Tag Archives: BBB Glokar System Pipes

Restoring a 1911 BBB Glokar Rhodesian with Fraternity Silver Sigma Delta inlaid on the front.

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Blog by Steve Laug

I decided I needed a change of pace in my restoration/clean up work. I went through my pipes waiting in the queue and chose pone from a group of four pipes that were given to us by a woman in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It had belonged to her Grandfather who lived from 1882 to 1977. There were four pipes that she sent us from his estate – the metal bowled apple, a cased meerschaum with a broken shank and an amber stem, a Whitehall rusticated apple and a BBB Glokar Fraternity Pipe.If you have followed rebornpipes for a while now you know that I really have a passion for BBB pipes. I have one BBB GLOKAR already that is a pleasure so when I saw this one I knew it would be one I would like to work on. Also, the fact that it is a taper stem Rhodesian also adds to its charm for me. I could see that it was an old timer but I would have to decode the silver hallmarks on the stem to pin down a date. It was well smoked, reamed with a knife. The stamp on the left side of the shank had BBB in a Diamond and on the underside of the shank it read ENGLAND next to the silver band. The oxidized and tarnished silver band was stamped with a BBB Diamond [over] L-B. That was followed by the word GLOKAR [over] Trademark. Underneath that were three silver hallmarks. The first mark was a cartouche with an anchor in it that was the mark for Birmingham, England. The second mark was a cartouche with a rampant lion – the symbol for Sterling Silver. The final mark was a cartouche with a lower case “m” in it that would give me the date for the pipe. The pipe was dirty and well used. The finish had deep grime ground into the smooth briar around the bowl. The bowl had tobacco debris in it and a very thick cake overflowing as lava onto the rim top. The rim top and edges were hard to assess because of the lava coat and the cake flowing out of the bowl onto the rim top. It was also hard to assess the outer edge of the rim. There were two Greek letters in Silver inlaid into the front of the bowl – a Sigma and a Delta which are attached to a Fraternity. The stem was hard rubber had a slight bend to it and fit the shank well. It had oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The button was the patented GLOKAR slot and airway through the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the lava coat on the top of the rim. The condition of the inner edge of the bowl is a hard to assess but the outer edge appears to have some damage on the front outer edge. It was obviously another of her grandfather’s favourite pipes. The hard rubber taper stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It was nice but will take some work. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain and the bowl and shank and shape of the pipe. The twin rings around the bowl cap are in good condition and are very clean and undamaged. The shape of the bowl makes it quite nice looking. Jeff captured the inlaid Greek letters Sigma Delta on the front of the bowl. There were tarnished but looked very good. He took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panel on the left side of the shank. You can see that it is readable as noted above. The name of the brand is stamped on the top of the silver band. It reads as noted above. The stamp on the underside of the shank is ENGLAND and it is readable. Since the hallmarks were so clear, I turned to one of the numerous silver hallmark charts on line for the city of Birmingham, England to see what I could find out about the “m” date stamp and pin down and age for the pipe (https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Birmingham.html). I clicked on the section that applied to the date stamp on this pipe. The first chart below is the chart from 1773-2024.I am also including screen capture of the enlarged section on the Birmingham dates for the letter M. This chart covers pipes made in 1778-1986. I have drawn a read box around the hallmark pattern that matches the one on the BBB Silver ferrule. You can see that it dates the pipe to 1911. That means that this little pipe is roughly 112 years old.

With the information from the hallmark site I had a clear date for the manufacture of the pipe. It was definitely an old timer and really was another stellar acquisition.

I wanted know more about the GLOKAR stamp and what it signified. I had an inkling that I was dealing with a BBB system pipe not unlike the Peterson’s System pipes but I wanted to see what I could find out about that. I have a facsimile of a 1912 BBB Catalogue No. 20 that has a section dedicated to the Glokar. On page 107-110 there is information about the pipe and the various versions available. Interestingly it does not include a picture/drawing of my Poker. I quote the description of the Trademarked Glokar below.

