Tag Archives: Bowl – finishing

Restoring a Boxed Castello Sea Rock Briar 19 KKKK 1/8 Canted Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I thought it might be helpful to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 03/30/2023 as part of an estate we purchased from Plano, Texas, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to assess what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is a classic Italian Made Castello Sea Rock Briar canted Billiard with an acrylic stem. It is well proportioned and well made with a great classic Castello shape.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is grime and grit ground into the rugged rustication on the sides of the bowl and shank. It is dusty and dull looking but under the grime the pipe looks good.
  3. The rim top has some lava and debris in the valleys of the rustication on the top and the edges. It is dirty looking but cleaning will reveal a real beauty.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake and debris on the walls that hides the walls and some grime on the inner edge of the bowl but once it is clean we will know what the bowl and edges really look like. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage to the top or bowl edges.
  5. The acrylic stem is in good condition – dirty and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There are some deeper tooth marks on the underside near the button. There is a crinkled/Diamond insert logo on the left side of the stem.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a beauty that once cleaned up will look pretty amazing. I love the tactile rustication on the Sea Rock Briars and have found nothing that comes close to it. The photos below confirm the assessment above. 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 but broken in some parts with tobacco debris stuck on the walls. The rim top has quite a bit of lava, grime and debris in the rusticated surface. You can also see the condition of the outer edge and the inner edge is in great condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. There is no visible burn damage at this point. The bowl is still round and other than being in a used condition it is in great shape.The photos of the acrylic stem surface from various angles confirmed my assessment of its condition. You can see that it is dirty in the first photo below. The stem has some deeper tooth marks on the underside near the button and a lot of chatter.    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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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. On the heel of the bowl is stamped Castello [over] Sea Rock Briar. That is followed by the shape number for a 1/8 Canted Billiard -19. Next to that it is stamped with KKKK in an oval designating the sized of the pipe. It is then stamped Made in Cantu [over]. Next to the shank/stem union it is stamped Carlo Scotti in and oval. The acrylic stem is stamped on the underside and reads HAND MADE [over] Castello [over] the number 5. What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping on the pipe? What do you look for in the stamping? I know it is dirty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar and the acrylic? I thought I would include a link to a great shape chart for Castello pipes on Maxim Engel’s Pipes2Smoke site. It is very helpful in that includes photos of the shapes and makes identification quite simple. Here is the link (https://pipes2smoke.com/pages/castello-shape-guide).

When I am working on Castello pipes the stamping always eludes my memory. I have partial recall but not clear on all the details. I find that getting the stamping clear in my head is an important part of restoring a pipe for me. I have several sites that I always check for information. I turned first to the Pipephil site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-castello.html) because of the general quick summary of information I get there. I quote:

Castello PIPA CASTELLO di Carlo Scotti & C. was founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti († 1988). Franco Coppo (AKA “Kino”) who married Carlo Scotti’s daughter Savina, manages (2012) the corporate since 1985.

The site also gave a good summary of the grading and sizes of the pipes. I quote that in full.

Sizes (ascending):

1K to 4K, G (Giant) and GG (Extra large)

Rusticated grading: SEA ROCK, OLD SEA ROCK, NATURAL VIRGIN,

Sandblasted grading: ANTIQUARI, OLD ANTIQUARI

Smooth grading (ascending): TRADEMARK, CASTELLO, COLLECTION

Other stampings: Great Line (Non-standard or freestyle) Fiammata (Straight grain)

Production (2012): ~4000 pipes / year

I also found a note on the page that the Rhinestone logo was originally on pipes for the US market. It is occasionally used now.

I turned then to Pipedia for more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Castello). The majority of the information was what was already quoted above in abbreviated form. However there was a link to an article by Bob Hamlin that gave some interesting bits of information that I found helpful (http://www.pipes.org/BURST/FORMATTED/196.016.html). I quote in part from that article.

SEA ROCK [Carved Black or dark brown]:  This is the lowest grade of the Castello line and is the most common in the USA.  Sea Rocks are produced by taking a smooth bowl that has not been “final finished” and surface carving the finish with tools. This “carved” finish is then evened out using a steel wire brush, stained and then waxed. The Natural Vergin carved finish is left unstained and unwaxed as a rule, although we have seen waxed and partially waxed “Vergins”. 

All carved Castello pipes  are graded by the number of K’s that are stamped on each piece and are K-graded by SIZE.  1K is the smallest and fairly rare, 2K is small to medium, with  3K or 4K being the most common and ranges from medium to medium large. Large pieces are stamped “G” for giant and extra large pieces are stamped “GG” for double giant.  In addition to the number of K’s on a carved Sea Rock piece the shape number is almost always added.  As a rule a Sea Rock Castello is stained Black, although recently there have been quite a few coming in stained deep brown and still stamped “Sea Rock”. American Logo’d Sea Rocks are all priced the same to the consumer, although most are 2 or 3 K’ed models.  G/GG models are charged at a higher price on American pieces and are basically the same as their European counterparts.

The Castello Sea Rock briar I was working on did a 4 K stamping so it was on the larger side. It definitely was made for the American Market with the Rhinestone in the stem. It had the black finish. The shape number is a 19 or a 1/8 Canted Billiard.

Pipedia also gave a link to Mike’s Briar Blues site for help in dating and determining shapes (http://www.briarblues.com/castello.htm). Give it a read for some helpful information.

Now it was time to do my part on the restoration…

When Jeff sent me the box of pipes for my restoration work. The Castello was in a well used Castello box and included all of the marketing materials – a signed card, a pipe sock and a  package of pipe straws for use as filters in the shank. Here are some photos of the pipe and box.  When I took the pipe out of the box it is a clean pipe and I go over it keeping in mind my assessment shared in the opening paragraph above. Now that I have it in hand I am looking for confirmation of what I saw in the photos as well as any significant structural changes in the bowl and finish as I go over it.

  1. The classic Castello Sea Rock Briar Canted Billiard looks amazing. The rustication is beautiful and the acrylic stem works very well on the pipe.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The rustication and depth in the valleys has just come alive around the bowl sides.
  3. The lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it looks to be in good condition on the top and edges of the bowl.
  4. The walls of the bowl are clean and I do not see any checking or burn damage. The inner edge of the bowl looks good. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage there.
  5. The acrylic stem is clean and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. The Rhinestone/Diamond logo on the side of the stem looks very good.

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, they looked very good. There was no damage on the edges or the top of the rim. It is clean should come back to its original beauty quite easily. I also go over the stem carefully. There were some tooth marks chatter on the surface of the stem. 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 in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable. I really like the way that the carvers at Castello do the Sea Rock rustication. To me it stunning and very tactile. I love just looking at the beauty of the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I like to remove the stem from the shank to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. It is a beauty in flow and shape. When a rusticated finish is in as nice a condition as this one is immediately apply Before & After Restoration Balm to the briar. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I 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 shone 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 turn to work on the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter with 220 grit sandpaper and was able to blend them all into the surface of the acrylic. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped the stem down with some Obsidian Oil in preparation for polishing.I polished out the scratches left by the sand paper 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 pad even though people say it does nothing for acrylic stems. I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem 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 don’t buff a rusticated pipe with Blue Diamond as it can build up in the deep grooves of the finish. I used it on the stem and find that it works very well to polish out the light scratches in the acrylic. I finished with the Blue Diamond and moved on to buffing the pipe – I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. Once I have a good shine in the briar and vulcanite. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I following up the wax buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I follow that up with a 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 acrylic stem. It really is a beautiful pipe. The rusticated finish around the bowl sides and shank has some amazing depth and contrast with the rich black and dark brown stains. Castello Sea Rock Briar 19 KKKK 1/8 Canted Billiard feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.32 ounces/41 grams. It is a beautiful pipe one I will be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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.

