Tag Archives: Bowl – finishing

Restoring a Sumptuous Davidoff

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a bent Dublin sitter from the Swiss luxury brand, Davidoff. I acquired it from an older gentleman in Vancouver. He said he got this (and the other pipes I got from him) “fifty years ago” – his words. That would put it in the early to mid-seventies, which fits with the style of the pipe and with Davidoff’s history in pipes.To be honest, I was more familiar with Davidoff in the context of high-end cigars than I was with their pipes per se, so I did some digging. First, I went to Pipedia. They paraphrase (and don’t quote exactly) from José Manuel Lopes book:

Davidoff started in 1911 as a family run tobacconist located in Geneva. Henri Davidoff, a Russian emigrant, was the founder. The shop was located in Geneva. His son, Zino Davidoff (1906-1994), concentrated on the tobacco business, starting in 1924, and revolutionized the conservation of quality cheroots throughout Europe. Davidoff became world famous, and the company was acquired in 1970 by the Oettinger group, and expanded into numerous accessories for men. For Zino, the pursuit of pleasure was a constant, two of his maxims being: “Take pleasure from everything in life, without excess” and “the pipe is a valuable companion, the essence of tranquility and must be smoked with respect”. Davidoff’s first pipes date from 1974 [emphasis mine] and were commissioned by various companies, notably Butz-Choquin and the Cuty-Fort Group. The brand offers 14 classic shapes, in three finishes and with acrylic stems.According to Pipedia, Davidoff has this to say on their website about their own (current) pipes:

Creation of the Davidoff Pipe entails a meticulous, detailed process performed by only the most skilled Italian pipemakers. This dedication is why the Davidoff Pipe upholds a standard of quality and design found in no other pipe in the world. Made of the finest and carefully selected briar, each Davidoff Pipe features a flawless, hand-finished bowl and perfectly fitted, hand-cut acrylic stem. The Davidoff Pipe is available in three beautiful designs and finishes — sandblasted black, red brilliant and natural light brown.I also had a look at Pipephil, who confirmed that Davidoff pipes were carved by pipemakers of the Cuty-Fort group (Chacom, Jeantet, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix, Ropp, etc.).Davidoff is big enough and famous enough to be known outside the world of pipes. It has more than one website of its own, given that the company has been split up into different ranges. It also has a Wikipedia page, which I recommend reading: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Davidoff. I quote just a bit here:

Davidoff is a Swiss premium brand of cigars, cigarettes and smoker’s accessories. The Davidoff cigarette brand has been owned by Imperial Brands after purchasing it in 2006. The non-cigarette portion of the Davidoff tobacco brand is owned by Oettinger Davidoff AG, which is based in Basel, Switzerland. Oettinger Davidoff AG manufactures a broad portfolio of cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobaccos and smoker’s accessories under the brands Davidoff, Camacho and Zino Platinum.

And this little nugget:

In 1972, the first Davidoff pipe tobaccos were released.

Taking all this information into account, the gentleman from whom I acquired this pipe must have purchased it right at the start of Davidoff’s production of pipes. This makes it an interesting piece of pipe history. Furthermore, it was possibly made by Butz-Choquin. I say only “possibly”, as I have some reservations about the BC connection.

Anyway, let’s take a closer look at the pipe – and it’s a real beauty. The left side of the shank has the word “Davidoff”. On the underside of the shank reads the number “32”, and the stem has the stylized “D” of the Davidoff company. Overall, the state of the pipe was good. It had clearly been sitting around for years and showed signs of wear and tear, but nothing major. The stem had some tooth dents and some kind of scraping, as if someone had tried to clean it in the past and done more harm than good. The button was dented too. This pipe must have been a great smoker and well-loved. It had some bangs and dents, but most of the damage was on the rim, including a notable gouge. The stem was first up. I wiped the outside down with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame to lift the few bite marks and dents. Then I cleaned out the inside with pipe cleaners and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. After that, I wiped down the stem with SoftScrub cleaner to remove surface oxidation. Once this process was done, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. This allows me to clean the oxidation off in a couple of ways: by applying a mild cleaner to the surface and sanding the stem. The next day, I used SoftScrub again with some cotton rounds and more oxidation came off. After this, I built up the dents on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and let the repairs fully cure. I used some nail polish to restore the logo on the stem. I painted the area carefully and let it set before proceeding. I then sanded the adhesive down – first with a small file – then with 220- and 400-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.Moving on to the stummel, I started by reaming out the bowl. I used the PipNet Reamer to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper taped to a dowel to eliminate as much as I could. I took the chamber down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the wall. Fortunately, there were none. Due to the damage on the inside edge of the rim, I took some 220-grit sandpaper and tried to smooth some of that out too.Down in the shank, I noticed it was especially grungy, so I took a dental tool and dislodged some chunks of debris. After dealing with that mess, I proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. It was pretty darn dirty and it took a fair amount of cotton to get it clean. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. I used cotton rounds and some Murphy’s Oil Soap to scrub the outside of the stummel and a toothbrush with Murphy’s for the lava on the rim of the pipe.I decided to de-ghost the pipe to remove any lingering smells of the past. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this.I used cotton rounds and some Murphy’s Oil Soap to scrub the outside of the stummel and a toothbrush with Murphy’s for the lava on the rim of the pipe. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes.Now with the stummel nice and clean, I could do a closer inspection of the pipe’s problems. In this image, you can see a couple of stains or burns on the front side of the stummel. Those would need to be dealt with. On the back, some scratches needed addressing. Again, back to the rim, there was some light burning and a notable gouge that I’d have to fill in. Having completed that, I was able to address the small nicks on the bowl. I dug out my iron and a damp cloth to try to raise the nicks. The hot and moist steam can often cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. To my joy, this worked wonderfully. The repair was not perfect, but the remaining scratches would be improved by sanding.A few tiny fills were addressed with cyanoacrylate. For the gouge on the inside edge of the rim, I made a mixture of briar dust and CA glue and applied it. This also came out well. I took a solid wooden sphere, wrapped a piece of 220-grit sandpaper around it, and sanded the inner side of the chamber. This achieved two things: first, it removed some of the burn marks on the inner edge of the rim; and second (and more importantly), the motion of the sphere gradually returned the edge to a perfect circle. I took quite a bit of time to ensure that the crown of the rim was maintained in its shape, and also beautified. Finally, I used all nine micromesh pads to smooth and polish it up. After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. This is a very elegant pipe. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were applied with my bench polisher and – wow – we have a real looker! This Davidoff looks magnificent again and is ready to be enjoyed again by the next owner! I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the “Various Makers” pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5 in. (1247 mm); height 2⅛ in. (54 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅜ oz. (41 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Charatan’s Make London, England Special 0104 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a nice looking smooth Canadian with a vulcanite taper stem. We picked it up on 09/18/2020 from a seller in Los Angeles, California, USA. The stamping on the topside of the shank read Charatan’s Make [over] London England [over] Special. That is followed by the stamping of the shape number 0104. The black vulcanite taper stem stamped with a CP on the topside. The pipe has a medium brown finish that shows the grain on the bowl sides and shank. It is light weight and comfortable pipe to hold. Jeff sent me the following photos of the pipe to show the condition it was in before he worked on it. This is what I saw when I looked over the pipe.

  1. The finish had thick grime ground into briar around the sides. The stain is dull and the grain patterns though visible under the grime are obscured around the bowl sides and shank. There are oil stains from the previous smokers hands around the sides of the bowl.
  2. The rim top was very dirty with a heavy lava coat on it. It is heavier on the back side. The inner edge of the bowl is hard to see under the thick build up of cake that has overflown the bowl top.
  3. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The bowl itself was very dark and dirty. Once the bowl was cleaned up we could confirm the condition of the bowl walls.
  4. The vulcanite stem was filthy, oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides and on the button surface.
  5. There is a Charatan CP logo stamped on the topside of the stem. It is faint but readable.

To summarize what I saw – this Charatan’s Make Special 0104 Canadian is a well made pipe. The bowl and stem are very dirty which says to me that the pipe was once again someone’s favourite pipe. The look and feel of the pipe in the hand is great. It should clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe taken before Jeff started the clean up.  Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is thick – covering the walls of the bowl. The rim top has thick lava coat overflowing and covering the inner edge. It is heavier toward the back of the bowl. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge in this condition. There appeared to be some damage on the top and inner edge toward the back but I would not know for sure until it was reamed. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The vulcanite taper stem is dirty, oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. Instead of telling you what I see in the next photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel I want to hear from you. Tell me what you see? What does the finish look like to you? Are there any visible problems or issues that stand out to you? Are there cracks or scratches in smooth finish of the bowl? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? What does the finish look like? Is there a pattern to it? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? These questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. He took photos of the stamping on the topside of the shank. It is stamped as noted above. The vulcanite stem shows a CP stamp on the topside. What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping? What do you look for in the stamping? It is dirty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar?I turned to Pipephil to get a quick overview on the brand to refresh me in a quick overview of the history of the Charatan’s Make Brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html). I did a screen capture of the section on the Charatan’s Make London England Special. I have included it below.I quote a pertinent summary of the information I found there.

Short history of the brand. Brand founded in 1863 by Frederik Charatan. When his father retired in 1910, Reuben Charatan took over the family business. All the pipes were handmade until 1973. The brand name has been overtaken by Dunhill in 1978 and sold in 1988 to James B. Russell Inc. (NJ, USA). During the period 1988-2002 Charatans were crafted by Butz Choquin in St Claude (France). Dunhill re-purchased Charatan brand name in 2002 and Colin Fromm (Invicta Briars, Castleford) follows up on freehand production.

I turned to Pipedia to the specific section on Dating Charatans to fill in more of the gaps (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans). I was hoping to be able to solidify the time period that the pipe was made. In reading through the material I am pretty confident that the pipe is a Second Era Pipe. I have included the section from the article that helped me arrive at this conclusion.

Identification of a second era pipe (Rueben’s era, 1910-1960)

Pipes belonging to this period are rare, however is it possible to come across one. They can be distinguished from a pipe of the first era mainly because their larger size.

Their characteristics are similar to the ones of the previous era.

1) Pipes can be larger, up to the dimension of a Dunhill group 5

2) The mouthpiece is tapered or saddle.

3) No double comfort

4) the CP logo is engraved so that the C enters the P

5) Absence of £ on the pipe shank (note that from 1955 all the pipe imported in the USA by Lane has it, however that stamping is not synonymous of the Lane era).

6) Absence of the letter X on the shape code engraved on the shank (for ex. 2502 and not 2502X)

7) Absence of letters DC after the shape number (for ex. 2502 and not 2505DC)

8) Absence of the engraving “MADE BY HAND” on the shank (introduced for the first time in 1958)

9) Presence of the writing “CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND” on 2 lines

10) The CP logo is finer than in following eras

In this period the Underboar series was introduced too. It was a line of pipes made from 1920 to 1930 (approx.) with its own catalogue, its own brand and logo, and a peculiar ‘metal stinger’ device in the shank in order to, according to the company, produce a cooler and drier smoke.

An excellent article, Dating of Charatans has been translated for Pipedia by Mathias Acciai. This study by Fabio Ferrara of Monterubbiano – Italy is based on more than 2000 old Charatan pipes he studied from the “Basciano stock” purchased by Mario Lubinski – Fermo. This fantastic addition to the Charatan knowledge base is now in English here on Pipedia.

