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Finally a Simple Restoration – A Siena Artistica Oom Paul

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was one of a pair of Oom Paul pipes that my brother Jeff picked up in from a guy in Texas. This one is full bent Oom Paul with a gnarly rustication on a classic shaped pipe. It has some great grain underneath the rustication on the bowl and shank. It has a contrast stain with dark brown in the grooves and light/medium brown stain that gives the pipe lots depth and dimension. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Siena Artistica. There is no other stamping on the shank or bowl. The finish was in very good condition. The rim top was clean and there was no damage on the inner and outer edges of the bowl. The bowl had a light cake in it that would be easy to deal with. The stem was acrylic and variegated browns and golds. It had some tooth chatter and scratching on both sides near the button. The stem had an acrylic band that was silver and white. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup up work. He took a clear photo of the rim top showing that it was quite clean. There was some buildup and grime in the grooves of the rustication. The edges of the bowl look very good. There is a light cake in the bowl.The stem was in good condition. There was some tooth chatter and scratches on the top and underside near the button.The stamping on shank read Siena Artistica and is very readable and clean.Jeff had scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil soap and removed the dust and grime that had accumulated there. The finish looked very good once it had been scrubbed. He lightly reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He cleaned the interior of the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The pipe came to me clean and ready to do the restoration. I took some photos of the pipe to show the condition at this point in the process. I took some photos of the rim top and sides of the bowl to show the condition of the surface of the rim. There is some darkening on the inner edge of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show its condition. There is some light tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button but otherwise it is in good condition.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the briar bowl and the rim top as well as the briar shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, working it into the exterior of the pipe. I used a horsehair shoe brush to get the product deep in the whirls and swirls of the rustication. After it had been sitting for a little while, I buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The pipe really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand out the tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem just ahead of the button. They were not deep so it did not take tooth much to remove them.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil to remove the sanding dust on the vulcanite. I finished the polishing process with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. When I finished polishing and wiping it down I set it aside to dry. I polished stem and bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax by hand 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 contrasting dark and light brown stains on the unique rustication with the polished, brown/gold variegated acrylic stem worked together to give the pipe a unique look. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful rusticated Oom Paul with a unique finish that has already found a new home. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 5 3/4 inches, Height: 2 1/2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 inches. This one will be on its way to the southern states of the US once I finish the second Oom Paul I am working. The pair already has a new home. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this unique Oom Paul.

Restoring a Sasieni Fantail

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Blog by Paresh Despande

This large sized Sasieni was always on my mind to work on and I wanted to work on it at leisure as I wanted to do justice to this solid large piece of briar. What intrigued me was the shape of the stem towards the bore end where it flared out to a large extent which was made more pronounced due to pinching of the stem between the saddle and button end.

The pipe has beautiful, densely packed small sized birdseye grain on the right side of the stummel while the left side has a mix of straight and birdseye grains. The front and back of the stummel has densely packed cross grains. The shank has a flat bottom in the middle making it a sitter and has cross grains running across the top and bottom surface. Right and left side of the shank shows small, beautiful and densely packed birdseye. The shank, on the left side, bears the stamp of “Sasieni” over “FANTAIL” and football COM stamp of “MADE IN” over “ENGLAND” towards the bowl. At the edge of the shank where it meets the stem, it is stamped “PATD- 170067”, which has been circled in red. On the right side, it is stamped “LONDON MADE” with numeral “55” towards the bowl. The stem bears the stamp “F” on the left side of the saddle. Except for the PATD number, the stampings are crisp and clear. I wanted to gain some background information about this brand and unravel some detailed information and period it was made in, about this particular pipe that I have been working on. There are three sites I frequent for information, first being Pipedia.com, second is pipephil.eu and the third being rebornpipes.com. Over a period of time, I have realized that Mr. Steve Laug has been working on pipes for such a long time that there are hardly any brands and models that he has not worked on and so, instead of reinventing the wheel, I first visit rebornpipes to eke out necessary information I seek. Luckily for me, Mr. Steve had indeed worked on a Sasieni Fantail wire rusticated and has researched this pipe. Here is the link to the blog written by him for necessary information and is a highly recommended read, https://rebornpipes.com/2017/06/07/sasieni-fantail-wire-rusticated-patent-billiard/.

I now know that “FANTAIL” is a Sasieni second line pipe and is from the “Family Era” from the period 1946 to 1979. Mr. Steve, thank you Sir for allowing me to reproduce your work in my write up. Now, that my curiosity has been satiated, I progress to my visual inspection of the pipe.

INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION

This large sized straight billiard has its stummel covered in dust, oils and grime giving it a dull and sad appearance. The front of the stummel has two chips and will need to be addressed. The chamber has a thick cake which has been evenly reamed to a nice thickness of a dime!!!!! Either my grand old man had learned to care for his pipe during later years or this one belonged to his friend!!!! The rim top is clean but shows some darkening along the entire surface. The inner and outer edges of the rim are intact. It has a faint sweet smelling cake. The mortise and shank is clogged and will require a thorough cleaning.It is the stem which has, comparatively, the most damage on this pipe. Both the surfaces have tooth chatter and a couple of deep bite marks. This needs to be addressed.

THE PROCESS

Now that I have moved out of my hometown for work, I sorely miss Abha’s help in cleaning the chamber and the stummel. I cleaned the chamber of all the cake by reaming it with a Kleen Reem pipe cleaner. With my fabricated knife, I scrap the bottom and the walls of the chamber of all the remaining cake taking it down to solid bare briar. To smooth out the surface and get rid of last remnant cake, I sand it down with a 220 grit sand paper. I cleaned the internals of the shank and mortise with pipe cleaners and cue tips dipped in isopropyl alcohol (99.9%). I use this alcohol as it evaporates rapidly and leaves no odor behind. The chamber is now clean, smooth and fresh smelling. The internal walls of the chamber are solid with no signs of burn out or heat fissures, which is definitely a big relief. I resorted to light sanding of the rim edges with 220 grit sand papers to remove the very minor dents and chips on the inner edges. The rim surface does show darkening all along. I address this issue and the issue of a dirty stummel by cleaning it with Murphy’s oil soap and a tooth brush. I rinse it under tap water and dried it with paper towels. Thereafter I sand the rim surface with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200 to 12000. I wipe down the rim surface with a moist cloth to get rid of the sanding dust. I address the two chips in the front of the stummel by spot filling each chip with clear CA super glue. I let it cure overnight. Next day, with flat head needle file, I sand down these fills and further match these fills with the stummel surface using 400 and 800 grit sand papers. I am satisfied with the end result. Turning my attention to the stem, I clean the surfaces of the stem with alcohol and cotton pads. I sand the stem with a 220 grit sand paper to even out the minor tooth chatter and fill the deeper tooth bite marks with CA super glue and set it aside to cure for about a day. After the glue had cured, I sanded the fills with a flat head needle file. To further match the fills with the surface of the stem, I sanded it with 220, 400 and 800 grit sand paper. I wiped the stem with cotton pad dipped in alcohol to remove the resultant dust. I rubbed some extra virgin olive oil in to the stem and set it aside to be absorbed in to stem. I polished the stem with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200 to 12000. I rub a little extra virgin olive oil in to the stem after every three pads. I finish the polishing of the stem by rubbing a small quantity of Paragon wax and giving it a final polish with a soft cotton cloth. The stem is now nice, smooth and shiny. I fill the “F” stamp on the stem with whitener and carefully remove the extra smear, revealing a clear and bold stamp. Once I was satisfied with the stem repair, I started work on the stummel which has dried by now. I rub a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to briar and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. To finish, using a cotton cloth and brute muscle power, I gave it a final polish. I re-attach the stem with the stummel. The completed pipe looks lovely, fresh and vibrant; the photographs speak for themselves. Thank you for having the patience to reach this far while reading the write up. Your comments are of utmost importance to me for improving my skills in restoration process as well as writing about it. Cheers!!!!!