Cleaning up a Weber Cavalier style Churchwarden

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 10/20/2022 from an Antique Store in Vancouver, Washington, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe when received it and assess the work needed to be done. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. I have never seen a Weber Cavalier Churchwarden like this one. It is unusual and the first that I have seen. It has a classic Weber style rustication that I seen on other Weber pipes.
  2. The finish is dull, dirty and there is dust, grime and grit in the rustications around the bowl and shank. There is a Cavalier style clean out on the front heel of the bowl that is made of knurled and threaded vulcanite that is oxidized but free to remove.
  3. The rim top has a light lava coat on the smooth rim top. There are some nicks in the top and edges. It does not appear that there is any damage to the inner edge.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake on the walls that hides the condition of the interior walls and edges. There are no obvious burn marks on the bowl exterior or the rim top.
  5. The long vulcanite stem is dirty, oxidized, calcified and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There is no logo on the sides of the stem.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a very unique and interesting Cavalier style Churchwarden like nothing I have seen before. The rustication is a combination of smooth chunks and cross hatched trails around the bowl and shank. There are smooth panels on the sides for the stamping and around the cavalier and shank end. I think that once it is cleaned up it will be another pretty pipe. 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 not too thick – moderate with tobacco debris on the walls of the bowl. The rim top has a light lava coat and has some nicks in the surface toward the back of the bowl. The inner edge looks to be in good 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 photos of the long vulcanite stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the oxidation and grime on the stem in the first photo below. The stem is quite dirty but the fit of the stem to the shank is good. There is some calcification on the button end and a lot of tooth chatter and light tooth marks. 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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. Jeff removed the stem and there was an aluminum stinger in the tenon.He took photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank. On the left side it is stamped with the Weber logo in an oval [over] Imported Briar. The vulcanite stem does not have the standard Weber logo on the side or the top 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? When I am working on pipes I like to get a sense of the history of the brand of the pipe and try to get a feel for the pipe maker. In this case I turned first to Pipephil’s site to see what I could learn about Weber (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-w2.html). I did a screen capture of the section on the screen.I turned then to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Weber_Pipe_Co.). I found a brief history of the brand and read some interesting facts that I have included below.

Carl B. Weber was a German from Bavaria. Aged 21 he emigrated to the USA in 1911. In 1938 he established Weber Briars Inc. in Jersey City, New Jersey. Later renamed in Weber Pipe Co..

The firm grew to be one of the giants of American pipe industry focusing itself in the middle price and quality zone. Trademark: “Weber” in an oval. Beside that Weber – especially in the years after 1950 – was a most important supplier for private label pipes that went to an immense number of pipe shops. Alone in New York, exactly the same pipes were found at Wilke’s, Barclay Rex, Trinity East, Joe Strano’s Northampton Tobacconist in Ridgewood, Queens, Don-Lou in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn… Nearly all pipes for Wilke were unstained and many models, for example the “Wilke Danish Bent”, could hardly deny originating of Weber.

Among other well reputated pipe makers Anthony Passante[1] worked for Weber.

Weber Pipe Co. owned and manufactured Jobey pipes – when mainly sold in the USA by the Tinder Box from 1970’s – 80’s. In addition Jobey / Weber bought Danish freehands from Karl Erik (Ottendahl). These pipes were offered as Jobey Dansk. Ottendahl discontinued exports to the United States in 1987 and in the very same year – obviously only as a ghost brand – Jobey was transferred to Saint-Claude, France to be manufactured by Butz-Choquin.

Carl B. Weber is the author of the famous book “Weber’s Guide to Pipes and Pipe Smoking”.

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. I have never seen a Weber Cavalier Churchwarden like this one. It is unusual and the first that I have seen. It has a classic Weber style rustication that I seen on other Weber pipes.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The rugged, tactile rustication pattern looks very good as well. There is a Cavalier style clean out on the front heel of the bowl that is made of knurled and threaded vulcanite that is clean as well.
  3. The lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed that the inner edge is clean and burn free. The outer edge of the bowl is also in good condition though there are some nicks.
  4. With the cake reamed out the walls of the bowl are clean and they look very good with no checking or burn damage to the walls.
  5. The long vulcanite stem is dirty, oxidized, calcified and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There is no logo on the sides of 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 and inner edge showed no damage. There was some light nicks on the outer edge of the bowl. I also go over the stem carefully. The fit to the shank is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button. The vulcanite surface was rough and pitted. 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 polished the smooth portions of 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 nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush. 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 polished the threaded, knurled end cap with micromesh sanding pads – polishing it with 1500-12000. I wiped it down with an cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It took on a rich shine.  I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I smoothed out the chatter and marks on the stem surface and button on both sides with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing process with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It is taking on a shine.I set the bowl aside and turn to work on the stem. 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 stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the acrylic. 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 mix of smooth and rusticated finishes around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and brown stains. The Weber Cavelier Style Churchwarden with a rusticated finish feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 11 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/49 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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.

Cleaning and Restoring a Hand Made Ascorti Business Rusticated Bent Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 10/20/2022 from an Antique Store in Vancouver, Washington, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe when received it and assess the work needed to be done. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. I have worked on enough Ascorti pipes to be able to say this one has a classic Ascorti finish and look to it. It has the rugged rustication that I have come to expect on their Business line of pipes.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is dust, grime and grit in the deeply rusticated finish on the bowl and shank.
  3. The rim top has lava and debris in the rustication on the top and edges. It does not appear that there is any damage to the top or the edges.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake on the walls that hides the condition of the interior walls and edges. There are no obvious burn marks on the bowl exterior or the rim top.
  5. The acrylic stem is in excellent condition – dirty and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. The shape is definitely an Ascorti staggered saddle stem but there is no A logo on the stem side or top.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a great looking Bent Apple with a mix of a rusticated bowl and a mixed finish shank with panels on the sides for the stamping and a band of smooth briar around the shank end. I think that once it is cleaned up it will be another pretty pipe.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. The rim top has thick lava, grime and debris covering it – heavier toward the front left and right. The edges are hard to assess well at this time but still look to be in good condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. It is unclear if there is any burn damage at this point. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The photos of the acrylic stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the grime on the stem in the first photo below. The stem is quite dirty but the fit of the stem to the shank is good. There is no logo on the stem so it makes me wonder if the stem is a replacement. But if it is the style of the step down saddle and the fit to the shank is extremely well done. 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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. On the left side it is stamped Ascorti with “t” forming a long stemmed pipe. Under that it is stamped Business. On the right side it is stamped Hand Made [over] Italy. The acrylic stem does not have the standard Ascorti A logo on side of the saddle stem. 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 have worked on quite a few Ascorti Business pipes including several straight billiards so I turned to a blog on one of them to refresh the background information before I started my part of the work (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/03/18/repairing-banding-and-restoring-a-damaged-hand-made-ascorti-business-billiard/). I quote from the information that is contained in that blog:

Before I started my part of the repair and restoration I wanted to have a clear picture of what the stem logo looked like on the Ascorti Business pipe. I turned to Pipephil as he often has some photos that give me the information that I am looking for (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a8.html). Sure enough he had a photo showing the rough stamped A on the stem. It is white and it is rough which is exactly how this one looks. I did a screen capture of the picture on the site and include it below.  With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information from the section above that the pipe came out after 1980 when the company started. I could not get the date more focused so it was time to work on the pipe.

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. I have worked on enough Ascorti pipes to be able to say this one has a classic Ascorti finish and look to it. It has the rugged rustication that I have come to expect on their Business line of pipes.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The rugged, tactile rustication pattern looks very good as well.
  3. The thick lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed that the inner edge is clean and burn free. The outer edge of the bowl is also in good condition.
  4. With the cake reamed out the walls of the bowl are clean and they look very good with no checking or burn damage to the walls.
  5. The acrylic stem is in excellent condition – it is clean and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. The fit of the stem to the shank looks good. The shape is definitely an Ascorti staggered saddle stem but there is no A logo on the stem side or top.

