the sides and running onto the underside of the shank as well as birdseye on the front and back and flowing on to the sides of the shank. The pipe is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads BARI [over] Select Nature [over] Old Briar. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Made in Denmark [over] the shape number 7980. There was a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the briar. The bowl was heavily caked with a lava coat flowing onto the top of the rim and in the beveled edge of the bowl – heavier toward the rear of the bowl. The inside and outside edges looked to be in good condition but we would know more once Jeff had cleaned it. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The BARI logo was stamped on the top side of the saddle. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and tobacco debris as well as the lava on the rim top and inner beveled edge. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar looked like. There is some nice grain around the sides. The stamping on the top and underside of the shank are clear and readable and read as noted above. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) to see if I could find a listing for the Bari Selected Nature Old Briar. There was nothing specifically listed for this line of Bari pipes. There was also good info on the brand as a whole and that it was founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and he ran it until 1978 when Age Bogelund managed the production for them. In 1993 it was sold to Helmer Thomsen.Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari) that is well worth reading. There were also examples of the Bari Selected Nature Old Briar pipes showing their stamping.

Now on to working on the pipe. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it 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 soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top and outer edge of the bowl appear to be in good condition. The beveled inner edge also looked good. The stem surface looked good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stamping on both sides of the shank is clear and readable and reads as noted above. I took a photo of the stamping on the top of the shank to show the general condition of the stamping. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is an oval saddle with BARI stamped on the topside.Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. The bowl was in such good condition that I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. 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 grain came alive and the fills while visible look better than when I began. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. It worked very well and the marks lifted. I was able to sand out the remnants of tooth marks with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit sandpaper. I touched up the BARI stamp on the top of the saddle with PaperMate Liquid Paper. I daubed it onto the stamping and worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick. Once it dried I scraped off the excess and left the white in the stamping.I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. It was in good condition and the tooth marks were light so I figured they would polish out fairly easily. 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. This Bari Select Nature Old Briar 7980 Dublin is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The smooth brown stained finish around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights the grain and works well with the polished vulcanite oval saddle stem. I put the 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 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 Bari Select Nature Dublin sits 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!