Tag Archives: Bowls – refinishing

Restoring a Mr. Brog Bulldog no. 34

by Steve Laug

The next pipe that I am working on came from a friend in Naples, Florida, USA on 07/17/2024. It was very dirty and had a heavy varnish coat around the Pearwood bowl and shank. It was a natural finish under the varnish. It was dirty and had hand oils ground into the finish. The bowl had a thick cake in the bowl and a coat of lava flowing onto the inner edge and the rim top. The thick taper stem was very dirty, oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was a white spot on the topside of the stem. The fit of the stem to the shank is perfect. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and read Mr Brog [over] no. 34 Bulldog. To the left of the stamping was a large stamped cloverleaf. Jeff took photos of the pipe so I could have a sense of what it looked like before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the inner edge of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter and marks ahead of the button edge. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime in the finish around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as you can see from the photo. It read as noted above. Before I started working on the pipe I wanted to see what the original stem looked like and I wanted some background information on the Pear Wood Pipes. I decided to do a bit of digging on the history of the brand. I turned first to Pipephil’s site to get a quick overview (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m8.html). From there I learned that the brand started in Poland in 1991 in the area known as the “St. Claude of Poland’. It was started by Zbigniew Bednarczyk along with Kazimierz Rog. Zbigniew kept the name after Kazimierz died in 2006.I turned to Pipedia for a bit more detail of the history (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Br%C3%B3g).

Pracownie Fajek Bróg was founded as Mr Bróg in Przemysl, “the Saint-Claude of Poland”, in 1991. Master craftsman Kazimierz Rog, the senior partner, had been a pipemaker since 1947, starting as an apprentice and later partner of Wiktor Winiarski and Zbigniew Mazuryk, followers of legendary Ludwik Walat. Zbigniew Bednarczyk was completely new to pipemaking, but as a non-professional sculptor, painter and poet he surely had pretty enough artistic disposition.

Mr Brog started out offering 10 models of briar pipes and 10 models made of wild pear, wild cherry and other unexpected materials, available both smooth and rusticated and polished with natural waxes only. The experience of the old master and the dynamic passion of his young friend made the brand soon well-known in Poland. Little by little they enlarged their program turning towards a more artistically minded way of pipemaking. This was the bedrock for success on international markets.

Kazimierz Róg, highly honored, passed away after a lengthy illness on June, 26th 2006. The firm is continued by Zbigniew Bednarczyk and his wife Renata.

I decided to check on the Mr. Brog Website (https://mrbrog.com/collections/pear-wood-pipes) to see what I could find out. The first information that I found was the following on the wood the pipe was made of. I quote

Pear wood is a great alternative to briar wood. Pear wood is very dense and a hard wood which is great for a pipe you can have for the years to come. Also, pear wood gives off a very pleasant smell and taste while smoking.

I then turned to the catalogue of pipes and shapes that were available in pear wood and looked specifically for the Bulldog No. 34. The shape and the shape number are shown in the photo on the site (https://brogshop.pl/en_US/p/Pipe-no.-34-Buldog-9-mm-Mr-Brog/290). I have included a picture from the website. As I scrolled through the photos on the site on this shape I found a photo of the various finishes on the pipe. The particular pipe I am working on is the first one at the top of the photo. It is labelled as Naturalny.Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The rim top shows some damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the darkening to the rim top and the inner edge is very visible in the photo below. The stem was clean and the tooth marks and chatter can be seen in the photos.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is very clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening to the rim top and sanding the bowl and shank. I used 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the darkening on the rim top and the inner edge as well as clean up the bowl. It looked much better once finished. I polished the rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. It took on a rich shine. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the surface of the pear wood with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth to raise a shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks and chatter. I smoothed it out but since it is acrylic it still shows the scratch marks in the surface.I sanded the scratches on the stem sides with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. But the end it was beginning to shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads – the stem began to take on a shine. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished the stem with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine Polish. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I fit the 9MM tenon with a Dr. Perl Junior 9MM filter. It slipped in with no obstruction and fit in the shank perfectly.The Mr. Brog Pear Wood Bulldog no 34 turned out really well. I put the 9MM stem back on the shank and buffed it lightly with Blue Diamond to raise the shine. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the bowl with a soft cloth to deepen the shine. This chubby Pear Wood shape that Mr. Brog calls Bulldog no 34 is quite nice. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the Chamber: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.87 ounces/53 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers section. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading through my thoughts and reflections as I worked on this pear wood pipe.

