Tag Archives: Bowls – refinishing

Doing Shaping Work on a Comoy’s Grand Slam Pipe 66

Blog by Steve Laug

Recently I traded the Simpson Sandblast Billiard that I restored with a reader of the blog for a Comoy’s Grand Slam 66. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Comoy’s over Grand Slam over Pipe. On the right side it has the classic Comoy’s Circle Made in London over England Com Stamp and further along with the shape number 66. The finish was in decent shape though there was some sticky dirt buildup on the sides. The right side of the bowl had a small divot on the bottom front of the bowl. On the left side of the bowl there was a ring or a small trough that was indented in the bowl from the left rear of the bowl to left front of the bowl. It looked like a dent in the briar. It is very clearly shown in the second and the third photos below. The stem had some oxidation and three deep tooth gouges on the top of the stem and one on the button top. There were also some deep tooth marks on the underside of the stem and the button. The C stamp on the stem is a newer stamp in the vulcanite that is painted with a white paint. I measured and studied the side of the bowl before I decided what to do with it. I was not sure if the trough was caused by and issue inside of the bowl so my brother and I both cleaned and checked that out and could see nothing. I turned to look at the outside of the bowl and noticed that the bowl actually bulged above and below the line. That line itself actually was the same height as the rest of the bowl apart from the bulge. The bulge was thus briar that needed to be removed rather than the line a dent of missing briar. I breathed a sigh of relief and began to work on restoring it to normalcy.

I sanded the side of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to try to minimize the groove in the bowl side. The photos below show the progress of the repair. The first photo shows the first sanding on the bowl side. With the initial sanding you can see length of the groove on the side of the bowl. I sanded the bowl side on both sides of the groove until the groove disappeared. I was actually surprised that I was able to remove the damage to the bowl without making the bowl any thinner in the process. It was almost as if when the bowl was turned in the factory the cutting head that turned the bowl slipped and left a hump above and below the groove. Thus the groove itself was actually level with the rest of the bowl other than the humps. In the next photo you can see the slight divot at the 11 o’clock position at the top of the photo. It was a deep cut in the briar that must have happened when the pipe was dropped somewhere along process. I sanded it smooth and filled in the divot with clear super glue and briar dust. Once the repair cured I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and blend in the repair. I sanded it with a medium and a fine grit sanding block to remove the scratches in the briar. The rim on the bowl had a light buildup of tars so I lightly topped it on the topping board to remove the buildup. I topped it against 220 grit sandpaper then against a medium and a fine grit sanding block. I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain thinned with alcohol to match the colour of the existing finish. I applied it to the surface and flamed the stain. I repeated the process until I had a good even coverage on the bowl sides. I wiped the bowl and shank down with alcohol on cotton pads to even out the colour of the stain and make it more transparent. Once that was done, the finish of the bowl looked really good to my eye. The stem was a newer style Comoy’s as noted above because of the style of the logo. It was stamped into the vulcanite and then painted. There were some significant bite marks on the stem that needed attention. The lighter tooth marks I was able to sand out with 220 grit sandpaper and remove them. There were others that were quite deep. I cleaned the surface of the stem and used a thick black super glue to fill in the tooth marks. I sanded the repaired spots with 220 grit sandpaper and cleaned up the sharp edge of the button with a needle file. I was pleased with the overall look of the stem once the repairs had been sanded smooth.I wet sanded the surface of the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to begin the process of polishing the stem. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil.Before proceeding further with the micromesh I decided to touch up the “C” stamp. I used a fine bristle brush and white acrylic paint to fill in the letter. I sanded off the excess with the 1500 grit micromesh pad and went over that section with 1800-2400 grit to match the rest of the stem.I dry sanded the stem with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads, gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I polished the pipe and the stem on the buffing wheel with Blue Diamond polishing compound and gave the entire pipe several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad and then by hand with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The adjustment to the left side of the bowl worked well to smooth out the bulges and crease and the pipe looks as it should have when it left Cadogan. Thanks for looking.

A Pipe with a Story – an R.V.W. Handmade 5 pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me pictures of a pipe he found on eBay that grabbed his attention. It was not so much the pipe but the story of the pipe that caught his eye. He sent me the link and I had a look but was not sold on picking up the pipe. But he wanted it so he threw in a bid and won the pipe. He wrote to the seller and asked about it. He received a reply that the pipe had been found in Northern Michigan, US in a mud bank on the Rifle River – farm country in the middle of nowhere. They had no more information. The pipe was dark and looked like the mud bank it had been found in to my eye. The stem looked too long and the flow of the pipe did not work for me.The stamping on the pipe was pretty clear which surprised me. On the underside of the shank it read R.V.W over Handmade and then a 5 underneath that. That piqued my interest a bit so I decided to wait and reserve judgment until I saw the pipe. While I waited I did a bit of research and found out the pipe was made by Randy Wiley. I Googled to find his website and was directed to his Faceboook page. The link follows: https://www.facebook.com/wileypipes?__mref=message_bubble. I sent him a message on Facebook and related the story that my brother told me. I also included the above photos of the pipe supplied by the eBay seller. The next day I received a message back from Randy. Here is what he wrote: “Hi Steve, Wow, Glad there wasn’t a body with it. I’ll bet it was dropped while fishing. I’ve heard many stories. One day someone will find a pipe while scuba diving. I know the owner. This pipe is a second, RVW. It retails today for around $105.00”

When I first read his response I missed the part about him knowing the owner. This morning I read his response again as I was working on this blog and wrote Randy back regarding that line. I wonder if the original owner would want the pipe returned. We shall see.

When I was in Idaho I taught my brother to do the initial clean up on the pipes. It has been a real help for me. With the box of pipes to be refurbished filling up on this end it is really nice to have him work on them ahead of time. When I get them they have been reamed and the internals all cleaned so it makes my work much quicker. Because this one attracted his attention he really liked the cleanup of it. He reamed and cleaned the bowl and shank as well as the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the debris left behind by the mud bank. He took the following photos to show the pipe after his cleanup work. The straight grain on the left side, back and front of the bowl and the birdseye on the right side are beginning to show through. When I received the pipe I brought it to the worktable and took some photos of it before I began to work on it. While the grain was showing through it was still too dark to my liking. There were also many tiny nicks and pits in the surface from time spent in the mud by the river. These would need to be sanded out. The rusticated portions on the bowl sides and edges were also in need of deeper cleaning. The heel of the pipe had been knocked around and had many nicks and pits. The combination of smooth and plateau on the rim also needed deeper cleaning. The stem still seemed too long to me and if I end up either keeping the pipe or selling it I think I will make a second stem that is more proportional to the pipe in my opinion. The stem was oxidized but did not have any tooth marks or chatter. I ran the Savinelli Pipe Knife around the inside of the bowl out of habit with little effect because my brother had done a great job reaming this one.The bowl had some white debris in the bottom which I think was water marks from its time in the mud. I used alcohol pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove that debris. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank to remove more of the dark stain with acetone on cotton pads and was able to remove some more dark stain. There was more work to be done in this area but I would keep trying. I scrubbed the exterior with a bleach mixture to further remove the stain. The next photos show the effect of the bleach on the stain. The grain is beginning to show. I went through my stem can and found a nice amber Lucite stem that was the right length to my eye and would be a great contrast with the bowl. I did not have to do any fitting or tenon work as the stem fit in the mortise perfectly from the start. The stem was bent too much and would need to be straightened and bent to match the flow of the bowl. You can see in the photo below that the new stem is about an inch shorter than the one that came with it when I got it. I put the stem in place and took some photos to get an idea of how the pipe looked with the stem. You can also see the effect of the bleach on lightening the stain on the bowl in these photos. I used a Sharpie pen to darken the plateau areas on the end of the shank and the top of the bowl. I also used it on the rustications down the bowl sides and front. I used Watco’s Danish Oil with a Cherry Stain to stain the bowl. It is an oil based product and as it dries on the surface it darkens to a black cherry. I applied the stain with a cotton pad and let it absorb into the warm briar.When it had dried I buffed it off. The stain had darkened and with the natural darkening that had happened as the pipe lay in the mud the overall appearance almost a rich charcoal grey with red undertones. I forgot to take photos of the process of rebending the stem but what I did was boil water in the microwave in a cup and then heated the stem until it was flexible in the hot water. I inserted the tenon in the mortise and then bent the stem to match the flow of the bowl. I held the stem under cool water to set the new bend. There was some tobacco stains in the stem from a previous pipe it had graced. I cleaned it out with pipe cleaners and cream cleanser/soft scrub cleanser until all of the stains were gone.There was a groove in the stem on the top side about a ¼ inch from the saddle that I sanded out with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding the stem with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I sanded the bowl with micromesh sanding pads to try to lighten the dark cherry colour of the stain. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads to polish the briar.While I was finishing polishing the pipe, I received an message from Randy regarding the previous owner of the pipe. He said that he had confused it with one that had been lost while scuba diving. So he could not remember who had purchased this one. I had also asked whether the stem was original and he was not certain.I actually found that to be good news as I did not like the stem that it came with.

