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Restoring and Restemming a Mixed Finish Frasorteret Hand made in Denmark 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 shank 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 hidden by the sandblast. 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 heavy 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 cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat and debris in the plateau finish on the rim top. You can see that it basically fills in the grooves of the finish. The shank extension is also oxidized and dirty. 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 photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the finish on the bowl sides. It is really a beautiful pipe with great grain in the smooth portions. 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 the stem I found. I put the new stem in the shank and took a photo, 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 fit the cleaned stem into the shank of the pipe and it was an odd fit. When I pulled it out this piece of scotch tape came out with the tenon. That is yet another testimony to the stem being a replacement. The tape would have been around the tenon to snug the fit in the shank. I cleaned out the shank with pipe cleaners and alcohol to remove the residual gum from the tape. Much better and the stem fit!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 sanded the shank extension with 320-3500 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the vulcanite extension down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It began to look 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 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. 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 fancy vulcanite saddle 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 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 49 grams/1.69 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!

It is alive – a Sandblast Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 308 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from an antique store in Wheeler, Oregon, USA on 08/24/2024. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Peterson’s [arched over] System followed by Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 308. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P [over] the three common hallmarks on System pipes with Nickel ferrules – a shamrock, a wolf hound, and a tower. That is followed by Peterson’s. It has a rich sandblast finish with unique patterns around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow filling in the sandblast on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The nickel ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. 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 Sandblasted Peterson’s System Standard 308 Bent Billiard with a great sandblast. The bowl was stained with a combination of black and brown stains. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work (sadly I forgot to take photos until after I had rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. But you can see the idea. I took close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in good condition. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the light tooth marks and chatter on the stem ahead of the button are clear.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by rubbing the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It was in very good shape, so I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the oxidation and to further protect it from further oxidation. The shine is quite nice. I set the bowl aside and moved on to sand the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The stem began to look much better.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 Sandblasted Peterson System Standard 308 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 dark browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 308 Sandblasted 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.01 ounces/56 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.

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.

Restemming and Restoring a Marxman Import Briar Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was a bowl sans stem that I have had in my box of bowls to be restemmed. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Marxman with an arrow running through it [over] Imported Briar. The rounded Apple shape had some great grain around the sides of the bowl and shank. From my previous work on one of these I knew that I was dealing with an American made product. The pipe had been reamed and cleaned by my brother Jeff many years ago. The rim and the inner edge were clean and looked to be in good condition. The finish had been scrubbed and it was very clean. I took some photos of the bowl before I worked on it and fit it with a new stem. I found a thick vulcanite taper stem in my can of stems that would work with some adjustments. The tenon would need to be reduced in diameter and the diameter of the shank end would also need to be reduced. The size and shape of the stem were perfect to start with. I took photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the parts of the pipe. It is going to be a beautiful pipe once it is completed.I turned to Pipephil’s site to look at the data that was available on Marxman pipes and see if there were any pipes like the bowl I had (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m2.html). There was nothing in the photos there but the stampingi and data available was helpful. I have included the sidebar information below the screen capture.Brand created in 1934 and merged with Mastercraft in 1953.

From that information I knew that bowl was crafted between 1934 when the Marxman Brand created and when it merged with Mastercraft in 1953. It is a large margin but it gives me a 19-year window as to when the bowl was made.

From there I turned to Pipedia’s listing on Marxman pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Marxman). The brief article quotes from Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes. I have included the information on there below.

Marxman (Marxman Pipe Company) was created by Robert (Bob) L. Marx in 1934, when he was 29, and after he had worked for the William Demuth Company. His pipes were not outstanding because of the quality of their wood (probably Algerian), but Bob started making unique sculpted pieces, which brought the brand fame in the World of Hollywood cinema. Actors like Zachery Scott, Dennis Morgan, Jack Carson, Alan Hale, Joel McRae, and Ronald Reagan were some of the faces that appeared on the bowls.

Bob knew how to innovate and took full advantage of marketing and press advertising in order to sell the brand–one of his slogans being “Relax with a Marxman”.

