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Restoring the last of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 30 Bent Billiard

by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes (actually as mentioned on the last pipe I can’t count) but going over it again I found I was right the first count. There were six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite, Citation in need of a stem and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.The last pipe I had to work on was a Bertram Bent Billiard that needed to be cleaned up and restored. This last one is from Jack’s 11 pipes – a dirty, dull Bertram with an oxidized tapered vulcanite stem that I swapped with a straight billiard. The pipe is stamped on the left side and reads Bertram [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. There is a shape number 30 on the underside of the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the bowl and some nicks and flaws where the fills were shrunken or broken around the sides. The bowl was moderately caked with a light lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The new stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The photos show the condition of the stem surface. There were no markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the calcification, tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem and the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. The Bertram stamp was clear and readable as noted above. Once restored again it will have a long life ahead of it. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe.As I have worked on a lot of Bertram pipes in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

I have included the following link to give a bit of historical information on the pipe company. It is a well written article that gives a glimpse of the heart of the company. http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/01/bertrams-pipe-shop-on-14th-street.html#

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Bent Billiard has some mixed grain around the bowl. This pipe has a Grade 30 stamp on it. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening. I also started to sand the shank repair at the same time. The old warrior is visible in the photos below.I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. Since I was restemming the pipe I would do the clean out on the new stem when I got to it.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top came away clean. Once I cleaned the bowl with the soap I brought it back to the work top and examined it. This was a pipe full of fills around the rim top and the right front side of the bowl. All were shrunken and need of repair. I filled in all of the damaged fills with clear CA glue. I smoothed them out with a dental spatula. Once the repairs cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the briar. Once finished it looked much better. I sanded the bowl it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further remove the stain and make a more transparent finish on the rim top, the bowl and shank. The light spots blended in better. I wiped the briar down with a drop of Olive Oil to see if I have any areas that I still needed to work on. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the repairs to the repairs blended in better with work. The photos tell the story. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface and the repairs blended even more as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I laid the bowl aside and turned my attention to fitting a new stem. I made a decision about putting the short taper stem to the bent Billiard and putting a nice saddle stem on the straight Billiard. This new stem was the right length for this smaller Bent Billiard and was very close to the diameter of the shank – slightly larger but very workable. It would take some work to clean up but it would look good once it was finished. The taper stem had a small bite through on the underside ahead of the button. I greased a pipe cleaner and inserted it in the airway below the small hole. I filled in the tooth marks in the top of the stem as well. I removed the pipe cleaner to continue working on the stem. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was a dirty stem. I sanded the stem surface and repairs with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to flatten the repairs and also remove some of the oxidation. It would need more sanding but I turned to the make the slot in the button. I reshaped the entrance of the airway in the stem end with needle files. I used oval and round files to reshape the entrance into an oval shape. It looked much better. I used my heat gun to soften the vulcanite. Once it was soft enough to shape I bent it at the right angle to match the flow of the curves of the bowl. I set the bend in the stem with cold running water and took a photo of the newly bent stem. I removed the stem from the shank and sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to adjust the fit to the shank. By the time I was finished sanding it the stem very well to the shank and the transition was smooth.I sanded the surface of the new vulcanite stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Bertram Washington DC Smaller Bent Billiard 30 with a newly fit taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Bertram Bent Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.69 ounces. This final pipe of Jack’s is another beautiful pipe that I will send to him later this week. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this resurrected beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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.

Restoring the 9th of 12 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 60 Bent Billiard with a new stem

