Tag Archives: bite marks

Off to the Opera with my Restored Meerschaum

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a pipe that is shrouded in mystery. Jeff bought the pipe from an antique store back in October, 2017 in Bozeman, Montana, USA. It is a well carved rusticated Meerschaum Opera pipe. The rim top and shank end are smooth and are stained shiny black. The sides of the bowl and shank are carved with a bark like finish that is very tactile. It is stained with blacks and brown stains from the bottom of the bowl and shank up toward the rim edges. The stem is a tapered vulcanite stem with a lot of oxidation on the surface. The left side of the stem has a elephant stamp an the underside is stamped KENYA. The tenon is a threaded metal stinger that screws into a metal mortise lining on the shank. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank in a smooth panel and reads 9 Genuine Block Meerschaum. It is clear and readable. Jeff took photos of the box that the pipe before he started working on it. He took photos of the bowl, rim top to show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the light lava coat on the rim top. The inner edge had some darkening and some build up of tars and oils. All of the issues will become clearer after the clean up. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. It is quite oxidized and the stamping was hardly visible at first glance. Jeff also took some photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank and the left and underside of the stem to show the readability of the stamping. It read as noted above. Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe. He carefully reamed it with the smallest cutting head on a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a Gentle Dish Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the meerschaum and light lava on the rim top. The finish looks better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights the dimensions of the carving. There were no chips or cracks in the carving and the sharp edges looked good. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and oils on the stem. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver it was clean but the stem was oxidized and needed more work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. The top and edges of the rim looked very good. The rim had shiny black finish that looked really good with the finish on the bowl. The stem was oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took photos of the stamping on the shank and stem. They are clear and readable on both the stem and the shank side.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. I is quite a nice looking pipe.I started my work on the pipe by working some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the smooth surfaces of the meerschaum. 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 set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed it with Soft Scrub all purpose cleaner to remove the oxidation and calcification on the stem surface. I was beginning to look better.   I sanded the tooth marks and chatter smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the stamping on the left side of the stem and the underside with white acrylic fingernail polish. I applied it with the dauber in the bottle and scraped off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh pad. The left side of the shank had what appears to be an elephant and the underside clearly reads Kenya.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it 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 final coat of Obsidian Oil. It looks significantly better! With the bowl and the stem finished I put the unique rusticated #9 Genuine Block Meerschaum Opera pipe back together and buffed it lightly on the wheel using Blue Diamond to give it a shine. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel. I buffed the bowl with a horsehair shoe brush to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The carved surface of the bowl and shank is a great looking. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches x 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ½ of an inch x ¾ of an inch. The weight of this large pipe is 1.13 ounces /32 grams. This Rusticated Meerschaum Opera Pipe is another great find. It is much more beautiful in person than these photos can capture. I will be adding it to the Meerschaum Pipe section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection it will make a fine smoking addition. This is another pipe that has the possibility of transporting the pipe man or woman back to a slower paced time in history where you can enjoy a respite. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Stepping Up with a Pilot S455 French Made Mini-Churchwarden