The article also included a shape chart that was helpful. It looked to me that the pipe was a Marxman Massive Sherlock. It is the top pipe in the second column in the photo below.I started my work on the stem by reducing the diameter of the tenon to fit in the shank. I used a Dremel and sanding drum to begin the process and cleaned it up with a flat file. Once I finished shaping it I fit the stem to the shank. The fit was snug. The diameter of the stem itself was larger than the diameter of the shank. That is visible in the photos below. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the stem as much as I safely could do and then cleaned it up with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and shape the stem. I used a flat file to reduce the diameter of the shank. It worked well to remove the excess vulcanite to match diameter of the shank. It was getting there.I decided to fit the shank with a thin polished nickel band to set off the briar and the new stem. I reduced the depth of the band by 2/3rds with a Dremel, sanding drum and topping board. When I had it thin enough to not cover too much of the stamp on the shank it was ready to use.I pressed it onto the shank and took photos of the adjusted look of the pipe. I really like the look of the band. I sanded the band and the briar with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth it out. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust and debris. I polished the briar and band with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The bowl began to take on a rich shine and the finish really glowed. I worked some Before and After Restoration Balm into the finish of the briar with my finger tips. The product works to clean, enrich and restore the briar. The photos show the beauty that pipe really had at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the files marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I moved on to sand the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The stem began to look much better. 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 some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem and slow down the oxidation. I put the restemmed Marxman Imported Briar Apple/Ball back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond. It raised a shine on the briar and the stem and gave some depth to the look of the carved grooves. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe turned out to be a unique beauty in its own rugged way. I really like the grain and the shape of this Marxman Apple/Ball. The thin nickel band and the thick bent taper stem go well with the thick shank. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.29 ounces/64 grams. It is a uniquely beautiful pipe. I am not sure what I am going to do with it yet. It may well be one I keep to enjoy, I will keep you posted. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Rescuing a Remarkable Old Torpedo of Grenoble

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by Kenneth Lieblich

If you’re interested in an old and highly unusual pipe with incredible grain, have I got a pipe for you! This pipe is in the shape of a torpedo – but not like the screw-in zeppelin pipes you may have seen. This one is much older and more fascinating. It has a substantial chunk of briar and a lovely horn stem, with a bone tenon. I received it in a large lot of French pipes and it has been sitting in my box for a long time. Now, the time has come for it to be brought back to life. I’ve mentioned several times that I have an interest in French pipes and pipemaking. I think we’re going to have fun with this one. You may wonder why I called this pipe a torpedo, and that’s a fair question. The markings on the pipe are what gave it away. If you look at the photos below, you’ll see a difficult-to-read word on the side of the stummel. It took me a long time to figure out what it said (and I also used chalk like a gravestone rubbing), but my knowledge of the French language helped. The word is torpille, which is the French word for torpedo. Aha! The word fit the letters and the shape of the pipe. These photos also show the wonderful grain. At this point, since we’re talking about markings, I’m momentarily going to jump ahead in the story. It wasn’t until after I had cleaned the stummel (much later) that I uncovered more marks! These were very faint (as the photos below attest). Again, after quite a bit of staring with magnification, I figured out what the words were. They are A La Havane [over] Grenoble. Naturally, I was curious about this and discovered that this was the name of an old tobacco shop in the French city of Grenoble (obviously). Incidentally, A La Havane means ‘In Havana,’ which seems like a suitable name for a tobacconist. In fact, there is a tobacco shop in Grenoble to this day which is called Le Havane. I wonder if this is just the modern incarnation of that old shop. It seems likely. Here’s a Google Street View image of it:Steve has restored a couple of pipes similar to this one, but not quite the same. He referred to the pipe he had as a ‘slug’, which is both humorous and accurate. You can read about one of the restorations here. Mine is a bit different, as it has a very different stem and is missing the slug’s ‘foot’. Have a look at Steve’s here:Moving on to the state of this pipe and, well, it had seen better days. This pipe was worn, dirty, and rough. The stem was made of horn and was heavily chewed and beaten. Its tenon was made of bone and, in theory, should be able to be unscrewed – but some of these century-old pipes are awfully difficult. Meanwhile, the stummel was very dirty, with dust and grime ground into the wood. The rim was heavily burned and the insides were clogged with filth.To begin, I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. I wanted to clean out the insides next, but I felt it important to try and remove the tenon. First, I soaked the stem in isopropyl alcohol for about an hour – and that did precisely nothing. Second, I stuck the stem in the freezer for about 30 minutes – sometimes that can help the unscrewing process, but it didn’t. Third, I warmed the stem with my heat gun, hoping that that might loosen the gluey goo inside. After heating for quite a while, I could feel just a little give. I used my fingers to undo the screw. It was so challenging that I actually developed (and burst) a blister on my left index finger. But the good news is that I actually got it unscrewed. What I won’t do for pipes! The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. I used quite a few pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I also cleaned the tenon very well too.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the horn. This was done by filling those divots with clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. There was quite a bit of horn missing and the repair took quite a while. I left this to cure and moved on. I neglected to take photos of this stem, so you’ll just have to take my word for it.