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes (actually as mentioned on the last pipe I can’t count) There are 12 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite, Citation in need of a stem and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Bertram 60 Bent Billiard that needed to be restemmed next. This next one is from Jack’s 12 pipes – a dirty, dull Grade 60 Bertram with a ruined tapered vulcanite stem. It is of note that the pipe had a previously snapped and repair shank. The work was well done but would need to be touched up a bit. The pipe is stamped on the underside side near the stem with the Grade 60 number. On the left side it is stamped Bertram [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some nicks and flaws around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was moderately caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The ruined stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and cracks on the top and underside of the button and ahead of the button. I believe it is a replacement as the tenon is short and the stem too long for the proportions of the pipe. The photos show the condition of the stem surface. It will need to be replaced. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the damaged (I would say ruined) stem show the thick calcification, tooth marks, bite throughs, cracks in the button and heavy damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside of the stem and the button. I took photos of the briar plug in the heel of the bowl and the crack around the shank just ahead of the bowl. It has obviously been repaired and there are places that the repair has chipped and shows wear and damage. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. The Bertram stamp was faint but still readable as noted above. The 60 stamp was more faint on the underside but is visible with a lens. This was obviously someone’s favourite pipe and went through multiple large repairs to keep it working. Once restored again it will have a long life ahead of it. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe. As I have worked on a lot Bertrams in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram).Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Bent Billiard has some stunning mixed grain around the bowl. This pipe has a 60 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening. I also started to sand the shank repair at the same time. The old warrior is visible in the photos below.I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. Since I was restemming the pipe I would do the clean out on the new stem when I got to it.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top is very clear. Once cleaned the bowl with the soap I brought it back to the work top and examined it. Not only had the cracked shank been repaired which I had already seen clearly, there was also a plug in the bottom of the bowl where some one had repaired a burned through area. This was a pipe full of surprises.I decided to address the two repairs – the shank and the damage around the plug first. I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to clean them up further. Once smooth I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth and then filled in the damaged areas with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once the repaired areas cured I sanded off the mixture with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth them out and start the process of blending them into the surrounding briar. With the repairs larger than life and very obvious with the current finish on the pipe, I decided to stain it. I used a Dark Brown Aniline stain. I applied it with a dauber and flamed it with a lighter to set it in the briar. I set it aside to let the stain cure. Once the stain cured I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to remove some of it and make the stain more transparent. It took some work but sanding it further would do the job and blend in the light spots as well. I sanded the bowl it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further remove the stain and make a more transparent finish on the rim top, the bowl and shank. The light spots blended in better. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the repairs to the repairs blended in better with work. The photos tell the story. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface and the repairs blended even more as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I laid the bowl aside and turned my attention to fitting a new stem. I went through my stems and found one that was very close to the diameter of the shank – slightly larger but very workable. I would pitch the chewed and cracked stem in light of this fishtail one. This new one would need a lot of work to clean up but it would look good. To fit the tenon to the shank I used several flat files and reduced the tenon size. I cleaned it up with a Dremel and sanding drum, flat files and sand paper until the fit was snug in the shank. It was going to work well.It was a used stem so it had some tooth marks and chatter on the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift them. I was able to lift some. I filled in what remained with black rubberized CA glue. With the work done other than fitting the stem to the shank perfectly I decided to bend the stem to fit the shank. I heated the stem with a heat gun, moving the stem over the hot air until it became soft and flexible. I bent it at the angle needed over the round of the bunch buffer in the background.I worked on the diameter of the stem at the shank first with my Dremel and sanding drum to get it close to what I wanted. I followed that by sanding it with 220 grit sandpaper. I constantly checked the fit on the shank and once I had it ready I wiped the stem down with a bit of Obsidian Oil and took the photos below. It began to really look very good.I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks and remaining casting marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I cleaned out the drilling and sanding debris from the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was clean other than the dust.I am excited to finish this Bertram Washington DC 60 Bent Billiard with a newly fit taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Bertram Bent Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams/1.80 ounces. It is another beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 2 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this resurrected beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring the 7th of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 30 Bent Billiard with a new stem