I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax. The briar has many small pits in the surface that I am convinced came from its time spent in the mud alongside the river. Part of me wanted to sand them out and remove them but another part, the part that won decided to leave them to bear witness to the shadow life this pipe had before it was found. I took the next photos with the blanket background as it seems to allow the grain to stand out a bit. The next photos I took against a light blue backdrop to show the contrast between the amber stem and the dark cherry stain. Thanks for looking.

Restoring ‘The Professor’ – WDC Milano Hesson Guard

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This pipe was gifted to me in 1980 while a seminary student. I was Professor Freundt’s student assistant and I spent much time with him in his office which was a virtual jungle of books, papers and journals – heaped in piles here and there yet the professor knew where to find the most obscure minutia. Added to the smells of old books and leather covers were the tobacco and smoke that regularly provided an upper layer haze in his work space. The Professor introduced me to the art and enjoyment of smoking pipes – now some 36 years ago. I was young and eager, soaking in the ambiance of academia at a post-graduate level and pipes I discovered, were very comfortable partners in this environment. Professor Freundt gave me the Hesson Guard, showed me how to pack its first bowl in my hands, and I smoked it, adding my offerings to the perpetual haze. After these days, pipe smoking was put aside until last fall when Steve reintroduced me to it. At this point, 3 pipes made up my collection: a corncob I also bought during those seminary days to use while fishing and duck hunting, a Willard I received after my grandfather’s passing (a future restoration), and the WDC Milano Hesson Guard that I had tucked away in drawers over the past three and a half decades. Anxious to put a pipe back into service last fall, I grabbed the Hesson Guard, to clean it and do what I thought then were needed repairs…. I made a mess of the pipe – cracked the shank, reamed out the mortise so that the metal tenon was too loose – sloppy repair with super glue…. I’m anxious now to return to ‘The Professor’ (its given name) and try to make amends for the rough treatment he received last fall!

The right side of the shank is stamped with the well-known WDC inverted triangle next to Milano over Real Briar. The left side holds Hesson Guard. The bottom of shank had PAT. 1855800 which enabled me quickly zero in on the dating of the pipe. The patent application was submitted by the inventor of the special internals, William W. Hesson, in 1930 and granted two years later. An excerpt from the patent documentation describes the essence of the design:

The principal object of the invention is to provide a pipe which will eliminate contamination of the natural aroma of the tobacco through noxious secretions and which will remain sweet and clean. A further object is to devise a construction of pipe which will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which. will be devoid of pockets to harbor noxious elements. The principal feature of the invention consists in the novel arrangement of a tubular resilient member surrounding and embracing a metal stem which extends from the pipe bowl to the mouth piece and forming a seal to prevent the seepage of moisture around the metal stem.

(https://www.google.bg/patents/US1855800?dq=1855800&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibqa2KsOjNAhUFVBQKHZ1DAvMQ6AEIGjAA)

I was curious to compare my Hesson Guard with the patent diagram which essentially is a long metal tenon meeting up with a metal sleeve at the base of the bowl and shank junction. This design, along with many other designs, was to eliminate the moisture build up, gurgle and gunk. Figure 1 (below) is followed by my overlay comparison picture – the tube inserts quite a way according to the 1930 design. Following are pictures telling the current story of The Professor: The pipe is attractive and has a good feel in my hand. The free-hand sculpting on the bowl gives the appearance of flames rising and is showcased in 3 paneled murals around the bowl. I notice that one of the panel dividers has been damaged at the top by cutting the briar. It looks like they were seeking to connect the panels – not sure. That will need to be filled in. The rim will also need some gentle repair to what appears to be nicks created by wear and tear. The cracked shank will need repair to keep it from growing and cleaning up the metal tenon and creating a good fit with the mortise might be a challenge. The bit has very mild tooth chatter. The last picture above captures not only the crack in the shank but the metal sleeve deep in the mortise that the chamfered tube/tenon docks with to create a dryer smoke – according to the patent information. Before any cosmetic restoration takes place I first must deal with the major issues of the shank crack repair and the tenon/mortise fit. I start the crack repair by drilling a small hole at the end of the crack to keep the crack from creeping up the shank. I use my Dremel tool and a 1.5mm drill bit to make the hole. I utilize a magnifying glass to trace the crack which had become a ‘hairline’. I’m careful not to drill too far and breach the mortise wall. Next time, I want to use a 1mm drill bit to leave less of a footprint. Next, after inserting the tenon into the mortise to expand the crack area for glue penetration, I create a mixture of briar dust and CA Instant Glue filling the hole and running a line of glue along the crack. I then sprinkle briar dust over the entire area and wait to dry. The timing worked out well as my wife just called me for lunch! After lunch, I work on cleaning up the tenon removing the old superglue with fingernails, Winchester knife, brass brush and 240 grit sanding paper – back in pristine shape. Well, after about a week, I return to the Milano Hesson Guard after my wife and I take advantage of the summer opportunities at the Black Sea coast. We enjoy some days at the beach near our favorite coastal fishing town, Sozopol. While at the beach, I thought about the Milano and how best to approach the overly loose tenon/mortise fit. Instead of applying clear nail polish around the metal tenon, which is what I did before, I attempt to rebuild the mortise wall by applying a very gentle coat of superglue on the inner wall of the mortise, rotating it as I applied superglue to achieve, what I hope, will be an even texture around the mortise wall. Amazingly, this seems to have worked! After drying, I gently reach into the mortise to remove some superglue ‘bumps’ with a needle file and I use a tightly rolled piece of 240 sanding paper carefully to smooth things down. I don’t want to inadvertently remove too much of the restored mortise wall! I also give the crack repair a light, strategic sanding with 240 grit paper, careful to guard the stampings. I refit the stem and to my relief, a snug fit was restored. With the stem refitting correctly and inserted, I return to the shank crack to finish sanding it to remove the excess superglue – I do this with stem in so as to not create unevenness between the mortise and stem shoulder. Satisfied with the shank crack repair and rebuilding the mortise wall, I put the stem in an Oxyclean bath for a soak to soften up the moderate oxidation buildup. I move my attention to the bowl to ream the mild cake down to the briar and then move to rim repairs and then to the panel repair. I want to have all these completed before looking at the general stummel cleanup and refinishing. I move out to the 10^th floor balcony adjoining my bedroom work station with Pipnet reaming kit to minimize the airborne cake soot – maximizing happy wife status! I started with the smallest reaming blade moving to use 3 of the 4 blades available to remove the moderate cake in the bowl. I finished the reaming by employing 120 grit paper on the chamber wall to remove remaining cake and smoothing the wall. I took a close up of the chamber and rim to show progress and to get a good idea of how to approach the rim repair. Inspecting the rim, I place a drop of superglue on one particular ‘dent’ that reached significantly down the external side of the bowl. I’m hoping that this small fill will enable me not needing to take as much off during the bowl topping to repair the rim. After the superglue sets up on the rim dent fill, I top the bowl using 240 grit sanding paper on top of a chopping block. Since the day is beautiful, I again move to the 10^th floor balcony to do the work. With the rim having no burns, I expect the surface to plane off evenly without pulls toward softer burned areas of the rim. I rotate in a clockwise circular even motion and take off only as much as needed to remove the damaged area of the rim. As I like to do, I create a small bevel on the inner wall of the rim to give a more finished, classier look. I use 120 grit paper to form the initial bevel angle followed by 240. I also decide to give the outer rim edge a slight sanding to round off the lip which seems to be consistent with the original Milano design. Again, I make the initial cut on the lip with 120 grit paper and finish off with 240. I have grown to appreciate more the rim presentation in finished pipes. To me, the rim, it’s nuances, are the first thing the eye is drawn to when looking at a pipe – much like the first thing one sees when looking a person are the eyes, then one follows by taking in the general appearances. The following pictures show the Milano’s rim progress. You can see in the immediate preceding picture the rim superglue fill spot at the 11 o’clock position of the rim and the ongoing panel repair just below it (to the left in the picture). Before moving to the stummel finishing, I now need to resolve the panel repair. I realize at this point with all the stummel repairs (cracked shank, topping and panel line), I will be removing the finish and refinishing the surface in order to achieve an even briar tone appearance. Now, continue to ‘heal’ the panel cut – earlier I applied superglue to it to build it up. I take a close up of the panel as it is now in order to know what I have. In order to blend more, I rough up the original superglue with a Dremel stone sander instrument. I apply on top of it a thick mixture of superglue and briar dust to form the restored surface that will join the side briar panel with the solid ring around the top of the bowl. I use toothpicks to mix, spread and tamp the mixture into place. I want this briar dust putty to setup well so I put the stummel aside for the time and turn to the stem which has been soaking in Oxyclean. The Oxyclean bath did the job of bringing the oxidation to the stem surface. I attack this initial layer with 000 steel wool and then use 240 grit paper to address the minor tooth chatter – I take pictures of bit top and bottom before starting to show progress. In order to have a good match between the mortise and the stem, I want to eyeball what the fit looks like before I proceed further. As I suspected, with all the superglue applied to the mortise area, the fit between mortise end and stem was not flush. I took the stummel back to the topping board and gently rotated the shank end on the board to regain a flush docking between stummel and stem. After a few rotation cycles and testings to eyeball things, I am satisfied. Before starting the micromesh cycles for the stem finishing, I need to remove the lip that I discovered with the shank end over the stem. With the topping of the shank end, I enlarged the circumference of the end just a bit so that it was a bit larger than the circumference of the stem shoulder – primarily on the lower side of the shank. I use 240 grit paper to even out the difference between the shank and stem – leaving the stem in place to assure a good, smooth transition! I am careful to use my thumb to cover and protect the nomenclature as I move around the shank with the sanding paper.Now to the panel repair below the rim. Using 240 grit sanding paper I bring the hardened superglue and briar dust mixture down to the bowl surface careful to maintain a rounded surface and not to flatten out the area of sanding focus. The pictures show the progress. Dal

