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Would this Stanwell Hexagonal Pipe with a 9mm Filter Stem be a disappointment?

by Steve Laug

When this beautiful hexagonal Dublin by Stanwell came to us from our source in Denmark last year on 02/16/2023 I was pretty excited to work on it. The grain around the bowl and shank were amazing looking and the silver rim edge and shank band were great additions that gave the pipe a sense of polish. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and on the left reads Stanwell. On the right it reads Made in Denmark. The silver band on the shank is stamped .925 identifying it as Sterling Silver. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was darkening and lava on the inner edge of the rim and the rim top. The filter stem was oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button on both sides. It looked like it should clean up very well. I was looking forward to getting it here in Canada and working on it. Jeff took photos of it before he started his clean up process. Do you see any issues in the photos below? I don’t see any other than what I have noted above. Nothing alarming! That would prove to be very wrong! Jeff took photos of the rim top that clearly show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the darkening on the rim edge and top on the left front. There are scratches and tar on the silver rim cap that will need to be polished out but there is some beauty in the pipe. So far, no issues that can see. There does appear to be a bit of a shadow in the darkening on the right front of the top. The stem has some heavy oxidation that that will take work to remove but the tooth marks are light and there does not appear to be a lot of chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the grain around the sides and heel of the bowl. It is a pretty pipe. It is dirty but the grain is quite stunning. The silver band and the rim edge are tarnish and look like there are scratches. I am not seeing any alarming damage…. YET. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank. On the left side it is stamped Stanwell and on the right side it reads Made in Denmark. There is not a shape number or a line name on the pipe. It is clean of other stamping so that remains a mystery. The left side of the saddle stem has an inlaid silver Crown S logo. Before I started working on the pipe I wanted to nail down the shape and the designer. I turned to an article on rebornpipes by Bas Stevens that was a compilation of Stanwell shapes and also noted the designers (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/09/03/stanwell-shapes-compiled-by-bas-stevens/). There I found the shape number I was looking for. The pipe was a 163 and was described as a Freehand, “Facet”, hexagonal, with brass ring. It was a shape designed by Jess Chonowitsch. The pipe I had included a Silver Band instead of a brass one and also added a Silver Rim Edge. Now I knew I was working on a 163 designed by Chonowitsch. Now it is time to do my part on the restoration. This is where the disappointment starts to build for me.

Jeff had carefully cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer to strip out the cake in the bowl and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He also scrubbed the silver and removed the tarnish. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and then rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. The oxidation was less but still present. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. Looking at it as a whole it really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were and what needed to be addresses with both. The first disappointment showed up on the rim top as I examined it. There was a crack on the left side of the top radiating from the inner edge toward the side almost at the corner of the hexagonal cap. It did not go all the way to the edge so that was a plus but it still was a disappointment. The inner edge bevel looked clean but there was some darkening on the surface of the bevel. The stem looked better and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There were no disappointments at this point on the stem.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photos that it is clear and readable. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe. Before I started working on the rim top I decided to examined the sides of the bowl and see if the crack ran down the side below the rim cap. This is where I found the second disappointment. There appeared to be a crack on the side panel flowing from the rim cap at an angle toward the front of the bowl for about an inch. I have drawn a circle around it in the photo below. I also took another photo of the crack in the rim top and circled it as well. Once I saw those two glaring disappointments I set the pipe aside and worked on some other things as it is just too frustrating to look at such a beautiful pipe that had these signs of abuse.Last evening after work I finally decided to address the two glaring issues noted with the pipe. I put on my magnifying head lamps and examined both cracks. The crack on the rim top came from the inner edge but did not seem to drop too far into the bowl. Maybe an eighth of an inch. The “Crack” on the side of the bowl may well not be a real issue. There is a deep scratch in the silver band just above the line with the same arc. It may just be a deep scratch rather than a crack. I poked at it and probed it with a dental pick with the headlamp and magnifier in place and I am 99% sure it is just a scratch!!! I was leaping for joy at this point! I decided to treat it as a small hairline crack and also the crack on the rim at the same time. I used a micro drill bit and put a small pin hole at the end of the line on the side of the bowl and the end of the crack on the top of the rim. I used a tooth pick to put a spot of clear CA glue in the drill hole on both the top and side and on the crack on the rim top. I used a dental spatula to press fine briar dust into the glue on both and set it aside to dry. Once the repairs cured I sanded the areas smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the briar after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris from the surface. The briar began to take on a shine. I also polished the silver rim edge and band at the same time remove some of the scratches. For those I used 3200-12000 grit pads. My disappointment was fading with way the repairs blended into the briar. It was a beauty. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. The disappointments mentioned above were taken care of! I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I used Soft Scrub and cotton pads to work on the oxidation remaining on the pipe. It was deep and it took a bit of scrubbing to bring it to the surface.I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks ahead of the button on both sides. It worked very well and I was able to lift them all to the point that sanding the stem would remove the remnants. I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks and also remove the oxidation. It looked much better. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. Between the pads I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil. It is starting to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each pad to enliven and protect the vulcanite. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave the stem another rub down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I fit the stem with a 9mm Dr. Perl Junior filter. The fit of the filter to the stem was perfect. The 9mm was made for it. This Jess Chonowitsch Designed Stanwell Faceted Hexagon Freehand 163 with a hexagon vulcanite saddle stem fit for 9mm filters is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain on the briar and the silver rim edges and band shines through the polished finish and is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Stanwell Faceted Silver Rim and Shank Band 163 fits 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 52 grams/1.83 ounces. I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipe store in the Danish Pipe Making Companies Section. If you are interested in this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Preben Holm Crown Hand Made in Denmark flat bottom Sitter

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by Steve Laug

This interesting Preben Holm Freehand Sitter with both smooth and plateau spot on the rim and shank end came to us from an estate we purchase from Santa Cruz, California USA on 05/28/2024. It is a unique looking pipe even for Preben Holm pipes. The pipe is a flat bottom pipe that is shaped from a rectangle. The stamping on the underside of the shank read Preben Holm [over] Crown [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The pipe has a flat bottom so it is a sitter. The top and bottom of the bowl has some great birdseye grain. The sides of the bowl have straight grain all around. The finish is dirty with dust and oils ground into the finish and dust and debris in the plateau spots on the rim top and shank end. The rim top has some darkening on the right and the back of the bowl. There is thick lava on the inner edge and all around the rim top. The bowl has a thick cake. The fancy, turned saddle stem had a twist around the saddle portion and is oxidized and has tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat and debris in the finish on the rim top. There was darkening all around the bowl edge and on the bevelled inner edge. He took photos of the stem to show the oxidation and tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the finish on the bowl sides. Even under the grime it is a beautiful piece of briar in a shape that I have not seen before. He captured the stamping as best as possible on the underside of the shank. It reads as noted above.I turned first to Pipephil to see what I could find about the Crown line of pipes and get some background (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-p5.html). I have included the photo capture below as it shows the look of the stamping and logo on the pipe I am working on.I turned then to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Holm,_Preben) and the article on Ben Wade (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I quote the portion of the Ben Wade article that summarizes the Danish period of the history of the brand:

Young Copenhagen master pipemaker Preben Holm had made a meteoric career heading a pipe manufacture employing 45 people at the age of 22! But around the turn of 1970/71 he was in major financial difficulties. His US distributor, Snug Harbour Ltd. in New York City, left him in the lurch. Holm had three unpaid invoices on his desk and another large shipment was ready for the USA, when Snug Harbour’s manager told him on the phone that there was no money at all on the account to pay him.

