Tag Archives: bowl topping

Another Hole in the Wall find! Stanwell Silver Mount 85

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Blog by Dal Stanton

I first laid my eyes on the Danish made, Stanwell Silver Mount a couple of weeks ago, not really knowing what I was seeing.  I was giving a tour to a new team member who had just arrived in Bulgaria.  As part of orientation I take ‘newbies’ on a tour of the center of Sofia – I sprinkle in a bit of history, architecture, politics, religion and culture as we stroll through the streets and boulevards.  The tour was also the perfect opportunity to showcase a ‘typical’ Bulgarian antique shop – I’m always looking for a way to drop by the ‘Hole in the Wall’ where I’ve landed several great pipes in past visits.  As my guest surveyed the shelves of stuff stacked on stuff, I went directly to THE basket, stuffed up into one area among the artifacts, where I started plucking through the newer offerings of pipes added since my last visit – since before Christmas.  I did spy a very nice unmarked Brandy shape with a hearty stummel.  When the shop owner diverted my attention, conspiratorially confiding that there was something he wanted me to see – my curiosity heightened.  He pulled the Stanwell out from a closed cabinet which always is an indicator of a treasure of greater value.  I left the Hole in the Wall with the pipe on my mind but not in my pocket. A week later, I returned to the Hole in the Wall with two other people as part of another tour.  This time, however, I wanted to see the Stanwell again – hoping it was still there.  It was.  This time I took pictures and dickered a bit, but again, left without a pipe.  I wanted to do some research on this Stanwell and send a note off to Steve to get his feedback, including some of the pictures I took at the Hole in the Wall.dress1dress2 dress3

His response was to the point: “That line of Stannies is a pricey one.  Nice find.”  Added to this was confirmation that the asking price was indeed very reasonable! That sealed the deal for me and with resolve (after receiving my wife’s blessings) I returned to the Hole in the Wall the next day and negotiated a favorable deal. Sweetening the transaction of the Stanwell was bundling the Brandy Unmarked I saw in the basket.  I’m a good customer and he agreed to a “good customer” price.  He was happy and I walked out of the Hole in the Wall this time with two nice pipes – but the Stanwell was the find pipe pickers place their hopes!

With my newest Hole in the Wall find now in front of me, I take more pictures for evaluation.  On the lower side of the shank is stamped Stanwell over Made in Denmark over Silver over Mount. Unfortunately, through wear or over-aggressive buffing, the ‘S’ of Stanwell and the “Ma” in Made in Denmark are very thin.  There is a shape number on the right side of the shank stamped 85 – I’ll need to research this to see if I can place this pipe with the plethora of information about Stanwell pipes on the internet.  Both the shank’s ferrule and the military or spigot mounted stem’s band, have 925 stamped – the world-wide authentication of sterling silver (.925).  What I did not see in the poor lighting of the Hole in the Wall, was that the mortise ferrule also had Stanwell stamped in the sterling.  The silver inlaid crowned “S” stem cartouche is in good shape.  The acrylic stem has many scuffs and nicks and tooth chatter near the button.  The rim and bowl surfaces also are nicked and dented a good bit.  As a matter of personal taste, I am not too partial to the black finish that hides the briar grain.  These pictures fill in the gaps.dress4 dress5 dress6 dress7 dress8 dress9 dress10My first time dealing with a Stanwell pipe was with a second – a Danske Club Vario, a very nice pipe also landed at the Hole in the Wall.  Pipedia’s article describes the beginning of the well-known Danish pipe making company, Stanwell:

At the end of the war, briar became available again, so Nielsen began importing his own briar and started making briar pipes to compete with the English manufacturers. It must be remembered that in 1948, England was the single great center for pipe making. Therefore, Nielsen changed the name of his pipes to “Stanwell”, which sounded much more like a proper English name than “Nielsen”. He also created the horse-drawn carriage logo for its English connotations. He later changed his own last name from Nielsen to Stanwell, a testament to his devotion to the pipes he made. Stanwell’s relationships with Danish pipe makers goes back to Sixten Ivarsson, who is considered the originator of modern Danish pipe making. Ivarsson was commissioned to design Stanwell shapes. In 1969, the factory was moved to a town called Borup, just outside of Copenhagen to be closer to Ivarsson.

To establish the date of this Stanwell Silver Mount style, thanks to Bas Stevens’ extensive compilation of Stanwell pipe shapes posted on Rebornpipes, the shape number 85 is listed as a bent billiard which was discontinued in 2006 (changed to shape number 246).  I also found the Silver Mount style featured in two Stanwell catalogs listed in Pipedia’s collection.  One ‘Brochure by the Lorup Group’ displayed samplings of the Silver Mount style but I could not establish the date of the brochure.  The other was a Russian catalog of Stanwell offerings including Silver Mounts dated 2001.  This pipe could predate 2001 but the latest possible dating would be 2006 when the shape number was discontinued.  Since Stanwell closed the doors of their manufacturing operations in Denmark and moved it to Italy in 2009 (link above), this confirms the Danish origin of the pipe.  The Silver Mount style is unique, not only because it provides two large sterling silver adornments to the classic bent billiard shape – a shank ferrule and stem band insert, but it creatively immolates a military or spigot stem mount.  I found two different comments on SmokingPipes.com about Stanwell’s Silver Mount line.  The first highlighted Stanwell’s Silver Mount shape 85:

If you like the look of a military or spigot mount but prefer a more conventional tenon/mortise arrangement, this Stanwell offers both — along with an elegant, graceful silhouette and plenty of chamber to boot.

Of the stem style itself, there was this comment, that even though not a true military mount, since it has a tenon instead of a tapered fit, it nonetheless is one of the best faux-military mounts this observer had seen.  The sense I have of the pipe’s design is that it is an interesting mixture of higher class elegance with the ample showcase of sterling silver, but with the military/spigot stem style a ruggedness is also introduced.  My challenge now is to help this Stanwell, a ‘knight in shining armor’, regain its former glory!  The sterling silver ferule mounted on the shank is easily removed.  This will help the ease of the stummel’s cleanup.  The chamber in this billiard is large with a depth measurement of 1 3/4 inches and width of 7/8 inches – a good long smoker able to pack a bowl of one’s favorite blend.  The chamber is lightly caked but I want to clean it down to fresh briar.  I do this with my Savinelli pipe knife working over a paper towel for easy disposal of the carbon.  The reaming did not take long. Then I take a rolled piece of 240 grit sanding paper wrapped around both my index finger and then a Sharpie pen and sand the chamber wall.  I finish the bowl cleaning by using a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95% and wash the chamber.  The fire chamber looks good – I see no problems.  The pictures show the progress.dress11 dress12 dress13With isopropyl 95% on the work table, I turn directly to cleaning the stummel internals.  Using pipe cleaners, Q-tips dipped in alcohol, I work cleaning the mortise.  Using the flat edge of a dental spade, I scrape the sides of the mortise walls cleaning the tars and gunk.  The Q-tips and pipe cleaners are doing the job.  Later, I will also give the stummel a Kosher salt and alcohol soak to freshen the internals even more.  On a roll, I take the acrylic stem and clean the internals with pipe cleaners and Q-tips in the 9mm tenon area with alcohol.  There was little resistance.  With a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl, I also give the stem’s and mortise’s sterling silver an initial cleaning and polishing.  The progress is shown.dress14 dress15With internals finished, I take another look at the stummel and take a few close-ups looking closely at the surface and rim.  As I said earlier, personally, I’m not a fan of the solid black finish.  My standing ovations are roused by gazing upon natural briar grains!  In my research looking into the Silver Mount line of Stanwell in catalogs, I came across a similar Stanwell line called the, ‘Silhouette Pipe’, featuring several different shapes with the same black finish.dress16 dress17 dress18 dress19My plan is to remove the black finish and repair the stummel and rim surfaces, then apply a darker stain that is essentially black, but allowing the grain to be seen.  This will maintain the sleek, dark look of the bent billiard and continue to set it off in sharp contrast to the sterling silver ferrule and band along with the classic silver crowned ‘S’ Stanwell inlaid silver cartouche. With this plan before me, I use acetone to remove the finish.  Not knowing how tough the finish will stand, I start with a cotton pad wetted with acetone and see how the work progresses.  The cotton pads wetted with acetone are not making much progress so I add the gentle abrasion of 0000 steel wool.  I am careful to avoid the nomenclature on the lower part of the shank as well as the shape number.  With these areas, I only use cotton pads and a bristled tooth brush, acetone and a lot of elbow grease.  I do not want to erode the stampings!  As the black finish gradually gives way, I’m amazed that Stanwell covered such a beautiful piece of briar!  The straight grains travel vertically up the bowl from the heel of the stummel which holds a nest of bird’s eye grain – the whole effect is like a camp fire flowing upward from the fire pit. dress20 dress21 dress22With the black finish removed, I’m able to see some small pin hole pitting exposed on the surface.  To address this, I use a medium grade sanding sponge followed by a light grade sanding sponge to remove most of the pitting as well as nicks that remained on the rim.  The pictures show the progress.dress23 dress24With the initial stummel prep complete, I decide to use the Kosher Salt and alcohol soak to clean the internal airway and mortise more fully.  Using Kosher salt (versus iodized which can leave an after-taste) I fill the bowl and then after corking the shank opening, I hold my palm over the bowl and give the stummel a shake.  This displaces the salt a bit into the mortise. I then pour isopropyl 95% into the bowl until it fills just over the level of the salt.  I put the stummel in an egg crate for stability and put it aside for 4 to 5 hours to let the salt and alcohol draw out the tars and oils residing in the briar.  The pictures show this process.dress25With the stummel is ‘cooking’ with the salt/alcohol soak, I turn my attention to the stem.  The question and concern that comes to mind is the care in cleaning the stem while protecting the sterling silver band that is attached to the stem?  Will sanding the stem damage the band if the sanding runs over the edge?  Unlike the sterling silver shank ferrule that came off easily, the stem band is not going anywhere.  Just to get an idea how well the silver will clean up before I start on the stem clean up, I take the shank ferrule and apply Weiman Silver Cream to it. As the directions describe, using the sponge in the container, applying the compound, rubbing then rinsing off with tap water.  Wow! It works well.  The pictures show the result!dress26I move forward with caution with the acrylic stem by protecting both the crowned ‘S’ stem mark and the sterling silver band.   I do this by holding my thumb over the areas to keep the sanding instruments at bay.  After taking a few ‘before’ pictures to mark progress, I begin addressing the rough scratches in the acrylic with 240 grit paper to do the heavy lifting.  I also work out the teeth chatter in the bit area – upper and lower.  Following the 240 grit paper, I use 600 grit paper and then 0000 steel wool, taking a picture at each step to mark the progress.  Following the steel wool, I run the stem through the complete 1500 to 12000 micromesh pad treatment, taking a picture at the customary sets of 3.  In the final set, I also apply Weiman Silver Cream to the sterling silver band to spruce it up.  I discovered along the way, that the finer grade micromesh pads were not a problem for either the band or Stanwell stem mark – they shine up quite nicely!  I’m pleased with the progress.dress27 dress28 dress29 dress30With stem completed, I again look to the stummel which is benefiting from a Kosher Salt and alcohol soak.  The salt has darkened somewhat indicating the success of the process.  I dump out the old salt, thumping it on my palm to rid the stummel of the expended salt.  I use a paper towel to clean the bowl and I also utilize bristle brushes and pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% to further clean the airway and mortise.   dress31 dress32Time to address the finish of the stummel.  I use an Italian stain which is called Wenge’ – it appears to have a black base.  After I heat the stummel with my wife’s hair dryer, I liberally apply the stain to the stummel with a folded over pipe cleaner.  I fire the dye and the alcohol immediately burns off.  After a few minutes, I repeat the process and fire the stain.  Then, within a few minutes, I use a cotton pad and wipe the stummel with isopropyl 95% to blend the stain in the wood.  After wiping the stummel down with alcohol, I decide to switch and use a black water based dye and mix it 50 to 50 with isopropyl 95%.  I apply the mixture to the stummel with a folded over pipe cleaner and fire the stummel again.  With this mixture, it did not ‘fire’ the way an aniline dye will but it did evaporate as I passed it over a lit candle.  This helped to set the dye in the grain.  I set the stummel aside to rest.  The pictures show the progression.dress33 dress34Well, in the interest of full disclosure, what is not pictured are the several iterations of applying ‘black’ stain to this stummel.  When I first ‘unwrapped’ the stummel from the fired crust, buffing with my Dremel using Tripoli and then Blue Diamond compounds with a cotton cloth wheel, I was not satisfied with the hue of black I saw emerge.  I wanted the finish to be a translucent black, allowing grain to show through, but in black spectrum hues.  What I was seeing was the brown of the grain emerging giving more of a dark chocolate brown look.  I repeated the staining several times, changing up the black dye content and alcohol, flaming and then wiping the stummel with a cotton pad wetted in isopropyl 95% to blend the stain with the briar and each time repeated buffing with Blue Diamond with the Dremel cotton cloth wheel.  I finally started seeing emerge a stummel that correlated with the image in my mind – a black stummel, in keeping with the original Stanwell intent, but with subtle grains showing through.  Satisfied finally with the result, I move on and apply several coats of carnauba wax to the stummel and to the acrylic stem with the Dremel’s cotton cloth wheel set to speed 2 (one notch up from the slowest speed).  I also attach the sterling shank ferrule with a bit of super glue to keep it in place and finish with a rigorous hand-buffing of stummel, sterling, and stem with a micromesh cloth.