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is an interesting mystery pipe that is stamped France on the underside of the shank and on the left side reads PILOT. On the right side is a shape number S455 near the bowl shank union. We picked the pipe up from EBay on December, 2016 and it came from Port Perry, Ontario,  Canada. It is an interesting piece of briar with a long vulcanite stem. The shape is a variation on a Rhodesian without the rings around the cap. The finish was dirty and dull with grime ground into the briar around the bowl and shank. The bowl has a moderate cake in the bowl and a light coat of lava on the rim top and inner edge. There is some darkening on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem was oxidized and had tooth chatter on the top and the underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took some photos of the bowl to give a sense of the condition of the bowl and rim top. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. There is also some damage and darkening to the inner edges. The stem is clean but shows light oxidation and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain around the bowl. It really was a nice piece of briar. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable as noted above. 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 Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived.    I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top photo looks very good but you can see the damage to the inner edge around the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and scratching on the surface near the button.    I took photos of the stamping on the left and right side of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has some great looking grain around the bowl and shank.I worked on the damage around inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to smooth it out and clean up the damage.I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to remove the uneven stain and even out the finish on the bowl. I was able to remove just enough to make the grain really stand out. I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad.     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 set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out some tooth marks on the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil.   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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final rub down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I am excited to finish this French Made Pilot S455 French Made Mini Churchwarden. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished nickel band and the black vulcanite stem. This Classic looking Pilot S455 Mini Churchwarden feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 7 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 25grams/.88oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the French Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Rebirthing a Lovely Peterson’s Of Dublin Aran 999 Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a smooth Peterson’s Rhodesian. I am not sure where it came from or when we might have picked it up. This Rhodesian came with a nice nickel band on the shank end that was factory fitted to the stamping on the shank. The grime was ground into the finish on the bowl sides. The contrast of the brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] of Dublin [over] Aran. The right side had the shape number 999 stamped mid shank. The nickel band was stamped Peterson [over] a stylized P [over] Of Dublin. There was a moderate cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks, chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started 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 is moderately caked and the rim top and back edges have a thick lava overflow. The photos of the stem show that it was oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button.   I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank and the band. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. I did not take a photo of the 999 stamp on the right side. The photo of the band shows how it was stamped on the nickel – centered and clean. There was some oxidation and sticky substance on the underside of the band next to the shank. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the look of the pipe to show the relation of the size of the parts. It is a nice looking pipe. I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Aran line. On page 294 it had the following information.

Aran (1965-) First issue of line described as “handhewn” (rusticated) with black semi-matte finish, in P-lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue 1975, red sandblast, XL shapes. Third issue circa ’97, gold hot-foil P stamped on the mouthpiece, brown semi-matte smooth finish, no band. Fourth issue after 2010, with nickel band, no P stamped on the mouthpiece. Mounted and unmounted versions are available concurrently.

I knew that I was dealing with an Aran from the Fourth Issue of the Aran line that came out after 2010 because of the nickel band and unstamped stem. As such it was a newer pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. (Applicable information noted in red above.)

I started my work on the pipe by reaming it with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. I cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. I worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. I used a shank brush to clean out the inside. I rinsed the pipe with warm water and dried it off. I scraped out the inside of the shank with a dental spatula to remove the thick build up of tars and oils. Once I had removed that I scrubbed the inside of  the shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I cleaned the airway in the stem at the same time. I cleaned up the darkening on the rim top and the inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper until it was clean and undamaged.  I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad.    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 band with a jeweler’s cloth to remove the tarnish and oxidation as well as add some protection to the band.    I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed it with Soft Scrub all purpose cleaner to remove the oxidation and calcification on the stem surface. I was beginning to look better.    I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks on the surface. I was able to lift them all to the point that sanding would remove the rest of them.     The button was worn on the top side and on the end so I built it up with black super glue. I filled in the tooth marks on the top and on the end and set it aside to cure.     I reshaped the button surface and end and sanded out some tooth marks on the underside of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil.  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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.   I am excited to finish this Peterson’s Of Dublin Aran 999 Rhodesian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl amd stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished nickel band and the black vulcanite stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Aran Rhodesian is one of my favourite shapes and it 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 51grams/1.80oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

A Decorated Veteran

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is this superb Ropp Six. It comes from a group of pipes I purchased from France. I love this pipe. I have a particular interest in French pipes and pipeworks, and I grabbed this one to restore for my collection. This is an old, old pipe with a few wounds (i.e. a veteran pipe with decorations) and needs just a little help to come back to life. This pipe was made by the venerable French pipe company, Ropp. Ropp has been around for a long time and their early pipes are really quite wonderful (the less said about their modern pipes, the better). The markings on the left-hand side of the shank read Ropp [over] Six. The right-hand side of the shank reads 886, presumably the shape number. Also, on the stem, there is the Ropp logo: Ropp, encircled in an oval.This pipe shape is a Rhodesian – a variation of the classic Bulldog. A Rhodesian will have a cylindrical shaped shank, not a diamond shank like the Bulldog. This is a really pretty pipe and feels very comfortable in the hand.

