Tag Archives: Bowls – refinishing

Gotta Love this Sandblast on the Ehrlich Diamond Shank Bent Billiard

Blog by Steve Laug

When I saw this Ehrlich Sandblast Diamond Shank bent Billiard I was immediately drawn to the cragginess of the blast on the bowl. The deep lines and grooves of the blast that go all around the bowl are really nicely done. The ridges and grooves flow with the cut of the pipe and give it a distinctive flare that I was taken by. The finish was worn but in decent shape in the EBay photos but it still looked good. When I picked up the pipe from my brother on an April visit I could not wait to work on it. I took these photos to show the state of the pipe when I received it. The finish was worn and dirty – lots of grime in the deep grooves. The rim was pretty clean. I field reamed it when I was at my brothers and took back the cake that was there to bare briar. The shank had a smooth portion on the left underside where the EHRLICH stamp resides. I have no idea how to tell the age of their pipes as all the ones I have had over the years have had the same stamping. Some added a second line – Supreme, etc. – but this one only had Ehrlich. The band on the shank end is stamped Sterling. It was obviously put on the shank after the blast and was a shop cosmetic addition. It does not hide any cracks in the shank. The stem was oxidized and had some serious bite marks on the underside that would need to be addressed. I liked the shortness of the stem as it gave the pipe a compact look that worked with this pipe. I took some close-up photos of the rim and the stem to show their condition. The rim had no buildup or tars on it. The thin edges were lightly grooved – almost looked like the pipe maker had rusticated the rim to match the look of the bowl rather than risk sandblasting it. The stem was another story. The top side had lots of small dents that looked like they had been buffed out and the result was a wavy top surface. The underside had deep bite marks and tooth indentations that amazingly did not break through the surface and leave holes. I think that the thickness of the stem prevented the bite marks from going through to the airway. The sharp edge of the button and the top and bottom surfaces were pretty much obliterated by the “chomper” who had previously owned this pipe. I cleaned out the deep tooth marks on the stem with alcohol and cotton swabs. I removed the debris in the pits and grooves with a dental pick. I dried off the stem and then filled the bite marks with black super glue. I built up the button and filled in the sharp groove. I would need to recut that once the glue had cured. I laid the stem aside to let the glue harden.I scrubbed the grooves and ridges of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed the bowl under running water and dried it off. The scrubbing had done a great job removing all of the grit and grime in the ridges and grooves of the sandblast. While the stem repair cured I worked on the bowl. I wiped it down to remove any remaining dust and then put a large cork in the bowl so that I could hold on to it while staining the bowl. I used a dark brown aniline stain that had been thinned to 50% with isopropyl alcohol to restain the bowl. I flamed it to set the stain in the blast. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads to make it a bit more transparent and allow the dark black in the grooves to show through. I hand buffed the bowl with a shoe brush to get a bit of a shine on the briar.With the externals pretty well cleaned up and restored I addressed the internals of the bowl and shank. I cleaned out the mortise and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. To my surprise there was not much tobacco debris or oil in the shank. What came out with the cleaning was the original brown stain. Evidently the bowl had been dipped in stain. The amount of stain that came out on the pipe cleaners and cotton swabs was amazing. You can see it in the photo below. I scrubbed it until it was clean and I could see bare briar on the sides of the mortise.I sprayed the stem repair with some accelerator to harden the super glue more quickly. I decided to use it this time. I usually let the repair cure over night, but this time I was a bit impatient. When the glue was hard to the touch I used a series of flat needle files to begin flattening the repair and shaping the sharp edge of the button on both sides of the stem. With the button edges cleaned up and the slot opened slightly with the files I sanded the stem surface with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs and minimize the file marks in the vulcanite. I wet sanded both sides of the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to blend in the repair on the underside. I rubbed it down with a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded both sides with 3200-4000 grit sanding pads to further blend in the patch on the underside. By this point it was beginning to disappear into the shine of the stem. I gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of oil and let it sit until the oil was dry. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond and lightly touched the blast with the polish. Too heavy a touch and the grooves fill in with the polishing compound so it is critical to have a very light touch. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I sparingly applied some Conservator’s Wax to the bowl and hand buffed it with a shoe brush and with a clean buffing pad. I finished by hand buffing the pipe with a microfibre cloth to give depth to the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I really like the way the stain turned out and I am pleased with the repair to the stem. Thanks for looking.