So the Dane went to New York for an almost desperate search for a new distribution partner. He made contacts with Lane Ltd. and met Herman G. Lane in February 1971. Lane Ltd. had no interest in Holm’s serial pipes produced at that time but so much the more in the hand-carved freehands because the hype for Danish freehands and fancies in the States was still on its way to the climax then. The meeting resulted in an agreement to start a cooperation. Lane insisted to improve the quality considerably and in return he assured to be able to sell essentially larger quantities.

Holm went back home to work on new samples with all-new designs and altered finishes for Lane. Both, Lane and Holm, agreed that it would be unwise to sell the pipes under Preben Holm’s name as long as Snug Harbour had a considerable stock of Preben Holm pipes and might sell them pipes at very low prices just to bring in some money.

So on Mr. Lane’s proposal it was determined to use the name Ben Wade belonging to Lane Ltd. Lane spent considerable amounts of money for advertising the new brand in the big magazines– the centerpiece being whole-page ads showing a very exclusive Seven Day’s Set.

The cooperation with Lane Ltd. proved to be an eminent business success for both partners. Within a very short time Ben Wade Handmade Denmark sold in much larger quantities and at higher prices than they had ever dreamed of. And the hype these freehands and fancy pipes caused went on unbroken long after Herman G. Lane deceased. Preben Holm – obviously much more brilliant in pipe making than in pipe business – was in major troubles again in 1986 and had to sack most of his staff. The Ben Wade production was significantly lowered but continued until his untimely death in June of 1989.

Up to now Preben Holm made Ben Wade pipes are cult and highly sought for on the estate markets.

With that information my initial thoughts were confirmed. This pipe was a Preben Holm made Freehand distributed in the US by Lane Ltd under his own name. The freehand rage occurred in the late 70s and the pipes were made until Preben’s death in 1989. My guess would be that this pipe was made sometime during that time period and potentially in the late 70s.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer to strip out the cake in the bowl and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the rim top and the spots of plateau on the top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and then rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were and what needed to be addresses with both. The rim top and bowl look good. The inner edge bevel looked clean and undamaged. The stem looked better and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is clear and readable. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe. The bowl was in such good condition that I started by polishing the smooth briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the briar after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris from the surface. The briar began to take on a shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the plateau rim top and shank end. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped the stem down with a cotton pad and some Soft Scrub cleanser to clean up the surface around the turned portion and the stamping area in preparation for trying to bring out some of the stamping on the stem top. I touched up the faint stamp on the top of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I rubbed the product into the stamping and buffed it off with a soft cloth. It is not perfect but is visible and distinguishable.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. Between the pads I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil. It is starting to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each pad to enliven and protect the vulcanite. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave the stem another rub down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I am really happy with the way that this Preben Holm Crown Hand Made Danish Freehand Sitter turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a very unique shape and smooth finished bowl and rim and the remnant of plateau on back edge of the rim and the shank end. The fancy original vulcanite saddle stem is really nice. The polished black of the stem works well with the briar. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. 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. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Preben Holm Crown Hand Made really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ¾ inches long x 2 ¼ inches wide, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 89 grams/3.17 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Restemming and Restoring a Frasorteret Freehand

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by Steve Laug

This interesting Freehand with both smooth and sandblast finishes came to us from an estate we purchase from Santa Cruz, California USA on 05/28/2024. It is a unique looking pipe that took some work to figure out the stamping. With some digging and comparing we knew that the stamping on the underside of the shank just ahead of the vulcanite shank extension read Frasorteret [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. You might well ask why we had to figure it out. That is simple in the half of the name line was cut off by the shank extension. The pipe has a flat bottom so it is a bit of a sitter. The finish is dirty with dust and oils in the sand blast portions on the bowl sides. The smooth portions are also dirty with oils and dirty ground into the finish. The plateau rim top has some darkening toward the back of the bowl as well as thick lava filling it the grooves in the finish. The bowl has a moderate cake. The vulcanite shank extension is oxidized and also dirty. The stem is actually a poor replacement that is a saddle stem for a straight shank. The pipe would have originally had a fancy freehand style military style stick stem that sat in the extension. It will need to be replaced. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the rim top to show the moderate cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat and debris in the plateau finish on the backside of the rim top. You can see that it basically fills in the grooves of the finish. He took photos of the stem to show the oxidation and calcification on it but at some level it does not matter as it will be replaced. Jeff took one photo of the right side of the bowl to give a sense of the finish on the bowl sides. There are no other photos at this point.He captured the stamping as best as possible on the underside of the shank next to the vulcanite shank extension. It reads as noted above.It seemed to me that Frasorteret pipes came from the creative carving of Preben Holm so I wanted to confirm that memory. When you get a certain age memory can fool you! I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-f4.html). It tied the line to Preben Holm but there was not too much more information at this point.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Frasorteret) to gather further information. There the information was scant but none the less made the connection to Preben Holm very clear. Here is the information.

The Frasorteret line of pipes were made by Preben Holm and were nearly identical to his normal line of pipes but for fills and pits and the like. The pipes were stamped Frasorteret Made in Denmark.