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 cap and edges showed no damage. There was also no damage to the rustication or the inner edge of the bowl. I also go over the stem carefully. The fit to the shank is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button. 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 like to remove the stem from the shank 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. Now it was time to start working on the pipe. I cleaned up the inner edge as there was a little burn damage on the left front inner edge. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and to bring it back to round. I stained it with a Walnut Stain Pen to match the rest of the topcoat on the finish. 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 nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush. 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 my attention to the acrylic stem. I smoothed out the chatter and marks on the stem surface and button on both sides with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing process with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It is taking on a shine. I set the bowl aside and turn to work on the stem. 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 stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the acrylic. 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 mix of smooth and rusticated finishes around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and brown stains. The Ascorti Business Rusticated Apple 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: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.65 ounces/75 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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 an interesting Motorist Patent Capped Straight Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 05/01/2022 from a seller in Glendale, California, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe when received it and assess the work needed to be done. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The pipe has the classic straight Bulldog shape but the rest of the details are odd. Like the Bulldog cap this is tapered and unscrews from the bowl. It also has twin holes coming out of the front of the bowl toward the bottom just above the heel.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is dust, grime and grit ground into the smooth finish. The screw on rim top is also dirty on the inside.
  3. The rim top has lava on the top and edges under the screw on rim cap. It does not appear that there is any damage to the top or the edges.
  4. The bowl has a cake on the walls that hides the condition of the interior walls and edges. The top looks very good under the grime.
  5. The vulcanite stem is in excellent condition – dirty and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There is a circle M logo on the left top side of the diamond stem.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a great looking straight Bulldog with a mix of grain around the bowl and shank that once cleaned up will be another pretty pipe.Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The photos show the cap in place and removed from the rim top. The photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is quite thick. The rim top under the cap and the cap itself has lava, grime and debris covering it – heavier toward the back. The edges are hard to assess well at this time but they look to be in decent condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. It is unclear if there is any burn damage at this point. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The photos of the vulcanite stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the grime on the stem in the first photo below. The stem is quite dirty but the fit of the stem to the shank is good. There is no logo on the stem so it makes me wonder if the stem is a replacement. Jeff also took photos of the chipped tenon end at the stepped down portion of the stem. It was missing a chunk of vulcanite on one side.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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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 diamond shank. It bears stamping Motorist on the left side and on the right side it reads PATENT. On the right underside it reads Italy. 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?  If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

I did a quick Google search and found the only listing was to a previous blog that I had written on a ¼ bent Bulldog (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/motorist-italian-patent-pipes/). I quote what I had found previously below.

I can find no information on the make of the brand but it is possible that it was made in Italy for either Wally Frank or Mastercraft, both had a broad reach of makers that they imported. I am not sure it will ever become clear who made the pipe but it is an interesting piece of pipe history that is well worth restoring.

I also found a listing on Worthpoint (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/vtg-estate-motorist-bent-bulldog-495791347) for another Bent Bulldog like the one I had. This is how the seller described it:

We have a rare vtg estate motorist patented design Bent Bulldog smoking briar pipe with a screw off top cap. Pipe is in good vintage condition. Some nicks in cap. Very light teeth marks. Appears lightly smoked. Very unique wind & spark proof design. Also has two cooling vents that exit through undercarriage of bowl.

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

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 pipe has the classic straight Bulldog shape but the rest of the details are odd. Like the Bulldog cap this is tapered and unscrews from the bowl. It also has twin holes coming out of the front of the bowl toward the bottom just above the heel.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl and the screw on rim cap. It is very clean on the inside of the cap and the rim top.
  3. The lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed that the inner edge is clean and burn free. The outer edge of the bowl is also in good condition. The rim cap looks very good.
  4. With the cake reamed out the walls of the bowl are clean and they look very good with no checking or burn damage to the walls.
  5. The vulcanite stem is in excellent condition – it is clean and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. The fit of the stem to the shank looks good. The circle M logo stem is faint but readable. There is a chipped end on the tenon extension.

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 cap was clean it showed only some light scratches in the finish. I also go over the stem carefully. The fit to the shank is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button. I took photos of the rim cap 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. You can also see the misfit stem in the first photo. I love just looking at the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I like to remove the stem from the shank 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 removed the rim cap from the bowl and took photos of the top of the bowl with the ventilator holes and the clean bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. I also took photos of the bowl sides and the exit of the cooling/ventilator holes on the front heel of the bowl.Now it was time to start working on the pipe. I wiped down the exterior of the pipe and the threads, rim top on the inside and the inside of the rim cap with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad and folded pipe cleaner to remove the shiny remnants of the finish and the debris in the threads on the rim top and inside of the cap as well as the inside of the cap. It looked better when it was finished.  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 rub down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar and the plateau. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and into the rustication with a horse hair shoe brush. 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 shone 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 turn to work on the stem. I decided to shorten the extension or step down on the tenon to remove the damaged or chipped portion. I used a folded piece of 180 grit 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. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation 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 acrylic. 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 mix of smooth and rusticated finishes around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and brown stains. This Italian Made Motorist Patent Straight Bulldog 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.23 ounces/35 grams. It is a beautiful pipe will be joining my collection of odd pipes. It is one that I will enjoy a bowl in one day very soon. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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 Classic Older Mark Tinsky Rusticated Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 05/01/2022 from an Antique Store in Bozeman, Montana, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe when received it and assess the work needed to be done. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is a pipe that has the classic look of a Mark Tinsky carved pipe. It has all the marks of a Tinsky made pipe including Mark’s signature on the left shank side.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is dust, grime and grit ground into the rustication. The carving of the rustication rugged and wide open. There rustication on the cap is different and tighter in pattern than the bowl.
  3. The rim top has thick lava on the top and edges. The cake makes it quite hard to know whether there is any damage to the top or the edges.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake on the walls that hides the walls and edges. The crowned top looks very good.
  5. The vulcanite stem is in excellent condition – dirty and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There is no logo on the stem side.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a great looking Rhodesian with a mix of rustication and smooth finishes that once cleaned up will be another pretty pipe. 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. The rim top has thick lava, grime and debris covering it – heavier toward the back. The edges are hard to assess well at this time. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. It is unclear if there is any burn damage at this point. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The photos of the vulcanite stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the grime on the stem in the first photo below. The stem is quite dirty but the fit of the stem to the shank is good. There is no logo on the stem so it makes me wonder if the stem is a replacement. 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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 a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It bears the signature of Mark Tinsky and no other stamping – no American stamp or otherwise. The vulcanite stem does not have either of the standard Tinsky logos inset on the side of the stem. 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? If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m2.html#marktinsky) to see what I could find. I did a screen capture of the entry there and have included the side bar information below then the photo. It reads…Mark Tinsky and Curt Rollar formed The American Smoking Pipe Co. in 1978. Curt Rollar left the company in 1990.

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

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 first thing I see is a pipe that has the classic look of a Mark Tinsky carved pipe. It has all the marks of a Tinsky made pipe including Mark’s signature on the left shank side.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The two different rustication patterns look very good as well.
  3. The thick lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed that the inner edge is clean and burn free. The outer edge of the bowl is also in good condition. The rim cap looks very good.
  4. With the cake reamed out the walls of the bowl are clean and they look very good with no checking or burn damage to the walls.
  5. The vulcanite stem is in excellent condition – it is clean and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. The fit of the stem to the shank looks good. The lack of a logo on the saddle stem makes me wonder if it is a replacement. However, in my own collection I have a Tinsky handmade that does not have the stem logo and I know that he made the stem for it.

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 cap and edges showed no damage. There was also no damage to the rustication or the inner edge of the bowl. I also go over the stem carefully. The fit to the shank is snug and the transitions are smooth. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button. 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. You can also see the misfit stem in the first photo. I love just looking at the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I like to remove the stem from the shank 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. Now it was time to start working on the pipe. I rub down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar and the plateau. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and into the rustication with a horse hair shoe brush. 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 shone 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 turn to work on the stem. 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. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation 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 acrylic. 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 mix of smooth and rusticated finishes around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and brown stains. The Mark Tinsky Rusticated Rhodesian 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: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.86 ounces/81 grams. It is a beautiful that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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.