The first step on dating a Charatan is to carefully look to some details:

  1. a) Shape of the mouthpiece
  2. b) marking on the mouthpiece
  3. c) engraving on the shank
  4. d) shape and position of shank engraving/writing

This is because you can make the following conclusions:

a) From 1863 to 1960 the mouthpieces have a normal shape, saddle or tapered. From 1961 they use the ‘Double Comfort’ style still used today. By the way there are some saddle bits (without the double comfort) used in pipes that date after 1960 but these models are always characterized by a X (in the place of the DC) engraved after the shape number on the shank. This means that if a pipe has a tapered mouthpiece instead of a double comfort one, it is definitely a pre-Lane pipe before 1960. While if a pipe has a normal saddle bit stem, it could belong to every era. Nevertheless the pipe is pre 1961 if the shape code does not include an X, and is a pipe from after 1960 if the X is engraved. Finally any pipe with the double comfort stem is definitely after 1960.

b) The CP logo on the stem is stamped in a different shape according the era it was used. Some differences are less obvious than others, however the glaring differences are detectable in 4 phases. The CP till the 1960 is very fine, the C penetrates the P.
From 1961 to 1977 the CP logo is more pronounced and the C penetrates the P.

From 1980 (approx.) the C does not penetrate the P any more, even though the two letters are joined. The CP of Dunhill era has a different shape than the one of the French Russell era.

c) Pipes that belong to eras till the 1960 have the engraving ‘CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND’ in two lines, the shape code is composed by numbers only. The X and the DC appear only on pipes after 1960.

The engraving ‘MADE BY HAND (in caps) -IN-City of London’ in three lines identifies pipes made between 1965 and 1966. The engraving in script font ‘Made by Hand -In-City of London’ on three lines identifies pipes made between 1966 and 1979. The circled £ (Lane) characterizes pipes produced from 1955 to 1980 (approx.)

d) engravings are different in both size and shape, depending on eras.

The pipe on my table is one made by Charatan before 1955 when the Lane “L” stamp was put on the pipe. The stamping on the pipe also identifies it as pre-1960 as does the number stamp of the shape. The CP stamp is fine with the C penetrating the P on the stem stamp which also identifies it to this era. So all things considered, I believe the pipe is made at least before 1955. It is an old timer.

I am sure many of you will shake your head and ask maybe even out loud, “Why is he including this again?” However, please remember that the point of these blogs is not to wow your with the work or make you shake your heads but I want you to know the details of the work we do so you can do your own. Back in 2020 Jeff wrote a blog about his cleaning process. I am including a link to that now so you can see what I mean about his process. Do not skip it! Give it a read (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/20/got-a-filthy-estate-pipe-that-you-need-to-clean/). Here is the introduction to that blog and it is very true even to this day.

Several have asked about Jeff’s cleaning regimen as I generally summarize it in the blogs that I post rather than give a detailed procedure. I have had the question asked enough that I asked Jeff to put together this blog so that you can get a clear picture of the process he uses. Like everything else in our hobby, people have different methods they swear by. Some may question the method and that is fine. But it works very well for us and has for many years. Some of his steps may surprise you but I know that when I get the pipes from him for my part of the restoration they are impeccably clean and sanitized. I have come to appreciate the thoroughness of the process he has developed because I really like working on clean pipe!

For the benefit of some of you who may be unfamiliar with some of the products he uses I have included photos of three of the items that Jeff mentions in his list. This will make it easier for recognition. These three are definitely North American Products so you will need to find suitable replacements or order these directly on Amazon. The makeup pads are fairly universal as we were able to pick some up in India when we were with Paresh and his family.

In the blog itself he breaks his process down into two parts – cleaning the stem and cleaning the bowl. Each one has a large number of steps that he methodically does every time. I know because I have watched him do the work and I have seen the pipes after his work on them. He followed this process step by step and when the pipe got to me it was spotlessly clean and ready for my work. The inside of the stem, shank and bowl were clean and to me that is an amazing gift as it means that my work on this end is with a clean pipe! I cannot tell you how much difference that makes for my work.

  1. The finish is clean and the oils and grime in the finish shows the beautiful grain around the sides. The medium brown stain highlights the grain.
  2. The rim top was clean but there were still damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. It is clean and with a little work will look very good.
  3. There cake in the bowl has been removed and the bowl is very clean. The walls of the bowl are smooth and appear to be undamaged and show no checking or burn damage.
  4. The vulcanite stem looks better though the tooth marks and chatter on both sides are visible as they are on the button surface.
  5. The Charatan CP logo stamped on the topside of the stem looks very clean but is faint and readable.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and also what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver. I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the rim top and edges were cleaned the damage on the rim top very evident. The inner edge had damage on the right, front and back side as well as on the top. I also went over the stem carefully. The fit of the stem is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button on the underside. The vulcanite stem surface was clean and looked better. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them. I always check to make sure that the clean up work did not damage the stamping on the shank sides in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable. I love just looking at the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I took the pipe apart to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. The photo shows its beauty in flow and shape.I started working on this pipe by turning to the bowl. I chose to deal with the damage on the inner edge and top of the rim. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening on the inner edge and the damage on the top. I gave the rim a slight bevel to minimize the damage. It took a little work but I was able to remove the damage. It looks much better after I worked it over. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step. I rubbed down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes then wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the grain shines through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe.  I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. It was in great condition and the tooth marks and chatter were shallow enough that they would disappear in the polishing with micromesh and buffing. I started by touching up the faint CP stamping on the top and underside of the stem with White Acrylic Fingernail Polish. I put it on the stamp and an scraped off the excess with a pen knife and a worn 1500 micromesh sanding pad. It looked very good once finished. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. I know that many say Obsidian Oil does nothing for acrylic stems, but I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from buildup and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The smooth finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great. The oval vulcanite taper stem works well with the pipe. The Charatan’s Make London England Special Canadian feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The 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 1.13 ounces/32 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

A Challenging Restoration of a c.1921 No Name Meerschaum Billiard

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

During the summer of last year while browsing on Pinterest, I came across pictures of some beautiful pipes and following the links led me to an old gentleman from the UK who was willing to sell these pipes either single or as a lot. There were around 60 odd pipes. I went through the pictures that were sent along with the rates and selected 10 pipes. After a prolonged and interesting interaction, we managed to arrive at a price point. Soon these pipes landed on the shores of India and went in to Customs hold for nearly a month. Finally, it was released and I laid my hands on these pipes after a wait of nearly 3 months! Here is a picture of the lot that I had taken moments after opening the parcel.Since then, I have refurbished, repaired a family era Barling’s Make Bulldog (yellow arrow), a c.1901 Samuel McLardy (green arrow) and added them to my personal collection while the c. 1960 Dunhill Shell (blue arrow) has made it’s way to my dear friend to enjoy. This estate lot had a beautiful block Meerschaum billiard with a Redmanol stem (red arrow) that called out to my wife. She liked the size, heft and simple classic straight lines of billiards and the way the red of the stem complimented the overall appearance of the pipe. The following picture will identify the pipes that have been restored and the meer that is now on my work table.This solid meerschaum is sans any stampings on the stummel or stem and lack of any housing case makes establishing the provenance of this pipe a tad impossible. The only pointer to this pipe being English is the stampings on the Sterling Silver ferrule at the shank end and should help in dating this pipe and identify the silversmith who mounted it on this pipe. It is stamped “H.T” in an oval over three sterling silver hallmarks. From left to right the first cartouche is with a LION PASSANT certifying silver quality followed by a cartouche with symbol for Chester Assay Office and the last cartouche contains the date code letter “V”.In order to link the maker’s mark on the silver band to a silversmith registered with Chester Assay office. I visited https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Makers/Chester-HP-HZ.html#HT  and I have reproduced the findings below that most closely matched the probable silversmith (highlighted in red).The cause for doubt in my mind with respect to the findings above is the fact that the “H.T” stamping on the silver band is enclosed in an oval whereas that shown above is in a square cartouche. However, the comment of Henry Tongue being a Pipe mounter and the period are perfectly matched. Thus the circumstantial evidence makes me want to believe that the pipe mounter of this Meerschaum pipe is Henry Tongue.  Any esteemed Reader is most welcome to shed more definitive information for the benefit of other members.

The next step was to ascertain the dating on this silver band. I frequent www.silvercollection.it for exact dating of letter code. The font style and the enclosing cartouche of the letter “V” on the shank band matches to the date year 1921. I have reproduced a screenshot of the relevant section of the date charts and the date year is indicated in red.

Now it was time to get working on the pipe.

Initial Inspection
To begin with, the stummel is dirty and covered in dust, dirt and grime of over a century gone by. The age on this pipe is manifested in the number of all the handling related scratches and marks that it has been subjected to. There is a decent layer of cake in the chamber with lava overflow over the rim top surface. Under all the crud, the rim top is deeply scratched all around. The stem seats loose in the shank. The stem has a couple of tooth indentations in the bite zone and other than that the Redmanol stem is in pretty good condition. Here are a few pictures of the pipe as it sits on my worktable. Detailed Inspection
There is a thick layer of cake in the chamber. The rim top surface has lava overflow and has darkened considerably over the entire surface. The rim top is peppered with deep scratches, probably caused when someone, somewhere through the century, tried to remove the crud from the rim top using a sharp knife or it could have been caused as damage due to uncared for storage when the rim top and rest of the stummel was being rubbed against some hard objects. This uncared for storage could be the most likely reason since the stummel too has a number of scratches and marks. The inner and outer rim edges both show a few nicks and dents. The exact extent of damage to the inner rim edge will be ascertained after the chamber and rim surface is rid of all the cake and crud. The chamber walls are thick and feel solid to the touch.The stummel has a number of scratches and marks over the surface. There is a lot of dirt and grime ground in to the stummel surface giving it a dull and patchy appearance. However under all the grime and scratches, the stummel has taken on a beautiful color/ patina through the years of smoking and it is my intent to preserve it through the process. The threads in the mortise are slightly worn out and the mortise itself shows accumulation of oils and grime. Other than these minor issues, the stummel surface is sans any major damage and feels solid to the touch. The opaque cloudy Redmanol stem looks amazing as it is and should add a new dimension to the beauty of the pipe once it is repaired and all polished up. There are a couple of deep tooth indentations in the bite zone (encircled in yellow) that would need to be addressed. The stem airway leading to the round orifice shows remnants of old oils and gunk. The threaded bone tenon is covered in very fine jute threads to increase the diameter of the tenon for improved seating of the tenon in to the mortise. Yet even after this adhoc improvisation, the seating of the stem is pretty loose. I would need to figure out a more accurate, reliable and permanent way to address this issue.The Process
I started work on this pipe by firstly getting rid of the jute threads from the tenon end and followed it with cleaning the airway using thin shank brushes and anti oil dish cleaning soap. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners to clean and dry out the airway. Using a soft brass wired brush; I cleaned out the entire gunk from the threads of the bone tenon.I filled the tooth indentations with clear superglue and set it aside for the glue to cure. Once the glue had cured, using a flat needle I sand the fill to achieve a rough match with the rest of the stem surface. Once I was through with this step, I dry sand the entire stem with 400, 600 and 800 grit sand papers followed by wet sanding using 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand papers. This progressive use of higher grit sandpapers helps to, firstly, reduce the sanding marks left behind by the more abrasive ones, secondly, completely eliminate the oxidation and imparting a clean shine to the stem surface. Thirdly, this also helps to even out the minor tooth chatter from the bite zone. To complete the stem polish, I went through the entire set of nine micromesh pads, wet sanding through 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads.At this stage of refurbishing this pipe, little did I know that I would be carrying out further tedious and unplanned for repairs to the stem towards the end and till then, for all purposes, I have completed the stem restoration.