I like the panel patch and it will blend with a darker stain. On a roll, I launch into the clean-up of the stummel and especially the ‘flame murals’ which are filled with grit and dust. I use a tooth brush with Murphy’s Wood Soap undiluted and work over the entire stummel with special focus in the fire sculpting to remove the surface finish. I follow this with rubbing down the stummel using cotton pads and tooth brush with acetone to remove the finish deep in the grain of the briar. I finish my clean-up of the surface by picking the carved crevices with a dental tool. Using micromesh sanding pads, I sand the high points of the stummel. Using 1500-2400 I wet sand. Following, 3200-4000 dry sand and finishing dry-sanding with 6000-12000. The pictures show the progress – I’m liking the briar grain the micromesh process is bringing out. At this point, I have two questions about how to proceed before staining the stummel. First, I need to clean out the ‘flame’ sculpting and use a black fine tipped permanent marker to darken the flames to give more contrast after the stain is applied. The other question was how do I treat the stampings of the WDC Milano – Hesson Guard? Do I protect it from the stain? Do I cover them with Vaseline? What? Upon closer inspection, I notice that the left side stamping, Hesson Guard, appeared to have gold left over in the ‘Hesson’ lettering – the rest having worn off (picture below) after the crack repair. After a quick email to Steve, his input revealed that both sides would have originally born the gold lettering. So, from my model kit (I’ve been involved in a project for several years building the USS Constitution sailing ship) I discover a bottle of Testors Gold Enamel Model Paint and my wife finds a small brush which I trim with my knife to create a more distinct point. With Steve’s counsel stored in my mind, I applied the paint over the lettering and wiped off the excess. To my relief and joy, the gold paint adhered to the crevices of the lettering and the overflow came off with the paper towel. My first stamping restoration with paint worked well! Steve also said that there was no need to worry about the new lettering during staining – that the gold paint would repel the stain. Careful to avoid the new gold lettering, I clean the bowl with isopropyl using a tooth brush to get rid of the residue from the sanding and then I move to highlighting the flame sculpts to bring greater definition to the paneled murals in the finished pipe. The pictures tell the story. Time to stain and I decide to use a mixture of an alcohol-based Italian stain I found here in Bulgaria with a color description of dark nut. I want this as the base, but I mix it with a mahogany color water based stain to bring out a slightly more redish tone in the briar. I think the red will work with the flame sculpting motif and I think this will look good – but of course the briar does what it will with the hues! After mixing the stains in the shot glass, I apply the mixture to the stummel mounted on the cork and candle stick with cotton balls making sure to cover everything and getting a good thick coverage. After applying stain, I use the butane lighter to flame the stain. With the mixture that I made, the alcohol content was too low to ‘flame’ so I evenly moved the lighter flame across the surface to evaporate the alcohol setting the dye in the grain of the briar. I repeated the process again and set the stummel aside to dry.With the stummel put aside, I turn again to the stem. I re-inspect the button area after the earlier sanding to remove the teeth chatter. I decide that the button needed a little more attention. I use 240 grit sanding paper and a needle file to fine-tune the shape of the button before starting on the micromesh cycles. I wet-sand the stem using 1500-2400 and complete the cycle by applying Obsidian Oil. While still wet from the oil I continue to dry sand with 3200-4000 micromesh pads, again concluding the cycle by applying Obsidian Oil. The final cycle, 6000-12000 is used and a final coat of Obsidian Oil and I put the stem aside to dry. I love watching the shine of the stem progressively make it to the surface getting that final wet, reflective look in the stem. Nice! The stem pops. The pictures capture the progress! For me, beginning the process of finishing the stummel after the staining dries, is like opening a Christmas present. The anticipation is to see what actually is under the crust of flamed stain and what the briar grain will reveal. With the Dremel tool, I begin to remove the ‘wrapping’ using a felt wheel. Also with a felt wheel I polish beginning with Tripoli and then move to Blue Diamond. I focus on bringing out the contrast of briar ‘flames’ showcased in the three panels. I switch to a cotton cloth wheel and apply carnauba wax to both stummel and stem. After several coats of carnauba, I complete the job by giving the pipe a clean cotton cloth wheel buff followed by a rigorous buffing with a micro-fiber cloth to bring out the deep tones of the briar. I’m pleased with the revitalization of ‘The Professor’, WDC Milano Hesson Guard. I think Professor Freundt, if he were alive today to comment, would agree. The rich dark tones of the briar, with the hints of deep reds, reminds me of the myriads of leather bindings and books that filled his hazy office. I’m pleased with the results. Thanks for joining me!

Restoring a Fieldstub Bullmoose for a Friend

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

This is the second pipe that my friend dropped by for a restoration and cleaning. The first was the Tom Howard that I wrote about recently https://rebornpipes.com/2016/07/09/restoring-a-tom-howard-rhodesian-scoop/. This one is a Fieldstub imported briar. The most I can find out about it is that is American made in the 30-40s by and unknown factory. It shares a lot of features with pipes made by Tracy Mincer and the Custom-Bilt line but I can find no link. This one was dirty and tired looking. The rim had a lot of darkening and the bowl had a cake. The grooves on the rim were dirty and darkened. The stem was oxidized and had tooth marks at the button on both the top and underside of the stem. The pipe is stamped FIELDSTUB over Imported Briar on the left side of the shank. I took a few close-up photos of the rim and the stem. The first shows the buildup on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. The second and third show the stem with the tooth marks right next to the button edge. I scrubbed the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap, used a brass bristle brush on the rim top and rinsed it under running water. I dried it off and took these photos. I scrubbed the top of the rim to remove the darkening using acetone and cotton pads. I was able to remove most of the darkening. I wiped down the rest of the bowl with acetone as well to remove the wax and any debris that remained. I cleaned up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the nicks and dings on the edge.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and cleaned the airway with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol.I used alcohol and wiped off the damaged areas next to the underside of the button where the worst of the tooth marks remained after sanding. I filled in the tooth marks with black super glue and sprayed it with an accelerator to speed the drying time. I cleaned up the edge of the button and smoothed out the repair with a needle file. I wanted a clean, sharp edge on the button.I sanded the patch with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the stem and remove the file marks.I stuffed a cotton ball into the bowl and filled it with alcohol to pull the tars and oils out of the bowl and shank. I let it sit for several hours while I worked on the stem.I took the cotton ball out of the bowl and cleaned out the shank and bowl with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to clean up the last of the alcohol. I let the bowl dry and turned to the stem. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads, gave it a final rubdown of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I hand waxed the bowl with Conservator’s Wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth. This one joins the Tom Howard as they wait for Theo to stop by and pick them both up. They are cleaned, polished and smelling great! If you read this blog, they are both ready for you Theo. Thanks for looking.

