by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is one that I took in on a trade from a fellow who purchased some other pipes. It is a smooth Lovat with some significant damage to the rim top and also the stem. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read Christmas [followed by] BBB in a Diamond [followed by] 1986 [over] Special Make. On the right side it is stamped London England. The pipe is shaped to highlight the grain around the bowl. The finish is quite clean with just a bit of grime and oil in bowl sides. The inwardly bevelled rim top is worn and has burn damage on the front top and inner edge of the bowl. The inner edge and the top and outer edge showed a lot of darkening. The bowl had been reamed quite recently and the shank and stem were clean. There is the BBB in a diamond logo on the topside of stem. The stem is quite clean but it is covered with heavy tooth damage on the top and underside ahead of the button. The stem was otherwise polished and did no show oxidation. I took photos of the rim top and the stem surfaces to give a sense of the condition of the pipe. You can see the burn damage on the front rim edge and darkening all the way around the rim edges both inner and outer. The bowl was very clean and there was no cake in the bowl. The stem photos show the deep tooth marks and the chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank, both the left and the right sides. It reads as noted above. There is also a brass inlaid BBB diamond logo on the top of the stem. I removed the stem and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe.I started my work on this pipe by addressing the damage to the stem first. I wiped off the stem surface with a cotton pad and alcohol. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the surface on both sides with black CA glue. I set it aside to cure. Once the repairs had hardened I flattened them with a small file to begin blending them into the surface. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.I polished the vulcanite 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. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a wooden sphere to clean up the bevel on the rim top. The front portion was burned and damaged so the sanding cleaned up the damage and gave it a new bevel. It looked better once restored.I worked on the finish on the bowl and the rim top removing scratches in the sides of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each pad. It is beginning to look very good.I polished the smooth briar rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl surface down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. Once I finished the exterior of the briar looked much better and had taken on a shine. I gave the rim top a touch up with a Maple Stain Pen. It looked much better. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the BBB 1986 Christmas Special Lovat back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the reddish, browns of the bowl. This BBB 1986 Christmas Special Lovat was a great pipe to spruce up. It is a very comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams/1.02 ounces. This pipe will be going on the British Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.