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Restoring a Very Recognizable Stanwell Golden Contrast 124

Blog by Steve Laug

I have always been intrigued by the Stanwell Golden Contrast finish regardless of the pipes it has been applied to. The contrast of dark and light playing across the grain is beautiful. To me the lines and the elegance of the pipe are stunning and the contrast stain makes the lay of pipe with the grain gorgeous. The stain highlights the birdseye and the flame grain and makes them pop from the surface of the bowl and shank. The slight flare of the shank and the saddle on the stem to the pinch of the blade behind the saddle all pointed to a hand that I had seen before. I did a little digging because I wanted to confirm my guess/my suspicions about the designer. What I found out confirmed the direction I was thinking. This Freehand shape with a long conical shank, short saddle mouthpiece was designed by Sixten Ivarsson. For a list of various Stanwell Shape numbers and who they are attributed to you can read this list compiled by leading Stanwell Collector, the late Bas Stevens on rebornpipes at: https://rebornpipes.com/2013/09/03/stanwell-shapes-compiled-by-bas-stevens/

This particular pipe was another of the interesting pipes in the recent shipment of estate pipes we purchased from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/26/2023. We have gotten some amazing Stanwell pipes from him. This Golden Contrast was in pretty decent shape. The finish was dirty but in great shape. The rim showed some darkening and a build-up of tars and oils. There was a thick cake in the bowl with tobacco debris on the walls. The internals were dirty with tars and oils. The stem had some light oxidation and calcification on the top and bottom of the stem from the button forward. There was some tooth chatter as well but no deep tooth marks. The brass crown S on the left side of the saddle appeared to be lightly oxidized as well but would take little to make it shine. The various photos that follow are ones that my brother took before he cleaned the pipe. They show the amazing grain on this beauty. The next photos of the rim and the shank show the condition of the pipe at arrival in Idaho. The grain around the rim top is quite stunning to me. You can see the cake in the bowl and the grime on the top. It was a mess but the contrast stain makes the grain even show through the lava on the rim top. Jeff took photos of the grain on the sides and heel of the bowl. It really is a stunning piece of briar. The contrast stain really makes it stand out clearly. The next photos show the various stamping on the shank sides and bottom. The left side of the shank reads Stanwell over Golden Contrast in script. The right side of the shank is stamped with the shape number 124. The underside of the shank is stamped Made in Denmark. All the stamping is sharp and clear. He also captured the golden Crown “S” Stanwell logo on the left side of the saddle stem. I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find specific information on the Golden Contrast line of pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell). There was a short note there that I have included in full below.

Golden Contrast: An old series. The blocks are cut on the cross grain. The pipes from this series exhibit Birds Eye grain only. Brass band and brass S in the stem. The pipes have a two-tone staining which really shows the beautiful bird’s eye grain. However, this staining simply takes too much work so the series is discontinued.

With that information I now knew about the discontinued Golden Contrast line. The pipe I was working on did not have a brass band but it did have the kind of staining and colour on the grain on the pipe. It was definitely a two tone stain on the pipe. Now it was time to work on the 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.

Repairing a Cracked Shank and Restoring a Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 Royal Guard 22

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 01/26/18 from an eBay seller in Akron, Ohio, USA. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 [over] Royal Guard. It is stamped on the left side with the shape number 22. On the flattened underside of the shank it is stamped Made in Denmark. There was a thick cake in the bowl, debris in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. The airway was dirty and tarry and there was a hairline crack in the thin underside of the shank. There was a light lava overflow on the back of the crowned rim top. The crowned and inwardly beveled rim top looked to be in good condition. The outer edge actually looked quite good with no visible damage. The finish was dirty and dusty and with grime ground into the sides and heel of the bowl. The stem looked fairly good but underneath the calcification and oxidation the tooth marks and chatter looked minimal. There was a gold Stanwell S Crown on the left side of the half saddle. When the stem was removed it was clear that it was a filter pipe. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows some thin lava spots on the smooth finish. The inner edge of the bowl also had some lava buildup. The outer edges of the bowl look very good. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It looked very good under the spotty oxidation. Jeff took a photo of the heel of the bowl and the shank to give a sense of the grain around the bowl sides. It is gorgeous looking pipe that has grain that chases the shape of the bowl. It should clean up very well.He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. They are clear and readable as noted above. There was no photo included of the right side of the shank and the shape number there. The Crown Stanwell Logo was clear on the left side of the half saddle stem. It was interesting that the Royal Guard had that stem logo rather than the typical RG logo. Jeff took a closer photo of the hairline crack on the shank. It started on the thin bottom side of the shank end and curved upward through the Made in Denmark stamping before it disappears. I turned to Pipedia to see if there was any clear information on the Royal Guard line of pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell). I found the Royal Guard listed under the second lines of Stanwell pipes listed there.

