Tag Archives: Bowl – finishing

Cleaning up a Royal Guard 585 Bent Billiard

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased quite a while ago on 01/16/2017 from an eBay auction in Covington, Ohio, USA. This was another dirty pipe but underneath it had a great mix of sandblast and smooth finishes. It was obviously someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank that reads Royal Guard [over] Made in Denmark. On the right of the shank next to the stem/shank junction it is stamped the shape number 373. The pipe was a bent billiard. The dirty finish was not able to hide the beauty in the grime. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the rim in a heavy lava coat. The condition of the inner edge was hard to assess under the cake and the lava coat. The stem was a black vulcanite saddle stem with a stamped white RG logo on the left side. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim is caked and hard to assess in terms of its condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. You can see the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show contrast between the sandblast portions and the smooth areas in the finish. It is a beautiful combination. The brown stain on the briar adds depth to the finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out. It shows a lot of promise. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. You can see that they are clear and read as noted above. On Pipephil’s site(http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r6.html) there is a section on the royal Guard that says it is a Stanwell Second. There is also some interesting information on the section so I did a screen capture of it and have included it below.Stanwell seconds :Christian, Danish Natural, Danish Sovereign, Danske Club, Henley, Majestic, Royal Danish, Royal Guard, Scandia

Royal Guard is listed on Pipedia’s site (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) as a Stanwell second line. The site also has a great short review of Stanwell history and links to several articles on the site that interesting.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl looked very good – just some darkening. The stem looked better and the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of this pipe. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening and prepare it for deeper polishing.I polished the rim top and the smooth portions of the briar with sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I started by addressing the tooth marks on the surface of the stem on both sides. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift them. I was able to lift them significantly. I scrubbed the stem surface with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove the oxidation in the tooth marks. I used a rubberized black super glue to fill in the remaining marks. I set the stem aside to let the repairs cure. Once it cured I used a small file to flatten the repair and recut the button edge. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs. I touched up the RG stamp on the left side of the stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. I scraped off the excess and buffed it lightly with a 1000 grit sanding pad. It is clear and readable.I started working on polishing the stem with my 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It looked much better at this point in the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. This beautiful Stanwell Second Danish Made Royal Guard 585 Bent Billiard with a saddle vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains on the smooth and sandblast portions highlights the great grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Royal Guard Bent Billiard is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

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.

Fresh Life for a Vallo Made in Denmark 373 Bent Sitter

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased quite a while ago on 10/20/2016 from an antique shop in Astoria, Oregon, USA. This was another dirty pipe but underneath it had some nice grain and a nice shape and no fills that were visible. It was obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank that reads Vallo [over] Made in Denmark. On the underside of the shank next to the stem/shank junction it is stamped the shape number 373. The pipe was and egg light shape made to be a sitter. It was well balanced and stood. The dirty finish was not able to hide the beauty in the grime. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the rim in a heavy lava coat. The condition of the inner edge was hard to assess under the cake and the lava coat. The stem was a black vulcanite saddle stem with a stamped white V on the left side. There were many tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim is caked and hard to assess in terms of its condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. You can see the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth to the finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out. It shows a lot of promise. He also took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. They are clear and it reads as noted above. He also took a photo of the Vallo “V” stamp on the left side of the stem. I looked on Pipedia and on Pipephil and found nothing on the Vallo brand. I turned to my copy of the book Who made That Pipe. It identifies Vallo pipe as having been made by Jarl, Denmark.

Armed with that information I went back to Pipedia and looked up information on the Jarl pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jarl). I quote the information on that below.

In December of 2010 Ellen Jarl wrote that Jarl pipes were made by her grandfather, Niels Mogens Jørgensen in a little factory in the town of Bramdrupdam, just outside Kolding, Denmark. We have no reason to doubt that Niels Mogens Jørgensen is the maker of these pipes.