Next, I worked on the stummel. I began the stummel restoration by reaming the chamber with blade size 2 followed by size 3 of PipNet reamer. With my smaller fabricated knife, I scraped out all the carbon from difficult to reach areas. I used a 220 grit sand paper, pinched between my thumb and forefinger, to sand the inner walls of the chamber of the pipe. Once I had reached the bare walls, I wiped the chamber with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol. This removed all the residual carbon dust and also rid the chamber of all ghost smells. The walls of the chamber are nice and solid with no signs of cracks. Using a sharp knife, I gently scraped out the overflow of lava from the rim top. The scratches on the rim surface are now clearly visible and so is the extent of damage to the outer edge of the rim. With the stummel internals cleaned up, using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire dried gunk from the mortise. I further cleaned the shank internals with a shank brush dipped in alcohol followed by running pipe cleaners through the shank till clean.All the while that I was cleaning the chamber and the shank, the sterling silver band came loose. I was extremely relieved to note that beneath the band, the shank was in pristine condition.To address the damages to the rim surface, I topped the rim top over a piece of 220 grit sandpaper, frequently checking for the progress made as I wanted to restrict the loss of meer material to not more than absolutely necessary. Close inspection of the rim top at this stage revealed that even though few minor scratches are still visible, they are too minor with the surface smooth to the touch. This will further even and smooth out during polishing with micromesh pads.I wiped the stummel surface with a cotton swab and Murphy’s Oil soap. The stummel surface is now free of all the dust and grime. I also cleaned out the last traces of lava from the rim top surface. The stummel and rim top surface now looks dark and dull, but it is clean. The scratches/ lacerations over the stummel surface are now more prominently visible. I shall bring back the rich shine when I polish it further using micromesh pads. This step will also help further reducing a few of the minor scratches and lacerations from the surface. At this point I was caught in a conflict; should I sand the stummel with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the scratches to make it look pristine and loose the patina that has developed over the years or preserve the coloration and patina. I decided on the later, after all it is the coloration taken on by the meer over the years which is more important and the existing scratches are a part of its journey through the years, is how I convinced myself!! I polished the stummel surface by dry sanding it with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. Some minor scratches were also addressed while imparting a nice deep shine to the stummel. The patina was also preserved. All in all, I am pleased with the appearance of the stummel at this stage. Next I gave a beeswax polish to the meerschaum bowl. I assembled the equipment and materials that would be needed during the process — a heat gun, paper towels, q-tips and a container for the wax and of course, beeswax. I stuffed the chamber with cork to prevent inadvertent seepage of the melted beeswax into either. Next, I melted a sufficient quantity of beeswax in the container using my heat gun and thereafter heated the stummel. Using the a folded pipe cleaner, I completely coated the stummel with the wax and continued the application till the surface was saturated and set the stummel aside to absorb the wax. I reheated the stummel with the heat gun about 20 minutes later and let the excess wax either be absorbed or drip off from the stummel surface. I rubbed off the excess wax with a soft cotton cloth and brought a deep shine to the surface with a microfiber cloth. The stummel now sports it’s true dark color which was drawn out by wax treatment, absolutely gorgeous I say. Next, I reattach the sterling silver band to the shank end using CA superglue after polishing the band with a silver polishing cloth.The issue that now needed to be addressed was that of the loose seating of the stem in to the shank. I had an option of either coating the tenon with clear nail polish, which is a temporary solution most suitable for briar pipes or using CA superglue to coat the tenon. This is a more permanent solution, but one needs to be careful and work fast as the tenon may get stuck in to the shank as the glue hardens rapidly. I decided to go with using the superglue.

As decided, I applied a layer of superglue over the tenon surface and quickly turned it in to the shank till I had achieved a perfect alignment. I was equally quick to unscrew the tenon out from the shank to avoid having it stuck inside the shank. After a wait of few minutes to let the glue harden, I applied a second layer and followed the same process explained above. After repeating the process thrice, I decided to apply the glue one last time over the tenon to achieve a perfect thickness. Unfortunately this layer turned out to be one too many and as I was turning the tenon in to the shank, the tenon snapped at the stem end leaving it embedded within the shank. This created an altogether unexpected challenge, not to mention additional work and the need to put in extra man hours.The superglue around the broken tenon would first need to be loosened and thereafter the embedded tenon removed. I used pure acetone to loosen the glue around the broken tenon and pried it out using nose pliers, round needle files and dental tools.Next on the agenda was to fix a tenon on to the stem. From my can of spare parts, I shortlisted one Teflon Delrin screw tenon that was nearest match to the shank diameter. The shoulders of the threaded tenon perfectly seated and sealed the shank opening. The smooth end of the Delrin tenon would need some work to seat perfectly in to the stem. Following pictures will give you the general idea.I evened out the stem airway to accept the Delrin tenon using a round needle file. I was careful while working on this Redmanol stem as I did not want chipped edges on this century old stem. I, thereafter, worked the smooth end of the Delrin tenon by sanding it using a flat head needle file. I fine tuned the seating of the tenon in to the stem by sanding using a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I checked the seating of the stem in to the mortise and alignment of the stem airway, the mortise and the draught hole. Everything was perfectly aligned. Once I was satisfied, I fixed the tenon in to the stem using CA superglue and set it aside for the glue to harden.To give the finishing touches to this gorgeous century old pipe, I reattached the stem with the stummel. I then mounted a cotton cloth wheel on to the hand held rotary tool and applied several coats of carnauba wax over the stummel and the stem. I finished the restoration by giving the pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The completed pipe, with the shining dark golden hued meerschaum stummel and complimenting red of the Redmanol stem looks lovely, fresh and vibrant; the photographs speak for themselves. I shall be adding it to my ever growing pipe collection. Thanks for the read…Cheers!!!

Resurrecting a Filthy Karl Erik Hand Made in Denmark 5 Freehand to a Pipe of Beauty

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking Freehand with a fancy, turned vulcanite stem. We picked it up on 05/01/2022 from an Antique Mall in Bozeman, Montana, USA. The stamping on the underside of the shank read Karl Erik [over] Handmade in Denmark [over] 5. The black vulcanite fancy, turned stem does not have the usual logo on the topside of the stem. The pipe is a nice looking pipe with medium brown finish that highlights the grain around the bowl sides and shank. The plateau rim top is a mix of smooth brown stain and black plateau. It is light weight and comfortable pipe to hold. Jeff sent me the following photos of the pipe to show the condition it was in before he worked on it.

This is what I saw when I looked over the pipe.

  1. The finish on the bowl and shank has some oils darkening the side from the smoker’s hands. There is also some grime ground into finish around the bowl and shank. The stain is dull and the grain patterns though visible under the grime are obscured around the bowl sides and shank
  2. The plateau rim top was very dirty with a heavy lava coat on it. It is heavier on the front right and backside. The inner edge of the bowl is hard to see under the thick build up of cake that has overflown the bowl top.
  3. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The bowl itself was very dark and dirty. Once the bowl was cleaned up we could confirm the condition of the bowl walls.
  4. The fancy turned vulcanite stem was filthy, oxidized, calcified and had deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.
  5. There is no logo stamped on the topside of the stem.

To summarize what I saw – this Karl Erik Freehand is a well made and uniquely shaped pipe. The bowl and stem are very dirty which says to me that once again this pipe was someone’s favourite pipe. The look and feel of the pipe in the hand is great. It should clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe taken before Jeff started the clean up.  Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is thick – covering the walls of the bowl. The rim top has thick lava coat overflowing and covering the inner edge. It is heavier on the right front and toward the back of the bowl. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge in this condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work.Jeff took a photo of the plateau shank end and the fit of the stem in the shank. You can see the build up of dust and debris in the plateau and in the curves and grooves of the stem. It is a mess but still beauty lies beneath the grime.The vulcanite fancy, turned stem is dirty, oxidized and calcified. There are some deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. You can also see some scrape marks across both the top and underside of the stem. Instead of telling you what I see in the next photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel I want to hear from you. Tell me what you see? What does the finish look like to you? Are there any visible problems or issues that stand out to you? Are there cracks or scratches in nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish of the bowl? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? What does the finish look like? Is there a pattern to it? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? These questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is stamped as noted above. The vulcanite stem has no identifying stamping. What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping? What do you look for in the stamping? It is dirty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar?I reread the blog that Robert M. Boughton did for us on his “Grade O” Karl Erik to refresh my memory on the brand and the grading system (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/07/28/a-three-card-draw-for-an-inside-straight-with-an-old-karl-erik-hand-made-grade-o-freehand/). It was enlightening and from there I went on and looked up the brand on both Pipephil’s site and Pipedia to add some details to my knowledge.

Photo courtesy of Pipedia

From the Pipephil site I got a quick overview of the history of the brand. I quote: Brand created in 1965-66 by Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942 – 2004 †). In the best years he employed up to 15 craftsmen among which Bent Nielsen (see Benner) and Peder Christian Jeppesen. Former grading (ascending): from 4 to 1, and “Ekstravagant” (entirely handmade).  http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k1.html

From Pipedia here is a bit more detailed history of the brand.

Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942 – 2004) was born in Aalborg (Jutland), just a few miles from the very northernmost tip of Denmark. He began smoking a pipe when he was 14 and upon leaving school he started an apprenticeship…as a lithographer at the age of 16.

While working as an apprentice he began hand carving pipes as a hobby. Many were given as gifts to his more senior colleagues. Upon completion of his apprenticeship he moved to Nairobi, Kenya to work as a lithographer during the 1962 war. While in that war torn country, he was unable to procure pipes for himself. In the face of such a predicament, he chose to continue to make pipes for his own use rather than go without.

Returning to Denmark after three years he couldn’t find a well paid… job, and so he began making a few pipes on the side to boost his income choosing his prenames “Karl Erik” – logo “KE” – for his label. When he managed to find some major Copenhagen pipe stores willing to sell his pieces his reputation grew little by little and he was finally able to purchase more and better machinery and began working full time as a pipe maker. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik

Pipedia also included a short description of the grading system that was used. From what I can discern the numbers ascended (6-1) and the letters ascended as well.

KE’s new grading used numbers ascending from D to A. The unique “Ekstravagant” pipes C, B, A, AA to AAA. These superb pieces of remarkable quality were, almost certainly, the least expensive high- quality hand made pipes coming from Denmark today! https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik

Jeff did a major clean up job on this one and the pipe I received when it arrived in Vancouver looked far better than the one pictured above. Here is what I saw when I brought the pipe to the table.

