Tag Archives: bowl topping

Cleaning up a Mysterious Pot Shaped Pipes stamped only M-2

With a Little Work I have a DR Ardor Urano Fantasy Apple

Blog by Steve Laug

When I found this pipe on Ebay I wanted it. It actually does not happen too much anymore as it is becoming rarer that I want a pipe for myself. Generally I purchase pipes to repair that can teach me something or that I can repair and sell to someone I know is looking for a particular pipe. My brother will show me pipes that he finds and I look at them in terms of saleability or marketing. Rarely do I see one that I go “I want that one”. When I saw this one I wanted it. I don’t know what it is about the pipe but the combination of the blue Lucite stem and end cap, the flow and bend of the stem, the rusticated finish of the bowl and my favourite shape captured my imagination. Not even the chunk missing out of the right hand side rear top of the bowl deterred me from sending him a message to place a bid on it for me. That missing chunk would provide me with a challenge that I could imagine fixing. The pictures below came from the seller and gave a pretty accurate picture of the condition of the pipe.

The bowl had a thick cake that filled the bottom half of the bowl and closed it off. The top half of the bowl had an uneven thick cake and looked like the pipe man who had the pipe before had continued to smoke it even after the chunk came out of the bow side. It would be hard to know what the condition of the inner edge of the rim without removing the cake. The rim had a tarry buildup and overflow of lava. The stem had a lot of tooth marks and wear on the top and bottom surfaces and also on the top and bottom sides of the button. The stem was oxidized and dull. The finish was actually in quite decent shape and was pretty clean other than the rim. The stamping on the bowl was very clear. It was stamped in a column on the smooth underside of the shank DR in script over Ardor over Urano over Italy over Fatta A Mano over Fantasy. The stamping was clear and distinct.

When I got home from work I was excited to find that the package from my brother arrived while I was away. I had been looking forward to working on this one. When I removed it from the bubble wrap packaging that my brother had used there were no surprises. Things were pretty much as they had been described by the seller and shown in the photos. The stem had quite a few tooth marks and the sharp edge of the button was worn on both sides. The thin button would be comfortable but it needed to be cleaned up. Cleaning up the bowl and rim was going to be an interesting challenge. I wondered what I would find behind the thick cake. To have a chunk of briar break free like it had on this pipe made me wonder what was under the cake. I expected to find a fairly thin wall on the back of the pipe and around the broken area. I also wanted to see if there were any cracks running away from the broken area or if the break was clean. The interior of the shank looked pretty clean. The band on the end of the stem was oxidized and I wondered if it was brass or silver. I decided to start working on the bowl almost immediately. I needed to clean it up and see what I was dealing with. I reamed it using all four of the cutting heads on the PipNet pipe reamer. With the cake removed I could see the extent of damage to the rear wall of the bowl. The area on the left of the broken spot was thin and scored by what looked like a knife blade when it had been reamed before I got it. The top of the rim disappeared at the back of the bowl to the left of the break. The bowl was significantly out of round at the front as well.

In preparation for the bowl repair I sanded the inside of the rim with 220 grit sandpaper. I topped the bowl on the topping board to square up the rim. I cleaned out the edges of the break with a dental pick and then washed it with alcohol and cotton swabs.

I cut a piece of briar from an old broken bowl that I keep around for this purpose. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to shape the piece of briar to fit in the broken notch. It was still too tall for a good fit but you can see it in place in the next photo. I held it place and used the Dremel and sanding drum to shorten the plug to the same height as the bowl rim. It was too thick for the shape of the bowl so I sanded it with the Dremel to reduce the thickness.

I held it place and used the Dremel and sanding drum to shorten the plug to the same height as the bowl rim. It was too thick for the shape of the bowl so I sanded it with the Dremel to reduce the thickness.

I sanded the inside of the bowl with the Dremel and sanding drum to smooth out the inside edge of the repair. At this point in the process I set the bowl aside for a bit and worked on the stem. I cleaned the band on the stem with silver polish and the tarnish and brass look disappeared and underneath was a beautiful silver band with an oval 925 stamp. I cleaned out the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. It did not take too long before it was clean. I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I also used the drill bit from the KleenReem pipe reamer and cleared out the airway to the bowl. Once I ran the drill bit through the shank I cleaned it again with the pipe cleaners and alcohol. The finished pipe smelled clean.

I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads. I used a needle file to reshape the edge of the button and redefine the curve of the button from the end. I cleaned up the slot. I finished sanding the stem with 6000-12000 grit micromesh pads and then buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel.

With the stem finished I turned my attention to the rim and the thin inner wall of the bowl at the back of the pipe. I used clear super glue and briar dust to build up the inner edge of the rim. My thinking at this point was that this would be my base coat. From here I would build it up until I was satisfied with the thickness. Once the glue dried I sanded it and took a picture of the rim to this point. I used a Dremel with several different burrs to rusticate the patch on the outside of the bowl. I was aiming to match the cuts and random pattern of the rustication on the rest of the bowl. It took several cylindrical burrs, pointed burrs and a ball burr to get the pattern I wanted. The photo below shows the finished rustication. I needed to clean it up and then stain it. The next two photos show the clean up and the staining process. I used a black Sharpie permanent marker to fill in the deeper grooves in my rustication and then went over the whole thing with a dark brown stain pen. I finished by touching it up with a medium brown stain pen.