It is true, personal tastes are subjective, but my sense is that I’ve improved this dressy Stanwell Silver Mount bent billiard by transforming the solid black to a translucent finish allowing the natural grains to show through.  This presentation of grain pattern is subtle and I believe it is in keeping with this special line of Stanwell pipes, the Silver Mount.  You’ll notice at the end of the presentation pictures below, I’ve included two pictures taken on a dark surface which enables the grain to be seen more clearly.  Stanwell’s retired shape number 85 is a larger bent billiard with a pleasing feel in the palm. The faux military stem mount brings a rugged look to the pipe but the twin sterling silver adornments, uniting the shank and acrylic stem, places this Stanwell a touch of class.  This Stanwell Silver Mount bent billiard is ready to serve a new steward.  If you’re interested in this pipe, check out the store at my new site, The Pipe Steward. The profits of all pipe sales go to the Daughters of Bulgaria, an organization my wife and I work with helping women and children who have been sexually exploited and trafficked.  Thanks for joining me!dress35 dress36 dress37 dress38 dress39 dress40 dress41 dress42 dress43 dress44

 

 

 

A Gold Banded Bent Dublin Eldorado Lucite of Italy

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Blog by Dal Stanton

When I first saw this Eldorado Lucite, I believed it to be a Zulu or Woodstock, the Dublin’s smaller cousin.  In the end, I settled on it being a bent Dublin because the stummel was larger than I would expect a Zulu’s to be.  When I saw the Eldorado Lucite bent Dublin on the eBay auction block, two things, no, three things drew my attention motivating me to slog through the bidding and bring this pipe home to Bulgaria.  First, the shape is very attractive – I like the curve of the Dublin’s natural ‘nose-forward’ stummel flowing to and through the stem; an attractive pipe, I wanted to try it out in my palm.  Secondly, the briar’s potential.  I love taking smooth briars and bringing out the grain to encourage a double-take.  The straight grain of the Eldorado is nice.  Thirdly, the band – a touch of class for any pipe, but for this pipe, also raises some questions. The following eBay photos from the seller show what I saw.el1 el2When I retrieved this pipe out of the “Help Me!” basket in Sofia, I take a fresh look at the Eldorado over Lucite – stamped distinctly on the left shank.  The right shank shows Imported Briar over Italy.  Both stamps are obstructed/hidden somewhat by the band which immediately brings into question the possibility of the band being part of a cracked shank repair.  I would not think the original design would include a band hiding part of the nomenclature, but I might be wrong!  After removing the stem, I inspect the mortise and conclude that a crack may be there, but it’s not conclusive – at least to me.  The band is gold and stamped with hallmarks of 1/20 14KT (ensconced in a diamond) G.F.  Looking on the internet, I discover from  RareGoldJewelry.com these hallmarks indicate the ratio of gold in the band is at about 1 to 20.  Rated at 14 karats means that it’s approximately 58% gold and the band is ‘gold filled’ rather than ‘gold plated.’  Regarding gold filled and gold plated, eBay’s buyers’ guide jewelry describes the difference:

Gold-filled jewelry is much more valuable than gold-plated. In fact, there is almost 100 percent more gold in gold-filled items than is found in gold-plated items. Just as gold-plated jewelry is plated with gold, gold-filled jewelry is as well, but there is a big difference between the ways these products are made.  Gold-filled items have a much thicker layer of gold on them, and the gold is a much higher quality. In fact, it is just a step down from solid gold when it comes to quality and value. Speaking of solid gold, pure gold is very soft and is not a good choice for jewelry; that is why an alloy is almost always used for gold jewelry items, even in jewelry pieces worth an incredible amount of money.

If this band is part of a cracked shank repair, which doesn’t appear to be the case, it seems that whoever had this pipe valued it quite a bit to add a gold band.  Another question is raised regarding the name – Eldorado Lucite.  According to the compilation of Herb Wilczak & Tom Colwell (3/3/97) ‘Who Made That Pipe’ (Yes, Santa brought this!) lists Eldorado as Maker or Seller as the Linkman Co./ Parker Pipe and country USA/ENGL.  My subsequent research into Linkman turned up the connection to Dr. Grabow pipes – ‘Eldorado’ is a high-end pipe of Dr. Grabow – which doesn’t fit the pipe before.  Dr. Grabow pipes are usually marked as such.  Parker Pipe Company turned up nothing too.  This pipe is also stamped, Italy, but does this mean country of manufacturer or source of the briar in this case? – as the right shank has the marking ‘IMPORTED BRIAR’ over ‘ITALY’.   Would the ‘Imported Briar’ indicate a US manufacturing – the usual US marking and spelling?  But this, I found is not always the case.  One more question that doesn’t find answers in my research – Eldorado Lucite – does ‘Lucite’ refer to a unique pipe name or is it referring to the stem material with which it was originally outfitted?  If this is the case, is the stem now with this Dublin a replacement because it certainly isn’t Lucite but vulcanite?  Yet, as I look at the stem, it works VERY well with the stummel and shape – it doesn’t appear to be a replacement stem.  So are the many questions this beautiful pipe creates, but now I turn to the pipe itself and take more pictures to fill in the gaps!el3 el4 el5 el6 el7 el8 el9 el10 el11 el12The stummel appears to be in good condition except I detect what might be an acrylic finish with normal wear marks and scratches on top of it.  I’ll want to clean the old finish off.  The bowl has moderate cake build up and old dottle flakes left in the bottom.  I’ll remove the cake bringing the bowl down to the briar for a fresh start.  The rim looks to be in good condition structurally, but has light lava flow and possibly some scorching.  I need to clean the rim to assess this fully.  The stem is attractive.  I’m not sure if it has a special name, but it flays out from the shank and the button is fanned – a fish tail?  It has minor oxidation.  There are tooth dents on the upper and lower button area and a possible crack on the slot side through the button lip pictured above.  I’ll need to look closely at this.  The band is in good shape – I’ll polish it simply with a clean cloth, no more!

I begin the clean-up of the Eldorado Lucite by plopping the stem into the Oxi-Clean bath to work the oxidation to the surface of the vulcanite.  I take the Pipnet reaming kit out and discover that the conical chamber is too tight and angled in the Dublin’s shape to employ the reaming blades.  I’ll use the Savinelli pipe knife instead to ream the bowl.  With the Savinelli pipe knife I make good progress removing the cake in the tight quarters of this chamber.  Following the reaming, I sand the chamber walls with 240 grit paper wrapped around a Sharpie pen and then finish by wiping the chamber with cotton pads and isopropyl 95% to remove the carbon dust.  The chamber looks good.  The pictures show the progress.el13 el14 el15 el16 el17Before continuing with cleaning the external stummel, I tackle the internals with pipe cleaners and Q-tips and isopropyl 95%.  The cleaning job proves to be a bit more than I expected. I’m not positive about the internal layout and drilling of the mortise but it ‘feels’ like there is a gunk trap slightly below the air passage leading out toward the draft hole in the chamber.  After building a good mountain of expended Q-tips and pipe cleaners, and after looking at the lateness of the hour, I decide to give the stummel a salt soak, and let the Kosher salt and alcohol do some of the work for me.  I put the stummel in an egg crate to keep it stable, and fill the bowl with kosher salt which is not iodized – iodine can leave a taste (Thanks to Charles Lemon of Dad’s Pipes for this information).  I cover the bowl with my hand and give it a bit of a shake to displace the salt.  After corking the shank side, I fill the bowl with isopropyl 95% and turn out the light.  The next morning I see that the salt has darkened a bit and I toss the used salt into the waste basket.  I take a paper towel and wipe out the remaining salt from the bowl and use a bristle bush both in the bowl and the mortise making sure that salt residue is purged.  I then return to cleaning with Q-tips, pipe cleaners and isopropyl and finish the internals very quickly. Done! The pictures show the progress.el18 el19 el20 el21Time to retrieve the stem from the Oxi-Clean bath and I see that the oxidation has risen to the vulcanite surface which is shown very nicely in the first picture below. I attack the oxidation by wet sanding with 600 grit paper.  I follow this by using 0000 steel wool to remove more oxidation and begin the smoothing process as well.  Following this, I work on cleaning the internals of the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl.  It was going so well until it wasn’t!  Earlier, you recall, as I was doing the initial inspection of the stem, I identified what appeared to be a crack on the left side of the button.  The pressure exerted by the pipe cleaners exacerbated this crack and now I see fissures developing in the vulcanite – not only at the original crack sighting but now also on the right side of the button.  It would not be difficult to project the path of the fault line and the ultimate stem break if not addressed. Ugh! The pictures tell the story.el22 el23 el24 el25 el26Oh, ‘the best laid plans of mice and men’ – my plan is to apply thin CA Instant Glue to the cracks to seal them and hopefully to stop the fissure’s progress.  I fold a piece of index card and cover it with tape and insert it in the slot to keep glue from possibly entering the airway.  It also serves to ‘torque up’ a bit, and opening the cracks a hair to allow better glue penetration.  After this, I will build up the button with a mixture of charcoal dust and super glue and redefine the bit hopefully to reinforce the area.  I put the stem aside for the glue to cure.  The pictures show the progress.el27 el28After the initial CA glue cures, I start the button rebuild.  I use 240 grit sanding paper to rough up the button area, upper and lower.  Then I clean the area with a cotton pad and isopropyl to prepare for the charcoal/glue putty.  While in the States for Christmas, I picked up a bottle of activated charcoal capsules.  In the past, using a mortar and pestle, I had to grind up granulated charcoal which was sold for an aquarium filtration application for use with charcoal patches.  Generally, I was not satisfied with the results.  After the patches were applied, sanded/shaped, and polished, etc., I found a very porous and speckled result – not smooth as I wanted.  I suspected the cause was that the charcoal grade was not fine enough.  So, we’ll see if better results are realized with current charcoal powder.  I decide to re-use the ‘slot insert’ that I earlier made from an index card.  With the crack going through the lip of the button, I make sure I have sufficient ‘overage’ of charcoal putty to cover the crack.  After opening a charcoal capsule, I empty it onto the index card and then add a puddle of Hot Stuff Special ‘T’ CA glue next to the charcoal.  The ‘T’ stands for extra thick.  Using a toothpick, I begin to draw the charcoal into the glue puddle to form the putty.  I’m aiming at a honey-like viscosity for the putty – not to thin that it won’t remain where I put it and not to thick that it doesn’t shape well.  When I arrive at what looks good, I use the toothpick as a trowel and apply the putty to the button – the top receiving the most attention.  With charcoal putty applied to the button, I put the stem aside giving time for the curing process.  The pictures show the progress.el29 el30 el31 el32I return to the stummel to clean the externals.  I’ve not worked before with a gold band and I don’t believe that any cleaning agents I use will deface the gold, but to stay on the safe side, I cover the band with a few layers of masking tape.  I then take undiluted Murphy’s Soap and cotton pad and clean the stummel surface and rim.  With the help of a brass brush, which will not scratch the briar, the light lava flow on the rim becomes history.  I rinse the stummel with warm tap water keeping the internals dry.  After the Murphy’s Soap, I still can detect the acrylic shine of the finish which is not what I like (2nd picture below).  I prefer the shine of the natural briar and not what I have referred to as a ‘candy apple’ shine finish.  To remove the finish, I use acetone with a cotton pad.  After a few unsuccessful rounds of this, I utilize 0000 steel wool to add a little abrasion to the acetone removal process.  This does the trick, though the candy apple finish did not come off easily.  The pictures show the progress.el33 el34 el35To remove nicks and some pitting in the briar I use a medium grade sanding sponge on the stummel and rim.  I follow this with a light grade sanding sponge.  To remove some damage in the inner rim edge and to clean it up, I use 240 grit sanding paper rolled tightly.  I again follow the 240 grit paper and use the light grade sanding sponge on the rim to smooth things out.el36 el37 el38Before I move forward with sanding and finishing the stummel, I return to the stem and the shaping and repair of the button and slot.  I take another close-up of both the top and bottom to mark the progress.  I begin using a flat needle file and a pointed half-circle needle file to re-shape the slot and to redefine the end of the stem.  I will work from stem end, having established a base line.  When I finish the basic shaping with the needle files I then continue shaping the button with 240 grit paper then 0000 steel wool.  The pictures show the progression.  Near the completion of the button rebuild, I use K-150 Black Medium glue to fill pockets and unevenness in the upper bit area.  After cured, I re-sand the area with 240 grit, then 600 grit papers then complete the process with 0000 steel wool.  The last two pictures show the finished button rebuild.  It took some time, but I think it looks good as well as refortifying a formerly, weak and cracked button.el39 el40 el41 el42 el43 el44 el45 el46 el47 el48With button rebuild completed, I begin the micromesh sanding process first by wet sanding the stem with pads 1500 to 2400 and follow with an application of Obsidian Oil over the entire stem.  I then dry sand the stem using pads 3200 to 4000 and again with pads 6000 to 12000, following each set with a fresh application of Obsidian Oil.  The stem looks great and the button repair has blended well.  I put the stem aside to dry.  The pictures show the progress.el49 el50 el51Turning again to the stummel, I wet sand the surface with micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, then 3200 to 4000, and then 6000 to 12000, taking a picture after each set to show the progress.  The micromesh pads’ work is spectacular by teasing out the beautiful briar straight grain. The briar on this Eldorado Lucite is very nicely showcased cascading down the elongated Dublin canonical stummel.  A very nice choice of briar for this pipe style.el52 el53 el54As I moved through the micromesh cycles, my usual thought processing is to ponder the finish and what approach will best showcase the briar.  Should I leave the natural grain color and apply carnauba wax or apply a stain?  With the 14K gold band on this sleek Dublin, I decide to leverage toward a darker brown than the original.  I think the black stem and the darker stummel will give the gold band an extra pop – standing out very nicely.  To expand the briar and enabling the grain to be more receptive to the dye, I warm the stummel using my wife’s hair dryer.  Then, using a pipe cleaner folded in two, I apply Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye liberally to the stummel and rim.  I cover the surface thoroughly.  When covered, I flame the wet dye using a lit candle and the alcohol in the dye immediately evaporates setting the dye hue in the grain.  After a few minutes, I repeat the process including flaming the dye.  I set the stummel aside for the night to rest.  The picture shows the dye-crusted stummel.el55The next morning, I’m anxious to ‘unwrap’ the crust of the fired dye from the night before.  Since I live in a flat on the 10th floor of former Communist block apartment building, I do not have a lot of room for my work shop.  The Dremel high speed rotary tool is how I solve the problem of not having regular high speed buffing wheels.  To unwrap the stummel, I mount the Dremel with a felt polishing wheel and set the speed of the Dremel to the slowest speed.  The felt material is abrasive and I don’t want to over-heat the wood with the higher speeds.  Each polishing wheel is dedicated to a specific compound used in the buffing process.  I mount the Tripoli wheel, and after purging it from old compound with the edge of the metal wrench, used to tighten the wheels on the Dremel, I apply Tripoli compound to remove the flamed residue of the light brown dye.  I rotate the wheel around the surface of the stummel slowly, not applying much vertical pressure on the surface but allowing the RPMs, felt and compound to do the work.  I use the sheen created on the surface of the briar (reflecting the bright overhead work lamp) to observe the compound’s behavior, which enables me to distribute the compound evenly over the surface.  See my essay, ‘My Dremel Polishing Technique’ if you want more detail.  I took a picture of the ‘unwrapping’ with the Tripoli compound and wheel.  You can see the before and after comparison very easily which demonstrates my typical approach.el56I follow the Tripoli compound with Blue Diamond.  Again, using a dedicated Blue Diamond wheel mounted on the Dremel, I work the compound into the surface in the same manner as Tripoli.  After the Blue Diamond cycle, I hand-buff the stummel with a cotton cloth simply to remove the powdery residue of the compounds from the briar surface.  I do this before applying carnauba wax. Next, I mount the cotton cloth polishing wheel onto the Dremel, increase the speed of the Dremel from 1 to 2 (5 is the fastest) and apply several coats of carnauba wax to both stummel and its reunited stem.  I finish with a rigorous hand-buffing with micromesh cloth not only to deepen the shine but to distribute any pockets of unintegrated carnauba wax.