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Bertram 30 Bent Billiard that needed to be restemmed next. This next one is from Jack’s 11 pipes – a dirty, dull Grade 30 Bertram with a ruined tapered vulcanite bite proof stem. The pipe is stamped on the underside side near the stem with the Grade 30 number. On the left side it is stamped Bertram [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was moderately caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The ruined replacement twin bore, or bite proof stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and many bite throughs and chips on the top and underside near the button. The photos show the condition of the stem surface. It will need to be replaced. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the damaged (I would say ruined) stem show the thick calcification, tooth marks, bite throughs and heavy damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside of the stem and the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. The Bertram stamp was clear and readable as noted above. The 30 stamp was more faint on the underside but is visible in person. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe. I took a photo of the bite proof stem end showing the twin bore airways in the button. As I have worked on a lot Bertrams in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram).Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Prince has stunning straight and flame grain around the bowl. This pipe has a 30 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge and the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top is very clear. As I cleaned it up, I noticed that the fills on the right side and the front mid bowl were shrunken and damaged. I filled them in with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once the repair cured I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to flatten the repair and blend it into the surface of the briar.I sanded the bowl it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish the rim top, the bowl and shank. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the darkening on the top was gone and the fill blended in better with work. The photos tell the story. I remembered that I had forgotten to clean the pipe. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. Since I was restemming the pipe I would do the clean out on the new stem when I got it.I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I laid the bowl aside and turned my attention to fitting a new stem. I went through my stems and found one that did not have a tenon but was very close to the diameter of the shank – slightly larger but very workable. I would pitch the chewed up twin bore stem in light of this fishtail one. I pushed a tenon in the stem for the photos below. I would need to secure once I started.I gave the threaded end of the tenon a coat of black CA rubberized glue and pressed it into the stem. I turned it until all was aligned and straight and then secured it until the glue hardened and the tenon was solid.Since there was little to do on the stem other than cosmetic adjustments I decided to give it a slight bend to match the damaged stem and the flow of the bowl. I have found that if I “paint” the area where I want the bend with a lighter until the surface softens I can save getting my heat gun out. I do this while the stem is on the pipe. Once the surface was soft I press the top of the bowl and the stem down against my worktable to get the bend in place. I let it sit that way with pressure from my hand until the rubber of the stem cools. You can speed up the process by putting the stem under cold water but I did not do this on this pipe. Once cooled I took a photo of the look of the bent stem. Those paying attention to the photos of the bowl work will see that I bent the stem before I did any of the clean up on the bowl 😉I worked on the diameter of the stem at the shank first with my Dremel and sanding drum to get it close to what I wanted. I followed that by sanding it with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the rest of the stem to clean up the casting marks on the sides and button end. I constantly checked the fit on the shank and once I had it ready I wiped the stem down with a bit of Obsidian Oil and took the photos below. It began to really look very good.I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks and remaining casting marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I cleaned out the drilling and sanding debris from the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was clean other than the dust.I am excited to finish this Bertram Washington DC 30 Bent Billiard with a newly fit taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Bertram Bent Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 49 grams/1.73 ounces. It is another beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 4 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this next beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring the sixth of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 25 Pot with a Bite Proof Stem

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Bertram 25 Pot next. This next one is from Jack’s 11 pipes – a dirty, dull Grade 25 Bertram with a tapered vulcanite bite proof stem. The pipe is stamped on the underside side near the stem with the Grade 25 number. On the left side it is stamped Bertram [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was moderately caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the thick calcification, tooth marks and damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe. I took a photo of the bite proof stem end showing the twin bore airways in the button. As I have worked on a lot Bertrams in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram).Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Prince has stunning straight and flame grain around the bowl. This pipe has a 25 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. I cleaned the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top is very clear. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge and the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening.As I cleaned it up, I noticed that the fill on the right side, mid bowl was shrunken and damaged. I filled it in with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once the repair cured I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and flattened the repair and blended it into the surface of the briar.I sanded the bowl it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish the rim top, the bowl and shank. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the darkening on the top was gone and the fill blended in better with work. The photos tell the story. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface as I polished it. The repaired fill is large but it is smooth and solid. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I turned my attention to the stem. The calcification was thick on the areas where there were tooth marks and a potential bite through on the surface. To get things cleaned up, I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite where the tooth marks were with the flame of a lighter. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the left side of the twin bore stem. I filled in the bite through area and some of the deeper marks on both sides with a rubberized Black CA glue. After it cured I flattened the repairs with a small flat file. I flattened the repaired areas and recut the edge of the button with a small file. Once it was cleaned up I refilled the remaining tooth marks with more black rubberized CA glue. I set it aside to let the repairs cure then filed them with a small file. Once they were flattened I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the rest of the stem to clean up the oxidation and calcification on the surface. It began to really look better. I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to remove the remaining oxidation. I dry sanded the surface until I have removed all of the oxidation and the stem started to really shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. The repaired areas show some difference in the black but are very smooth. I am excited to finish this Bertram Washington DC 25 Pot with a twin bore bite proof stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Bertram Pot is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 36 grams/1.31 ounces. It is another beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 5 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this next beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring the fifth of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 95 Classic Prince