PS: Apologies for poor quality of pictures. I will definitely try to work on it.

Restoring a Mystery Freehand – a Hand Made in Denmark. Is it a Preben Holm?

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff found this old pipe in an antique shop in Stevensville, Montana. He continues to show that he has an eye for old and unique pipes. This one is a tall, stack Freehand pipe with a large bowl and beautiful grain patterns around the sides of the bowl and shank. There is straight, flame and birdseye grain around the sides, top and bottom of the bowl. The rim cap is smooth and a mix of grain patterns. The finish was dirty but seemed to have a matte finish under the grime and grit. The rim top had an overflow of tars, oils – lava from the thick cake in the bowl. It was truly a mess but the buildup probably protected the inner and outer edges of the rim. It was stamped on the underside of the shank just ahead of where the stem is inserted. It is simply stamped Hand Made over In over Denmark. The stamping is identical to the stamping on Ben Wade Pipes that I have in my collection and something in my memory says I have read that somewhere. The stem has chair leg turnings that are similar to many freehand pipe stems. There is nothing stamped on the side or top of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff took some close up photos of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and rim. There was some overflow of lava and dirt on the rim top and there was a pretty thick cake in the bowl. The pipe is quite tall and the cake went to the bottom of the bowl. The inner and outer edges looked to be in good condition.Jeff took photos of the bowl from various angles to show the condition of the finish. The beautiful grain is visible in the photos. The finish is dirty but looks good under the grime. The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable. It simply reads Hand Made with a faint stamp “In” below that followed by Denmark. The second and third photos below show the damage to the left edge of the shank. There were some chips and nicks in the finish. None were too deep in the briar so would need to rework that area of the shank. The stem was in decent condition. It was oxidized on both sides and there were some nicks and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There were no deep tooth marks which is really a relief.I reread the articles on Pipedia and Pipephil on both Preben Holm and Ben Wade pipes. I could not find the comment I was looking for on the Hand Made In Denmark stamp. So I would not have the luxury of knowing the history or who the carver was. Many things about the pipe made me still think it was a Ben Wade pipe but I may never know. I am hoping one of you who are reading this might have a clue for me.

Jeff has become a magician in cleaning up pipes. When I get them they are clean to the point of looking almost new. It is nice to work on pipes that he has cleaned up once again. In this case he reamed it with a PipNet reamer and smoothed the walls of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife. 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 and shank with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to the oils and tars on the bowl, rim and shank. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove all of the buildup on the rim top and the grime from the bowl. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and when it had done its work rinsed and cleaned the airway with pipe cleaners and alcohol. The tooth marks were clean but visible. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took some photos of the rim top to show what it looked like after Jeff had cleaned off the grime and tars. The briar was in good condition but there were some nicks and scratches in the flat top but none appeared too deep. The inner and outer edges of the bowl looked very good. The stem had cleaned up really well with the deoxidizer and need repair and polishing. It showed tooth marks on the underside and some chatter but it was otherwise in good condition. I decided to address the chips on the left side of the shank and reshape the shank end first. I sanded out the chips and reshaped the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I shaped it to match the shape of the shank edge on the right side of the pipe. I worked on the end view as well. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads to remove the debris and dust from the clean up. I worked on the rim top as well to work on the darkening that was on different parts of the rim. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar to enliven, clean and preserve it. I rubbed it in with my fingertips working it into the briar. I worked it into the edges of the shank and the bowl. I set it aside for a little while to let the balm do its work. I buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The photos below show the pipe at this point in the restoration process.The rim top still had some areas on the left side and back edge that would need to be worked on. You can see it as a line around the bowl. I have circled the area in red so that you can see what I am noting at this point.I worked on the rim top and the edge of the shank that I had reshaped with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the rim top and the left side of the shank with 1500-2400 grit pads and was able to remove the circled damage on the rim and blend the edge of the shank. I polished it by dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the areas down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust. I touched up the stain on the top of the rim and left edge of the shank to blend those areas into the colour on the rest of the pipe. I used a Maple and Cherry stain pen to approximate the colour of the pipe. I still need to buff the bowl and shank but the colour appears to be a perfect match. I buffed the bowl and shank with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the bowl a coat of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise a shine and blend the stain into the rest of the finish. I took the following photos to show the bowl at this point in the process. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped down the stem with alcohol and filled in the tooth marks on the top and underside with clear super glue. I set the stem aside to let the repairs cure.When the repairs cured I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and took some photos of the stem at this point.I polished the stem using micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and then buffing on the wheel with red Tripoli. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-12000 grit pads to further polish it. After each pad I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to protect and enliven the stem. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. When I finished with the polish I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. This smooth finished stack Freehand is an interesting and unusual piece. The Hand Made In Denmark stamp on the shank I think is one of Preben Holm’s marks but I cannot prove it. The shape of the pipe takes full advantage of the grain on the briar. The mix of grains – straight, flame and birdseye all work together to give this pipe a beautiful look from any direction it is viewed. The reddish brown of the bowl and the black of the vulcanite stem contrast well together. I buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish to raise the shine on the briar and the vulcanite. I was careful to not buff the stamping and damage it. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 3/4 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 1/2 inches, Diameter of the chamber: 7/8 of an inch. It is an interesting old pipe and should make a great collectible piece. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Transforming a Dr. Grabow “Omega”

Stem Repair on a Savinelli Silver

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

I have been simultaneously working on the stem repair of CHACOM PANACHE #44 (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/08/26/chacom-panache-44/) and this SAVINELLI SILVER. Both the pipes had similar damage to their stems; a gaping hole in the stem exposing airway of the stem. As stated in my write up on the former, I had primarily purchased these pipes to gain hands down experience in major stem repairs and stem reconstruction. That both these pipes were beautiful was an added bonus!!!!!