The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the horn. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the horn, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. I noticed that the bottom of the bowl had been somewhat scraped out over the years, and the heel was lower than one would wish. However, I left it as it was – this is part of its history.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to clean. Holy moly, was this pipe ever dirty!I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. I also used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. It was at this point in the cleaning process that I noticed the faint markings that I mentioned earlier.The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with the same mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.I took a solid wooden sphere, wrapped a piece of 400-grit sandpaper around it, and lightly sanded the inner edge of the rim. This achieved two things: first, it removed some of the burn marks; and second (and more importantly), the circular shape and motion of the sphere gradually returned the edge to a circle. Some of the burning will always remain, but that’s fine – it is part of this pipe’s history.

I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.This French ‘Torpille’ Torpedo pipe looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘French’ 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 5½ in. (140 mm); height 1¼ in. (30 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (36 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¼ oz. (37 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did 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 and Cleaning a Clogged Savinelli Tortuga 128 Billiard yet again

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by Steve Laug

Last week I received a phone call from Brian in Victoria about a few more clogged pipes. He sent them by courier and I received them on Wednesday this week. The first pipe I worked on was a Lorenzo that I restemmed and blogged on (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/10/24/restoring-and-restemming-a-clogged-and-filthy-italian-lorenzetti-billiard/). The second one was a Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian that was clogged and had no airflow once again. I had restored and cleaned it for him and written a blog on July 29, 2025 (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/07/29/restoring-and-cleaning-a-clogged-savinelli-tundra-802-canadian/). It is finished and has been blogged.The third one is a Savinelli Tortuga that I had also restored at the same time and written a blog on (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/07/30/restoring-and-cleaning-a-clogged-savinelli-tortuga-128-billiard/). He asked if I would clean and open them up for him once again.

I chose to work on the last of the three, a Savinelli Tortuga Billiard. I had restored it late in July and it had been a wreck. Other than being clogged it was better. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Savinelli [arched over] Tortuga. On the right side it has a Savinelli S shield followed by Italy [over] the shape number 128. The finish was still pretty clean. The bowl already had a thick cake and some wet sticky dottle that completely covered the airway at the bottom of the bowl as it had before. The rim top had was covered by light coat of lava that was sticky. The taper stem was amber coloured acrylic. There were deep tooth marks that were once again on the top and underside ahead of the button. The shank and airways in both the mortise and stem were very dirty. I blew through the stem and it was clear and unclogged. I tried to blow through the shank and it was constricted with tars. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. It amazed me how quickly the pipe had clogged again. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake and dottle in the bowl and the clean rim top. The photos of the stem show that the repairs on the tooth marks and chatter on the top looks to be in great condition.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank to capture it. The was faint in spots but readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning out the dottle in the bottom of the bowl. It was thick and wet. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I used the drill bit in a Kleen Reem pipe reamer and twisted it into the shank in the shank until it went to the bowl. It cleaned out more of the debris and opened the airway. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise as well as the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that Brian really enjoyed it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. With the shank clear and the airway open it was time to work on the stem. It was clear once again just dirty and I needed to clean up my repairs on the stem. Once the repair cured I used some small files to recut the button edge, reshape the surface and flatten the repair on the stem surface on both sides. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to minimize the visibility of the solid repair. I sanded the surface of the acrylic taper stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine. The repairs are visible but they are smooth. It is hard to patch Cumberland style stems.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 gave the stem a final polish with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed the stem with them and then gave them a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set it aside to dry. I finished reworking Brian’s Savinelli Tortuga 128 Billiard with an acrylic taper tortoise shell stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth bowl and shank. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the repaired acrylic stem. This reworked Savinelli Tortuga 128 Billiard is has a wide open airway now and feels great in the hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.45 ounces. This third pipe that Brian sent is another beautiful pipe. I will soon be sending all three pipes back to him. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of hese resurrected beauties. Both should be great smoking pipes.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring and Cleaning a Clogged Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian yet again