Another Resurrection – a Savinelli Roma Lucite 412KS Billiard

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

The next pipe came from Curtis, the same pipeman whose Neerup pipe I restemmed. He sent me the two pipes for work. This one is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank. It was stamped Savinelli [over] Roma Lucite [followed by] Made In [over] Italy [followed by] the shape number 412 KS. It was a sandblast pipe with an interesting blast that showed the grain around the bowl and shank. The stem was a variegated orange/brown Lucite taper with a brass spacer at the end of the stem and a gold R Shield on the left side of the shank. The stem had light tooth chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. It had a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. To me those are easily dealt with and really are not an issue. What was an issue was the cracked shank. It cracked ¾ of an inch up the shank with a clean break. It was too far up the shank to band it to hold the parts together. It was a mess that I would need to be creative to fix. I left it over night to see if I could sort out a repair of some sort that would put the pieces back together again. I had some brass tubing that would work well in the shank together from the inside.I cut a piece of brass tubing that fit from the entry of the airway in the shank, across the cracked shank and ending at the bevel on the shank end. My thoughts on it were that I would reduce the size of the tenon on the stem so it would slide into the shank. It was thick enough that the thinning would not make it weak. I used a brass bristle wire brush to roughen the area of the repair on the shank to match the sandblast on the finish. It was close but I would need to do more. I found a deep set band that once in place combined with the internal tube should protect the shank. I pressed it on the shank. I worked over the repair on the shank with the wire brush and an etching tool. I wanted it to match the rest of the shank and bowl finish. It will look good once the section is restain. I restained the shank end with a combination of Mahogany and Black stain pens. Once it dried I buffed it with a soft cloth and the repair looked very good. I reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer using the second and third cutting heads to remove the thick cake in the bowl. I scraped the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remainder of the cake in the bowl. I sanded the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. It looked good. I cleaned up the rim top. I scraped off the lava coat with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scrubbed it with some warm water and a paper towel to remove the bulk of the grime. I used a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to polish off the remainder of the grim and the rim top look significantly better. I scrubbed the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners – both regular and bristle one and isopropyl alcohol.I rubbed the briar down with Before and After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips and let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. After that I buffed it off with a soft cltoh to polish and raise the shine on the bowl. It looks very good. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished out the tooth marks and chatter with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an obsidian Oil soaked cloth. It is looking good.I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with each pad. I wiped it down with the Obsidian Oil after each pad. I finished polishing the stem with Before and After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I polished it with each polish and the stem began to have a rich glow. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to seeing the Savinelli Roma Lucite 412KS Billiard put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the grain really pop with the wax and polish. The polished variegated Brown Lucite stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of stains on the bowl and shank. This Savinelli Roma Lucite Billiard was a lot of work to bring back to life. The pipe is light weight, comfortable in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. I will be packing this one up with restemmed Neerup and getting them in the post to Curtis. I look forward to hearing from him regarding his two pipes.

