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Restoring a Peterson’s Republic Era Kildare 86 Taper Stem Apple

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us from somewhere neither Jeff or I remember. I can tell you though that it has been sitting here for a long time. That happens a lot when I am working through a country in my boxes. This the last of the current Peterson Pipes that I have to work on at the moment (no worries as there are more coming). It is a beautifully grained Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple. The shape follows the grain around the bowl which is a combination of cross grain and birdseye. The finish was clean and the pipe had been reamed in the past so I am pretty sure it has been through Jeff’s clean up. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. On the right side of the shank Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the shape number 86. The stamping is clear and readable on both sides. The stem was quite clean though there were light tooth marks and chatter on the stem near the button on both sides. There was the no Peterson’s “P” on the taper stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl has been cleaned but the rim top and the inner edge have some darkening. The finish on the bowl is quite clean. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip button and edges look good.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to give a clear picture of what I see here. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson Company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However, 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry (Harry) Kapp.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

Kildare (1965-) First issue of line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes, P-Lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue C.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte-brown, P-Lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-, burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to smokingpipes.com.

Judging from the description above I believe that I am working on a First Issue of the line in the time period of 1965-1979. It is a late Republic Era Classic Shaped pipe with a matte-finish and a P-Lip stem. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge and the rim top. It looked much better.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust on the surface. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple with a saddle stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple was another fun pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.09 ounces/31 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Restoring a Republic Era Petersons “Kildare” 87S Apple with a Saddle Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Kildare” Apple shaped pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good-looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. Both Jeff and I have no memory of where we picked up this pipe. Was it a trade or a pipe hunt find? Could easily have been either one. This Lightweight Apple was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the number 87S (faint but present) near the shank/bowl junction. I believe the “S” is for the saddle stem designation. The pipe was filthy when I brought it to the table. There was grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a minimal cake in the bowl but there was still a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was thickly coated in lava and it was hard to know how the rim top and edges looked underneath. The stem was dirty with oxidation and calcification on it. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was a light “P” stamp logo on left side of the saddle stem. I took photos of the pipe before my cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl has been but the rim top has a lava coat flowing down the outside of the bowl and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl is rough around the outer edge but I will know more once it is cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip button and edges look good.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. There is a “P” logo stamp on the left side of the saddle stem. It is faint but I am hoping that I can bring it back with white acrylic. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to give a clear picture of what I see here. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87S Apple with a saddle stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87S Apple was another challenging pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring a Worn and Tired Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 317

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I both have no idea where we picked up this pipe. We have no real memory of it but it is obvious that Jeff had cleaned it up sometime in its journey. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it is stamped and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) with the shape number 317 underneath. The pipe was a tired old workhorse with a worn finish. The bowl was also clean and there was no cake or damage on the bowl walls. The rim top was clean but there was some darkening on the top and on the inner and outer edge of the bowl. The nickel ferrule was tired and dull. It was stamped K&P [over] Peterson and there were no dents in the nickel ferrule. The stem was very clean with a light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside. There was a faint “P” logo on the stem side. It had also straightened out over time and would need to be bent to fit the flow of the pipe. I took these photos before I started my clean up work to give an idea of the condition of the pipe. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem to give a sense of the condition of both. The rim top had some scratching on the top and damage to the inner edge and rim top. The stem cleaned up well and the tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button are light and should clean up easily.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and on the ferrule and stem. It is readable but faint in places. I took the stem out of the shank and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. I remembered that Paresh had restored a Peterson’s System Standard (his was a 314) earlier this year and as usual had done good work on the research. I turned to his blog and read through his work on the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/07/24/helping-a-fellow-piper-with-his-dream-pipea-petersons-system-pipe/). I quote below from the section on his blog regarding the dating of the pipe.

While dating a Peterson’s pipe, I always fall back to my under mentioned favorite site; http://thepetersonpipeproject.blogspot.com/2007/07/dating-peterons-pipes.html I quote from the above site.

Stamping of Bowl: During the years of Kapp and Peterson’s business operations, the country of Ireland has undergone several name changes and K&P’s stamping on their pipes reflects these changes. Knowing these changes, a Peterson pipe can be roughly dated and placed in “eras.”