From Pipedia, here is a very brief history of the Ropp company:

Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830–1907) acquired a patent for the cherrywood pipe in 1869. In 1870, he established a workshop to manufacture such pipes in Bussang, in the Vosges mountains. Around 1893, his business moved into the former mill of Sicard (part of the community of Baume-les-Dames in Upper Burgundy. The pipes were a big success in export as well. Shortly before 1914, Ropp designated A. Frankau & Co. (BBB) to be the exclusive distributor in the UK and its colonies. Probably in 1917, a workshop in Saint-Claude in the rue du Plan du Moulin was acquired to start the fabrication of briar pipes. In 1923, another small building in Saint-Claude, serving as a workshop for polishing, was added. Cherrywood pipes were the mainstay of Ropp until the company finally closed down in September 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises in 1994. On to the pipe: it was in decent shape, but it had a few issues. The stem had a bit of oxidation and calcification, but – mostly notably – it had substantial bite marks, top and bottom. The stummel also had a few issues. The outside of the bowl had some scratches and a couple of fills that needed to be addressed. These are the “decorations” I referred to in the title of this article. There was lava and debris on the rim, and a few burn marks too. The inside was pretty dirty too – it would need a thorough cleaning. The stem was first on my list. This stem has a stinger in it – and it was being quite stubborn about coming out of the tenon! I opted to warm the stem and stinger with my heat gun and this provided just enough softening of the internal goo to allow me to pull it out. The stinger then went for a soak in some lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I let it set for several hours and then cleaned it off and it looked much improved. I then finished it with some metal polish and moved on. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the bite marks and dents. This was not successful at all in raising the damage. More work would need to be done. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. Even the bore was clogged with debris! It took an awful lot of work to get this clean! Once this process was done, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The following day, I cleaned all of the de-oxidizing mess off with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. The oxidation had migrated to the surface and would be fairly straightforward to remove. I scrubbed with SoftScrub on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation. After this, I used some nail polish to restore the Ropp logo on the stem. I painted the area carefully and let it fully set before proceeding. I built up the dents on the stem with cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. On this occasion, I actually built up several layers of the glue over a few days. I must admit, it was an annoying and frustrating process because, at this stage, it never looked quite right. I then sanded the adhesive down – first with a small file – then with 220-, 400-, and 600-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. This stummel was a bit of a mess inside, so I first decided to ream out the bowl. I used both the PipNet Reamer and the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to eliminate as much as I could. I took the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. There were some very thin craze lines inside the bowl, but they were small enough that I elected to leave them as they were. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was considerable filth inside this stummel and it took a lot of cotton to get it clean. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes.

I used a small butter knife to gently chip away at the lava on the rim. I then used more Murphy’s with a scrub brush to remove any remainder. This actually worked quite well. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. That removed any latent dirt that blighted the wood.