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

Resurrecting a 4th Generation Erik Stokkebye Churchwarden

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

On Tuesday the local pipe shop dropped by 5 pipes for me to clean up and restore. I have finished and returned four of them. The last of them was a pipe they saw as pretty much a lost cause that they had sitting in their stock room. It was an Erik Stokkebye 4^th Generation Churchwarden. It was new, unsmoked and other than being in pieces was in good condition. We spoke and figured it would be an interesting challenge to work on so they dropped it by. Yesterday I cut a piece of tubing and glued it into the airway in the bowl. I let it cure overnight before I began reconstructing the pipe.I cleaned up the end of the tube with a piece of sandpaper. I painted the extension of the tube with clear CA glue. I also used a tooth pick to coat the broken portion on the bowl and the shank with the CA glue. I slid the shank onto the tube and aligned the two parts until they were smooth and clamped the bowl until the glue cured. I took photos of the repair after it had cured. I let it sit for an hour while the repair hardened. It looked quite good. I sanded the repaired areas on the shank with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs. It took a bit of work but was able to smooth out the repairs and blend them into the surface of the briar. The pipe was beginning to look better. I put the stem in place on the shank and took photos of the pipe. It is going to look very good once I smooth it out and restain it.I polished the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with the pads and wiping it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The repair began to take on a shine. I used a Cherry, Walnut and Mahogany stain pen to restain the repaired shank after sadning it. The combination of colours worked very well with the surrounding stain on the briar. I rubbed the bowl down Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10-15 minutes. I wiped it down and buffed it down with a soft cloth. It looks quite good. I am excited to finish this Erik Stokkebye 4^th Generation Churchwarden. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain just popping on all sides. This Eric Stokkebye 4^th Generation Churchwarden is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 10.90 inches, Height: 1.68 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 70.75 grams/ 2.50 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be going back to the local pipe shop that dropped it by for a repair. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

What an Oddity a Clairmont 1Ano Destra Handmade Right Angle Pipe with a Cumberland stem

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

This particularly interesting right-angle Billiard pipe was purchased from a seller in Santa Cruz, California, USA on 05/28/2024. It is carved in a way that chases the grain and a bent rounded shank with a Cumberland stem. It is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads Clairmont and on the underside of the shank it is stamped 1 Ano Destra and right next to the shank it is stamped Handmade. The smooth 90 Degree Angle Billiard shaped pipe is dirty but the grime does not hide the beautiful looking combination around the bowl and shank. The stain brings out the straight grain around the bowl and shank sides and the birdseye on the top and underside of the shank and the rim top and heel of the bowl. The pipe had a moderate cake in the bowl and a light coat of lava on the top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the smooth finish. The shape of the rim is slightly crowned. The acrylic Cumberland taper stem is dirty and has what looks like debris left behind by a Softee Bit. It had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe must have been a great smoker judging from the condition it came it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the light lava on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The Cumberland acrylic stem was dirty and had light chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It really is a nicely shaped pipe that has a very unique look. The next photos Jeff took shows the stamping on the top and the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I really wanted to understand who had made the Clairmont pipe. I had not heard of the brand before and have not worked on one. I turned to Pipephil’s site to see what I could learn from there (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c5.html). Generally the site has a great summary of information and in this case it did as well. I have included a screen shot of the section and have included the side bar information below the photo.Brand created by Alberto Paronelli in the 1970’s. Pipes usually were crafted by Tom Spanu. “Clairmont” is a francization of “Chiaramonti”, birthplace of Tom Spanu (see dok). See also: Casteldoria, Castelsardo

With that information I knew that the pipe had been crafted by Tom Spanu for a brand created by Alberto Paronelli during the 1970s. The Clairmont name was a francization of the Italian word Chiaramonti which was the birthplace of Tom Spanu.

I turned to Pipedia for more information on the brand. It gave a one line confirmation of the information from Pipephil (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Pipe_Brands_%26_Makers_A_-_C). I have included the line below.

Clairmont – Alberto Paronelli / Tomassu Spanu; Gavirate (Varese). Highgrade pipes, discontinued.

The added information was that it was a Highgrade pipe that is no longer made.

From there I turned to an article on Tommaso Spanu (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Spanu). I quote the information below as well as an update on the death of Tommaso Spanu in the Fall of 2015. I have made the sections on the Clairmont pipes in bold.

Novarte S.N.C. di Spanu Tommaso

Update: We are sad to report that it has come to our attention that Tommaso Spanu passed from this World in the Fall of 2015 to join the many great Italian pipe makers that came before him. Our hope is that Tommoso’s sons and brother will continue the Spanu pipe making tradition. We can also enjoy the legacy he leaves in the many pipes he has made over the years.