I waxed the bowl with Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a shoe brush. The next photo shows the bowl at this point in the process. All that remains is to work on the rim and the inner edge. At this point I have not done any work on the rim. I still need to clean up the rim top and the smooth edge on the outside of the bowl but it is getting there. I built up the inner edge with some JB Weld. I used a dental spatula to lay the mixture on the inner wall of the bowl. Once it is dry JB Weld is impermeable and does not disperse chemicals. My intention is to use this and then finish with a coat of pipe mud and a finish coat of bowl coating. I lightly topped the bowl once the JB Weld dried and gave the inner edge of the rim a light bevel. The bowl is slightly out of round but it far better than it was. I gave the bowl a hand buff with a shoe brush and a light rub down with olive oil. Once the oil was absorbed into the finish I hand buffed the bowl once more with the shoe brush. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The outside of the bowl looks excellent. The damage on the rim and the inner bowl wall made it very difficult to bring the bowl back to round. By and large considering where I started I am happy with the finished product. I am going to let the repair cure for another 24 hours before giving it a coat of pipe mud and then a bowl coating.

I took a few close-up photos of the repaired area so you can have a closer look at the repair. The first photo below is the right side. The repair is toward the back of the right side. The second photo shows the left side for comparison sake. The third photo is a top view of the rim repair. The final photos show the bowl with the stem out. Thanks for looking.

***ADDENDUM – I just finished a morning cigar and mixed a batch of pipe mud. I coated the inside of the bowl with a thick layer of pipe mud. It is now drying. Here is a photo. Ardor47

A Piece of Art Deco – Greenwich House Thoro-Kleen

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Blog by Steve Laug

For some crazy reason I have always liked odd pipes – pipes that pushed the envelope in the search for a cool dry smoke. Together they are alike a museum display of odd and inventive contraptions. When my brother sent me this metal pipe it certainly fit the category of the unusual. The design and shape to me bring back memories of watching the Jetsons on Saturday morning cartoons. The metallic spaceship like pipe encourages those connections for me. It has a streamlined metal shank with an end cap on one end and a stem on the other. It flows. The bowl is a finned affair with a briar insert. I think the idea was to make an indestructible easy to clean pipe. The fact that many remain on the market speaks to the indestructibility of the pipe but as for easy to clean well to me the jury is still out. Evidently the pipe originally came with two bowls – a choice of looks. The first like the one shown in the advertisement about was metal finned affair with a briar insert. The second was a briar bowl of various shapes. Both bowls were held to the shank with a hollowed out screw that served as the airway from the bottom of the bowl to the shank. The stem and end cap come off for ease of cleaning. The body of the pipe can be hexagonal, square (Thoro-Kleen only seen in this shape) or circular in cross section. The unmarked version tends to be regarded as the COMET, all the others being stamped with a name. The Smoking Metal website shows variations on the brand. Follow the link and you can see photos and information. http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=99

According to Pipedia the Greenwich House Thoro-Kleen was a metal pipe system from the same family as the Roybrooke, Comet, and Original Gridiron pipes, and parts from all are believed to be interchangeable. The pipes were sold by the Greenwich House Corporation, located in 1947 at 939-M 8th Avenue, N.Y. 19, N.Y… The pipe set sold for $2.50 in 1947. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Thoro-Kleen

From all of this I learned that the probable year of the pipe’s manufacture was 1947. It was a pretty sweet little pipe that definitely wore its age well. I did a bit more research as I wanted to find out what the packaging and the additional bowl looked like as the one I had, came only with the attached bowl. I found some photos that show the original packaging and have included them below.

I also found a picture of the pipe taken apart showing all of the pieces. This was an important picture for me as it helped to understand how to take apart the bowl and the end cap. The one I was working on was so dirty and caked that I could not see the screw in the bottom of the bowl and the end cap was stuck. I was not sure if it was pressure fit like a Kirsten or threaded. This answered those questions for me. Once I took mine apart I found that it did not have a paper filter but rather a metal stinger. I took the following photos of the pipe to record the condition it was in when I started. Part of the fun for me is to work on a pipe and then compare the finished pipe to where it was when I started the process. The aluminum bowl and base were oxidized and dull. The stamping on the side of the shank was readable but lightly stamped in the middle portion. It read Thoro-Kleen in flowing script over Greenwich House. The end cap had a slot that fit a standard 25 cents piece that could be used to open it. In this case it was stuck and I could not turn it. The stem was oxidized and had many tooth dents on the top and bottom sides. The bowl was badly caked to the point that no air could get from the bowl to the base. I was unable to see the bottom of the bowl and know what held it to the base. The briar bowl insert was damaged and had burn marks toward the bowl front.

I took some close up photos of the bowl and stem to show the condition they were in when I began the restoration.

In order to take the pipe apart I reamed the cake enough to be able to get to the screw in the bottom of the bowl. The funny thing is that while I was turning the handle on the PipNet pipe reamer the bowl twisted free of the base and I was able to take it apart. At this point the pipe looked like the photo below. I was not able to remove the end cap as it was still stuck. I finished reaming the bowl with the PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar.

I heated the end of the pipe with the flame from the lighter to loosen and soften the tars that held the threads tightly in place. After several failed attempts to turn it and then reheating it I was able to turn if free of the base with a pair of padded pliers. You can see from the photos below the thick dark substance that filled the end cap and the base.

I used a dental pick to begin to pick out the sludge on the inside of the cap and the base. You can see from the photo the amount of dried hard material that came out and this was only the beginning. The inside of the base was lined with hardened material. I plugged the tube with cotton pads and ran alcohol through the base to begin to soften the material. It took a lot of work to loosen it and the cotton pads came out darkened. I lightly topped the bowl to remove the damaged area and the burned area.

I removed the stinger from the stem and cleaned the airway with fluffy and bristle pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and minimize the tooth marks. I used thick folded bristle pipe cleaners to run through the base to remove the grime and oils that were left behind once I had scraped it clean. With the first level of cleaning done on the pipe I laid out the parts and took a picture. I also took a photo of the stamping on the shank now that I had cleaned it up enough for it to show more clearly.