The “Glokar” Mouthpiece does away with the great drawback of all ordinary pipes, viz., the unpleasant and possibly injurious, effect of the smoke upon the tongue, as the end of the stem has a smooth, concave surface, which while forming a pleasant rest for the tongue, acts as a barrier between it and the smoke. Instead of pressing through an ordinary round bore, the smoke leaves the mouthpiece through a fan-shaped slot, which is drilled in and upward direction – thus preventing saliva from entering the bore of the pipe.

Advantages:

  1. The bore, being kept dry, requires less cleaning than that of an ordinary pipe.
  2. As no saliva can reach the bowl, the tobacco can be consumed to the last particle.
  3. The shape of the mouthpiece affords the perfection of comfort for the mouth, tongue ad lips.

I took a photo of the picture that was included in the catalogue for the “GLOKAR” and have included it below. The cutaway diagram shows the system in the bowl and shank as well a the patented lip design. It is remarkably like a Peterson’s system pipe. One of the differences is the shape of the exit of the air way in the button. This one is a slot rather than a round hole.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe from top to stern. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank, stem and shank extension 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 stem. The finish looks much better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights grain of the briar. The rim top looked good with some darkening and damage on the top and inner and outer edge of the bowl. Jeff worked it over with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove any remnants of oxidation. He then soaked the stem in bath of Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver I was amazed it looked so good. Here are some photos of what I saw.

Now time for a confession… when Jeff was cleaning it a pipe cleaner broke off in the stem just inside the Glokar style slot. He had tried many ways to remove it but could not. It was up to me to remove the blockage. Last evening, I got in a hurry to work on it so I used a heat gun to straighten the stem so I could work the offending piece of wire out. It dawned on my once I finished straightening it that I had forgotten to take any photos of the pipe when it arrived. Once finished, I took the following photos… sorry for my haste! I took photos of the bowl and the rim top to show the condition. It is clean and the damage is very clear. The bowl is very clean and there were nicks, burn damage and cuts all around the inner edge and top. The bowl was out of round due to the damage. The vulcanite stem is clean and the damage on the Glokar slot is very visible. The rest stem surface ahead of the button is clean and undamaged.I took a photo of the top of the shank and the silver band to capture the stamping on the silver. I took a photo of the BBB diamond on the left side of the shank. It is faint but it is still readable. I took a photo of the bowl and shank separated to show the condition of the pipe. It really is a great looking pipe. I started my work on the rim top by addressing the issues with the rim top and edge. I started by smoothing out the damage on the edge and smoothed out the top of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to flatten on the damage on the rim top. It looked much better! Once I started polishing it with the micromesh sanding pads you can see the rim top.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I dry sanded the briar and then progressively brought a shine to the pipe. It looked really amazing – the combination of rustic and smooth portions of the briar. It is a beauty!  I set aside the sanding pads to stain the rim top to match the rest of the bowl and shank on the pipe. I looked pretty good but I think with the rest of the micromesh sanding pads it would look very good. I went back to the sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips and into the twin rings with a shoe brush. The product works to clean, preserve and protect the briar. I let it sit and absorb for 10 minutes. I buffed it off with a soft cloth and then gave it a rigorous buff to raise the shine. It looks good at this point. I polished the silver band and silver inlaid letters on the front of the bowl with a jeweler’s cloth to remove any residual tarnish and also to protect it from future tarnish (at least for a while). With that done the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to unplugging the broken pipe cleaner in the stem. I started by heating the stem with a heat gun and straightening it out. I took a photo of it once I had it straightened. I carefully straightened a paper clip and used it to probe the plugged area. It took time and patience to carefully work around the clog. I continued to pull out bits of pipe cleaners as I worked on it. I used two different paper clips that I worked with. I used a fine round file to push the clog out. I worked on it from both end of the stem. Finally, I blew through the stem and the clog of pipe cleaner piece flew out. In the photo below, it is the brown piece at the bottom of the photo. There was a chip out of the top side of the button. It had chipped away when Jeff was working on removing the broken piece. It was not big but it needed to be repaired. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the airway below the chipped area. I filled in the chipped area with black KMS CA rubberized glue. I removed the pipe cleaner and set it aside to let the glue cure. Once the repair cured I flattened out the repair with a flat file to smooth out the excess and flatten the surface of the button. I sanded the stem surface and shaped the repair to blend the repairs into the surrounding rubber. It looked quite good at this point in the process. With the repairs and reshaping of the button finished it was time to rebend the stem. I heated it with a heat gun to soften the rubber and once it softened bent it back to what was there previously.I bent the heated stem once it was flexible to match the previous bend it had before I straightened it. I put it back on the pipe and took the following photos. I polished out the chatter and marks on the stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth after the sanding pads. I finished the hand polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian oil and set it aside to dry. With the bowl and the stem finished I put the pipe back together and buffed it on the wheel using Blue Diamond to give it a shine. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It really is an amazing little pipe. The dimensions of this part 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 this pipe is 2.15 ounces /62 grams. This unique find – a 1911 BBB Glokar Rhodesian System pipe with a silver band is joining the other pipes in my collection of BBB pipes and will hold a place of honour while it is in my trust. This is another pipe that one day soon I will enjoy a special bowl of tobacco in it and be transported to a slower paced time in history where I can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