I was hoping to create a pop with the classy gold band linking a slim, gently curving stem with the rich darker brown hues of the Dublin’s cascading briar patterns.  I think what I now see before me effectively does just that!  This gold banded Eldorado Lucite of Italy is an elegant Dublin which feels very comfortable in the hand.  It will be a great addition to some new steward’s collection.

Below, in the comments, I reposted this blog of Reborn Pipes to my new blog site, http://www.ThePipeSteward.com This site is serving not only as a ‘store front’ for pipes I’m selling, but it also describes the work we do in Bulgaria with the Daughters of Bulgaria Foundation – rescuing and restoring women and children who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. To help with this work, the profits of my sales go to the Daughters.  So, if you’re interested in adding this Eldorado Lucite Bent Dublin of Italy to your collection, jump over to The Pipe Steward, and check it out!  Thank you for joining me!el57 el58 el59 el60 el61 el62 el63 el64 el65 el66

Savinelli Capitol Bruyere 6001

7 Replies

Blog by Johan Viviers

I received an email not too long ago while I was traveling in India for work from Johan. He wrote of his love or pipe restoration and how he had come across rebornpipes. After replying to his email about his work I asked him to send me a few photos of what he had done. He promptly did so. I asked him to submit a blog for the site and what follows after his brief introduction is his first blog for rebornpipes. Welcome Johan. It is great to have you here.

Introduction

I am Johan Viviers. I was born and raised in Cape Town, South Africa. As a child I was surrounded by pipe smokers. All of them had a Kaiser, because a man was not a man without a Kaiser!. My one grandfather though had a rotation.

I bought my first pipe at 28 from a Belgium man who had shop in Pretoria. He sold me a Peterson and sample tobaccos at first until we discovered my preference… and then after a further twenty or so years of wandering (a bit like Parsival did), I made a home in Portugal; and a home is not a home without a pipe being smoked in it.

So, the Why and the How of getting into pipe sanitation, recovery and refurbishment… I suppose I evolved into it. Maybe there are a “few roots” to be found in my dream of opening a pipe smokers’ lounge. Then too, the rest of the “roots” may also probably be found in the creativity that is born from the curiosity and wonder that surfaces when smokes a new tobacco blend or from a new pipe.

Last summer whilst sipping a beer on the local esplanade with a fellow piper, I told him that it is time for me to plant tobacco, figure out the bit between harvesting and blending and then to explore and create a blend. All for personal consumption of course. A 78 year old friend who’s a pipe smoker too, offered some land in exchange for a share of smoking tobacco.

I then spent most of my free time reading everything I could find on tobacco.  And on a day my favourite pipe broke. It happened on the same day that I discovered Dad aka Charles Lemon, which led me to rebornpipes. Well, all your stories filled me with such curiosity and excitement that I somewhat altered my priorities. As I am in the habit of recovering vintage furniture, floors in old buildings etc., it seemed that pipe refurbishing may deliver an even greater level of happiness and satisfaction.

So I set out by first buying three pipes at the local flea market and experimenting to find a “studio practise”. I had to discover for myself the materials and mechanisms of a pipe and also determine whether the natural products I work with every day is suited to briar. Well three experimental pipes later and I made my first refurbishment, the Capitol 6001. I worked on it for five days and on day six I sold it and reinvested the profit in other estates. I now own seventeen estates that are either refurbished or at various stages of recovery. And I have to confess that I do not wish to sell any of them because I am still marveling at their transformation, whether it being the sweet smell of the briar when I rendered it, or the smoothness of its surface before I finish it or its final transformation/outcome that I want to hold onto a little longer.

Even so, I will continue and grow the seventeen estates I have acquired and if I sell none of them now, I will put them to good use when I find the capital to open the Pipe Smoker’s Lounge that I am thinking of naming Maria do Purificacão: Where Ladies Without Beards Smoke Pipe.

The Restoration

Sand blasted and stamped Capitol over Bruyere with 6001 to the right on the underside of the bowl with no stem markings.

This Capitol according to both Savinelli and the young lady who sold me this pipe, is a 50’s production. The pipe belonged to her grandfather Fernando a property developer and it was his “thinking aid” she told me, hence the tooth chatter on the stem. He passed away ten years ago and since then this pipe remained in his desk drawer. Fernando’s home remained unoccupied for ten years, where this pipe remained until now.

Lisbon being a very humid city left it’s mark on both the bowl and stem. The stem was greenish yellow due to oxidation and the outside of the bowl was soft in places due to what I belief to be exposure to moisture in the air. There was no cake in the chamber, but the unevenness to the rim of the bowl made wonder whether Fernando may have been a “pipe knocker” like my friend Adam or whether it was the actual design by Savinelli. The tenon, however, was a snug fit regardless.

Given that this was my second attempt at an actual recovery of a smoking pipe I though long and hard as to how i will approach its recovery and given my fascination with “the story” an estate pipe arrives with, I decided to keep the uneven organic shape to the rim and even the tooth chatter on the stem.

To start I hung the bowl out in a an area that receives no direct sunlight and a natural flow of air until felt the bowl has expelled all the surface moisture it had collected. At the same time the stem was soaking in a solution of cider vinegar and coarse salt to loosen up oxidation.

I then filled the bowl with salt and alcohol and let it stand overnight as I have seen you guys do and the next morning I reamed the chamber a little and gave it a light sanding with 400 grit paper until I could detect the sweet smell of the briar. Once this was done I cleaned out the airway of the stummel with a dental tool to remove the oils and tars after which I passed 400 grit  paper rolled into a tube through the airway to be certain it is clean. Once this was done I washed the bowl and chamber down with a lukewarm solution of natural Marseille soap (a method to raising the grain and open the pores of the wood when I restore furniture) and rinsed it down with clean lukewarm water. I then filled the chamber and airway with tissue paper to absorb the excess water and wiped the outside of the bowl dry before I hung it out to dry for a couple of days (again in an area that receives no direct sunlight with the temperature constant at between 15 to 20 degrees Celsius).edfedfedf

I then took to the stummel and sanded it wet with 500 grit paper. I finished the stem with 00000 steel wool and then cleaned the airway by passing pipe cleaners dipped in a clean solution of the Cider vinegar and coarse salt after which I also washed the stem down with a solution of lukewarm water and Marseilles soap flakes, finishing it with clean water.

To complete I prepared a prepared Carnauba Wax emulsion with 15% natural Green Umber pigment and entered the solution with a lint free cloth into the bowl, stummel and chamber and hung it out to dry. An hour after application, I passed a clean lint free cloth to remove any excess. Then I rubbed the Carnauba wax emulsion into the stem and hung it out to dry alongside the bowl.

Twenty-four hours later I hand rubbed both the bowl, chamber and stem to bring out its lustre and then I got so excited that I had to fill the pipe with Hal O’ The Wynd and smoke it. What a sweet smoke, so much so that I named this here pipe Fernanda

Later that day, Fernanda and I sat in a coffee shop savouring another bowl of Hal O’ The Wynd and I sold her to a fellow piper there and then. This sale financed a purchase of nine other estate pipes.

A Christmas Gift in need of a stem splice – L J Peretti Squared Shank Billiard

9 Replies

Blog by Dal Stanton

After a wonderful time in the US, sharing Christmas and New Year with our family, and catching up on ‘grandpa time’ with our two grandsons, my wife and I returned to Sofia, Bulgaria, to find as much snow as we left in Denver!  Two memorable ‘piping events’ transpired while in Denver.  First, the inaugural smoke of the restored 1907 McLardy Gourd Calabash (See: Link) which was filled with a tasty bowl of Dark Star recommended by Steve for the special occasion.  It was a wonderful, cool smoke.  The McLardy did admirably. per1The second ‘piping event’ was a pipe-picking expedition several of my family members (guess who this trip was for?) did to Denver’s huge Brass Armadillo Antique Mall!  We had a great time in search but unfortunately, I found no treasures to bring home.  Yet secretly, my youngest son stowed away his Christmas gift for me which I discovered under the tree a few days later!  He got a great deal and I can see why!  He knew I would have fun trying to breathe new life into the L J Peretti now before me on my work table in Sofia.  I am anxious to get back to work on a pipe and this Peretti is a great starting block for 2017!per2 per3 per4 per6 per7 per8With the obvious need to solve the issue of the broken and missing stem piece, I can easily see what attracted my son to this stummel.  The briar swirls stunningly into fire grain and very distinct and tight bird’s eye knots.  There are a few lightened fills that will need attention and the bowl has significant cake and will need to be reamed down to the fresh briar.  The rim shows some thick lava flow and has minor dents.  Unfortunately, the center swatch of the L J Peretti – Imported Briar marking on the squared shank is worn off – over achieving buffing or wear?  The Peretti ‘P’ is visible on the surviving legacy of the original saddle stem.  I’ve grown to appreciate the enduring marks of a pipe’s provenance and for this reason, this surviving piece of this pipes history needs to be protected and restored!  I’ve been thinking for some days – actually, starting with the opened gift (!) about how to splice a new piece of stem to the survivor?  I haven’t done this particular maneuver before, but I’m sure it can be done!