This fancy Dublin Sav has beautiful mixed grain on the right side of the bowl while the left side has lovely birdseye grain. The front and back of the bowl, lower and upper surface of the shank has nicely packed cross grains. A sterling silver band adorns this Sav and is stamped on the upper surface with “925” in an elongated hexagon over “SAVINELLI”. On the lower surface, this band is stamped as “STERLING” over “MOUNTED”. All stampings are in block capital letters. On top of the oval shank, towards the shank end, it bears the stamp “SAVINELLI” over “SILVER” while at the bottom, it is stamped with Savinelli shield, followed by “915”, followed by size “KS” over “ITALY” in block capital letters. The saddle stem bears the Sav Shield logo on top of the saddle. History of Savinelli pipes is very well documented on pipedia.com, however, due to a very large line up, frequent changes to models, shapes and finishes, I came to a halt when I tried to date this Savinelli. I earnestly request all the knowledgeable veterans of pipe world to share any bits and pieces of information on this pipe.

INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION

The stummel is covered in oils and tars giving a dull and lifeless appearance to the pipe. There is no heavy build up of cake in the chamber and also overflow of lava on the rim top. However, a slight darkening is seen on the right side of the rim. Some scratches are also seen on the rim top which will need to be addressed. It is the stem which has the maximum damage. A large hole can be seen on the upper surface of the stem near the button end, exposing that portion of the airway. There are two deep bite marks on the upper surface of the stem. The button on both surfaces of the stem has been chewed and will need to be reconstructed.The mortise shows some accumulation of previously smoked tobacco oils and tars, but it is nothing as compared to some pipes which I have seen.The airway is not clogged and will only require minor cleaning.

THE PROCESS

Since I had worked on the stem of the CHACOM simultaneously with that of this Sav, the process and difficulties were the same. I would request those interested in knowing the travesties I encountered and overcoming these, to please read the write up on the stem repair of CHACOM PANACHE #44 (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/08/26/chacom-panache-44/). Here are the progressive pictures of the restoration process. Having finished the stem repair (some imperfections are seen, but cannot be discerned in person), I turn my attention to the stummel. I reamed out the chamber using a Kleen Reem pipe reamer and fabricated knife. I removed the complete cake from the chamber. I further sanded down the walls of the chamber with a 220 grit sand paper to smooth the walls and took the cake back down to the bare briar. I gently scraped out the little overflow of lava from the rim top.I cleaned out the internals of the shank with pipe cleaners and cue tips dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I wiped the inside of the chamber with cotton swabs dipped in alcohol. There was very little amount of cake and the shank was pretty clean too. It appears that though the pipe was well smoked as is apparent from the stem condition, it was well cared for.I cleaned the stummel with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and a tooth brush. I washed the stummel under running water and dried it using paper towels and soft absorbent cotton cloth. Once the stummel had dried, I felt that the bowl was still appearing dull and lackluster. The grains, though visible, needed to be highlighted. To achieve the desired results, I sanded the stummel with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200 to 12000 grit pads. The rim top was also sanded down with micromesh pads to remove/ reduce the darkened areas. I wiped the bowl with a moist soft cotton cloth to remove the sanding dust after each pad. The stummel now looks beautiful with the grains on full display. I finished the bowl by rubbing “Before and After Restoration Balm” with my hands and polished it with a soft cotton cloth. The bowl now appears to be alive and the grains pop out and are on display to be enjoyed. This pipe, along with the CHACOM, will always find a place of pride in my collection for being first major stem repair project. The finished pipe is shown below.

Chacom Panache #44

1 Reply

Blog by Paresh Deshpande

I have embarked on a journey into the wonderful, invigorating and leisurely world of pipe restoration and want to try out and address as many issues that one may encounter when dealing with an old, used and also abused pipes. Though there are a large number of old and vintage pipes that I have inherited, I went ahead and purchased two pipes, one is a CHACOM PANACHE # 44 and the other is a SAVINELLI SILVER, for gaining hands-on experience in stem repair. The stems on both these pipes have large gaping hole near the button end, exposing the stem’s airway. I shall be working on the stems of both these pipes simultaneously while the stummel will be worked on separately. The write up on both, though separate, is being uploaded at the same time so as to maintain continuity.

Even though I had purchased this pipe to practice repairing a stem bite-through, what really caught my attention was the beautiful coral like rustication on the bowl and shank which could be seen on some high end pipes from equally higher end brands. Through all the dust and grime, the beautiful contrasting stains between the lighter brown raised rustication and darker hued depressions makes for an eye catching finish. On the smooth surface at the bottom of the shank, it is stamped “CHACOM” in an artistic hand over “PANACHE” in block capital letters. This is followed by the shape number # “44” at the edge of the shank where it meets the stem. The stem bears the double “C” logo stamped on the left side of the stem towards the tenon end.I gleaned following info from Pipedia to know more about the brand of this pipe. It is reproduced below (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Chacom):

1825 : Well before the discovery of briarwood the COMOY family manufactured pipes in the small village of Avignon, near to Saint-Claude, mostly in boxwood for the “Grumblers” of the Army of Napoleon. 1850 : Birth of Henry COMOY, founder of the brand.
1856 : Discovery of briarwood and particularly the special treatment it required for the making of pipes. Saint-Claude becomes the birthplace of briar pipe manufactures and the world capital of pipe-making.
1870 : Henri COMOY, prisoner of war in Switzerland meets his cousins the Chapuis and ruminates the idea of an association.
1879 : Henry COMOY emigrates to London with some of his technicians from Saint-Claude and establishes the first English pipe factory in England H. COMOY & C° LTD. The Saint-Claude factory supplies them with briarwood and pipe bowls.
1922 : After the First World War the association COMOY and CHAPUIS is realised and the Saint-Claude factory becomes CHAPUIS COMOY & Cie.
1924 : Death of Henri COMOY. His sons Paul and Adrien assume the direction of the factories in Saint-Claude and London assisted by their cousins Emile and Louis Chapuis.
1928 : London now able to produce their own pipes, and in order to develop the Saint-Claude factory, the brand CHACOM is created, using the first three letters of the COMOY and CHAPUIS families. Up till 1939 CHACOM was offered only in France, Belgium and Switzerland in order not to embarrass the COMOY pipes which had the same shapes and qualities.
1932 : The world economic crisis reaches Saint-Claude. To weather this problem Chapuis Comoy & Cie joins with another company under the name of LA BRUYERE, forming the biggest pipe concern in the world with 450 workpeople. Big trucks were needed to transfer the briar blocks from the drying shed to the factory.
1945 : After the Second World War CHACOM assumes its entire commercial liberty and launches a complete and modern range of pipes.
1946 : Chacom becomes the principal brand in France and Belgium.
1947 – 1948 : CHACOM, number one in Scandinavia, Germany, then United States…
1957 : In face of the commercial preponderance of the brand CHACOM the company La Bruyère returns to the name of CHAPUIS COMOY & Cie.
1964 : Death of Adrien COMOY. His son Pierre succeeds to him in London. Mr REED is the Chairman and Managing Director in Saint-Claude.
1965 : First French brand named pipe in JAPAN
1971 : Having recovered its independence from COMOYS of London, Yves GRENARD, second cousin of Pierre COMOY, takes over the Direction of Chapuis Comoy & Cie and at the same time the exclusive sale of H. COMOY & Ltd, in France.