I now knew a bit about the pipe. It was now time to go to work on the pipe itself.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl looked very good – just some darkening. The stem looked better and the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of this pipe. I started my work on the pipe by polishing the briar with micromesh because it was in such good condition. I polished it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I started by addressing the tooth marks on the surface of the stem on both sides. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift them. I was able to lift them significantly. I scrubbed the stem surface with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove the oxidation in the tooth marks. I used a rubberized black super glue to fill in the remaining marks. I set the stem aside to let the repairs cure. Once it cured I used a small file to flatten the repair and recut the button edge. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs. I touched up the V stamp on the left side of the stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. I scraped off the excess and buffed it lightly with a 100 grit sanding pad. It is clear and readable.I started working on polishing the stem with my 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It looked much better at this point in the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.This beautifully grained Danish Made by Jarl, Vallo Bent Apple 373 Sitter with a saddle vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the great grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The brass banded top edge and rim top and brass band give the pipe a touch of class. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Vallo Bent Apple Sitter is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 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 59 grams/2.08 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

Giving new life to a lovely Danish Made Gilt Edge Stanwell 98 Lovat

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased a year ago on 01/26/2023 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another dirty pipe but underneath it had some nice grain. It was obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank that reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] Gilt Edge. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with a 98 which is the shape for a Lovat. There was a gold band around the shank end and at the rim top and edge that were a very nice touch and what gave it the name Gilt Edge. The dirty finish was not able to hide the beauty in the grime. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the rim in a heavy lava coat. The condition of the inner edge was hard to assess under the cake and the lava coat. The stem was a black vulcanite saddle stem with an inlaid brass crown S on the left side. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The bite mark on the underside was deep and almost through the vulcanite. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim is caked and hard to assess in terms of its condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. You can see the small deep tooth mark on the underside. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth to the finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out. The gold rim cap and shank band are a beautiful addition. It shows a lot of promise. He also took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is faint but reads as noted above. He also took a photo of the Crown S stamp on the left side of the stem. From what I can find on the web the Rondo line was an older line of Stanwell pipes that is similar to the Brass Band line but has yellow acrylic between the bands. It is a nice looking pipe but one about which I could find little information.

I turned to the article on Pipedia that gave background information the shape numbers and the designers of the shapes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). From what I can see there the shape number 98 was made in two versions. The first is a Pot shaped pipe with a saddle stem. The second shape is a Lovat. The pipe on the table is clearly the second shape listed – a Lovat.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl showed some darkening on the top and some damage on the left inner edge with a burn mark. The stem looked better and the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. It is hard to see the pinhole in the stem surface on the underside but it is present and small.The stamping was hard to capture it with the camera but it is readable on the underside of the shank near the shank/stem junction. The stamping on the right side of the shank shows the shape number 98 mid shank. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of this Lovat.I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the darkening around the inner edge of the rim and the top. I started by addressing the chip out of the top inner edge and top of the bowl. I worked on the inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and smoothed out the rim top at the same time. It began to look very good at this point. The grain and colour began to shine through.I polished the briar with micromesh because it was in such good condition. I polished it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I started by addressing the deep tooth marks on the surface of the stem on both sides. The marks on the underside were significantly deeper and had created a pin hole in the surface. I used a rubberized black super glue to fill in the deep marks and repair the pin hole. I set the stem aside to let the repairs cure. Once it cured I used a small file to flatten the repair. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs. I started working on polishing the stem with my 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It looked much better at this point in the process.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil.I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.This beautifully grained Danish Made Stanwell Gilt Edge 98 Lovat with a saddle vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the great grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The brass banded top edge and rim top and brass band give the pipe a touch of class. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Gilt Edge Lovat is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 37 grams/1.31 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