In order to remove the remaining burns and nicks on the rim, I “topped” the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded down the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively removed the damage, without altering the look of the pipe.Having completed that, I was able to address the small nicks on the stummel. I dug out my iron and a damp cloth to try and raise the nicks. The hot and moist steam can often cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was some movement – not a lot, but it was better than doing nothing. The repair was not perfect, but the remaining scratches would be improved by sanding.I lined the fills with cyanoacrylate adhesive and briar dust. After letting them cure, I sanded the fill repairs down with 200-, 400-, and 600-grit sandpaper. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stummel to finish it off. After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. There is some beautiful wood after all. It is a very handsome, decorated veteran. In order to accentuate the external beauty of this pipe, I opted for aniline dye. I applied some of Fiebing’s Medium Brown Leather Dye. As usual, I applied flame from a BIC lighter in order to set the colour. I then added a second coat – just to make sure. What a difference that made! It looked so much better with a fresh coat of stain. I applied some more Before & After Restoration Balm and then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood very attractive. This is a very handsome pipe and will provide many years of smoking pleasure. This is a wonderfully crafted pipe and has a very elegant feel to it. It took some work, but I am proud of it and the final product suits me to a T. It retains some wounds from battle, but, as Steve would say, they are part of this pipe’s story. This is one pipe that I am keeping for myself and adding to my collection. I am sure that I will be enjoying this one for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a March 17, 2000 St. Patrick’s Day 80S Bent Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe has been sitting here since we picked it up on Ebay on December 6, 2016. It came to us from Aurora, Colorado, USA and I am finally getting around to working on it. It is a nice Republic Era St. Patrick’s Day Bulldog. It is stamped on the left underside of the diamond shank and reads St. Patrick’s Day. On the right side it reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) over the shape number 80S. The nickel band was in great condition and was stamped and had a Shamrock with the words Peterson’s March 17, 2000 in a circle around it. The bowl was heavily caked with a thick lava overflow on the rim top and edges. It flowed down the sides of the cap. I was hoping that the lava coat had protected the rim top and cap from significant damage but only cleaning it up would tell the full story. The finish was dirty but had some nice grain around the sides. The stem had a Peterson’s “P” logo stamped on the top of the left side of the saddle. It was lightly oxidized and had a lot of tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up. Jeff took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show its condition. The cake is the bowl is thick and the lava on the rim and down the cap is also quite thick. The stem had tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button and quite a way up the stem surface. It was also lightly oxidized. Jeff captured some of the beautiful grain around the pipe with the next photo of the left side and heel of the bowl. It is really quite nice.He took photos of the stamping on the nickel band and the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.  I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

Mark Irwin has a great visual history of the St. Patrick’s Day Pipes from Peterson on his rich Peterson’s Pipenotes site (https://petersonpipenotes.org/tag/st-patricks-day-pipe-2000/). He states there regarding the year 2000 issue as follows:

In 2000, the SPD series settled into a familiar and long-running guise: some variant of brown-hued smooth bowl and a nickel band with Peterson’s over a shamrock over March 17 and the year. The 2000 SPDs also featured the beloved P-Lip vulcanite mouthpiece…

Armed with that it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe as he normally does. He reamed it with a Pipnet Reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipeknife. He scrubbed out the inside of the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime that was ground into the briar on the cap, rim and bowl. It came out looking very good. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He rinsed it off and recleaned it. I took the following pictures when it arrived. It is a beautiful pipe that will come alive with buffing and polishing. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of them both. The rim top is very clean and there is some darkening on the rim top on the back and left side. The rim edges looked very good. The stem is free of oxidation and other than the tooth marks and chatter it is in good condition. I took photos of the stamping on the band and the shank sides. It is clear and readable as noted above. The “P” logo is faded and will need to be touched up.I took a photo of the bowl and stem separated to give a sense of the shape and form of this lovely 80S Bent Bulldog.Because the pipe was in such clean condition I could start with my work without doing all the cleanup I have been doing lately. To start on this one I worked on the darkening of the rim top to match the rest of the briar. I used the 1500-2400 grit micromesh to accomplish this.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. I used it to clean off the rim top at the same time.   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 band with a jewelers cloth give it a shine and to remove the oxidation. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks on the button and ahead of the button with 220 grit sandpaper and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil once I finished. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I repainted the “P” stamp on the left side with some white acrylic nail polish. I brushed it on and scraped off the excess with a fingernail. I lightly sanded it with a 1500 micromesh sanding pad and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine polish. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Late Republic Era Peterson’s St. Patrick’s Day March 17, 2000 shape 80S Bent Bulldog is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The grain around the bowl is quite beautiful and the stain makes it really stand out. The finish works well with the polished vulcanite saddle P-Lip 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 St. Patrick’s Day 2000 Bent Bulldog 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. I will be putting it in the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it! I appreciate your support.