Caminetto 08. R.18 Hand Made Cucciago, Italy Rusticated Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 10/20/2022 from an Antique Store in Vancouver, Washington, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe when received it and assess the work needed to be done. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is a pipe that has a classic bent Italian Billiard shape.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is grime and grit ground into the rusticated finish. The rustication is very nicely done in a classic Caminetto style.
  3. The rim top has thick lava on both the top and the edges. The cake makes it quite hard to know whether there is any damage to the top or the edges.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake and debris on the walls that hides the walls and edges. The outer edges have some darkening and potential damage on the front smooth portion.
  5. The acrylic stem is in excellent condition – dirty and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. The diameter of the stem is off from that of the shank. There is a Caminetto white mustache logo inlaid in the stem top.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a great looking Bent Billiard with a mix of rustication and smooth finishes that once cleaned up will be another pretty pipe. The photos below confirm the assessment above.  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 very thick and almost clogging the bowl. The rim top has thick lava, grime and debris covering it. The inner and outer edges are hard to assess at this time. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. It is unclear if there is any burn damage at this point. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The photos of the acrylic stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the dirty/sticky substance on the stem in the first photo below. The stem is quite dirty but the fit of the stem to the shank is good. The white mustache logo on the top is in good condition. 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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 a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The underside reads “Caminetto” [over]  08.R.18. That is followed by Hand Made [over] Cucciago – Italy. The acrylic stem has an inset white mustache. 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? If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html) to see what I could find. I did a screen capture of the entry there and have included the side bar information below then the photo. It reads

Brand created in 1968 by Giuseppe Ascorti († 1984), Luigi Radice and Gianni Davoli as distributor.

    • 1979 : End of the first Caminetto period. Luigi Radice left the company. Giuseppe Ascorti produced the Sergio pipes (a short time) and moved into his new workshop with his son Roberto. (See also Capitello)
    • 1986 : New Caminetto period by Roberto Ascorti

From the information there I am fairly certain that the pipe was made after 1986 when the New Caminetto period began by Roberto Ascorti. The pipe is probably crafted by Ascorti.

From there I turned to Pipedia for more detailed information about the Caminetto brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Caminetto). I quote below:

Caminetto’s history started in 1959 when Guiseppe Ascorti, from Cucciago, and known to his friends as “Peppino”, was hired by Carlo Scotti to work at Castello, located in nearby Cantu. Since it’s foundation in 1947 Castello had contributed substantially to regained glory for Italian pipemaking.

Talent and assiduity soon made Ascorti one of Scotti’s most notable pipemakers – a man he counted on for the future. But, Ascorti had his own far reaching plan: He wanted to work as a self-employed pipemaker! After his wife, Paola, had taken over her parent’s small greengrocery in the early 1960’s this plan became more concrete. The additional income from the shop enabled him to buy tools and machines little by little to furnish his own workshop. By the end of 1968 he was ready and left Castello. Ascorti also persuaded his co-worker, the young and highly-talented pipemaker Luigi Radice (born 1939), to join him – the two were neighbors in Cucciago. Carlo Scotti, whom is known as a perfect gentleman, is reported to have spoken unreservedly about this development.

Ascorti & Radice started to manufacture pipes on their own. One of the first who agreed to market their pipes was Gianni Davoli, proprietor of a tobacco shop in Milan. The situation was perfect–two pipemakers in search of a distributor, and a pipe merchant in search of a mainstay brand to market. Davoli – via friends and relations in the States – had made flourishing contacts with US pipe wholesalers and traders. He shipped some pipes across the pond for inspection and received excellent feedback for the very high quality of the pipes. He, shortly after, offered to be the sole distributor worldwide, and Ascorti & Radice happily accepted.

Then came the legendary evening when Ascorti, Radice and Davoli gathered around the fireplace after a hard day’s work enjoying their pipes, a glass of wine, and humorous conversation. Davoli is said to be the one who associated the pipes with the fireplace or chimney, which is “camino” in Italian. Hence “Caminetto”, the diminutive (smaller) singular version of camino, was coined as the brand’s name. Ascorti, Radice and Davoli later became famous as “I tre Camini” – the three chimneys. Maybe, they had more than one glass of wine each, but it’s not certain whether the distinctive mustache logo on the stem and the Caminetto slogan “La Pipa del Baffo” – “the pipe with the mustache” – was created the same night. In fact, Ascorti and Radice both wore impressively large mustaches, and a pharmacist in the neighborhood had been kidding them about that. (Davoli, for reasons of corporate identity, later wore a big mustache, too.)

Now, Davoli concentrated on marketing the Caminetto brand in the United States. His strategy was as simple as it was brilliant. There was a remarkable Castello hype at the time. Castello pipes were highly sought after but hard to get due to limited production. Davoli filled the gap, promoting the Caminetto to be absolutely equal to the Castello in terms of quality, while asking only half the price. And best of all: the Caminetto pipes were consignable! The Tinder Box International would be under contract with successful nationwide distribution. The brand’s success was overwhelming – far beyond any expectation, with the rusticated Business line becoming the most popular.

Ironically enough, the increasing demand soon drove Ascorti and Radice to the limits of their production abilities. The brand had been introduced successfully in Germany, and in Italy to some extent. By the end of 1970 more hands were needed. Even Ascorti’s elder son, Roberto Ascorti (born 1958; and the current owner) helped with stamping and shipping the pipes when he was just a schoolboy. The most important employee is Cesare Vigano, who has worked for Caminetto /Ascorti for more than thirty years. To bring about more stability and higher production, Davoli invested a considerable amount of money in modern pipemaking machinery, and in doing so went from distributor to co-owner of Caminetto. By 1973 he held the vast majority of the company’s capital.

The boom continued strongly – especially in the US. Production increased steadily, from 3,000 to 5,000 and then 7,000 pipes being made per year, placing Caminetto at the top of US sales in their market segment. The 1974 Tinder Box catalog celebrated Gianni Davoli as “master pipe maker and designer” and “sole creator of Caminetto” without a single mention of Ascorti or Radice!

Dating Caminetto pipes is very difficult. However the way the pipe is stamped can narrow it down some and the look of the mustache logo also helps. Pipedia has a helpful article on the process (https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Caminetto_(shapes,_stamping,_articles,_etc.). I quote from it below.

First off, dating earlier Caminetto’s is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, there were three phases, some in which were much earlier, of development that occurred in the stamping process of Caminetto. Before that though, every pipe had the stamp of Caminetto in one of two ways: Caminetto in script or Caminetto within quotation marks in block letters (I do not know how it was decided which pipe got which stamp, as I have had EARLY Caminetto’s with both). The stampings:

      1. ASCORTI

RADICE

CUCCIAGO

CANTU-ITALY

      1. HAND MADE IN ITALY

CUCCIAGO (Co)

      1. MADE IN ITALY

CUCCIAGO (CANTU)

In addition to the above stampings, there was always the trademark mustache on the stem. The earlier models (1968/69-1974/75) had the iconic gold, sometimes white, “bird-in-flight” mustache and the later models (1975-1979/80/81) had a gold, or white, “double comma” mustache. Tinder Box often stamped their shield on the pipes as well. Now I wanted to understand the stamping 08.R.18. How was that to be interpreted. The same article above gave the following information on the stamping.

The newer model Caminetto stampings are quite different and easy to date. Roberto upgraded the stamping technique of Caminetto so that it was possible to figure out when the pipe was made. There are two different types of stamps, one in which is not in use anymore. The first is the traditional “Caminetto” stamp in script, followed by a 4 part grid with numbers. The second is a 3 part stamp (two numbers and one letter, which is most of the time an “L”)

The first number in the old stamp of the grid refers to the shape of the pipe. The second number, which is the first in the stamp most are familiar with refers to the grade or of the pipe:

0 standard smooth (red or orange stained)
1 highest grade natural straight-grain smooth (realllllly rare)
2 smooth natural.
6 sandblast
7 New Dear
8 Business finish.