Restoring a Pair of Mountbatten Authors

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me pictures of the first pipe in this pair of Mountbattens and wondered what I thought of it. We decided that it was worth a bid as the shape interested me. I had no idea who produced Mountbatten pipes, but this one had the look of an older one. The narrow taper on the stem back to the button, the darker stain, the narrow slot in the rounded button and the stepped down tenon all pointed to a pipe from an older time period. This one was stamped on top of the shank Mountbatten over Made in England. On the right side of the oval shank it bore the shape number 819. The finish was in decent shape other than a badly beat up rim top. The cake in the bowl was pretty thick. The stamping was distinct and clear. There were some dents and dings in the bowl sides. The stem had what appeared to be a surface logo on top of the saddle. It was not stamped and was peeling on one edge. It was oxidized and had some tooth marks on the top and underside near the button edge. The slot was so narrow that a pipe cleaner would not easily pass through to the bowl. He sent a picture of the second one as well – same shape as the first but having a different shape number and a Lucite stem. It was a newer version of the pipe. The shape was similar but slightly smaller. The taper on the stem was not as drastic and flowed to the button ending at the button almost the same width as the beginning at the saddle. The button shape, the shape and style of the slot in the button end, the stamping of the M on the top of the saddle all were signs of a newer version. This one was stamped on top of the shank Mountbatten over Royal. On the underside of the shank it was stamped Made in London over England. Under that near the stem shank union was the shape number. It was different from the older one – 207. The finish on this one was lighter and more of a matte. There were also quite a few fills in the sides of the bowl that were pink putty. They were pretty well blended into the grain so they would be fine. The bowl had a light cake in it and the beveled inner edge of the rim was darkened and had some lava that ran over the top edge. The Lucite stem was in good shape with some small tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. This would be a fun pair of pipes to clean up and restore. Before I started to work on them I decided to do a bit of research on the brand. I started with my usual first stop – PipePhil’s Logo and Stampings site. I found out there that the pipe was made by Charatan. There were pictures of a variety of stampings on the stem and some beautiful looking pipes but no other information. Here is the link to that page: http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m7.html.

I did some further digging and found a link on Pipes Magazine’s forum where the brand was discussed: http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/mountbatten-pipe. There was a discussion on that thread regarding the brand. Quite a few of the respondents originally said that the brand was a Charatan second. There was one dissenting voice that led to more responses similar in tone. The fellow said that the pipe was not a second. There was a quote from another site.

I googled the information and found that the quote came from a thread on pipes.org. Here is the link: http://pipes.org/forums/messages/23/45025.html?1169997817 I quote the original dissenter on the Pipes Magazine site in full because of the information that it gives. The original poster was Bill Ramsey. Here is Bill’s reply:

“Friends, after 40 years of nosing around pipes, what I have gleened is this: Charatan sold its seconds under private labels and later acquired the English rights for Ben Wade for just this purpose. Mountbatten, on the other hand was not a “second”(in that there was some physical deformity in the pipe) but rather a first line production from Charatan’s apprentice program. Each Charatan carver might have four or six apprentices at any one time of various skill levels. As they improved and started cutting pipes themselves, these pipes had to move… thus the Mountbatten. These were made on Charatan tooling with Charatan materials and teaching. Bear in mind that there was a high attrition rate and , perhaps, one apprentice in nine or ten made it to cutting their own bowls much less a Charatan carver. This is why you see more Charatans than Mountbattens on the market. You’re never going to put your kid through college by selling one but you’ve got a day to day workhorse of the first order. Good luck and happy puffing.”

That was just the kind of information I had been looking for. I close this section on the history of the brand with a quote that pretty well sums up the details that I had learned. It is taken from the same conversation that is traced in the last link above. “Yup now I know Mountbatten pipes were the fruit of an apprentice’s labor made under the supervision of a Master Pipe Maker at Charatan, most likely in the pre-Lane era; not a second, but a “sub-brand” (even though many experts still classify them as seconds anyway).”

A bit better educated about the pipes I was working on I was ready to start the refurbishing process on them both. I took some close up photos of the rims of both pipes. The first one is the older 819 pipe and the second is the newer 207 bowl. The damage to the first bowl would require topping while that on the second was less extensive and would only need a cleanup. I set up my topping board and topped the 819 carefully so as not to remove more of the top than necessary to flatten and remove the damage to the outer edge of the bowl and rim.