I then followed a link there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). It took me to an article on Shape numbers and Designers. I quote from that below.

22. Two versions of this shape number:

a) Straight billiard with an oval shank and a tapered stem (early 1950s – see catalog).

b) Bent apple-horn hybrid with a half-saddle stem.

From that information I knew that I was working a 22 B – a bent apple-horn hybrid with a half-saddle stem. There was list of designers below that included the 22 in pipes designed by Sixten Ivarsson. The problem was that I did not know if it was referring to the a) or the b) design. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem to show how clean they were. You can see that rim top and edges look very good. The stem is clean and the tooth and chatter on both sides ahead of the button is very light.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping is readable as noted above. Royal Guard was a Stanwell second and generally was not stamped Stanwell. This one was! The stem on the Royal Guard was also stamped RG and this one bears the Stanwell Crown S.I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show that the tenon was drilled for a filter. I tried to fit a 9mm filter but it did not work. My guess is that it takes Vauen Dr Perl Junior 6mm size filter. I tried a Dr. Grabow 6mm filter it fit well but was too long. I would trim a Grabow filter to fit the proper length and whoever adds it to their collection will be able to use it until they are able to get some of the ones in the photo below. I also took a photo of the bowl and stem to get an overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. It really is a beautifully shaped pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by dealing with the cracked shank. I chose not to drill the crack end so as not to damage the stamping. Instead I put some glue on the cracked shank and held it in place until the CA glue set. I hand fit a band to the shank end. It sounds simple but it was an interesting challenge. The bottom edge of the shank was very thin which I think is why it cracked. There was no extra briar to work with. The other piece of the puzzled was that the bottom of the shank was flattened and the shape was not round any more. I went through my bands and found the one that had the proper diameter. It also had a curved edge that covered the shank end and would provide some extra thickness to the thin bottom of the shank. I gave the band a rough shaping by hand then put it on the shank and used a small furniture hammer to fit it smoothly to the shank shape. It fit nicely and it firmly held things in place. I used a folded pipe cleaner to paint the shank end with all purpose glue and then pressed the band in place on the glue. I took photos of the newly fitted band. It looked very good at this point and the crack was pressed together tightly. I polished the briar with micromesh because it was in such good condition. I polished it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. 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 while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I have a box of Dr. Grabow 6mm filters so I took one out of the box, shortened it to fit and inserted it in the tenon. The fit is perfect and fills in the tenon. I then used some White Acrylic Fingernail Polish to touch up the white that remained in the Crown S stamp on the top of the stem. The S and part of the crown looked much better. There were some light spots on the top of the crown but otherwise it looked good. 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 it 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 Sixten Ivarsson designed Stanwell Royal Guard 22 Bent Apple/Scoop with a half saddle vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. The thin brass band on the shank end looks good and adds strength to the shank stem fit. 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 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 Royal Guard 22 is very nice and feels great in the hand and can be used as a sitter with the wide base. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 57 grams/2.10 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

Restoring a Peterson’s Republic Era Kildare 86 Taper Stem Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us from somewhere neither Jeff or I remember. I can tell you though that it has been sitting here for a long time. That happens a lot when I am working through a country in my boxes. This the last of the current Peterson Pipes that I have to work on at the moment (no worries as there are more coming). It is a beautifully grained Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple. The shape follows the grain around the bowl which is a combination of cross grain and birdseye. The finish was clean and the pipe had been reamed in the past so I am pretty sure it has been through Jeff’s clean up. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. On the right side of the shank Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the shape number 86. The stamping is clear and readable on both sides. The stem was quite clean though there were light tooth marks and chatter on the stem near the button on both sides. There was the no Peterson’s “P” on the taper stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl has been cleaned but the rim top and the inner edge have some darkening. The finish on the bowl is quite clean. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip button and edges look good.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to give a clear picture of what I see here. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson Company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However, 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry (Harry) Kapp.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

Kildare (1965-) First issue of line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes, P-Lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue C.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte-brown, P-Lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-, burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to smokingpipes.com.