In 1963 Tommaso Spanu left his home in Sardinia and wandered to Northern Italy to become a pipemaker. His uncle had managed an apprenticeship for him in Gavirate, in the province of Varese, with it’s many pipe manufactures. His exceptional talent soon attracted the attention of Alberto Paronelli (→ Paronelli), the grand seigneur of Italian pipe business. Paronelli, a famed pipe designer himself, arranged that the best pipe craftsmen schooled his young fosterling and personally taught him in pipe design and styles. Soon Spanu reached a remarkable level of skills and began to work on the Clairmont pipes, a high-grade brand produced for and distributed by Paronelli. A little later the bulk of the Clairmonts was made by Spanu who was even allowed to stamp them with his own name additionally.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl, shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. It was surprising how easily the pipe cleaners went through the curved shank to the bowl. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the cleaner. It looked very good when I brought it to the worktable. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the work table. The briar is really very stunning! I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were light tooth marks and chatter against the button edge on both sides. Green dot inset logo in the stem looks very good.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with incredible grain. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process they looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. Once it was finished the stem looked really good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am excited to finish this Tom Spanu Handmade Clairmont 1 Ano Destra with a Cumberland acrylic taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It looked excellent without the damaged spacer on the stem. The fit was excellent. I gave the bowl multiple coats of and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain just popping on all sides. This Spanu Made Clairmont 1 Ano Destra Handmade is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams/ 1.76 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Fitting a new stem to a Neerup, Made in Denmark Bulldog

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

The next pipe came to my table from a fellow I had repaired pipes for before. It has been awhile and he has moved further away but he remembered me and sent the pipes to me to repair. There were two of them – a Savinelli Billiard with a snapped shank and a Neerup Bulldog. The Bulldog looked very familiar to me and I did a bit of looking back and found that I had worked on it previously. I had fitted it with a new stem in the past and later replaced the tenon on it. Now it was back for a new replacement stem. It is obviously a favourite pipe. It has a black sandblast finish that is a bit dirty and a light cake in the bowl that had been recently reamed. There is an overflow of lava on the rim top. The pipe was still a beauty. The shank end of the vulcanite stem had been wrapped in tape but I am not sure the purpose of the tape. Under the tape was a polished nickel end cap on the stem for decorative purposes and perhaps Curtis would rather have it plain. The button end had been chewed and was missing a large piece of vulcanite on the underside of the button surface. The stem will need to be replaced. I took photos of the pipe before I began my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the condition of the stem when I received the pipe. It was a bit of a mess. The stem was in rough condition as noted above. You can see the damage on both sides of the stem – the chipped and broken underside of the button as well as the tooth damage on the topside of the stem. Looking at it you can see why we chose to restem it.The next two photos showed the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint and hard to read in the photos. In person it is faint but readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of perspective to the parts. I went back and reread my previous work on this pipe. I have been doing this long enough that I am doing repeat repairs on pipes that I had repaired before. This link is to the first restem on the pipe. Here is the link (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/12/22/new-life-and-new-look-for-a-neerup-made-in-denmark-bulldog/).

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer to remove the thin cake from the bowl – using a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape away the carbon coat. I sanded the walls smooth with a piece of dowel wrapped with some 220 grit sandpaper.I cleaned out the shank and the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I also cleaned out the airway in the stem I had chosen to use as well. I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush on the sandblast and the a brass bristle brush on the rim top. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to rinse off the soap and the grime left behind. It looked better. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get it deep in the grooves of the sandblast. I let it sit for 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cloth. I went through my stems and found this slightly longer taper stem that would need very little adjustment to fit in the shank. I took pictures of the old stem with the replacement stem in the photo to show the difference.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The oil both preserves the rubber and also provides some needed friction for the micromesh pads. I polished it with Before & After Fine & Extra Fine Polish. I rubbed it down a final time with the oil and set it aside. This Neerup Made in Denmark Freehand Bulldog carved by Peder Jeppesen combines a great looking piece of sandblast briar with a multi-banded shank extension and a vulcanite stem to make a beautiful pipe. The removal of the thick shiny coat allows the grain to come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Neerup Made in Denmark Bulldog really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. Once I finish the second pipe this one will be going back to Curtis to enjoy. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring a Kaywoodie Flame Grain Imported Briar 16 President

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

I received an email from a fellow a bit ago about two of his pipes that he wanted me to restore. I have included his email below.