I reamed the bowl of the newer bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and took out the thin cake that was on the walls. I used a flat penknife blade scrape the lava from the rim face and the inner bevel on the rim and then wet sanded the top with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. The photo below shows the cleaned up rim surfaces. I carefully scrubbed the bowl walls and shanks with alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the grime. It did not take much scrubbing to clean up both bowls.

I sanded the topped bowl on the older, darker pipe with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads until the scratches left behind by the topping were gone. I then stained the top of the bowl with a dark brown stain pen. I stained the top of the lighter, newer bowl with a light brown stain pen to match the bowl sides.

I cleaned the internals of both pipes: mortise, airway in the shank and stem and the slot in the button with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners.

The stem clean up on each of the pipes was slightly different. The vulcanite stem needed the most attention. I sanded the tooth marks on the top and bottom side of the stem next to the button with 220 grit sandpaper and followed that with 280-600 grit sandpaper. I soaked it in Oxyclean overnight to soften the oxidation. I removed it in the morning and after drying it off scrubbed it with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 to remove the softened oxidation. The Lucite stem was much easier to work on. I sanded the tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem at the button with 220 grit sandpaper to remove them. It took some focused sanding to remove the two marks but once I was done sanding them they were no longer visible. With the oxidation taken care of on the vulcanite stem and the tooth marks removed from both stems it was time to work on them with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded both stems with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the vulcanite stem down with Obsidian Oil and then dry sanded both stems with 3200-4000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped down the vulcanite stem with another coat of oil. I sanded both stems with 6000-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I gave the vulcanite stem a final coat of oil and set it aside. Once the oil dried I would put the stems on the bowls and buff them. I put the stems back on the pipes and gave them a final buff with Blue Diamond polish on the wheel. I gave both multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed them with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed them with a microfibre cloth to add depth to the shine. The finished pair are shown in the photos below. The young apprentice carvers at Charatan did a great job in shaping and finishing these two pipes. They look great together. The mystery to me is the different number stamps on the pipes. They are similar in shape even though the newer is a little smaller. They look like they came from the same shape chart in terms of appearance. I suppose I will never know why the numbers are different but I do know that both should be great smoking pipes. Thanks for looking.

Spotlight: Ladies Pipes, Part 3/7, a Tiny Medico Acorn

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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://www.roadrunnerpipesnm.biz
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

Two old buddies are heading off on their Annual Fishing Trip. For argument’s sake we’ll call them Kevin and Bob.
Bob notices that Kevin is being more grumpy than usual and tries to lighten things up by way of conversation.
Bob: “So Kev, last week was your birthday, happy belated.”
Kevin: (grudgingly) “Thanks.”
Bob: “Say, did, Laura, buy you that Estate Dunhill that you were constantly hinting at?”
Kevin: “Na”
Bob: “Well what did she get you instead?”
Kevin: “SUV.”
Bob: “New or used?”
Kevin: “New of course.”
Bob is extremely puzzled as Kevin is still driving the same beat-up pickup that was already old when Saddam was considered an ally.
Bob: “You know, Kev, you and I have been friends for a long time, and I’m entitled to say that you are an ungrateful sour puss. Laura buys you a New SUV instead of a second hand pipe, and that has you in a bad mood.”
Kevin: “Humph!”
Bob: “Well what kind of an SUV was it anyway?”
Kevin: “Socks, Underwear, Viagra”
— Thanks to mate on smokingpipes.com/forums. (I don’t know, but for some reason this struck me as a good gift idea for the next man who gives a lady grief for enjoying a pipe.)

INTRODUCTION
Steve comments now and then on the pleasure he gets from researching a pipe’s history. I know his motivation is not to tuck away, in his mind and for his own use, the information he gathers. I can’t say for sure what drives Steve, but I suspect he, also, is a natural born reporter – which is to say collector and sharer of information – with an insatiable longing to spread his news to readers as well as to supplement or in some cases create new pipe lore available online. Steve laughed at this when I suggested the notion, but I would say his crowning achievement so far is the definitive and exhaustive research that got to the bottom (which was deep) of the complex origins and Byzantine life of Brewster pipes – a close second to his exposé on the history of the Colossus Pipe Factory (CPF).