The third number in the old grid stamp is the series.

And the fourth number, which is the third in the newer stampings, refers to the year it was made in. For instance, if one has a 54/6/2/01, they would have a pipe made in the first year of production of the newer Caminetto line (i.e. 1985-86). I include the 85 because some hold that Ascorti was making Caminetto’s in 1985, but the majority of who I have talked to and the information I have researched claim official production and retail sale did not begin until 1986.

The second part of the newer stamp is a letter, usually L, which I have no idea what it stands for, but there are others I have seen “B” on. In short, the old stamp has a 2×2 grid specifying the shape, finish, series, and year (in that order), while the newer stamp only shows the finish, the letter ‘L’, and the year.

With that information I knew that the 08.R.18 gave me quite a bit of information. It is to be read as follows:

08 – the grade or the finish of the pipe in hand is a Business Finish.

R – unclear what it stands for.

18 – is the year of manufacture which I believe would make this one 2018

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

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 first thing I see is a pipe that has a classic bent Italian Billiard shape.
      2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The rustication looks very good as well.
      3. The thick lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed that the inner edge is damaged and has some burn marks. The outer edge of the bowl is also in good condition other than the burn damage on the front smooth ring on the outer edge of the bowl
      4. The walls of the bowl are clean and they look very good with no checking or burn damage to the walls.
      5. The acrylic stem is in excellent condition – dirty and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. The diameter of the stem is off from that of the shank on both sides and will need to be adjusted for a decent fit. There is a Caminetto white mustache logo inlaid in the stem top.

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 top and edges showed a lot of damage on the top, inner and outer edge of the bowl. There was burn damage all around the inner edge, on the top at the back and front as well as on the outer edge of the bowl at the front. I also go over the stem carefully. The stem had some minor issues as noted. The fit to the shank is noted in the photo below circled in red with arrows pointing out the issues. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button. 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. You can also see the misfit stem in the first photo. I love just looking at the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I like to remove the stem from the shank 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.Now it was time to start working on the pipe. I decided to address the fit of the stem to the shank first. I sanded the shank and stem on the right side until the transition was very smooth. You will notice in the photos of the top and the right side of the pipe that the shank has been sanded and will need to be restained. On the left side I sanded the stem to remove the excess acrylic and make the transition smooth. You will note in the photos that the surface of the stem shows the sanding on the acrylic. Once finished the fit was perfect and the transition was smooth. Once the transition was smooth I took photos of the stem/shank transition. It is very smooth and there is no longer a lip on either the stem or the shank.I polished the sanded briar with micromesh sanding pads and then restained the portion with an Oak Stain Pen to match the rest of the bowl and the shank. With that portion finished I turned to address the darkening on the rim top and edges I started by topping the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. I need to remove the darkening to be able to see the damage. The damage is very evident on the top of the bowl and the inner edge on the right front. To deal with the rim damage on the top and the inner edge I used a wooden ball and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel and remove the damage. Now I was getting somewhere. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to fine tune the shape. I topped it once again with 220 grit paper. I am happy with the end result. I stained the rim top with a oak stain pen to match the rest of the bowl and shank colour. It as a little dark but once it was polished and waxed it would be a perfect match.I polished the smooth portions of 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.   After polishing it with the micromesh pads I rubbed it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar and the plateau. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and into the rustication with a horse hair shoe brush. 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 shone 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 turn to work on the stem. 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. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation 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 acrylic. 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 mix of smooth and rusticated finishes around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and brown stains. The Caminetto 08.R.18 Bent Billiard 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 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.73 ounces/49 grams. It is a beautiful pocket sized pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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.

Resurrecting a Karl Erik Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 12/27/2021 from a seller in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental or chance as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to assess what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is a classic Danish take on a Pot shaped pipe that had been well used. It was obviously someone’s favourite pipe if the cake in the bowl is any indication.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is grime and grit ground into the finish. Underneath the grime it looks like the bowl and shank have some amazing grain.
  3. The rim top has a heavy coat of lava that flowed from the cake in the bowl. It was thick and it was impossible to know what the edges of the bowl – both inner and out. I am hoping that the thick lava had protected the top and edges from burn damage.
  4. The bowl has a very thick cake and debris on the walls that hides the walls. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage to outer bowl edges.
  5. The acrylic stem is in excellent condition – dirty, scratched and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There were deeper tooth marks on the underside. There was a worn and partial KE logo on top of the blade portion of the saddle stem.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a great looking Danish style pot shaped pipe with some beautiful grain hidden under the grime that once cleaned up will be another pretty pipe. The photos below confirm the assessment above. 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 with tobacco debris stuck on the walls. The rim top has heavy lava, grime and debris covering it. The inner and outer edges are so covered it is hard to know what is under them. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. It is unclear if there is any burn damage at this point. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The photos of the acrylic stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the grime on the stem in the first photo below. The stem is quite dirty and a bit of a mess. The fit of the stem to the shank is good. There is a partial logo on the top visible in the photo. 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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. (One note is that there appears to be burn damage on the front outer edge of the bowl shown in the second photo below.)  He took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The underside reads Karl Erik in an oval (Karl [over] Erik. Following the length of the shank it is stamped Made In Denmark. 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? If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k1.html) to see what I could find. I did a screen capture of the entry there and have included the side bar information below the photo. 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 hand made)

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik) and reread the history of the brand. Give the article a read.

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

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 first thing I see is a classic Danish take on a Pot shaped pipe that cleaned up pretty well. There was damage that I will note in the numbers below but it was a nicely shaped pipe.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The grain is quite amazing looking.
  3. The lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed that there is some burn damage on the front outer, top and inner edge. There was some burn damage around the inner edge of the bowl as well
  4. The walls of the bowl are clean and there are some ridges in the walls of the bowl from someone reaming it with a knife.
  5. The acrylic stem is clean and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides. The marks on the underside of the stem are deeper than on the topside. The logo is partially visible but worn. The fit to the shank is well done with no damage.

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 top and edges showed lots of burn damage on the top front right and middle as well as around the inner edge of the bowl. There was also some damage on the front outer edge of the bowl. I also go over the stem carefully. The stem had some issues as noted. There were some deep tooth marks on the underside and lighter on the topside. 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 like to remove the stem from the shank 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.  Now it was time to start working on the pipe. To address the darkening on the rim top and edges I started by topping the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. I need to remove the darkening to be able to see the damage. The damage is very evident on the top of the bowl and the inner edge on the right front. To deal with the rim damage on the top and the inner edge I used a wooden ball and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel and remove the damage. Now I was getting somewhere. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to fine tune the shape. I topped it once again with 220 grit paper. I am happy with the end result. I wiped the bowl down with some acetone to remove the darkening in the stain around the bowl. I wanted to even out the stain coat and the look of brown on the bowl and rim. I could not remove much more of the damage on the front and sides of the bowl without changing the profile of the pipe. I stained the rim top with a walnut stain pen to match the rest of the bowl and shank colour. It was a little dark but once it was polished and waxed it would be a perfect match.I polished the bowl and rim with a medium and fine sanding sponge to blend the finish together and smooth out the briar. 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.  After polishing it with the micromesh pads I rubbed it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar and the plateau. 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 shone 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 turn to work on the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks on both sides of the stem with black CA glue. I used a small file to flatten the repaired area. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I continued polishing 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. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation 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 acrylic. 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 polished finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich brown stains. The Karl Erik Made in Denmark Danish Pot 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:  1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: 7\8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.19 ounces/62 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that functions as a sitter due to the wide heel on the bowl. 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.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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 Caminetto Hand Made 8.L.18 Rhodesian with mustachioed acrylic saddle stem