A Savinelli Like No Other

2 Replies

by Kenneth Lieblich

Say hello to this beautiful Savinelli Nonpareil 9614 bent billiard! It came to me in a lot of pipes I bought some time ago and it seemed right to bring this one back to life. At first, it seemed like a relatively straightforward restoration, but – wow – this pipe ended up taking an awful lot of work. You can now buy this pipe for your collection and enjoy the fruits of my labours. This pipe promises to be a great smoker, I figure. Let’s look at the markings. The left side of the shank reads Savinelli [over] Nonpareil. Despite Savinelli being an Italian company, the word nonpareil is French and means “without equal” – literally, “not the same”. On the left side of the shank is the lovely Savinelli crown, next to which are the marks 9614 [over] Italy. Naturally, the number refers to the shape. Finally, there are two brass dots on the left side of the stem – very nice touch. Savinelli is one of the most recognized names in pipe smoking and they have a long and storied history. You can read about them from their own website or from Pipedia’s article about them. However, I was particularly interested in learning more about the Nonpareil line. Sadly, Pipedia had nothing on this subject. I checked with Pipephil and they did have a bit of information, which I display below. I learned from Pipephil that old Savinellis used to have four-digit shape numbers, newer ones three. The exceptions to this rule, however, are the Nonpareil and Dry System lines.The stem on this pipe definitely shows signs of use. There were some tooth marks – dents and scratches – and plenty of calcification. Of course, there was also some oxidation, but I didn’t realize just how much until much later. The stummel was tired and drab. There were indications of lava on the rim and plenty of cake in the bowl. Also, the briar had a few little scratches from the years of love of its previous owner. Nothing to worry about – or so I thought. More on that later. Well, the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I started on the stem by wiping it down with some Murphy’s on a cotton round. Then, I cleaned out the insides of the stem with pipe cleaners and lemon-oil isopropyl alcohol. At this point, I took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the tooth marks. This was moderately successful in raising the dents. Once that was done, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Before & After Hard Rubber Deoxidizer. After soaking, I cleaned off the de-oxidizing fluid with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. The oxidation had migrated to the surface and I used SoftScrub to work it off. I was surprised at how poorly this worked (as compared with other restorations), so I actually sent it for another soak in the deox fluid and repeated the same cleaning procedures afterwards. Once I got the stem looking vaguely deoxidized (and before I moved on to the Micromesh pads), I built up the tooth damage on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and let it fully cure. I used my miniature files to take down the majority of the dried glue. I then sanded it down with 400-grit sandpaper 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. But WAIT! I never made it through all nine pads because I could see that the oxidation was so stubborn, I would need to put in some extra work first. Recently, Steve kindly introduced me to a new type of sanding pad – more aggressive grit for more aggressive jobs. I’m going to refer to them as the ‘grey pads’ since that’s their colour. I used the grey pads to really attack the oxidation on the stem and they worked very well. I don’t have photos of this, but I’m pleased with the results. There are some small wounds remaining on the stem, but they are not an issue at all. Once done with the greys, I went back again to the Micromesh pads. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. This also really made the brass dots pop! Putting the stem aside, I moved on to the stummel. I used the PipNet Reamer (and some sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel) to take the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was a lot of nastiness inside this stummel and – boy-oh-boy – it took a lot of cotton to get this thing clean! I took a close look at the rim. In order to save as much of the rim as possible, I used a piece of machine metal to very delicately scrape away as much lava as I could. I do this before automatically jumping to my topping board. This worked well and the topping board was not needed.A de-ghosting session seemed like a good idea. This de-ghosting consisted of thrusting cotton balls in the bowl and the shank, and saturating them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leech out into the cotton. Finally, a relatively clean and fresh-smelling bowl emerged. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. What a difference that made! I also cleaned the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes.I examined the scratches and bumps in the briar. I dug out my iron and a damp cloth to try to raise them. The hot and moist steam can often cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. This worked quite well, but alas, I forgot to take pictures. After this, I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to remove the scratches in the wood and make everything smooth. Prior to that, however, I applied some clear hockey tape to the shank extension – it was already lovely and smooth, and I didn’t want to scratch it. This tape is fantastic because it is incredibly resistant to sanding yet comes off with no residue whatsoever. I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm and began to admire my work when my eyes saw something that was uncovered in my restoration: a thin craze line in the valley between the stummel and the shank. It was certainly not visible before, so the cleaning and sanding had revealed it. Even though the line was incredibly thin and seemingly shallow, I needed to address it. My first step was to ensure that the line would not continue to creep after I had repaired it. To that end, I took a micro-drill bit, inserted it in my Dremel, and very carefully drilled a hole in both ends of the line. That done, I carefully applied a tiny bead of cyanoacrylate adhesive to the tiny hole and the tiny line. Finally, I let it cure. This was a great success – I was really pleased with how the repair looked. I had to sand this area again, of course, so I applied my hockey tape all over the place (see photo) and went to work with some sandpaper and Micromesh pads. I then rubbed in some more Before & After Restoration Balm and finally saw the beauty of my work.Off to the bench polisher I went. I applied some White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax and they added the finishing touch. This Savinelli Nonpareil 9614 bent billiard was in need of a reminder of its beauty and Italian heritage. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the “Italy” pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the Savinelli Nonpareil 9614 bent billiard are as follows: length 4¾ in. (121 mm); height 5⅛ in. (130 mm); bowl diameter 1⅝ in. (40 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅞ oz. (55 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Danish Made Stanwell Rondo Lovat