Restoring a Peterson’s System Standard Bent 302 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is another smooth finished Peterson’s System – this time a System Standard shape 302. It was the third of four pipes that came to me from a friend for work. This one had very loose stem that did not seem to hold on in the shank that he wanted me to have a look at as well as cleaning and freshening it up. The stem had also straightened out a bit over time and needed to be rebent. The finish was smooth with some nice grain around the sides and shank. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [arched over] System [over] Standard followed by the shape number 302. It was in great condition when I brought it to the table. There was a heavy cake in the bottom half of the bowl and some light lava on the rim top. The nickel ferrule was in good shape but had some scratches that would need to be polished. It is stamped as well and reads K & P [over] Peterson on the left. The vulcanite stem was unstamped and in good condition. There was some oxidation, calcification and light chatter near the button that would polish out. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work.   I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow. The stem looks good but it has tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left shank side. It reads as noted above. I also tried to capture the stamping on the ferrule and it is clear and readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look.I am including the link to the 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 turned to work on the pipe itself. I started my clean up by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. I cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the cleaning of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the bowl walls and checked for cracks and flaws. All looked very good. I scrubbed the interior of the bowl, shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. It was full of tars and oils that with a bit of work came clean. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. I used it to clean off the rim top at the same time.   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 with a jewelers cloth give it a shine and to remove the oxidation.    I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I decided to bend it to the correct angle so I heated it with a heat gun to soften it and then bent it so that it sit correctly in the shank. It looked 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 Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry before buffing.   I am excited to finish this Peterson’s System Standard 302 Bent Apple. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly 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 deepen the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to further raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with deep sandblast all around it. Added to that the polished black acrylic stem was beautiful. This System Standard 302 Bent Apple is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 63 grams/2.26 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and the second of the four I am working on for my friend. Once the other two are finished it will be sent back to him. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring a Peterson’s System Bent Dress Black B42

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is another smooth finished Peterson’s System – this time a B42 (Brandy) in Dress Black. It was the second of four pipes that came to me from a friend for work. This one had very loose stem that did not seem to hold on in the shank that he wanted me to have a look at as well as cleaning and freshening it up. The finish was smooth and painted with a dress black. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [arched over] System. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with the shape number B42. It was in great condition when I brought it to the table. There was a heavy cake in the bowl and some lava on the rim top. The nickel ferrule was in good shape but had some scratches that would need to be polished. It is stamped as well and reads K & P [over] Peterson on the left. The stem appears to be acrylic (perhaps a replacement) and was unstamped and in good condition. There was some light chatter on and near the button that would polish out. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow. The stem looks good but it has tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It reads as noted above. I also tried to capture the stamping on the ferrule and it is readable but the photo just could not capture it well.    I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look.I am including the link to the 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 turned to work on the pipe itself. I started my clean up by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. I cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the cleaning of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the bowl walls and checked for cracks and flaws. All looked very good. I cleaned off the build up on the rim top with damp cotton pads and was able to remove all of the lava on the rim. It actually looked very good.I scrubbed the interior of the bowl, shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. It was full of tars and oils that with a bit of work came clean.   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 with a jewelers cloth give it a shine and to remove the oxidation.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the acrylic stem. I sanded out the tooth marks in the surface of the stem on both the top and underside with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing process with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.  I also sanded the area on the shank end for the first inch to clean it up and make the taper match the shank taper. I polished it as well with the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.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 am excited to finish this Peterson’s System B42 Dress Black Bent Brandy. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly 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 deepen the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to further raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with deep sandblast all around it. Added to that the polished black acrylic stem was beautiful. This Dress Black System B42 is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 83 grams/2.93 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and the second of the four I am working on for my friend. Once the other two are finished it will be sent back to him. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s “Sports” 2 Lovat

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s Small Lovat shaped pipe that had a bit of a bland looking finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It also came to us from eBay on January 1, 2018 from Bellingham, Washington, USA. This Lovat did not have a nickel ferrule on the shank end. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Sports”. It was stamped on the right side and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (3 lines). Next to the bowl it is stamped 2. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a thick cake in the bowl and there was some burn damage to the rim top and the inner edge of the rim. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is caked and the rim top and edges show quite a bit of damage around the bowl, inner and outer shank. There were no photos of the stem but I have it in hand and it had tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. You can also see from above photos that the stem was oxidized.Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that was around this bowl. There were also some nicks in the outer edge of the rim and scratches on the briar. It is a nice looking pipe.     He took photos of the sides of the shank and stem side to show the stamping. The stamping is worn but is still readable in the photos below and is as noted above.     I am including the link to the 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 turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Sports. On page 313-314 it had the following information.