A Clean and Restore of a Viggo Nielsen Handmade Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff is developing quite an eye for beautiful pipes. He came across this freehand on eBay and sent me the photos. He bid on it and soon received it in the mail. It is a stunning piece that Viggo made in such a way that the shape absolutely maximizes the grain. It is stamped with Viggo’s normal stamp Viggo Nielsen in a circle over Handmade in Denmark on the left side of the shank.Its finish is a combination of smooth and what looks like sandblast but I am not sure it is not just a well done rustication made to look that way. The colours of the stains are a rich medium brown on the smooth portions that accentuate the grain. The colour on the rustication shows both a medium and dark brown stain that is repeated on the plateau on the rim of the pipe and small bit of plateau that peeks out on the top edge of the shank. The stem is a custom cut square piece of vulcanite that is carved with a square ring and a round one just before the tapered tenon. The finish was dirty with thick wax and grime from years of use. The bowl had a light cake. The rim edges were in perfect condition and the plateau top look new under the grime. The rustication/blast on the front of the bowl also looked to be in great shape. There were no dings or nicks in the finish. The stem was oxidized and had tooth marks on the top and bottom sides near the button.

I turned to Pipedia to learn about Viggo Nielsen. I had memory about him being somehow connected to Kai Nielsen but I was not sure of the relationship of the two. In Pipedia I learned that Viggo, now deceased, was born in 1927. I believe that during World War II he worked for Stanwell making pipes out of birch due to a shortage of briar. In 1948 he opened the Bari pipe factory and in 1951 began to make briar pipes. He carved both classic and freehand pipes.

In 1978 Bari was sold to a company in Germany and he and his two sons, Jorgen and Kai started making Faaborg pipes. Now I knew the connection between the two names that I remembered. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen,_Viggo

I scrubbed the surface of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap on cotton pads to remove the old wax and accumulated grime. Once the pipe was cleaned I rinsed it under running water and dried it off. The grain just stood out and showed how well Viggo laid out the shape to the grain. I cleaned out the internals of the mortise and airways in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until the pipe was clean.I reamed the light cake back to bare briar with a Savinelli Pipe Knife – a tool that I am using more and more often since I purchased it. It works exceptionally well to pare back light cake and clean up remnants in a bowl after I have used my other reamers.The oxidation on the stem was stubborn so I soaked it in an Oxyclean solution for a day and a half to soften the oxidation. After I removed it from the solution I scrubbed it dry with a coarse towel to remove as much of the softened oxidation as possible. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks on both the top and bottom sides at the button. There were tooth deep tooth marks on the top edge of the button that needed attention. I cleaned off the stem surface and then used clear super glue to repair the two deep tooth marks. I sanded them back to the surface with 220 grit sandpaper and later with the micromesh sanding pads.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. In the photo below you can still see the battle I am having with the oxidation on the turned stem. It was a bear to get it off.I repeated sanding with 220 grit sandpaper and repeated the wet sanding with the 1500-2400 grit pads. I was beginning to conquer the issue. 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 to bring out the shine and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond and worked on the tight areas on the stem – the grooves in the stem. I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond – lightly on the rusticated/blast and plateau portions and more heavily on the smooth portions. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to finish polishing the finish. I have found that this last step adds some depth to the shine. I am pleased with the finished look of the pipe. Thanks for looking.

A Beautifully Grained Jobey Designer Cauldron Lay Under Thick Varnish

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I was visiting in Idaho my brother Jeff pulled out this Jobey box and handed it to me to look at. I had no idea what to expect once I opened the box. I have cleaned up a lot of Jobey pipes over the years and have really liked the rusticated Jobey Stromboli pipes with their colourful stems and deep rough surfaces. I have seen others that were pretty but nothing spectacular. I turned the box over in my hands to see if there were any hints on the outside what was hidden under the lid but there was nothing – just the classic red box with the Jobey Pipe logo on the lid.I opened the box to have a look and was surprised. What was inside was actually a really nice looking pipe at first glance. It was stamped on the left side of the shank Jobey over DESIGNER and on the right side of the shank D80 over HANDMADE. The stem was Lucite with a variety of brown tones that ran at an angle across the stem. The finish looked funny to me in that for a handmade pipe it was rough textured. I expected it to be silky smooth but it was rough to the touch and there were brush marks all over the surface. It looked to me like someone had brushed on a thick coat of varnish to give the pipe a perma-shine. The box also had the red pipe sleeve and a Jobey Polishing Cloth in the lid.Inside the polishing cloth package there was also a cloth for treating the stem. Both were Jobey specialty products. The Jobey sock is slightly worn.I took the leaflet out of the top of the box to have a look and it was a fun read. It reads: “The Jobey Pipe Guarantee, Limited Warranty. Should any Jobey pipe burn out within 90 days of normal usage, a new bowl will be furnished by us without charge. Shanks and mouthpieces are not guaranteed, but may be repaired for a moderate charge. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from state to state. Return the burned out bowl with a request for bowl replacement to: – Hollco International Repair Department, 37 Warren St., New York, NY 10007.”

The other side reads: “This Pipe has the “Jobey Link” U.S. Pat.No. 3537462. The unique “Jobey Link” is the first big breakthrough in high quality pipe mounting. There is no metal. Easy to repair – just ask your dealer for an economical replacement “Jobey Link” it keeps your pipe permanently mounted without loosening up. The “Jobey Link” is precision threaded into the briar, but is still adjustable within the stem so that it always lines up straight. If the “Jobey Link” becomes difficult to unscrew use a coin in the convenient unscrewing slot (X). The “Jobey Link” comes in 4 sizes, small, medium short, medium long and large.”I took some photos of the pipe to show how the varnish coat had muddied the finish and hid the grain as well as hopefully captured some of the brush strokes. Under the varnish on the rim on the back inner edge of the bowl there was also some tar that had been painted over. I took some close-up photos of the rim and the stamping on the shank. In those photos you can clearly see the tar on the rim, the clear stamping on the shank and the brush strokes of the varnish on the pipe. I was hopeful that the shiny coat on the bowl was not urethane but merely varnish. The muddiness of the finish and the way it felt in the hand made me hopeful. I scrubbed the bowl with acetone on cotton pads and was amazed at how easily it came off. I was really happy that I was not dealing with a plastic coat. I scrubbed it repeatedly until the grain clearly showed. The bowl was still rough under the varnish so I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I scrubbed the internals of the mortise and airway in the shank to clean out any build up in the threads and airway. I used cotton swabs and alcohol and found that it was really quite clean. I remove the Jobey Link from the end of the stem and cleaned out the airway in the link and the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol.I threaded the Jobey Link into the end of the shank and set it then pushed the stem in place on the other end of the link.I reamed the bowl back to bare briar with the Savinelli Pipe Knife.I wet sanded the Lucite stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and wiped it down with a cotton pad. I sanded 3200-4000 and wiped it down again. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads to finish polishing it. I gave the bowl a light coat of olive oil and then buffed it and the stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Personally I have never seen a Jobey quite like this one. The carver who did the work captured the lay of the grain extremely well with it flowing up the shank. The new oil and wax finish really went well with the brown striated Lucite stem. Thanks for looking.