Judging from the description above I believe that I am working on a First Issue of the line in the time period of 1965-1979. It is a late Republic Era Classic Shaped pipe with a matte-finish and a P-Lip stem. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge and the rim top. It looked much better.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust on the surface. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it 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. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple with a saddle stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple was another fun pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.09 ounces/31 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring a Republic Era Petersons “Kildare” 87S Apple with a Saddle Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Kildare” Apple shaped pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good-looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. Both Jeff and I have no memory of where we picked up this pipe. Was it a trade or a pipe hunt find? Could easily have been either one. This Lightweight Apple was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the number 87S (faint but present) near the shank/bowl junction. I believe the “S” is for the saddle stem designation. The pipe was filthy when I brought it to the table. There was grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a minimal cake in the bowl but there was still a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was thickly coated in lava and it was hard to know how the rim top and edges looked underneath. The stem was dirty with oxidation and calcification on it. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was a light “P” stamp logo on left side of the saddle stem. I took photos of the pipe before my cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl has been but the rim top has a lava coat flowing down the outside of the bowl and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl is rough around the outer edge but I will know more once it is cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip button and edges look good.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. There is a “P” logo stamp on the left side of the saddle stem. It is faint but I am hoping that I can bring it back with white acrylic. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to give a clear picture of what I see here. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. The bowl was much cleaner though there were many small nicks and divots in the surface of the briar – but it was clean! I used a half wooden ball and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to bevel and clean up the rim top. I also used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the outer edge as well and give a slight curved or crown rim top look. I filled in the many nicks and divots in the bowl surface with clear CA glue. Once it cured I smoothed them out with a medium and a fine sanding sponge. Once finished it looked much better. I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. Many pipe cleaners later the airways were clear and the smell much better.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust on the surface. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. It certainly is improved!In the photos above you can see roughening on the top of the stem surface. I cleaned up the surface and there was some pitting in the surface on both sides. I filled in the pitted surface with clear CA glue. Once it cured I flattened it out with a small file and sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the “P” stamp on the left side of the saddle with some white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it cured I used a worn 1500 grit micromesh pad to polish off the excess material. The stamp is faint in the vulcanite so it is quite hard to see clearly.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it 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. NOTE: When I was buffing the pipe I notice a scratch on the left side the shank above the stamping that looked like a crack in the shank… I was a bit frustrated so I stopped buffing and checked it out and was relieved to see under bright light that it was a scratch and not a crack. I also removed the stem and checked the mortise end and there was no crack! I tried steaming the scratch out and was able to improve it but it is still present. There is also a small on the underside of the stem… irritating but part of the pipe’s story.

I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87S Apple with a saddle stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87S Apple was another challenging pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring a Worn and Tired Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 317

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I both have no idea where we picked up this pipe. We have no real memory of it but it is obvious that Jeff had cleaned it up sometime in its journey. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it is stamped and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) with the shape number 317 underneath. The pipe was a tired old workhorse with a worn finish. The bowl was also clean and there was no cake or damage on the bowl walls. The rim top was clean but there was some darkening on the top and on the inner and outer edge of the bowl. The nickel ferrule was tired and dull. It was stamped K&P [over] Peterson and there were no dents in the nickel ferrule. The stem was very clean with a light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside. There was a faint “P” logo on the stem side. It had also straightened out over time and would need to be bent to fit the flow of the pipe. I took these photos before I started my clean up work to give an idea of the condition of the pipe. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem to give a sense of the condition of both. The rim top had some scratching on the top and damage to the inner edge and rim top. The stem cleaned up well and the tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button are light and should clean up easily.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and on the ferrule and stem. It is readable but faint in places. I took the stem out of the shank and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. I remembered that Paresh had restored a Peterson’s System Standard (his was a 314) earlier this year and as usual had done good work on the research. I turned to his blog and read through his work on the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/07/24/helping-a-fellow-piper-with-his-dream-pipea-petersons-system-pipe/). I quote below from the section on his blog regarding the dating of the pipe.