I further searched pipephil.eu for additional information and the same is reproduced below:

The brand Chacom turned up (1934) after fusion of Chapuis-Comoy with La Bruyère. Yves Grenard (†2012), second cousin of Pierre Comoy headed the company from 1971. He was responsible for Chapuis Comoy’s recovering its independance from Comoy. His son Antoine Grenard took over the direction of the company in 2007. Chacom is a brand of Cuty-Fort Entreprises (Jeantet, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix, Ropp …).

INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION

The bowl is caked but not heavily. The rustication on the rim top is filled with tars oils and grime. The finish is dull with dirt and dust filling the rustication. This will be cleaned with Murphy’s oil soap and hard bristled tooth brush.The mortise is filled with gunk and debris. This will need to need to be cleaned.The stem is heavily oxidized with heavy calcification towards the button end in the bit area. There is tooth chatter and bite marks on the top surface of the stem near the button end. However, the biggest damage can be seen on the lower surface of the stem. There is a large through and through hole in the stem exposing the airway. Thankfully, the top surface is complete with only tooth marks and tooth chatter. This reconstruction will be the biggest challenge since I have never attempted this restoration before. The button is badly damaged and will need to be reconstructed.THE PROCESS

In this restoration project the stem repair posed the biggest challenge. I searched the net, viewed YouTube videos and my most reliable website “rebornpipes.com” and read over each and every blog available on the website on stem repairs and took down notes and the steps involved. I even discussed with Mr. Steve. Now armed with this acquired knowledge, I embarked on my quest to gain knowledge through personal experience.

The first thing I did was to paint the upper and lower surfaces of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to raise the tooth chatter to the surface and also raise the edges of the hole to create an even surface. Next, I cleaned the surface of the stem with isopropyl alcohol to get rid of all the dirt, oils and tars from the surface. I also had the internals of the stem thoroughly cleaned using pipe cleaners, cue tips and alcohol.

Once I was satisfied with the cleaning, I smeared a generous amount of Vaseline onto regular pipe cleaners and inserted it into the airway, ensuring the pipe cleaners are fully underneath the hole. This helps in ensuring that the airway remains open. Vaseline coated pipe cleaners prevents the mixture of CA superglue and activated charcoal from percolating down into the airway and clogging the airway.The next step in the process of this repair is mixing of CA superglue and activated charcoal to the consistency of putty filler. Suffice to say that the consistency should be such that it should not be too runny but just sufficient to spread smoothly and evenly over the intended surface. First timers like me, do not worry too much, even I did not understand what should be the ideal consistency (LoL). From the pictures below, it is amply evident that I did not achieve the exact consistency I desired, but no issues, it still worked!!! Since the beginning of my journey into the beautiful and challenging world of pipe refurnishing, I am being faced with problem relating to glue. Maybe the hot temperate climate prevalent here is causing issues or the quality of glue itself is an issue. However notwithstanding the issues of glue, I was able to prepare a mixture of CA superglue and activated charcoal and applied it to the surface. I set it aside to cure overnight.I began by sanding the repaired/ filled areas using a flat needle head. It was not as easy as it seemed because when I began the process, as I sanded down the stem, I observed that the filling crumbled and dislodged from hole. Apparently, the filling was too dry.

I prepared a fresh mixture of CA glue and activated charcoal and applied it to area to be filled. After curing, when I tried to file it down, I realized that shiny dots were visible. On close observation, these tiny dots were air pockets which were trapped during application and subsequent curing. I discussed with Mr. Steve who advised me to fill the spots with glue only. I did so and let it cure for 2 days.I sanded down the fill and realized bigger air pockets were now exposed. It is unfortunate that I did not take pictures of these issues and processes as I was too engrossed and concentrating on getting the filling right.

I again prepared a fresh mixture of activated charcoal and superglue and reapplied it to the stem surface and let it cure for 3 days since I was traveling.For this sanding, I took unusually long time taking frequent breaks to check the progress. I was very deliberate and used light hands. I used less of flat head needle file and more of 180 grit sandpaper. Finally, I was able to achieve a satisfactory fill. I further evened out the fill using 220 grit sandpaper, followed by 440, 600 and 800 grit papers. Now I am satisfied with the results of the fill.With the fill now evened out, I proceeded to sand the stem with micromesh pads, going through wet sanding with 1500-2400 pads and dry sanding with 3200- 12000 grit pads. I rubbed in Extra Virgin Olive oil after every three pads. The stem now has a nice shine to it and No Hole!! However, the finish is not as refined and minor imperfection can be seen in the finish, though not as glaring in person.With the issue of the stem now addressed, I turned my attention to the stummel. Using a Kleen Reem pipe reamer and fabricated knife, I removed the complete cake from the chamber. I further sanded down the walls of the chamber with a 220 grit sand paper to smooth the walls and took the cake back down to the bare briar.I cleaned the internals of the shank and mortise using regular and bristled pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl alcohol and cue tips. I also wiped the internal walls of the chamber with cotton pads dipped in 99.9 % isopropyl alcohol. I use high proof isopropyl alcohol as it evaporates very rapidly and leaves no traces of odor or liquid behind to ghost your pipe.I cleaned the externals of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and tooth brush. Thereafter, the stummel was washed under running water and dried using a paper towel. I observed that the thin, delicate wire rustication on the rim top was still filled with oils and tars. To clean the rim top, I used a 000 grade steel wool with Murphy’s Oil soap to gently scrub out the dirt. I dried it with paper towels and a soft cotton cloth. Once the stummel had dried out, I rubbed a little “Before and After Restoration Balm “deeply into the coral rustication and also into the wire rustication of the rim top. I worked it deep into the rustication with a horse hair shoe brush. I polished the stummel to a deep shine by rubbing it down with a microfiber cloth. The raised portion of the rustication has a light reddish hue which contrasts beautifully with the dark brown coloration of the rest of the stummel. The completed pipe is shown below. Thanks for your valuable time spent in reading my amateurish attempt at pipe restoration.