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Bertram 95 Classic Prince next. This next one is from Jack’s 11 pipes – a beautifully grained Prince Grade 95 Bertram with a tapered vulcanite stem. The pipe is stamped on the underside side near the stem with the Grade 95 number. On the left side it is stamped Bertrams [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe. As I have worked on a lot Bertrams in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Prince has stunning straight and flame grain around the bowl. This pipe has a 95 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

Restoring the fourth of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a GBD New Standard 508 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the GBD Bent Billiard next. The shape is very nice, with the rich red/brown finish that highlights the grain around the bowl and shank. It is a great shape with a taper vulcanite stem with a GBD roundel on the left side. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the finish around the bowl sides. There was a thick cake in the bowl and lava overflow on the top of the rim – heavy around the entire rim top. The edges – inner and outer both appeared to be okay under the lava coat. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads GBD in an oval [over] New Standard. On the right side it reads London England [over] the shape number 508. The stem was in very good shape with no oxidation. There was light tooth chatter on both sides near the button. The taper stem has a brass GBD roundel on the left side that looks good. I took some photos of the pipe before I started the clean up work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the light tooth chatter on the vulcanite on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the look of the pipe. It is a real beauty. I turned to Pipephil’s site and looked for information on the GBD New Standard I was working on (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-gbd.html). As always there was a good, brief description of the history of the brand.

Brand created in 1850 in Paris by Ganneval, Bondier and Donninger. Marechal & Ruchon Cie first, then C.J. Verguet Frères (closed in 1970) owned GBD from 1903 to 1970 and manufactured these pipes in the St Claude (Fr) plant.

Sometime in the 1970s Cadogan company (Oppenheimer group) took over GBD. Prior to this time, the pipes were stamped “London England” in a straight line, even if they were sometimes crafted in France.

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD) to see what I could find on the GBD Brand and the New Standard Line. There was a few tidbits scattered in the body of the material.

The New Standard was introduced in order to give the popular Standard of the 20s a higher rank in value…

… The following list comprises the better grades in descending order: Pedigree, Pedigree I, Pedigree II, Straight Grain, Prodigy, Bronze Velvet, Virgin, Varichrome, Prestige, Jubilee, New Era, Prehistoric, International, Universe, Speciale Standard, Ebony, Tapestry, New Standard, Granitan, Sauvage, Sierra, Penthouse, Legacy, Concorde.

I also found two advertising fliers on the brand – one with the variety of shapes for the New Standard London Made and the other with a saddle billiard and a longer description of the pipe. I also found a shape chart that had the 508 pictured and described as a Large Bent Billiard with a taper mouthpiece (https://pipedia.org/images/5/56/GBD_1961Flyer_ShapeChart6.jpg). I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and regular pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. I cleaned the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty.I cleaned up the buildup on the inner edge with a piece of sandpaper. I sanded the top of the rim with the piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top is very clear. I sanded the bowl and shank with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish the rim top and the bowl and shank. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the darkening on the top was gone. The photos tell the story. I polished the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I used the first 3 pads – 1500,1800 and 2400 grit pads to work out the tooth chatter. I further polished the stem with the remaining pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. This GBD New Standard 508 Bent Billiard is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The ruby coloured wash/stain around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights grain very well. The ruby coloured finish works well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished GBD New Standard Bent Billiard sits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. I will be adding it to Jack’s box of finished pipe while I finish the next seven pipes.