While dating a Peterson’s pipe, I always fall back to my under mentioned favorite site; http://thepetersonpipeproject.blogspot.com/2007/07/dating-peterons-pipes.html I quote from the above site.

Stamping of Bowl: During the years of Kapp and Peterson’s business operations, the country of Ireland has undergone several name changes and K&P’s stamping on their pipes reflects these changes. Knowing these changes, a Peterson pipe can be roughly dated and placed in “eras.”

The Republic Era is from 1949 until the present. The Republic of Ireland was formed on 17 April 1949. From 1949 to present the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inside edge of the bowl and the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel to remove the darkening and clean up the rim top. I wiped the top and edges down with a damp cloth and the rim top and edges looked much better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I decided to start by rebending the stem. I heated it with the flame of a lighter to soften the vulcanite and when it was soft I bent it to the correct angle. It looked much better.I repaired the tooth marks on the top of the stem with clear CA glue. There were two deeper marks that I could not lift. This took care of those on the top side. There were none on the underside. Once it cured I sanded the repairs smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and cleaned up the light marks on the underside at the same time. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I continued polishing the stem using Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further it. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 317 Bent Billiard with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. The dents in the rotated nickel ferrule really are a part of the story of the pipe and one that was unchangeable. It carries on to the next pipeman or woman who takes on the trust. As the pipe is smoked the patina should darken and look even better. 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 Peterson’s System Standard 317 Bent Billiard 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 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 ounces. I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipe store in the Irish Pipe Makers 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 Worn and Tired Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 303

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I both have no idea where we picked up this pipe. We have no real memory of it but it is obvious that Jeff had cleaned it up sometime in its journey. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it is stamped and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) with the shape number 303 underneath. The pipe was a tired old workhorse with a worn finish. The bowl was also clean and there was no cake or damage on the bowl walls. The rim top was clean but there was some darkening on the top and on the inner and outer edge of the bowl. The nickel ferrule was tired and had dents on the top and bottom. It was stamped K&P [over] Peterson and the stamp had been turned. Somewhere along the way it was glued on the shank end. It was not movable. The stem was very clean with a light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside. I took these photos before I started my clean up work to give an idea of the condition of the pipe. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem to give a sense of the condition of both. The rim top had some scratching on the top and damage to the inner edge and rim top. The stem cleaned up well and the tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button are light and should clean up easily.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and on the ferrule and stem. It is readable but faint in places. I took the stem out of the shank and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. I remembered that Paresh had restored a Peterson’s System Standard (his was a 314) earlier this year and as usual had done good work on the research. I turned to his blog and read through his work on the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/07/24/helping-a-fellow-piper-with-his-dream-pipea-petersons-system-pipe/). I quote below from the section on his blog regarding the dating of the pipe.

While dating a Peterson’s pipe, I always fall back to my under mentioned favorite site; http://thepetersonpipeproject.blogspot.com/2007/07/dating-peterons-pipes.html I quote from the above site.

The Republic Era is from 1949 until the present. The Republic of Ireland was formed on 17 April 1949. From 1949 to present the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. I tried to remove the nickel ferrule. I heated it, put it in the refrigerator, painted the joint of the briar and the ferrule with acetone and none of them worked. The ferrule had been obviously epoxied in place and there was nothing I could do to remove it. The dents in the ferrule would remain with the pipe as a part of its journey. There were also sharp edges on the ferrule end that I would need to smooth out to keep from damaging the vulcanite. It was turned to the left leaving the stamping on the ferrule on the left underside.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inside edge of the bowl and the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel to remove the darkening and clean up the rim top. I wiped the top and edges down with a damp cloth and the rim top and edges looked much better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the sharp edge of the ferrule. I polished the ferrule end with micromesh sanding pads. I buffed it with a jewellers cloth to protect and to raise the shine in the nickel. You can see the dents and the rotated ferrule in the photos below but it is still quite nice. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I continued polishing the stem using Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further it. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 303 Bent Apple with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. The dents in the rotated nickel ferrule really are a part of the story of the pipe and one that was unchangeable. It carries on to the next pipeman or woman who takes on the trust. As the pipe is smoked the patina should darken and look even better. 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 Peterson’s System Standard 303 Apple 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams/1.55 ounces. I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipe store in the Irish Pipe Makers 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!