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 09/12/2021 from a seller in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental or chance as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to assess what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is a pipe that in excellent condition with no obvious issues when I first look at it.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is grime and grit ground into the rusticated finish. The brass shank band looks oxidized and dirty.
  3. The rim top has some light debris and lava on both the top and the edges. It is otherwise quite undamaged.
  4. The bowl has a moderate cake and debris on the walls that hides the walls but the inner edge looks to be in good condition. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage to the top or bowl edges.
  5. The acrylic stem is in excellent condition – dirty, scratched and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There is a Caminetto white mustache logo inlaid in the top of the saddle stem.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a great looking Rhodesian pipe with a mix or rustication and smooth finishes that once cleaned up will be another pretty pipe. The photos below confirm the assessment above. 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 moderate with tobacco debris stuck on the walls. The rim top has a light lava, grime and debris covering it. The inner and outer edges looked to be in good condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. It is unclear if there is any burn damage at this point. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The photos of the acrylic stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the dirty/sticky substance on the stem in the first photo below. The stem is quite dirty and a bit of a mess. The fit of the stem to the shank is good. The white mustache logo on the top is in good condition. The brass band is also dirty and oxidized but should clean up quite well. 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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 a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The left side reads “Caminetto” [over]  8.L.18. On the right side it is stamped Hand Made [over] Cucciago – Italy. The acrylic stem has an inset white mustache. What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping? What do you look for in the stamping? It is dusty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar? If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html) to see what I could find. I did a screen capture of the entry there and have included the side bar information below then the photo. It reads

Brand created in 1968 by Giuseppe Ascorti († 1984), Luigi Radice and Gianni Davoli as distributor.
1979 : End of the first Caminetto period. Luigi Radice left the company. Giuseppe Ascorti produced the Sergio pipes (a short time) and moved into his new workshop with his son Roberto. (See also Capitello)
1986 : New Caminetto period by Roberto AscortiFrom the information there I am fairly certain that the pipe was made after 1986 when the New Caminetto period began by Roberto Ascorti. The pipe is probably crafted by Ascorti.From there I turned to Pipedia for more detailed information about the Caminetto brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Caminetto). I quote below:

Caminetto’s history started in 1959 when Guiseppe Ascorti, from Cucciago, and known to his friends as “Peppino”, was hired by Carlo Scotti to work at Castello, located in nearby Cantu. Since it’s foundation in 1947 Castello had contributed substantially to regained glory for Italian pipemaking.

Talent and assiduity soon made Ascorti one of Scotti’s most notable pipemakers – a man he counted on for the future. But, Ascorti had his own far reaching plan: He wanted to work as a self-employed pipemaker! After his wife, Paola, had taken over her parent’s small greengrocery in the early 1960’s this plan became more concrete. The additional income from the shop enabled him to buy tools and machines little by little to furnish his own workshop. By the end of 1968 he was ready and left Castello. Ascorti also persuaded his co-worker, the young and highly-talented pipemaker Luigi Radice (born 1939), to join him – the two were neighbors in Cucciago. Carlo Scotti, whom is known as a perfect gentleman, is reported to have spoken unreservedly about this development.

Ascorti & Radice started to manufacture pipes on their own. One of the first who agreed to market their pipes was Gianni Davoli, proprietor of a tobacco shop in Milan. The situation was perfect–two pipemakers in search of a distributor, and a pipe merchant in search of a mainstay brand to market. Davoli – via friends and relations in the States – had made flourishing contacts with US pipe wholesalers and traders. He shipped some pipes across the pond for inspection and received excellent feedback for the very high quality of the pipes. He, shortly after, offered to be the sole distributor worldwide, and Ascorti & Radice happily accepted.

Then came the legendary evening when Ascorti, Radice and Davoli gathered around the fireplace after a hard day’s work enjoying their pipes, a glass of wine, and humorous conversation. Davoli is said to be the one who associated the pipes with the fireplace or chimney, which is “camino” in Italian. Hence “Caminetto”, the diminutive (smaller) singular version of camino, was coined as the brand’s name. Ascorti, Radice and Davoli later became famous as “I tre Camini” – the three chimneys. Maybe, they had more than one glass of wine each, but it’s not certain whether the distinctive mustache logo on the stem and the Caminetto slogan “La Pipa del Baffo” – “the pipe with the mustache” – was created the same night. In fact, Ascorti and Radice both wore impressively large mustaches, and a pharmacist in the neighborhood had been kidding them about that. (Davoli, for reasons of corporate identity, later wore a big mustache, too.)

Now, Davoli concentrated on marketing the Caminetto brand in the United States. His strategy was as simple as it was brilliant. There was a remarkable Castello hype at the time. Castello pipes were highly sought after but hard to get due to limited production. Davoli filled the gap, promoting the Caminetto to be absolutely equal to the Castello in terms of quality, while asking only half the price. And best of all: the Caminetto pipes were consignable! The Tinder Box International would be under contract with successful nationwide distribution. The brand’s success was overwhelming – far beyond any expectation, with the rusticated Business line becoming the most popular.

Ironically enough, the increasing demand soon drove Ascorti and Radice to the limits of their production abilities. The brand had been introduced successfully in Germany, and in Italy to some extent. By the end of 1970 more hands were needed. Even Ascorti’s elder son, Roberto Ascorti (born 1958; and the current owner) helped with stamping and shipping the pipes when he was just a schoolboy. The most important employee is Cesare Vigano, who has worked for Caminetto /Ascorti for more than thirty years. To bring about more stability and higher production, Davoli invested a considerable amount of money in modern pipemaking machinery, and in doing so went from distributor to co-owner of Caminetto. By 1973 he held the vast majority of the company’s capital.

The boom continued strongly – especially in the US. Production increased steadily, from 3,000 to 5,000 and then 7,000 pipes being made per year, placing Caminetto at the top of US sales in their market segment. The 1974 Tinder Box catalog celebrated Gianni Davoli as “master pipe maker and designer” and “sole creator of Caminetto” without a single mention of Ascorti or Radice!

Dating Caminetto pipes is very difficult. However the way the pipe is stamped can narrow it down some and the look of the mustache logo also helps. Pipedia has a helpful article on the process (https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Caminetto_(shapes,_stamping,_articles,_etc.). I quote from it below.

First off, dating earlier Caminetto’s is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, there were three phases, some in which were much earlier, of development that occurred in the stamping process of Caminetto. Before that though, every pipe had the stamp of Caminetto in one of two ways: Caminetto in script or Caminetto within quotation marks in block letters (I do not know how it was decided which pipe got which stamp, as I have had EARLY Caminetto’s with both). The stampings:

  1. ASCORTI

RADICE

CUCCIAGO

CANTU-ITALY

  1. HAND MADE IN ITALY

CUCCIAGO (Co)

  1. MADE IN ITALY

CUCCIAGO (CANTU)

In addition to the above stampings, there was always the trademark mustache on the stem. The earlier models (1968/69-1974/75) had the iconic gold, sometimes white, “bird-in-flight” mustache and the later models (1975-1979/80/81) had a gold, or white, “double comma” mustache. Tinder Box often stamped their shield on the pipes as well. Now I wanted to understand the stamping 8.L.18. How was that to be interpreted. The same article above gave the following information on the stamping.

The newer model Caminetto stampings are quite different and easy to date. Roberto upgraded the stamping technique of Caminetto so that it was possible to figure out when the pipe was made. There are two different types of stamps, one in which is not in use anymore. The first is the traditional “Caminetto” stamp in script, followed by a 4 part grid with numbers. The second is a 3 part stamp (two numbers and one letter, which is most of the time an “L”)

The first number in the old stamp of the grid refers to the shape of the pipe. The second number, which is the first in the stamp most are familiar with refers to the grade or of the pipe:

0 standard smooth (red or orange stained)
1 highest grade natural straight-grain smooth (realllllly rare)
2 smooth natural.
6 sandblast
7 New Dear
8 Business finish.

The third number in the old grid stamp is the series.

And the fourth number, which is the third in the newer stampings, refers to the year it was made in. For instance, if one has a 54/6/2/01, they would have a pipe made in the first year of production of the newer Caminetto line (i.e. 1985-86). I include the 85 because some hold that Ascorti was making Caminetto’s in 1985, but the majority of who I have talked to and the information I have researched claim official production and retail sale did not begin until 1986.