Now I had the background I needed. I was ready to start working on this pipe. As usual, Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. I probably don’t say enough about how much I appreciate him doing the hard clean up work before I even get the pipes. He does an amazing job. He had reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer back to bare briar and removed the remnants of the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He used a small blade to pick out the thick lava on the rim top. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and shank brushes. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe and the stem that came with it before I started my part of the restoration work. Preben’s Holm’s magic is very visible in the shaping of the pipe. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the clean condition. The bowl walls look very good. The replacement stem looks very clean and will be a good addition to my can of stem options. I tried to capture the stamping on the shank underside. It is a bit blurry but it is still very readable and clear as noted above. I took a photo of the pipe with the replacement stem removed. It really makes it clear to me that it is a replacement.The pipe was ready for me to work on but I decided first to go through my stems. I went through both vulcanite and acrylic stems which may sound easy but I have several hundred stems to sort through. I was looking for something that flowed with the delicate shape of the bowl and shank and was simply weightless looking. I found what I was looking for and took a photo of it with the stem I found. I like the looks of the new choice. What to do next? I figured I might as well continue working on the stem since I had already started. I sanded out the tooth chatter on the stem end and worked on the oxidation with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I sanded the stem with 2×2 sanding pads – 320-3500 to start the polishing process and further remove the oxidation and marks. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. It was beginning to look very good.I love watching the shine develop on the vulcanite as I polish it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished this part of the polishing by using Marks Hoover’s Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it off with a soft cloth and gave the stem another coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I used some Soft Scrub to work on the oxidation on the vulcanite shank extension. I did a lot of scrubbing on it and the oxidation came off the vulcanite and it looked much better. I polished the smooth portions of the briar and the vulcanite shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. I wiped the shank extension down with Obsidian Oil. I take photos of the three groups of pads for my own viewing primarily as I am looking for progress in polishing. Once again, by the end of the process it looked quite good. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. I worked it into the plateau finish with a shoe brush. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive. This newly restemmed Frasorteret Hand Made in Denmark Freehand is a great looking pipe with some interesting shaping around the sides of the bowl and vulcanite shank extension. You can easily see the handiwork of Preben Holm in the shaping of the pipe. The beautiful grain around the smooth portions and sandblast on the other portions of the bowl is quite stunning and works well with both the shape and the polished vulcanite shank extension and the military stick mount stem. I put the new 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 wheel and followed by buffing the pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Preben Holm Hand Made Frasortert Freehand fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.52 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section shortly. If you wish to add this interesting pipe to your rack it is a great addition. Send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. I appreciate your support and time!

Spiffing Up a Rare Caminetto Masterpiece

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Roll up! Roll up! Come and see the amazing Ascorti Radice Caminetto New Dear Chimney! What a stunning pipe! I picked up this pipe while I was visiting the historic town of Bellingham, Washington. I wish I knew some of this pipe’s individual history, but – alas! – the shop purveyor had no information. It is a remarkable pipe – with the recognizable rustication of the New Dear line and an astonishing chimney elevation. This is your chance to get your hands on an extraordinary pipe – one of the original Caminettos. The markings on this pipe were just what one would hope for. They read Ascorti [over] Radice [over] Cucciago [over] Cantu-Italy. Next to that is a little shield symbol. Further to the right are the words “Caminetto” [over] New Dear. Finally, at the end, is a letter G. There is also, of course, the moustache logo on the stem. This information is worth its weight in gold, as it will help us to get a reasonably accurate date on this beauty.First, let’s talk about Caminetto. There is quite a bit of information to be had on Pipedia about the company and I won’t attempt to reproduce it all here. However, I enthusiastically recommend reading the general Caminetto article here, the Caminetto history article here, the Ascorti article here, and the Radice article here. If you’re really keen, you could even read the Castello article here.

Phew! After all that reading, I would like to quote a bit of the history from Pipedia:

Caminetto’s history started in 1959 when Guiseppe Ascorti, from Cucciago, and known to his friends as “Peppino”, was hired by Carlo Scotti to work at Castello, located in nearby Cantu. Since it’s foundation in 1947 Castello had contributed substantially to regained glory for Italian pipemaking.

Talent and assiduity soon made Ascorti one of Scotti’s most notable pipemakers – a man he counted on for the future. But, Ascorti had his own far reaching plan: He wanted to work as a self-employed pipemaker! After his wife, Paola, had taken over her parent’s small greengrocery in the early 1960’s this plan became more concrete. The additional income from the shop enabled him to buy tools and machines little by little to furnish his own workshop. By the end of 1968 he was ready and left Castello. Ascorti also persuaded his co-worker, the young and highly-talented pipemaker Luigi Radice (born 1939), to join him – the two were neighbors in Cucciago. Carlo Scotti, whom is known as a perfect gentleman, is reported to have spoken unreservedly about this development.

Ascorti & Radice started to manufacture pipes on their own. One of the first who agreed to market their pipes was Gianni Davoli, proprietor of a tobacco shop in Milan. The situation was perfect–two pipemakers in search of a distributor, and a pipe merchant in search of a mainstay brand to market. Davoli – via friends and relations in the States – had made flourishing contacts with US pipe wholesalers and traders. He shipped some pipes across the pond for inspection and received excellent feedback for the very high quality of the pipes. He, shortly after, offered to be the sole distributor worldwide, and Ascorti & Radice happily accepted.

Then came the legendary evening when Ascorti, Radice and Davoli gathered around the fireplace after a hard day’s work enjoying their pipes, a glass of wine, and humorous conversation. Davoli is said to be the one who associated the pipes with the fireplace or chimney, which is “camino” in Italian. Hence “Caminetto”, the diminutive (smaller) singular version of camino, was coined as the brand’s name.

It is, of course, so fitting, so appropriate that this pipe is, itself, in a chimney shape. Fantastic! Reading on, I learned more about the time period in which this was made. This history was originally provided by a fellow named joshoowah on brothersofbriar.com. It is now on Pipedia. I’ve actually taken a screenshot of the relevant information so that it is easiest for you to see and understand.So, based on the above information, I can safely state that this pipe is from the earlier time period of 1968/9-1974/5.