The Scintillating Antique KB&B Redmanol Pipe

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton

Member, International Society of Codgers
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author except as noted

When life was like a summer day,
And I was under twenty,
Three loves were scattered in my way –
And three at once are plenty.
Three hearts, if offered him with grace,
One thinks not of refusing.
The task in this special case
Was only that of choosing.
I knew not which to make my pet –
My pipe, cigar or cigarette!

— Henry S. Leigh (1837-1883), British writer, playwright and lesser poet, “My Three Loves,” 1875

INTRODUCTION

As a writer, I make it a habit to look words up in the dictionary before committing to print, even when I am confident they are the best to convey my true messages. In the process, I have often been surprised to learn how many words come nowhere close to their common usage. I have stopped using fantastic (related to a fantasy or other such literary, delusional or wishful thinking, when I want to suggest excellent; I’ve dropped mesmerizing (named for the Australian physician/showman F.A. Mesmer, which deals with the alleged ability to place someone in a trance so deep the subject cannot feel pain, as opposed to something considered fascinating, and of course I have my pet peeve: unique, or existing as one, sole, solitary, alone. Therefore, there can be no higher degree than unique, such as more, very or, God help us, totally unique, dude. Thomas Jefferson’s unique literary and diplomatic exception to the same rule applied to another word, in penning the “Declaration of Independence” and referring to a more perfect Union, was a brilliant misuse of the language directed to good old King George V, whom the masterful wordsmith, diplomat and statesman knew would not miss the Colonial revolutionary’s attempt to play nice.

Somewhat of a language purist, therefore, I was disappointed upon checking the past participial adjective scintillating in the OED. I hoped to find a meaning with common uses I have heard indicating something more alluring in a sensuous sense. I suffer from chronic migraines and was struck by the sole usage referenced, to scintillating scotoma, the technical name for auras we who live with the often blinding, nauseating, debilitating torture of these attacks call the event that precedes the onset of the pure anguish that can last 12 hours, 24 or for days before running out of air, if you will, burning out (or more descriptive of their quality, terminating with a thermonuclear-like reaction) – and then returning, as they come in cycles of three or so for me. Thanks to my dear Dad, however, who taught me the value of a good double meaning in any title, I moved to the verb scintillate and found more general references to sparks, flecks, twinkles and flashes of light, without the negative but illustrative connection of scintillating scotoma.

The story behind Bakelite and two of its competitors, and the Machiavellian way the three in time merged into a single Bakelite incarnation, is one for the annals of business law. The basic original resin used to make Bakelite, a phenol formaldehyde based synthesis, was patented as such in 1900 by Leo H. Baekeland, a Belgian-American chemist. Baekeland’s synthetic plastic, the first formulated in the world, was named in honor of its inventor and began production in 1907. See below for the 1900 patent.

The first of many Bakelite satellite companies worldwide, the Bakelite Gessellschaft gmbH, was founded in Berlin in 1910 by Baekeland and two German companies. Late the same year, the General Bakelite Co. was established in the U.S. by Baekeland.

Two independent chemical research and production companies in the same time period, Redmanol Chemical Co. founded by Lawrence V. Redman after whom the harder, more durable and amber-colored synthetic was called, and the Condensite Co. established by A.J. Aylesworth, developed and sold their products which included substantial differences from Bakelite although they employed the same heat process. The hard, durable synthetic plastic redmanol was called thus after its developer and is made from the action of formin on carbolic acid. On the other hand, condensite is formed from the action of chlorine on naphthalene. In other words, all three have fundamental differences that make them viable as separate synthetic plastic products.

Perhaps seeing the only way to maintain ultimate proprietary control over his original Bakelite idea and not miss out on the opportunity to use newer, better variations on his theme, in 1922 Baekeland sued a distributor of Redmanol, which had a controlling interest in Condensite, for patent infringement. Baekeland must have known the other companies could not fight the complaint in court and maintain production. His civil action ending in success, he “arranged” for the two smaller chemical concerns to be consolidated with the formation of the Bakelite Corp. From then on, Redmanol and Condensite products, including pipes, were stamped Bakelite – but all anyone needed to do was look at the quality of the product to know the difference. Bakelite Corp. was consumed by Union Carbide and Carbon Corp. in 1939.

Redmanol so approximated the appearance of amber – which, remember, was prized in meerschaum and other pipes before and after the turn of the 20^th century – for which Redmanol Chemical Products in its own name took out ads like one in the June 1919 issue of “The Scientific American.” High-minded and overblown, as was the custom of the day, the ads were headed, “In Search of the Man Made Amber.” This amazing combination of all that one could hope to find in a pipe – artistry, elegance, refinement, style, class and functionality, to name a few attributes – alas does not belong to me, and I will neither hesitate nor pretend not to be jealous of the fact. Instead, my fellow piper and friend, Darryl Loomis, is the very lucky new owner. He loves it so much that he was willing to tolerate a somewhat bad taste he detected rather than trust it to someone to restore. I am honored to clean it up for him. Shocked to find I have no photo of Darryl, I suspect he will not be unhappy.

Darryl asked me to clean it up. Well, the fact is, I got one look at it and could almost not keep my voice under control when I said I would love to do it for him if he had no plans for the project. I admit I was jazzed to be able to take it home with me from Friday night’s local pipe get-together at the tobacconist. But there’s one important thing I should now note about any pipe “cleaning” job I undertake, unless the owner makes it clear that’s all he wants done, period. I don’t half-ass anything. Even when my business site was up (and it will be again this week), I included basic refurbishing with cleaning jobs and the full works with refurbs/restores (any necessary replacement parts not included in the base price). So that’s what’s happening here.

While we talked about the pipe, Darryl mentioned something peculiar. He said he noticed a somewhat bad taste but seemed willing to tolerate it as he did not expect to rotate this pipe very often. I unscrewed the bowl from the shank and saw right away where some of the unpleasant effect may have originated, but mentioning it to him, he was emphatic that he had heard the metal plate inside the shank (just as with any standard system metal, interchangeable bowl pipe such as a Kirsten) was coated with an unknown substance to keep it from overheating.

Being somewhat more curious than usual, after I was home with the pipe, I ran a cleaner through it, loaded a half-bowl of MacBaren 7 Seas Red cherry and lit up. Very soon the nastiness Daryl had understated rose in full force, ending with such awful dottle I spat it into a handy cup. My tentative conclusion, until I can query Daryl more, is that he trusted the person who sold it to him and didn’t considered it might never have been cleaned.

Now, for the before photos of this gorgeous, unique Kaufman Brothers & Bondy work of art – a pipe with a screw-in bowl that predates Kirstens by more than two decades. RESTORATION

I removed the bowl and began there. Having come across a couple of Reborn Pipes blogs, one by Troy Wilburn a year ago about a KB&B Blue Line Poker c. 1909-1914 and the other by Steve Laug concerning Redmanol bits from almost four years back, I was prepared for how to deal with the briar bowl as well as cleaning the deep red quality synthetic plastic, the cubic zirconia of the phenol formaldehyde resin world.

Steve had used nail polish remover (acetone) as a less invasive way of stripping the stain, and it worked quite well of course. Not having any of the stuff on me, however, and being short on cash and time to do this job for gratis, I compromised. Instead of a long, thorough soak in Everclear, I dunked the bowl in a tiny Tupperware container for a minute, removed it and scrubbed it dry inside and out with a soft cotton rifle cleaning cloth. I did have to repeat that process, but still, the combined soak time was minimal. Again I regretted not being able to follow Steve’s lead using a Pipnet reamer because I saw the good reasoning behind it…BUT, my handle broke some time ago, rendering it useless. You get what you pay for. Next time, I’ll invest a little more for a lot better. But just a couple of turns of the Senior followed by 500-grit and 320 paper made the chamber baby smooth and clear of char. I also used the 320-grit on the rim to remove some scrapes, and both papers on the bottom side which was rougher from after wear from repeated turning into the grooves of the shank. I ran a few cleaners dipped in freshener through the bit’s air hole, the first of which came out filthy, but the end result was clean.Next, I used wet micro mesh from 1500-12000 on the entire surface of the Redmanol shank and bowl cup. The minimal blemishes there made that fast work. Cleaning out the draught hole was trickier with more cleaners dipped in freshener, but the accreted gunk and juice all came out. I tested it again later to be sure, but it was clean. I really don’t like not being able to retort any pipe. Near the end, I stained the pipe bowl with Fiebing’s Brown, flamed it and after it cooled gave it a gentle 3200 micro mesh buff. I was very pleased with the color I got from the wood.The bell tolled the time to do that which I had put off and Steve graciously reminded me needed doing. He suggested a little Super Glue around the sharp edges of the Redmanol ledge where the bowl was to fit would fill in the cracks. That followed by micro mesh or light sandpaper would do the rest. Here is the best before shot I could get with my failing flash system, but the cuts on the right side of the synthetic plastic show up well enough. There was a matching pair on the left side, suggesting the pipe’s enjoyer was screwy in his habits or the bowl never quite fit right.Here’s a shot I admit is horrible with the Super Glue applied, and one after it dried. I opted for super fine “0000” steel wool to even off the ledge. I really can’t say what those apparent white flecks are other than that I took it in a hurry outside.