The Republic Era is from 1949 until the present. The Republic of Ireland was formed on 17 April 1949. From 1949 to present the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inside edge of the bowl and the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel to remove the darkening and clean up the rim top. I wiped the top and edges down with a damp cloth and the rim top and edges looked much better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I decided to start by rebending the stem. I heated it with the flame of a lighter to soften the vulcanite and when it was soft I bent it to the correct angle. It looked much better.I repaired the tooth marks on the top of the stem with clear CA glue. There were two deeper marks that I could not lift. This took care of those on the top side. There were none on the underside. Once it cured I sanded the repairs smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and cleaned up the light marks on the underside at the same time. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I continued polishing the stem using Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further it. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 317 Bent Billiard with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. The dents in the rotated nickel ferrule really are a part of the story of the pipe and one that was unchangeable. It carries on to the next pipeman or woman who takes on the trust. As the pipe is smoked the patina should darken and look even better. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s System Standard 317 Bent Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 ounces. I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipe store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Worn and Tired Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 303

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I both have no idea where we picked up this pipe. We have no real memory of it but it is obvious that Jeff had cleaned it up sometime in its journey. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it is stamped and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) with the shape number 303 underneath. The pipe was a tired old workhorse with a worn finish. The bowl was also clean and there was no cake or damage on the bowl walls. The rim top was clean but there was some darkening on the top and on the inner and outer edge of the bowl. The nickel ferrule was tired and had dents on the top and bottom. It was stamped K&P [over] Peterson and the stamp had been turned. Somewhere along the way it was glued on the shank end. It was not movable. The stem was very clean with a light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside. I took these photos before I started my clean up work to give an idea of the condition of the pipe. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem to give a sense of the condition of both. The rim top had some scratching on the top and damage to the inner edge and rim top. The stem cleaned up well and the tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button are light and should clean up easily.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and on the ferrule and stem. It is readable but faint in places. I took the stem out of the shank and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. I remembered that Paresh had restored a Peterson’s System Standard (his was a 314) earlier this year and as usual had done good work on the research. I turned to his blog and read through his work on the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/07/24/helping-a-fellow-piper-with-his-dream-pipea-petersons-system-pipe/). I quote below from the section on his blog regarding the dating of the pipe.

While dating a Peterson’s pipe, I always fall back to my under mentioned favorite site; http://thepetersonpipeproject.blogspot.com/2007/07/dating-peterons-pipes.html I quote from the above site.

The Republic Era is from 1949 until the present. The Republic of Ireland was formed on 17 April 1949. From 1949 to present the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. I tried to remove the nickel ferrule. I heated it, put it in the refrigerator, painted the joint of the briar and the ferrule with acetone and none of them worked. The ferrule had been obviously epoxied in place and there was nothing I could do to remove it. The dents in the ferrule would remain with the pipe as a part of its journey. There were also sharp edges on the ferrule end that I would need to smooth out to keep from damaging the vulcanite. It was turned to the left leaving the stamping on the ferrule on the left underside.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inside edge of the bowl and the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel to remove the darkening and clean up the rim top. I wiped the top and edges down with a damp cloth and the rim top and edges looked much better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the sharp edge of the ferrule. I polished the ferrule end with micromesh sanding pads. I buffed it with a jewellers cloth to protect and to raise the shine in the nickel. You can see the dents and the rotated ferrule in the photos below but it is still quite nice. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I continued polishing the stem using Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further it. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 303 Bent Apple with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. The dents in the rotated nickel ferrule really are a part of the story of the pipe and one that was unchangeable. It carries on to the next pipeman or woman who takes on the trust. As the pipe is smoked the patina should darken and look even better. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s System Standard 303 Apple fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams/1.55 ounces. I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipe store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

New Life for a Republic Era “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 53 Lovat

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am working through the remaining Peterson’s Pipes I have in my bins of pipes to work on. All that remain are pipes that neither Jeff or I remember where we obtained them. I chose to work on this nice looking Lovat with a fishtail style taper stem from that group of pipes. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read SHAMROCK. It was also stamped on the right side and reads “A PETERSON’S [over] PRODUCT” over MADE IN THE REP. OF IRELAND (3 lines) with the shape number 53 next to the bowl. There was also the Shamrock logo “S” on the left side of the saddle stem. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned as obviously Jeff had done his magic on it before I got it. He had scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. The rim top showed darkening and some damage on the inner and outer edges. He had rinsed it with warm water. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The vulcanite stem is lightly oxidized from sitting around here for years and has some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is also a stamped Shamrock “S” logo on the left side of the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the bowl to show the condition. The rim top had some nicks on it and some damage on the inner edge of the rim making it slightly out of round. There was also darkening on the bowl top. I also took photos of both sides of the stem to show the light oxidation and tooth chatter. Over all the pipe was in good condition.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of proportion.I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Shamrock Pipe. On page 312 it had the following information.