Let’s take a closer look at the condition of the pipe. It’s actually in great shape, all things considered, and must have been greatly loved by its owner, as it was well smoked. The beautiful acrylic stem had some very minor tooth marks, but nothing of concern. The stummel was heavily caked inside the bowl and there was some definite darkening on the rim. I’d have to inspect that more closely after cleaning. Stem first. To be precise, it was stem and shank extension first. They are both acrylic, and the shank extension came off with ease, so they could be cleaned up together. I cleaned the insides with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, and isopropyl alcohol. It was pretty dirty, and I went through a good number of pipe cleaners and swabs. A lot of debris was trapped in there and I needed to do some significant scrubbing. I also tried using some cleanser with tube brushes on the inside and that did help. I gave it a thorough rinse and moved on.I filled the few tooth marks in the stem with some black cyanoacrylate adhesive (the shank extension didn’t need any). After allowing that to cure, I sanded the glue down with some sandpaper, then the whole stem with my Micromesh pads. For the last few pads, I also added some pipe stem oil. I forgot to take pictures, but I restored the moustache in gold too. On to the stummel, and there was some work to be done here! I needed to get the darn thing clean. I reamed out the stummel and removed all the cake. Fortunately, there was no damage to the interior walls.I used a dental tool to mine some chunks of gunk out of the mortise – yuck! Just like the stem, I also used pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to scrub the insides. It was quite dirty – much cotton was expended.I decided to de-ghost the pipe in order to remove any lingering smells of the past. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this. But, just to make sure, I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. Then it was really clean. I used cotton rounds and some Murphy’s Oil Soap to scrub the outside of the stummel and a toothbrush with Murphy’s for the lava on the rim of the pipe. Once complete, I took a closer look at the darkness on the rim. It wasn’t too bad, but I thought it could use a little help. I mixed up a little oxalic acid and rubbed the dark spots with cotton swabs. This worked really well in removing a lot of the dark. I was pleased. I then rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the wood. I gently brushed it into the rustication grooves and let the balm sit for twenty minutes or so. The BARB works so well at bringing out the best in the wood. I brushed it with a horsehair brush and buffed it with a microfibre cloth. Beauty! Later, I went to the bench buffer and applied some White Diamond to the stummel and stem. Then the final polish! The rusticated surface meant that I didn’t use carnauba wax – it gets gummed up in the grooves. Instead, I used Conservator’s Wax which worked like a charm.This Ascorti Radice Caminetto New Dear Chimney was a nifty restoration and I had fun with it. I think the result is terrific and it’s a stunning pipe once again. 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 “Italy” pipe 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 6 in. (152 mm); height 2½ in. (65 mm); bowl diameter 1⅓ in. (33 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅝ oz. (49 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this 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.

Is this what you would call an English Walnut Shape on this House of Robertson Pipe?

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By Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a unique House of Robertson pipe we picked up. It was purchased from a seller on eBay from Long Beach, California, USA on 07/13/2024. It is a Billiard or maybe an Egg with a rusticated finish that makes it look like the shell on an English Walnut. The name House of Robertson is roughly hand-etched with an engraving tool on the underside of the shank on a smooth panel. This pipe is shaped somewhere between and Egg and a Billiard but really does capture the shape of a Walnut. As you look at the following photos you will see why I am not sure what to call it. The pipe has a unique rustication on the sides of the bowl and shank. The bowl is thickly caked with some lava overflow on the rim top. The outer and inner edges of the rim look to be in good condition. There is some darkening and nicks on the inner edge but nothing horrible. The pipe was dirty but underneath all of the grime it appears to be in excellent condition. It had an oxidized silver band on the shank that is stamped Sterling but I am certain it is cosmetic as there are no cracks showing on the shank end. It is definitely an interesting pipe and should clean up very well. The fit of the stem to the shank was good. The vulcanite taper stem was oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup. Jeff took photos show the condition of the bowl and the stem. The photos of the bowl and rim show the cake in the bowl and the lava overflowing onto the rim top. The rustication on the top of the bowl and the inner and outer edge of the rim are pretty well covered in lava. It was hard to know what the inner edge and top really looked like until we cleaned it. The silver cosmetic band was heavily oxidized and almost black. The taper stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem near the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show some stunning and unique rustication all around the pipe. The finish makes the bowl and shank have an almost walnut texture. The next photo shows the etched or engraved with a name on the underside of shank. It reads House of Robertson. The silver band has a faint Sterling Silver stamping on it.I am including the information that I found when I received my first of the House of Robertson Pipes. I found a link on Pipedia that gave me the only information I could find on the brand. I include that in total as it is interesting to read.

“House of Robertson” was in business for many years, but alas, closed their doors in 1999. They were located in Boise, Idaho. They are noted for making rather large and interesting pipes. Thayne Robertson was a Master Mason, AF & AM, and started the shop about 1947 and his son Jon started working there in 1970 when he finished college, along with Thayne’s daughter. Thayne and his son started making the big pipes at that time, and made them together until 1987 when Thayne passed away. Jon kept the store and his sister moved on to other things. The House of Robertson appears to have closed around 1999 (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Robertson).

Since then I have worked on a lot of House of Robertson pipes and have been able to track down more information. I am including a link to a Catalogue that I picked up on eBay. Click on the link and have a look at this interesting book of information on the brand and the pipe maker himself (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/12/11/a-house-of-robertson-catalogue-filled-with-great-examples-of-thayne-robertsons-work/).

I am also including a biography of Thayne Robertson that I found on Facebook from a fellow in Boise, Idaho. It is an interesting read into the mind of the pipe maker. Make sure to take time to read it (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/10/31/house-of-robertson-pipes-boise-pipe-carver-thayne-robertson/).

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. When it gets to Vancouver it my turn to contribute to its restoration. Jeff did a great job cleaning the pipe on the inside and outside. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the dust in the rustication on the bowl and shank as well as the smooth portions. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the dust and debris were removed the finish was dull but appeared to be in excellent condition. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it under warm water to remove the deoxidizer gel solution. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how well it had cleaned up. There is some rim darkening but you can see the rustication on the top of the bowl. The stem tooth marks and chatter are very light.I took a photo of the engraving on the underside of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I also took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is a beauty.I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the darkening on the inner edge of the rim and the darkening on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better when finished. However, there was still some darkening in the rustication on the back of the rim top. I scrubbed it with Mark Hoover’s Before & After Briar Cleaner and was able to remove a lot more of the darkening. I put it on the area with my finger tips and worked it into the surface with a tooth brush. I worked over the area with a brass bristle wire brush and then rinsed it off with warm water. The end result is far better than when I started though there is still a bit of darkening. I used an Oak stain pen to touch up the rim top and the cleaned area and the finish look good. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the smooth finish to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and a shoe brush to work it into the finish then set it aside to dry for 10-15 minutes. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. The rim top is looking much better. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The rustication on the bowl stands out with interesting lines moving across the sides of the bowl and the shank. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the vulcanite surface with the flame of a lighter – constantly moving the flame over the tooth marks and was able to lift many of them. I filled in those that remained with black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured I flattened the repairs with needle files. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into the surface. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – using both the Fine and Extra Fine Polishes. I gave it a rubdown with Obsidian Oil one last time and set it aside. I put the House of Robertson Rusticated Walnut with a taper stem back together and worked the pipe over on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond to lightly polish the stem. I buffed the bowl and stem to raise the gloss on the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the pipe 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 the House of Robertson Walnut is shown in the photos below. The medium brown stains on the rusticated walnut shaped bowl works well with the rich black of the vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 ½ inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ inches. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.45 ounces. This is an interesting piece of briar with a rustication that looks like a walnut shell on the bowl and shank. I really like how the briar and the vulcanite work well together. This one will soon be on the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding a House of Robertson to your collection this may well be the one for you. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration process.