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased a year ago on 01/26/2023 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another dirty pipe but underneath it had some nice grain. It was obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank that reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] Rondo. The stamping is faint but possibly the shape number is 98 which is the shape for a lovat. The dirty finish was not able to hide the beauty in the grime. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a moderate cake that flowed over the top of the rim in a spotty lava coat. The inner edge looked to be in good condition under the light lava coat. The stem was a black acrylic saddle stem with an inlaid silver crown S on the left side. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim is caked but appears to be in good condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth to the finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out. It shows some promise.He also took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is faint but reads as noted above. He also took a photo of the Crown S stamp on the left side of the stem. From what I can find on the web the Rondo line was an older line of Stanwell pipes that is similar to the Brass Band line but has yellow acrylic between the bands. It is a nice looking pipe but one about which I could find little information.

I turned to the article on Pipedia that gave background information the shape numbers and the designers of the shapes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). From what I can see there the shape number 98 was made in two versions. The first is a Pot shaped pipe with a saddle stem. The second shape is a Lovat. It seems to me that the pipe I am working on kind of combines these two shapes – it is a Lovat shaped Pot. Long shank with a Pot shaped bowl.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl looked very good. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.The stamping was faint enough that I could not capture it with the camera. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of this Lovat and Pot bowl.I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the darkening around the inner edge of the rim and the top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the briar with micromesh because it was in such good condition. I polished it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I started working on polishing the stem with my 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It looked much better at this point in the processI polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil.I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.This beautifully grained Danish Made Stanwell Rondo 98 Lovat with a saddle vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the great grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Rondo Lovat is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 28 grams/0.99 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

Such Stunning Grain on this Danish Made Stanwell Royal Prince 51 Billiard

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased a year ago on 01/26/2023 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another dirty pipe but underneath it had some astonishingly beautiful grain. It was obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank that reads Stanwell [over] Royal [over] Prince. On the right side of the shank it was stamped with the shape number 51. The dirty finish was not able to hide the beauty in the grime. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the rim in a heavy lava coat. The inner edge looked to be in good condition and showed lava and darkening. The stem was a black vulcanite taper stem stamped with a faded white crown S on the left side. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was some oxidation and calcification on both sides but it had a lot of potential. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim is caked but appears to be in good condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth to the finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out. It shows some promise. He also took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It reads as noted above. He also took a photo of the Crown S stamp on the left side of the stem. I did some searching on Google and found a pipe very much like the pipe that I am working on Pinterest (https://www.pinterest.ca/pin/danish-estates-stanwell-royal-prince-51-pre2010-unsmoked–6544361942508713/). It gives a great description of the 51 Billiard in the Royal Prince line. I quote it below.

