Tag Archives: Bekler pipes

Restoring a I. Bekler Meerschaum Banded Billiard with a Cumberland Taper Stem

by Steve Laug

This afternoon I decided to work on another pipe that I no longer know where or when we purchased it. I have a large box of Meerschaum pipes that is sitting in my storage that I need to clean up and restore. I have honestly avoided them for years but now was the time to start my work on some of them. Today I chose another of the uncased meers. This one is a Billiard shape with a Cumberland Taper Stem and a Softee Bit on the end. My guess is that the Softee protected the stem for tooth marks. I will know for sure once I remove it. It is a beautifully shaped Billiard Meer that is filthy and covered with scratches from its journey. The bowl and shank have some nice patina particularly on the shank. There is also a signature stamp on the left side of the shank that reads I. Bekler. It is dirty from use with a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy overflow of lava on the inner edge and thin rim top, heavier on the back side. The shank has a silver band on the end that is quite oxidized. The Cumberland stem had a push tenon and the shank was fitted with a receiver mortise. It fit well against the shank end and was slightly dirty and had a dirty and well chewed Softee Bit on the end protecting the stem surface and button. I took photos of the pipe before I started my clean up work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable. You can see the cake in the bowl and the heavy build up of lava and debris on the edge and top of the rim. It is another dirty pipe but still a charmer. There is a silver band on the shank end that is very oxidized and almost black. The Cumberland Taper stem has a rubber Softee Bit on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the I. Bekler signature stamp on the left side of the Cumberland taper stem. It is clear and readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. I used a small knife to pry off the Softee Bit on the stem end. I took photos of the stem. There was some sludge on the stem where the bit had ended but there were not any tooth marks or chatter on the stem surface ahead of the button. The Softee Bit had done its job and the stem looked great.I wanted more background on the brand and on the carver Ismet Bekler. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c2.html) and found a link between CAO meerschaum and Ismet Bekler. I have included a screen capture of the section on the brand and the connection between Ismet Bekler and CAO.The CAO company was founded in 1968 by Cano Ozgener. Scandinavian Tobacco Group acquired the corporate in 2010. Current President of CAO (2010): Tim Ozgener (son of Cano). CAO was the US distributor for Europeans pipe brands like Preben Holm (from 1985) or Joura (Karl Heinz)

I then visited pipedia.org and did a search for more information on the American Meerschaum pipe company, CAO and Ismet Bekler(https://pipedia.org/wiki/CAO).

It was revealed that Ismet Bekler was a pipe carver who had carved many meerschaum pipes for CAO. I have reproduced certain relevant snippets of information from that article on pipedia.org.

C.A.O International, Inc. is the producer of one of the country’s top lines of premium cigars, cigar accessories, Meerschaum pipes, and pipe tobaccos. CAO’s Meerschaum pipes are smoked by presidents, senators, actors and other dignitaries. CAO was founded in 1964 by Cano A. Ozgener. Using his initials as the company logo.

Cano Ozgener’s interest in tobacco began on the banks of the Bosporus. Born on January 19, 1937, Ozgener was raised in his birthplace of Istanbul, Turkey, by his Armenian parents. His father was a jeweller, his mother a homemaker. He studied at a Jesuit French grammar school before being accepted into the American-run Roberts College in Istanbul, from which he received a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering in 1960.

As a student in Turkey, Ozgener enjoyed smoking pipes, especially those made from meerschaum.

Graduating from Columbia in 1964 with a professional engineering degree, Ozgener was recruited by DuPont to work in the firm’s Kinston, North Carolina, plant. It was during his stint in the textile division at the age of 27 that he came across some imperfect Turkish meerschaum pipes. In his spare time, he decided to use his engineering abilities to improve the pipes.

As Cano and the tobacconists were not happy with the quality of Turkish meerschaum, he decided to take the meerschaums and change the stems, make modifications and work with the carvers to improve them,” One day a tobacconist from Wilmington, Delaware, asked him where had he found the meerschaum, that he had never seen such quality. Cano told him that he had modified them. The tobacconist then ordered a dozen or two. That was just the beginning.

Ozgener kept his engineering job as he built his company. He worked constantly; his vacations from DuPont were spent attending tobacco conventions, which left little time to relax with his wife and two young children. Finally, in 1977, he left his engineering position to devote more attention to his growing business and to spend more time with his family.