Turning a Plateau Freehand on its side with JHW

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by Steve Laug

When Jeff and I were contacted about an estate in Santa Cruz, California, USA for sale I was excited to see what was in the lot. There were some great Freehand pipes by known carvers. There were also several with no other stamping on the shank than JHW. I have to say that I have seen very few JHW pipes in my years of working on pipes and my heart skipped a beat when I saw not just one but 7 JHW pipes. All were Freehands and all were very unique – maybe even odd you might say! We purchased the estate on 05/28/2024. I am finally getting around to working on the first of the pipes. Now you might ask who is JHW? Why so excited about three initials? Well I have to tell you right up front that JHW is Jack H. Weinberger. Who is that? That does not help either? Jack H. Weinberger was a pipe maker in West Caldwell, New Jersey. Still not helping? He hired young lads from the local high school to help him out as he carved 10-12 hours a day. Two of these are none other than Curt Rollar and Mark Tinsky went on to become the American Pipe Company. There was a long list of pipe carving luminaries who came through Jack’s shop and JHW pipes but these two you probably have heard of. So JHW or Jack H. Weinberger was an important part of the American Pipemaking scene and gave many carvers a start and they have continued to this day. Now maybe you understand my excitement – being able to work on a few of Jack’s pipes and bring them back to their former glory.

This first pipe I chose to work on was an unusual one. It is a great piece of plateau briar with straight grain all the way around the bowl and shank. It is a beautiful piece of briar! But Jack chose to use this block very differently than most would have used a straight grain, plateau block. He turned the pipe on its side. The bowl is on what most would have said was the right side. The plateau is on the left side of the pipe and a flat panel is on the right side. The photos show what I mean about the geography of the pipe. Very unusual but something just calls out to you. When the pipe came to us it was dirty. There was a thick cake in the bowl and lava on the rim top. The plateau was dirty with dust and debris and the finish dirty as well. The stem was a variegated brown acrylic saddle that had tooth marks and chatter on both sides just ahead of the button. There appeared to be some darkening on the left side of the inner edge of the rim and on the top itself. It was dirty but that did not hide the beauty of the briar. Jeff took photos of the pipe as a whole before he started his cleanup work. I include them below.Jeff took some close up shots of the rim top to show the bowl and cake. You can see the lava on the rim top and the nicks and scratches in the finish it is dirty and it is neglected. The stem photos also show the condition it was in when we received it. Lots of promise with the pipe but some work too! Jeff took some photos of the sides – top, bottom, left and right to give a sense of the lay of the pipe on the block of briar. It is certainly unusual and unique. Here is a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. The J is a stylized pipe followed by uppercase HW. It is clear and readable.Take some time to read the great writeup on Pipedia and JHW pipes and influence they had on the American pipe making scene. It is a well written and enjoyable read. Here is the link: (https://pipedia.org/wiki/JHW_Pipes).

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners and shank brushes. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl look good. There was some darkening on the inner edge and a dark spot on the left side toward the back of the bowl. There were light scratches in the finish around the bowl. The stem surface had small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stamping on shank sides is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole.I cleaned up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and to clean up the darkening on the back of the rim top. Once finished it looks much better even with the damage and the darkening on the edge.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. By the end of the process it looked quite good. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. I worked it into the plateau finish with a shoe brush. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter with 220 grit sandpaper until it was smooth.I polished the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It removes the dust and also gives the sanding pads some bite. By the final pad it was looking quite good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This rare and unique Jack H. Weinberger Sideways Volcano is a great looking pipe. The beautiful grain around the bowl is quite stunning and works well with both the shape and 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 wheel and followed by buffing the pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Jack H. Weinberger (JHW) fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ½ inches x 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 113 grams/3.95 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. I appreciate your support and time!

Cleaning up a Chuck Whitmore Whidbey Islander Twisted Shank Dublin

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by Steve Laug

About a year ago I visited an older pipe repair man (when I say older I mean older than me). He gave me a lot of pipe parts – stems, bases, bowl, tenons and bands On Monday, August 25 after a visit with my brother Kenneth and I went to visit my contact again. This time he had more stuff that he wanted to get rid of from his parts. Once again, we received more stems and tenons. But he also put in a box of pipes that were in various states of repair or disrepair. One of those pipes was an interesting smooth Dublin with a twisted shank going into a diamond shaped saddle stem. The stamping, or rather etching on the left side of the shank is clear and readable. It reads Whidbey Islander. On the right side of the shank it read Made for Dick Dye. The bowl is an squat Dublin with a worm trail carving on the left side from the top and another on the right underside. The shank twists from the bowl junction back to the stem. It continues onto the saddle portion of the stem. It has some stunning grain around the bowl and shank even in its unpolished condition. The bowl had been reamed recently and the top and edges of the rim had some scratches. The inner edge was slightly out of round. The freehand vulcanite stem is square at the shank end then has a twist that continues from shank. It was oxidized and had some calcification ahead of the button on both sides. The stem had a repair in it mid stem – like it had been broken and repaired. There were tooth marks on the surface that had also been repaired with what looked like a white epoxy like substance. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took close up photos of the bowl and the stem. You can see the light cake in the bowl and the darkening on the rim top and the edges. There were also some scratches on the top. The stem surface was oxidized and had some calcification on the end ahead of the button. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides on and ahead of the button. There were also two large repairs ahead of the button. They not black rather white. The stem also had been repaired at a crack in the middle across the stem.The next photos show the stamping that I described in the opening paragraph. It is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with stem removed to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. On the right side of the shank it read Made for Dick Dye. I wanted to have some idea who Dick Dye was. I googled the name and specified the Seattle area. I came up with an interesting and possible connection to a Richard Dye who passed away in 2019. The connection is pretty likely as he lived in the Seattle/Everett area of Washington state. Give the obit a read as it gives a bit of character of the man and his life (https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/heraldnet/name/richard-dye-obituary?id=14190787).

Before working on the pipe, I wanted to see what I could learn about the brand. I have a memory of visiting the shop many years ago but it is foggy so I did a bit of reading. There is a listing on Pipedia for Whidbey Islander Pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Whidbey_Islander_Pipes). I quote the information from that site below. It is brief but quite interesting to read. I quote it in full.