Hey Steve,

It’s been a little while but I’d like to send in the Kaywoodie President for restoration. I also have a Marxman apple that I would like an assessment on–it’s a bit more of a challenge than a standard restoration. Can you let me know if you have an opening and if so, what address to send them to? Thanks! – Devin

I asked him to send me some photos of the pipes before he shipped them to me. I gave my address and he shipped them to me. Here are the photos of the Marxman pipe that he sent.He included some close-up photos of the bowl and shank to show the condition they were in. The photos show the condition the bowl and rim top. There is no cake in the bowl but the rim top and inner edge show damage from burning and possibly overzealous reaming. The stem has a lot of tooth marks and dents in the top and underside ahead of the button. He also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the condition of the aluminum stinger apparatus. The pipes arrived here last evening. I took the Kaywoodie President to the table to look it over. It was very clean inside and out. The rim top had burn damage on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The finish was dirty on the bowl and shank. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank read Flame Grain [over] Kaywoodie. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar [over] the shape number 61. The stamping was clear and quite readable. The stem was oxidized and had tooth damage on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the button edge itself. The vulcanite stem was fat on the bottom side and has the Kaywoodie black clover logo in a white circle on the topside of the stem. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the bowl has been reamed and the burn damage on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It needed some work. The stem was oxidized and has some deep tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the edges. I took photos of sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and readable. I also took a photo of the logo on the stem top. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. The stinger apparatus is shown in the photo as well. It is a nicely grained unique.I turned to Pipephil’s site to look at the data that was available on Kaywoodie President pipes and see if there were any pipes like the bowl I had (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-kaywoodie.html The shape called “President” is a Kaywoodie’s distinctive production. It has never been copied. Until late 1930’s pipes were stamped with a 4 digit code (this pipe: 7793).

The first 2 numbers (77) designate the style or finish.
The last 2 are the shape numbers (93).
The numerical code may be reinforced by a letter for variants.

Thus the small “President” pipes are stamped 93S while the larger bear a 93L (see also this Super Grain pipe).

Later Kaywoodie will cancel the 2 first style/finish numbers keeping the 2 last shape numbers and the letter for variants (i.e. Allbriar or Connoisseur).

I further worked on the name and shape number of this Kaywoodie. It was stamped on the right side of the shank with the shape number 61. I turned to Pipedia to a specific article on the various shape numbers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie_Shape_Numbers). I found the following line below. It identifies the shape 61 as follows.

61 EZ set Vest pocket President (streamliner shape) oval bowl 1935-1937, 1952-1960

From that information I knew that the pipe originally had been released in 1935-37 and then released again between 1952-60. The pipe in hand was the later release as the earlier version had a different shape number and often had the patent number. This one had a two digit number and no patent.

I turned to Pipedia to the article on Kaywoodie pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie) to see if I could find information on the shape and President line. There was a sales flyer on Kaywoodie pipes for Father’s Day. I have included a copy of the flyer below in a section called Streamliners.The article also included a shape chart that was helpful. The last shape in the chart was a Kaywoodie 61 E-Z-Set Vest Pocket President which is the same shape as the one that I am working on.From the above information I knew that I was working on a Kaywoodie President shape 61. It is a great looking unique pipe. It was now time to start working on the pipe.

I cleaned out the shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners – bristle and smooth and cotton swabs and alcohol. It was an incredibly dirty shank and airway in the stem. It smelled significantly better once finished.I decided to address the damage on the rim edge and top. I wanted to do so with minimal effect on the shape of the edge and rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the inner edge of the bowl and to remove the burn damage. It looked much better. I carefully, gently sanded the surface of the bowl and the shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the scratches in the surface of the briar. The bowl and shank began to look very good. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the briar and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a rich shine and the grain stood out beautifully. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the briar and the repaired areas. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar and give it a rich lustre. The briar came alive and the grain really pops. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I forgot to take photos but I “painted” the vulcanite stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift the majority of them with the heat. I filled in the deeper marks on the surface of the button and the edge of the button with a rubberized CA glue. I flattened the repairs on the stem and recut the edge of the button with a small file. I flattened the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It is starting to look very good. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. The shape and look of the stem looked better and better. The remaining oxidation was gone.I polished the stem by dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth. The stem looked very good. I put the Kaywoodie Flame Grain Imported Briar 61 President back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond. It raised a shine on the briar and the stem and gave some depth to the grain. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe turned out to be a unique beauty in its own way. I really like the grain and the shape of this Kaywoodie Flame Grain 61 President. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/39 grams. It is a uniquely beautiful pipe. It will join the Marxman Apple on its journey back to Devin early in the week ahead. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Breathing new life into a Unique Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with the Wooden Stem