“SPORTS” (1947-) A “Sport” is traditionally a compact pipe made for smokers engaged in athletic pursuits, most notably equestrian riders who do not want the bowl to bounce up and down. Six shapes described in 1947 shape chart. Occasional later catalogs show as many as 11 shapes. Last  appeared in shape chart in ’98, but still made in small numbers. Recorded specimens are stamped MADE IN IRELAND (forming a circle) or MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC over OF IRELAND. See Outdoor and Outdoor Sportsman.

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 Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived.    I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top had some looked quite good and the inner and outer edges had some darkening and damage. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable.     I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I decided to address the damage to the edge of the bowl and the rim top first. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage to the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel to accommodate the burned areas and blend them into the surrounding briar. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad.   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 set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I was able to lift most of them. I sanded the remaining tooth marks smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I used some white acrylic fingernail polish to touch up the “P” stamp on the left side of the saddle stem. I worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick. Once the acrylic had dried I scraped off the excess leaving the “P” stamp white. It looked quite good.   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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final rub down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.       I am excited to finish this Republic of Ireland Made Peterson’s “Sports” 2 Lovat. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl and made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Older Peterson’s “Sports” 2 Lovat is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 4 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 28 grams/.95 oz. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Replacing a tenon and restoring a House of Robertson Rusticated Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a House of Robertson Rusticated Dublin with a tapered, vulcanite Bite Through stem. The rustication on the briar is very tactile and deep. There are grooves around the bowl and shank and those have been deeply rusticated. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the diamond shank and reads House of [over] Robertson. It really is a beautiful pipe and the rustic finish works very well with the diamond twin bore saddle stem. The fellow who sent it to me is a previous customer and in his box were two pipes with a snapped tenon – the Radice (which I have repaired already) and this House of Robertson. This one was quite dirty with a thick cake in the bowl and overflowing onto the rim top. There was some burn damage on the inner edge of the rim around the bowl and the pipe was dull and dusty. The tenon had snapped off cleanly at the shank end with no damage to the briar. The stem had tooth marks on both the top and underside ahead of the button and was also dirty. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and inner edge. You can see the damage on the inner edge of the rim. It will become more evident once the bowl has been reamed and cleaned. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took photos of the stamping on the left side of the diamond shank to capture how the classic House of Robertson signature looked.House of Robertson pipes were made by Thayne Robertson in Boise, Idaho. He did some beautiful work and all had the etched stamp on them. I have worked on many of these pipes over the years and done the research on the brand previously. Here is a link to one of the pipes where I have included background information (https://rebornpipes.wordpress.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=60954&action=edit&classic-editor).