Fresh Life for a “Captain Peterson” Made in England N24 Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on my work table is another one that I have no idea where or when we picked it up. I know that it has been here for a long time. I figure that it probably came in the same lot as the Captain Peterson N23 Apple. The pipe is stamped on the left side and read “Captain Peterson” (upper case letters in two lines). On the right side it was stamped A “Peterson’s Product” [over] Made in England. That is followed by the shape number N24 near the shank/bowl union. There is a C in a Circle logo on the left side of the taper stem. The pipe had been reamed and cleaned somewhere along its journey which told me that it had come to me from Jeff after he had done is work. He also has no idea of the provenance of the pipe. The finish on the bowl was dull but very clean. There were burn marks on the right and left side toward the cap and on the rim top and edges. It appeared that the pipe had been laid in an ashtray. The bowl was reamed and the rim top was also clean. The inner edge of the bowl looked quite good. The taper stem was also very clean. It had no oxidation on the finish but there were tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem. There was a bite through on the underside next to the button edge. This one lacked a stinger. I took photos of the pipe 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 was no lava on top and no cake in the bowl. You can see the burn marks or darkening on the rim top and edges – both the inner and outer.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. The stamped white logo on the side of the taper stem is also clear and readable.I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of proportion to the pipe and to also show the unique stinger apparatus in the tenon end of the other Captain Peterson was missing on this one.I have included the information from the previous Captain Peterson restoration. For me this is a part of the restoration. I turned first to Pipephil’s site where I found both Captain Pete and Captain Peterson (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-peterson-rep.html#captainpete). I have included a screen capture of the Captain Pete information and also one of the Captain Peterson information. I also included the sidebar information as well.Captain Pete was a brand of Peterson’s English branch (1899-1960). Dublin continued to produce Captain Petes a couple of years after 1960. At the end of the eighties just as the Sherlock Holmes range was being issued, Peterson reintroduced the modern Captain Pete series.Captain Peterson was a brand of Peterson’s English branch. This English made pipe was crafted prior to 1960.

From there I turned to the “Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg, page 295 to see what information I could find there. I quote:

Captain Pete – This line’s name was derived from the nickname of Charles Peterson, known affectionately by friends and employees as “Captain Peterson.” The first issue. C. 1940-62, was in a smooth finish produced for Rogers Imports with a white stamped P inside C or a circled P on the mouthpiece. CAPTAIN over PETE on shank, and MADE IN IRELAND in a circle. English made versions show CAPTAIN over PETE on the shank or “CAPTAIN PETERSON” and a PETERSON’S PRODUCT over MADE IN ENGLAND or LONDON MADE over ENGLAND. The second issue (1998-), features an XL bowl with Sherlock Holmes shapes and compact stems, in rustic or combination of smooth and rustic finish, with a nickel band between two narrow brass bands.

I knew that I was working on a pipe made before 1960 in London, England. Thus, the pipe was a first issue C. 1940-62. It is a beautiful pipe that will need some work but overall was in very good condition for a pipe made before 1960. It was time to start my work on the pipe.

I began by cleaning up the inner edge of the bowl and gently topped the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the edge to give it very slight bevel and minimize the damage. I also sanded the burnt spots on the sides of the bowl to blend them into the surface. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the bowl and shank with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down with a damp cloth between each sanding pad. The bowl took on more of a shine with the completion of each sanding pad. I gave the bowl and shank a wash of Light Brown aniline stain and alcohol. I applied it with a wool dauber and flamed it to set it in the briar. Once it cured I buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. After buffing I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my fingertips. I let it sit on the bowl for 15 minutes. I buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth to raise the shine. It was a beautiful piece of briar. With the bowl finished other than the final buffing I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the button below the bite through. I filled in the bite through on the underside with black super glue and the tooth marks on the top side with you. I removed the pipe cleaner from the stem and then used a small file to flatten the repair. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and then started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the Circle C logo the left side of the stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it dried I sanded off the excess and the logo looked very good.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the stem down between each pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. By the final pad the pipe stem looked very good. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish the easy restoration of this “Captain Peterson” Made in England N24 Rhodesian. 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 buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black, taper vulcanite stem was beautiful. This “Captain Peterson” N24 Rhodesian turned out very well and 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 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .99 ounces/28 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in carrying on the trust of this let me know through a message or an email to slaug@unserve.com . Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