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

It is another rainy day in Vancouver and a day off so I decided to go to the basement and work on a pipe that was purchased on 12/03/2025 from a seller in Houston, Texas, USA. It is a no name rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian shape pipe that is quite beautiful. The rusticated bowl and shank of this large Rhodesian that has a very tactile feel that I am sure is even better when it heats up. The shank has some patina developing around the shank and end. The rim top has some patina under the lava. There was no stamping on the shank or bowl. The pipe was dirty when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The bowl was heavily caked and there was some thick lava on the rim top and inner edge. The hand carved wooden taper stem was dirty and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There no stamping or logo on the stem top or sides. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it.

The photo to the right is a great photo of the general appearance of the bent Rhodesian and the rugged rustication on the bowl sides and heel. You can also see the lava and darkening to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It has a great looking hand carved stem – it is hardwood and I wonder if it is Walnut or possibly Paduak. I am uncertain of the kind of wood that the stem is made of but it certainly a reddish coloured hardwood.

He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. The inside of the bowl is heavily caked with a heavy lava build up on the inner edge and rim top. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. The photos show the lack of defined edge on the button and the wear ahead of the button. The condition of the stem is as I described above.
The tenon is fit for a Medico style paper filter. The tenon is too small for a 9MM filter and too big for a 6MM filter.Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the finish and the developing patina on the shank and bowl. Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top looks very good. There is a little darkening on the back topside of the rim but otherwise it is excellent. The stem came out looking quite good. It only needed to be polished. I took the stem off and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. It really is a beauty. I carefully sanded the smooth surface of the rim top and shank end of the shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the darkening and small scratches in the surface of the meerschaum. The bowl and shank began to look very good. I polished the meerschaum rim cap, top and shank end with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the briar and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a rich shine and the grain stood out beautifully. I rubbed the meerschaum down with Claphams Beeswax/Carnauba wax. I worked it into the meerschaum with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The meerschaum takes on a deep patina that really comes alive with the wax. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stems. I recut the button edge and reshaped it with small needle files. I sanded the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish reshaping the button edges. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. The shape and look of the stem looked better and better. It really began to shine.I polished the wooden stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped them down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with a Wooden Filter Stem has a beautiful, reddish brown finish that highlights some beautiful grain. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stems multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with Wooden Stem is quite stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.12 ounces/61 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I am not sure where this will end up. I may keep it here for awhile to make sure the draught is correct. Then I will see. Thanks for your time.