I scrubbed the fins and grooves on the bowl with alcohol and cotton swabs. I scrubbed out the inside of the screw, end cap, threads and the inside of the metal bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. Once the end cap was clean and the inside of the base was clean I greased the threads on the cap with Vaseline and turned it into the base. I polished all of the aluminum parts of the pipe with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 to remove some of the scratches and oxidation. With the bowl and shank finished I put the pipe back together minus the stem. I put the briar bowl in the metal bowl and turned the screw into the base. I set the bowl and base aside and worked on the stem. I cleaned up the edge of the button on the stem with needle files to give it more of a sharp definition and remove the tooth marks. I sanded the file marks with 220 grit sandpaper and further cleaned up the stem.

I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished by sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of the oil and let it dry.

I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buff and then by hand with a microfibre cloth. I gave the base and bowl a coat of Conservator’s Wax and hand buffed it with a cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I can’t help but saying at this point – “Meet George Jetson…” Thanks for looking.

Restoring an Interesting Older XXXX’d out Sitter

5 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

When my brother Jeff sent me the photos of this pipe I could see what had attracted him to purchasing it. The unique sitter shape with the angled bottom, the interesting grain patterns and the clean though oxidized stem all pointed to a pipe that would clean up very well. The stamping on the left side of the shank was XXXX’d out so he could not read it to see who had made the pipe. There was something about it however, that niggled at my memory and the shape had a quintessential British made pipe look. When it arrived I examined it under a bright light and was able to make out the stamping under the XXX’s. It read MAJESTIC over Danish Crown. From research on the web I found that the brand was made by Ben Wade in England. In person the pipe was quite nice. There were scratches and nicks in the bowl that would need some work. On the left side toward the bottom of the bowl were two marks joined by a line. At first glance it looked like a crack but it was not. There were two flaws in the briar and a long horizontal scratch in the surface of the briar. Even if it had been a crack the two flaws stopped it from spreading so it was not a problem.

There was beautiful grain on the sides and bottom of the bowl. The dirty rim promised some interesting grain underneath the tars and lava build up. The outer edge of the rim had damage on the front and the rear. It had been tapped out on something solid and had rounded and damaged the edge. The inner edge looked good though the crumbling cake would need to be reamed to know for sure.

I reamed the bowl with the PipNet reamer and completely removed the cake. I wanted to clean up the inner edge of the rim and check the bowl walls for cracks or damage. (In the top view photo you can see the rounding on the front and back outer edges of the rim.)

I cleaned out the airways from button to bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I used a dental pick to clean out the slot.

I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the grime and the damaged finish.

I scrubbed the rim and then used the topping board to remove the damaged top of the rim. A light topping took the surface down and sharpened the edges on the front and back side of the bowl.

I used the dental pick to clean up the line and the two end points that marked the bowl on the left side. I used clear super glue to fill in the flaws and the groove in the line. I sanded the repairs to the bowl until the surface was smooth. I sanded it and the rim with micromesh sanding pads 1500-6000 grit. I used a black marker and a dark brown stain pen to prepare the bowl for staining. I decided to use a Cherry Stain and Danish Oil on the briar on this one. It would highlight the grain and make it shine.

I laid the pipe aside to dry over night. In the morning I buffed it with some Blue Diamond and then gave it a coat of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a flannel buffing pad and then took the next photos.

The stem still needed attention. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the nicks and deep oxidation in the vulcanite. I followed that by wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbing it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and repeated the oil. I finished by dry sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of oil. I set it aside to let the oil soak into the vulcanite.

I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad and then with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The unusual shape and the unique grain on the briar really stand out with the finish I chose. The slight bend to the stem gives it a jaunty look. The stem is too heavy for the bowl to sit flat on the angled base but it balances on the point.

Thanks for looking.

Easy Restoration of a 3-Star Pipes by Lee Rhodesian

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Blog by Aaron Henson – 2/20/16

I have found that writing up my pipe restorations is handicapped by my in-ability to remember to take pictures as I am working. On this Pipes by Lee Rhodesian I did a little better job at taking pictures. Although this was a simple restoration I thought I would take the opportunity to share my experience.

I found this 3-star Lee with two other pipes (a Mastercraft and a Grabow) in a lot at a local antique shop. I wanted to know more about the Lee brand but I found there is not much out there. But here is what I found:

The Pipes by Lee brand was distributed by Stewart-Allen Co, Inc., NY. The pipes were graded by stars: 1 to 5 stars (5 being the high end). Early pipes have seven pointed stars; the middle run have five pointed stars and later pipes are stamped with colored gold stars. (the preceding content from the “Pipes: Logos & Markings” website and the 1947 Ad, courtesy Doug Valitchka).

This pipe has three 7-point gold/brass stars set in a line in the top of the stem. I could not find the dates of the different runs/eras mention above but based on the ad I would have to guess my pipe dates to the late 1940’s to 1950’s.

The Pipe
The outside of the pipe was in very good condition. The briar was clean and the stem was moderately oxidized. The stamps on the shank were very clear: left side read ‘Pipe by Lee’ over ‘Limited Edition’. The right side of the shank is stamped ‘An Authentic’ over ‘Imported Briar’. The stem was slightly over-clocked and the previous owner had placed a couple of sheets of paper between the stem and shank to act as a spacer. There was one divot in the bottom stem near the button but otherwise was free from tooth chatter.