Not touching the bit with any kind of wax, I buffed the briar bowl with white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba.

CONCLUSION

For this special pipe, instead of my usual last photo being the left side full shot, after a detail picture of the band’s KB&B stamp, I chose the close-up of the wonderful red translucence of the bit held up to the light by a friend. The old I would have tried to take it myself despite having to hold down the flash pop-up at the same time, and the probable end would have been, well, unthinkable. But I love those flashes, sparkles and twinkles that make the lovely amber-like bit, which is often called Bakelite because of its more famous owner, so scintillating.

HOLD THE PRESSES! At the exact moment I was about to hit SEND and dispatch the blog to Steve, I made a connection between Redmanol and a meerschaum-lined art-deco style bulldog Chuck sold me some time back with a bottom he described as what I thought was “red menaul,” or something to that effect. Now I understand what it was.

Redmanol Art Deco style socket bulldog

Here I’ve had this great, smooth and cool smoking pipe in my collection for several years and never knew what to call it. All mysteries come to an end in time.

SOURCES

http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r3.html

“Phenolic Resins Technology Handbook,” p. 6, at https://books.google.com/books?id=oYZGAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=redmanol+chemical+products+founder&source=bl&ots=juthNFh-rW&sig=b9qO8plogjv6fj_u2TBjkdpIfCM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-gNj4h9nNAhUM9YMKHXKjBwMQ6AEINDAE#v=onepage&q=redmanol%20chemical%20products%20founder&f=false

https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/06/spiffing-up-a-kbb-blue-line-bakelite-poker-1908-1914/comment-page-1/#comment-18773

https://rebornpipes.com/tag/redmanol-stems/

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/bakelite.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite

“Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia, Vol. 2,” pp. 813-816, at https://books.google.com/books?id=11FHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA816&dq=in+search+of+the+man+made+amber+redmanol&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwis5OvgmNvNAhVk0oMKHYveA6sQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=in%20search%20of%20the%20man%20made%20amber%20redmanol&f=false

“Factory and Industrial Management,” Vol. 64, p. 167, at https://books.google.com/books?id=nTs8AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=redmanol+bakelite+infringement+judgment&source=bl&ots=TCel6fmccJ&sig=ehZijKCRrQSs-RnL6xiDbVA5aKM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi39veundvNAhUT32MKHbeiCJwQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=redmanol%20bakelite%20infringement%20judgment&f=false

Restemming and Restoring a Hardwicke’s Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

One of the pipe bowls that came to me in the box of pipes from my brother was a tall nicely grained freehand that was stamped on the shank Hardwicke’s and Italy on the underside of the shank next to the shank stem junction. I had never heard of the brand before and it was not listed on Pipedia or on the Pipephil website. The more I looked in my usual sources such as Who Made that Pipe the more stymied I was about the brand. It was an interesting shaped bowl. The bowl had some dark marks on the shank, the bowl bottom and on the right side at the point and up the side midway. There was a thick coat of urethane over the entire bowl and the faux plateau. The rustication on the rim matched that of the end of the shank and had been done with tools. There was a thick coat of tars and oils under the urethane on the rim. The bowl itself had a thick cake in it that filled it from top to bottom. The first quarter inch down from the top of the rim had a darker stain that ran down the walls. (I almost forgot to take photos of the bowl before I had sanded all of the urethane off the surface. I stopped and caught these. On the lower part of the bowl on the right side there was a spot of real plateau. I went through my box of stems and had a stem that would work really well with this pipe. It would need to have the tenon end reduced so that it would sit in the mortise.I decided to Google Hardwicke’s Cigar and Pen to see if the pipe could have been a shop pipe. It was made in Italy but the Hardwicke’s stamping pointed elsewhere. I found that there was a group of shops in Indianapolis, Indiana. The main shop was located at 743 Broad Ripple Ave, Indianapolis.One reviewer of the shop had this to say about the shop: “This small cigar shop is located just south of the circle, so in the heart of downtown. They carry a pretty impressive stock of cigars and the pricing is relatively reasonable considering their location. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and willing to help you find something in your price range. They do have a lot of cigars at the $5 price point so don’t be put off by the fact there are also a lot of $15+ cigars.”

“They also have their own brand, which is rolled with several different tobaccos and in several sizes, these should not be overlooked, especially if you don’t want to spend a lot on your smoke.”

“They also offer pens, pipes, pipe tobacco and the usual array of cutters and lighters you’d expect from a cigar shop. I’ve only purchased cigars here so cannot comment the rest of their offerings, although their selection of pipes does seem good to me.”

Further digging found an article in the Indy Star newspaper about the Downtown shop closing. The article also says that the Broad Ripple Store remains open. I have included the link to the article as well the article in full. http://www.indystar.com/story/money/2016/01/20/smoke-free-downtown-landmark-hardwickes-exits/78800744/

Hardwicke’s Pipe & Tobacco, a long-time Indianapolis fixture, seems to have shuttered its Downtown store.

The inventory was being removed last week, and a store clerk said closure was imminent. The store now stands empty, void entirely of the fine cigars, cigarettes and pipes the retailer sold for five decades.

Hardwicke’s Broad Ripple store, which predates the Downtown shop, remains open. Staffers answering the phone there declined to comment on the fate of the Downtown location, which had occupied a storefront at 18 N. Meridian St., just off Monument Circle, since 1977.

The demise of Hardwicke’s Downtown comes amid a flurry of change for Indianapolis’ old-time businesses.

Last month Kincaid’s, the high-end meat market at 56th and Illinois streets that had been in the same family since its founding nearly a century ago, was sold. Virginia Jarvis Coiffures, a beauty shop for many of Indianapolis’ leading women since 1965, closed its doors Saturday. G. Thrapp Jewelers, in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood, closed Sunday after 33 years.

Contact IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins.
So now I knew that the pipe I had was indeed a shop pipe made for Hardwicke’s Tobacco Shop of Indianapolis. Now it was time to work on it and restore and restem it. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the urethane finish that covered the grime and the burn marks. I sanded the burn marks and tried to reduce the damage to the briar. The more I worked on them the more I am convinced that they were not burn marks but rather dark stains that happened when the bowl was laid in something that left a stain mark. I remember when my mom made pickles when I was a lad and the jars of vinegar left dark rings in the oak table top. These looked identical to the ones I remember as a boy. I sanded and was able to remove several of them. I wiped the bowl down with acetone to clean off the stain and the dust.The rim was thickly caked. I worked on it with a brass bristle wire brush and a dental pick to remove the build up on the rim. You can see from the second photo the rustication pattern in the faux plateau on the rim. It is identical to the one that is cut on the end of the shank.I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare wood. I cleaned up the edges and the bottom of the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife.I sanded the bowl with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge and then with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratching in the surface left behind by the 220 grit sandpaper. I remove the darkening around the top of the rim so the surface of the briar was the same over the entire bowl. The bottom of the bowl shows a scratch in the surface that looks like it is a hairline crack. Looking at it with a magnifier I am pretty sure it is a scratch and not a crack.To deal with the darkened spots on the shank and the bowl bottom as well as the scratch I decided to use a contrast stain. I stained the bowl with a black aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until the coverage was even.I wiped down the black stain with alcohol on cotton pads to remove the stain in the body of the briar and leave it in the grain.I washed it down with an alcohol damp pad and gave it a top coat of brown stain. I flamed it and applied it until the coverage was even. Then I set it aside to dry.I used the Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the tenon. I cleaned it up with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I put the stem in the shank and took some photos of the look of the pipe at this point in the process. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides of the stem at the button.I cleaned out the airway with a pipe cleaner and alcohol. It was not dirty at all which surprised me.I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads and then buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads, gave it another coat of oil and finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It removed a little more of the brown stain and made it a bit more translucent. I gave the stem and bowl several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. The new stem looks like it belongs with the pipe and the curve of the bowl and the new stain look great in my opinion. The grain on the pipe is very nice. The black and brown stain combination hides the dark mars on the shank and the bowl. They are still present but blend in nicely. Thanks for looking.