Renewing and Repairing a Cracked Shank on a GBD New Standard 357CC Prince

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

About a week ago or so I was chatting with Chris about a pipe I had shipped him, a lovely GBD International Prince and he was enjoying it he loves GBD Princes and had a New Standard with a cracked shank that he had picked up from a seller on eBay. He wasn’t clear if it was cracked when he picked it up or if it had happened since. He had tried to repair it and it had not worked. It extended about ¼ inch midshank on the right side. It had some remnants of glue on the shank in the sandblast. I told him to send it up and I would have a look at it for him. It arrived last evening. Here is what I saw when I opened the package. It is a great looking sandblast Prince that is stamped on the underside on a smooth panel on the shank and read GBD in an oval [over] New Standard in script. That is followed by London England and then a little below the London stamp with the Shape number 357CC. The crack was on the left side of the shank and there was some darkening on the inwardly beveled rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem was lightly oxidized and had some light tooth marks near the button edge. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem showing the condition of both sides and the tooth marks against the button. The bowl was quite clean other than darkening on the inner edge and the top of the bowl. It also showed what looked like a line on the surface for a rubber bite guard.I took a photo of the underside of the shank. It shows the stamping on the shank and though it is faint in spots it is readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo the looks of this GBD Prince.I took a photo of the crack on the right side of the shank. You can see the glue residue in the sandblast finish.Now it was time to address the crack. I decided to clean up the repair with a brass bristle wire brush. I knocked off the glue and damaged areas on the shank side with the wire brush. The crack is clear and visible in the photo below.The first step in the repair is to clean out the shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners – both bristle and smooth as well as qtips and alcohol. I always want to clean up the oils and tars in the shank before regluing and banding it.I used a tooth pick and all purpose white glue to fill in the crack on the shank side and to put a bead around the shank end. I pressed the brass band onto the shank end and wiped off the excess blue.I took photos of the newly banded shank and repair on the right side. It looked very good at this point. I stained the repaired shank end with a Mahogany stain pen to blend it into the rest of the bowl and shank. It looked very good to my eye and the match of the colour was perfect.I polished the brass band and the smooth inward bevelled rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The brass took on a rich shine and the rim top looked much better. I took a photo of the pipe at this point. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the sandblast briar and the repaired areas. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar and give it a rich lustre. The briar came alive and the blast really pops. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 320 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation on the stem and the tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button on both sides.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the debris. It really began to take on a shine.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This interestingly stamped GBD New Standard 357CC London England Prince with a vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been repaired with a thin brass band. The rich browns and blacks of the contrasting stains on the sandblast came alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished GBD New Standard 357 CC Prince is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 ounces. I will be sending it back to Chris early this week. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Smooth Moves on a Peterson 303 Sterling Silver Meerschaum

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

Following on from the rusticated Peterson meer the other day, I have now completed a really good-looking, smooth block meerschaum pipe from Peterson. It is a shape 303, medium bent apple. It doesn’t have the number marked on it, but it’s obviously a 303. Like the other Pete, this one was acquired by auction. It was a pleasure to work on it and I hope you will enjoy reading about it. There are many similarities in the two pipes. The band or cap around the shank is made in sterling silver, and that certainly adds a touch of class. The stem, as expected, has the traditional P-lip of the Peterson brand. The pipe was very well cared for by its previous owner, and it even comes with its own Peterson-branded pipe sock. The meerschaum itself doesn’t hold any markings – nor does the stem. All the markings are on the sterling silver band. To start, the band says Peterson’s [over] Dublin. To the right of that, it reads Sterling [over] Silver. To the right of that, it has a set of proper silver hallmarks: Hibernia, which indicates that it was made in Dublin. Next is the Harp Crowned, which indicates sterling silver. Third is the date letter. In this case, it’s a stylized letter O. Checking the Irish hallmarks chart tells me that this pipe dates from 1980. Moving on. The stummel was in nice shape. The outside had only seen some minor wear-and-tear, but there were no major issues. It was a bit dirty inside, but nothing more than what would be expected. Meanwhile, the stem was also in good condition. It was oxidized and calcified, but the tooth marks were very minor. The sterling silver band was fine – just heavily tarnished. The stem’s calcification was notable. I used an old butter knife and gently scraped some of the thicker accretion off. Doing this now helps later in removing the oxidation.I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, ochre-coloured mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. Normally, at this point, I would use a reamer to remove the built-up cake inside the bowl, but meerschaum has the potential to crack in those circumstances. Instead, I used a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I did it carefully because too much soaking can cause meerschaum to soften. In this case, I moved quickly, nothing softened, and everything turned out well.To tidy up the bowl, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. I used my micromesh pads to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the meerschaum and provides a beautiful smoothness to the surface. I then applied some Clapham’s Beeswax Finish to the meerschaum and let it sit for about 30 minutes. As meerschaum pipes don’t do well on a bench-polisher, I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. I repeated this process and left it – it sure was pretty! I also polished the silver with my jeweller’s cloth and made it shine. For the final step, I took the stem to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it with a blue diamond compound.