The Last Filthy and Messy Pipe – a Worn and Repaired No Name Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came is another one from the lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was traveling in Europe. In the box were 4 Stanwells, 1 Danmore Bowl, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, and 1 Brigham. I have restored the Nording, the snapped Stanwell, the Brigham, the Gourd Calabash with the briar bowl, restemmed the Danmore bowl, cleaned the Lorenzetti, restored the Stanwell Made in Denmark 11 Pot, the Stanwell Antique 25 Scoop and the Danish Sovereign Stanwell Second 64 Dublin. There are blogs on each restoration available. I now am down to one remaining pipe. The next pipe on the table is the last of the dirty pipes in a box full of very dirty pipes. There appears to be some stamping on the shank sides but it is so worn that it is utterly unreadable. The pipe was obviously someone’s favourite. The Rhodesian is one of my favourite pipe shapes. This one had not only been smoked to a point of heavy damage on the rim top and inner edge but the band on the shank held together a repair of three branched cracks on the shank. The stem fit well but there was a lot of grit and grime built up in the shank. There was a thick cake in the bowl, debris in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. The airway was plugged and there was no draught on the pipe. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and down the sides of the bowl and shank. The inner edges of the bowl were heavily damage, particularly on the right front side. The outer edge actually looked quite good under the grime. The rim cap was worn at an angle with more briar at the back of the bowl and on the left side than on the front side and the right side. The finish was dirty and there was lava on the sides and heel of the bowl. The stem was in rough shape in appearance but underneath the calcification and oxidation the tooth marks and chatter looked minimal. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl. The rim top shows the thick lava on it and the edges. The inner edge of the bowl is so thickly coated lava that it is hard to know the condition. The outer edges of the bowl were very worn. You can also see how poorly the stem seats against the end of the mortise. There is a gap between the shank end and the saddle stem. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It looked very good under the calcification and oxidation.I took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the cracks in the shank. There is one long crack with two branches off of it. It had been repaired and banded. I also took a photo of the shank end to show the crack and the gummy tars in the shank. It was a mess. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I removed the stem and turned my attention to the bowl clean up. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the fourth (and largest) cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 180 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I scrubbed out the internals of the shank, mortise and the airway in the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. There was a lot of tar and oil in the shank and airway. It was a mess.Once I had cleaned the shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. You can see the repaired cracks in the shank under the band. Once the rim was topped the right side or the rim top and inner edge were very thin and work. The bowl was out of round and a real mess. What was I going to do with the mess? Leave it be or fuss with it? I chose to fuss and rebuilt the inner edge with clear CA glue and briar dust until the bowl was back in round. I cleaned up the inner edge of the rebuilt portion of the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and my Dremel and sanding drum. I was actually pretty happy with the finish… it seems I made a good choice.I filled in the deep flaws in the briar with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once they cured I sanded the repaired areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I used a dark Cordovan aniline stain to give the bowl an undercoat. I applied it with a wool dauber and flamed it to set it in the grain. I rusticated the finish with a home made rustication tools. I wanted to dig deep enough in the briar to mask the many fills in the wood and the repaired cracks in the shank. It would also give the pipe a tactile finish. I rusticated the bowl and shank but left the bull cap and rim top smooth. The twin rings around the cap are clean and still very visible. I used a light brown aniline wash to restain the bowl. I applied it to the briar and flamed it with a lighter. That set the brown on the top of the rustication. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish with a horsehair shoe brush and my finger tips to clean and enliven the briar. If you have read my blogs for a while you know that I do this religiously every time as it really works magic! With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped it down with some Soft Scrub on cotton pads to remove the oxidation and calcification. I was able to remove most of the oxidation and the calcification. It looked much better when I finished.I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of the marks on the top surface and all but three small deeper marks. I filled in those with black CA glue. I flattened the repair with a small file and further blended it into the surface with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It really was taking on a shine. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish the reconstruction of this No Name Rhodesian. 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 hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished reworked bowl looks like with the polished black, saddle vulcanite stem was beautiful. This No Name Rhodesian turned out very well and 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I am not sure what I am going to do with at the moment. It is unique and rebuilt but looks like new. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