Shamrock (c1941-2009) Originally stamped SHAMROCK with no brand name, an inexpensive line first described in George Yale (New York) mail order booklet in 1941, imported by Rogers Import. The line was actively promoted beginning in ’45, aggressively promoted in US by Rogers from early ‘50s when they registered the Shamrock logo with US Patent Office, claiming propriety since ’38. Over the years offered with P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, with or without nickel band, with or without shamrock logo on the band, with or without S stamped in white or later in gold on mouthpiece. Appearing in 2008 as unstained smooth and rustic, fishtail mouthpiece with gold impressed P on the stem. COMS of MADE IN over IRELAND (C1945-1965), MADE IN IRELAND forming a circle (c1945-1965), “A PETERSON’S PRODUCT” over MADE IN IRELAND (c1945-1965), MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC over OF IRELAND c1948-1998). Model is always difficult or impossible to date.

Judging from the description above, the pipe I am working on is stamped with the stamp noted in red above. It reads “A Peterson’s Product” over Made in the Rep. Of Ireland which narrows the date to between approximately 1948-1998. It is just stamped SHAMROCK on the shank side and has an “S” logo on the left side of the taper stem.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening and damage on the inner and outer edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and clean up the edge. I also used a wooden ball and a piece of sand paper to give the inner edge a light bevel. It looked much better! I decided to leave the sandpits on the bowl side and filling them seemed unnecessary to me. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. (Note the sandpit on the left side of the shank near the bowl.) I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and started working on the stem. I touched up the Shamrock “S” logo on the right side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once it dried, I scraped off the excess wand sanded it clean with a worn 1500 girt micromesh sanding pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished hand polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it on with my fingers and buffed it off with a soft cloth. The stem really began to have a deep glow. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.I am excited to finish this Republic Era a “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 53 Lovat. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful flame grain all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This smooth Classic Shamrock 53 Lovat is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 41grams/1.45 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time and as Paresh says each time he writes – Stay Safe.

Cleaning Up a NOS/Unsmoked Peterson’s St. Patrick’s Day 2007 Dent Dublin B10

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another Peterson’s Pipe. This one is NOS and UNSMOKED. It is just dusty and dirty from sitting in a display case somewhere. We recently purchased it from an estate in Idaho. It is a nicely grained Dublin with cross grain on the sides and birdseye on the front and the back of the bowl. The crowned rim top also has cross grain across the top. It is stamped on the left side and reads St. Patrick’s [over] Day and on the right side it is stamped with the shape B10. The nickel band is stamped with a shamrock on the left side and around the outside of the leaf it is stamped Peterson arched over the top and the date March 17, 2007 arched underneath. There is a carbon bowl coating and the bowl was very clean and I am pretty sure it was either lightly smoked or unsmoked. There is no smell of tobacco in the bowl. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl looked very good. The mortise was also clean with no oils or tars darkening it. There is a light coat of shellac on the bowl that gives it a rich shine. The stem had some oxidation, some white/sludge built up ahead of the edge of the button but there were not any tooth marks or chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the current condition. The inwardly beveled rim top is in perfect condition with no nicks or flaws. The bowl photo shows the clean walls on the bowl show the bowl coating and dust. The stem photos show the dust or grime against the button each side.I took photos of the shank sides to capture the stamping on the shank and the band. The silver “P” logo on the left side of the stem is also very clean. I removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the overall look of the pipe. It is a beautiful pipe. On Mark Irwin’s Petersonpipenotes blog he gives a great history of the St. Patrick’s Day pipes. It is a great read and includes a pictorial tour of the line. It is very helpful. Here is the link (https://petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com/tag/peterson-st-patricks-day-pipes/).

He includes the following information and a photo of the pipe that is very similar to the B10 I am working on. It is notable that he comments that the shape first appeared in 2002-2003 and that this pipe may well have been a collector’s piece for 2007.