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by Steve Laug

Last week I received a phone call from Brian in Victoria about a few more clogged pipes. He sent them by courier and I received them on Wednesday this week. The first pipe I worked on was a Lorenzo that I restemmed and blogged on (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/10/24/restoring-and-restemming-a-clogged-and-filthy-italian-lorenzetti-billiard/). The second one was a Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian that was clogged and had no airflow once again. I had restored and cleaned it for him and written a blog on July 29, 2025 (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/07/29/restoring-and-cleaning-a-clogged-savinelli-tundra-802-canadian/). The third one is a Savinelli Tortuga that I had also restored at the same time and written a blog on (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/07/30/restoring-and-cleaning-a-clogged-savinelli-tortuga-128-billiard/). He asked if I would clean and open them up for him once again.

I chose to work on was Savinelli Tundra. It looked very familiar to I checked out the blog and sure enough as noted above I had restored it once already. It was stamped on the topside of the shank and read Tundra. On the underside it has a Savinelli S shield on the underside followed by the shape number 802. The finish was still pretty clean. The bowl already had a thick cake and some wet sticky dottle that completely covered the airway at the bottom of the bowl as it had before. The rim top had was covered by light coat of lava that was sticky. The taper stem was multi-coloured acrylic. The bite through I had repaired had held up quite well. The shank and airways in both the mortise and stem were very dirty. I blew through the stem and it was clear and unclogged. I tried to blow through the shank and it was constricted with tars.  I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. It amazed me how quickly the pipe had clogged again. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake and dottle in the bowl and the clean rim top. The photos of the stem show that the repairs on the tooth marks and chatter on the top looks to be in great condition.I took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank to capture it. The Tundra stamp and the stamping on the underside was faint but readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by cleaning out the dottle in the bottom of the bowl. It was thick and wet. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I used the drill bit in a Kleen Reem pipe reamer and twisted it into the shank in the shank until it went to the bowl. It cleaned out more of the debris and opened the airway. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise as well as the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that Brian really enjoyed it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. With the shank clear and the airway open it was time to work on the stem. It was clear once again just dirty and I needed to clean up my repairs on the stem. Though I did not take photos of the process as this point I used my normal process. I used small files to recut the button edge, reshape the surface and flatten the repair on the stem surface on both sides. The filled in bite through on the underside was visible but the beauty was it was underneath! I would continue to sand and work it to minimize the visibility but the repair was solid.I sanded the surface of the acrylic taper stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine. The repairs are visible but they are smooth. It is hard to patch Cumberland style stems.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 set it aside to dry. I finished cleaning and opening up the airway once again on this Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian with an acrylic taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth bowl and shank. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the repaired acrylic stem. This Savinelli Tundra Canadian looks better and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 41 grams/1.45 ounces. This second of three pipes that Brian me to open up again. I will send the pipes back to him once I have cleaned up the final pipe he sent. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this resurrected beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Work of Art from Viggo Nielsen

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by Kenneth Lieblich

When I first saw this pipe, I thought that it was a very fine example of Danish pipemaking. But the more I worked on it, the more I recognized the incredible workmanship involved in carving it. This is a majestic, hand-finished freehand from master carver, Viggo Nielsen. This is the sort of pipe that offers you more each time you look at it. Examining the curves, angles, transitions, and plateau was very rewarding and reminded me of a rugged mountain landscape. It’s a beautiful pipe! There are some markings on the shank of this pipe and they are helpful for identification. On the left side of the shank, we see Nielsen [over] Handmade [over] in Denmark. On the right side of the shank, we see Hand [over] Finished. That’s all – no other markings to be found.It is worth looking up the work of Viggo Nielsen from the usual sources. On Pipedia, his article states:

Viggo is surely one of the seminal figures in the evolution of the Danish pipe. His pipes are all handmade – also handmade stems, often in Cumberland. Most of the pipes are quite big, and a large number are made for 9mm filter. The finish is just perfect and when holding one of Viggo’s pipes, you can tell, he’s a pro. 

Viggo Nielsen was born in 1927. During World War II he started making pipes at a now closed factory. These pipes were made of birch due to the lack of briar (because of the war). In 1948 Viggo started his own pipe factory, “Bari”. But it wasn’t until 3 years later he could actually acquire Briar wood for his pipes. The business was very successful producing both classic shapes and freehand models.