A beautiful little classic Billiard from Stanwell, this “51” shape features a lot of iconic Danish cues — like the lower-set waistline of the bowl, the slight sweeping motion of the transition, and the clean, minimalist lines of the shank and stem. The chamber proportions are perfect for a bit of folded flake or some pure Virginias, and the flame grain on this Royal Prince edition is stunning.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl looked very good. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. I started my work on the pipe by polishing the briar with micromesh because it was in such good condition. I polished it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The upper portion of the stem was in good condition so I started with touching up the white crown S stamp on the left side of the stem. I used white acrylic fingernail polish to rework the stamping. I applied it with the brush that came with it and when it dried scraped off the excess and polished it off with a 2000 grit sanding pad. I started working on polishing the stem with my 320-2500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the scratches and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It looked much better at this point in the process.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. This beautifully grained Danish Made Stanwell Royal Prince 51 Billiard with a taper vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of brown stains highlights the great grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Royal Prince 51 Billiard is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ 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 34 grams/1.20 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

A Fun Restoration of a Danish Made Golden Contrast 02 Scoop

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I have always been intrigued by the Stanwell Golden Contrast finish regardless of the pipes it has been applied to. The contrast of dark and light playing across the grain is beautiful. To me the lines and the elegance of the pipe are stunning and the contrast stain makes the lay of pipe with the grain gorgeous. The stain highlights the birdseye and the flame grain and makes them pop from the surface of the bowl and shank. I did a little digging because I wanted to confirm my guess/my suspicions about the designer. What I found out confirmed what I was thinking. There are two versions listed of the shape number 02. The first is a Freehand, oval bowl and stem, by Sixten Ivarsson. The second is a bent, egg-shaped bowl, sloping top, full mouthpiece. The second one is a clear description of the pipe in hand. Still uncertain of the designer but it is distinctively Danish. For a list of various Stanwell Shape numbers and who they are attributed to you can read this list compiled by leading Stanwell Collector, the late Bas Stevens on rebornpipes at: https://rebornpipes.com/2013/09/03/stanwell-shapes-compiled-by-bas-stevens/

This particular pipe was purchased from an auction in Garland, Texas, USA on 06/24/2023. We always keep an eye out for Stanwell pipes and particularly Golden Contrast pipes. This one was in pretty decent shape. The finish was filthy but appeared to be in great shape. The rim showed an overflow of thick lava coming from the thick cake in the bowl. It is always hard to tell the condition of the inner edge with this kind of lava and cake but it can go one of two ways – protected and fine or damaged and burned. Cleaning would reveal which is true here. The internals were dirty with tars and oils. The stem was oxidized and calcified on the top and underside of the stem from the button forward. There was some tooth chatter as well but no deep tooth marks. The brass crown S on the left side of the taper stem was heavily oxidized with white dusty build up around the entire inlay. The various photos that follow are ones that my brother took before he cleaned the pipe. They show the amazing grain on this beauty.The next photos of the rim and the shank show the condition of the pipe at arrival in Idaho. The grain around the rim top is quite stunning to me. You can see the cake in the bowl and the thick lava on the top. It was a mess but the contrast stain makes the grain even show through the lava on the rim top. Jeff took photos of the grain on the sides and heel of the bowl. It really is a stunning piece of briar. The contrast stain really makes it stand out clearly. The next photos show the various stamping on the sides of the shank. On the left side of the shank it reads Stanwell [over] Golden [over] Contrast in script on the right side it is stamped with the 02 Shape number and on the underside it reads Made in Denmark. All the stamping is sharp and clear. He also captured the heavily oxidized golden Crown “S” Stanwell logo on the left side of the taper stem. I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find specific information on the Golden Contrast line of pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell). There was a short note there that I have included in full below.

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

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

Can this Danmore 3090 Be Brought Back to Life?