When I began my research on L J Peretti, I was surprised to discover that it is not an Italian pipe as one might expect with such a name!  In fact, I discovered the genesis of a significant story of Americana pipe history with the establishment of the L. J. Peretti Company of Boston in 1870 (Pipedia citing: Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes), the second oldest tobacco shop in the US, second only to Iwan Ries & Co. of Chicago established in 1857 (See: Link). per9Going directly to L J Peretti’s website, now president, Stephen L. Willett provides this historical summary of this Boston icon (Link: http://www.ljperetti.com):

In 1870, Libero Joseph Peretti arrived in Boston from Lugano, Switzerland. Filled with an entrepreneurial spirit and a love for fine tobacco, L.J. established the “Peretti Cuban Cigar Co.” in Boston’s historic North End. In the first two decades of business, the company provided a number of contributions to the tobacco industry and began to blend “house cigars”.

1892 marks the establishment of the Peretti Cigar Factory in Park Square, Boston. For over forty years, the company employed fifty rollers who produced some of the finest cigars in New England. Not only did Peretti’s manufacture blended cigars, but they also created Clear Havana Vitolas such as the legendary La Mirendella.

L.J.’s son, Joseph, aka “The Major”, followed his father into the family business. His primary love was pipes and pipe tobacco. Among his notable accomplishments was the creation of the first “English” blend, called British, in the United States; as well as securing the exclusive import rights to Peterson pipes and Sullivan & Powell tobaccos.

After World War II the third generation Peretti’s, Robert, entered the firm. The original store had moved from the North End to the centre of Boston on Massachusetts Avenue and there were additional stores throughout the financial district of Boston. Robert became a tobacco legend in United States and throughout the world. Most of the more than eighty house blends of pipe tobacco were created by Robert Peretti. His reputation as a blender led politicians, actors, celebrities and gentlemen of all callings to seek his tobacco advice.

I enjoyed reading several comments after the interview of Stephen Willett on The Pipes Magazine Radio Show (See: Pipes Magazine Radio Interview) extolling the fact that tobaccos are mixed in house and one could take his pipe to their shop on 2 1/2 Park Square today, and be guided by experienced tobacconists and test several selections before making a decision to purchase.  My son and daughter-in-law, formerly of Boston, also had the opportunity to explore this historic tobacco shop!

I was still curious about the name, “Peretti”, and its Swiss (not Italian) origins with the patriarch Libero Joseph Peretti’s arrival in the US in 1870 from Lugano, Switzerland.  It did not take long to figure it out when looking at the location of Lugano on a map of Europe thanks to Google Maps.  The Italian influence would be inescapable as Lugano is situated in a slender finger of Swiss land on the southern edge of the Alps with greater topographical access to the Italian planes falling away to its south than to Switzerland proper to the north – through the Alps.  Curiosity satisfied.per10One other question hounds me – the question for each pipe: Where was this particular L J Peretti pipe made?  In Boston?  Per L J Peretti’s website, today pipes with the Peretti stamping are made exclusively by Briar Works in Nashville, TN.  This Peretti, however, predates this association.  Briar Works began operations in 2012.   One possible clue came at the close of Stephen Willett’s interview on the Pipes Magazine Radio Show in April of 2016 referenced above.  Willet was asked about relating a ‘favorite pipe story’.  Willett commented on being in London smoking pipes with a John Redman, who used to make pipes for L. J. Perretti Co.  So, a possible source.  The John Redman Ltd. and British Empire Pipe Co. is cited in Pipephil.eu listing the names produced (Aristocrat, Buckingham, Buckingham Palace, Canberra, Captain Fortune, Dr John, Golden Square, Redonian, Richmond, Smokewell, Twin Bore) but no reference to a L. J. Peretti association.  I sent an email to the L. J. Peretti Tobacconists shop in Boston regarding the provenance of this particular Peretti names-sake before me.  We’ll see if we can learn more.

I was gratified when an email arrived from the L. J. Perretti Co. Tobacconists shop in Boston a few days later.  Here is what I found:

Hello Dal,

We have been sourcing our proprietary pipes from a number of different manufacturers. That said, it is most likely that Arlington Briars made the pipe you have in your possession. Photos would help us identify the pipe further. I will have to look through some of our old content and see what I can find. Hope this helps,

Tom

LJP

Thankful to Tom for his response, I sent on photos.  Per Pipedia,

Arlington Briar Pipes Corporation was founded in 1919 in Brooklyn, New York, and produced the Arlington, Briarlee, Firethorn, Krona and Olde London brands among dozens of others, primarily acting as a subcontractor making pipes to be sold under other brand names. Among others, in the 1950’s, Arlington turned pipes for the famed Wilke Pipe Shop in New York City. The corporation was dissolved by the State of New York as inactive on December 6, 1978. 

With a greater appreciation for the pipe before me and the rich heritage of the L. J. Peretti name and company, I take another long, hard look at the surviving stem piece.  My goal is to splice the stem by cannibalizing another saddle stem.  My original idea was to see if I could find a piece of stainless steel tubing small enough to insert into the airways of both the survivor stem piece and the new cannibalized piece and connect them – providing a firm connection point and reinforcement for the splice.  Before returning to Bulgaria, I went to a specialized store in Denver with hope of finding such a tube.  They were not able to help me and indicated that I could probably find tubing like I wanted in a medical equipment context….  So, with this idea put aside, my goal is a clean bond using only superglue.  I take another picture of the surviving stem piece and the stem candidate. I want to remove the stinger and after it refuses to budge I heat it with a lighter loosening the vulcanite grip.  It joins the other retired stingers in the bottle. Using a straight edge, block and sharpie pen, I draw a line across the original stem.  It will act as a guide as I cut the vulcanite using the Dremel with a cutting blade.  Well, after starting with a cutting blade, I discovered that it was difficult to maintain control over the blade movement.  I switched to the sanding drum and that worked much better. I’ll fine tune the cut after cutting the second stem. The pictures show the progress.per11 per12 per13 per14 per15I want to cut the donor stem very close to the saddle expansion where the stem is thickest.  This hopefully will give me more wiggle room as I fashion the two stems together.  I use the Dremel blade to do a rough cut to remove the shank side of the stem.  I’ll save this piece to fabricate a breather insert later – waste not want not!  Key to this stem splice working is a proper aligning of the airways while working on shaping the external stem appearance.  Hopefully to accomplish this, to keep the airway stationary, I form a temporary insert stabilizer by cutting off the ends of a Q-tip and wrap the center plastic Q-tip tubing with scotch tape.  I do this to enlarge the circumference of the left-over Q-tip to form a tight fit as each end is inserted into the airways of the adjacent stem pieces.  It took me a few test Q-tips to get the size right.  Now I can gradually shape the external stem and keep things lined up.  In the final picture of the set below, you can see the aligning tube. The pictures show my plan materializing.  I have hope that it will work!per16 per17 per18 per19 per20Now to fine-tune the trueness of the cut stem ends.  I start with the survivor by standing it and eye-balling it next to a straight edge – not perfect!  The first picture shows the leaning tower of Pisa!  Working out of our 10th floor flat, I don’t have all the tools available to me to automate procedures so I must improvise.  I have a miter box that might do the trick.  I take a strip of 240 grit sanding paper and use the miter’s perpendicular position to create a sanding mechanism that should produce a flat, true end.  Moving the sanding paper back and forth while I manually pinch it against the triangle seems to do the job.  After patient, easy back-and-forth motion, the end of the survivor stem piece looks good!  A comparison shot to the leaning Tower of Pisa shot shows the progress.per21 per22 per23 per24The new extension also needed some fine-tuning.  Since there is a taper in the stem and therefore it’s uneven, I cannot use the miter box like before.  I use the topping board with 240 grit paper to bring the angle into proper alignment – I discover that it is not an easy slam dunk to get things right.  It takes several spins on the board following each spin by refitting the extension with the original stem and looking for the gaps between the two pieces.  I need the junction to be as true, tight, and flat as possible for a good bond and a straight stem. After several cycles, I have it about as good as its going to get.  The pictures show the process.per25 per28 per27 per26I replace the temporary Q-tip stabilizing insert with a pipe cleaner inserted through both pieces and linking them up.  The pipe cleaner will serve to keep the airway lined up during gluing as well as guard against glue possibly clogging the airway. I use a narrower, less fuzzy bristled pipe cleaner.  After testing I found that a non-bristled pipe cleaner had too much fuzz and inhibited a tight junction between the pieces.  I apply a little petroleum jelly to the section of the pipe cleaner that may meet the superglue.  This will (hopefully!) keep the pipe cleaner from sticking to the glue.  I wipe off excess jelly because I don’t want it interfering with the glue bonding.  I then apply Starbond Black Medium KE-150 glue to the original stem piece, not too thick and spread it over the junction surface with a toothpick.  My main concern is to allow the bond to settle ‘naturally’ around the airway alignment and have the stem straight.  If gaps appear I can add additional glue later as a fill.  Pulling the pipe cleaner from the shank side I draw the pieces together, align and compress for a few minutes.  I set the spliced stem aside allowing the KE-150 glue to cure.  The pictures show the progress.per29 per30 per31Turning now to the stummel, I take another close-up of the rim and chamber before starting.  I use the Pipnet reaming kit and clean out the moderately thick carbon cake formed in the chamber.  I use 3 of the 4 blades available to me to remove the harder than usual cake.  After the Pipnet blades, I fine tune the chamber surface with the Savinelli pipe knife and then, using my finger and a dowel rod, I sand the internal chamber wall with 240 grit paper.  Finally, I wipe the bowl out with a cotton pad dampened with isopropyl 95%.  The chamber wall looks good – no problems there.per32 per33 per34per35Before cleaning the rim and stummel externals, I take Q-tips and pipe cleaners with isopropyl 95% to clean the internals of the stummel.  Following this, I use Murphy’s Oil Soap undiluted with cotton pads and scrub the rim and surface.  The lava build up on the rim proved to be resistant so I added use of the brass brush to the cleaning job.  The inner rim appears to have burn marks on the front and back of the bowl.  I’ll remove this damage by cutting an inner rim bevel later.  The pictures show the cleaning progress.per36 per37After rejoining the curing spliced stem to the stummel to avoid creating shank shoulders, I take a medium grade sanding sponge and sand the entire stummel surface and rim, avoiding the shank panel containing the L J Peretti stamping.  I follow this with the same regimen using a light grade sanding sponge.  With the sanding sponges, I’m removing small pitting and imperfections from the briar surface.  To clean up the rim further, I cut an initial bevel on the inner rim first using a tightly rolled piece of 120 grade paper.  I follow this using 240 grit then 600.  I closely examine the surface and the sponge sanding did the job so that I did not need to use any super glue for fills. I did use the stain marker and darken fills that had lightened.  The pictures show the initial stummel prep.per38 per40 per39 per41I’m anxious to return to the stem repair to begin the ‘sculpting’ process.  I’m sure that the donor stem that I’m using isn’t the best candidate for a match, but it is the only other saddle stem I have that isn’t already claimed by a stummel here in Bulgaria.  Oh my – it reminds me that I just saw lots of 100 stems being auctioned on eBay!  If only….  I take a few pictures of the spliced stem before I begin. To do the sculpting I use my Dremel high-speed rotary tool and mount the drum sanding tool.  With the Dremel speed set on 2 of 5 (1 being the slowest RPMs) I gently and patiently begin removing vulcanite and shape the stem to give it a uniform look.  The pictures show the progress until…per42 per43…You’ve heard me say before, “As they say, it was going so well until it wasn’t.”  The new superglue bond between the two stem parts simply gave way.  I sat back in my chair looking at the divide and contemplated a visit to my favorite adult beverage.  Before starting this project, I researched through the blogs looking for different approaches and techniques to this specific genre of stem repair – splicing.  Steve has a very helpful Reborn essay, What are the options for repairing a damaged stem?  I could not find anything with the specifics I was facing.  Now with the two pieces before me, I decide to shoot an ‘SOS’ to Steve, even though I know he’s somewhere in the world traveling with his work.  I press the send button, turn off the light,  and head to bed!per44Gratefully, Steve’s reply arrived the next morning referencing another Reborn Pipes contributor, Jacek A. Rochacki, from Poland.  Steve’s email described Jacek’s technique of creating a simple interlocking step between the two stem pieces by filing 90 degree angles out of the upper half of one piece and a corresponding 90 degree angle out of the lower half of the other piece.  Essentially creating a juxtaposed and flipped ‘L’ on each stem piece.  The step will provide more area for the glue to bond as well as distribute the stummel’s weight across the stem rather than at one tension point.  The science behind the technique sounds good, now I need to bring the theory into physical reality!  I decide to use the width of a flat needle file to determine the steps’ widths.  Starting with surviving stem, I score a line to provide a guide for the edge of the step (first picture).  After this, I wedge the stem piece in the miter box and invert the flat needle file and use it as a saw to cut a straight vertical incision half-way into the stem.  Pictures 2 and 3 show this in progress.  I use the Dremel to gradually remove the vulcanite and finish the fine-tuning with the needle file.  The pictures show the progress.per45 per46 per47 per48The other stem piece follows the same protocol.  The whole process took quite a bit of time filing, eye-balling, test fitting and filing again.  The junction I have is not a perfect fit.  Dealing with the odd matching stem pieces presents its own challenges.  The key as before, is to align the airway holes to have as much as possible a seamless airflow.  The final picture in the set below shows the pipe cleaner inserted through the pieces and mimics the natural alignment before bonding with superglue.  In this position, to test the freedom of the pipe cleaner to move, I compressed the pieces at the ‘step junction’ and then pulled the pipe cleaner back and forth to assure as much as possible a good alignment.  The pictures tell the story.per49 per50 per51 per52As before, I use a bristled pipe cleaner with less fuzz, apply petroleum jelly to the pipe cleaner to avoid sticking to the glue, and apply Black KE-150 Glue to the step surfaces. I pull the pipe cleaner from the shank-side to draw the stem pieces together to allow a natural placement favoring a clear airway.  Once the steps fully engage, I compress the steps together to form the bond.  While I apply this pressure, I also give a little pull on the pipe cleaner to assure that it is still moving freely and not crimped at the splice junction.  After curing for 24 hours, I inspect the junction lines and apply additional KE-150 glue where needed to seal the joint.per53-copy per54With the stem splice curing, I turn my attention to the stummel.  Staying clear of the L J Peretti nomenclature on the left shank panel, using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 I wet sand the stummel.  Following this, I dry sand the stummel using micromesh pads 3200 to 4000 then again with pads 6000 to 12000.  The depth of the briar grain looks good.  The pictures show the progress.per55per56per57I like very much the lighter brown, butterscotch tones of the briar.  I decide to apply a very light stain made up of one part Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye to 4 parts isopropyl 95%.  My desire is to blend the fills on the bowl even though I had already applied stain sticks to these areas.  Using a pipe cleaner folded I apply a generous coat of the dye mixture, making sure to cover the entire stummel.  After applying the dye, while still wet I fire the dye with a lit candle.  This sets the hue of the dye well in the grain.  After a few minutes, I repeat the process concluding with firing the wet dye.  The alcohol in the dye burns off quickly and normally this does not burn the wood.  I did scorch the wood of the rim of a restoration not long ago.  I concluded that the problem was the cork that I had inserted in the bowl to manipulate the stummel while staining – the cork itself was saturated with the alcohol and kept ‘firing’ and scorched the thin wood of the rim…. Ever learning!  Now, I hold the stummel by inserting a couple twisted pipe cleaners in the shank acting as a handle.  The picture shows the final state after the second application of stain.per58I set the stummel aside to allow it to ‘rest’ through the night.  The next day, I’m looking at the stummel and the spliced stem.  I decide to jump into the stem work.  Honestly, as I look at the stem, the word that comes to mind is ‘Frankenstem’.  The stem that I cannibalized was not the best match to begin with.  Changing the positioning of the stem pieces to give the ‘step splice technique’ a chance of working, left a spliced stem with a definite limp.  Yet, I’m not finished and I’ve discovered along the way, there is a lot of forgiveness and flexibility in working with vulcanite.  As the old Timex commercial assured, “Takes a lick’n and keeps on tick’n!”  That will be my mindset as I approach the Frankenstem!  I take some pictures to show the challenges.  The first picture, perspective from the top looking down, shows the greatest challenges.  The stem addition is offset revealing the original stem’s protrusion underneath.  There is also more taper in the stem addition than in the original stem.  My approach as I look at the stem will be to try to create a higher (toward the shank) taper on the original stem (on the lower side in the picture).  This hopefully will blend the mismatch.per59I decide to chronicle the approach I take.  I first work on the ‘straight’ side of the stem (lower) by using a rounded needle file to create a ‘dimple’ that would represent the deepest part of the tapered curve.  It was adjacent to the protrusion on the right side (above in the picture below).  After creating the dimple, I then gradually fan out the dimple with 240 grit sanding paper until I achieve a smooth taper joining the saddle with the button.  I’m pleased with the results of phase 1.per60Phase 2 is creating another dimple on the other side – right at the point of the protrusion sticking out from underneath from the original stem step (pictured better above).  Again, after the dimple is formed with the rounded needle file I use 240 grit sanding paper to fan the taper evenly throughout the stem.  While the stem still is off center a bit, the tapering gives the allusion of a straighter stem.  It seems to me the stem is resembling a fishtail style reminiscent of Stanwell pipes.per61Next, I sanded the upper and lower stem with 240 grit paper to smooth and blend the splice repair.  This is helpful because it enables me to see that there are gaps in the seams of the patch.  In the pictures below you can see the vulcanite dust from sanding lodged in the gaps.  I decide to apply a bit of the Black Medium KE-150 glue to fill the gaps.  Before I do, I wash the stem with water and a bit of dish soap.  I apply the KE-150 then spray the joint with an accelerator that I just brought back to Bulgaria from my time in the US for Christmas. per62per63Putting the stem on the sidelines to cure a bit, I’m anxious to ‘unwrap’ the stummel and look at the briar underneath the fired dye crust.  I take the Dremel and mount a felt wheel and using Tripoli compound, I apply the compound using the slowest speed available on the Dremel.  For detailed ‘how tos’ in using a Dremel for this process, see my essay on Dremel Polishing Technique.  After I finish the cycle with the Tripoli compound, I wipe the bowl lightly with a cotton pad and isopropyl 95% to blend the stain.  After the Tripoli, I change to the Blue Diamond compound felt wheel at the same RPMs and apply Blue Diamond.  Then I take a clean cotton cloth and give the stummel a rubdown removing the excess compound residues which is like powder.  The stummel is looking great even before the carnauba wax application, but I decide to delay the wax application and again turn back to the stem.