The preceding article is reprinted here with the permission (forth coming) of Bennington Tobacconist

Ismet Bekler carved many meerschaum pipes, which were signed by him and sold by CAO, beginning in 1977. CAO actually trademarked his last name for use in 2001. Other carvers also provided pipes to CAO, and at least one other, Kural, also signed pipes made for CAO.

I surfed the net to know more about the pipe carver Ismet Bekler. I chanced upon a website that had some beautiful pipes on sale and most prominently, had many un-smoked meerschaum pipes carved by Ismet Bekler. Here is the link to the website. I have also noted some information about Ismet Bekler which is given in the introduction on this website. https://www.therightpipe.com/meerschaum-pipes/ismet-bekler-c382.html

Ismet Bekler was a prolific and popular carver. He began carving in the early 1970’s. Bekler is known as one of the best carvers in the history of Turkish Meerschaum. Master carver Bekler passed away in 2018 at the age of 84.

In 1980, the CAO Meerschaum Company contracted with Bekler to sell all of his carvings to them. CAO wanted to make Bekler a more well-known carver in the US and it was at this time he began signing his pipes.

Thus, from the above, my guess would be that this pipe is from the period post 1980 but could be pre-2018 since it is signed with the first initial, I. and the last name. However the lack of CAO in brass logo on the stem makes matters murky. Any inputs on this would definitely help me and other readers to know more about this pipe maker whose demise has left a void in the pipe carver’s community.

I started my work on the bowl by reaming the thick cake out of the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer and the 2^nd and 3^rd cutting heads to take back the cake to the walls of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished it looked very good.I scraped off some of the lava coat on the rim top. I used a topping board and some worn 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the rim top and remove the rest of the darkening on the meer. It looked much better once I finished.I used a sharp knife blade to clean out the build up in the shank end around the nylon/Delrin insert in the shank for a push tenon that was in the stem. The inset in the stem was also very dirty so I cleaned it up at the same time using the knife. Once clean it looked much better.I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as in the new stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular) and alcohol. It was much better.I scrubbed the bowl surface with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to wash off the dirt and the soap. It looked much better at this point. I sanded the bowl to smooth out the scratches in the bowl sides and rim top with 320-2500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the debris. It seemed to minimize the scratches and bring out the beauty of the patina developing in the meer. I polished the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cotton cloth. The bowl took on a shine by the last pad. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’s Beeswax Polish which is a soft wax. I rubbed the wax on the bowl sides and the shank end with my finger tips and set it aside to dry. Once the wax cured I buffed the bowl with a clean buffing pad and then with a soft microfibre cloth. The bowl has a rich glow. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to protect it and preserve it. it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I polished the stem on the buffer with Blue Diamond. I took photos of the finished I. Bekler Billiard with a Cumberland Taper Stem to show the shine and the patina around the bowl. The polished Cumberland stem looks very good with the deepening colour on the shank and the bottom of the bowl. With time the contrast will grow richer and deeper to a thing of beauty. The finished Bekler Billiard fits nicely in the hand and I think it will feel great as it heats up with a good tobacco. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/49 grams. If you are interested in carrying on the legacy of this pipe it will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. It is listed in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Section. You can send me a message or an email to let know you are interested. 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.

This one was a challenge for me – a 1981 CAO Bekler A La Rodin No. 7 of 100

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

A fellow Canadian contacted me about working on a Bekler that he had picked up. He said it was pretty rough. He sent me these photos for a quick look. I loved the look of this pipe. It is stamped CAO Bekler on the darkened shank. On the foot it is stamped ’81 over A La Rodin no. 7 of 100. Above the darkened shank is an insert of carved roses. Above that is a bi-colour spool. The stem was pushed into the spool. There are threaded connectors between each piece of the shank. When the pipe arrived it was in worse shape than I had expected. Joe had said that the stem needed work but I did not expect the mess that came. Someone had hacked the stem with files and left behind an uneven surface with many deep file marks and scratches. Some of the flaws were raised and some were indents. It looked as if they had tried to thin the mouthpiece down and narrow the width of the stem. The button was intact but had file marks. The file marks went every direction across the stem. The slot in the end of the stem was off centre with the drilling in the slot slightly to the left. The stem itself was twisted to the left as well. The inside of the stem had a dark sludge in it that pretty well hid the tortoise shell look of the Lucite. The bowl and shank were badly scratched and the rim was a mess. The bowl was out of round and the same person had used the file on the rim leaving behind deep gouges in the top of the rim. On top of the scratches there was a thick coat of lava that covered the top from the inner edge out to about the middle of the top. The foot had some nicks out of it. This would take some tedious work to clean up.