Restoring a Svendborg Danish Hand Made Dublin 272 Barkentine

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I was emailing back and forth with John, a pipeman in Edmonton who wanted to sell of his pipes. He was cleaning up things and thought he would see if I was interested in them. He said that he had several Baris and a couple of Svendborgs that were in the lot and he wanted to move those out. He sent me photos of the pipes he had and we soon struck a deal. Since we were both in Canada it did not take long for the package to make its way to me. I opened it and went through his pipes to see what I had to work on. There were some pipe racks and accessories in the box as well. I went through the pipes and set them aside. Today I decided it was time to do some more work on the lot. I chose to work on the first of the Svendborg Hand Made Pipes – this one a Dublin. I have included the photos of the pipe that he sent to me before I purchased the lot. You can see that it was a well-loved pipe and one that he smoked often. The finish on the sides and shank was in good condition but dirty. The rim top had an over flow of lava on the top but otherwise looked undamaged on the inner and outer edge. Under the tar and lava it looked like the rim top was in good condition. The contrast stain highlighted the beautiful grain on the briar. The bowl was caked and would need to be reamed but otherwise good condition. The stem was oxidized and lightly pitted from the oxidation. There was a light tooth mark and some tooth chatter on the underside of the stem near the button. I took the following photos of the pipe before I began the cleanup. (The pipe came in an original Svendborg box that is marked Svendborg Bark. I assumed that it was the incorrect box but I may find out differently once I work on the pipe.) I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when I started. The rim top shows a thick buildup of tars and oils – lava from the inner edge of the bowl outward over most of the rim top. Other than the tar around the inner edge of the bowl the rim shows some nice grain. The stem surface is in good condition other than some oxidation and pitting on the surface of the blade. There are also some tooth marks on the underside of the stem near the button.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and around the stem/shank junction. On the underside it was stamped Svendborg over Danish over Hand Made. Stamped around the shank from the left side across the top edge it reads Barkentine. (Perhaps this is what the Bark name on the box that came with the pipe refers to.) The stamping was faint on the curves of the shank but was still readable. The left side of the saddle stem has a stylized squashed S stamp.When I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style. I don’t think I have worked on Svendborg pipes before so I felt compelled to do a bit of reading before I started the cleanup of the pipe.

I looked first on the Pipephil website (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s14.html) to see what I could find. I have found through the years that it gives me a good summary of the information available and some pictures of some of the pipes from the brand. I have included a screen capture of the first pipe in the listing as it shows the logo on the stem and a bit of the stamping that is on the underside of the shank. From the site I learned that the “Brand founded in 1970s by Henrik Jørgensen, Poul Ilsted and Tao Nielsen. They bought an old factory (Nordisc Pibefabriker) in Svendborg on Funen Island. Poul and Tao gradually bowed out from machine manufactured pipes (1982) and Henrik Jørgensen manages the brand until its takeover by Design Berlin (D) in the late 90ies. Kaj C. Rasmussen jointed the firm for several years. 17 employees worked for this brand under Henrik Jørgensen direction.

That link gave me a bit of information on the brand – a joint venture of Henrik Jorgensen, Poul Ilsted and Tao Nielsen. I could see from the information that usually the carvers stamped their names on the shank of the pipe. In the case of the one I have there is no name stamp. My assumption is that the pipe was made after Ilsted and Nielsen bowed out which would put the date of the carving between 1982 and the late 90’s when Design Berlin took over. The Danish Hand Made stamping also confirms that assumption.

Next I turn to Pipedia for more information and detail (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Svendborg). I find that the articles there fill in some interesting information on the relationships and history of a given brand. In this case I found that also true. I quote pertinent pieces of the article.

Jens Tao Nielsen and Poul Ilsted Bech met each other when working together for Erik Nørding and soon became close friends. Both felt a bit tired to make nothing but bizarre fancy shapes and agreed they wanted to produce pipes of more style and more classicism. They decided to establish their own brand “Tao & Ilsted” – But how to do it?

A good fortune brought them in contact with Henrik Jørgensen, a passionate pipe lover and a wealthy Copenhagen banker who was willing to retire from bank business and change his career to become a pipemaker. The trio joined in 1969 and decided to start a new pipe brand together. Nielsen and Ilsted started to search for a suitable workshop while Jørgensen took care of the finances. In early 1970 the partners found an old, closed down pipe factory in Svendborg on Funen, and bought it shortly after for a mere 16.500 Danish Kroner. It was the earlier Nordic Pipe Factory – Nordisc Pibefabriker – maybe the oldest Danish pipe factory. And now it became the home of Svendborg Piber.

The young team started with the common difficulties but success came quite rapidly after they travelled Germany in search of a distributor and met Detlef Seiffert, senior partner of Seiffert Import Co., a major German wholesaler in Kassel. Seiffert, insisting on high quality standards, started placing considerable orders with the new factory and began to market the brand very successfully in Germany. Of course Seiffert – a relative of Harry Kapp, partner of Charles Peterson of the famous Dublin pipe house – used his international contacts to promote Svendborg furthermore.

The Funen crew designed many new models for him and after a couple of month (!) they employed up to 17 people. Tao Nielsen later gratefully remembered “the big chief’s whip”: “Without him we wouldn’t have made it, he gave us decisive support. He was like an engine – something that our business lacks today.”

But in spite of it’s magnificent success the trio fell apart after less than two years, when wilful Poul Ilsted stepped out declaring he didn’t want to make serial pipes anymore, but wanted to make individual specimens… Strange enough, he approached this aim returning to Nørding!

Ilsted’s argumentation doesn’t seem to be absolutely fair: even though Svendborg turned to produce mainly serial pipes under Seiffert’s influence each of the three partners was free to work on his very own one of a kind pieces as well! Since it was Seiffert’s basic idea to profit from – especially – Tao ‘s and Ilsted’s creativity to design new shapes. There are many knowledgeable collectors who confirm that these early Svendsborg pipes class among the most individual, innovating and exiting designs Danish pipecrafters created at that time…

The firm developed well and prospered throughout the 1970’s but around 1980 dissensions between Tao and Jørgensen occured. Tao: “Most pipes were delivered to the United States and whereby the Americans tried to dictate us the conditions. It was not only so that their taste and their view on aesthetics were simply horrible – no, moreover they wanted that the pipes should be as cheap as possible. That did not suit my plans at all, for I strove for high quality and artistic freedom in the end.”

Tao and Jørgensen, who tended to accommodate the US customers’ wishes, could not find a compromise on their different opinions, and so Tao left the firm in 1981 and opened his own pipe workshop near the harbour of Svendborg.