Restoring the third of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Texaco Billiard

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Texaco Billiard next. This richly stained taper stem Billiard is a beautiful pipe. It is clearly stamped on the left side of the shank and reads TEXACO and on the right side it has a faint stamp and reads Imported Briar. The grain around the bowl is highlighted by the stain and really stands out. It has a rich darker, reddish brown finish that is on the bowl and shank. It was filthy with dust and debris ground into the sides of the bowl. The rim top has a heavy lava overflow on the top and edges coming from a thick cake in the bowl. The vulcanite taper stem had some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. It really is another beauty. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside ahead of the button. There is also a tarry stinger in the tenon that will need to be cleaned.I took a photo of the stamping on the side of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. The Imported Briar stamp was readable but I was unable to capture it with the camera as it is quite faint. Before I started my work on the pipe itself I turned to Pipephil to get a quick overview and background information on the Texaco brand and found that the brand was not included.

I turned to Pipedia hoping for something and found some info (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Texaco). I quote that information below.

There was a brief article with photos that I am including below. At least some Texaco pipes were made by LHS Sterncraft, presumably for Texaco, Inc. The Texaco pipe usually has nomenclature with the labels “Texaco”, capitalized, and “Imported Briar” on its side. Drinkless Mechanisms, or “stingers” were introduced around 1927 and have slowly stopped being produced since around 1964. That would date the following example somewhere in that era.

That information was quite priceless as it gave me a potential maker of the pipe, LHS Sterncraft and also a potential time frame of 1927-1964 because of the singer apparatus that came out in 1927 and were removed in 1964. My guess is that this pipe is one that was made in the late 50s or early 60s. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Restoring an Impressive Grecian Plateau Lovat by Mark Tinsky

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Here’s a real beauty. Recently, I was given the opportunity to purchase a small group of pipes by master pipemaker, Mark Tinsky. How could I say no? The answer, of course, is that I could not and I happily acquired them. This pipe is actually not one from the aforementioned lot, but was a Tinsky I already had. It seemed sensible to add it on to this series of pipe restorations. Whereas the others I restored recently were from the Canadian family of pipe shapes, this one, as you can see is a lovat. Or, perhaps, a lovat with a Dublin-like bowl. Another nice detail about this pipe is that it comes with its original pipe sock! This is a beautiful pipe with fantastic, straight grain. The rim is just wonderful. It has a lovely, rich brown colour to it and a silky-smooth surface. This is an older Tinsky than the ones you’ve seen from me recently. The star logo on the side of the stem is different from previous ones, insofar as it is engraved into the acrylic. Under the shank are the markings and they read: American [over] Reg No [over] 081 GP MT 15. I’m not sure but I assume that the 081 tells us that the pipe was made in 1981; the GP indicates that Grecian plateau briar was used, MT indicates that Mark Tinsky made it himself; and I sadly have no idea what the 15 refers to.As I’m sure you know, Mark Tinsky is one of the great names in American pipe making. He is best summed up in this quotation from Erwin Van Hove:

His more than reasonable prices, and his good-natured personality, have made Mark [Tinsky] the favorite of many Americans. It is difficult to find an amateur who does not possess at least one pipe made by the American Smoking Pipe Company, that Tinsky founded in 1978 with his friend Curt Rollar. In 1990, after the departure of his associate, Tinsky continued on by himself building a solid reputation using quality briar from Greece and stem blanks imported from Italy, offering collectors a vast assortment of models and finishes. In short, his pipes are beautiful and well-made pieces that produce a taste beyond reproach. Neither off-the-shelf nor haute couture, they are solid hand mades for an affordable price.There is a wonderful and extensive article on Tinsky, Rollar, and the American Smoking Pipe Company at Pipedia. I highly recommend reading it here. You can also visit his website: http://www.amsmoke.com/. There’s also a small blurb about him at Pipephil:This pipe was in generally very nice shape – there were a few light marks on the rim – but nothing serious at all. The stem was also in good shape – a few bite marks, but the acrylic was sound and is easy to repair. This was clearly a well-maintained pipe. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean – but not much work was required as it was already pretty clean.I then set about fixing the marks in the acrylic. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the acrylic, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. This ensured that all the debris was removed. Again, like the stem, this didn’t take much work as the pipe was quite clean.I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the whole stummel. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Mark Tinsky Grecian Plateau Lovat looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6½ in. (165 mm); height 2⅜ in. (60 mm); bowl diameter 1¾ in. (45 mm); chamber diameter 1 in. (25 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2¼ oz. (67 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring the second of 11 pipes sent for restoration – an Arlington Imported Briar Dublin