In 1978 Viggo sold the business to a German tobacco manufacturer and he began making the Fåborg Pipe together with his two sons Jørgen Nielsen and Kai Nielsen. Even when Viggo had reached the age of retirement, he could not quite leave his workshop and he still made about 100 pipes a year, some of them based on the famous “Fåborg Pibe” but also a few “Jewels of Denmark”, until he passed away.

This pipe doesn’t have a Cumberland stem, nor a filter, but it is a healthy size. I also went to Pipephil and found the following:

Artisan: Viggo Nielsen (1927 – †2009) starts making pipes during WWII. He estabishes his own Bari factory in 1948. The business is sold to a German tobacco manufacturer in 1978 and from this period on he starts the “Faaborg Pipe” (Fåborg Pibe) with his two sons Jørgen Nielsen and Kai Nielsen. The “Jewel of Denmark” stamping is reserved for perfect pipes (flawless straight grain).

Let’s examine this wonderful specimen. The pipe was in great condition – just very dirty from lots of smoking. You can see lots of lava on the plateau rim top. The briar bowl was in nice shape, with a bit of grime ground in. The stem was well-worn, but a good, solid freehand stem. It has a few tooth marks and some oxidation, but nothing to worry about. To begin, I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. I used quite a few pipe cleaners and cotton swabs – far more than are shown in the photo.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, ochre-coloured mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. And – holy moly – there was a lot of debris!Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. I also used a nylon brush in the crevices of the plateau. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with the same mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. Just look at that pipe! For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.This Viggo Nielsen Hand-Finished Freehand looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Danish’ 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 6⅛ in. (156 mm); height 3 in. (76 mm); bowl diameter 1⅞ in. (46 mm); chamber diameter 1 in. (25 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2¼ oz. (67 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did 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 worn and well used Comoy’s Made Sunrise Natural Stack 188

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from a seller in Bristol, Tennessee, USA on 12/13/2024. The pipe is beautifully grained tall and short Stack shaped pipe with what looks like a mix of medium brown stains. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Sunrise [over] Natural. On the right side of the shank it reads Made in England in a circle followed by the shape number 188 near the bowl shank junction. The pipe was very dirty with a lot of grime ground into the bowl with grain peeking through in spots. The bowl was heavily caked with a lava coat flowing onto the rim top and inner around the bowl. The stem was did not fit well in the shank. It was oxidized, calcified and dirty with light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The stem had deep gouges around the shank end and appeared to have been damaged by someone trying to turn it with pliers. It was a mess. The pipe definitely had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and well as the lava and darkening on the rim top and inner edge. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks. The first stem photo shows some of the damage on the vulcanite surface at the shank end. Jeff took a photo the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of the condition of the bowl and shank. You can see in the photos the damage and roughness to the outer edge of the bowl all the way around. It really is a mess. The stamping on the sides of the shank is readable and reads as noted above. If my memory served me correctly this pipe was Comoy’s made pipe and the France stamp on the shank pointed me to the connection between London and St. Claude. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s13.html) to get some background information on this beauty. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section. The side bar includes this interesting piece of information. I quote:

The Sunrise brand perfectly illustrates the split pipe production of a same label between Saint Claude (FR) and London (GB) during the period Chapuis Comoy and Comoy closely collaborated (prior to early 1970s).

I turned to Pipedia and looked under the French makers and the brand was not listed. Under the English makers it was listed as a Comoy’s Sub-brand or second. I turned to the Comoy’s listing and at the bottom of the article was a list of these pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s). I have included the list in its entirety and highlighted the Sunrise in red.

Seconds made by Comoy’s

Ace of spades, Ancestor, Astor, Ayres, Britannia, Carlyle, Charles Cross, Claridge, Coronet?, Cromwell, Dorchester, Dunbar, Drury Lane, Emerson, Everyman, Festival of Britain, Golden Arrow, Grand Master, Gresham, Guildhall, Hamilton (according to Who Made That Pipe), Kingsway, Lion’s Head, Lord Clive, Lumberman, Hyde Park, Lloyds, Mc Gahey, Moorgate, Newcastle, Oxford, O’Gorman, Rosebery Extra, Royal Falcon, Royal Guard, Royal Lane, Scotland Yard, St James, Sunrise, Super Sports, Sussex, The Academy Award, The Golden Arrow, The Mansion House, The Exmoor Pipe, Throgmorton, Tinder Box Royal Coachman, Townhall, Trident, Trocadero, Westminster, Wilshire