The second part of the newer stamp is a letter, usually L, which I have no idea what it stands for, but there are others I have seen “B” on. In short, the old stamp has a 2×2 grid specifying the shape, finish, series, and year (in that order), while the newer stamp only shows the finish, the letter ‘L’, and the year.

With that information I knew that the 9.L.18 gave me quite a bit of information. It is to be read as follows:

8 – the grade or the finish of the pipe in hand is a Business Finish.

L – unclear what it stands for.

18 – is the year of manufacture which I believe would make this one 2018

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

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 first thing I see is a pipe that in excellent condition with no obvious issues when I first look at it.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The rustication looks good as well. The “brass” band on the shank turns out to be silver and once the tarnish was removed it had the .925 oval stamp on the underside. That is followed by a small logo and two numbers 84 and 80.
  3. The light lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed that the pipe is very clean with no damage to the edges of top.
  4. The walls of the bowl are clean and they look very good with no checking or burn damage to the walls. The outer edge of the bowl looks good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage there.
  5. The acrylic stem is clean and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides. The logo is in great condition. The fit to the shank is well done with no damage.

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 top and edges looked very good. I also go over the stem carefully. The stem had some minor issues as noted. There were some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button. 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 like to remove the stem from the shank 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. Now it was time to start working on the pipe. I polished the smooth portions of 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.  After polishing it with the micromesh pads I rubbed it down 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 nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and into the rustication with a horse hair shoe brush. 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 shone 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 turn to work on the stem. 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. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation 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 acrylic. 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 mix of smooth and rusticated finishes around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and brown stains. The Caminetto 8.L.18 Rhodesian 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: 2 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.08 ounces/59 grams. It is a beautiful pocket sized pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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.

This Boswell Panel Bent Billiard must have been someone’s favourite

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 12/27/2021 from a seller in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental or chance as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to assess what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is a pipe that has either been well loved and smoked often or a pipe that has been neglected and abused. I have learned to see them as well loved and obviously someone’s favourite pipe.
  2. The finish is very dirty and there are hand oils on the panel sides of the bowl and there is grime and grit ground into the finish and the worm trail rustication on the sides of the bowl and shank. It is dusty and dull looking but under the grime the pipe looks good.
  3. The rim top has a very thick coat of lava and debris on both the top and the edges. There appeared to be damage on the front top and edge of the bowl. It is so dirty but is hard to know if there is damage to the edges or rim top. The bowl is quite large and deep.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake and debris on the walls that hides the walls and the inner and outer edge of the bowl but once it is clean we will know what the bowl and edges really look like. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage to the top or bowl edges.
  5. The vulcanite stem is in rough condition – dirty, oxidized and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. There are also scratches in the vulcanite under the debris and calcification on the stem surface.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a unique pipe that once cleaned up will be another pretty Boswell Hand Made. Boswell’s shapes and carving are readily identifiable when you see them so I knew what the pipe was even before looking at it. The photos below confirm the assessment above. 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 very thick with tobacco debris stuck on the walls. The rim top has thick lava, grime and debris covering it. It is so thick you cannot see the inner or outer edges to assess damage. Even so there appears to be some damage on the front outer edge. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. It is unclear if there is any burn damage at this point. I look forward to viewing it in person after the clean up work. The photos of the vulcanite stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the dirty/sticky substance on the stem in the first photo below. There are scratches in the stem surface, tooth chatter, and deep marks. The stem is quite dirty and a bit of a mess. The fit of the stem to the shank is good and is a typical Boswell style Freehand. 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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 a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is signed with an engraving tool and reads Boswell [over] 003 U.S.A. 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? If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

In July, 2017 I restored a Boswell Twist pipe, a 2003 and had done some research into the brand (https://rebornpipes.com/2017/07/19/refurbishing-a-boswell-2003-spiral-twist-bent-billiard/). I turned to that blog and reread the information that I had included there. I took the liberty to include the information that I included from the box that came with that pipe that below.

The backside of the box reads:  Dear Pipe Smoker: J.M. Boswell crafts each of his pipes exclusively by hand! From the bare briar block to the final stain and polish, each step is a hands on procedure in old world tradition. Boswell pipes feature individual craftsmanship and style.

Additionally, J.M. Boswell has developed an exclusive bowl coating that greatly shortens the “break-in” time of a Boswell pipe and gives a sweet smoke from the very first bowl full. This coating is applied to each new pipe that Boswell makes.

One more compelling feature of Boswell pipes: “Their cost”! Boswell pipes can be had at a fraction of what most import pipes are. This is a feature pipe smokers find gratifying.

Our second feature is repairs by Boswell. J.M. Boswell has no peers in the quality and speed in which he gives “Turn-around” on pipe repairs, from stem replacement to banding, to reaming and cleaning.

I will be glad to answer any questions that you have regarding all the features of Boswell’s pipes, my repair work, plus the crafting process which can be witnessed first hand at our store and pipe making shop at 586 Lincoln Way East in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.

Cordially J.M. Boswell, Owner.

I then turned to the Boswell Pipe and Tobacco Shop site (https://boswellpipes.com/product-category/boswell-pipes/). The description of the pipes in that section of the site parallels what I found above. I quote:

In the creation of these exquisite smoking pipes, we use the finest quality briar – “cream of the crop” is what the proprietor of the mill calls it. Boswell Pipes have their own special bowl coating for easy break-in. J.M. has used his special coating for Boswell Pipes since 1982.  100% natural coating, which will force the briar wood to absorb the moisture and heat.  For the finishing touch, J.M. hand inscribes his signature into the briar.  J.M. dates the year and proudly declares made in the USA “J.M. Boswell 2018 U.S.A.”. 

I also found some photos of the shop online that I am including here as well. I am also including the address of the shop and the phone number.

J.M. Boswell’s Pipes and Tobacco

6481 William Penn Hwy, Alexandria, PA 16611, United States

+1 814-667-7164

It looks like it would be a great place to visit and spend time enjoying. One day I may get to do that. We shall see!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.

When the pipe arrives here in Vancouver I have a clean pipe and I go over it keeping in mind my assessment shared in the opening paragraph above. Now that I have it in hand I am looking for confirmation of what I saw in the photos as well as any significant structural changes in the bowl and finish as I go over it.

  1. The first thing I see is a pipe that has either been well loved and smoked often or a pipe that has been neglected and abused. I have learned to see them as well loved and obviously someone’s favourite pipe. Even clean that is visible.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The worm trail rustication looks good as well.
  3. The lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it has revealed a lot of burn damage on the top and the inner and out walls. There is also significant darkening around the rim top.
  4. The walls of the bowl are clean and I do see some checking or burn damage on the right side toward the top. It looked like it needed to be reamed closer and sanded. The inner edge of the bowl shows some damage toward the front. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage there.
  5. The vulcanite stem is clean and has scratches, tooth chatter and marks on both sides. The button also shows some damage. The fit to the shank is well done with no damage.