Whidbey Islander Pipes are high-praised, but very rarely seen freehand pipes. Hand-cut Briars by Master Pipe Maker Travers LaRue were made and sold in his shop “Virginia Tobacco and Pipe Shoppe” in Langley on Whidbey Island, Washington between 1972-1983. LaRue died in 1983. He used 125 year old Sardinian briar and 150 year old Grecian Plateau briar with or without burl top. Trav custom designed ”free-hands” or classic shapes. A sterling dot on the shank along with his signature marked his one of a kind designs and possibly one of the best smoking pipes around. Trav taught his son-in-law Charles Whitmore the trade and soon he became a pipe maker too. The shop produced a hand-cut from 75 year old Italian briar known as the “Whidbey Islander”. These were mostly made by Chuck Whitmore that could be ordered with your own name inscribed. The shop was also known for hand blended pipe tobacco that was 100% pure premium quality American and imported tobaccos. The most famous being “Brown Crock”. The 1936 Hollywood Pipe Shop recipe that Bing Crosby smoked exclusively and loved by many. The family still owns the recipe. Travers pipes are few and precious. You’re lucky if you own one.

Judging from the description above I believe that I am working on a pipe made on Whidbey Island, Washington made by Chuck Whitmore between 1972-1983. It is a very interesting hand cut “twist” on a classic shaped pipe with great grain and a fancy vulcanite stem. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I decided to address the damage to the inner edge of the bowl first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel on the inner edge to remove burned areas and blend them into the surrounding briar. It began to really look better.I wiped off the varnish on the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad. I was careful around the signatures and stamping on the shank side. They were almost hand etched on the twisted shank sides. I was able to remove a lot of varnish and when done it looked much better. I needed to adjust the fit of the twisted shank to the twist in the stem. Nothing aligned in terms of either the sharp angles or the flattened portions. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to correct the angles and flow of the twists on both the briar and the vulcanite. It was a lot of sanding but the improvement the look of the pipe was worth it. I smoothed out the sanding on the shank and started polishing the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The finish began to look very good. I touched up the sanded portions of the shank end with an Oak stain pen and blended it into the surrounding briar. It looked very good and the match was perfect. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. The briar took on a rich shine. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. Now it was time to deal with the issues of the stem – the resanded and shaped fit to the shank, the crack mid blade and the white fills in the top and underside ahead of the button. They were many and varied but the shape of the stem made a new stem more work than I was willing to do at the moment. I filled in the repaired areas on the top and underside ahead of the button with black CA glue. Thankfully the repairs were a little indented. I sanded the stem surface and the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper. I also worked on the mid stem repairs to blend them in a bit more. I sanded the stem further to begin the polishing using 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth that really helped the sanding and helped protect it from oxidation.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. Overall the stem looked better. There were still some ghosts of oxidation on the twists. The repairs on the white repaired areas showed. I am excited to finish this Chuck Whitmore made Whidbey Islander Twisted Dublin. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain all around it. The two carved trails carry on the flow of the angles of the twists in the shank and stem. Added to that the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This smooth Whidbey Islander is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. I am sure that Dick enjoyed it when he first picked it up at the shop. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 38 grams/1.34 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one I will hold onto for the memory of the shop. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

The worst of Five Peterson’s in for restoration that are in rough condition – a burned out bowl and damaged stem

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by Steve Laug

Yesterday afternoon I was visited by a pipe man here in Vancouver named Sergey who had five Peterson’s pipes that he wanted me to work on. They are shown in the photo below. In the left column from top to bottom: Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL17, Peterson’s of Dublin Filter 68, Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL16 Rusticated Pipe. In the right column from top to bottom Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL16 and the bottom pipe is a Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL14. All five pipes were all thickly caked and had thick lava on the rim top. The cake is so thick that I could not put my little finger in the bowl it was so heavily caked. My guess was that the bottom of the bowl was lower than the entrance of the airway into the bowl. The Rusticated Kinsale XL17 also had a burn out in the front bottom of the bowl that would take a lot more time than just a simple clean up. I would know more about the condition of each of the bowls once I had reamed and cleaned them. Sergey was travelling soon and he chose at least two of them that he wanted to take with him on his trip so those would be first. I have finished four of the five pipes and he picked them up and was pleased with them. The fifth of these was in the worst condition. I left it until last and now it was time to work on it – a Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL16. I was not sure I would finish but he would love to take it on his travels.
I took photos of the Peterson’s of Dublin XL16 before I started working on it. This was Sergey’s favourite pipe and his concern was that it had a hole in the bottom toward the front. The finish is very dirty with oils and dirt ground into the briar. The rim top is thickly covered with tarry lava overflowing from the heavy cake in the bowl. The cake was thick and heavy all the way to the bottom of the bowl. In the heal of the bowl there was a hole about the size of pencil lead and the bowl was quite a bit deeper than the entrance of the airway from the shank. The vulcanite stem is also very dirty. There was oxidation, calcification and the P-lip had been cut off on the end. There was no button edge and he would like to have that added on the bottom of the stem surface. There oxidation, calcification and also some light tooth damage on both sides ahead of the remaining button. The P stamp on the left side of the stem is a gold P that is damaged. I took closeup photos of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the dirty condition of the pipe and the thickness of the cake and lava on the bowl top. The rim top and edges look to be damaged under the lava coat but the cleanup will reveal the facts. I also took photos of the stem to show the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It was faint but readable through the grime and debris. It read as noted in the above paragraphs. I also took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the look and proportion of the pipe. I took a photo of the burnout in the heel of the bowl. It was about the size of pencil lead on the outside but the inside of the bowl was more extensively damaged. This one would take some extra work to bring it back to life.I started my work on the pipe by reaming the thick cake in the bowl. I could not even assess fully the burnout damage until it was reamed and cleaned. I used a PipNet pipe reamer with the first cutting head to take back the cake. I followed that with the second and the third cutting head. I was able to remove all of the cake. The cake in the bottom third of the bowl was incredibly hard and took a repeated reaming of that portion. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape the remainder of the cake out of the bowl and clean up the bottom of the bowl. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. With the bowl cleaned out I was able to determine that the bowl bottom was significantly below the entrance of the airway. It was quite thin and the hole on outside was only the beginning of the issues. I would need to repair the burn through and then build up the bottom of the bowl to the entrance of the airway. It would be further protection for the repaired bottom of the bowl and help it from further burning out. The issues with the rim top and inner edge would also need to be addressed. I decided to open up the burned-out area and see how extensive it was and how deep it was into the briar surrounding pin hole. I started with a sharp blade and cleaned up the opening and took out the brittle pieces of briar around the hole. I opened the hole further with a large drill bit and smoothed out the edges of the hole to the point it was solid briar.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it with warm running water and repeated the scrubbing and rinsing process until the pipe was clean and looked better. I cut a piece of briar and shaped it with my Dremel and sanding drum to fit the hole. I gave the inner edge a bevel to fit the edges of the hole. I rounded the inside of the plug with the Dremel to follow the flow of the bowl bottom. It would help build up the bottom significantly. I fit the plug in place on the bowl bottom and took some photos to give a sense of the look. Once it is glued in place and cured I will rusticate the patch to match the rest of the bowl.I mixed up a batch of two part JB Weld and coated the inner edge of the drilled out hole in the bowl bottom. I inserted the plug in the hole and used a tooth pick to fill in the gaps around the plug on the exterior of the bowl. I used a dental spatula to fill in the edges around the inside of the bowl and pressed it in place with a folded pipe cleaner. I built up the bowl bottom to the bottom of the airway entrance. I set it aside for the night to harden and cure. In the morning when I got up I shaped the plug with my Dremel and sanding drum to follow the flow of the bowl bottom. I clean up the edges of the plug and the surrounding briar with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was looking pretty good at this point. I used a piece of dowel with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around it to smooth out the bowl walls. I used some clear CA glue and some briar dust to fill in low spots around the front of the plug. I cleaned it up once it dried with a brass bristle wire brush to clean up the repair area. I sanded the edges of area with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was a solid, smooth finish. All that remained was for me to rusticated it to match the surrounding briar.