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

Sometimes I look at a pipe we purchased and wonder what we were thinking when we went for it. That was the case with this Danmore 3090 freehand. We purchased it from an online auction in Los Fresnos, Texas, USA on 01/10/2018. You can see from the fact that it has been sitting here in a bag since 2018. When Jeff received it, the pipe was in pieces and he put it together for these photos. The bowl was intact with no cracks or serious nicks. The horn shank extension had come unglued and looked like it might have some delaminating happening on the long portion that held the stem. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank with the shape number 3090 followed by Danmore [over] Handmade Denmark. The stem had a rubber tube fit on the end that had originally been in the shank extension but was now stuck on the stem. The stem itself had been chewed or broken off and was probably missing at least ½ inch of its length. It still had the Danmore Logo on the top of the taper but that was all it had going for it. The bowl was thickly cake and there was a thick lava coat on the rim top obscuring the edges of the bowl. It had obviously been someone’s favourite pipe and had been smoked to death. The finish was filthy with grime and hand oils ground into the smooth panels and the sandblast making it all almost smooth to touch. It was impossible to know if the rim top was smooth or sandblast as there was so much tar on it. The inside of the shank that held the extension was filled with tars and oils and the inside of the horn shank extension was the same. Jeff got some good photos of the pipe before he did his clean up work and I have to hand it to him it looked pretty interesting. The question in my mind really was whether it was redeemable. The bones were nice but what was underneath once it was cleaned remained a haunting question. He took photos of the rim top and bowl and you can see what I mean by the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. It is so thick that it is flaking off in chunks only to reveal another layer! You can also see the broken off/chewed off condition of the stem in the photos he included. He included photos of the sides of the bowl and the contrasting patches on the bowl sides along with an interesting sandblast. The only thing that can be said is that the stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable as noted above and the Danmore D logo is very readable on the chewed off stem. You can also see the separation of the horn shank extension for the shank end in these photos. Lots of work to be done in the resurrection.The horn shank extension was originally lined with a Delrin or rubber liner to stabilize the horn from the inside. It would have been glued in place in the horn and not moved when the stem was removed. In the photo above and those that follow you can see that the liner piece has crept up the stem to where there is very little that is actually in the horn itself. I am hoping that once it is here I can work it off the stem and reinsert it in the horn again. We shall see.Jeff let the pipe fall back into its parts and took photos of it. You can see the bowl and its filthiness, the stem with the creeping rubber insert from the horn and the tired looking horn extension. In the second photo you can see the filth in the inside of the horn and into the shank itself… lots of work in cleaning it and not making things worse.I knew that the pipe was a Danish Made pipe but it has been awhile since I worked on a Danmore pipe. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-d2.html). There was a very short clip there with one photo of a pipe very different from the one I am working on. It simply states that the factory is closed and that the pipes are made by third parties. Not too much helpful information there that is for sure.I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Danmore) and was much more successful. The article is short and succinct but very helpful. I have included it below for ease of reference.

Danmore was founded by Hans Sørensen in the early 1970s, and produced pipes from that time until the early 1980s, at one point having up to 30 employees. The pipes were sold in the first Dan Pipe catalog. In the early 1980’s, however, production ceased in Denmark due to labor costs, and the company’s production was outsourced to Italy and Spain, and they began to also make pipecleaners and smokers articles.

Sørensen focused on the pipecleaner side of the concern, and eventually bought a share in the factory in the Far East making them. Today the company, owned by Hans’ sons Jesper and Lars Sørensen, no longer makes pipes, and instead makes only pipe cleaners under the name Danmore Hobby Aps, selling only to hobby and craftshops in Denmark and Scandinavia.

Hans Sørensen passed away in 2012. The Sørensen family continues to own the trademarks for the use of the Danmore name in relation to pipes, matches, and tobacco.

Now I knew that the pipe was made by Hans Sorensen and was made between the early 1970s and early 1980s when production ceased in Denmark due to labor costs. From that point on the pipes were outsourced to Italy and Spain. So, I guess the pipe was made during the 10 year or so window when the pipes were handmade in Denmark. All of that info makes me a bit more interested in resurrecting this pipe.