To see the big picture, I unite the spliced stem with the stummel.  I like the proportions.  I was concerned that the stem might end up being too short and the L J Perretti becoming a nose warmer.  This is not the case as the picture shows!per64Accelerator is God’s gift to the impatient!  My first time to use it and it is nice – though I understand the downside of using an accelerator is the potential of a weaker bond, at least as I have read. The Black K-150 glue looks good.  I return to sanding the stem to blend the patch and finish the shaping.  With 240 grit paper, I smooth out the superglue fill and even though I can still see the lines, the touch test is the goal.  I can feel no ridge at the junction seams.  Success!  With all this rigorous sanding, the verdict is in – the step splice technique is holding!  I continue sanding moving down the stem removing the sand marks left by the Dremel drum sanding wheel.  I finally arrive at the button and to lower lip is out of line.  I straighten this with a flat needle file and I freshen the button lines while I’m at it.  I use 240 grit paper again to remove the effects of the needle file use in the button area.  Finished with the 240 grit paper, I use 600 grit paper to smooth the stem more and to reveal nicks or gouges that may have been missed.  The last two pictures below show the finished shaping project.  I’m very pleased with the results – the splice is holding well and the newly shaped stem is passable.  Even though the splice seams are visible, they are smooth to the touch and I’m hopeful that as the stem polishing and waxing is completed, the seams will blend more.  I think Frankenstem has been transformed well.  Before bringing out the micromesh pads on the stem, I drop the newly spliced stem into the Oxi-Clean bath to raise the heavy oxidation left in the original stem piece.  Another day is finished. per65 per66 per67The next morning I fish the soaking stem out of the Oxi-Clean bath.  The oxidation has surfaced, and as expected, especially on the original stem piece.  Initially I use 600 grit paper and wet sand the stem removing the top layer of oxidation.  I use a topping board with 600 grit paper to make quick work of 3 of the 4 panels of the saddle stem block (not sure if there is a special name for this part of the stem).  I am careful to protect the Perretti ‘P’ on the other panel by putting my thumb over it as I sanded around it.  I repeated the process using 0000 steel wool.  As always, the most difficult part to rid of oxidation were the vertical ‘rise panels’ above and below the stem.  I’m satisfied with the progress the pictures show.per68 per69 per71 per72With the new day, I’m in the home-stretch!  With so much focus on the stem repair, I only now recall that I have not cleaned the internals of the now spliced stem.  Using pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% I work on cleaning the internals. After running 2 pipe cleaners through the airway, for a nice change, I discover that all is clean!per73I turn now to the micromesh cycles with the stem.  Beginning with pads 1500 to 2400 I wet sand the stem and follow the set with an application of Obsidian Oil over the stem.  Next, I dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 followed by 6000 to 12000, following each set with a fresh application of Obsidian Oil. I’m generally pleased with the technique of this splice, but the fine polishing of the two pieces of vulcanite have revealed that not all vulcanite is the same.  I assume the original survivor piece was of better quality than the donor piece.  The polishing reveals that the original is a darker hue of black and it wasn’t evident only until now.  So, we do the best we can with what we have!  The pictures reveal this with a close look.  The stem still looks good and what I’ve been through with it make it even look better!  The pictures show the progress. per74per75per76Before rejoining stummel and stem to apply carnauba wax, I want to re-establish the Perretti ‘P’ stamping on the stem.  Checking with the L. J. Perretti Co. stampings on Pipephil.eu, most stem marks are set with white lettering.  I want to do the same to emulate how this Perretti most likely was commissioned.  Taking white acrylic paint, I dab a bit over the ‘P’ on the stem.  After an hour or so, after dried, I gently scrape the top layer of paint off with a pointed Q-tip which I picked up in the US at Hobby Lobby.  Pictures show the result.per77 per78 per79Rejoining stem and stummel, I apply several coats of carnauba wax to both.  I use a cotton cloth wheel mounted on the Dremel, increase the speed to a setting of 2 and apply the wax moving the wheel in a circular motion over the surface.  After completing the carnauba wax application, I mount a clean cotton cloth wheel on the Dremel and clean buff the stummel and stem.  Following this, I give the entire pipe a hand buffing with microfiber cloth to bring out the luster and depth of the grain even more.

The briar of this L J Perretti is unbelievable – a beautiful display of fire grain and very clear and distinct bird’s eye.  The stem isn’t a perfect rendition mainly because of the unmatched vulcanite creating the splice.  Yet, the ‘step’ technique Jacek provided (via Steve!) is working very well.  The squared shank transitioning into the tapered fishtail-like stem I think is very nice. It works.  I’m thankful to my son for gifting me with this L J Perretti!  I would have enjoyed my inaugural smoke to have been a bowl of a special hand blended mixture from the L. J. Perretti Co. Tobacconists in Boston!  Yet, after taking the presentation pictures following, I settled for a bowl of my favorite Cavendish blend – Lane BCA. Report?  The L J Perretti smoked very well, indeed.  Thanks for joining me!per80 per81 per82 per83 per84 per85 per86 per87 per88

Cleaned an 80+year old KBB Yello-Bole Churchwarden 2095

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Blog by Steve Laug

After the last challenge of the cracked bowl on the WDC Wellington House Pipe it was time to take on something that would go quickly and have some real beauty as well when finished. My brother had included just the pipe in the latest shipment that came to Vancouver from Idaho. It is a twelve inch long churchwarden. The bowl had the typical varnish coat over a oxblood stain that was peeling. There was a light cake in the bowl and the rim was dirty but the Yello-Bole Honey Cured Coating was very visible on the inner bevel of the rim top. The stamping on this one is the classic older Yello-Bole. It had the KBB cloverleaf on the left side of the shank and next to that it read YELLO-BOLE over Honey Cured Briar. ON the right side of the shank it has the shape number 2095. The stamping is in excellent shape. The stem was lightly oxidized and had the yellow circle on the top side near the shank/stem junction. There were single cut marks on both the top and underside of the stem about three inches forward from the button. There was also minimal tooth chatter and tooth marks on the stem on either side. The stem did not fit all the way into the shank when the pipe arrived in Idaho. (I have included the photos of the pipe that my brother took before he started to clean up the pipe.)cw1 cw2From a comment on a blog I wrote on the various Yello-Bole logos in my collection of these pipes I was able to narrow down a date for the pipe. Here is the link to the post and the comments on the blog: https://rebornpipes.com/2013/01/25/yello-bole-logos-from-my-collection-of-old-yello-bole-pipes/. The comment came from Troy who I consider my go to guy for Yello-Bole informantion (who has written on rebornpipes and also has a blog of his own). Troy wrote as follows on dating Yello-Bole pipes by the stamping and logos.

“I have a large KBB Yello-Bole collection, They are some of my most favorite pipes and the best smokers for the money (briar wise) you can find in my opinion. I have restored and researched them quite a bit. I have several listed on my blog that I have cleaned or restored. I own about 30-40 KBB Yello-Boles now.”