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Arlington Imported Briar Dublin next. This richly stained Saddle Stem Dublin is a beautiful pipe. It is clearly stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Arlington in script [over] Imported Briar. The grain around the bowl is highlighted by the stain and really stands out. It has a rich darker, reddish brown finish that is on the bowl and shank. It was filthy with dust and debris ground into the sides of the bowl. The rim top has a heavy lava overflow on the top and edges coming from a thick cake in the bowl. The saddle vulcanite push stem had some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. It really is another beauty. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the side of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts.Before I started my work on the pipe itself I turned to Pipephil to get a quick overview of the background information on the Arlington brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a7.html). The side bar stated that it was a brand of the Arlington Briar Pipe Corp. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent information below.I turned to Pipedia for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Arlington). I quote the article below.

Arlington Briar Pipes Corporation was founded in 1919 in Brooklyn, New York, and produced the Arlington, Briarlee, Firethorn, Kimberly, Krona and Olde London brands among dozens of others, primarily acting as a subcontractor making pipes to be sold under other brand names. Among others, in the 1950’s, Arlington turned pipes for the famed Wilke Pipe Shop in New York City. The corporation was dissolved by the State of New York as inactive on December 6, 1978. Arlington Briar Pipe Corporation, located at 200 Kosciusko Street, Brooklyn, New York, registered only a single brand trademark, the Arlington brand, the trademark for which was applied for on November 13, 1962 and granted on February 25, 1964. Jack Kaye, of Arlington Briar, was also granted a patent for a combined mirror and stand in 1967.

According to José Manuel Lopes, “North American brand that belonged to Arlington Briar Pipes Corp., Brooklyn, New York, founded in 1919. In the 1940s, Ludwig Rosenberger gave the company new life, and it continued until the 70s. His son, Mel Rosenberger, has recently launched the DiMonte brand. Jack Uhle was also linked to Arlington.” Arlington, as far as known, mainly operated as a sub-contractor for other brands. The Jobey pipes are said to be made by Arlington at an unknown point of time. Arlington’s own pipes are seldom seen.

The article also included the following photo from an RTDA catalog. It is a great addition to the information above.I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. I cleaned the bone tenon and the inside of the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top is very clear. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge with a piece of sandpaper. I sanded the top of the rim with the piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening.I finished that and moved on to it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish the rim top and the bowl and shank. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the darkening on the top was gone. The photos tell the story. I polished the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the oxidized surface of the stem with Soft Scrub Cleanser and cotton pads. It took some elbow grease but it definitely looks better.I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite where the tooth marks were with the flame of a lighter. I filled in the deep tooth marks that remained with a rubberized Black CA glue. After it cured I flattened the repairs with a small flat file. I sanded the repairs further to flatten out the tooth chatter with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Progress was happening! I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to remove the remaining oxidation. I dry sanded the surface until I have removed all of the oxidation and the stem started to really shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Arlington Imported Briar Saddle Stem Dublin. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Arlington Dublin is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.06 ounces. It is another beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 9 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this next beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring the first of 11 pipes sent for restoration – an old Triangle WDC Bakelite Bent Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the older Triangle WDC Bakelite Bent Bulldog first. This richly stained Bent Bulldog is a beautiful pipe. It is clearly stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Triangle [arched over] WDC in a triangle [over] BAKELITE. On the right side it is stamped at angle along the shank and reads Italian Briar. There is a diamond shaped silver coloured band on the shank end that is stamped and reads Oxford Plate [over] Made in U.S.A. It is oxidized but in good condition. The grain around the bowl is highlighted by the stain and really stands out. It has a rich darker, reddish brown finish that is on the bowl and shank. It was filthy with dust and debris ground into the sides of the bowl. The rim top has a heavy lava overflow on the top and edges coming from a thick cake in the bowl. The tapered Bakelite stem had a bone tenon that screwed into the shank. It had some deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. It really is a beauty. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the Bakelite on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the diamond shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. I tried to capture some of the stamping on the oxidized band as well. It is a little blurry but it is clear and readable under the oxidation. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. Before working on the pipe, I followed my usual procedure of looking for history on both the brand and the Triangle Bakelite line. I have included a quick history of the brand from Pipedia that is interesting and is helpful (https://pipedia.org/wiki/William_Demuth_Company).