  1. The finish is clean and the oils and grime are gone from the bowl. The finish shows the beautiful contrast in the stains between the bowl side and the plateau on the rim top and shank end.
  2. The plateau rim top and shank end were clean and the top and the inner edge of the bowl look very good. There was no damage to the outer edges as well.
  3. There cake in the bowl has been removed and the bowl is very clean. The walls of the bowl are smooth and appear to be undamaged and show no checking or burn damage.
  4. The vulcanite fancy, turned stem looks better though the tooth marks and chatter on both sides are visible.
  5. There was no stamping or identifying marks on the stem.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and also what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver.  I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the rim top and edges were cleaned the rim top looked better. The inner edge had some significant darkening around the front and back overflowing onto the top in place. I would need to do some sanding to clean it up and remove the burn damage on the front top. I also went over the stem carefully. The fit to the shank is snug and the plateau on the shank is clean. There were some deep tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and some scratching or file marks on the entire flat surface. The vulcanite stem surface was clean and looked better. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them. I always check to make sure that the clean up work did not damage the stamping on the shank sides in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable. I love just looking at the lay of Karl Erik made pipes and the creative way he follows the briar in flow and shape.I started my work on this pipe by dealing with the burn damage on the rim top and the inner edge. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to go over the high spots on the plateau and all of the smooth parts. I also sanded out the burn damage on the inner edge and gave it a slight bevel all the way around the bowl. I touched up the dark valleys of the plateau with the characteristic black stain that was originally used. I did both the plateau on the rim and the shank end at the same time. I would polish the top and shank end more when using the micromesh on the rest of the bowl. It certainly looked better at this point.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step. I rubbed down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes then wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the sandblast showed depth. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them some. While they were better they were still there. I filled in what remained with black rubberized CA glue. I used a small file to flatten out the repairs and start to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I finished my work on the repairs by sanding them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from buildup and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The smooth finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great. The contrast plateau portions also look good. The vulcanite fancy, turned stem works well with the pipe. The Karl Erik Handmade in Denmark 5 Freehand is a beauty. It feels great in my hand and is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.98 ounces/56 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

Breathing New Life into a Hilson S2 Stronghold Nosewarmer

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking sandblast taper to oval shank Nosewarmer Billiard with a taper vulcanite stem. We picked it up on 11/14/2022 from a seller in Copenhagen, Denmark. The stamping on the underside of the shank read S2 on the heel of the bowl. That is followed by HILSON [over] Stronghold. The black vulcanite oval taper stem has a Hilson H logo stamp on the topside of the stem. The pipe is a nice looking pipe with medium and dark brown finish that gives depth to the blast on the bowl sides and shank. It is light weight and comfortable pipe to hold. Jeff sent me the following photos of the pipe to show the condition it was in before he worked on it.

This is what I saw when I looked over the pipe.

  1. The finish on the bowl and shank has some oils darkening the side from the smoker’s hands. There is also some grime ground into sandblast nooks and crannies around the bowl and shank. The stain is dull and the grain patterns in the blast though visible under the grime are obscured around the bowl sides and shank
  2. The rim top was very dirty with a heavy lava coat on it. It is heavier on the front right and backside. The inner edge of the bowl is hard to see under the thick build up of cake that has overflown the bowl top.
  3. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The bowl itself was very dark and dirty. Once the bowl was cleaned up we could confirm the condition of the bowl walls.
  4. The vulcanite stem was filthy, oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides.
  5. There is a Hilson H logo stamped on the topside of the stem. It is faint and dirty but still readable.

To summarize what I saw – this sandblast Hilson Stronghold is a well made and uniquely shaped pipe. The bowl and stem are very dirty which says to me that once again this pipe was someone’s favourite pipe. The look and feel of the pipe in the hand is great. It should clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe taken before Jeff started the clean up.  Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is thick – covering the walls of the bowl. The rim top has thick lava coat overflowing and covering the inner edge. It is heavier on the right front and toward the back of the bowl. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge in this condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work.The vulcanite taper stem is dirty, oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The white stamped Hilson logo is readable but worn. Instead of telling you what I see in the next photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel I want to hear from you. Tell me what you see? What does the finish look like to you? Are there any visible problems or issues that stand out to you? Are there cracks or scratches in nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish of the bowl? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? What does the finish look like? Is there a pattern to it? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? These questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is stamped as noted above. The vulcanite stem shows a Hilson “H” stamp on the topside of the taper. What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping? What do you look for in the stamping? It is dirty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar?I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-h3.html) to look up information on the Hilson brand. It did not have any pipes stamped Stronghold. I have included the screen capture below that gives some information. I have also included the sidebar information that gives a brief history of the brand.In 1846 a German named Jean Knödgen started to produce clay pipe in Belgium. In the late 19th century Jean Hillen who married into the Knödgen family took over the company and changed the firm in order to manufacture briar pipe. Jean Hillen had 2 sons: Jos Hillen was responsible for sales and Albert Hillen was responsible for the production. After WWII Albert founded the HILSON brand (Hillen and Son) and exported his pipes all over the world.

In 1980 after having gone bankrupt, the Belgian brand from Bree (Limburg) was taken over by the Royal Dutch Pipe Factory.

I also turned to Pipedia for a bit more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Hilson). I am including the information I found there below.

Jean-Claude Hillen (other sources: Jean-Paul) founded a trading company in the City of Bree in 1846. He soon turned his main interest on pipes and other tobacco related goods.

Particularly in the 1960’s and still throughout the 1970’s the brand Hilson of Broers Hillen B.V. (Hillen Bros. Co.) was quite successful in many European countries. They produced large numbers of machine made pipes covering the whole range of shapes and finishes. The pipes were well respected for good quality and craftsmenship at very moderate prices.

Rarely seen there are also nice freehands from this era stamped MASTRO and signed by A.M. Sanoul, who is otherwise completely unknown as a pipemaker.

All the same, in 1980 Hillen faced major financial problems. At this time there was only a second manufacturer of briars pipes in the Benelux countries, the Elbert Gubbels & Zonen B.V. in the Netherlands. The Belgian competitor being in trouble, Gubbels used the favour of the hour and bought up the company. The reason is plausible: in some countries, particularly in Germany, Hilson held larger market shares than Gubbels’ mainstay brand Big Ben.

The Hillen plant in Bree was closed down shortly after and ever since then Hilson pipes are manufactured in Roermond, NL.

There was an advertisement in the side bar that included the same shaped pipe that I am working on. From that I found that the shape is a 510. The blast on the one I have is similar to the blast of the other pipe in the ad. The taper on the stem, the flow of the bowl and the stem is identical.Jeff did a major clean up job on this one and the pipe I received when it arrived in Vancouver looked far better than the one pictured above. Here is what I saw when I brought the pipe to the table.

  1. The finish is clean and the oils and grime are gone from the bowl. The finish shows the beautiful contrast in the stains in the sandblast finish around the bowl and shank. There is a portion of the stain on the right side of the bowl toward the top that is washed out and will need to be touched up.
  2. The rim top was clean and the top and the inner edge of the bowl look very good. There was no damage to the outer edges as well.
  3. There cake in the bowl has been removed and the bowl is very clean. The walls of the bowl are smooth and appear to be undamaged and show no checking or burn damage.
  4. The vulcanite taper stem looks better though the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides are visible.
  5. The Hilson H logo stamped on the topside of the stem looks very clean and readable.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and also what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver. I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the rim top and edges were cleaned the rim top looked better. The inner edge was in good condition and looked good. I also went over the stem carefully. The fit to the shank is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button on the underside. The vulcanite stem surface was clean and looked better. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them. I always check to make sure that the clean up work did not damage the stamping on the shank sides in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable. I love just looking at the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I took the pipe apart to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. The photo shows its beauty in flow and shape.I touched up the stain on the right side of the bowl with a Mahogany stain pen to blend it into the surrounding briar. I applied it and buffed it off with a clean paper towel. The look of the area matches the rest of the briar.I rubbed down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes then wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the sandblast showed depth. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I touched up the faint H stamping on the topside of the stem with White Acrylic Fingernail Polish. Once it dried I scraped it off and polished that area with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. It is quite readable.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from buildup and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the vulcanite. I don’t buff a sandblast bowl with Blue Diamond as it can easily clog the valley and crannies in the blast. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The smooth finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great. The vulcanite saddle DC stem works well with the pipe. The sandblast Hilson S2 Stronghold Nosewarmer feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 4 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/40 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

Rebuilding The Vulcanite Stem Of A c.1960 Dunhill Shell 56 F/T For A Friend

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

During the summer of last year while browsing on Pinterest, I came across pictures of some beautiful pipes and following the links led me to an old gentleman from the UK who was willing to sell these pipes either single or as a lot. There were around 60 odd pipes. I went through the pictures that were sent along with the rates and selected 10 pipes. After a prolonged and interesting interaction, we managed to arrive at a price point. Soon these pipes landed on the shores of India and went in to Customs hold for nearly a month. Finally, it was released and I laid my hands on these pipes after a wait of nearly 3 months! Here is a picture of the lot that I had taken moments after opening the parcel.Since then, I have refurbished, repaired a family era Barling’s Make Bulldog (yellow arrow) and a c.1901 Samuel McLardy (green arrow) and added them to my personal collection. This estate lot had a Dunhill Shell (blue arrow) that called out to my fellow Pipe Club member and a dear friend who desired this pipe as his first Dunhill! The following picture will identify the pipes that have been restored and the Dunhill that is now on my work table.This is a beautiful bent billiard pipe with a deep craggy sandblast which pre 1960s Dunhill were well known for. It is stamped on the foot and the underside of the shank with the shape number “56” followed by “F/T” followed by “DUNHILL” over “SHELL BRIAR” followed by the COM stamp “Made in England” where the letter D is followed by a numeral “0” that is smaller than the letter D and is underscored. This is followed by Group size number “4” in a circle and letter “S” for Shell towards the shank end. Dunhill White Dot adorns the top of the vulcanite stem. The stampings are clear and readable.   I have worked on a few Dunhill pipes and had extensively researched the brand. There is so much to know and study about this single British brand that has survived to till this day that each day there is some new piece of information. However, pipedia.org has adequate information on the history, lines offered and dating guide for Dunhill pipe. I strongly recommend that all Pipers should make it a point to read through the information given there.

Based on the stamping seen on this pipe, with the numeral “0” being smaller than the letter D and underscored, conclusively dates this pipe to be from 1960.

Initial Inspection
The first thing I noticed, in fact anyone would, is that the stem is severely damaged with nearly ¾ of the bite zone conspicuous by its absence! What remains of the bite zone is peppered with tooth chatter. The stem is oxidized with the white dot intact. There is a decent amount of cake in the chamber with lava overflow on the rim top surface. The stummel boasts of nice deep craggy sandblast. The dirt, dust and grime embedded in the nooks and crannies of the sandblast give a dull and lackluster appearance to the stummel. The shank is dirty with traces of old oils and gunk. The following pictures will give you a general idea about the condition of the pipe. Detailed Inspection
The chamber shows a layer of medium thick cake with small traces of lava overflow on the rim top surface. From what I can see, the chamber walls appear to be without any damage. The chamber has faint sweet smell which should reduce with the internal cleaning of the stummel. The inner and outer rim edges are in good condition which will be further ascertained once the lava overflow and cake is removed. The mortise is clean and so is the shank airway.The stummel boasts of some beautiful sandblast pattern typical of lots of bird’s eye and ring grain all around. It is dirty with grime and tar filling in much of the craggy finish. The stummel fells solid to the touch and shows no signs of hot spots. The briar looks lifeless and dull which is nothing serious to address. The round shank of the bent billiards flows into a tapered vulcanite stem which flares, like a fish tail, at the button end and hence the stamp F/T. The vulcanite stem shows significant damage to the button end, in fact, there is no button at all, similar to a Dunhill Bruyere that I had worked upon a couple of years ago!! The slot end at the right side is missing about an inch of vulcanite. This pipe would have been a favorite of the previous owner and he had continued to enjoy bowls of his favorite tobacco long after the button end had been chewed off. This is evident from the significant tooth chatter on both the surfaces of the stem. I intend to reconstruct/ rebuild this portion of the stem, including the slot, while maintaining the stem and general profile of the pipe. This will require major repairs. The quality of vulcanite is top notch.In this project, stem rebuild will be a major challenge as achieving the fish tailed profile of the stem will be crucial for overall aesthetic appeal of this piece of briar. Having previously worked on a stem rebuild/ restoration of the Dunhill Bruyere, I am aware of the challenges this restoration will present en-route.