I rusticated the repaired area with a Dremel and a series of burrs to match the rustication to the surrounding briar. I failed to take a photo of the bowl before I stained it. However, I used an Oak and a Mahogany stain pen to approximate the colour of the briar surrounding the repair. I took a photo of the various burrs I used with the Dremel to achieve the rustication patter that matches the rest of the bowl. I used a 3500 grit sanding pad to knock off the colour on the high points and give it a sense of depth. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to work it into the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I mixed a bowl coating of sour cream and charcoal powder and painted the walls and bottom of the bowl to protect it during the break in period. I applied it to the walls and heel of the bowl with a folded pipe cleaner. I set it aside to let it cure. It would take about 24 hours for it to cure. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in as much of a mess as the bowl. The P-lip had been cut off and the underside of the stem was flat at an angle toward the opening of the airway in the end. The top of the P was missing other a thin ridge to approximate a button. It was roughly done and did not leave much to work with. I looked through my Peterson stems for a replacement but the tenon was odd sized and it was made for a 5MM filter so I had nothing. That left me with a decision. I decided to shape the stem end and build a fishtail button on the end. I would have to build up the button edges on both sides and I would need to try to cut a slot instead of just an odd shaped hole. With that in mind I had my hands full on this stem.

I rebuilt the button end on the top and bottom with rubberized black CA glue. I layered it in place after each layer cured. It took time to build up the layers and reshape it with files and sandpaper, but I like the new look much better. Once the button was solidly in place and the shaping was finished on it I still needed to clean up the shape and smooth it out and give it more of a sense of flow. I sharpened the edge on the top and underside of the button. I used several needle files to smooth out the edge and top. I smoothed out the top surface of the button on each side and on the end with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I used a series of round and oval needle files to shape the slot in the stem end. I took it for an out of round airway exit to an oval. I also used a slot cutting tool to continue to reshape the slot. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inside of the slot. Once finished the slot looked much better. I polished the stem and the button with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad to protect and polish the stem surface.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. This Rusticated Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL16 Bent Billiard with a Taper Stem has a beautiful rusticated finish that has a new lease on life. I repaired the burnout in the heel of the bowl by fitting it with a briar plug and then rusticating it to match the rest of the bowl. The medium brown/black/mahogany finish gives depth to the rustication around the bowl and shank. It has a classic look of a Peterson’s pipe. The rebuilt and polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL16 Rusticated Bent Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.68 ounces/78 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Sergey picked up the other four pipes on Monday. He pressed to pick this one up on Friday evening. I did not promise but I know it is his favourite pipe so it is ready for him.

Restoring A Beautiful Heritage Embassy 44 Octagonal Pot

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By Steve Laug

About a year ago I visited an older pipe repair man (when I say older I mean older than me). He gave me a lot of pipe parts – stems, bases, bowl, tenons and bands On Monday, August 25 after a visit with my brother Kenneth and I went to visit my contact again. This time he had more stuff that he wanted to get rid of from his parts. Once again, we received more stems and tenons. But he also put in a box of pipes that were in various states of repair or disrepair. One of those pipes was an interesting Octagonal Pot, a Kaywoodie Heritage Pipe. I have always had an interest in the Kaywoodie Made Heritage Pipe line. I really like the way they are made – both in terms of workmanship and style. They really made some amazing looking pipes and I always try to pick them up when I can. The pipe had been reamed and cleaned and was in good condition. The finish was also quite clean. The bowl was a sandblast Pot with twin bands of smooth briar around the sides of the bowl. The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and has the shape number 44 on the heal of the bowl. That is followed by Heritage [over] Embassy. The stem was lightly oxidized and scratched from sitting in storage. It was also stuck solidly in the shank and would not turn no matter how hard I tried to turn it. I think that once I cleaned and polished the parts and put it back together it would be a great looking pipe. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition that I noted in the description above. It is quite clean and you can see that the rim top and edges all look very good. The stem photos clearly show the oxidation and light tooth marks on both sides. It will need some work.The next photos show the stamping that I described in the opening paragraph. It is clear and readable. I also included a photo of the double diamond logo on the left side of the taper stem. I took a photo of the pipe with stem removed to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. In other blogs on the brand I have given a bit of history on the Heritage Brand. I have included that here as well for ease of reference. Andrew Selkirk did a great job in researching and I am including a link to his work on the blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2014/12/23/refurbishing-a-heritage-heirloom/). I am including a brief summary of what he found in the next two short paragraphs to set the stage for the pipe on my work table.

Heritage pipes were Kaywoodie’s answer to Dunhill. According to one of their brochures, Heritage pipes were made from “briar burls seasoned and cured for up to 8 months,” with only “one briar bowl in over 300 selected to bear the Heritage name.” “Heritage stems are custom fitted with the finest hand finished Para Rubber stems. Mouthpieces are wafer thin and concave.”

The Heritage line began in the early 1960’s, with the trademark issued in 1964. The line was started at the request of Stephen Ogden, (who worked for Kaywoodie in 1962). Mr. Ogdon had previous experience working for Dunhill, either running the New York store or working for Dunhill North America. Mr. Ogden was made President of Heritage Pipes, Inc., Kaywoodie Tobacco Co.,Inc. and Kaywoodie Products Inc. as well as a Vice President of S.M. Frank & Co. Heritage Pipes were produced from 1964 until 1970 (Source kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org).