The internals were a different story; the chamber had a healthy cake buildup and good amount of tar on the rim. The shank was full of tar and the stinger was coated in dried tar. The internals of the stem itself were not as bad as the shank and I will attribute this to the removable filter/stinger. I began the restoration by cleaning the rim. I moistened a little powdered Oxyclean and placed it on a damp green-pad. I laid the pad on a flat surface and worked the bowl much like I was topping it. I don’t have a picture of the result but this worked very well.

The cake was very hard and resisted my attempts with the reamer so set the bowl to soak in alcohol overnight. I also set the stem to soak in an Oxyclean bath using a pipe cleaner to hold the stinger out of the solution.With the cake nice and soft, I reamed the bowl back to bare wood with little difficulty. An inspection of the inside of the chamber showed that the briar to be sound and without burnouts or cracks. The airway was clear and located precisely at the bottom center of the chamber. The alcohol soak also removed much of the stain and revealed three small pink fills that would have to be addressed.I finished up the internals by cleaning the shank with cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they came out as clean as they went in.

I neglected the pictures during this next part but in summary I used a dental pick to remove fills and packed the voids with briar dust. A dab of clear CA (cyanoacrylate) glue set the dust in place. After drying, the fills were sanded smooth. I also sanded the entire bowl (except around the stamps) with 1500-3200 micromesh pads.

Returning to the stem, I removed the aluminum ‘filter’ and cleaned it and the threads with 0000 steel wool and alcohol. Then I tried to raise the divot out of the stem with flame from a lighter. I didn’t expect to completely eliminate the divot but wanted to reduce it as much as possible before filling it. The fill was made with black CA glue and charcoal powder then sanded smooth when cured.

I polished the stem by wet sanding with 1500-4000 micromesh pads, rubbing down with mineral oil after each group of the three pads. A plastic washer was placed between the stem and the stummel at this stage to prevent damaging the wood and to keep from rounding the shoulder of the stem. At this point I set up the alcohol retort. It took three test tubes until the alcohol was clean; note that I left the filter off during the retort. I won’t describe the retort process because that can be found in other posts but I do want to comment on one point. I have found that heating the alcohol often time lead to an explosive boiling – not a very controlled process. The smooth surface of the test tube and purity of the alcohol does not provide a surface for bubble to form on. However, if I add a small foreign object to the bottom of the tube the boil is much more controlled. I small piece of cake or charred candle wick gives the bubbles a place to form and eliminate the possibility of super-heating the alcohol.Now that the pipe was cleaned and sanitized I finished the stummel by applying two coats of Feibing’s light brown aniline stain. I flamed the stain to set it and then wiped off the excess with a cotton pad and alcohol. While reassembling the pipe I heated the threaded tenon and re-align the stem. Then I coated the entire pipe with mineral oil and set it aside to soak in before applying three coats of carnauba wax.

Thanks for reading and please let me know what you think.

Didn’t Break a Sweat Cleaning this London Briar Brandy

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me this nice brandy shaped pipe. It has a Lucite stem that is a swirled black and olive or brown depending on the light. The bowl was in good shape with a light cake and some rim lava. There was a scratch on the left top of the rim top. The finish had a coat of varnish over the briar and it was cloudy and dirty. The stem had some tooth chatter and was dull. Otherwise the pipe was in very good shape. The only stamping on it is LONDON BRIAR on the right side of the shank.

I had not seen the stamping London Briars before so I did some hunting on the web for the brand and found that the brand was made by/for Gauntleys of Nottingham. They sold new for £31.95 Here is the link to their site: https://cigars.gauntleys.com/uk/offer/gauntleys-london-briar-pipes

I quote directly from the site:
Gauntleys London Briar Pipes – Our London Briar pipes have become very popular since we introduced them just a few months ago. Each is made from selected second briar blocks from one of the country’s largest and most respected pipe makers.

If the briar was flawless these pipes would sell for over £250. These are from briar with small flaws in the grain or needing small amounts of filler so are great value. The briar is some of the finest in the world and can be up to 80 years old.

Each pipe is hand made in a range of classic English shapes and comes in a number of finishes from Smooth Brown to Black (Shell Briar) Sandblasted.

If you are looking for a first pipe or something to use around the house or garden the Gauntleys London Briars are very affordable and smoke like an entry level premium briar. Each pipe comes boxed with a silk bag.

Here is the state of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable today. There is not a fill or a flaw that I can find in the briar. It is a light weight and clean pipe. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the build up and scratches. I scrubbed the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the varnish coat. There was some nice grain under the varnish coat.

I lightly topped the bowl to remove the scratches and the lava. The cake was uneven so I reamed it back to the briar to facilitate the building of an even cake.

I cleaned out the shank, mortise and airway with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean. I scrubbed out the airway and the slot in the stem at the same time.

I used a light brown stain pen to stain the rim to match the bowl. I sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then wiped it down. I continued to sand it with 3200-12000 grit micromesh to polish it.

I buffed the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave them multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean flannel buff and then hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below.

A Sparkling Metallic Dr. Grabow Viking with Three Bowls

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

This older Dr. Grabow Viking came to me as a gift from a Facebook friend. He gave it to me along with some other pipes for me to enjoy restoring. This one is stamped next to the heel of the metal base – Viking Pat. Pend. The metal is sparkling metallic silver. It has flecks throughout the paint that make it sparkle and shine. When it came it was together in a plastic sandwich bag. The base unit was tired and dirty. The bowl on the base was caked with an over flow of lava onto the rim. The other two bowls had been reamed and cleaned. The finishes on all three were dirty and dull. The rims on all three bowls show damage from burns or being knocked out on a hard surface. When I removed the bowl the interior of the base was caked with the thick lacquer of the juices of tobacco as it burns. It looked to me like it had not been cleaned in a long time and the black thick oils had hardened like rock in the base. The airway was clogged with debris. The stem had collapsed from being bitten on. The tooth marks were deep but did not go through into the airway. The sharp edge of the button was worn almost smooth. I was not able to push a pipe cleaner through the airway from the button or from the airway in the bottom of the base.