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.

Rebirth of a Special 1912 BBB Own Make Glokar Collegiate Class Zulu

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When I saw Bri’s post on this old BBB Glokar on Facebook I wrote and asked her to do a blog on the restoration. She agreed. I am excited to have this blog here both for the pipe itself but also for the unique techniques that Bri uses in here restorations. Thanks Bri and welcome to rebornpipes.

Blog by Bri Hill

My name is Bri Hill, a new member of the pipe restoration community. I have a newly opened store on Ebay called Vintage Overhauled. My experience restoring tobacco pipes has been short so far, only a couple months experience under my belt. In that short amount of time it has been an awesome whirlwind learning so many new and different things.  I recently had the privilege of acquiring and restoring a 1912 BBB Own Make Glokar Collegiate Class Pipe. It was specifically made for the University of Michigan class of 1913. I found it on Facebook through an antique store in my home state of Michigan. This was a true gem to me for many reasons. Two of which, it is extremely rare and I am a tried and true Maize and Blue fan.Before I go into further detail I wanted to mention, full disclosure, I was not prepared for this amazing opportunity of writing about my experience with this beautiful piece. The opportunity to write this blog article was presented after the pipe was finished being restored. Therefore, I did not take as many pictures during the restoration process as I would have liked for this restoration project.

The process I follow has taken some time to iron out and is continually evolving, but for this piece it was very simple.

The first step was a two part process. One part was to put the stem in an Oxyclean soak. This helps speed the process of removing oxidation. The second step I follow is rubbing down the stummel with vinegar diluted in water.  I rubbed it down with 0000 steel wool. The fine grade of the steel wool prevents most scratching during the cleaning process. After only about five minutes with the steel wool the entire outside of the stummel is clean like new, even the char on the rim is completely gone. The metal lettering and band cleaned up immediately. From there, I then ran a fine grade pipe cleaner through the shank a few times continually dipping the pipe cleaner in the vinegar water solution during this.

The next step  involves adding in reaming techniques. I chose to pursue a less aggressive approach when first reaming this pipe in order to be as careful as possible with it.  I use a dropper to suck up the vinegar and water solution. I pour the solution from the dropper into the chamber while using my finger to plug the hole at the shank end. I let it sit for 30 seconds then release my finger off the shank to pour out the solution. This gets the cake in the chamber moistened up to prepare for reaming. I repeat this step throughout the reaming process. This makes it much easier than reaming the chamber when dry. For reaming the chamber this is a two part method. First, I take a piece of silverware with the smallest handle I can find. One with a round end at the handle. I gently scrape away at the cake trying to remove just a small initial layer at a time. I then repeat the solution with the dropper process for 30 seconds. Ream again. Repeat. I do this until the chamber is reamed to my satisfaction. I then move to the second and final part of reaming. Using a traditional reaming tool, I give it a couple spins to even out the chamber.