As a former freelance news reporter/photographer and still a spot news enthusiast, not to mention aspiring literary writer and pursuer of other investigative endeavors, I have a knack of my own for probing. When I can’t find any mention whatsoever of a pipe brand, I therefore become somewhat vexed. This was the case in particular with the first two pipes I restored for this series. One was a Frasa (or maybe FRASA as an acronym) French natural bent billiard;. The other was a Clinton natural straight oval that was neither the Israeli Alpha brand type nor the U.S. variety. Forever a dogged reporter at heart and also having a serious case of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, however, I intend to stay on these stories and others until I uncover the facts. The truth is out there.

As for Medico, there is much to be found online and in actual bound and printed books on pipes and the long, glorious history of their peaceful enjoyment. Indeed, the latter tools still exist, however tenuous their future. I hope and pray they survive for as long as Mankind occupies this planet, if not beyond. The history of Medico began with S.M Frank & Co.in New York in 1851, giving S.M. Frank the claim to the oldest pipe manufacturer in the U.S. By the time Frank formed Medico Pipes in 1957, it had already consumed eight other pipe makers, some still celebrated and others less remembered: the Manhattan Briar Pipe Co. in 1922; William DeMuth & Co. (WDC) in 1937; The Kaywoodie Co. (later Kaywoodie Pipes Inc.), Yello-Bole, Kaufman Brothers & Bondy (KB&B), the Reisss-Premier Corp. and the New England Briar Pipe Co. in 1955, and the New Jersey Briar Pipes Co. in 1956.

Discussions today about Medico pipes, in person or online forums, can become downright nasty, pitting vehement supporters against rabid critics. Nevertheless, older Medicos certainly possess a certain heightened quality and charm, and the brand’s lines are still made to be inexpensive and durable. As cigarsinternational.com put it, Medicos are “no-nonsense pipes made for the everyman.” That, they no doubt definitely are, at prices ranging from $15.99-$39.99. Medico has made pipes with materials including traditional briar, Brylon (an S.M. Frank synthetic invention of high temperature resin and wood flour) and even a unique bent tall billiard covered with a mysterious material described by Pipephil as either felt, synthetic fur “or a piece of wall-to-wall carpet.” Well, that settles that. To tell the truth, I would love to own one of those, if only for show-and-tell and to be able to call myself a carpet piper, despite the risk of static-electric charges and burns.SOME FEMALE SMOKERS AND PIPE MAKERS
I have put out various general calls for help in my local and online pipe communities searching for women who smoke pipes and would be willing to share some of their experiences and preferences, and my friend Liz invited me to become a Friend of her Facebook Ladies of the Briar Group. I still need to pursue that line, but at least have four blogs left to do so.

Since my second ladies pipe blog, I have re-focused my research on areas of interest I had not even considered until some other friends mentioned them. The one was revealed to me by Jennifer, the owner of Stag Tobacconist in Albuquerque where I am a very frequent fixture. The other, suggested to me by another Smoking Forums UK friend, Ed, was a fact that struck me as so obvious I was embarrassed to have overlooked the idea. Both, I believe, will prove of great interest.

Unknown to me until Jennifer’s revelation, was that Samuel Gawith Fire Dance Flake – a Virginia mix with blackberry, vanilla and brandy flavorings that was a favorite of mine back in my aromatic-heavy days but remains a blend I still enjoy on occasion – was formulated by one of the few female tobacco blenders in the U.S. The light flavorings and Best Brown Virginia used give Fire Dance a nice little bite.Of more significance is the presence of females – ye gads, what’s the world coming to? – in the business of making pipes. Ed mentioned the following names and provided a few links, worried these were not enough, and I looked up the rest to get samples of their work: Vilma Armellini, one of three daughters of the great Italian pipe maker Mauro Armellini and who regularly assisted her father in making many of his pipes and took over the business upon his death; Anne Julie; Nanna Ivarssen, and two newcomers who have been crafting fine pipes for the past several years, Sabina Santos and Scottie Piersal. Alas, I have been unable to locate a pipe made entirely by Vilma Armellini, but the first photo below shows her father’s work that likely included her help. I will, you can bet, continue looking. In light of my severe case of P.A.D., I expect to add samples of these brilliant women’s pipe crafting art to my collection as soon as possible.