The B10 appeared around 2002–2003 and may have been the collector’s piece for 2007.With that information I turned my attention to the pipe itself. I wiped out the inside of the bowl with a paper towel to lightly remove the dust in bowl coating on the pipe. It looked much better at this point.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and started working on the stem. I scrubbed the oxidation on it with Soft Scrub cleanser and was able to remove the majority of it. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished hand polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it on with my fingers and buffed it off with a soft cloth. The stem really began to have a deep glow. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Peterson’s 2007 St. Patrick’s Day B10 Crown Top Bent Dublin with a polished nickel band and a taper vulcanite stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful birdseye and cross grain on the sides of the bowl. Added to that the polished nickel band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This smooth Classic St. Patrick’s Day 2007 B10 Dublin is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams/1.76 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time and as Paresh says each time he writes – Stay Safe.

New Life for a “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 338 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am working through the remaining Peterson’s Pipes I have in my bins of pipes to work on. All that remain are pipes that neither Jeff or I remember where we obtained them. I chose to work on this nice looking Bent Billiard with a P-lip style taper stem from that group of pipes. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read SHAMROCK. It was also stamped on the right side and reads “A PETERSON’S [over] PRODUCT” over MADE IN THE REP. OF IRELAND (3 lines) with the shape number 338 next to the bowl. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned as obviously Jeff had done his magic on it before I got it. He had scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He had rinsed it with warm water. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The vulcanite stem is lightly oxidized from sitting around here for years and has some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is also a stamped Shamrock “S” logo on the right side of the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the bowl to show the condition. The rim top was smooth and clean. There were nicks on the rim top and some damage on the inner edge of the rim making it slightly out of round. There was also damage on the front outer edge of the bowl. I also took photos of both sides of the stem to show the light oxidation and tooth chatter. Over all the pipe was in good condition.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of proportion. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Shamrock Pipe. On page 312 it had the following information.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening and damage on the inner and outer edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and clean up the edge. I also used a wooden ball and a piece of sand paper to give the inner edge a light bevel. It looked much better!I decided to leave the sandpits on the bowl side and filling them seemed unnecessary to me. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. (Note the sandpit on the left side of the shank near the bowl.) I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and started working on the stem. I scrubbed the oxidation on it with Soft Scrub cleanser and was able to remove the majority of it. I sanded out the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil once I was finished. I set it aside to cure. I touched up the Shamrock “S” logo on the right side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once it dried, I scraped off the excess wand sanded it clean with a worn 1500 girt micromesh sanding pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished hand polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it on with my fingers and buffed it off with a soft cloth. The stem really began to have a deep glow. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.I am excited to finish this Republic Era a “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 338 Bent Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful flame grain all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This smooth Classic Shamrock 338 Bent Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 41grams/1.45 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time and as Paresh says each time he writes – Stay Safe.

Fresh Life for a “Captain Peterson” Made in England N24 Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on my work table is another one that I have no idea where or when we picked it up. I know that it has been here for a long time. I figure that it probably came in the same lot as the Captain Peterson N23 Apple. The pipe is stamped on the left side and read “Captain Peterson” (upper case letters in two lines). On the right side it was stamped A “Peterson’s Product” [over] Made in England. That is followed by the shape number N24 near the shank/bowl union. There is a C in a Circle logo on the left side of the taper stem. The pipe had been reamed and cleaned somewhere along its journey which told me that it had come to me from Jeff after he had done is work. He also has no idea of the provenance of the pipe. The finish on the bowl was dull but very clean. There were burn marks on the right and left side toward the cap and on the rim top and edges. It appeared that the pipe had been laid in an ashtray. The bowl was reamed and the rim top was also clean. The inner edge of the bowl looked quite good. The taper stem was also very clean. It had no oxidation on the finish but there were tooth marks and chatter on the surface of the stem. There was a bite through on the underside next to the button edge. This one lacked a stinger. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how well it had cleaned up. There was no lava on top and no cake in the bowl. You can see the burn marks or darkening on the rim top and edges – both the inner and outer.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. The stamped white logo on the side of the taper stem is also clear and readable.I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of proportion to the pipe and to also show the unique stinger apparatus in the tenon end of the other Captain Peterson was missing on this one.I have included the information from the previous Captain Peterson restoration. For me this is a part of the restoration. I turned first to Pipephil’s site where I found both Captain Pete and Captain Peterson (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-peterson-rep.html#captainpete). I have included a screen capture of the Captain Pete information and also one of the Captain Peterson information. I also included the sidebar information as well.Captain Pete was a brand of Peterson’s English branch (1899-1960). Dublin continued to produce Captain Petes a couple of years after 1960. At the end of the eighties just as the Sherlock Holmes range was being issued, Peterson reintroduced the modern Captain Pete series.Captain Peterson was a brand of Peterson’s English branch. This English made pipe was crafted prior to 1960.