After reaming is complete, some sanding is done in order to even out the leftover cake in the chamber. I decided for this pipe I wanted to use a less aggressive method of sanding than my prior technique of just wrapping sandpaper around a toothbrush end. Instead I used some 320 grit sandpaper followed by 600 then 800 and 1200. I do this to ensure the chamber ends up looking even and smooth. (However on a side note, when I was completely done restoring the stummel I noticed there were uneven layers of cake toward the top of the chamber near the rim. After much debate with myself over it. I decided to forgo going back and sanding again.) I wrap the strip of paper around the end of my finger to create a curved surface in order to address the bottom of the chamber. Once sanding is complete I plug the shank hole and put coffee grounds and alcohol in the chamber. I let this sit overnight. Once I drain and clean out the coffee grounds . I run a bit of hot water through the chamber using the dropper to clean out any leftover grounds. Afterwards, I took a tool that came with my Fiebings dyes. I dip the  tool in EA Carey sweetener  and disinfectant.

I then insert the tool into the chamber and lightly twist and scrub around the chamber. I let the excess drip out through the shank, while being careful not to get the solution on the outside of the stummel. The solution sweetens and disinfects the chamber and shank.  The solution leaves the chamber smelling minty and fresh.

After, it is time to turn my attention to the rim of the bowl. There are two very small nicks in the rim.

I wasn’t sure at first if I needed to fill the nicks with CA glue and briar dust or if I could lightly sand and get results that way instead. I chose the sanding route because I wanted to preserve the originality of the pipe as much as possible. When choosing this approach I always start with the highest grade sanding paper possible and work my way down until I find the right grade for the situation. If you choose a grade too low it can alter the rim in multiple ways; such as taking off the stain and creating uneven spots on the rim. I started with the 2500 grade and worked my way down to 1200. I sanded each nick lightly, only for a few passovers. I would then switch to the Black Emery compound with a rotary tool cloth polishing bit. This might be unconventional to some, because many rave over Brown Tripoli and White Diamond. There have been some situations where I have used White Diamond and it produces positive results. In regards to Brown Tripoli. No matter what I have tried, I cannot produce the results that many speak about. For me, it just produces a dull and foggy look. In my experience the Black Emery produces a shinier luster than the Brown Tripoli. I repeat the process 3 times of sanding very lightly with 1200 and then using the Black Emery after. I focused my attention to the rim structure during this in order to make sure I was not creating an uneven spot by sanding too much. This is the end result, although the initial picture doesn’t really show the full extent of the nicks.Once the nicks were handled I moved on to buffing the stummel. For the first step of this process I used the Black Emery with a white cloth rotary buffing bit.

I then one over the stummel with 5000 sandpaper. After that, I apply the Green compound using a string buffer and then follow that with 10000 sandpaper. I do another round of Green and follow up for a final time with 15000 sandpaper. I have found that alternating between both sanding methods not only produces a great shine, but the high grit sandpaper polishes out the micro scratches the buffing compound process leaves behind. I avoid the rim edges with the sandpaper when doing this because it can produce uneven coloring on the rim and edge areas. I also avoid the metal lettering and band when using the sandpaper. I noticed it creates micro scratches. I stick to just the compound for the metal parts.

For the final step I apply two rounds of Carnauba wax with a string buffer again. I let the wax sit for 15 minutes each time.

Once the stummel process is complete I move on to the stem that has been soaking in Oxyclean. I use 0000 steel wool and a magic eraser. After about 7 minutes of alternating between both, the stem is all clean. I had to pay a little extra attention to the lip of the stem. Oxidation is always a bit more difficult to remove in that area. Once clean I noticed there is a decent size indent from a bite mark on the stem. I use a lighter to apply short stints of heat to the bite area, this pulls the indent out a bit each time. Be careful not to apply the heat too close. It will burn and damage the stem. My trick is putting a finger right next to the area I’m working on. This way I can feel if the lighter is too close. In my experience you don’t need a high temperature of heat applied. I do about 2 or 3 second stints with applying the heat. After the 3rd time the indent pulled outward enough that I felt satisfied in moving on to buffing and polishing.