What a mess – a Georgetown Made in London, England Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The grain on this old Georgetown Canadian really spoke to me when I took it out of the box of pipes from my brother. The mix of diagonal cross grains on the sides of the bowl and the birdseye on the front and back of the bowl and the top and bottom of the bowl and shank are really quite stunning. The bowl itself was incredibly dirty and the finish had rubbed and baked in grime all over. The rim was thickly caked with an overflow of lava the came from a bowl that was so caked that there was hardly room for any more tobacco. The stem was oxidized and there was a thick white build up of what I call calcification that comes from saliva and use. The slot in the end of the button was almost closed off with merely a small space mid slot. It was truly a mess that caused me to wonder what I would find once I cleaned and reamed the bowl. I took some close up photos of the rim and bowl as well as the stem to show the extent of work that would have to be done to clean it up. I also took a photo of the stamping on the shank to try to capture how it looked. It read MADE IN LONDON on the top line and under that ENGLAND. Stamped high and touching the bottom of the letters of the England stamp is the GEORGETOWN stamp.I reamed the bowl with the PipNet reamer starting with the smallest cutting head and working up the third head. The cake was harder toward the bottom of the bowl so I worked on smoothing it out with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and finished with the third cutting head of the reamer. You can see the rim damage on the inner edge of the rim at the back of the bowl in the photo below.I topped the bowl on the topping board until the damaged areas were minimized on the rim surface and the thick hard lava build up was gone. You can see the out of round areas on the inner edge of the rim in the second photo below.I scrubbed the surface of the bowl with acetone and cotton pads to remove the grime and the waxes on the finish. If you look closely at the pipe you will see a multitude of fills that are well placed in the grain of the pipe and barely visible. I worked on smoothing out the damage to the inner rim by beveling it with the Dremel and sanding drum and then sanding it with a folded piece of 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the scratches with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads.I started cleaning out the shank and the airway with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol but found that I would need to use too many of them to be effective. I put the stem in place on the shank and set up the retort to boil alcohol through the pipe. I used five test tubes of alcohol before finally I was able to get one that was clear after boiling it through. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and the stem as well as the mortise with a few pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the remnants of alcohol and debris left behind by the retort. I used the light brown stain pen to touch the area on the rear side of the bowl where I had done some light sanding and repair as well as the area around the shank stem junction that was lighter.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 micromesh sanding pads and gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads, gave it another coat of oil and finished sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I am still trying to figure out who made the pipe. I know that the Made in London, England stamp was used by Barling and in the pre-Cadogan era by GBD. If anyone can give me more definitive information regarding the maker of these pipes for the Georgetown Tobacconist please contact me in the comment section. Thanks ahead for your help and thanks for journeying with me on this refurb.

Sofia Hole in the Wall #3: A Butz-Choquin Rocamar with a Cumberland stem

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This is my third restoration from what I called the ‘Bag of 4’ that Steve and I saw at the ‘Hole in the Wall’ antique store during his visit to Sofia, Bulgaria. Thanks again for indulging my ‘newbie’ offerings. My favorite of the bunch was a Savinelli Tortuga (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/06/18/sofia-hole-in-the-wall-find-savinelli-tortuga/). The second, which I didn’t write up, was a beautiful Danske Club Vario, which I discovered on Pipedia is a Stanwell second. Behind the Tortuga, the Vario was a close second. It is now next to my Tortuga in regular rotation – a great addition to my growing collection. Take a look at a few pictures of the finished Danish Danske Club Vario. I’m drawn to the blended smooth and sandblasted briar finishes on this pipe: The markings I found on pipe #3 on the left side is Butz-Choquin over Rocamar with a ‘Filter 9’ diagonal imprint. On the right side, St. Claude, France 1333, which I assume is the BC shape or series number. The Cumberland stem has the BC imprinted marking. From Pipedia I discovered a bit of the early history of the name from Pipedia:

“Jean-Baptiste Choquin of Metz started out as a tobacconist. This enterprise was prosperous; he had several employees. Among those, there was a certain Gustave Butz who was its first workman and who became his son-in-law by marrying Choquin’s daughter Marie in 1858. In 1858 Jean-Baptiste Choquin created, in collaboration with Gustave Butz, the Choquin pipe. This bent pipe with a flat-bottomed bowl was finished with an albatross-bone mouthpiece, fixed with silver rings. In 1858, still in Metz, Gustave Butz built an establishment for the manufacture of the Choquin pipe which took the name of -. In 1951, the Berrod-Regad company bought the trademark, continuing manufacture until 2002. Departing from Metz, the workshop was relocated to Saint-Claude, then also called ‘the world capital of the briar pipe,’ under the Berrod-Regad group.”

I could find nothing specific about the series name Rocamar so I decided to send an email to Butz-Choquin using their info contact from their current website which is under construction (http://www.butzchoquin.com/). We’ll see where that goes.

The BC Rocamar has an attractive fiery grain and the bent billiard chimney is tall and elegant to me – perhaps tending toward an egg shaped bowl. What I’m drawn to also is the bent Cumberland stem – my first to work on. Not quite knowing what kind of stem it was I did a bit of research and discovered pipesmokersforum.com a thread discussing this stem:

“Cumberland proper is a vulcanite rod made up from red and black rods, melted and swirled together for the brown/red marble effect. It is very soft, and oxydizes fairly quickly if the protective wax coating is scraped off. There is a harder version in ebonite, which has a higher sulfur content if I understand these things correctly, but the color combos are not quite as subdued as the vulcanite version. It’s a bit more “brick” colored.” Another comment I read was that if one found a Cumberland stem it was most likely hand cut – to me that is cool. Helpful information. Here are pictures of the BC Rocamar when it arrived home from the Hole in the Wall: The briar is in great shape and will need basic clean-up. The rim shows a burn scar about 2 o’clock and lava build up. As the comments about Cumberland stems and oxidation stated, this one had its share. The bit has significant teeth chatter and some significant divots that will need repair. Yet, I see the potential of the color swirl of the Cumberland being a very nice augmentation to the fiery briar stummel. The filter casing had dislodged from the stem and that will need to be reattached. I decide to drop the stem in an Oxyclean bath to start working on the oxidation while I turn my attention to the bowl – whoops, that is after I retrieved the stem from underneath the bed – I forgot it was on my lap when I stood to head for the Oxyclean! I took a close-up of the rim and bowl before I go to work. I moved from the bedroom work table to the 10^th floor balcony mobile work station with Pipnet reaming kit in hand. I want to minimize pipe soot being released into the bedroom atmosphere resulting in a happier wife. I use only the two smallest blades from the reaming kit to take the cake down to the wood. I finish the fire chamber by rubbing it with 120 then 240 grit sanding paper to smooth and clean the chamber walls even more. Turning to the rim, I clean it with isopropyl 95% and a brass brush which will not scratch the surface of the bowl. I want to see the rim wood clearly before I top the bowl to repair the burn scar and reveal the briar. With the sunshine helping I can see the rim (and holding tightly not to lose it over the edge!). I note that the rim circumference is small as the sloping shape of the bowl culminates. I move to top the bowl but with a view to take off as little as possible to preserve the dimensions of the slender egg-peeked chimney of the bowl. With the stem soaking in the Oxyclean bath I’m not able to reattach it to the stummel to help make sure I’m maintaining a true perpendicular top and not leaning into the softer burned area. Before rotating the bowl to top it, I let it free stand and gently rotated the pitch of the bowl so that I could ‘feel’ the low spot where the rim was burned. By doing this I was able to acclimate to the ‘healthy’ flat part of the rim during the sanding rotation. It worked well! I took a picture after only a few rotations on the topping board. It revealed that I wasn’t fudging into the low spot as it was not yet impacted by the sanding but the other ¾ of the rim was. I’m careful to keep eyeballing the progress. I use 240 grit paper on a chop board as my topping table. Moving in a circular, even motion I remove only what is needed. Satisfied with the topping, I made a small bevel on the inside of the rim using 120 and 240 grit paper. I did this to take out a bit of inner rim damage and a small bevel is always nice and gives a classy touch. I followed this by using micromesh (1500-12000) on the rim to remove all scratches. The pictures tell the story. I decided to wait on staining the rim using a stain-stick and move to the cleaning of the internal and external of the bowl. The reason I did this was I was able to differentiate the actual unstained color of the briar by looking at the newly repaired rim and compare it to the bowl color. The rim briar leaned brown whereas the bowl, to the reds. With cleaning with Murphy’s Soap of the external bowl, I expect there to be a slight change in the color of the bowl briar. At that point I would go to work again on the color of the rim aiming for the best match. I decided at this point to move to cleaning the internals of the stummel with Q-tips and pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95%. I found the internals to be amazingly free of muck and it was not long before Q-tips and pipe cleaners were coming out clean. Turning to the external cleaning, I used Murphy’s Soap undiluted with cotton pads to remove the wax and grime on the bowl. The bowl itself is in great shape – no significant scratches or fills. At this point, I came to a road block which necessitated a quick email to ‘Master Obi-wan Steve’ for his input. After the Murphy’s Soap cleaning I was expecting/hoping the high gloss finish on the bowl to have been dulled – getting to a more natural grain look not competing so much with the bared rim – at least this is what was in my mind. My hesitations were not wanting to be too aggressive with the bowl finish and mess up the patina that is under the gloss…. With the time difference between Sofia and Vancouver, I put the stummel aside and turn to the much anticipated work on the Cumberland stem – what to me is the unique part of this BC stummel/stem ensemble. After I extract the stem from the Oxyclean bath, I take some pictures to chronicle the progress. After an initial buff with 000 steel wool to remove the surfaced oxidation, I take a closer look at the significant teeth divots on the bit and decide to apply super glue to the top and bottom to be able to redefine the button and cover the chatter damage. I want the superglue patches in place before beginning the sanding of the stem. With the superglue curing, Steve’s reply came about my bowl conundrum and it is now decision time. He suspects that I’m dealing with a urethane finish much like he just dealt with in a Jobey restore (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/06/29/i-thought-this-one-would-be-easy-boy-was-i-wrong/) that was a bear to remove. The options before me are to either come up with a high gloss finish for the rim seeking to match up with the bowl or to aggressively remove the plastic, gloss finish and rescue the beautiful briar beneath. The close-up picture below revealing the bare briar in rim repair sealed my decision – I put the bowl in an overnight alcohol bath hopefully to soften the glossy finish to be revisited tomorrow. The time had come to watch some European football – Portugal and Poland – on my widescreen HDTV in my favorite recliner.The next day, with Poland and Portugal playing to a 1-1 tie the night before, I was anxious to see if the alcohol bath made a dent on the glossy finish. Upon inspection (picture 1) it was still pretty shiny so I took a light grit sanding sponge to loosen the finish. I was careful to lightly work around the nomenclature. This did the trick. The alcohol bath undoubtedly softened things up. After the sponge sanding, I followed with rubbing the bowl with acetone with cotton pads to draw the stain out of the grain. I finished with wiping down the stummel with isopropyl 95% to make sure all was cleaned and no grit left behind. I feel like I’m on a roll and I’m anxious to see the grain of this piece of briar unveiled. I use micromesh pads from 1500 to 2400, 3200 to 4000, and 6000 to 12000. The pictures below show the progress. I have to be honest, this is perhaps my favorite part of the restoration process – each set of micromesh pads brings out more of the grain revealing the profoundly unique ‘fingerprint’ of each piece of briar we handle. I euphemistically think of micromesh pads as ‘magicmesh’ pads – they bring the wood to life. In my opinion, the grain that I’m now enjoying is much more satisfying than looking through the plastic shiny sheen of the original Butz-Choquin design. I decide to put the bowl aside and focus now on completing the Cumberland stem clean up and restoration. I want to have an idea of the colors of the finished stem before I decide on the best finish for the stummel. I like working on a clean stem so I first clean the airway using pipe cleaners and Q-tips dipped in isopropyl 95%. During the cleaning, I saw something that I had missed before. The button airway opening has a divot – I’ll need to add that to the list. The superglue applications on the bit and button have had plenty of time to dry. I use 240 grit sanding paper and needle files to work on the bit and button repair. The bit repair looks good so I move to micromesh and the homestretch. I wet sand using 1500-2400 and then apply Obsidian oil to the stem. At this point, I inspect the repair work on the bit to make sure there are no scratches that I’ve missed before proceeding. I’ve learned that often scratches are covered by the rough vulcanite. With the Obsidian oil on the stem I dry-sand using micromesh pads 3200-4000 and apply more Obsidian oil. I do the same with the last set of three – 6000-12000 and give a good coat of oil and put it aside to dry. The pictures show the progress rejuvenating the Cumberland stem. I like what I’m seeing. I had one undone job – re-attach the filter casing to the stem. My assumption is that it was initially glued and after inspecting the inside of the stem, I detected residue that I assume was the glue previously used. I clean the old gunk off the housing and the inside of the stem with alcohol and cotton pad and reattach the housing with superglue. To get the job done I used my Winchester pocket knife and a dental pick to dig out the old glue. With the filter housing reattached, the stem is complete. I really like the rich color of the Cumberland stem. After allowing the filter housing glue to dry I want to see the lay of the land, I rejoin the Cumberland stem to the stummel (picture #1 below). I decide to stain the bowl with a new stain I found at the German owned ‘Mr. Prakteker’ – like Home Depot in the US. Finding alcohol-based stains in Bulgaria has been a challenge so I’ve been mixing my own batches up to this point. The brand is Italian and the cost was a bit more – I’m hoping that translates into better quality. When I opened the tin, a whiff of the stain revealed alcohol. With the help of Google Translate, the flavor of the stain is Dark Nut. The Bulgarian stick-on information tag said Dark Walnut. My thinking is to aim for a darker stummel to blend with the darker hues of the stem. If this succeeds, then I’m hoping the reds of the Cumberland stem ‘pop’ more instead of competing with the stummel. We’ll see! I can use alcohol-dipped cotton pads to lighten the stain after application if I choose. After setting the stummel up on the cork/candle stand I apply the stain undiluted with a cotton swab to see how it goes. I liberally allow stain to move over the inverted stummel – making sure of coverage over the inverted rim. After a good covering I use a lighter to fire the stain which is a quick-combustion of the alcohol leaving the stain to set well into the grain. The Italian stain ‘fired’ as hoped! I repeated the procedure and then used the alcohol dipped pads to clean off the burn layer of the stain revealing how the grain received the stain – it’s never the same! I take a picture to do a quick compare of stummel and stem. After comparing I’m thinking that I like the dark hue but it needs some reds so I decide to add a layer of Cheren stain – red which I will mix with alcohol as it is a water based stain. In my mind I’m thinking of the ‘Ox Blood’ depth that Steve uses – which is not found in Bulgaria! I think the addition of the red stain does the trick (last picture) though it’s difficult to see the difference comparing the last two pictures. Next, I apply several layers of carnauba wax to the stummel and stem with Dremel and cotton wheels. I’m careful to keep the Dremel wheel moving in rotation over the wood and use the lowest speed so not to overheat the wood. The buffing brings out the grain and the luster of the Cumberland stem. I continue the buffing with a clean cotton wheel over the entire stummel and stem surface. I finished with a thorough vigorous buffing with microfiber cloth to bring out the grain depth while watching Germany and Italy’s World Cup match. The recommissioning of this Butz-Choquin Rocamar was more of a project than I was expecting. I prefer the finish now before me to the shiny finish I started with. I like the new color scheme for the bowl and Cumberland stem – I believe it works well. The reds in the Cumberland stem match the grain amazingly well and the grain swirl in the rim has the appearance of continuing in the stem – a neat effect. I’m very pleased with the color blends. Another project done with new things learned to draw upon for the next candidate brought back to life! Thanks for joining me!