“Here is a little guide to dating KBB Yello-Boles. If it has the KBB stamped in the clover leaf it was made 1955 or earlier as they stopped the stamping after being acquired by S.M. Frank. From 1933-1936 they were stamped Honey Cured Briar. Pipes stems stamped with the propeller logo they were made in the 30s or 40s no propellers were used after the 40s. Yello-Bole also used a 4 digit code stamped on the pipe in the 30s. If the pipe had the Yello-Bole circle stamped on the shank it was made in the 30s this stopped after 1939. If the pipe was stamped BRUYERE rather than briar it was made in the 30s.”

From that information I ascertained the following. The churchwarden I had was stamped with KBB in the cloverleaf on the shank side which told me that the pipe was made before 1955. It is also stamped under the YELLO-BOLE name stamp with the words Honey Cured Briar which put its manufacture between 1933 and 1936. Further the four digit shape code 2095 also put the date in the 1930s. With all of that collected I knew the pipe was made between 1933 and 1936 which means that this old Churchwarden has seen a lot of life. I wish it could tell its story.

My brother included some close up photos of the rim top and the peeling varnish on the bowl sides and bottom for information. You can also see some peeling of the varnish on the rim top along with the darkening and overflow of cake.cw3 cw4 cw5The next photo shows the stamping on the left side of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable.cw6The next two photos show the condition of the stem. You can see the tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface on both sides. None of them are deep and all should be able to be polished out.cw7The next photo shows the cut mark on the top side of the stem. There is a matching mark on the underside.cw8My brother cleaned up the pipe – reaming the bowl, cleaning out the shank, airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The inside was clean. He scrubbed the briar and stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap and cleaned out the buildup on the rim and the grime on the sides of the bowl. The next four photos show what the pipe looked like when it arrived in Vancouver. It was ready to clean up and bring back to life.cw9 cw10I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim. The beveled inner edge shows the Yello-Bole coating. It is also visible on the inside of the bowl.cw11I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and worked on the tooth chatter on each end with the same sandpaper.cw12 cw13I took closeup photos of the Yello-Bole stinger apparatus. The first shows the topside of the stinger and the second the underside.cw14I took closeup photos of the existing finish on the bowl to show the peeling varnish and the speckled finish.cw15I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the varnish coat and I was surprised by the grain that came through once the varnish was gone.cw16 cw17I waxed the bowl with Conservator’s Wax so that I could see the scratching and spots that needed more attention on the briar. A bit of a shine makes issues in the briar stand out.cw18 cw19I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cotton pad to remove any polishing dust left behind.cw20 cw21I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the last set of pads I rubbed it down with a final coat of oil and set the stem aside to dry.cw22 cw23 cw24I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish out the last of the scratches in the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the bowl with a clean buffing pad. The next photos show the finished bowl.cw25 cw26 cw27 cw28I put the stem on the bowl and buffed the entirety again with Blue Diamond and gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth to deepen the polish. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is cleaned, all varnish has been removed from the bowl and shank and it has been waxed and buffed. The finished pipe has a rich shine and all of the grain is visible through the finish. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.cw29 cw30 cw31 cw32 cw33 cw34 cw35 cw36

Sprucing up a Home Doctored WDC Wellington House Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

Have you ever been pipe hunting in an antique shop and in your conversation with the clerk at the checkout have them tell you that they have a pipe at home that they would love to have you see? If not I assure you that you will. It seems to happen to me and certainly to my brother. Sometimes going back to see the pipe is a good thing and sometimes it is not worth the trip. My brother recently went through this very thing in a shop on the Oregon Coast. The clerk said that he had an old pipe – thought it was a churchwarden – at home and he would love to see it go to someone who would restore it. He said it was interesting but it was in rough shape. He told my brother that he would bring it to the shop the next day. He lived a fair ways away from the shop so he could not go and get it at the moment. My brother left the shop knowing that he would need to go back and have a look at the pipe. Two days later he made the drive back to the shop. The seller had left it behind the counter for him. The person at the counter took the pipe out and handed it to him. The clerk had been right – it was in rough shape but it was not a churchwarden but old WDC Wellington House Pipe. (I have included the photos that my brother took of the pipe before he cleaned it and sent it to me in Vancouver.)mess1Even at first glance it was rough but he did not expect what he found as he went over it. As he turned it in his hands he saw that the bowl had a large crack on the back side of the bowl that went from the rim to the shank bowl junction. It went all the way through and ran down the inside back of the bowl to a spot just above the airway. This was not good.mess2The bowl was caked and dirty and the cake had flowed over the top of the rim leaving a hard rough surface. Even through the grit he could see that there were a lot of nicks, scratches and dents in the rim top. On top of that the left side of the bowl was rough and seemed like it had road rash. It appeared that someone had tried to smooth it over but it was till rough to touch.mess3 mess4The Wellington ferrule was gone and had been replaced with a piece of what appeared to be a cut off piece of pipe glued and pressed onto the shank end. Looking at the pipe from the shank end you could see why the band had been as a lot of small cracks could be seen that extended down into the mortise. The cut off piece of pipe literally bound the shank together tightly with no give. The stem was the only part of the pipe that was in excellent condition. It bore the Solid Rubber stamp on the underside but the topside was missing the WDC Wellington stamp. It was obvious to me that someone had loved this old pipe and that they had done whatever was necessary to keep it functioning. The repair work was solid but it really was a mess. After the fellow had gone to the effort to bring the pipe to the shop my brother felt obligated to buy it. The deal was struck and the pipe came home with him.mess5The next two photos show the stamping on the shank. It reads Wellington under the WDC triangle on the left side of the shank. There are a lot of nicks and scratches around the shank that look like damage done when the band was glued in place. The Solid Rubber stamping on the can be seen in the second photo below.mess6The stem was actually in the best condition of the entire pipe. There was very little tooth chatter and marks near the button. There were some marks on the ridge on the underside and there was a spot of metal shining through the rubber there as well. The entire stem was lightly oxidized and pitted.mess7My brother did his usual thorough clean before sending it to Vancouver. He reamed the bowl and removed the cake that was built up on the walls and had overflowed onto the rim of the bowl. He cleaned out the mortise, the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and was able to remove the grime and dirt and the chipped and damaged finish. The next four photos show what the pipe looked like when it arrived.mess8 mess9I took some close up photos of the shank band. It is obvious to me that the repair on the shank was home done and involved cutting a piece of pipe and gluing and pressing it onto the shank. The third photo shows the shank end and there are at least 4-6 cracks showing that previous owner had glued and repaired with the cut off piece of pipe as a band. The band repair had been finished off with a bevel of glue banked against the band and shank. The piece of pipe that functioned as the band was striated and copper colour peeked out from under the surface oxidation. The crack on the back of the bowl is visible in the second photo below.mess10 mess11I took a close up photo of the left side of the bowl to show the rash on the side of the bowl. It was very rough and scored. It would need to be sanded smooth to repair the amount of damage.mess12I took photos of the crack in the bowl. It is on the back side as noted above. It extends down the back of the bowl to the shank/bowl junction (photo 2). What was interesting to me was that there were two small holes drilled at the twin ends of the crack in the bend of the junction. They had been filled in with glue and sanded smooth. I have circled them in red in the photo below (photo 1). I don’t why the previous repair had not continued with filling in the crack on at least the outside of the bowl but it did not. Possibly it was because the crack went through the bowl and extended down to a spot just above the entrance of the airway in the bowl (photos 3-4). There appeared to be burn damage on the back wall of the bowl on both sides of the crack. The rest of the interior walls of the pipe were solid with no damage.mess13 mess14As I mentioned before the best part of this pipe was the stem. In fact at one point I considered throwing the bowl away and saving the stem for a future repair.mess16With so much work to do on the bowl it was hard to decide where to begin. I turned it over in my hands for a few moments and decided to start by sanding out the rough side of the bowl. I would try to remove all of the damage that had been done in that area. The next two photos show the damaged area after the first sanding with 180 grit sandpaper. You can see how extensive this rash was on the bowl side.mess17I decided to top the bowl to deal with the damaged portion of the rim. I used the topping board and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damaged rim surface and clean it in preparation for the crack repair. You can see that I needed to do some more reaming in the bowl to clean it up.mess18With the rim finished I went back to sanding the bowl side with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked to remove the damage on the side and worked over the curve of the bowl shank junction. When I finished with the 220 grit sandpaper the bowl side was smooth. The roughness and damage had been removed. The briar needed to be sanded with higher grit sandpapers and sanding sponges to remove the scratches.mess19I topped the shank end with 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board to smooth out the sharp edge of the metal band and prepare the shank end for some repairs.mess20I filled in the chipped areas on the shank end with briar dust and super glue. When the glue dried I topped it further and added a little glue on the long chipped area on the left of the second photo below.mess21I scraped away the excess glue along the edge of the band on the shank with a sharp knife. Once I finished the transition was smoother. I would sand the area along the band to clean up the scratches but the thick glue was removed.mess22There were some deep nicks on the lower front side of the bowl that needed to be filled. I filled them with super glue and briar dust and sanded them smooth to match the surface of the surrounding briar. I sanded around the shank band at the same time to smooth out the scratches and nicks.mess23I moved to the back of the bowl and filled in the exterior part of the crack with super glue and briar dust. The twin drilling at the bottom of the crack by the previous owner had done a good job stopping the crack from going further so I did not need to deal with that issue. There was no movement in the crack when I squeezed it together. It was stable so I moved on to do the surface repair. I put super glue in the crack and then pressed briar dust into the glue to seal the surface of the crack. mess24It was time to address the internal crack at this point. I needed to join the two sides of the crack together inside and also address the burned areas around both sides of the crack. I scraped out the inside of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remaining excess cake. I made sure to remove all of the cake. I worked on the area around the crack to remove all of the carbon and picked the area with a dental pick to see how badly the area was burned. I sanded the inside of the bowl with a rolled piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the walls.mess25I sanded the repair on the exterior of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess patch material on the exterior of the crack. I smoothed it out to match the surrounding briar. The repair is looking really good on the exterior and the sanded interior of the bowl (also visible in the photo) was in better shape than I expected.mess26I wiped down the inside of the bowl with damp cotton swabs to remove the dust and debris from the bowl sides. With all of the preparations finished the inside crack was ready for repair using JB Weld. I have used it before following the directions from Charles Lemon on Dadspipes blog and had good results. I mixed the two parts of the “goop” together and applied the mixture to the inside of the bowl with a dental spatula. I pressed the mix into the crack and then spread it over the surface of the back wall on both sides of the crack. Once I had good coverage on the wall and in the crack I set the bowl aside to let the glue set.mess27 mess28While the repair in the bowl interior cured I turned to deal with the minimal damage to the stem. I sanded the light tooth chatter and small bite marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button using 220 grit sandpaper. I reshaped the button edge and the straight edge on the underside of the stem at the same time.mess29When the internal repair had dried to touch I could turn my attentions to the sanded exterior once again. I wiped the bowl down with a light coat of olive oil to make the scratched areas stand out and show me where I needed to do more sanding.mess30 mess31I polished the briar and the metal band with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads to smooth out all of the scratches and areas that showed up with the olive oil rubdown. The more I sanded it the more the grain began to stand out. There was some great birds-eye and cross grain in the briar. The third photo shows the JB Weld repair on the inside of the bowl very clearly. Once it turns black it will have cured enough to sand.mess32 mess33I continued to polish the briar and band with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads until the bowl shone.mess34I stained the pipe with a dark brown aniline stain thinned 50/50 with isopropyl alcohol. I applied the stain, flamed the stain to set it and repeated the process until the coverage was even around the bowl and rim.mess35I gave the bowl several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I took the following photos to show what the bowl looked like now that it was stained and waxed. It is a pretty piece of briar and a far cry from the mess I started with.mess36 mess37I set the bowl aside and polished the stem. I buffed it with red Tripoli to remove as much of the light oxidation as possible. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. (For some reason the last photo of the stem has a yellow tint and makes it look oxidized. It actually shone at this point in the process with no oxidation left. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the final rubdown I set the stem aside to dry.mess38 mess39 mess40By this point in the process the JB Weld had hardened. It had been about 4-5 hours. It was time to smooth out the inside of the bowl and remove the excess JB Weld. I used the Dremel with a sanding drum to smooth out the back side of the bowl. You can see the spots on the bowl wall where I left the material to fill in the damaged areas on the wall. I went on to sand the interior wall with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper to further smooth out the repair and minimize the JB Weld. The repairs had stabilized the cracked bowl and it was usable once again.mess41I have one final step to take to before I can close the book on this repair. I need to mix a bowl coating to paint the inside of the bowl with. It is a mixture of sour cream and activated charcoal powder. I had to order some more as I ran out of the charcoal capsules and my local pharmacy was also out of stock. It may take a while to get some so for now the bowl is finished. Once the bowl coating is applied and has cured the pipe will be ready to smoke and carry on a long life.