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 burn damage became very apparent. There were burn marks on the top and a deep one on the front right inner edge and top. The inner edges are also damaged by the burn damage. The outer edge is damaged on the front side. I also go over the stem carefully. The stem had some issues as noted. There were some tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem and the button. 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 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 like to remove the stem from the shank 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. Now it was time to start working on the pipe. There appeared to be some checking on the right side toward the top of the bowl. When I examined it, it did not seem to be too deep in the briar. It was left behind by the reaming. I cleaned up that area with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape it back to solid walls. I sanded the walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. It cleaned it up quite well. Once I had cleaned up the rim top and edges the bowl and rim top would look much better. To address the darkening on the rim to pa and edges I started by topping the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. I need to remove the darkening to be able to see the damage. I further topped it with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge. The damage is very evident on the top of the bowl and the inner edge on the right front. To deal with the rim damage on the top and the inner edge I used a wooden ball and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel and remove the damage. Now I was getting somewhere. Once I had finished wit the ball I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to fine tune the shape. I am happy with the end result. 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 paused in the polishing and used and oak stain pen to stain the rim top and edges to match the rest of the bowl. It looked very good to me. Once I polished it with the final three micromesh sanding pads it blended very well. I polished it with the last three pads. After polishing it with the micromesh pads I rubbed it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar and the plateau. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and into the worm trail rustications with a horse hair shoe brush. 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 shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. The right wall still showed signs of checking as shown in the photos above. I made a mix of pipe mud (fine cigar ash and water) and coated the wall with that to protect it until a new cake was formed. I mix it in a small shot glass and apply it to the walls with a dental spatula. I use and ear syringe to add the water so I can control the thickness of the mud. I set it aside to cure. I set the bowl aside and turn to work on the stem. I decided to work on the unique stem. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to do the work. I sanded the tooth marks and chatter on the stem and reshaped the button edge with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I continued polishing 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. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation 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 mix or smooth and rusticated worm trail finishes around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and brown stains. The Boswell U.S.A. Panel 003 Bent Billiard 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 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.54 ounces/72 grams. It is a beautiful pocket sized pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the American (US) Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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 life into a Stubby Brakner Antique 1041 Pot Nose Warmer

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 10/03/2022 from a seller in Copenhagen, Denmark. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental or chance as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to assess what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

  1. The first thing I see is a classic stubby rusticated Pot with a short vulcanite stem. It is well proportioned and well made with a Brakner style rustication and stamping.
  2. The finish is dirty and there is grime and grit ground into the rustication on the sides of the bowl and shank. It is dusty and dull looking but under the grime the pipe looks good.
  3. The rim top has some lava and debris in the rustication on the top and the edges. It is dirty looking but cleaning will reveal a real beauty. The bowl is quite large and the walls thin.
  4. The bowl has a thick cake and debris on the walls that hides the walls and some grime on the inner edge of the bowl but once it is clean we will know what the bowl and edges really look like. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage to the top or bowl edges.
  5. The vulcanite stem is in good condition – dirty and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. I am pretty certain it is a replacement stem and it is a bit larger in diameter than the shank.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a beauty that once cleaned up will be another one that will look pretty amazing. Brakner’s shape and rustication are readily identifiable when you see them so I knew what the pipe was even before looking at it in person. The photos below confirm the assessment above. 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 with tobacco debris stuck on the walls. The rim top has some lava, grime and debris in the rusticated surface. You can also see the condition of the outer edge and the inner edge is in great condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. There is no visible burn damage at this point. The bowl is still round and other than being in a used condition it is in great shape. The photos of the vulcanite stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the dirty/sticky substance on the stem in the first photo below. There are scratches in the stem surface light tooth chatter, but no deep marks. The stem is quite dirty but otherwise undamaged. The fit of the stem to the shank is off a bit, the diameter is larger on 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 the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? 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 a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is stamped Brakner Antique. On the right side it is stamped HAND-CUT followed by the shape number 104 with the 1 a little higher than the 104. We do not have a photo of that yet. 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? If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting). I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

I looked first on the Pipephil website (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b7.html) to see what I could find. I have found through the years that it gives me a good summary of the information available and some pictures of some of the pipes from the brand. I have included a screen capture of the first pipe in the listing as it shows the logo on the stem and a bit of the stamping that is on the underside of the shank. There was not much information on the site regarding the history of the maker. It did tell me that most Brakner’s pipes had the carver’s “micro-rustication” finish. He made few smooth pipes. Next I turned to Pipedia for more information and detail (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brakner). I quote in part:

Peter Micklson (†) started his career at the Teofil Suhr workshop, Suhr’s Pibemageri, in Copenhagen, where Sixten Ivarsson was the foreman. He brought in Poul Rasmussen and taught him the two or three important things about pipemaking in a six weeks crash course, before he went off to join Poul Nielsen, the later Mr. Stanwell.

Micklson, who later changed his last name to Brakner, cannot have worked under Rasmussen too long before he felt to be good enough to go off on his own. Indeed he carved himself quite a good name as it was proudly announced 1955’s World Championship of Pipe Smoking was won by a smoker who employed a Peter Brakner pipe. His fame based fairly on developing a unique and very special “micro-rustication” he called Antique. According to Kai Nielsen, Brakner kept this technique as a secret and only once he showed it to one person – Kai’s mother. Both have passed away, so this secret technique is lost. Kent Rasmussen was recently inspired by Brakner’s Antique finish when he created his new technique of rustication. Brakner was a close friend of Ole Larsen, the proprietor of the famous W.Ø. Larsen tobacco shop and sold a lot of his pipes there, before Larsen hired his own indoor carvers…

The pipes came in three different series.

Antique series. Antique finish in tan or black. Smooth pipes also. Each pipe 7.50 $.
Bella Danica series. Antique finish in tan or black. Each pipe 10.00 $.
Royal Danois series. Antique finish in tan or black. Each pipe 12.50 $.\
The latter were named after the Royal Danish Guard Regiment, founded in 1689.

Brakner was one of the first high-end carvers from Denmark to enter the US market and was considerably successful there in the early 1970’s. After his sudden death Peter Brakner’s name faded back from the forefront, but his pipes speak to the injustice of that. His body of work has earned him a place in the important history of Danish pipemaking.

That gives a good picture of the history and development of the Brakner brand and the connection to some of the great carvers of Danish pipe history. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe in hand. I started my cleanup of this pipe by working on the internals. I reamed out the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and took the cake back to the bare briar. I sanded the walls in the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the walls.

Now I had more information to work with. The Brakner Antique in my hands that probably came out in the early 1970s before his death.

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.

When the pipe arrives here in Vancouver I have a clean pipe and I go over it keeping in mind my assessment shared in the opening paragraph above. Now that I have it in hand I am looking for confirmation of what I saw in the photos as well as any significant structural changes in the bowl and finish as I go over it.

  1. The first thing I see is a classic stubby rusticated Pot with a short vulcanite stem. It is well proportioned and well made with a Brakner style micro rustication and stamping.
  2. The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The rustication has just come alive around the bowl sides.
  3. The lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it looks to be in good condition on the top and edges of the bowl.
  4. The walls of the bowl are clean and I do not see any checking or burn damage. The inner edge of the bowl looks good. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage there. Even though the bowl walls are thin they are sufficient to protect pipe as it is smoked.
  5. The vulcanite stem is clean and has very light tooth chatter and marks on both sides. The stem is definitely a replacement. The fit to the shank is off with the stem larger in diameter and a bit of rounding on the shoulders. It is also a 6mm filter stem I believe and not the original.

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, they looked very good. There was no damage on the edges or the top of the rim. The thin rim edge and top are clean and should polish up well. I also go over the stem carefully. The stem had some issues as noted. The diameter of the stem was larger than the shank and the end had been rounded giving it shoulders. That would need to be addressed. There were some faint tooth marks chatter on the surface of the stem. 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 in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable. Brakner’s micro rustication is unique and readily recognizable. To me it different and I like the feel of it.. I love just looking at the beauty of the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I like to remove the stem from the shank 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. The second photo below shows the 6mm filter tenon. When a rusticated finish is in as nice a condition as this one is immediately apply Before & After Restoration Balm to the briar. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar and the plateau. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I 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 shone 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 turn to work on the stem. I decided to address the rounding on the shoulders of the stem and reduce the diameter. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to do the work. Once I finished with the work the fit of the stem against the shank looked better. I sanded the chatter on the stem and reshaped the button edge with 220 grit sandpaper as well. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I continued polishing 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. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation 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 don’t buff a rusticated pipe with Blue Diamond as it can build up in the deep grooves of the finish. I used it on the stem and find that it works very well to polish out the light scratches in the vulcanite. I moved on to buffing the pipe – 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 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 vulcanite stem. It really is a nice little pipe. The micro rusticated finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and dark brown stains. The Brakner Antique 104 Pot feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.27 ounces/36 grams. It is a beautiful pocket sized 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.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have done. 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.