From there I turned to the “Peterson Pipe The Story of Kapp & Peterson” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg, page 295 to see what information I could find there. I quote:

Captain Pete – This line’s name was derived from the nickname of Charles Peterson, known affectionately by friends and employees as “Captain Peterson.” The first issue. C. 1940-62, was in a smooth finish produced for Rogers Imports with a white stamped P inside C or a circled P on the mouthpiece. CAPTAIN over PETE on shank, and MADE IN IRELAND in a circle. English made versions show CAPTAIN over PETE on the shank or “CAPTAIN PETERSON” and a PETERSON’S PRODUCT over MADE IN ENGLAND or LONDON MADE over ENGLAND. The second issue (1998-), features an XL bowl with Sherlock Holmes shapes and compact stems, in rustic or combination of smooth and rustic finish, with a nickel band between two narrow brass bands.

I knew that I was working on a pipe made before 1960 in London, England. Thus, the pipe was a first issue C. 1940-62. It is a beautiful pipe that will need some work but overall was in very good condition for a pipe made before 1960. It was time to start my work on the pipe.

I began by cleaning up the inner edge of the bowl and gently topped the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the edge to give it very slight bevel and minimize the damage. I also sanded the burnt spots on the sides of the bowl to blend them into the surface. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the bowl and shank with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down with a damp cloth between each sanding pad. The bowl took on more of a shine with the completion of each sanding pad. I gave the bowl and shank a wash of Light Brown aniline stain and alcohol. I applied it with a wool dauber and flamed it to set it in the briar. Once it cured I buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. After buffing I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my fingertips. I let it sit on the bowl for 15 minutes. I buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth to raise the shine. It was a beautiful piece of briar. With the bowl finished other than the final buffing I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the button below the bite through. I filled in the bite through on the underside with black super glue and the tooth marks on the top side with you. I removed the pipe cleaner from the stem and then used a small file to flatten the repair. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and then started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the Circle C logo the left side of the stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it dried I sanded off the excess and the logo looked very good.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the stem down between each pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. By the final pad the pipe stem looked very good. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish the easy restoration of this “Captain Peterson” Made in England N24 Rhodesian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black, taper vulcanite stem was beautiful. This “Captain Peterson” N24 Rhodesian turned out very well and feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .99 ounces/28 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in carrying on the trust of this let me know through a message or an email to slaug@unserve.com . Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

The Last Filthy and Messy Pipe – a Worn and Repaired No Name Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came is another one from the lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was traveling in Europe. In the box were 4 Stanwells, 1 Danmore Bowl, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, and 1 Brigham. I have restored the Nording, the snapped Stanwell, the Brigham, the Gourd Calabash with the briar bowl, restemmed the Danmore bowl, cleaned the Lorenzetti, restored the Stanwell Made in Denmark 11 Pot, the Stanwell Antique 25 Scoop and the Danish Sovereign Stanwell Second 64 Dublin. There are blogs on each restoration available. I now am down to one remaining pipe. The next pipe on the table is the last of the dirty pipes in a box full of very dirty pipes. There appears to be some stamping on the shank sides but it is so worn that it is utterly unreadable. The pipe was obviously someone’s favourite. The Rhodesian is one of my favourite pipe shapes. This one had not only been smoked to a point of heavy damage on the rim top and inner edge but the band on the shank held together a repair of three branched cracks on the shank. The stem fit well but there was a lot of grit and grime built up in the shank. There was a thick cake in the bowl, debris in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. The airway was plugged and there was no draught on the pipe. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and down the sides of the bowl and shank. The inner edges of the bowl were heavily damage, particularly on the right front side. The outer edge actually looked quite good under the grime. The rim cap was worn at an angle with more briar at the back of the bowl and on the left side than on the front side and the right side. The finish was dirty and there was lava on the sides and heel of the bowl. The stem was in rough shape in appearance but underneath the calcification and oxidation the tooth marks and chatter looked minimal. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl. The rim top shows the thick lava on it and the edges. The inner edge of the bowl is so thickly coated lava that it is hard to know the condition. The outer edges of the bowl were very worn. You can also see how poorly the stem seats against the end of the mortise. There is a gap between the shank end and the saddle stem. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It looked very good under the calcification and oxidation.I took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the cracks in the shank. There is one long crack with two branches off of it. It had been repaired and banded. I also took a photo of the shank end to show the crack and the gummy tars in the shank. It was a mess. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I removed the stem and turned my attention to the bowl clean up. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the fourth (and largest) cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 180 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I scrubbed out the internals of the shank, mortise and the airway in the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. There was a lot of tar and oil in the shank and airway. It was a mess.Once I had cleaned the shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. You can see the repaired cracks in the shank under the band. Once the rim was topped the right side or the rim top and inner edge were very thin and work. The bowl was out of round and a real mess. What was I going to do with the mess? Leave it be or fuss with it? I chose to fuss and rebuilt the inner edge with clear CA glue and briar dust until the bowl was back in round. I cleaned up the inner edge of the rebuilt portion of the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and my Dremel and sanding drum. I was actually pretty happy with the finish… it seems I made a good choice.I filled in the deep flaws in the briar with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once they cured I sanded the repaired areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I used a dark Cordovan aniline stain to give the bowl an undercoat. I applied it with a wool dauber and flamed it to set it in the grain. I rusticated the finish with a home made rustication tools. I wanted to dig deep enough in the briar to mask the many fills in the wood and the repaired cracks in the shank. It would also give the pipe a tactile finish. I rusticated the bowl and shank but left the bull cap and rim top smooth. The twin rings around the cap are clean and still very visible. I used a light brown aniline wash to restain the bowl. I applied it to the briar and flamed it with a lighter. That set the brown on the top of the rustication. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish with a horsehair shoe brush and my finger tips to clean and enliven the briar. If you have read my blogs for a while you know that I do this religiously every time as it really works magic! With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped it down with some Soft Scrub on cotton pads to remove the oxidation and calcification. I was able to remove most of the oxidation and the calcification. It looked much better when I finished.I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of the marks on the top surface and all but three small deeper marks. I filled in those with black CA glue. I flattened the repair with a small file and further blended it into the surface with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It really was taking on a shine. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish the reconstruction of this No Name Rhodesian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished reworked bowl looks like with the polished black, saddle vulcanite stem was beautiful. This No Name Rhodesian turned out very well and 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I am not sure what I am going to do with at the moment. It is unique and rebuilt but looks like new. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