Resurrecting a Savinelli Dry System

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the old chopping block is a wonderful Savinelli Dry System 3621 Bent Dublin. It’s a really good-looking pipe and I understand that this is a popular and well-loved series. I got it recently in a lot of pipes and it called out to me for some help. I suppose this pipe is meant to be reminiscent of the Peterson system pipes – it even has a sort of P-lip button! It’s a terrific-looking pipe, with a bit of a rough history. The main markings of the pipe are on the underside of the stummel. On the left it reads Savinelli [over] Dry [over] System. Next to that is the Savinelli crown and “S” logo. And next to that is 3621 [over] Italy. The shank has a nickel cap with Savinelli stamped on it. Finally, the stem has a worn, but still readable, stylized “S” on the top.Savinelli is one of the most recognized names in pipe smoking and they have a long and storied history. You can read about them from their own website or from Pipedia’s article about them. However, I was particularly interested in learning more about the Dry System. Sadly, Pipedia had nothing on this subject. I checked with Pipephil and they did have a bit of information which I provide here below:However, the definitive word on the Dry System comes from Savinelli’s own website. It provided some very useful information.

In 1981, after several years of research, Savinelli launched the “Dry System”, combining trap and filter. The name “Dry” comes from the introduction of the balsa “filter” into the traditional system pipe – the “System” being the presence of the built-in moisture trap in the shank. The balsa mops up the moisture in the smoke hence the term “Dry” system, and if the pipe is smoked without the balsa all that will happen is that this moisture will condense and collect in the trap. It can then either be mopped up with a folded pipe cleaner, or flicked out.

Finally, here’s an image of the pipe from an old Savinelli shape chart:This was obviously a terrific smoker, as the wear and tear on this pipe shows. The stummel was quite dirty – both inside and out – and even appeared to have some dust-bunnies inside the bowl (not to mention all the cake). The finish was well worn and would need to be addressed. The nickel cap had some mess on it too. The stem, however, was from another planet. Have you ever seen such oxidation on a pipe stem? In fact, my wife asked me if the stem was actually meant to be brown. “No” was my emphatic answer! Aside from that, the stem had some tooth marks and nicks. I could tell that this stem was going to be a bear to deal with. This pipe is always going to retain some marks from its hard life, but it is my job to make sure this pipe looks as good as possible. It’s a wonderful pipe and it deserves to be part of someone’s collection again.

The stem is going to take a lot of work, so let’s get started. I took up the stem and cleaned it off with Murphy’s Oil Soap. It was quite dirty and needed some scrubbing. I then cleaned out the insides of the stem with pipe cleaners and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol, and, as you can see, if was pretty dirty inside. I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the tooth marks. This was only moderately successful in raising the dents.Now to tackle the epic oxidation. Next, I scrubbed (and scrubbed and scrubbed) the stem with some SoftScrub cleanser and then put the stem in my container of deoxidizing fluid overnight. This works to draw the oxidation to the surface of the stem, so that it can be cleaned off again with more SoftScrub. As you can see, this worked in the sense that it drew out the oxidation, but there remained a lot of labour ahead. In fact, I repeated the process of scrubbing and soaking overnight, because the situation was so dire. Eventually, I got to a point where the stem was something I could work with. Before I moved on to sanding, I built up the tooth marks on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. I then sanded them down with sandpapers to merge a bit better into the stem. I also added some nail polish to the ‘S’ on the stem. At this point, it was clear that more than the ‘usual’ sanding was going to be required here. I took two sanding sponges (220- and 320-grit) and worked the stem hard. I needed to sand out the remaining oxidation to get this stem the best chance of looking decent again. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. As I mentioned before, there are still hints of its past life, but I’m pretty pleased with how the stem came out. On to the stummel and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I used the KleenReem to remove the cake in the bowl and I followed up by sanding the walls down with some 220-grit sandpaper attached to a wooden dowel. I took it down to bare briar, as I wanted to see if there were any issues in the walls of the bowl. There was some charring and some slight fissures, but nothing serious. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was some nastiness inside this stummel and it took a lot of cotton to get this thing clean. I decided to de-ghost the bowl to be on the safe side. I thrust some 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. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a toothbrush. What a difference that made! I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. As I mentioned earlier, there were some minor issues to fix inside the bowl. The solution to this problem is an excellent one: epoxy. I prepared some J.B. Weld epoxy and smeared the walls, ensuring that the epoxy was evenly spread. Once done, a good 24 hours was needed to ensure that the epoxy was properly cured. After that, I gently sanded the inside of the bowl to provide a rough surface for what was to come later. I coated the entire inside of the bowl with a mixture of activated charcoal and my wife’s homemade yogurt. Once hardened, this provides a good, slightly rough surface for a new cake to build. Due to the pipe’s hard life, it was clear to me that the pipe needed to be stained. I applied some Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye. I flamed it with a BIC lighter and let it set. I then removed the excess with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton round. It looked so much better after this. 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 fifteen 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! I rubbed the nickel band with 0000 steel wool. This is the least abrasive grade of steel wool and I wouldn’t use anything harsher than that. I then used a few MicroMesh pads to make the metal shine. 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 Lee Valley Conservator’s Wax which worked like a charm. This was a nifty restoration and I had fun with it. I think the result is terrific and it’s a very handsome 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 Savinelli Dry System 3621 Bent Dublin are as follows: length 5 in. (126 mm); height 4 in. (101 mm); bowl diameter 1⅜ in. (36 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅛ oz. (35 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.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 309 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a customer, Ted about some pipe work for him. He had three pipes that he said needed different things and offered to send some photos. He also sent a second email with a description of what each pipe needed. I have included that email and the photos he sent below.