I took a few close-up photos. The first shows the inside of the base and the build up there. The second and third show the bite marks on the stem. The second photo shows the top of the stem and the bite mark on that surface, though not looking bad in the photo, collapsed the airway and made it impossible for a pipe cleaner to pass through. The fourth photo below shows the stamping on the bottom of the base.

I scrubbed out the inside of the base with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I also used a brass bristle brush. I opened the slot and airway in the stem with a flat needle file. I inserted the needle file and pushed the indentation on the top of the stem upward to clear the airway. It took a lot of fiddling with the file to open the slot completely. I cleaned the airway and stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol.

I repaired the tooth marks with black super glue and set the pipe aside for the evening to allow the glue to cure. I have not had good luck with this kind of fill using the accelerator as it tends to cause air bubbles in the dried glue.

G10

I reamed the cake in the one bowl with a Pipnet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar.

G11 G12

In the morning I sanded the repairs on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the surface of the repair and blend it with the stem. I used a needle file to sharpen the edges on the button.

G13 G14 G15 G17

Once I had the surface smooth I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit pads and then rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished dry sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set it aside to dry.

G18 G19 G20

With the base finished I set it aside and turned my attention to the bowls. I topped all three bowls on the topping board. The short bowl that I reamed had some dents and rim damage. The other two had burn marks and rounded edges that needed to be cleaned up.

G21 G22

I wiped the bowls down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish and the grime.

G23 G24

I stained all three rims with the light brown stain pen for the first coat. I then gave all three bowls several coats of Cherry stain Danish Oil and buffed them to a shine.

G25 G26 G27 G28 G29

I finished the restoration by buffing the bowls with Blue Diamond and then giving the bowls and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the whole pipe with a clean buff and then with a microfibre cloth to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Each photo shows a different angle and includes the base with all of the bowls in place.

G30 G31 G32 G33 G34 G35 G36 G37 G38 G39

More Work than I thought – A Real Briar Billiard with a horn stem

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

When I saw this pipe on eBay when my brother and I were searching for pipes in the estate pipe area I thought it would be a simple restoration. The briar appeared to be in decent shape and the finish looked very good. The rim was dirty but looked undamaged under the grime and tars. The horn stem did not look too damaged and should also be an easy repair. When the pipe arrived at my brother’s home he took the following photos and sent them to me to have a look at the pipe. It still looked pretty straight forward to me.

When the pipe arrived here in Canada I was in for a surprise. It definitely looked good but the more I dug deeper the more issues that I found. The rim was tarred and covered with lava and underneath the outer edges were rounded over. The bowl had a light cake at the top and half way down and a deep groove had been cut in the bottom of the bowl by aggressive insertion of the pipe cleaner. The groove or pit was below the airhole entry to the bowl. The shank had been repaired and the crack that I noted in the pictures had been well repaired and the band put in place to strengthen the shank. It would not take much to clean it up. The finish which at first glance looked good had deep gouges in the bottom of the bowl and on the left side of the bowl near the shank union. These were sharp cuts and could not be steamed out. There was a large fill on top of the shank where it met the bowl. It appeared to be pink putty but it was solid and tight. The stem was also nicked quite a bit on the top mid stem and on the left side near the band. The top and bottom sides had some deep tooth marks on them that I could not see from the photos. The stem was very tight in the shank and took some persuasion to remove.

The next two photos show the repair work on the underside of the shank. It was very well done and would not need to be further dealt with. The third photo shows the rim with the rounded outer edge.

I removed the stem from the shank with a bit of pulling and found that the metal tenon was covered with tar and had been stuck in the shank by the tars. I reamed the bowl back to bare wood to bring the rest of the bowl in line with the bottom half. I used a PipNet reamer with the second cutting head. In the second photo you can see the deep pit in the bottom of the bowl.

I cleaned out the stem and the tenon with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The next two photos show the tooth marks on both sides of the stem. They are quite deep and they will need to be repaired.

I wiped down the stem with a cotton pad and alcohol and then put drops of super glue in the tooth marks. I sprayed them with accelerator.

I scrubbed out the mortise, shank and bowl with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I scrubbed until the pipe cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean. I topped the bowl to remove the damage to the bowl top and to clean up the round outer edge of the rim. Once again, note the deep pit in the bottom of the bowl that is visible in the second photo.

I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with cotton pads and acetone to remove the finish and the grime that was ground into the briar. I was going to need to do some work on the gouges on the bowl sides and bottom so I wanted it clean.

The stem never sat completely tight against the shank so I beveled the inner edge of the mortise to accommodate the tenon/stem junction. With the externals cleaned I decided to do the repairs on the gouges on the bowl side and bottom. I put a drop of clear super glue in the divot and then pressed briar dust into the hole with a dental spatula. I pressed the dust deep into the glue to get a good fill. The second photo below shows the bowl side and bottom with what looks like a pox. The briar dust and glue fills are dry at this point and ready to sand. I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper and then with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads.

I used a light brown stain pen to give the fresh sanded briar on the bowl bottom and the rim an initial coat. I then stained the entire bowl with a dark brown aniline stain, flamed it and repeated the process. I set it aside to dry for about 30 minutes before buffing with Blue Diamond on the wheel.