Restoring a Republic Era Petersons “Kildare” 87 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Kildare” Apple shaped pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It came to us from an Antique Store on 10/20/2022 in Vancouver, Washington, USA. This Lightweight Apple was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the number 87 near the shank/bowl junction. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was thickly coated in lava and it was hard to know how the rim top and edges looked underneath. The stem was dirty with oxidation and calcification on it. There were tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button and on the button edges as well. The P lip portion of the stem was bent downward putting the airway on the end of the stem. There was no “P” stamp logo on the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is thickly caked and the rim top has a lava coat flowing down the outside of the bowl and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl is rough but I will know more once it is cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip has been heated and turned downward making the airway enter at the bend end! Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that is peeking out from underneath that overflow of lava and grime on the surface around this bowl. It is appears to have a nice looking pipe hidden underneath it all! He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. There were portions of the bowl sides where the tars had stained the briar but it was clean! He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I started to work on it. I took some close-up photos of the rim top, bowl front and heel as well as the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the front and back of the bowl. The bowl front and heel had some darkening from the tars staining the briar. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the light tooth marks on the stem ahead of the button that do not show up well. The button was also bent downward and the airway was at the stem end. One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top, inner edge of the bowl and the darkening on the front of the bowl. I worked over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I used a medium grit sanding sponge and 220 grit sandpaper to sand the darkening on the bowl front. It looked better but still was too dark to my liking. I mixed a batch of oxalic acid and wiped down the darkened areas to see if that method would lighten it more. Each step took more of the darkening away. I sanded it again with the sanding sponge and 220 grit sandpaper and finally it was as good as it would get. Some of the darkening remained but it was still a big improvement. I stained the bowl with a light brown aniline stain to try to cover and blend in the darkening on the rim top and front of the bowl. I applied the stain with a wool dauber and flamed it with a Bic lighter to set it in the grain. I set it aside to let the stain coat cure. I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on cotton pads to lighten the opaque stain and make it more transparent. I like the way the pipe looked at this point in the process. I still needed to use micromesh on it but it was looking better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. Someone had heated the tip of the button and bent it down to bring the airway on the top of the P-lip down to form a straight opening in the stem end. I heated the tip with a heat gun and carefully bent it back up and straight once again. The airway opening is certainly closer to the original than it was when I started. A bit more shaping is going to be necessary but it is better. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87 Apple with a taper stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87 Apple was another challenging pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.