When it arrived here it was in a plastic sandwich bag and I promptly put it aside in a drawer of pipes to work on. Periodically I would take the bag out and dump out the parts and look it over. Everytime other than today I have just put it back in the drawer, shaking my head. I think it could be fixed but did I want to was the serious question that haunted me each time I looked at it. From 2018-2024 my answer was categorically, NOT INTERESTED! So, what changed today? Got me! Last evening, I took it out of the baggie and looked it over, put the pieces together and took some photos. Something about it caught my eye this time around and I wanted to see if I could bring it back to life. I sent Jeff a note and he sent me the photos 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 horn shank extension and the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how good it looked. The sandblast rim top was clean and the inner edges aw also in good condition. The stain had faded some but it would not be too much to bring it back. The shank extension was very loose with nothing holding it in place in the shank. The stem was another story. The end had been either gnawed off or broken off and still smoked that way. It cleaned up well for sure – looked much better. It would need to be replaced.Though the photo below is a bit blurry the stamping is very clear on the underside of the shank. I removed the stem from the shank end and took a photo of the pipe and extension with the stem below to get a sense of what was there now.Now it was time to put the pieces back together again. For me this is the challenge that I enjoy. Will I be able to reconstruct the pipe back to functionality without changing the plan that crafted it originally? I love that challenge. In this case I decided to start with regluing and rebuilding the shank extension. I am very thankful that it was not delaminating. The horn was dry but still very stable which took away a very time-consuming part of the work. I worked on removing the old glue from the shank end and the tenon of the extension. I used a dental spatula and small blade to scrape the surfaces and then scrubbed them with 99% isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I also worked on the airway in the mortise of the briar so that the extension would have a very clean surface to bond with.Once the mortise was dried out I used some all-purpose white glue and painted the inside of the mortise and the tenon on the extension with it. I pressed the parts together and held them with pressure until the glue cured. Once it had hardened sufficiently to take the pressure off and wiped off the excess glue that had squeezed out with a damp cotton pad. I took photos of the pipe at this point. I cleaned up the Delrin/rubber ring that fit in the shank end and gave it a thin coat of all-purpose glue. I pressed it into the shank extension end and set it aside to cure. Once the glue hardened I polished the joint of the horn extension and the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the horn down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The horn began to take on a shine. I polished the smooth panels on the bowl sides and the horn shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the horn down after each sanding pads with Obsidian Oil. It began to take on a shine as I worked through the pads. I used a Walnut Stain Pen to touch up the spotty finish around the bowl and shank and on the faded rim top. It looked significantly better once the stain cured. The colour looked much better. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I went through my collection of stems to find one that would work on the pipe. The one I found is identical to the broken one. It has the same shape as the broken one with the fishtail button. It was about ½ inch longer that accommodated the broken portion of the stem. It would need to be cleaned up and polished but it was a good match.I cleaned out the internals of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. It smelled and looked much better.I started working on polishing the stem with my 320-2500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the scratches and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It looked much better at this point in the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. This beautiful sandblast Danmore 3090 Freehand with a horn shank extension and a military mount stem turned out very nice. It came together amazingly well – far better than when I began. The mix of brown stains highlights the grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Danmore 3090 Freehand is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