For polishing and buffing the stem I use the same Black Emery and General Green approach along with the same buffing bits. However, I only used one round of 15000 sandpaper right before waxing. I skipped the 5000 and 10000 step I used on the stummel. The approach that I found works best is applying a round of Black Emery first. Followed by the green and then the 15000 sandpaper. From there I apply two rounds of wax just like I did with the stummel.

Here is the final result. I’m quite satisfied with it. I am very excited for this piece to be a part of the new Vintage Overhauled collection. Visit my store on Ebay to check it out and see others that have been restored.

Yet Another Treasure – a 1911 BBB Own Make Glokar Poker

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Blog by Steve Laug

It seems like just a few weeks ago I was contacted by an older gentleman about purchasing his pipe collection. He sent me the photos and I was amazed at what I saw. It had Dunhill pipes, BBB pipes, Orlik pipes, Barclay Rex Pipes, a couple of Meerschaums and a whole lot of other pipes. All I could say as I looked at the pipes was what a collection it was. We negotiated a deal and I think we both walked away quite happy with the exchange. But I have to tell you there was another very interesting pipe caught my interest when I looked at pictures of it. It was a beautiful older BBB Poker/Cherrywood sitter. It was a mess but there was something charming about  it. It is shown in the photo to the left. The larger pipe in the photo is also a BBB and from what I can gather it is on the larger side but not to degree it looks in the photo with the poker. This poker is tiny. It is only 4 ¼ inches long and 1 ½ inches tall. The black band on the shank is oxidized/tarnished Sterling Silver. I could not wait to get it in hand and figure out the age of the pipe. From the looks of it I could tell it was older. The stem was also very unique looking so I was looking forward to checking that out.

I have worked on a lot of BBB pipes over the years and never had the opportunity to work on one like this. It would be a great addition to my collection of older BBB pipes. From the photos the pipe appeared to be in good condition from the photo he sent me. He said that the pipe was stamped on the left side of the silver ferrule and read AF & Co over three hallmarks. The hallmarks are as follows: an anchor (Birmingham, England), a rampant lion (the symbol for quality of the silver) and the final one is a lower case “m” (the date stamp). I had him ship it to Jeff for cleanup so it would be a while before I held in hand.

When the package arrived at Jeff’s place in Idaho he waited for me and opened the box with me on Facetime to look at the collection of pipes as he removed them from the box. It is an amazing collection and one that I am going to enjoy working on over the months ahead. Jeff took some photos of the BBB Tiny Poker with a Sterling Silver Ferrule and a Peterson like system stem and internals for me to look at while he worked his magic in cleaning up the pipe. It is a an interesting pipe with a lot of potential and what appears to be some great grain under the grime and debris of the years.  Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top to show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. It was obviously a great smoking pipe and a favourite. I am hoping that the thick lava coat on the crowned rim top protected things underneath it from damage to the edges and top. Cleaning it would make that clear! He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button.  The photos of the stem also show the unique design and shape of the stem. I am looking forward to doing some research on the GLOKAR to figure out all I can about it.  Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the briar. You can see the beautiful shape and the grain on the bowl even through the dirt and debris of 110 years. At this point in the process it certainly looks its age.  The stamping on the pipe was on the left side of the shank and read BBB in a diamond separating OWN MAKE on each side of the diamond. There was no other stamping on the shank sides. On the silver ferrule on the shank of the pipe it is stamped top and left side and it has the BBB diamond logo and underneath that is AF&Co (which is the Adolph Frankau & Company logo). After his death, the BBB gradually became known as Britain’s Best Briars. It is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, English trademark in current use and the first pipe ever to have a registered trade mark. Underneath the AF&Co it is stamped with three hallmarks – an anchor, a lion and a lower case “m”.  The anchor identifies the city of origin of the silversmith (Birmingham, England), the rampant lion (the symbol for quality of the silver) and the final one is a lower case “m” (the date stamp). The silver is badly oxidized but you can see the hallmarks in the first photo below. The stamping is clear and readable.The hard rubber stem is also stamped and reads GLOKAR over TRADE MARK. It is very readable as can be seen in the photo below. Since the hallmarks were so clear, I turned to one of the numerous silver hallmark charts on line for the city of Birmingham, England to see what I could find out about the “m” date stamp and pin down and age for the pipe (https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Birmingham.html). I clicked on the section that applied to the date stamp on this pipe. The first chart below is the chart from 1773-2024.I am also including screen capture of the enlarged section on the Birmingham dates for the letter M. This chart covers pipes made in 1778-1986. I have drawn a read box around the hallmark pattern that matches the one on the BBB Silver ferrule. You can see that it dates the pipe to 1911. That means that this little pipe is roughly 110 years old.