Now it was time to turn my attentions to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for 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. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top and outer edge of the bowl are clean but clearly show the damaged top and outer edge. The stem photos show the damage on the shank end surface of the stem surface from pliers and also tooth marks on the stem on both sides that will need to be repaired. The stamping on the left and right sides of the shank is faint and readable and reads as noted above. There was also a stamp on the left side of the stem that is the triangle S with a stem logo of the Sunrise pipes. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The bowl looked very good and once I cleaned up the stem the pipe would look very good. I sanded the briar bowl with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I worked over the rim top and edges of the bowl at the same time. I used some 220 to trouble shoot small portions of the outer edges that were damaged. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust from the clean up. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain really began to stand out by the final pads. 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 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 filled in the deep gouges in the stem surface with black rubberized CA glue. The from the previous owners use of pliers to remove the stem had left these deep marks. Once the repairs cured I used folded 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. It was a lot of sanding but well worth the effort. I followed that by sanding it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend repaired areas. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.I touched up the stamp on the left side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish and removed the excess with the sanding pads above. It is faint in spots but it is very readable with the white acrylic. The stem looked much better at this point so I polished it 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 gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to end the polishing at this point. This Comoy’s Made Sunrise Natural 188 Stack is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The smooth brown stained finish around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights the grain. The finish works well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Sunrise Natural 188 Stack sits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British 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.

Danish Pride Ben Wade Hand Made Denmark Sandblast Freehand Sitter

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by Steve Laug

This particular mixed finished Freehand pipe was purchased on 03/225/2021 from as seller in Brazil, Indiana, USA. It really is another beautiful Freehand Sitter that combines a plateau rim top and shank end with curved smooth panels on a sandblast bowl and shank. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads Danish Pride [over] by [over] Ben Wade [over] Golden Tan [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The mixed finish is dirty but still a beautiful looking combination. The pipe had a thick cake in the bowl and a thick lava overflow in the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It is thicker on the back side of the bowl but present all the way around. There was grime ground into the smooth and sandblast finish and dust and debris in the plateau valleys on the shank end. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem had Crown logo on the top side. It was heavily oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The pipe must have been a great smoker judging from the condition it came it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem was dirty and had chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It really is a nicely shaped pipe that has the classic look of a Freehand carved by Preben Holm. The next photo Jeff took shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in places but still readable as noted above. In a previous blog I had researched the brand quite a bit. I have included it below for information on this pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/10/03/restoring-a-danish-pride-by-ben-wade-mixed-finish-handmade-freehand-sitter/). I quote:

I remembered that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned 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/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement.I quote the portion of the 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 the name Ben Wade. 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 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 plateau 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, shank brushes 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 to remove the remaining oxidation. He 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 addressed with both. The rim top and bowl look good. The stem looked better and the light tooth marks and chatter were still present. I would need to remove those to bring the stem back.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is faint but readable. It is clearer on the top half of the stamp than the lower but it is still 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 after the clean up that 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 and sandblast portions. 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 started working on the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian after each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am happy with the way that this Preben Holm Made Ben Wade Danish Pride Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and mix of smooth and sandblast finishes around the bowl and shank. The rugged plateau on the rim top and shank end are beautiful. The fancy original vulcanite saddle stem works well with the reddish brown of the stained briar. The pipe 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Ben Wade Danish Pride 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: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 64 grams/2.26 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!