THE PROCESS
I started this project by cleaning the internals of the stem airway. Using thin shank brushes and anti-oil dish washing soap, I cleaned the stem airway. I have modified this process of cleaning the stem airway by doing away with pipe cleaners and alcohol as it saves me a ton of pipe cleaners, which is a precious commodity for me here in India. To say that the airway was filthy would be an understatement. A lot of perseverance and tons of elbow grease later, the stem internals are finally clean.With the stem internals now clean, I moved to external cleaning of the stem surface by dunking the stem into “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface making it’s further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. Unfortunately, I missed out on taking pictures of this process.

While the stem was soaking in the deoxidizer solution, I reamed the chamber with a PipNet reamer tool, using cutting blade size 2 followed by size 3 heads. I used my fabricated knife to remove cake from areas inaccessible to the reamer blades and completed the process of removing the cake by sanding the walls smooth with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper. I wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with alcohol to clean the residual carbon dust. The chamber walls are solid with no signs of hot spots, heat fissures or webs.Continuing with the internal cleaning of the chamber, I subjected it to a salt and alcohol bath. I used cotton balls which is an at par substitute as I have realized over the years. I drew out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; inserted it into the mortise and through the draught hole and further into the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils/ tars from the chamber and mortise and loosened out any residual cake and tar build up, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosed gunk from the mortise and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. The chamber now smells clean and fresh. I set the stummel aside to dry out naturally. I cleaned the external surface of the stummel with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and a hard bristled toothbrush. I cleaned the smooth rim top surface with the soap and Scotch Brite pad. I thoroughly cleaned the mortise with shank brush and anti-oil dish washing soap. The mortise is now thoroughly cleaned and fresh.Next, I rub a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to the briar with my finger tips and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful contrasting hues colors that are unique to this sandblast pipe, on full display. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. Now that the stummel work is nearly completed, I fish out the stem from the deoxidizer. I cleaned the stem under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using a Scotch Brite pad and cleaned the airway with a thin shank brush. I further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little EVO to rehydrate the stem. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners through the stem airway to clean the airway of the deoxidizer solution and water. To address the tooth indentations/ bite marks, I warmed up the bite zone with the flame of a lighter. The heat helps to expand the vulcanite and retain its original shape. This method may not always completely raise the depressions to the surface, but most of the times, to a great extent. In this case the tooth indentations were raised to a great extent, but the damage to the button edge would require a rebuild. I followed up the heating of the stem surface with sanding the bite zone with a worn out piece of 180 grit sandpaper to even out the surface.Next step was to start the process of rebuilding the slot end. I appropriately folded an index card and covered it with a transparent scotch tape which prevents the superglue and charcoal mix from sticking to the card. I prepared a mix of CA superglue and activated charcoal and generously applied it over and extending beyond the broken surface using the remnants of the bite zone as guiding yardstick. I set the stem aside for curing over night. I have not researched and measured the exact length that I had to reconstruct, but eyeballed the length using the longer right side of the stem where a portion of the button was still intact. Before moving ahead, I would like to mention here that I had applied this mix in layers, over the week, to achieve sufficient thickness which would help during the filing and sanding while shaping the button and achieving the correct stem profile.Once the fill had completely hardened, I moved ahead and began the process of filing and shaping the button end with a flat head needle file. This time around it was more  challenging as I had set for my self the aim of creating a fish tail shape (or rather as close a match to fish tail as possible), a straight thin slot and a concave shape to the button end as seen on original stems. This is how the stem repairs look at this point in restoration. There are many airpockets that are clearly visible and would need quite a few more rebuilds with the charcoal mix. It is not without a reason we say that Rome was not built in one day!!I marked a straight line for the slot orientation and using only the tip of the pointed needle file, I carved out the slot. I followed it up by enlarging this carved slot further using the slot carving file. I resorted to sanding with folded pieces of 180 grit sand papers to laboriously shape and widen the slot, always taking care to maintain a straight line. Once I was satisfied with the profile of the slot, I went ahead and shaped the button by first achieving a rough shape with a flat head needle file and there after fine tuning it by sanding it down with a 220 grit sand paper. A close look at the repairs confirmed the presence of some serious air pockets (seen as white spots) in the bite zone and at the slot end. Here are a couple of pictures which will point out these air pockets.I applied a mix of CA superglue and activated charcoal over the air pockets ensuring that the mix is thoroughly filled up in to these air pockets. I set the stem aside for the repairs to cure. Once the fills had cured, I sand them with a flat needle file to achieve a rough match with the rest of the stem surface followed by further sanding using a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. Thankfully, the issue of air pockets has now been addressed. I continued to dry sand the entire stem with a folded piece of 600 and 800 grit sandpapers and further progressed to wet sanding with 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand papers. This helps to reduce the sanding marks left behind by the more abrasive 220 grit paper. I rubbed a small amount of EVO to hydrate the stem.To bring a deep shine to the vulcanite stem, I went through the complete set of micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200 to 12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem with alcohol after each pad and rubbed it down with Extra Virgin Olive oil to rehydrate the vulcanite. The repairs have blended in very well and the stem now looks shiny black and beautiful. The internals of the stem was once again cleaned out using alcohol and pipe cleaners to clear the airway of all the debris resulting due to the sanding. The finished stem is shown below.To finish, I re-attach the stem with the stummel. I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel to my hand held rotary machine and applied White Diamond compound to the entire pipe. I wiped/ buffed the pipe with a soft cotton cloth to clear it of any leftover compound dust. I then mounted another cotton cloth wheel on to the polishing machine and applied several coats of carnauba wax. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The completed pipe looks lovely, fresh and vibrant. This restored pipe is now ready to be shipped out to my friend and fellow pipe club member to enjoy for decades ahead.

Fresh Life for a Sandblast Charatan of London Grosvenor 30120 Canadian with a Double Comfort Stem

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking sandblast oval shank Canadian with an oval Double Comfort saddle stem. We picked it up on 07/27/2020 from a seller in Australia. The stamping on the left side of the shank read Charatan [over] of London. That is followed by the stamping Grosvenor [over] the shape number 30120. The black vulcanite oval saddle stem is a Charatan’s Lane Era Double Comfort Stem with a CP stamped on the topside of the saddle. The pipe is a nice looking pipe with medium and dark brown finish that gives depth to the blast on the bowl sides and shank. It is light weight and comfortable pipe to hold. Jeff sent me the following photos of the pipe to show the condition it was in before he worked on it.

This is what I saw when I looked over the pipe.

  1. The finish is shiny on the bowl and shank and there was some thick grime ground into sandblast nooks and crannies around the bowl and shank. The stain is dull and the grain patterns though visible under the grime are obscured around the bowl sides and shank
  2. The rim top was very dirty with a heavy lava coat on it. It is heavier on the back side. The inner edge of the bowl is hard to see under the thick build up of cake that has overflown the bowl top.
  3. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The bowl itself was very dark and dirty. Once the bowl was cleaned up we could confirm the condition of the bowl walls.
  4. The vulcanite stem was filthy, oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides.
  5. There is a Charatan CP logo stamped on the topside of the shank. It is thin and a slightly different shape but still readable. The stamping on the underside of the stem is a Regd. No. 203573 is also readable.

To summarize what I saw – this sandblast Charatan of London Grosvenor Canadian is a well made pipe. The bowl and stem are very dirty which says to me that the pipe was someone’s favourite pipe. The look and feel of the pipe in the hand is great. It should clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe taken before Jeff started the clean up.  Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is thick – covering the walls of the bowl. The rim top has thick lava coat overflowing and covering the inner edge. It is heavier toward the back of the bowl. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge in this condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work.The Double Comfort vulcanite saddle stem is dirty, oxidized and calcified. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Instead of telling you what I see in the next photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel I want to hear from you. Tell me what you see? What does the finish look like to you? Are there any visible problems or issues that stand out to you? Are there cracks or scratches in smooth finish of the bowl? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? What does the finish look like? Is there a pattern to it? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? These questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is stamped as noted above on the right and the left sides. The vulcanite stem shows a CP stamp on the topside of the saddle. What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping? What do you look for in the stamping? It is dirty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar? I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html) to look up information on the Grosvenor. I have included the screen capture below that includes the information below the photo.It reads, “This is typically a pipe carved in France. Note the slightly different C and P linking, the “of London” instead of “London, England” and France stamping under the stem.

The one I am working on is not stamped France on the stem. Instead it is stamped and reads REGD. NO [over] 203573. I am not sure what that means but it is the only difference in the pipe above and the pipe I am working on.

Jeff did a major clean up job on this one and the pipe I received when it arrived in Vancouver looked far better than the one pictured above. Here is what I saw when I brought the pipe to the table.

  1. The finish is clean and the oils and grime are gone from the bowl. The finish shows the beautiful contrast in the stains in the sandblast finish around the bowl and shank.
  2. The rim top was clean and the top and the inner edge of the bowl look very good. There was no damage to the outer edges as well.
  3. There cake in the bowl has been removed and the bowl is very clean. The walls of the bowl are smooth and appear to be undamaged and show no checking or burn damage.
  4. The vulcanite saddle stem looks better though the tooth marks and chatter on both sides are visible.
  5. The Charatan CP logo stamped on the topside of the stem looks very clean and readable.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and also what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver. I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the rim top and edges were cleaned the rim top looked better. The inner edge was in good condition and looked good with the rusticated plateau style rim top. I also went over the stem carefully. The fit of the replacement to the shank is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button on the underside. The acrylic stem surface was clean and looked better. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them.I always check to make sure that the clean up work did not damage the stamping on the shank sides in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable. I love just looking at the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I took the pipe apart to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. The photo shows its beauty in flow and shape.I rubbed down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes then wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the sandblast showed depth. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe.  I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them all. I sanded the remainder smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped the stem down with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove the remaining oxidation on the stem surface. It looked much better.I touched up the faint CP stamping and the Regd. No. stamping on the top and underside of the stem with White Acrylic Fingernail Polish. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. I know that many say Obsidian Oil does nothing for acrylic stems, but I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from buildup and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the acrylic. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the vulcanite. I don’t buff a sandblast bowl with Blue Diamond as it can easily clog the valley and crannies in the blast. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The smooth finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great. The vulcanite saddle DC stem works well with the pipe. The sandblast  Charatan of London 3010 Canadian feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/40 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

Restoring a Charatan’s Make Special 4 Made By Hand City of London Sitter

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a nice looking straight grain Billiard with the front heel flattened making it a sitter. It has a smooth rim top and a double comfort saddle stem. We picked it up on 04/09/2022 from a seller in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. The stamping on the left side of the shank read Charatan’s Make [over] London, England [over] Special. On the right side it is stamped Made By Hand [over] in [over] City of London. That is followed by the number 4 stamped next to the bowl shank junction. On the topside of the shank at the shank/stem junction is a cursive L in a circle identifying it as a Lane Pipe. The black vulcanite saddle stem is a Charatan’s Lane Era Double Comfort Stem with a CP stamped on the left side of the saddle. The pipe is a nice looking pipe with a reddish brown finish that highlights the grain on the bowl sides and shank. It is light weight and comfortable pipe to hold. Jeff sent me the following photos of the pipe to show the condition it was in before he worked on it.