I mixed a batch of pipe mud (cigar ash and water) to fill the pit in the bottom of the bowl. I put a pipe cleaner in the airway with just the tip extending into the bowl. I used the spatula to put the mud in the bottom of the bowl and pressed it into the pit with the hand of the spatula. I added the pipe mud until the bowl bottom was level. I set the bowl aside to so that the pipe mud would cure and worked on the stem. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out all of the nicks and scratches as well as blend in the super glue fills. It took a lot of sanding to smooth out the stem surface and remove as many of the scratches and dents as I could and still keep the profile. The super glue dried hard and the clear glue looks shiny and raises colour in the horn so it is very visible at this point.

When I had smoothed out the surface of as many flaws as possible I worked on it with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads. The repairs are starting to blend in. They will never be invisible but they are smooth. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil before continuing.

I wet sanded the stem with 3200-4000 grit micromesh and then dry sanded with the same grit pads. I gave it another coat of the oil.

I finished by dry sanding the stem with 6000-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads and then buffing the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.

I polished the silver band with silver polish and brought the parts together. I gave the pipe a final buff on the wheel and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buff and the with a microfibre cloth to raise the final shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. While the patches in the stem still show they are shiny and smooth to the touch and will give protection to the stem. The repairs to the cuts and gouges in the bowl look really good and virtually disappear under the stain and the polish. The pipe should live through at least another life time before it needs this kind of attention again.

I love these old timers – this one is a GC Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I found this old bulldog on EBay I was drawn to it and immediately put in a bid. I won it as no one else saw the charm in this one. It was a hard to see the stamping in the photos and many of the photos the seller included were out of focus which even made it harder to figure out the state of the pipe. The seller identified the pipe as a GC Bulldog. The seller’s photos that I have chosen below show the condition of the pipe. The finish is dirty and there are definitely dings and nicks in the briar. The bead around the cap of the bowl is a nice touch and it too is worn. The stem is oversized and is larger in diameter than the bowl so it makes one wonder if it is original. The threaded bone tenon in the stem fits perfectly in the shank with the alignment matching. The angles of the shank and the stem match. The vulcanite stem is just slightly larger than the shank on the left side of the pipe but works on the right side. The button is rounded and has an orific opening that shows that it is the proper age for this pipe. All that I saw was enough for me.

When the pipe arrived my assessment from the photos was correct. The stem was a good fit but it was larger than the shank on the left side. The bone tenon was in excellent shape with no wear and tear on it. It was stained with the tobacco juices of the long smoking. The shank was dirty and the airway in the stem was dirty. The airway in the bowl was clogged so no air would go through it no matter how hard I blew on the shank. The rim had serious damage on the right side front. There was a chunk of briar missing from the inner edge of the bowl and there was a scar running part way down below that. The rim had a divot at that point and also on the front itself that looked to have been caused by overzealous lighting from the exact same point every time the pipe was smoked. The bowl had been reamed and looked clean and smooth other than the damage on the right top side. The finish was dark and dirty. The stem had tooth marks on the underside near the button and tooth chatter on the top side. The next four photos show the pipe when I brought it to the work table.

The next photo is a close-up of the rim to show the damage. I decided to top the bowl so I used the topping board and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the top surface damage to the rim edge. When I had topped as much as I could without changing the profile of the bowl it was time to decide how to address the damage. I set that aside for a bit and worked on the fit of the stem.

I sanded the stem sides with 220 grit sandpaper to bring it to the same height and dimensions as the shank. It took work on the left sides and some adjustments to the right side. I also needed to work over the points of the diamond to make the alignment straight and flowing. I sanded the tooth marks and tooth chatter at the same time and was able to remove it.

I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the damaged and dirty finish that remained on the bowl. With these old finishes the grime and some of the clouded top coat disappears and the grain begins to poke through as the bowl is scrubbed.

I worked on the internals of the mortise, airway and the airway in the stem. Since the airway in the mortise was plugged I used a round dental pick to push through the grime that plugged the airway. I reamed out the airway with the pick and then scrubbed it with pipe cleaners and a shank brush until it was clean. I scrubbed out the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean and smelled fresh. I swabbed out the inside of the bowl with cotton swabs and alcohol. I used pipe cleaners and alcohol in the stem airway and cleaned the threads on the bone tenon with cotton swabs.

With the interior of the bowl clean I lightly sanded the inner edge of the bowl in the damaged area. I put some small drops of super glue on the rim and inner edge and used a dental spatula to press briar dust into the glue.

I retopped the bowl to smooth out the repair and sanded the inside with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the curve of the inner edge.

I sanded the top and rim edge with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper and then with 1500 grit micromesh in preparation for staining. I stained the areas where I had sanded the shank to match the stem and the rim with a dark brown stain pen.

I hand buffed the stained areas and the rim and took the following photos.

I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of oil. I set the stem aside until the oil dried.

I gave the bowl and stem several coats of Conservator’s Wax and hand buffed the pipe and stem with a shoe brush and a microfibre cloth to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. There are still some dents and dings on the sides of the shank and bowl that I chose to leave there. Some of them are the very faint stampings that remain on the right and left topside of the diamond shank. Some of them are beauty marks that came with the long life and hard travel of this little pipe. I chose to leave them as they were and imagine the stories that go along with them. Thanks for looking.

Mission Impossible: Operation Long Shot

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Blog by Charles Lemon and Steve Laug

Charles posted this on his Dadspipes blog this morning and I reblogged it here on rebornpipes. I was thinking about it this evening and thought it was worth saving in total on both blogs so not only have I reblogged it but I also have put it here in the archives of this blog. That way it is easily accessible on both blogs. This was a fun project for both of us to do. We spoke this afternoon and already are working on another collaboration… Keep an eye out for it on both blogs.