William Demuth. (Wilhelm C. Demuth, 1835-1911), a native of Germany, entered the United States at the age of 16 as a penniless immigrant. After a series of odd jobs, he found work as a clerk in the import business of a tobacco tradesman in New York City. In 1862 William established his own company. The William Demuth Company specialized in pipes, smoker’s requisites, cigar-store figures, canes and other carved objects.

The Demuth Company is probably well known for the famous trademark, WDC in an inverted equilateral triangle. William commissioned the figurative meerschaum Presidential series, 29 precision-carved likenesses of John Adams, the second president of the United States (1797-1801) to Herbert Hoover, the 30th president (1929-1933), and “Columbus Landing in America,” a 32-inch-long centennial meerschaum masterpiece that took two years to complete and was exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893…

…In 1897 Ferdinand Feuerbach joined the Demuth company and by 1903 had become the production manager. Feuerbach is credited with developing Demuth’s popular Royal Demuth and Hesson Guard Milano pipelines. He left in 1919, when Sam Frank Sr. needed an experienced pipe man to run his pipe factory, located at 168 Southern Blvd., in the Bronx. Feuerbach and Frank had been close friends since Frank started his own business in 1900 and was closely associated with the sales staff of WDC, selling their line of pipes…

In early 1937, the City of New York notified S.M. Frank & Co. of their intent to take by eminent domain, part of the land on which the companies pipe factory was located. This was being done to widen two of the adjacent streets. As a result of this, Frank entered into negotiations to purchase the Wm. Demuth Co.’s pipe factory in the Richmond Hill section of Queens. It was agreed upon that Demuth would become a subsidiary of S.M. Frank and all pipe production of the two companies would be moved to DeMuth factory. New Corporate offices were located at 133 Fifth Avenue, NYC.

Demuth pipes continued to be made at the Richmond Hill plant till December 31. 1972. Then the Wm. Demuth Company met its official end as a subsidiary company by liquidation. Demuth’s mainstay pipe, the Wellington continued to be offered in the S.M. Frank catalog until 1976. In the mid-80’s, the Wellington even made a brief return as a direct to the consumer offer.

There was nothing specific on the Triangle Bakelite Line in the above article. I did a further Google search and found a link to an advertisement on the WDC Triangle Bakelite pipe that is quite interesting (https://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/460550444_b0cd63fa8f_o.jpg). I have included a copy of the file below.The above advertisement reads as follows:

WDC Triangle Pipes are as good as they are beautiful. They combine the WDC standard of goodness in the bowl, and the lasting beauty of a Triangle Bakelite bit.

There is no substance known to science more suitable for pipe stems, cigar and cigarette holders than Triangle Bakelite. It possesses all the advantages of natural amber but none of the failings.

It has the beautiful coloring of amber – brilliant, rich and translucent – but excels in that it is tougher and more durable than amber. It has neither taste nor odor and is non-flammable.

The bowls of the WDC Triangle Pipes are genuine French briar, specially Demuth seasoned and guaranteed against cracking or burning through.

Me who want something distinctive in a pipe will find a wide variety of select shapes of WDC Triangle Pipe, at the better grade shops, at $1.00 and up. Also a wide selection of cigar holders at 50c and up, and cigarette holders at 35c and up, in many beautiful shapes.

That tells a lot about the manufacture and marketing of WDC pipes. They were viewed as spectacular and unique. They were chosen by discriminating smokers and enjoyed with durability and flavor. Now it was time to work on this pipe.