This is what I saw when I looked over the pipe.

  1. The finish is dull with hand oils on the sides and some thick grime ground into finish around the bowl sides. The stain is dull and the grain patterns though visible under the grime are obscured around the bowl sides and shank
  2. The rim top was very dirty with darkening and a heavy lava coat on it. It is heavier on the back side. The inner edge of the bowl is hard to see under the thick build up of cake that has overflown the bowl top.
  3. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The bowl itself was very dark and dirty. Once the bowl was cleaned up we could confirm the condition of the bowl walls.
  4. The vulcanite stem was filthy, oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides. There were some deeper tooth marks on the underside ahead of the button.
  5. There is a Charatan CP logo stamped on the left side of the shank. It is faint but still readable.

To summarize what I saw – this Charatan’s Make London, England Special Sitter, Made by Hand in City of London is a well made pipe. The bowl and stem are very dirty which says to me that the pipe was someone’s favourite pipe. The look and feel of the pipe in the hand is great. It should clean up very well. Here are photos of the pipe taken before Jeff started the clean up.  Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is thick – covering the walls of the bowl. The rim top has thick lava coat overflowing and covering the inner edge. It is heavier toward the back of the bowl. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge in this condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work.The Double Comfort vulcanite saddle stem is dirty, oxidized and calcified. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The marks on the underside are deeper than on the topside. Instead of telling you what I see in the next photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel I want to hear from you. Tell me what you see? What does the finish look like to you? Are there any visible problems or issues that stand out to you? Are there cracks or scratches in smooth finish of the bowl? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? What does the finish look like? Is there a pattern to it? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? These questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is stamped as noted above on the right and the left sides. The vulcanite stem shows a CP stamp on the left side of the saddle. What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping? What do you look for in the stamping? It is dirty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar? I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html) to look up information on the Special line. There was a listing there but there was no photo in the listing. I have included the screen capture below.I am sure many of you will shake your head and ask maybe even out loud, “Why is he including this again?” However, please remember that the point of these blogs is not to wow your with the work or make you shake your heads but I want you to know the details of the work we do so you can do your own. Back in 2020 Jeff wrote a blog about his cleaning process. I am including a link to that now so you can see what I mean about his process. Do not skip it! Give it a read (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/20/got-a-filthy-estate-pipe-that-you-need-to-clean/). Here is the introduction to that blog and it is very true even to this day.

Several have asked about Jeff’s cleaning regimen as I generally summarize it in the blogs that I post rather than give a detailed procedure. I have had the question asked enough that I asked Jeff to put together this blog so that you can get a clear picture of the process he uses. Like everything else in our hobby, people have different methods they swear by. Some may question the method and that is fine. But it works very well for us and has for many years. Some of his steps may surprise you but I know that when I get the pipes from him for my part of the restoration they are impeccably clean and sanitized. I have come to appreciate the thoroughness of the process he has developed because I really like working on clean pipe!

For the benefit of some of you who may be unfamiliar with some of the products he uses I have included photos of three of the items that Jeff mentions in his list. This will make it easier for recognition. These three are definitely North American Products so you will need to find suitable replacements or order these directly on Amazon. The makeup pads are fairly universal as we were able to pick some up in India when we were with Paresh and his family.

In the blog itself he breaks his process down into two parts – cleaning the stem and cleaning the bowl. Each one has a large number of steps that he methodically does every time. I know because I have watched him do the work and I have seen the pipes after his work on them. He followed this process step by step and when the pipe got to me it was spotlessly clean and ready for my work. The inside of the stem, shank and bowl were clean and to me that is an amazing gift as it means that my work on this end is with a clean pipe! I cannot tell you how much difference that makes for my work.

  1. The finish is clean and the oils and grime in the finish shows the beautiful straight grain around the sides. The medium brown stain highlights the grain.
  2. The rim top was clean but there were still damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. It is clean and with a little work will look very good.
  3. There cake in the bowl has been removed and the bowl is very clean. The walls of the bowl are smooth and appear to be undamaged and show no checking or burn damage.
  4. The vulcanite saddle stem looks better though the tooth marks and chatter on both sides are visible. There were some deeper tooth marks on the underside ahead of the button.
  5. The Charatan CP logo stamped on the left side of the stem looks very clean but is faint and readable.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and also what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver. I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the rim top and edges were cleaned the rim top looked better. The inner edge was in good condition and looked good with the rusticated plateau style rim top. I also went over the stem carefully. The fit of the replacement to the shank is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button on the underside. The acrylic stem surface was clean and looked better. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them. I always check to make sure that the clean up work did not damage the stamping on the shank sides in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable. I love just looking at the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I took the pipe apart to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. The photo shows its beauty in flow and shape. I started working on this pipe by turning to the bowl. I chose to deal with the darkening on the inner edge and top of the rim. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening on the inner edge and the damage on the top. It took a little work but I was able to remove most of the damage. It looks much better after I worked it over.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step. I rubbed down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes then wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the rustication showed depth. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them some. While they were better they were still there. I filled in what remained with black rubberized CA glue. I used a small file to flatten out the repairs and start to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I finished my work on the repairs by sanding them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped the stem down with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove the remaining oxidation on the stem surface. It looked much better. I touched up the faint CP stamping on the left side of the stem. The logo is readable though the P is missing the curve of the right side of the P.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. I know that many say Obsidian Oil does nothing for acrylic stems, but I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from buildup and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the acrylic. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection.The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The smooth finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great. The vulcanite saddle DC stem works well with the pipe. The Charatan’s Make Special Made by Hand in City of London Billiard Sitter feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. 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: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.01 ounces/57 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

Another Piece Of Pipe History Restored To It’s Former Glory; A c.1901 Samuel Mclardy”

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

During the summer of last year while browsing on Pinterest, I came across pictures of some beautiful pipes and following the links led me to an old gentleman from the UK who was willing to sell these pipes either single or as a lot. There were around 60 odd pipes. I went through the pictures that were sent along with the rates and selected 10 pipes. After a prolonged and interesting interaction, we managed to arrive at a price point. Soon these pipes landed on the shores of India and went in to Customs hold for nearly a month. Finally, it was released and I laid my hands on these pipes after a wait of nearly 3 months! Here is a picture that I had taken moments after opening the parcel.I had restored a BARLING’S MAKE pipe from this lot earlier (indicated with a yellow pointer) and the next pipe that I have selected, again from this lot is a SMcL (indicated with a fluorescent green pointer) bent billiards with squared shank and horn stem.The pipe is a classic Bent Billiards with a square shank and a saddle horn stem with a threaded tenon. It is a typical English shaped quaint sized pipe with a nice hand feel and a light weight that makes it comfortable for clenching. It has a hallmarked silver band with filigree at the shank end. The silver filigree is stamped as “SMcL” in a triangle over three sterling silver hallmarks. From right to left the first cartouche is with a date code letter “b” followed by a cartouche with LION PASSANT certifying silver quality and the last cartouche contains the “Anchor” of the Birmingham Assay Office. The shank is likewise stamped with SMcL in a triangle in golden color while the horn stem is devoid of any stampings.This brand though faintly familiar to me through various reads and mentions, I haven’t ever worked on a pipe from this manufacturer and neither researched this old British marquee. I decided to follow the trail along the silver filigree ferrule at the shank end bearing the hallmarks. I visited www.silvercollection.it and upon searching through the index, I came across a maker’s mark that was as seen on the pipe in my hands. The maker’s mark was described as SAMUEL McLARDY & Co. Here is the link and screen shot of the details and relevant details are highlighted.

https://www.silvercollection.it/englishsilvermarksXS3.htmlThe next step was to date this pipe with the help of the hallmarks as seen on the silver filigree band at the shank end. The Birmingham City mark was easy to identify. The letter “b” perfectly matched up with the letter that identified it as being assayed by the Birmingham Assay office in 1901. Given below is the link that will take the readers to the relevant section of dating and the picture that I have taken with the date code letter marked in red.

https://www.silvercollection.it/englishsilverhallmarksBIR.html

I visited pipedia.org to know more the brand Samuel McLardy & Co. Given below is the link to the article on pipedia.org and have reproduced relevant information about the brand.

https://pipedia.org/wiki/Samuel_McLardy

The McLardy company thanks its existence to the entrepreneurial spirit of 1 person: Samuel McLardy, born in Glasgow in 1842. He was the son of a tobacconist who also produced his own clay pipes. In the paternal shop he must have learned the profession of pipe-maker. Shortly after his 20th birthday he decided to move to Manchester to start his own company. There is remarkably little known about the history of the factory. On an old advertisement it says “established 1865” so since then there must have been a steady growth. Within a couple of decades there was a massive production of clay pipes. Around 1895 the factory owned over 500 moulds which meant yearly production was around 5 million pipes! Similar to that of Dutch factory P. Goedewaagen & Zoon in that period. Over time we find Samuel McLardy at different locations. Before 1880 that was Miller Street number 16 in Manchester and it is there where the shop grew to the size of a factory. In 1890 the company moved to Shudehill number 67 where it remained active until after 1910.

The production of clay pipes was a large part of the McLardy operation and this interesting Pipe Manufacturers Catalogue shows several clay models displayed for sale. Duco’s article, referenced above, examines the historical realities impacting the Samuel McLardy Co., (typical of other UK pipe companies) by navigating through relatively prosperous years leading up to the turn of the century, the decline of interest in clay pipes, diversification of other product lines to cope with falling revenues, WWI, the growing economic bubble of the 20s leading ultimately to the collapse of the McLardy, Co., soon after the stock market crashes in September (for UK) and October (for US), 1929. I found this last statement regarding the Samuel McLardy, Co., as a matter of public record published in archives of The London Gazette regarding the liquidation of the company. Reflective of the times, there were several companies listed in the Gazette which were being “wound up”:

The Companies Act, 1929.

Special Resolution of SAMUEL McLARDY & CO. Limited.

Passed 13th January, 1930.

AT an Extraordinary General Meeting of the Members of the above named Company, duly convened, and held at No. 20, Swan-street, Manchester, on the 13th day of January, 1930, the following Resolution was duly passed as a Special Resolution: –

” That the Company be wound up voluntarily; and that Mr. George Elder, Chartered Accountant, of Edwin Collier & Co., 3, York-street, Manchester, be appointed Liquidator for the purposes of such winding-up”.

Thus to summarize, Samuel McLardy & Co. was established in 1865 by Mr. Samuel McLardy at the age of 23. This company was an established clay pipe maker and produced about 5 million pipes a year. By 1920s, the business was no longer profitable due to WW I, declining interest in clay pipes and financial meltdown of 1929. Samuel McLardy & Co was “wound up” on 13 Jan 1930 after 65 years of its existence.

With the provenance of the pipe established beyond doubts, it was logical for me to move ahead with restoration proper of this pipe.