I took some photos after I initially sanded the stem. I wanted to document the condition of the pipe. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out all of the cuts and file marks. It took a lot of sanding and shaping to smooth out the stem surface. I found that under the file marks there were some tooth marks in the underside of the stem. I sanded that surface smooth and wiped it clean. I used a clear super glue to fill in the divots. Once the glue dried I sanded the entire stem once again and blended the patch into the surface of the Lucite. I reshaped the button and the edge with the sandpaper and cleaned up the slot with needle files.

Once the surface was smooth I cleaned out the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I scrubbed the interior with both smooth and bristled pipe cleaners. I was able to clear out the darkening and tar in the airway. With the stem cleaned up and the surface smooth I took a picture of all of the parts on this pipe. The connectors look rough but upon examination I found that they were solid and needed to be cleaned up. You can also see the file marks on the top of the rim and the tars and lava that filled them.

I scrubbed the spool insert with Murphy’s Oil Soap and then rinsed it off with water. I cleaned out the inside of the spool and the threaded connector with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I used a topping board to clean up the ends of the connector as it was poorly done. It looked like someone had shortened it with a pair of cutters and left the residual chips and flakes on the connector. The tars had caught on them giving the end a rough look. The threads were also caked with tars and oils. I scrubbed the next shank insert, the carved rose piece with the Oil Soap and a tooth brush and rinsed it with water. I cleaned out the interior with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I also cleaned the longer connector inside and out. I used a dental pick to clean out the threads. I also used the topping board to smooth out the ends.

The next photo shows the two shank inserts joined together with the smaller of the two connectors. I gave them a light coat of Conservator’s Wax and buffed them with a shoe brush to raise a shine. I decided to work on the stem with the micromesh pads to see what the surface looked like with some shine. I find that the first three grits of micromesh pads – 1500-2400 – tell a lot. I could see the spots that I needed to still work on but I could also see the lovely tortoise shell Lucite beginning to show its colours. I put the stem on the two inserts to get a feel for the look of this part of the pipe. I took the next two photos to show the progress. The stem was getting there. I still needed to heat it and straighten out the twist in the bend and bend it slightly more as it did not fit snugly in the case. Before I heated the stem I examined it carefully. There was a small flaw in the swirls of the material on the top surface of the stem at the bend so I would need to be careful in the heating and bending. Fortunately the flaw did not go too deeply into the stem material but sat on the surface. I heated the tip of the stem and straightened out the twist in it as I bent it slightly to match the case. I repaired the flaw with super glue and sanded it with 20 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair.

I cleaned the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I set the bowl aside to dry out and I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished with dry sanding it with 600-12000 grit pads and gave it one last coat of oil.

I polished the stem with Meguiars Scratch X2.0 and then gave it several coats of wax. I scrubbed the surface of the bowl with the Scratch X2.0 and hand buffed it with a cloth. I sanded the file marks on the rim to bring it back to smooth. The deep gouges were blackened and took quite a bit of sanding to remove them. I started sanding with 220 grit sandpaper and worked on the surface of the rim. I was careful to not change the profile of the bowl or the angles of the rim. I sanded the rim with micromesh pads from 1500-12000 grit to smooth out the surface and give it a shine. I gave the bowl several coats of Clapham’s Beeswax Polish and buffed it by hand with a cloth.

With the buffing the bowl began to shine. The carving on the foot of the bowl stood out clearly. The rim surface looked far better than when I began.

I lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the wheel being careful around the blackened shank. The shine rose in the meerschaum and the pipe looked good. Though there were still nicks and scratches they now looked like marks of honour and age rather than abuse. To me it is always a fine balance between restoring a pipe and reworking a pipe. On a beautiful pipe like this one I opted to work on the big issues and leave some of the war wounds on the sides of the bowl. To me the pipe has been around long enough to earn those marks. I want a pipe that is finished to look better than when I started but I am not aiming at making a 35+ year old pipe look new. I want it to look cared for and well smoked. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below.