The door opened and a man walked into the bar, pausing briefly in the doorway to allow his eyes to adapt to the dim light inside. The place was what optimists would euphemistically call a dive. The establishment was empty except for a few drunks and a large, bored-looking man behind the counter wiping glasses with a rag that was presumably once white but was now an indeterminate shade of grey.

The man walked through the room, turned in at a doorway marked “Gents” and scanned the room – two stalls, a urinal and a grimy sink – before spotting what he sought. Moving across the room, he fed a handful of coins into a coin-operated machine advertising cheap cologne. There was a rattle and then a small rectangular device dropped into a waiting hand. The man pushed his thumb against a small pad on the otherwise blank rectangle. A laser washed briefly up and down the pad and then a voice was heard.

“Good morning, Agent. You have been selected to join a small, two-man strike force for a delicate and potentially disastrous assignment. Your mission, should you choose to accept it…..”

A while back, Steve Laug of Reborn Pipes and I had a conversation about the limits of pipe restorations. Was a pipe ever truly beyond repair? We responded in the negative, and decided to put our theory to the test with this mission, code-named Operation Long Shot. We wanted a pipe that was so far gone that most people would immediately write it off as firewood or worse, the sort of thing barely recognizable as a pipe.

We selected as our test subject this Brigham 3-Dot Prince. As you can see in the photos below, it was in terrible condition when I came across it in a jumble of estate pipes I picked up about six months ago. I had been holding onto it with some vague notion of using it for spare parts.

The pipe was filthy, crusted with dirt and debris. The old finish was long gone, and the nomenclature was almost entirely worn away. Wiping the shank with a bit of water, however, revealed the thin, flowing script of the early Brigham logo stamped over “Can Pat 372982”. That stamp places the production date of this old warrior in the 1938-1955 range.

The pipe stem carried the three brass dots of Brigham’s mid-grade 300 series, but was deeply oxidized a gruesome yellow/green colour. It had been brutally chopped off at the bit and a crude button cut into the raw end. To add insult to injury, the bowl had suffered a burnout through the bottom, which had been “repaired” as delicately as the stem with a large clod of epoxy which spread over most of the bottom bowl surface. The interior of the bowl was in no better shape – the epoxy fill had been roughly wiped around the chamber floor, and the draft hole had been worn or burnt open to about double its original diameter. All in, this pipe was a train wreck, though evidently much prized by its previous owner who had refused to give up on it.

Mission Log: Agent Lemon. Phase I – Cleanup and Salvage

This restoration would be a great challenge, but Steve and I were up for it. We agreed to tag-team the job: I would clean up the stummel and salvage what I could from the hacked up stem, and then mail the briar across the country to Steve in Vancouver, BC. He would plug the burnout and tidy up the stummel and then send the pipe home to me in Kitchener, ON for re-stemming and the final fit and finish.

Wanting to get the pipe off to Steve as quickly as possible, I got going on the reaming and cleaning work. I used my Castleford reamer to remove as much carbon from the bowl as I could. I reamed very carefully, expecting the bowl to crumble in my hands, but the old girl held together. I think most of what came out was actually more dirt than cake, but at least the chamber walls looked ok except for the enlarged draft hole. I scrubbed the exterior of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a soft toothbrush, and then dropped the briar into an isopropyl alcohol bath to soak overnight.

While the stummel soaked, I had a good look at the stem. I have another Prince shape in my Brigham collection, and a quick comparison showed that the stem for this old pipe was missing about an inch of length. I decided that I would need to work up a new stem to replace the old one. A vulcanite stem would be relatively easy to get hold of, but an aluminum Brigham tenon was quite another matter. As the tenon on the junk stem was still in good shape (or would be after a good cleaning), I decided to salvage it to implant in the replacement stem. I heated the tenon and the end of the stem over a lighter flame until the vulcanite softened, then gently twisted the aluminum tenon out of the stem. One of the brass dots decided to come with it, demonstrating how Brigham used the first brass pin to help hold the tenon/filter holder in the stem.

The next morning, I pulled the stummel out of the alcohol bath and scrubbed it down with an old towel. This is when I ran into the first bit of luck on this project – the alcohol soak had softened the wide but thin patch of epoxy spread across the bottom of the bowl. I quickly grabbed a dental pick and scraped as much of the old adhesive from the briar as I could. I managed to remove most of the softened epoxy, revealing a central core of harder fill about 5/8″ in diameter. This then, was the original burnout.

I drilled out the core epoxy and used a tapered reamer to trip the opening to an even circle with fresh briar all around. This would be the hole Steve would need to plug.

My first stage of the mission was complete, so I packed the stummel securely and entrusted it to Canada Post for shipment to Steve in Vancouver.

Mission Log: Agent Laug. Phase II – Bowl Repair & Refinish

Charles Lemon of DadsPipes and I decided to collaborate on a refurbish that captured some of the essence of our conversation that we shared on our blogs regarding restoration. This old Brigham had major issues with the stem and the bowl. Charles tackled the stem and did the cleanup work on the bowl and then sent the stummel to me to work on. When it arrived I took it out of the small box and had a look at what he had sent to me. He had cleaned out the bowl which had been plugged with JB Weld and opened up the burn out in the bottom of the bowl. He drilled out the plug and when I got it the bowl had pretty much most of the bottom missing. I cut the side out of an old briar bowl I cannibalized for parts and shaped it for the plug. It was thick enough and big enough for me to cut the plug. I cut it and shaped it with a Dremel and sanding drum. The next two photos below shows the plug after the initial shaping. It is still too large in diameter and also needs to be flattened on the inside.