…Henrik Jørgensen continued Svendborg Piber bravely for more than a decade on his own until he finally sold the brand to Seiffert around the midst of the 1990’s. Seiffert, focusing on their mainstay brand Sillem’s, sold Svendborg – a ghost brand now – again before 2000 and the current owner is Planta’s Design Berlin.

That gives a good picture of the history and development of the Svendborg brand and the connection to some of the great carvers of Danish pipe history. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe in hand.

I started my cleanup of this pipe by working on the internals. I reamed out the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and took the cake back to the bare briar. I sanded the walls in the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the walls. I used the edge of the Savinelli Fitsall knife to scrape away the lava from the top of the rim. It was quite thick so I proceeded cautiously so as not to damage the gentle crown of the rim top. Once I had it scraped away as much as possible I wiped down the surface of the rim with alcohol on a cotton pad and then sanded the rim top with 1500 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the last vestige of the lava coat. I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and wiping the rim down with a damp cloth after each pad. I continued polishing with micromesh pads – dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads, wiping down the rim after each pad. The rim really began to shine. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar to enliven, clean and preserve it. I rubbed it in with my fingertips working it into the briar. I set it aside for a little while to let the balm do its work. I buffed it off with a cotton cloth and then buffed it with a microfiber cloth. The photos below show the pipe at this point in the restoration process. I scraped the mortise walls with a sharp pen knife to remove the lacquer build up from tobacco juices and oils. It was thickly coated. Once I had that finished I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. It was dirty but I was surprised it was as clean as it was all things considered. I cleaned the airway in the stem the same way as the shank.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the pitting on the top surface of the stem and the light tooth chatter on the underside stem. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to get a clear picture of how the stem looked at this point.

Under the watchful eye of my shop supervisor, Spencer (my 14 year old Cocker Spaniel) I polished the stem using micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. After each pad I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to protect and enliven the stem. Spencer sits next to my desk/work table whenever I am working on pipes. Periodically he will knock me on the leg for a treat I keep on top of the desk just for these occasions. Mostly though he just watches me work and when I get up for a break follows me like a shadow. I will miss his presence once he is gone but for now he continues to go strong. Back to the pipe, I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. When I finished with the polish I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. This first Svendborg Danish Hand Made Dublin is a beauty with swirling, straight and flame grain all around the bowl. There are spots where birdseye peeks through and highlights the complexity of the grain. The smooth rim is quite nice and has some swirls of grain undulating in the briar. The contrast browns of the bowl look really good with the black of the polished vulcanite stem. I buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish to raise the shine on the briar and the vulcanite. I was careful to not buff the stamping and damage it. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 1/4 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 3/4 inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ of an inch. This is the first of two Svendborg pipes that I am working on. It is a well-made pipe with interesting finishing and a comfortable stem. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Restoration of a deeply loved Chacom Rallye

4 Replies

Blog by Roberto Castiglioni

Over the past month I have corresponded with Rob about a variety of things about restoration processes and procedures. He is a great guy! When he sent me photos of his work on this pipe I wrote and asked him to write it up for rebornpipes. Without further words on my part his is Rob. Welcome to rebornpipes. — Steve

Bizarre hobbies like these prove that nothing is too arcane for humans. Fortunately, the insane have valiantly stepped up to plug that gap.

Seeing a dirty and damaged pipe come back to life makes me extremely happy. That happiness comes from fact that I am handling something that is old and has a long history. The more dirty they are more interested I am. Sometimes I ask to myself how the previous pipe smoker could smoke them. Sometimes I get a stem with double hole, a tobacco chamber with a very limited space. It is then that I remember when my father told me when I was younger that my great-grandparent’s pipe needed maintenance .

This is a very amazing hobby where I can practice applying all my knowledge of Mechanical Engineering. I can use even what I learned high school about adjusting a piece of steel manually by means of files and other tools without using machine tools.

I am very thankful to those gents of rebornpipes for their willingness to post and teach others. They have shown how experience and manual work still has value in this modern society .

For a beginner, who most of the time is a dummy, reading all the posts in different forums to learn a general procedure how to do the work is extremely important. In rebornpipes I found a lot of information and suggestions on how to proceed.

With many thanks I have enclosed my first important restoration on Chacom Rallye …

Here are the before photos of the pipe. The stem was very damaged with a bite through on the top side and much chewing around the edges of the stem. The fit of the stem in the shank is also not good. The bowl is very dirty with little room in the bowl – thick cake and lots of overflow on to the back side of the rim.I reamed the bowl with reamers. I sanded out the bowl to remove the remants of cake. I cleaned the mortise, and the airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I patched the chewed through stem and cleaned and polished the stem.Once the pipe was clean the metal tenon was loose in the mortise so I painted it with a coat of clear fingernail polish and let it dry in my improvised clothespin vise. You can see what the bowl looks like now in the next two photos. It is quite a change. Here are some photos of the completed pipe. Thanks Rob from Italy.

New Life for a Karl Erik Made in Denmark 5A Freehand

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was a beautifully grained Freehand. The bowl and shank had a smooth finish with mixed grain. The top of the bowl and the end of the shank was plateau. The shape of the bowl top was oval. The walls of the bowl are scooped on the sides and front of the bowl. Toward the back of each side there is a ridge running from the top to the bottom of the bowl. The bottom of the bowl is shaped almost like a spade. The shank is quite thick and the underside is stamped toward the shank end. It reads Karl Erik over Hand Made in Denmark over 5 over A. The bowl had a dull and dirty finish. There was a thin cake in the bowl and lava overflow and grime in the plateau on both the top and the end of the shank. The stem was oxidized but the Karl Erik KE logo was in perfect condition on top. There was tooth chatter on the top side and some deep tooth marks and chatter on the underside. I took photos of the pipe before I cleaned it up. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim to show the condition of the pipe before I started to work on it. The plateau rim top was dirty and cake with lava overflow. The bowl had a thin cake but looked to be solid. The finish of the bowl was dull and looked tired. The second photo shows both the plateau top and the shank end. I reread the blog that Robert M. Boughton did for us on his “Grade O” Karl Erik to refresh my memory on the brand and the grading system (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/07/28/a-three-card-draw-for-an-inside-straight-with-an-old-karl-erik-hand-made-grade-o-freehand/). It was enlightening and from there I went on and looked up the brand on both Pipephil’s site and Pipedia to add some details to my knowledge.

Photo courtesy of Pipedia

From the Pipephil site I got a quick overview of the history of the brand. I quote: Brand created in 1965-66 by Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942 – 2004 †). In the best years he employed up to 15 craftsmen among which Bent Nielsen (see Benner) and Peder Christian Jeppesen. Former grading (ascending): from 4 to 1, and “Ekstravagant” (entirely handmade). http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k1.html

From Pipedia here is a bit more detailed history of the brand.

Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942 – 2004) was born in Aalborg (Jutland), just a few miles from the very northernmost tip of Denmark. He began smoking a pipe when he was 14 and upon leaving school he started an apprenticeship…as a lithographer at the age of 16.

While working as an apprentice he began hand carving pipes as a hobby. Many were given as gifts to his more senior colleagues. Upon completion of his apprenticeship he moved to Nairobi, Kenya to work as a lithographer during the 1962 war. While in that war torn country, he was unable to procure pipes for himself. In the face of such a predicament, he chose to continue to make pipes for his own use rather than go without.

Returning to Denmark after three years he couldn’t find a well paid… job, and so he began making a few pipes on the side to boost his income choosing his prenames “Karl Erik” – logo “KE” – for his label. When he managed to find some major Copenhagen pipe stores willing to sell his pieces his reputation grew little by little and he was finally able to purchase more and better machinery and began working full time as a pipe maker. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik

Pipedia also included a short description of the grading system that was used. From what I can discern the numbers ascended (6-1) and the letters ascended as well.

KE’s new grading used numbers ascending from D to A. The unique “Ekstravagant” pipes C, B, A, AA to AAA. These superb pieces of remarkable quality were, almost certainly, the least expensive high- quality hand made pipes coming from Denmark today! https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik

I used a brass bristle brush to clean up the plateau on the rim top and shank end. I scrubbed it dry to remove the buildup of grime and tars on both surface. The bristles are hard enough to remove the grime and soft enough not to scratch the surface. It is a tool I always have close at hand when working on Freehand pipes.Once the buildup was gone from the top and shank end I scrubbed the entire exterior with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dirt on the surface of the briar and the remaining dust in the plateau. I rinsed it under running water to remove the soap and debris from the pipe. I dried it off with paper towels and twisted the paper towels into the bowl to remove the light cake that was there. The pipe was starting to look really good. The grain stood out and the contrast was nice. I took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. You can read the stamp easily and the grade markings though more faint are still readable.I scrubbed out the shank – working on the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean. I cleaned the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners as well. I always use 99% isopropyl alcohol because of the low percentage of water in it and the quick evaporation rate.With the interior and exterior of the pipe clean I rubbed down the briar with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end as well as into the smooth briar on the rest of the bowl and shank. The Balm works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and the help of a horsehair shoe brush. I let the balm sit for a little wall and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The briar came alive with the balm. I took the following photos to give a picture of the pipe at this point in the process. With the bowl finished at this point (other than the final buffing and waxing) I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I painted the deep tooth mark on the underside of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to raise the dent. It worked better than I expected and reduced the size of the bite mark significantly. (The first photo below is the stem prior to heating with the flame).The KE logo on the stem was in perfect condition so I worked around that so as not to damage it. I lightly sanded the stem down with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and cleaned out the debris from the tooth marks with a cotton swab and alcohol. Once the stem was cleaned up I filled in the tooth mark with black super glue and set the stem aside to let the glue cure. Later in the afternoon when the glue had hardened I sanded the repair smooth with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the rest of the stem surface.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the rubber. After the final pad I gave it a final coat and set it aside to dry. I the polished the bowl and stem on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond to remove the remaining small scratches and raise the shine. I gave the bowl and stem multiple 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. This turned out to be a beautiful pipe in terms of shape and finish. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful Karl Erik Freehand. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly so if you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.