With the information from the hallmark site I had a clear date for the manufacture of the pipe. It was definitely an old timer and really was another stellar acquisition.

I wanted know more about the GLOKAR stamp and what it signified. I had an inkling that I was dealing with a BBB system pipe not unlike the Peterson’s System pipes but I wanted to see what I could find out about that. I have a facsimile of a 1912 BBB Catalogue No. 20 that has a section dedicated to the Glokar. On page 107-110 there is information about the pipe and the various versions available. Interestingly it does not include a picture/drawing of my Poker. I quote the description of the Trademarked Glokar below.

The “Glokar” Mouthpiece does away with the great drawback of all ordinary pipes, viz., the unpleasant and possibly injurious, effect of the smoke upon the tongue, as the end of the stem  has a smooth, concave surface, which while forming a pleasant rest for the tongue, acts as a barrier between it and the smoke. Instead of pressing through an ordinary round bore, the smoke leaves the mouthpiece through a fan-shaped slot, which is drilled in and upward direction – thus preventing saliva from entering the bore of the pipe.

Advantages:

  1. The bore, being kept dry, requires less cleaning than that of an ordinary pipe.
  2. As no saliva can reach the bowl, the tobacco can be consumed to the last particle.
  3. The shape of the mouthpiece affords the perfection of comfort for the mouth, tongue ad lips.

I took a photo of the picture that was included in the catalogue for the “GLOKAR” and have included it below. The cutaway diagram shows the system in the bowl and shank as well a the patented lip design. It is remarkably like a Peterson’s system pipe. One of the differences is the shape of the exit of the air way in the button. This one is a slot rather than a round hole.Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe from top to stern. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank, stem and shank extension 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 calabash and the tarnish and lava on the rim top. The finish looks much better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights grain of the briar. The rim top looked good with some darkening on the top and outer edge of the bowl. Jeff soaked the stem in bath of Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. He worked it over with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove any remnants of oxidation. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver I was amazed it looked so good. Here are some photos of what I saw. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. The rim top  was darkened but did not look otherwise damaged. There was also some darkening around the outer edge of the bowl that would need to be worked on. The silver ferrule was in great condition. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the surface and button. I took a picture of the stamping on the shank. The reflection on the silver did not capture the stamping on the ferrule but it was all clear and readable as noted above.I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe with the short stem. It is a good looking pipe and very unique. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the edges and rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work over the edges (inner and outer) and the crowned rim top to try to minimize the darkening. While not flawless I was happy with the results.I polished the rim top and the rest of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. After each pad I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth.  I was able to give a shine to the bowl and remove some of the surface scratches in the process.  I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the silver ferrule with a jewelers cloth to remove any residual tarnish and also to protect it from future tarnish (at least for awhile). With that done the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks against the button edge with clear super glue. Once it cured I sanded out the repairs and the tooth chatter on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.    I filled in the Glokar Trademark stamping on the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold to highlight the stamping. I rubbed it on and worked it into the stamp with a toothpick. I buffed it off with a cotton pad. The stamp looks really good at this point.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.    With the bowl and the stem finished I put the pipe back together and buffed it on the wheel using Blue Diamond to give it a shine. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and then buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It really is an amazing little pipe. The dimensions of this part of the pipe are – Length: 4 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of this tiny pipe is .71 ounces /20 grams. This unique find – a 1911 BBB Glokar Poker with a silver ferrule is joining the other pipes in my collection of BBB pipes and will hold a place of honour while it is in my trust. This is another pipe that one day soon I will enjoy a special bowl of tobacco in it and be transported to a slower paced time in history where I can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.