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

I began my work on this pipe by pulling the broken tenon from the shank. I generally use a dry wall screw and twist it into the airway of the broken tenon and wiggle it free. This one was stuck. I put it in the freezer while I had lunch and afterward it came out quite easily. I went through my replacement tenons and found one that would work on this stem. I sanded the broken end of the tenon remaining on the stem with a sanding drum on my Dremel. I also sanded the diameter of the new tenon at the same time to get a good fit in the shank. I took photos of the tenon in the shank at this point to show the fit. I drilled out the airway on the stem with successively larger drill bits to accommodate the tenon. The last bit was ¼ inch which is perfect for the tenon. I slipped the stem over the tenon and took photos of the pipe at this point. It looks very good. With that done I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed it with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to briar. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. I cleaned up the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the lava in the sandblast and a bit of the burn damage on the inner edge of the bowl.I cleaned out the internals on the stem and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they were clean.I rubbed down the bowl with Before & After Restoration Balm to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the blast with a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit and do its magic for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a soft cloth.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I glued the new tenon in the shank with black super glue. While it cured, I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth chatter and marks. Many of them lifted significantly with the heat. Those that remained I filled in with black super glue and set the stem aside to cure. Once it had cured I flattened out the repairs with a small flat file. I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper to further flatten them out and blend them into the surrounding area. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite bite through stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Stem Polishes – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil to protect and give the deep shine to the stem. I was happy to be finished with this beautiful House of Robertson Rusticated Diamond Shank Dublin. The vulcanite stem fit well and looked good with the rich finish of the rusticated bowl and shank. I lightly buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the bowl and shank multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing wheel to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The House of Robertson’s Dublin is a great looking pipe that has an amazing looking rustication. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outer Diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ of and inch. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.48 ounces. I will be packing it up to send back to my friend in Idaho along with the first pipe – the Radice Silk Cut Billiard. Thanks for reading the blog.

Replacing a tenon and restoring a Radice Silk Cut Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a Radice Sandblast Billiard with a faux Bamboo shank. The briar has been carved to look like a piece of Bamboo but is actually briar. The pipe is stamped on the heel and reads Radice [over] Silk Cut and on the underside of the shank end it reads Hand [over] Made in Italy. It really is a beautiful pipe and the combination of “Bamboo” and the sandblast works really well the tapered acrylic stem. The fellow who sent it to me is a previous customer and in his box were two pipes with a snapped tenon – the Radice and a House of Robertson. This one was quite dirty with a thick cake in the bowl and overflowing onto the rim top. There was some burn damage on the inner edge of the rim at the back of the bowl and the pipe was dull and dusty. The tenon had snapped off cleanly at the shank end with no damage to the briar. The stem had tooth marks on both the top and underside ahead of the button and was also dirty. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and inner edge. You can see the damage on the back inner edge of the rim. It will become more evident once the bowl has been reamed and cleaned. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took photos of the stamping on the heel of the bowl and the shank end to capture how it looked.I began my work on this pipe by pulling the broken tenon from the shank. I generally use a dry wall screw and twist it into the airway of the broken tenon and wiggle it free. This one came out quite easily. I went through my replacement tenons and found one that would work on this stem.I sanded the broken end of the tenon remaining on the stem with a sanding drum on my Dremel. I also sanded the diameter of the new tenon at the same time to get a good fit in the shank. I took photos of the tenon in the shank at this point to show the fit. I drilled out the airway on the stem with successively larger drill bits to accommodate the threaded end of the tenon. The last bit was ¼ inch which is perfect for the tenon. I slipped the stem over the tenon and took photos of the pipe at this point. It looks very good. With that done I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed it with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to briar. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. I cleaned up the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the lava in the sandblast and a bit of the burn damage on the back inner edge of the bowl.I cleaned out the internals on the stem and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they were clean.I rubbed down the bowl with Before & After Restoration Balm to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the blast with a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit and do its magic for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a soft cloth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the acrylic stem. I glued the tenon in the stem with Black Super Glue. While it cured I worked on the tooth marks in the stem.I cleaned up the tooth marks with alcohol and a cotton swab. I filled them in with black super glue and set it aside to cure.Once it had cured I flattened out the repairs with a small flat file. I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper to further flatten them out and blend them into the surrounding area. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth. I finished the polishing with Before & After Stem Polishes – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil to protect and give the deep shine to the stem. I was happy to be finished with this beautiful Radice Silk Cut Billiard. The stem fit well and looked good with the rich finish of the sandblast bowl and faux bamboo shank. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the bowl and shank multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing wheel to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The Radice is a great looking pipe that ticks all of my boxes. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outer Diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Diameter of the chamber: 7/8 of and inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. I will be packing it up to send back to my friend in Idaho once I finish the second pipe he sent. Thanks for reading the blog.