The Last of Boston’s Peretti Oom Paul Sitter Recommissioned

2 Replies

Blog by Dal Stanton

I’ve enjoyed restoring a Lot of 10 Peretti pipes and recommissioning them for new stewards. All the Oom Pauls in the picture below, except for one which I added to my collection, are in the hands of new stewards except for the one on my worktable now. I have been pleased to hear back from stewards who have these Oom Pauls and often I’ve heard that they have become favorites in their rotation lineups! I like Perettis myself and have a healthy collection of them. They are great smokers in my experience and my Peretti Oom Paul is a favorite for me too – he hangs on the chin perfectly, like a good lap dog! When I began my research on the L J Peretti name, I was surprised to discover that it is not an Italian pipe as one might expect with such a name! In fact, I discovered the genesis of a significant story of Americana pipe history with the establishment of the L. J. Peretti Company of Boston in 1870 (Pipedia citing: Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes), the second oldest tobacco shop in the US, second only to Iwan Ries & Co. of Chicago established in 1857 (See: Link). The Peretti family originally comes from Switzerland, but the Italian name is explained by the fact that they originated from the southern slopes of the Swiss Alps which flows south toward Italy more easily than to the north – the heart of Switzerland. The Calabash (upper left) and the Goliath Billiard (bottom) are waiting to be restored to be added to my collection of Perettis. The hefty Egg in the middle is already in my lineup!Brian commissioned two pipes (See: For ‘Pipe Dreamers’ Only), a nice looking Jobey Hand Rubbed Dublin (next on the worktable) and the Oom Paul Sitter before me – both pipes benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks Brian! For a close-up look at the Oom Paul Sitter, I take several pictures on my worktable. The nomenclature is the simple L.J. PERETTI stamp on the left shank. This Oom Paul shares every single challenge that his former brothers had – the former steward seemed to have a scorched earth policy. The chamber is heavily caked, and the rim scorched. The rim challenges are the most daunting for this restoration. The stummel has a build up of grime and minor nicks from usual wear. The stem has significant oxidation and bit clenching and chewing which needs addressing. To begin the restoration of this, the last Peretti Oom Paul Sitter in need of a new steward, after cleaning the internal airway with a pipe cleaner dipped in isopropyl 95%, I put the stem in a soak with Before & After Deoxidizer along with 5 other stems. After some hours soaking, I fish out the Peretti stem and wipe off the raised oxidation with a cotton pad wetted with light paraffin oil (mineral oil in Bulgaria). The Deoxidizer seems to have done an adequate job. Next, I attack the chamber carbon cake build up using the Pipnet Reaming Tool. Putting paper towel down to minimize clean up, starting with the smallest blade head, I use 3 of the 4 blades available to me. I follow the blade heads by using the Savinelli Fitsall Tool to reach down into the chamber to scrape more carbon off the wall. Then, to clean the chamber and to bring out fresher briar, I sand the chamber using a piece of 240 grit paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. To remove the thick carbon dust left behind, I wipe the chamber with cotton pads wetted with alcohol. After clearing the cake away, a look into the chamber reveals no problems – no heat cracks or fissures. Good! Now to scrub the stummel surface and the rim with its thick lava I start with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and cotton pads. I also use a brass brush on the rim to break up the lava crust. To scrape the rim, I use a pin knife as well as the straight edge of the Savinelli Fitsall tool. As I scrape the crust off, I also remove the scorched charcoal that is on the inside of the rim mainly on the left side of the stummel – the area where the former steward damaged all his pipes. The result is that the left side of the rim is narrower after the cleaning. The stummel is in great condition – the rim is the challenge. Before moving on with the rim repairs I continue with the internal cleaning of the stummel. Using pipe cleaners and cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 95% I go to work. I also employ a dental scalpel to scrape the internal wall. I’m pleased that there wasn’t too much resistance. At the end of my work day I’ll continue the cleaning process by giving the stummel a kosher salt and alcohol soak.Turning now to the stem, I begin addressing the tooth dents and chatter on the bit. With his brother Oom Pauls, there usually was some button damage too, but this guy’s in better shape in that regard. I first use the heat method to raise the vulcanite dents to make them less severe. By heating the vulcanite, it expands, and the dented vulcanite naturally seeks its original positioning. I use a Bic lighter and paint the upper and lower bit and after heating several passes, I do see a lessening of the severity of the dents as the vulcanite expands. As a result, I can sand the remaining dents out with both the upper and lower bit. Before the heating:After the heating:I sand out the damage using 240 grit paper.I move on to using 600 grit paper by wet sanding the entire stem. I follow this with 0000 steel wool sanding/buffing the entire stem.Moving forward with the stem, I wet sand using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. To revitalize the vulcanite, I apply a coat of Obsidian Oil after each set of 3 pads. I love the glossy pop! Looking now to the stummel, I see a few very small, nicely camouflaged fills which are in good shape, but I see one significant cut into the briar that needs attention. To address it, using a toothpick, I lay a line of thick CA glue over the cut. I set the stummel aside to allow the patch to cure.After a while, the patch has set enough for me to work on the rim. The bad news is that the loss of briar on the left side of the internal rim from scorching is gone – it can’t be replaced. The good news is that the aesthetic imbalance of the rim as a result can be mitigated somewhat by creating a bevel around the entire rim. The bad news – there is additional loss of briar. In restoring a pipe there’s always this tension between loss and gain. With this Peretti, as with all his Oom Paul brothers, I did the same thing and they turned out well. I start the process by taking the stummel to the topping board to remove the damaged wood on the top. Topping an Oom Paul can be a challenge because the shank extends beyond the plane of the rim. So, to top the rim, the shank needs to hang off the side, so it isn’t unintentionally topped! I take a picture to mark the start. I turn some rotations on the board and check out the progress. I also utilize a small sanding block which allow me to focus on a certain area of the rim. After the 240 paper, I put 600 grit paper on the board and do a few more rotations. The pictures show this progress. Now, using a tightly rolled piece of coarse 120 grit paper, I begin beveling the internal rim edge – hoping to bring more balance to it. I take a bird’s eye picture first to mark the progress. I pinch the paper under my thumb as I move it in the areas of the rim to be reduced. While I work on equalizing the rim diameter, I’m also sanding down the chamber to taper the walls as they move downwardly. I’m looking for greater aesthetic balance. I come to the point where I’ve done all I can do. I think it looks much better. I do another bird’s eye shot for comparison. I take the stummel one more time to the topping board using 600 grade paper. I do this simply to reestablish the lines after the sanding. One more thing I want to do with the rim. I’ve worked on the inside balance, now I also introduce a very gentle bevel on the outside of the rim. I do this to soften the edge which is sharp after the topping. I use 120 grit paper then 240 and finish with 600 – each rolled tightly. With the rim repair done, I take the flat needle file and begin to file down the patch on the side of the stummel. When I bring the patch down close to the surface, I switch to using 240 grit paper to remove the excess patch to the briar surface, making the patch area flush with the surface. I then finish the sanding with 600 grit paper. The patch will blend well later.My day has ended and I will continue the cleaning process of the stummel with a kosher salt and alcohol soak. This freshens the briar and draws out more latent tars and oils from the briar. I fashion a wick from a cotton ball by pulling and twisting it. I insert it down the mortise and airway. I then fill the bowl with kosher salt, which has no aftertaste, and then put isopropyl 95% into the bowl until it surfaces over the salt. I wait a few minutes and top off the alcohol and turn out the lights. The next morning the soak has done the job through the night. The salt and wick show soiling from the tars and oils. I clean the stummel of residue salt with paper towel, blowing through the stummel, and to be on the safe side, I run a cotton bud with alcohol through the mortise to clean up any leftover remnants – after a couple of cotton buds I move on. The next step is to address the external briar surface of the Peretti Oom Paul Sitter. I filled the one cut I saw on the surface that stood out. There are other nicks and scratches that are normal from use. To address these, I use micromesh pads. I first wet sand using pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sanding 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. The grain looks good as the micromesh pads coaxed it out. The one bummer is the darkened wood from the scorching damage around the inner edge of the rim. That will not go away because it would sacrifice too much briar to accomplish it. Since the rim had been topped and sanded, it is a shade lighter than the rest of the stummel. To remedy this, I apply a maple color dye stick around the rim. I forgot to take a starting picture for comparison but here is the aftermath. It looks good and matches well.As I’ve done with all the other Peretti Oom Pauls (and one Bent Billiard!) I restored, I kept the color true to the original as much as possible. To do this I used Before & After Restoration Balm on the briar and it does a great job deepening and enriching the color already there. I do the same with this Sitter. I squeeze some of the Balm on my fingers and work it into the surface. The Balm starts with the consistency of light oil but as it is worked into the briar it gradually thickens to a wax-like feel. After applying it fully and working it in, I set the stummel aside for a while, about 30 minutes to allow the Balm to do its thing and take a picture.After about 30 minutes I use a clean cloth to wipe and buff off the Balm. I’m pleased with the results. Turning now to the application of Blue Diamond compound, I rejoin stem and stummel, mount a cotton cloth wheel onto the Dremel, set the speed at 40%, and methodically apply the compound. After finished, I wipe the pipe with a felt cloth to remove compound dust in preparation for the wax. I mount a different cotton cloth wheel to the Dremel dedicated to applying carnauba wax, leave the speed at 40% and again, methodically apply a few coats of wax to stem and stummel. I finish the restoration of the Oom Paul Sitter by giving the pipe a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.

I am very pleased with the restoration of this, my last for now, Peretti Oom Paul Sitter. The grain is rich on the huge, ample bowl which is the reason many pipe men and women desire an Oom Paul in their collections. The added benefit to this Oom Paul is that it is a Sitter. He can comfortably join his steward at a table playing cards or board games! Brian commissioned (see For ‘Pipe Dreamers’ Only) this Peretti Oom Paul Sitter and will have the first opportunity to acquire it in The Pipe Steward Store. This pipe benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!