All done! This Peterson 303 Sterling Silver Meerschaum bent apple looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Irish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5 in. (127 mm); height 3⅜ in. (87 mm); bowl diameter 1⅔ in. (42 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅝ oz. (49 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Repairing and Restoring a Marxman Selected Briar Algerian Briar France Apple

Leave a reply

by Steve Laug

I received an email from a fellow a bit ago about two of his pipes that he wanted me to restore. I have included his email below.

Hey Steve,

I asked him to send me some photos of the pipes before he shipped them to me. I gave my address and he shipped them to me. Here are the photos of the Marxman pipe that he sent.He included some close up photos of the bowl and shank to show the condition they were in. The shank had a lot of flaws in the briar on the heel and the shank. The flaws on the heel appeared to have lost the fills somewhere along the process. There were also some twisted flaws on the underside of the shank and the sides as well. The flaws and cracks ran through all the stamping on both sides. Some of them were deep as they leaked smoke when the pipe was smoked. The shank end had a lot of flaws following the grain on the shank from the shank end toward the bowl. It really was a flawed piece of briar that has opened up over time. The stem was in excellent condition. The bowl and shank had been reamed and cleaned by Devin before he sent it to me. He included photos of the stem. The pipes arrived here last evening. I took the Marxman to the table to look it over. It was very clean inside and out. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank read Marxman with the arrow through the letters (Marxman logo). On the right side it is stamped Algerian Briar [over] France. The shank is riddled with flaws running along the grain horizontally from the shank end forward through the stamping. There were also spots on the shank that spidered from the flaws in the shank and in spots left holes. Devin said that smoke came through some of the holes in the shank. It a mess in terms of the amount repairs that need to be done. The vulcanite stem has a Marxman arrow logo on the left side of the shank. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top looks very good. You can also see all the flaws in the briar on the top of the shank and around the shank end. The stem came out looking quite good. It only needed to be polished. I took photos of sides of the shank to show the stamping. The photos clearly show the stamping and is actually more readable in person. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. It is a nicely shaped apple.I turned to Pipephil’s site to look at the data that was available on Marxman pipes and see if there were any pipes like the bowl I had (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m2.html). There was nothing in the photos there but the stamping and data available was helpful. I have included a screen capture and the sidebar information below the screen capture.Brand created in 1934 and merged with Mastercraft in 1953.

The article also included a shape chart that was helpful. It looked to me that the pipe was a Regular Apple (third pipe down in the first column below). It is the top pipe in the second column in the photo below.From the above information I knew that I was working on a Marxman Regular Apple and that it was made before the merger with Mastercraft in 1953.

With that I was ready to begin working on the pipe. I decided to address the flaws in the briar. I pressed briar dust into the cracks and flaws with a dental spatula. Once the dust was in place I used a tooth pick to press clear CA glue into the flawed areas on the shank and the spots on the heel and bottom sides. To bind the shank end repairs and to keep the cracks and separations in the briar firm I went through my thin brass bands and fit one on the shank end. I heated it and pressed it on the end of the shank. It was a good tight fit and would serve its purpose well. You could see the repairs on the shank and bowl in the photos. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs. I was able to carefully work my way around the stamping on the shank. It looked much better. I also smooth out some of the nicks in the inwardly bevelled rim top. The repairs began to blend in very well. I sanded the repairs a little more, then stained them with an Oak and Maple stain pen to blend them into the colour of the surrounding briar on the bowl and the shank. I sanded the surface of the bowl and the shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to further blend in the repairs and to remove the scratches in the surface of the briar. The bowl and shank began to look very good. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the briar and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a rich shine and the grain stood out beautifully. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the briar and the repaired areas. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar and give it a rich lustre. The briar came alive and the grain really pops. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the Marxman logo on the left side of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I pressed it into the logo with a tooth pick and then buffed it off with a soft cloth.I went over the work that Devin had done with micromesh sanding pads. I used 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth. The stem looked very good. I put the Marxman Select Briar Algerian France Apple back together and buffed it on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond. It raised a shine on the briar and the stem and gave some depth to the grain. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe turned out to be a unique beauty in its own way. I really like the grain and the shape of this Marxman Select BriarApple. The thin brass band and the taper stem go well with the rich briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/39 grams. It is a uniquely beautiful pipe. Once I finish Devin’s second pipe both will head back to him to enjoy!