Bringing Some Honour Back to a Dunhill 59 Billiard

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by Kenneth Lieblich

A gentleman in England contacted me recently about repairing a handsome, old Dunhill Root Briar billiard he had. He communicated to me that the pipe was in dire condition, but was such a good smoker that he needed it brought back to life. As always, I was game, but needed to see the pipe in order to assess the situation. Well, the situation was grave indeed – if this pipe was a person, I might have called a priest to administer Extreme Unction. In this case, however, I opted to be the ‘surgeon’ and I needed to operate. Let’s look at the markings on the pipe, so we know what we’re dealing with. On the left side of the shank, we can see the number 59 (the shape number). Next to that is F/T (which stands for ‘fish tail’ – the type of bit on the stem). Next to that is Dunhill [over] Root Briar. On the right side of the shank, we see Made in [over] England5. At least, I think it’s a five – it could be a six – and this indicates that the pipe was made in either 1965 or 1966. Next to that we see ④ R, which indicates the size of the bowl (group 4) and the R indicates that it is root briar.Oh boy – where to begin? There are very many issues with this pipe. The stem has about as much oxidation as any stem could handle. There is some calcification, and several tooth dents, scratches, and marks. Extra work will be required on this stem. Meanwhile, the stummel is really where the action is. It is very dirty inside and the bowl has a thick layer of cake. There are many scratches in the briar, a few nicks, and some notable chunks missing. There are also six burn marks on the outside of the bowl – that’s pretty impressive. There is grime everywhere on the briar and it has a grungy feel. Furthermore, there is a major and unsightly flat spot (likely an old burn) on the part of the bowl nearest the shank. Finally, there are no fewer than two substantial cracks in the bowl that run quite a distance. I say ‘…no fewer than two…’ because more cracks would be revealed in due course. Naturally, there was considerable damage to be found on the inside of the bowl too.This is an epic repair – it isn’t really restoration or conservation. Regardless, it was fun, nerve-wracking, and educational. Let’s get started! First of all, I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. Fortunately, the inside wasn’t too dirty at all – it’s just the outside that needs serious help.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush. Due to the severity of the oxidation, I then repeated the scrubbing with the cream cleanser for maximum effect.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. Quite frankly, the stem is now incomparable with how it started – just look at those photos!As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. However, there was considerable damage, heretofore undiscovered, to the walls of the bowl. We’ll come back to that in a bit.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean. I also used a dental tool to remove the gunk, old glue, and other detritus from the cracks in the bowl.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with the same mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Now it was time to get serious. I performed a close examination of the many burn marks on the outside of the bowl. The good news was that they were all quite superficial – there was no deep burning of the wood. The bad news was that there were so many, and they would remain as an interesting detail in this pipe’s history. The two original cracks were now clean – and there were now two more cracks on the opposite side of the bowl. Coupled with the major flat spot I mentioned earlier, this was severe damage and was going to require significant work to salvage. Here is a photographic survey of what I was dealing with. I decided to repair the tiny cracks in the briar next. Before anything else, it is imperative that I ensure that the cracks do not continue to creep after I repair them. To that end, I took a micro-drill bit, inserted it in my rotary tool, and very carefully drilled a hole right through the wall of the shank. That hole will stop the crack from progressing. As you can see, the drill bit is incredibly thin and quite prone to snapping if great care is not taken.The next step is to line these cracks with clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. To prevent the adhesive from dripping into the bowl, I lined it with a piece of duct tape – because cyanoacrylate adhesive does not stick well to it. Applying the adhesive neatly and cleanly is not important at this stage – but being thorough is!Having completed that, I moved on to repairing the grievously damaged interior of the bowl. Prior to my customer’s ownership, this pipe was heavily smoked and not cared-for as it should have been. There are heat fissures throughout the bowl and have resulted (obviously) in the cracks migrating to the outside. To fill damage like this, I used an epoxy adhesive that is extremely hard, resistant to high temperatures, and completely inert when cured. It worked superbly. I filled the affected area with the epoxy and let it cure for a full 24 hours.I had a long discussion with my customer in England about how to proceed in addressing the large flat spot, the remnants of the cracks, the chunks missing, etc. – in other words, how do we want the pipe to look in the end? The fact is that there isn’t any all-encompassing solution to this pipe’s aesthetic woes. Having said that, the best of a bad set of options was to round off the top of the pipe and make it look even all around. We know that the cracks will always be there; we know that the burns will always be there; but we can at least do this and make the pipe better. I used my rotary tool and removed some material. I progressed with sandpaper and, below, you’ll see a series of photos which document some of this procedure. Following that, I roughened up the epoxy’s surface (inside the bowl) with 220-grit sandpaper for the next step. I thinly coated the inside of the bowl with a mixture of my wife’s homemade yogurt and activated charcoal. Once hardened, this provided a good, faintly rough surface for a new cake to build. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. The gentleman from England and I did discuss the possibility of staining the briar – but ultimately decided against it. We felt that stain would not hide the damage well anyway, so why not lean into the scars and accept them. This isn’t quite kintsugi, but it did remind me of it. So, for the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – despite the difficult circumstances.

All done! This Dunhill Root Briar 59 billiard pipe has had a remarkable transformation and it’s hard to believe that it’s the same pipe – perhaps some would say that it isn’t. I am pleased and proud of the work and the results – I certainly hope my customer will be pleased too. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.