Initial Inspection
This pipe has the quintessential quaint size and shape that is nearly always seen on old British made pipes. The well seasoned briar is covered in dirt, dust and grime from decades of use. There are a couple of deep scratches on the stummel surface. There is a thick cake in the chamber with heavy overflow of cake, oils and tars over the rim top surface. The inner rim edge is uneven and charred. The outer rim edge, likewise, is peppered with dents and dings. The horn stem is in good condition with minor tooth chatter on both surfaces in the bite zone. The draw through the pipe is labored and constricted. This project should be an easy restoration, unless some gremlins are lurking unbeknown to me around the corner! Here are a few ‘before’ pictures of the pipe. Detailed Inspection
The chamber has a thick hard cake that has spilled over the rim top surface. The cake is thicker around the upper half of the chamber. The outer rim edge has dents and dings all around but is most severely damaged along the front half portion (encircled in red), a damage that can result only due to repeated strikes against a hard edged surface. The inner rim edge is unevenly gouged, probably due to use of a sharp knife to clean up the rim of the charring damage (encircled in yellow). The rim appears thinned out in a couple of places and is encircled in green. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber can be commented upon after the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. There is a strong ghost smell in the chamber which is all pervading. The stummel surface is covered in dust, dirt and grime giving a dull, lifeless and lackluster appearance to the pipe. However, the briar has taken on a nice dark patina, a result of more than 120 years of usage which would be worth preserving. However, eliminating/ addressing the deep scratches (indicated with yellow arrows) on both side of the stummel and the few dents and dings (encircled in green) would entail sacrificing the patina. This is a call that I would need to take at some stage in the restoration process. The mortise is chock-a-block with old oils, tars, ashes and grime making for a labored draw. The thick cake and blocked mortise hides the draught hole from view. These issues need to be addressed. The horn stem itself appears dull and lifeless and has some minor tooth chatter on both the surfaces of the stem. The slot is perfectly round and correct for the time period of the pipe and shows accumulation of dried tars and dirt. The threaded bone tenon also shows traces of deposition of gunk and grime within the threads and at the tenon end. The button edges are sharp and sans any major damage with a little dirt embedded at the bottom of the edges and some minor tooth chatter over the lower and upper button in the bite zone. The dark and light hues taken on by the stem over the years should polish out nicely and will add an additional touch of class to this already classy pipe. The Process
I first tried to remove the silver filigree band to check for any hidden gremlins over the shank end surface. The band came off quite easily and it was a relief to note that there were no cracks or chipped areas underneath the band as evidenced from the shank end face.Since the stummel is where maximum restoration efforts are needed, this was where I started my process to restore this pipe. I began the process of refurbishing this pipe by reaming the chamber with a PipNet reamer tool, using the second head. Using my fabricated knife; I further took the cake down to the bare briar. With a 220 grit sand paper, the walls of the chamber were rid of all the remnants of the cake, revealing smooth chamber walls. I further wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with isopropyl alcohol to completely remove the sanding dust. I gently scraped the lava overflow from the rim top. Close observation of the chamber after the clean up revealed that the draught hole is not centered (centre position encircled in white) but towards the left side (indicated with green arrows). This being a manufacturing issue, there is nothing that I can do to right this wrong and even if there is something that can be done, I wouldn’t recommend it as it had previously over the last century served its owner well as can be seen from the thick cake in the chamber. The damage to the front outer edge (encircled in blue) and the out of round chamber due to damaged inner rim edge (encircled in green) can now be seen clearly and would need to be addressed. Using cotton buds, bristled and regular pipe cleaners wetted with 99.9% pure alcohol, I carried out the preliminary cleaning of the mortise. I shall continue deeper cleaning of the chamber and mortise with salt and alcohol treatment.Moving on to deeper cleaning of the chamber and the mortise…….. I use cotton balls which is an at par substitute to Kosher salt as I have realized over the years. I draw out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; insert it in to the mortise and through the draught hole in to the chamber. Thereafter, I pack the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and soak the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. It was here that I noticed seepage on the right side of the stummel through what I had initially assumed to be a scratch. However, this patch of seepage points to a through crack which if left unattended would lead to a burn-out.  I topped it up once again with alcohol and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils and tars from the chamber and mortise, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. I set it aside to dry out naturally. It is such unexpected curve balls that are thrown at you which make any restoration a challenging one. Once the stummel had dried out completely, using my fabricated tool I scraped out the entire loosened gunk from the mortise and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. I cleaned out all the debris and gunk in the crack from the outside (encircled in yellow). I also scraped the chamber walls to remove all the loosened cake and charred briar; especially form the corresponding insides of the external crack. A closer examination of the chamber walls shows the extent of damage (indicated by red arrows) and most likely this is a result of some flaw in the briar wood which was exposed during previous use and reaming to maintain cake. I would love to hear about your opinions on what had caused this damage. This issue needs to be addressed immediately to avoid ruining this 122 year old specimen of pipe history.Before moving on to addressing the above, I decided to clean the exterior surface of the stummel. I used a hard bristled tooth brush and Murphy’s oil Soap, to scrub the stummel, chamber walls and rim top. I washed the stummel under running warm water with anti oil dish washing detergent till the stummel surface was clean and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. The deep scratch on the left and the ‘now determined’ through crack on the right (indicated by green arrows) are all too clearly visible. I simultaneously cleaned the shank internals with the detergent and hard bristled shank brush and set the stummel aside to dry out naturally.With the stummel now clean both internally and externally, it was time for me to address the issue of the through crack on the right stummel surface. Using a sharp dental tool, I removed the charred and damaged briar from along the chamber wall until I reached the hard solid briar underneath. Similarly, I cleaned out the crack from the outside by clearing out the debris and grime and the damaged briar using the sharp dental tool. Next, I drilled counter holes at either ends of the crack using a 1mm drill bit. These counter holes will prevent spread of the crack any further in either direction. I was careful in ensuring that the counter holes are drilled at the exact end points of the crack and that these holes were not drilled through and through. I filled this crack and counter holes with a mix of briar dust and CA superglue and set it aside to cure.Next I decided to fill only the heat fissure from where I had removed the charred briar with layer of J B Weld. J B Weld is a two-part epoxy Cold Weld in two tubes; hardener and steel which are mixed in two equal parts (ratio of 1:1) with hardening time of 5-6 minutes and complete curing time of 6-8 hours. I poured the contents of the two tubes and mixed it well. I applied this mix, pressing as deep and as evenly as possible, over the heat lines in the chamber wall surface. As I was applying the mix, I decided to apply this coat over the entire chamber surface as I had some of the mix remaining and it wouldn’t harm in any which way. I worked fast to ensure an even coat before the weld could harden. I set the stummel aside for the application to harden and cure overnight. Once the external crack fill had cured completely, using a flat head needle file, I sand this fill to achieve a rough match with the rest of the stummel surface. I further fine tuned the matching of the fill by sanding fill surface with folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The stummel surface was now clean and even.Next, with a folded piece of 150 grit sandpaper, I sand the coat of J B Weld from the internal walls of the chamber keeping just a thin layer of coat along the wall; just enough to provide an inert and heat resistant layer between the burning tobacco and the damaged briar. I shall further enhance this separation by adding a bowl coat of activated charcoal and yogurt.Next I addressed the issue of the uneven rim top, damaged outer rim edges and out of round chamber. I began with topping the rim over a 220 grit sand paper, frequently checking for the progress being made. I stopped once the damaged outer rim edge was evened out to an acceptable- to- me level and the thickness of the rim top was close to even all round. To get the chamber back to round, I created a bevel over the inner and outer edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. I am pretty pleased with the progress being made thus far. I followed it by sanding the entire stummel surface using a piece of 320 grit sandpaper to address the scratches and the dents and dings. This was a decision which I had deliberated for a while. One of the major considerations in favor of sanding was the deep scratch on the left side which could be minimized by using sandpaper to sand it down to an acceptable level. Sanding will also help in addressing the few dents and dings and minor scratches from the surface. I had decided that the sanding would be kept to bare minimum and the scratches, dents and dings that remain shall be maintained as part of the pipe’s journey thus far. To remove the sanding marks and bring a deeper shine, I polished the stummel with micromesh pads, dry sanding with 1500 to 12000 pads. I wiped the surface with a soft cloth at the end of the micromesh cycle. The stummel looks amazing with a deep shine. Next, I rub a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to the briar with my finger tips and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful darkened grain patterns on full display. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. Now that the stummel repairs/ refurbishing are completed save for the final polish, it was time to work the stem. I cleaned the internals of the stem with a thin shank brush and anti-oil dish washing soap. This ensures a thorough cleaning of the stem airway while saving me number of pipe cleaners, elbow grease and most importantly, time. With the stem internals cleaned, I scrubbed the external surface with the dish soap and Scotch Brit pad. I was particularly careful while cleaning the threaded tenon surface as the old residual oils and tars were deeply embedded in to the threads. I rinsed the stem under warm running water and wiped it with a paper napkin to dry it.I addressed the minor tooth chatter in the bite zone by sanding the bite zone with a folded piece of 400 grit sand paper. I could have filled the tooth indentation with clear superglue, sanded and polished the stem, but decided against this since the stem was thick and the tooth chatter was superficial enough to be addressed just by sanding it out. To eliminate the sanding marks and also bring a deep shine to the bone stem, I wet sanded the entire stem surface with 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sandpapers. I rubbed a small quantity of EVO in to surface and set it aside to be absorbed by the bone stem. To bring a deep shine to the horn stem, I went through the complete set of micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem with moist cloth after each pad and rubbed it down with Extra Virgin Olive oil to rejuvenate the horn.   I completed the mundane but equally important task of polishing the Sterling Silver filigree band. I used a local product that is available only in India to polish the band. The liquid polish was applied to the band and wiped it out after a few seconds. The polish completely removed the oxidation and gave a nice shine to the band which was further improved by polishing it with a jeweler’s cloth. Using CA superglue, I reattached the band at the shank end.To complete the restoration, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and polished the stummel and stem with Blue Diamond compound. This compound helps to remove the minor scratch marks that remain from the sanding. I mounted another cotton buffing wheel that I have earmarked for carnauba wax and applied several coats of the wax. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks amazingly beautiful and is ready to join my collection. I only wish it could share with me its life story of the past years while I enjoy smoking my favorite Virginia blend in it or maybe an English blend or maybe just keep admiring it!! P.S. There was only one more issue that needed to be addressed and one that could not be ignored, being a functional issue. After I had applied and sanded down the JB WELD to a thin coat, I wanted to further protect the chamber briar while adding another layer between the JB WELD and burning tobacco. I addressed this by mixing activated charcoal and plain yogurt to a thicker consistency, just enough that it would spread easily and applied it evenly all along the chamber walls after inserting a folded pipe cleaner through the draught hole to keep it open. Once dry and set, this will not only protect the walls but also aid in faster build up of cake.Big thank you to all the readers who have joined me on this path by reading this write up as I restored and completed this project.