At this point in the process when all is basically finished I can honestly say that I am glad I did not scrap bowl to the junk box. It has some beautiful grain and I think it looks good with the scar on the back side of the bowl where the crack used to be. The metal pipe band polished up nicely with hints of copper and silver mingled together giving it a bit of a sparkle. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It has been buffed with Blue Diamond a final time and given multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The write up is longer and the photos are many this time around. It was a lot of work to give this old timer another chance but I think it was worth the effort. Thanks for bearing with me. mess42 mess43 mess44 mess45 mess46 mess47 mess48 mess49 mess50 mess51

Restoring Another Unique Windy Perpetual Drysmoker

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Blog by Steve Laug

Today I have been working on the second Windy Perpetual Dry Smoker that has come across my work table. The first was a gift from Troy who writes here on rebornpipes. I have written the description of the restoration on a previous blog. You can read about the cleanup and restoration on that blog: https://rebornpipes.com/tag/windy-perpetual-drysmoker-pipe/ . In that blog I did some research on the brand, as prior to the first pipe I was gifted I had never heard of or seen one of these pipes. I decided to repeat a portion of that first blog here to give some background on the brand.

Here is the link to one of my favourite informational sites on metal and unique system style wooden pipes. The link will take you to the article as a whole and some photos that show the pipe quite well: http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=508

“WINDY PERPETUAL DRYSMOKER by Stan Wolcott”

“In my travels I recently came across this intriguing pipe on which very little information appears online by Google search. The left side (?) is stamped “Windy Perpetual Drysmoker” and on the right side (?) “Imported Briar/Italy”. The stem has a small round gold medallion on the left side bearing an “R”. Although several similar pipes are pictured online here in the USA and UK, no explanatory information is included with those images. Floyd Norwood of Tennessee, who restored the pipe for me, also had no idea how the pipe was to be smoked. Tony Pringle of the UK, who has one pictured on his website, believes there may be other pieces which are missing from the four present in the images—flat cap, rounded cap with five vent holes (presumably the wind cap) and the pipe bowl and stem. As can be seen from the images, the flat cap has female threads and screws into the bottom (?) onto male threads on the bowl. The wind cap has male threads and screws into the top (?) of the bowl. I have placed the question marks in parentheses following the terms top, bottom, right and left, since I’m not even sure whether the flat cap is intended to be the bottom. Can someone out there enlighten me and the NASPC readership about this “mystery pipe”, its manufacturer and the proper way of smoking it?”

“The “Perpetual” part of the name seems to come from the ability to actually load more tobacco from the bottom of the pipe whilst still alight and of course the dottle etc. gets burnt as the smoking progresses. Rather ingenious. There are at least two possible for makers from the logo, REGIS and EMPIRE STATE and nothing seems to be known of these either.

Tony Pringle of smokingmetal then includes the following photos of the pipe. There is no doubt that it is the same pipe that I have. There are a few variations between the two but the overall design is the same. He shows photos of the pipe as a whole, taken apart and of the stamping.dry1I have only included the first photos as the pipe I have is virtually identical to this one. Mine also has the gold circle R on the logo on the side of the stem. The only difference is that mine is has a brass spacer on the stem that forms a thin band between the shank and stem. Mine is also in better condition than the one in the photos with no cracks or breaks in the bowl, caps or threads. I believe along with Tony from smokingmetal that the pipe was crafted in the late 1940s. Many things about the briar quality, the rubber that is used in the stem etc. point to manufacture of the pipe occurring during or after the conclusion of World War II.

The stamping on the one above and the one I have is simply WINDY over PERPETUAL over DRYSMOKER in caps on what is the left side of the shank. On the right side of shank it is stamped Imported Briar over Italy. The pipe is meant to be smoked with the perforated, rounded cape pointing downward. That is why the stamping is the way it is. If the pipe is held otherwise the stamping is upside down. If the pipe is inverted it can be set upright on a desk or table on the flat top cap and act as a sitter pipe. The pipe is 5 ¼ inches from the front of the bowl to end of bit. The diameter of the outer bowl is 1 3/8 inches. The chamber diameter is just over 5/8 inch and depth is over 1 ¼ inches with both the top and bottom cap removed. The pipe is lit from the bottom and the wind cap cover is screwed in place. I think that more tobacco can be fed in from the top of the bowl with the flat cap removed thus making the pipe a PERPETUAL DRYSMOKER.

The pipe my brother Jeff picked up is shown in the next photos that he took of it before cleaning it and sending it to me in Vancouver. You can see some darkening in the finish around the flat cap on the bowl and some general wear and tear to the finish as a whole. The bowl has quite a few fills in the shank, the left and right front sides and the crowned perforated bottom cap. The stem was oxidized quite heavily and the diameter of the shank and the diameter of the stem did not match.dry2Jeff took some great photos of the bowl taken apart. Contrary to what Tony and Stan mention in the quote article from the website all the parts are present with the pipe. There are no additional pieces needed to make the pipe functional. The first two photos show the rounded bottom cap and the flat top cap removed from the bowl. You can see the wooden threads on the inside of the bowl in the first photo where the bottom cap screwed into it. The second photo shows the threads on the outside of the bowl where the flat top cap screwed onto it. The completed pipe resembled a salt or pepper shaker to my mind – a unique and interesting smoking device. Both caps were darkened by smoking but appeared to be clean. There was a small crack in the rounded bottom cap but it did no effect the fit in the bowl.dry3He also took some photos with the parts laid out together to give an overall idea of what the pipe looked like.dry4My brother also included some close up photos of the sides of the bowl to show the condition of the finish and what would need to be done to clean it up. He included a photo of the flat top cap to show the remarkable grain underneath the staining and grime.dry5 dry6The next two photos show the stamping on both sides of the shank. The third photo shows the brass circle R logo on the stem and also the brass spacer in between the stem and the shank.dry7 dry8The final two photos Jeff included showed me the condition of the stem. It looked really good other than the oxidation. There was no tooth chatter or tooth marks in the surface. The only issue I would need to address was the mismatched diameter of the shank and the stem.dry9My brother did a really thorough job cleaning up this old pipe. When it arrived in Canada the inside of the bowl and both caps was really clean. He had scraped out the light cake in the bowl and cleaned out the mortise and airway in the stem and shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He cleaned off the exterior of the bowl and was able to remove much of the grime on the surface. The brass space was oxidized but would clean up easily when I worked on the diameter of the stem. I took the next four photos to show the condition I found the pipe in when I unpacked it here in Vancouver.dry10 dry11I took the pipe apart and took photos of the parts of the bowl – the centre core, the rounded bottom cap and the flat top cap. In the photos the core is flat side up in the first one and rounded side up in the second one. The bowl and caps were very clean and you could see raw briar inside all of the parts which led me to think that the pipe had not been smoked often.dry12I took some close up photos of the stem to record its condition as well.dry13The fit of the crowned bottom cap to the edge of the core part of the pipe had some damage to it that did not allow the cap to seat tightly against the edge of the core. I topped it with 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board until the cap fit snugly.dry14I put the cap back in place and wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish. The fills on the bowl were dimpled so they would need to be repaired with briar dust and super glue.dry15 dry16With the finish removed I could better assess the darkened areas around the sides and bottom of the flat cap. I could also see areas that needed to be sanded around the edges of the rounded bottom cap also. I sanded the entire pipe with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damaged areas and smooth out the transitions between the core and the caps. I also smoothed out the edges of the fills to prepare them for repair later in the process.dry17 dry18With that part finished I needed to rework the shank/stem diameter. The right side of the shank was narrower than the right side of the stem. With the stem removed it was easy to see why. That side of the briar shank was thinner in terms of the thickness of the walls of the shank than the left side. The red circle shows the side that needed to be taken down.dry19I used the Dremel with a sanding drum to take down the excess vulcanite and brass of the spacer.dry20I cleaned out the areas around the fills and removed any of the loose debris around them. I rebuilt the areas around the fills with a mixture of clear super glue and briar dust. I overfilled the repairs to allow for shrinkage. I sanded the repairs smooth to match the surface of the bowl.dry21I sanded the repairs smooth and then polished the areas with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the repaired areas with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanded them with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth. I stained the bowl and the caps with dark brown aniline stain and flamed it to set it. I repeated the process until the coverage was even.dry22 dry23I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing pen. I gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it to a shine.dry24 dry25I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the scratch marks on the vulcanite. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the final coat of oil I set it aside to dry.dry26 dry27 dry28I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond once more and then gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to polish it and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Some of the character marks of the pipe that came to me still show and I am sure could tell a story if they were able to speak. I like the finished look – the marks and all give the pipe a sense of history and time. It is not a bad looking old pipe considering that it has traveled from the 1940s into 2016 and who knows how much longer. Thanks for looking.dry29 dry30 dry31 dry32 dry33 dry34 dry35 dry36

One of my favourite GBD Shapes and Finishes – a Prehistoric 269 Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

After refurbishing a lot of pipes over the years I have come to opinions about pipe brands and shaped. To my eye certain brands really get a certain shape and really nail it perfectly. To me the GBD Bulldog, shape 269 is one of those shapes. To me it is the quintessential straight shank bulldog. Others do it well but GBD absolutely gets the shape. Add to that fact that certain finishes have also grown on me over the years and one of those is the GBD Prehistoric sandblast. You combine the finish and the shape components on this pipe and I have a real beauty on the restoration table today. My brother is also becoming a die-hard GBD fan so when he saw this one he decided it was one to go after. Needless to say he got it. He took some photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up to send up to me in Vancouver. I have included those below.gbd1The finish on the pipe looks to be in excellent condition. Later close-up photos will show the grime and dust in the grooves and crevices of the sandblast but there are no chips or nicks in the briar. The bowl had remnants of tobacco in the bottom and the cake had overflowed on to the rim top. The curved bevel of the Prehistoric smooth rim was thickly tarred and caked. It was hard to tell from the photos if there were any nicks or deep scratches in the rim. I have found that the thicker the cake and tars on the rim the more likely it is that I will find the rim to be pretty pristine underneath. The stem was deeply oxidized and the GBD logo insert on the stem had been buffed to death but the fit of the stem to the shank was perfect. There was only light tooth chatter and a few scratches on the top and underside of the flat portion of the stem. The photo below gives a clear picture of the condition of the rim and the cake in the bowl.gbd2The sand blast on the heel of the bowl was deep and craggy and the contrast of browns in the stain really highlighted the layered look of the blast.gbd3The stamping on the left underside of the shank in a smooth panel is very readable and sharp. It reads GBD in the oval over Prehistoric in Germanic script. Next to that it reads London England over the shape number 269. The second photo below shows the over buffed roundel in the stem. It is still readable but is quite flattened and broadened. I will have to see if I can clean that up a bit in the process of the restoration – or at least not damage it any further.gbd4The next two photos show the top and underside of the stem. The oxidation is quite heavy and deep in the vulcanite. There is some light tooth chatter and scratches on the stem near the button and on top of the button on both sides but no deep tooth marks.gbd5My brother is getting really good at cleaning up these old timers and I have to say I am getting spoiled at getting pipes that I don’t have to ream and scrape to clean before I can start the restoration process. In this case he scrubbed the briar with Murphy’s Oil Soap and got rid of the grime and dust in the crevices and removed most of the buildup on the rim top. He reamed the bowl and scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. When I received it the pipe was clean and ready to restore. The briar was dry from the scrubbing and the removal of all of the oils. It appears to have lost some of the rich colour but I have learned that once I begin to work on it the life begins to come back to the briar so I was not too concerned. The oxidation had also really risen to the surface of the stem and looked ugly. I took the next four photos to show what the pipe looked like when it arrived.gbd6 gbd7I took a closeup photo of the rim top to show what it looked like when I received it. He had been able to remove the buildup and caking on the rim but there was still some darkening that needed to be dealt with. I also took closeup photos of the stem to show how the pitted and oxidized surface looked before I started. This was going to be a tough stem to clean up.gbd8 gbd9I decided to start with the rim top. I started polishing it by wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it off with a damp cotton pad and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. The rim began to take on its original sheen and the darkening and rim damage was removed.gbd10I gave the bowl a light rub down with olive oil and it absorbed it quickly into the dry and lifeless feeling briar. I buffed it by hand with a soft microfiber cloth and took the next set of photos to show what a little oil will do to a dry and thirsty finish.gbd11 gbd12I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper being very careful around the GBD roundel on the stem. I was able to remove much of the surface oxidation on the stem and I started to see the black stem peeking through.gbd13I decided to try several of the stem polishes I have around here to try to break through the oxidation. I started with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish which is a very gritty and cuts through the oxidation and helps polish the stem. I followed that with the Before & After Polishes which are also gritty but each of them the Fine and the Extra Fine are less so than the Denicare polish. While they worked well overall and cut through a lot of oxidation it took much scrubbing with cotton pads to polish it to the place the stem is in the photo below.gbd14I still needed to polish the stem further with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed it down after each set of three pads with Obsidian Oil. After the last set of pads I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. gbd15 gbd16 gbd17I buffed the bowl rim and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to shine it further. I gave the stem and the bowl rim multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and hand applied Conservator’s Wax to the sandblast bowl sides and shank. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad, carefully buffing around the stamping and the brass roundel on the stem. The finished pipe is shown in the photos that follow. The overall appearance of the pipe is very good. In some of the close up photos the light shows me some spots along the crease of the button where the stubborn oxidation did not all come clean. Ah well. It is one of those that I think I will revisit repeatedly over the course of its life with me. Thanks for journeying with me on this troublesome oxidation removal process. Thanks for reading. gbd18 gbd19 gbd20 gbd21 gbd22 gbd23 gbd24 gbd25