Restoring a Gourd Calabash with a Meerschaum Bowl from an Estate

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I always keep an eye for Gourd Calabash pipes. We pick them up at a variety of spots – antique shops, auctions and periodically we purchase them in estates that we buy. We bought two calabashes from an estate of a pipeman in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. This was a great example of a great looking Calabash. It has a well-made block meerschaum cup that fits well in the gourd. The meerschaum cup had a thick cake in the bowl some darkening around the inner edge and rim top. The cup had some patina developing around the cup top. The gourd itself was quite clean on the inside with some tars on the sides of the gourd. There is a new cork gasket around the gourd top that was dry but was in good condition and when rejuvenated would hold the cup in place. At the shank end of the gourd there was an acrylic shank extension. There was no stamping on the shank or gourd but it reminds me of many of the Pioneer Gourd Calabash pipes that I have worked on. The stem was well made fancy vulcanite and was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started the clean up on the pipe. It should clean up amazingly well. Jeff took photos of the meerschaum cup, bowl and inner edge. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl. tars/lava around the inner edge of the bowl and the lava and darkening on the op round the bowl edge. He also took photos of the stem. It is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. He took a photo of the gourd bowl and a close up of the briar shank extension. The fit of the meerschaum cup to the top of the gourd is snug and looks good. The acrylic shank extension fits well against the gourd and against the stem. He removed all the parts and took photos of the parts of the pipe showing the inside and the outside of the gourd and the meerschaum cup.Over the years I have worked on quite a few Gourd Calabash pipes like this one. The shank extension, the stem and the way the bowl fits all say to me that it is an American made Pioneer Gourd Calabash. As such it is hard to pin down a date for it. So, it was time to work on it. Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He carefully reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior of the gourd and the meerschaum with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the gourd with the soap and a brush as well. He cleaned the airway in the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of meerschaum rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top looked very good but there was some darkening to the top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of how it looked. I also took it apart to show how clean the parts are. I started my work on the pipe by greasing the cork gasket in the inner edge of the gourd. I worked some Vaseline into the cork and set it aside to let it soften the cork and make it more elastic.I set the gourd aside to let the cork absorb the Vaseline and turned my attention to the meerschaum cup. I sanded the rim top and the underside of the cup with a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I used the 320-600 grit pads on the underside, the cone of the cup. I used the 1000-3500 grit pads on the rim edge and top. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand smooth.I worked on the meerschaum cut with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to have a rich shine by the last pad. At this point I rubbed the meerschaum cup down with some Restoration Balm and buffed it off with a soft cloth. The cup really shone.I set the meerschaum cup aside and rubbed the gourd 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 gourd. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the bowl and shank surface. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The gourd really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I put the cup on the gourd and gave both several coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed them by hand. The pipe really looked good at this point and once the stem was on it would be a beautiful pipe. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I sanded out the chatter and marks on the stem surface with a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the “Pioneer” Gourd Calabash with a Meerschaum Cup and took it to the buffer. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond to polish the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax 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. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Meerschaum Cup Gourd Calabash – the vulcanite taper stem, the polished gourd and meerschaum cup combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 8 inches, Height: 4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 4.13 ounces/117 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Cleaning up an Austrian Made Gourd Calabash with a Meerschaum Bowl

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He carefully reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior of the gourd and the meerschaum with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the gourd with the soap and a brush as well. He cleaned the airway in the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of meerschaum rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top looked very good but there was some darkening to the top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the right side of the shank extension. It was clear and read as noted above. I also took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of how it looked.I started my work on the pipe by greasing the cork gasket in the inner edge of the gourd. I worked some Vaseline into the cork and set it aside to let it soften the cork and make it more elastic.I set the gourd aside to let the cork absorb the Vaseline and turned my attention to the meerschaum cup. I sanded the rim top and the underside of the cup with a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I used the 320-600 grit pads on the underside, the cone of the cup. I used the 1000-3500 grit pads on the rim edge and top. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand smooth. I rubbed the gourd 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 gourd. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the bowl and shank surface. 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. I set the gourd aside to let the balm absorb into the finish. I turned my attention to polishing the meerschaum cup. I worked on it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to have a rich shine by the last pad. At this point I rubbed the meerschaum cup down with some Restoration Balm and buffed it off with a soft cloth. The cup really shone. I put the cup on the gourd and gave both several coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed them by hand. The pipe really looked good at this point and once the stem was on it would be a beautiful pipe. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I sanded out the chatter and marks on the stem surface with a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button. I polished light tooth marks and chatter out of the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.I put the stem back on the Austrian Made Gourd Calabash with a Meerschaum Cup and took it to the buffer. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond to polish the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax 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. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Meerschaum Cup Gourd Calabash – the vulcanite taper stem, the polished gourd and meerschaum cup combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 ½ inches, Height: 3 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 3.49 ounces/99 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!