I continued to shape and fine tune the plug until it fit into the hole in the bottom of the bowl. I flattened the inside surface to match the angles of the bowl bottom. The next two photos show that the plug is just about ready to press into place. Just a little more material needs to be sanded off the edges before it is a fit.

I sanded the edges with the Dremel and sanding drum until I had a good fit and then pressed it into the bottom of the bowl. I sanded the outer surface of the plug with the Dremel and sanding drum until it was flush with the surface of the bowl. I used a black sharpie to draw a cross on the bottom of the bowl so that I could align the plug once I put the glue on and pressed it into place. I then coated the edges of the plug with slow drying super glue and pressed it into the hole in the bowl. The next two photos show how the plug looked in place from the outside and the inside of the bowl.

I used a dental pick to clean out the edges of the plug and bowl on the outside and then filled them with super glue and briar dust to take care of the chips and damage to the bowl bottom. Once it dried I sanded the bottom of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to blend in the plug.

The next two photos show the state of the bowl repair at this point in the process. The plug has been set in the bowl and the crevices around the plug have been filled and repaired. The inside of the bowl is smooth and the plug sits nicely in place.

At this point in the process others may use JB Weld or Pipe Mud to finish up the bottom but I have found that a thin coat of Plaster of Paris gives a little bit of added protection to the bowl and also levels out the bowl bottom. In this case the bowl had a low spot in front of the entrance to the airway. I mixed a batch of Plaster, put a pipe cleaner in the airway and put it in the bottom of the bowl to level it out.

When the Plaster dried I applied a coat of pipe mud to the bowl bottom and sides, filling in some of the crevices in the bowl sides and smoothing out the surface. I used a dental spatula to press the pipe mud in place on the bowl sides and a pipe nail to press it into the bottom of the bowl.

I set the bowl aside at this point to cure for two days and then worked on the rustication of the bowl. I used a dental burr to follow the pattern on the bowl sides and deepen them. I cut a similar pattern on the bottom of the bowl with the burr. I used the burr to clean up the rustication on the shank as well – carefully avoiding the area where the faint Brigham stamping remained.

I used a black Sharpie permanent marker to stain the grooves in the bowl. I wanted a dark under tone to the bowl after I stained it. I like the way the stain looks with this underneath in the grooves.

I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain and flamed it.

I wiped it down with alcohol on cotton pads to give it some more transparency and create the contrast with the black in the grooves of the rustication. I sanded the rim with a 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pad to smooth it out and to add to the contrast of the smooth rim.

I hand rubbed in several coats of Conservators Wax and then buffed the bowl with a shoe brush.

I mixed up a bowl coating of charcoal powder and sour cream and painted it on the inside walls of the bowl to give it further protection. When the bowl coating dried, it was time to pack the stummel back up for its return trip to Ontario.

Mission Log: Agent Lemon. Phase III – Stem Work

Recreating a Patent Era Brigham stem requires only a few items – a vulcanite stem of appropriate length and sufficient diameter to hold a Brigham rock maple filter, an aluminum Brigham tenon/filter holder, a few drill bits and some epoxy.

I found a suitable stem in my box of stems, using a Brigham Prince pipe from my collection as a reference. I used a hacksaw to remove the vulcanite tenon, and then clamped the stem into a simple drilling jig in my drill press. The stem must be perfectly aligned in the press or you risk drilling through the side of the stem instead of down the airway. The goal is to enlarge the airway to make room for the filter, and then drill out a mortise in the face of the stem to accept the aluminum tenon/filter holder. A quick test fit verified my drilling, so I glued the original tenon into the new stem with a bit of JB Weld and let the assembly cure.

When the repaired stummel arrived from Vancouver, I could fit the replacement stem. As I was working with the original tenon, it wasn’t a great surprise when the stem fit nicely into the shank. A little bit of filing and sanding to remove the stem’s molding marks and reduce the diameter to match the shank, and I was ready to install the Brigham dots.

The dots are made by inserting 1/16″ brass rod into holes drilled in the side of the stem. The first pin is located approximately 5/16″ from the end of the stem at the centre line, and the other pins in the 2, 3, and 4-dot patterns are built off the first dot. As this was a 300-level pipe, I’d be installing three pins in a triangle pattern. The first pin is the bottom left dot of the triangle.

I marked out the pinning pattern with a Sharpie and then drilled the holes, being careful not to drill through into the stem’s airway. Short segments of brass rod were then glued into the holes with clear CA glue. When the glue had cured, I used a combination of files and sandpapers to bring the dots flush with the surface of the stem. A final polishing with micromesh pads to remove any remaining scratches prepped the stem for buffing. Just before doing so, I gave the stem a 1/8th bend by holding it over the heat gun until pliable and shaping it over a round form. A dip in cool water set the bend in place.

Mission Log: Impossible Accomplished

The restored pipe sits on the desk in front of me. I hardly recognize it as being even remotely related to the broken-down shell of a pipe Steve and I started with only a few short weeks ago. Shipping the patient back and forth took a lot of time, but the results of this cross-country collaboration speak for themselves. This Patent Era Brigham 313 looks ready for another 60 years of smoking pleasure. Steve did a truly magnificent job on the stummel, and the new stem looks like it’s been there all along. I think we both learned something new during this restoration, and we proved our theory (in grand fashion) as we did it – every pipe, no matter the condition, can be restored to useful service with the right combination of skill and will.

I hope this project inspires other pipe refurbishers to take a second look at that written-off pipe you’ve held onto for some reason. I’m willing to bet there’s still a great smoke hiding in that old briar somewhere. It’s up to you to find it.

Here’s the finished pipe.