Peterson 309 needs stem restoration and bowl cleaned out. Rhodesian needs full restoration – my English teacher from high school gave it to me a little over two years ago. The Comoy’s Canadian needs a new bit I broke it… I have finished the Comoy’s Restem and the restoration of the Andre pipe. This third pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [arched over] System [arched over] Standard. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) and next to that is the shape number 309. The nickel ferrule is stamped K&P Peterson over the three common hallmarks on System pipes with Nickel ferrules – a shamrock, a wolf hound, and a tower. There was a moderate cake in the bowl with lava on the rim top. The finish was in decent condition but there was a varnish coat that was spotty. There was dirt and debris ground into the finish on the bowl sides and around the edges of the rim. Under the grime is a coat of varnish that was spotty and worn. The nickel ferrule is oxidized and dirty. The stem was oxidized and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started work on it. I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows some lava on the smooth finish. The inner edge is quite dirty and is covered with a coat of lava but the outer edges of the bowl looked good. The stem photos show the oxidation and the light tooth marks and chatter next to the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the pipe. It is stamped on both sides and reads as noted above. It was clear and readable as noted above. The stamping on the ferrule is also very clear and readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to give a sense of proportion of the pipe. It is quite nice. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientiﬁc effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture ﬂows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the ﬂow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminum. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). There is no shape 309 shown in the catalogue page of rusticated shaped shown below. I wonder if it is an older or a newer shape. But I am uncertain of that. I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950-1989. It was a Peterson’s System Standard 309 Bent Billiard with a great rustication. The bowl was stained with a combination of reddish-brown stains. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake from the bowl and take it back to bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The bowl was very clean. I removed the shiny varnish coat and grime with a cotton pad and acetone. Once it was finished it looked much better. I worked on the rim top and the bowl edges with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a worn 1550 grit micromesh sanding pad to remove the tars and oil damage.I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I scrubbed out the internals of the pipe with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I cleaned out the airway in the stem as well. I worked on these areas repeatedly until the shank and the airway in all the parts was clean.I polished the smooth briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. Between the 2440 grit pad and the 3200 grit pad, I stained the rim top with both a Maple and a Cherry stain pen. It was a close match to the rest of the bowl. With the remaining micromesh and the buffing it would be a good match. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the nickel ferrule on the shank end with a jewellers cloth to remove the tarnish, polish the nickel and protect it from further tarnish. It looks very good. With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I worked on the oxidation on the stem with Soft Scrub Cleanser. I worked it into the vulcanite with a cotton pad and was able to remove much of the oxidation. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil.Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Smooth Peterson System Standard 309 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 309 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. It is the last of the three pipes that were sent to me by Ted for refurbishing. Now that it is complete I will be boxing up the threesome and sending them back to him. I am sure he will enjoy them and build even more memories with them. This was another interesting estate to bring back to life.