Andrew also included a copy of the Heritage brochure that I am also including below (Courtesy kaywoodiemyfreeforum). In going through the models displayed on the page there is not one for the 44.

As I read through the brochure I found a copy of the Embassy line on the third page. I drew a red box around it to easily identify it below. It reads:

Heritage… a name to remember in the world of smoking… made by the world’s largest manufacturer of fine pipes. Here are pipes, perfect in beauty and balance and so cool and mellow to smoke. Available in smooth Diplomat finish or rough, rugged Antique or Embassy finishes…

The box also encloses a photo of an Embassy finished Bulldog. It has the sandblast finish with twin smooth bands around the bowl and a smooth band around the end of the shank. The overall finish is the same as the one I am working on.The brochure has a great write up on the Heritage Antique Line. It reads Rustic Grain Stands out in Rugged Relief. It describes the line as follows:

This pipe is so bold looking, yet so light and smooth smoking. A special sandblasting process exposes a greater surface area on the bowl, giving a cooler, more satisfying smoke. Centuries-old Heritage Antique is strikingly masculine in appearance.

Added to this description is the specific finish that characterizes an Embassy line pipe as described above. Now it was time to restore the pipe itself.

The pipe seemed to be covered with a thick coat of varnish that filled in the sandblast portion and was peeling slightly on the smooth bands and smooth shank end. I wiped it down with a cotton pad soaked with acetone. I was able to remove the shiny coat in full. It looked much better now that the finish was flat. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the four lines on either side of the two smooth bands the line around the shank end ahead of the smooth band. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the light tooth marks, chatter and oxidation on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them in. I followed that up with Soft Scrub worked into the stem surface with cotton pads and removed a lot of oxidation. The stem looked much better after this process. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a deep shine.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside. The sandblast Heritage Embassy 44 Octagonal Pot is a real beauty and the finish and shape are well done and have a classic English look even though this is an American Made pipe. The thin taper vulcanite stem polished up on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond and had a rich glow. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Heritage Embassy 44 Octagonal Pot fits 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/33 grams. I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Maker Section. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Fourth of Five Peterson’s in for restoration that are in rough condition

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by Steve Laug

Yesterday afternoon I was visited by a pipe man here in Vancouver named Sergey who had five Peterson’s pipes that he wanted me to work on. They are shown in the photo below. In the left column from top to bottom: Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL17, Peterson’s of Dublin Filter 68, Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL16 Rusticated Pipe. In the right column from top to bottom Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL16 and the bottom pipe is a Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL14. All five pipes were all thickly caked and had thick lava on the rim top. The cake is so thick that I could not put my little finger in the bowl it was so heavily caked. My guess was that the bottom of the bowl was lower than the entrance of the airway into the bowl. The Rusticated Kinsale XL17 also had a burn out in the front bottom of the bowl that would take a lot more time than just a simple clean up. I would know more about the condition of each of the bowls once I had reamed and cleaned them. Sergey was travelling in two weeks and he chose at least two of them that he wanted to take with him on his trip so those would be first. My hope is to try to finish four of the five. The fourth of these that he wanted is the next one I chose to work on. It was the Peterson’s of Dublin Filter 68. I took photos of the Peterson’s of Dublin Filter 68 before I started working on it. This was Sergey’s first pipe and his concern was that it smoked hot. The finish is very dirty with oils and dirt ground into the briar. There is some spotty varnish on the finish that may well have contributed to the pipe smoking hot to the touch. The briar actually looks very good with great grain. The rim top is thickly covered with tarry lava overflowing from the heavy cake in the bowl. The cake was thick and heavy all the way to the bottom of the bowl. The vulcanite stem is also very dirty. There was oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button and lip edge. The P stamp on the left side of the stem is a gold P that is faint and faded. I took closeup photos of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the dirty condition of the pipe and the thickness of the cake and lava on the bowl top. The rim top and edges look to be ok under the lava coat as seen in the photos as well. I also took photos of the stem to show the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It was faint but readable through the grime and debris. It read as noted in the above paragraphs. I also took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the look and proportion of the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by reaming the thick cake in the bowl. I used a PipNet pipe reamer with the first cutting head to take back the cake. I followed that with the second and the third cutting head. I was able to remove all of the cake. The cake in the bottom third of the bowl was incredibly hard and took a repeated reaming of that portion. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape the remainder of the cake out of the bowl and clean up the bottom of the bowl. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. With the bowl cleaned out I was able to determine that the bowl bottom was in better condition than the first or second pipe. I would need to build up the bottom of the bowl slightly to the entrance of the airway. It would be further protection for the bottom of the bowl and help it from burning out. The issues with the rim top and inner edge would also need to be addressed. I scrubbed out the internals with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I worked them through the airway in the shank and stem, the mortise. It took a few cleaners and swabs to really clean it but it is looking and smelling much better.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it with warm running water and repeated the scrubbing and rinsing process until the pipe was clean and looked better. I wiped down the bowl with acetone (fingernail polish remover) to remove the spotty varnish coat on the briar. The varnish may be contributing to the pipe smoking hot. At this point the briar began to look good. At this point I decided to address the rim top and edge damage. There burn damage to the inner edge and onto the rim top. I wanted the top to be smooth once again and also wanted to bring the bowl back to round. I started by topping the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to smooth out the damage on the rim surface and clean up the outer edge damage. I was able to significantly clean up the damage. The other pipes I have worked on for Sergey have all had a slightly bevelled inner edge so I would need to do that with this pipe as well. I used 220 grit sandpaper and a wooden sphere to give the inner edge a bevel. I used a wooden sphere and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work on the edge and give it a slight bevel. Once finished it looked much better. I used a Cherry stain pen to touch up the rim top to match the rest of the bowl. I did this before sanding the bowl as I would also sand the top at the same time. I think the match was going to be perfect. We would see.I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove some of the darkening around the bowl. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It really began to look very good. I touched up the rim top once more with a Walnut Stain Pen. The colour matched surrounding stain on the briar. Polishing it would blend it very well.I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Each pad gave it more of a shine. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. By the end the bowl looked very good. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to work it into the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. The P logo on the left side of the stem was so faint and damaged but I tried to touch it up with some Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the remaining stamp with a tooth pick. It worked better than I expected but it was not flawless. This Peterson’s of Dublin Filter 68 Bent Billiard with a Taper Stem has a beautiful smooth finish that was slightly worn. The medium brown finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank. It has a classic look of a Peterson’s pipe. The polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s of Dublin Filter 68 is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.08 ounces/59 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I have one more pipe to finish but these four are ready to pick up and Sergey can take them on his travels. The last one I will give back when he returns. Thanks for your time.