Restoring A Beautiful Family Era “Barling’s Make” Bulldog To Its Former Glory

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

During the summer of last year while browsing on Pinterest, I came across pictures of some beautiful pipes and following the links led me to an old gentleman from the UK who was willing to sell these pipes either single or as a lot. There were around 60 odd pipes. I went through the pictures that were sent along with the rates and selected 10 pipes. After a prolonged and interesting interaction, we managed to arrive at a price point. Soon these pipes landed on the shores of India and went in to Customs hold for nearly a month. Finally, it was released and I laid my hands on these pipes after a wait of nearly 3 months! Here is a picture that I had taken moments after opening the parcel.Save for four pipes, remaining pipes came with Amber stems that were in fairly decent condition. The next pipe that I decided to work on is from this lot. It has that classic English bulldog shape and size that I like the most. That it’s a Barling’s Make meant that it will be added to my Barling collection. This pipe is indicated by a yellow arrow in the picture below.From the above picture it is amply evident that this pipe is small when compared to the group 4 sized Dunhill that is seen in the picture, but the bowl is medium sized and holds a decent quantity of tobacco. The stummel boasts of some beautiful mix of bird’s eye and cross grains along the entire surface. It is stamped as “BARLING’S MAKE” on the left shank surface in small simple capital letters while the right shank face bears the stampings “JAMES & Co.” over “BIRMINGHAM”. These stampings are a bit different than the ones I have come across in that there is no model number and neither is there any size stampings e.g. SS, S-M, L, EL etc.I have worked on quite a few Barling’s pipes and have read up as much material as I could lay my hands on anything related to Barling’s pipe. A simple look at the stampings on the left shank surface indicates that this pipe is from the Family Era. There are certain pointers like, the small font size, simple capital letter, lack of stamp denoting the size of the pipe and the minimalistic stamping, which place this pipe between 1930s and Pre-WW II period, 1941 to be precise.

According to Tad Gage, Pre-1946 stampings are minimal. Pre WW2 pipes rarely have size, shape or grading. Thus, I can confidently date this pipe to the Family era and to have been roughly made during the period 1930 to 1941.

You may consider visiting the under mentioned link for a detailed read about the Barling company and dating guide.

https://pipedia.org/wiki/Barling#The_Company

The stampings on the left side shank surface has provided all the clues to establish the provenance of this beautiful classic British pipe, but what about the JAMES & Co over BIRMINGHAM stampings?

An internet search threw a number of businesses and Business houses with the name James & Co, including variations of the searched name, from Birmingham and nearby areas. However, nothing concrete came up that strongly connected the Barling’s pipe to any business house.

However, when I searched for James & Co. after including 1930s, my screen was flooded with images and information about JAMES CYCLE & Co.!!!! The connection between this Barling pipe and the company somehow felt logical. Here is what I found out about JAMES MOTORCYCLES……

The James Cycle Co Ltd., Greet, Birmingham, England, was one of many British cycle and motorcycle makers based in the English Midlands, particularly Birmingham. Most of their light motorcycles, often with the characteristic maroon finish, used Villiers and, later, AMC two-stroke engines.

James were prolific bicycle and motorcycle manufacturers from 1897 to 1966. The company was taken over by Associated Motor Cycles in 1951 and combined with Francis-Barnett in 1957. In 1966 the company became one of the many British motorcycle companies forced out of business by Japanese competition.

In early twentieth century, it was a popular promotional practice amongst business houses to give away quality pipes that were commissioned from reputed pipe makers like Comoy’s, Charatan, GBD, Barling’s etc, as gifts to their clients with the firm name duly stamped on the pipe.

In this instance, the time period of making this pipe matches with the period of the existence of James Cycle & Co and also pipes and motorcycles are supplementary to masculinity. Is it possible that this Barling pipe was commissioned by James & Co of Birmingham as complimentary gift to their client? Please comment and let me know.

With the vintage of the pipe established with certainty and speculations about the connection of this particular pipe with motorcycle manufacturer, James & Co. Birmingham, it’s time to move ahead with the process of restoration.

Initial Visual Inspection
This pipe has the classic straight Bulldog shape with a diamond shank and a medium sized bowl. The stummel boasts of some beautiful bird’s eye and cross grains all over the bowl and shank. The stummel surface is covered in dirt and grime of the overflowed lava. There is not a single fill in the briar which speaks of high quality of the briar. The chamber appears out of round and has a thick layer of cake. The saddle vulcanite stem is heavily oxidized with tooth chatter and very light tooth indentations on button edges on either surface in the bite zone. Detailed Inspection And Observations
The overall proportion of this pipe is small with a decent sized chamber. The draught hole is at the bottom dead center of the chamber. The chamber has an even layer of very thick hard cake with remnants of un-burnt tobacco seen at the heel of the chamber. The rim top surface is covered with thick lava overflow and is pretty banged up along the right side (encircled in pastel blue). The inner rim edge is charred and damaged between 10 o’clock and 12 o’clock directions (encircled in yellow) which make the chamber appear out of round. The outer rim edge has dents and dings all around but is most severely damaged towards the front and back of the bowl (encircled in green), a damage that can result only due to repeated strikes against a hard edged surface. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber can be commented upon after the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. The strong ghost smell in the chamber is all pervading. The stummel appears solid to the touch all around and hence I do not foresee any serious damage to the walls in the form of burnout/ deep heat fissures/ lines or pits. The dark inner rim edges may be charred further than anticipated and the same will be confirmed after the surface has been thoroughly cleaned. I need to resort to topping the rim top in order to address the damage to the surface. The ghost smells should reduce once the cake from the chamber is removed and the shank has been cleaned. There are a few scratches that can be seen on the sides and on the shank surface of the stummel. Both the stummel and the shank are covered in grime and dust from years of use and subsequent storage, giving it a dull and a lackluster appearance. The surface has taken on a nice patina which I intend to preserve. Through all the dirt and grime, beautiful mixed grains peek out from the stummel surface. A nice clean and polish will further accentuate this play of grains over the stummel surface. Given the condition that the chamber was in, it was no surprise that the mortise was chock-a-block with accumulated oils, tars and residual gunk. This is also the major cause of the strong ghost smells from the pipe. This would need a very thorough and deliberate cleaning.The diamond saddle vulcanite stem is oxidized with calcification observed in the bite zone. The entire stem surface is covered in patches of sticky substance/ grime. The button edges on either surface has minor tooth indentations which should raise to the surface once heated. The minor bite marks in the bite zone, likewise, should be completely addressed by heating the surface and sanding thereafter. Traces of dried accumulated gunk can be seen at the round slot end and the step tenon opening.The Restoration Process
I decided to tackle the damaged stem at the start. Before I could proceed with actual repairs, I cleaned the stem internals first. Using a thin shank brush and anti-oil dish washing soap, I cleaned the stem airway. The airway was filthier than I had imagined as can be judged from the following pictures. I took me a considerably long time, but eventually the airway was clean. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners through the stem to confirm that the airway was clean and also to dry it out. With the stem internals now clean, I moved to external cleaning of the stem surface by dunking the stem into “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface making its further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. I let the stem soak in the solution overnight.

Progressing ahead, I reamed the chamber with head size 1 and 2 of my PipNet reamer blade. I used my fabricated knife to remove cake from areas inaccessible to the reamer blades and completed the process of removing the cake by sanding the walls smooth with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper. I wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with alcohol to clean the residual carbon dust. The chamber walls are solid and the minor thin veins that are visible over the walls are not heat fissures but an ultra thin layer of carbon which will be addressed once the cake is loosened up after a salt and alcohol bath, or at least that is what I hope for.I cleaned the internals of the mortise by scrapping the mortise walls using dental tools. The amount of dried oils and crud that was scrapped out, on one hand is indicative of uncared and rough use of this beauty by the previous Piper while on the other, a testimony of this pipe being one of his/ her favorite and one that he/ she reached out for quite often. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners through the airway to clear away the loose debris that would have lodged itself in the draught hole. I shall continue the internal cleaning by subjecting the stummel to a salt and alcohol soak.Now that the internal cleaning of the stummel was nearly done and also the stem had now been soaking for more than 24 hours, I removed the stem from the solution. I first scrubbed the stem surface with a Scotch Brite pad, always being mindful of the stem logo on the left side. I followed this scrubbing with a nice cleaning of the surface using a 0000 grade steel wool. I rinsed the stem under running water to rid the stem of the thick deoxidizer solution. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners to remove any residual deoxidizer solution from the airway.I followed it up by wet sanding the entire stem surface using 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and finally with a piece of 2000 grit sand paper. This serves to reduce the sanding marks of the more abrasive sand papers. I also sharpened the button edges while sanding. I wiped the stem with a moist cotton swab to remove all the oxidation and sanding dust from the surface. I applied a little Extra Virgin Olive oil over the stem and set it aside to be absorbed by the vulcanite.I went through the 3200 to 12000 grit micromesh pads to dry sand the stem. The stem now has a nice deep shine with no traces of oxidation around the entire stem surface. The stem appears a tad dull at this stage; however, after a good polish using Blue diamond and carnauba wax, the shine will deepen further.With the stem nearly completed, it was time to work the stummel again. Continuing with the internal cleaning of the chamber and shank, I subjected it to a salt and alcohol bath. I used cotton balls which is an at par substitute of Kosher salt as I have realized over the years. I drew out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; inserted it into the mortise and through the draught hole and further into the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils/ tars from the chamber and mortise and loosened out any residual cake and tar build up, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosed gunk from the mortise and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. I also scraped the moist cake from the chamber using my knife and sanding it smooth with 180 grit sandpaper. The chamber now smelled clean and fresh and the tiny veins observed in the chamber were eliminated. I set the stummel to dry out naturally. I cleaned the external surface of the stummel with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and a hard bristled toothbrush. I cleaned the smooth rim top surface with the soap and Scotch Brite pad. I thoroughly cleaned the mortise with shank brush and anti-oil dish washing soap. The few scratches (indicated by yellow arrows) and minor dings over the stummel surface are now plainly visible while the damage to the rim top, rim inner edge (encircled in red) and outer edge (encircled in blue) is clearly defined. These issues need to be addressed.  I followed up the external cleaning of the stummel with internal cleaning of the mortise and shank using anti oil soap and shank brushes.Using a folded piece of 320 grit sandpaper, I diligently sand the entire stummel surface and thus addressed the issues of scratches and minor dings. To address the damage to the rim inner and outer edge, I topped the rim surface on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I limited my topping to the extent that the damage was just adequately addressed. With a folded strip of 220 grit sandpaper pinched between my thumb and index finger, I created a smart thin bevel over the inner and outer rim edges to mask the damage that remained after topping. I am quite pleased with the progress this far.   Next, I polished the stummel with micromesh pads, wet sanding through 1500 to 12000 pads. I polished the freshly topped rim surface to a nice luster, wiping the surface with a soft cloth at the end of the micromesh cycle. The stummel looks amazing with a deep shine and beautiful grains popping over the stummel surface. I am surprised that the rim top surface has the same deep brown coloration as the rest of the stummel surface and that the use of a stain pen was not required. I massaged a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” with my fingers into the briar. The immediate and incredible transformation that takes place is a worthy reward for all the efforts!!! I let the balm sit on the surface to be absorbed in to the briar for about 20 minutes. The bowl now looks fresh and attractive with the grains popping out any which way you look at the briar. I polished off the balm with a soft cloth to a lovely shine. To apply the finishing touches, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and applied a coat of Blue Diamond to the stummel and the stem to polish out the minor scratches. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I applied a coat of carnauba wax and continued to work on it till the complete coat of wax had been polished out. I mounted a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and gave the entire pipe a once over buff. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks beautiful and is ready to be added to my collection of inherited pipes. There was only one more issue that needed to be addressed and one that could not be ignored, being a functional issue. After I had reamed and sanded the chamber walls, I had observed very minor and superficial web of thin heat fissures/ pits all along the chamber walls. I addressed this by mixing activated charcoal and plain yogurt to a thicker consistency, just enough that it would spread easily and applied it evenly all along the chamber walls after inserting a folded pipe cleaner through the draught hole to keep it open. Once dry and set, this will not only protect the walls but also aid in faster build up of cake.Thanks to all readers of rebornpipes who have spared a moment of their invaluable time in reading through this write up and as is always, your suggestions and advice are always welcome.