A Tiny Salesman Pipe – What a Contrast to those Giant House Pipes

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Yesterday and today I have been working on two giant pipes – two House Pipes. The first was a CPF French Briar Giant and the second was a KBB Yello-Bole 3068C Giant. Both were over 10 inches long with at least a 2 inch bowl. I have written about both of them on the blog. You can read them by clicking on the name of the pipe above as they have been linked to the appropriate blog. This afternoon I decided to do something a little different. In the latest box my brother sent he included a tiny little pipe. It is 3 ¼ inches long, 1 inch tall, outside bowl diameter 7/8 inches, inside bowl diameter 7/16 inches. In the photo below you can see it in comparison to the big Yello-Bole 3068C. It is minuscule.tiny1I took a photo of the pipe between my thumb and forefinger to give an idea of the size in hand. What do you think? Would you ever smoke a pipe this tiny? It is fully functional.tiny2My brother took some photos of it to show the condition when he got it. You can see that it was in rough shape and had been smoked quite a bit. Pretty amazing in my opinion as the bowl is the size of a small thimble. The bowl is carved with tobacco leaves around all sides – front, back, right and left. The bottom of the bowl is smooth as is the rim. The finish is in rough shape with grit and grime in all of the grooves, a dark spot on the underside of the bowl and darkening at the rim with the inner edge slightly out of round. There is a small brass band around the shank of the pipe that has a set of rings around it on the inside and outside edges. In the first photos that my brother took before cleaning it you can see the oxidation and what looks like damage to the band. The stem also appeared to be in rough shape.tiny3 tiny4My brother took a few close-up photos that show the condition of the pipe and categorically show that it had been smoked quite a bit for the doubters among us. The first photo shows the only stamping on the pipe – Imported Briar on the right side of the shank. It also shows some of the oxidation on the band and intricate rings around its edges. The second photo shows how the stem is not aligned in the shank due to the dirtiness of the shank and also the condition of the stem. It appears that there some glue on the stem from a label that was on the pipe at the antique shop where he purchased it.tiny5The next photo shows the rim with a cake in the bowl and the damaged inner edge the rim on the lower left side of the photo. The second photo gives a good picture of the carved leaves on the bowl sides and back. They had a similar etching pattern around the edges of the leaves as those on the twin rings on the shank band.tiny6At this point you might well be wondering what the point is in investing time and effort into the restoration of this small bit. It takes as much work to clean and restore a tiny pipe as it does a big one and the steps and process is the same regardless of size. Though it is a good question there is something singularly interesting in these small pipes that were used by salesmen in their sales routes through city tobacco shops. This one is particularly unique in that I have never seen one with this attention to detail. Soooo… the short of it is that between my brother and I we decided to clean it up and restore this bit of tobacciana.

Jeff did his usual thorough job in cleaning if this tiny little apple. He reamed it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife (and by the way it truly does fit all) to remove the cake. He scrubbed the surface of the bowl and rim with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove all of the grime. He used the soap on the exterior of the stem and the band with the tooth brush and was able to remove all of the grime and glue that remained on the stem and the oxidized portion of the band. He cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the stem and the shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and thin pipe cleaners. When the pipe arrived in Vancouver it looked like a different pipe.tiny7 tiny8When I took the pipe apart you can imagine my surprise when I found tiny stinger in the end of the tenon. It was a typical ball and slot style stinger with an open slot on the top side of the stinger allowing airflow into the stem. Jeff had cleaned up the stinger so that was polished and none of the typical tars and oils that collect on these contraptions was present.tiny9He had been able to clean up the band so that it shone and the rim top was actually quite clean. The damaged area on the back right side of the inner edge was not too bad and would be able to be cleaned up easily.tiny10The stem was actually in very good condition. The glue on the underside from the label had come off nicely. There were no tooth marks or chatter on the stem at all. A light polishing would make it like new.tiny11I used a folded piece of 220 sandpaper to clean up the damage on the inner edge of the rim. It did not take too much and the nicked area was removed and smoothed out.tiny12I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after the polishing and then buffed it lightly with a soft cloth.tiny13I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down after each set of three pads with Obsidian Oil and after the last coat of oil I set the stem aside to dry.tiny14 tiny15 tiny16I lightly sanded the burn spot on the bottom of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper and buffed it with red Tripoli to minimize the spot. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax. I used a light touch on all buffing of the bowl so as not to get build up in the grooves of the carved leaves. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos that follow. It took as much work as a full-sized pipe to bring it back to life – though in proportion. Personally I think it was worth the effort. It is a fine piece of tobacciana history and I sure wish it could talk and tell its story. I wondered how it ended up in Boise, Idaho and where it was before then. At least the part of the story from Boise to Idaho Falls and then to Vancouver in Canada has now been recorded. Thanks for looking.tiny17 tiny18 tiny19 tiny20 tiny21

Refreshing an old giant – CPF French Briar Bent Billiard

11 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I have always heard and read that during WWII years it was virtually impossible to get briar in the US and rubber for stems was at a premium. During those years, Mountain Laurel and Manzanita – close kin to Mediterranean Briar – were used. The bowls have a different appearance than briar – the grain on the bowl sides and rim are very different. The stems were often made of repurposed rubber and I have seen bits of metal in the cast rubber of the stems. While that is interesting information the next pipe on the table is far older than WWII. But it could be made of Laurel and it certainly had bits of metal in the solid rubber stem. It came from my brother as well. It is a CPF French Briar bent billiard. It is a large pipe – the length is 11 inches, the height is 2 ¼ inches, the outside diameter of the bowl is 1 ½ inches and the inner diameter is 7/8 inches and the depth of the bowl is 1 9/16 inches. I took the next photo to give an idea of the size of the pipe when I received it.cpf1Don’t you ever wish these old pipes could talk? They could certainly tell some amazing stories of their journeys. My brother wrote to tell me that this old CPF Giant was found in an antique store in Idaho Falls, Idaho. The owner had told him that the pipe was owned by an artist who strictly used it as a art prop… never smoked it. That’s why it was in great shape for the age. My brother took some photos of the pipe before he did his clean up and sent it to me. The finish was in decent shape. There was some spottiness to the finish but no deep nicks of scratches. The rim had overflow from the cake in the bowl that was thick on the entire surface. The metal band had some scratches and appeared to have rotated on the shank in the photos showing that it was probably loose. The stem was clean with minimal tooth chatter near the button with a little wear on the top and underside of the orifice button. There was some oxidation on the rubber.cpf2I have restored quite a few CPF pipes in the past and did a blog on the historical background of the brand. You can read the entirety at this link: https://rebornpipes.com/2013/04/14/some-reflection-on-the-historical-background-on-cpf-pipes/. I have summarized part of it in what follows to connect this pipe to the history of the brand.

“One of the secondary hobbies to pipe refurbishing that I enjoy doing is to research the history of a particular brand or make. In a recent EBay lot I bought there were 3 pipes that were stamped with the CPF logo – CPF in an oval with the word FRENCH stamped in an arch above the oval and the word BRIAR stamped in an arch below the oval. I had heard that the CPF stood for a variety of names from Consolidated Pipe Factory to Colossus Pipe Factory and even Chesterfield Pipe Company. There was a wide range of conflicting information available on the websites and forums that I read while looking into the brand…”

“…CPF in the logo stands for Colossus Pipe Factory. The brand was purchased by KB&B sometime between 1884 and 1898 and it continued until 1915. That time frame gives help in dating some of the older CPF pipes you or I might find. It can be said that prior to the dual stamping it is fairly certain that the pipe is pre-1884 to 1898. After the dual stamping it can be placed post 1898 until the closure of the brand line in 1915. CPF made beautiful pipes. I believe Sam Goldberger was correct in his assertion that the carvers who made the pipes were of European training and used the classic shapes and well-aged briar.”

Armed with that information I should be able to narrow down the period in which the pipe was made. Since the pipe and the ferrule both bear only the CPF logo I can safely say the pipe was made before the time period mentioned above as sometime between 1884 and 1898 when the CPF company was sold. I also know that from 1898-1915 all of the pipes that came out of the factory bore a dual CPF/KB&B stamp. The fact that this one does not puts the date of manufacture before or around the early 1880s. It is an old pipe.

My brother took some close up photos of the pipe. The first two show the grain on the bottom of the bowl. It is a mixture of birds-eye and cross grain that is really scrambled up. I have not seen the kind of grain patterns that show up on just one side of this old timer. It is the graining pattern that makes me wonder if I am really dealing with briar here. The third photo shows the bowl and the rim. You can see the thin even cake and the buildup of tars and oils on the top of the rim. The internal and external edges of the rim appeared to be in excellent condition.cpf5cpf6The next two photos show the stamping on the left side of the shank and on the ferrule. The shank reads C.P.F. in an oval with French above the oval and Briar below the oval. The stamping is filled with gold gilding. The stamping on the ferrule has three hallmarks – an anchor, a star and an eagle which from previous research on this brand are determined to be faux hallmarks and are there for looks rather than giving pertinent information on the band. Beneath the hallmarks is the C.P.F. oval.cpf7The stem was lightly oxidized and the orific button on the end had some chips missing on the top and bottom sides. The underside of the stem was stamped Solid Rubber. From what I could find online the Solid Rubber stamp was originally used when rubber or vulcanite started becoming popular for pipe stems in the mid to late 1800s. I have found from working on them that solid rubber stems are different from vulcanized rubber stems. They seem to have less oxidation and seem denser in composition. They are heavier that vulcanite stems that are the same size as well. I have also found that they need to be cleaned differently. Solvents that are fine for vulcanite can cause hard rubber to “ripple”. They require a little extra care when performing maintenance.cpf8My brother did a great job cleaning the pipe up. He reamed the bowl and cleaned off the buildup on the rim. All that was left was some darkening. He cleaned out the internals so that when I got it the mortise, airway in the bowl and the stem were spotless. The bowl interestingly enough was not smoked all the way to the bottom. The last half of the bowl was still raw briar undarkened by smoke and heat. I took the next four photos to show what the pipe looked like.cpf9 cpf10I took a closeup photo of the rim top to show what I needed to deal with on that front. The surface was clean but there were some scratches and there were some nicks in the edges of the bowl. There was also some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl.cpf11I also took some close up photos of the identifying marks that I noted above in my description of the pipe. The CPF stamping on the shank was clear but the ferrule had rolled to one side and would need to be glued. The Solid Rubber stamping is also clear on the underside of the stem.cpf12I scrubbed the surface of the briar with acetone and cotton pads to clean off the remaining finish on the bowl and shank. I was careful to avoid the gold stamping on the left shank side.cpf13 cpf14The ferrule had rolled over to the top of the shank. The stamping was on top and should have been aligned with the stamping on the left side of the shank. I removed the ferrule and cleaned up the briar. I reapplied some all purpose glue to the briar and pressed the ferrule back on the shank. I aligned the stamping on the ferrule with that on the shank.cpf15The fit of the stem in the shank was very tight. I used alcohol and cotton swabs to clean out the stain spots on the inside of the mortise. It did not take too much to remove the shiny spots and once they were gone the stem fit better.cpf16I sanded the bowl and shank with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches and clean up the rim top. I was able to remove all of the nicks and spots on the rim. The scratching on the bowl sides was minimized.cpf17 cpf18I used black super glue to rebuild the damaged portions of the top and underside of the button edge. It took multiple coats rebuild it back to the size I needed so that I could reshape it with sandpaper and files.cpf19When the glue had dried I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to reshape it. I wanted it rounded like the undamageed portions of the button. It did not take too much work to reshape it. I polished the stem and button with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sandpaper and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the final rub down with oil I set the stem aside to dry.cpf20 cpf21 cpf22I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads as well. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a small bit of olive oil on a paper towel and hand buffed it with a soft cloth.cpf23 cpf24I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing wheel to raise the shine on the pipe. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is shown in the photos below. It is cleaned and ready to fire up with a fresh bowl of tobacco. It is a beautiful pipe for being over 130 years old. It will be a great pipe for sitting and reading as the large bowl will last a long time. It is also surprisingly light weight for a pipe of its size. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.cpf25 cpf26 cpf27 cpf28 cpf29 cpf30 cpf31 cpf32 cpf33