RESTORATION
Now, for the drab little Medico Real Briar acorn as I first saw it. The bit looked like this close up.I put it in an OxiClean bath and the stummel in used Everclear (not to drink, but to strip prior pipes).I took the bit out after a half-hour or so and wet micro meshed it. Then I went ahead and buffed it with red and white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba.I apologize for the gunk in the last photo. I just noticed it, but I assure you it came off with a wipe, or I wouldn’t have sold it the next day. About an hour after putting the stummel into the Everclear, I removed it and swabbed the chamber with one small soft cotton square and the outside with another. As usual, there was still old stain to remove, but other than uncommon situations such as removing that awful red varnish used on almost all pipes made in China , for example, I prefer not to let the wood soak too long. A little sanding with 220-grit paper in easy, even strokes, for the most part in the same direction, worked off the rest of the drab and dreary cloaking stain on the briar that had left darkness there and nothing more, as Edgar Allen Poe wrote. Call me anything other than Ismael, but I always get a distinct rush when the stummel is ready for micro meshing. In an average restoration of this type, with no serious, time-consuming obstacles, micro meshing most of the time is the halfway + 1 point, or the hump of the project. However, with five steps to go before completion of the pleasant task – it was better than the movie, which I had seen 10 times already – I was exactly halfway finished. The point, however obtuse, is that in my mind I was almost to the finish line. Oh, never mind! Alright, then, I proceeded to micro mesh from 1500-12000. Next up was re-staining the stummel, using Lincoln brown alcohol-based shoe and boot leather dressing.I also enjoy the brief puff of blue fire after holding my Bic or a good kitchen match close to the stain-wet wood, like flaming baked apples served with ice cream. Sort of. But that doesn’t make me a pyro. I prefer to think that life is like a bowl of ice cream, even if it’s served up on fire at times. Consequently, a few minutes after torching the stummel, I started with 2400 and 3200 micro mesh to remove the charred neon green coating. That broke through to dark brown, at which time I switched to super fine four-ought steel wool to take the darkness down a few notches. Ready for the second to last step in this somewhat off-the-norm order of events, I retorted the pipe at last. After running a fluffy cleaner through the shank and clearing more last-minute soot from the chamber with a cotton cloth square, I buffed the stummel with white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba, using the wheel I keep clean after each to work the compounds further into the briar and keep them from smudging. CONCLUSION
So far, by an eerie coincidence if there is such a thing, all three of the pipes I have restored for this ladies pipes series have sold. The Frasa (or FRASA) went to my good friend and fellow pipe club member, Ashley. The Medico Acorn of this installment was snatched up by another woman, Rita, whom I met last night when she saw me smoking a pipe and mentioned that her husband “used to enjoy his pipes all the time” (I took this rather ominous wording as either a sign that the good man is no longer with us or just not with Rita), as well as the fact that she gave up cigarettes by puffing on a pipe of her own with tobacco until she weaned herself off both, and she added that she missed the feeling of the pipe in her mouth. No comment. The third pipe, a Citation Real Briar oval, sold to an 18-year-young man who also approached me because of the fine pipe in my mouth at the time. Ashley reserved hers before it was even restored while the others fell victims to my persuasive sales technique and the fortuitous circumstance that I had my available pipes with me. Still, I didn’t push any of the ladies pipes on anyone. They were all picked out of the box by the happy buyers.
SOURCES
http://pipesmagazine.com/forums/topic/smoke-jokes
https://rebornpipes.com/tag/brewster-pipes/
https://rebornpipes.com/2013/04/14/some-reflection-on-the-historical-background-on-cpf-pipes/
http://www.smfrankcoinc.com/home/?page_id=2
https://pipedia.org/wiki/S.M._Frank
http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-medico.html
http://www.smfrankcoinc.com/home/?page_id=143 Medico pipes
http://www.cigarsinternational.com/brands/1552/medico/
http://www.tobaccoreviews.com/blend/1965/samuel-gawith-firedance-flake
http://www.theitalianpipe.com/artisans/armellini.htm
http://www.annejulie.com/pipes.html
https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ivarsson,_Nanna
http://www.sabinapipes.com/
http://mypipeclub.com/forum/index.php?PHPSESSID=18ed18b6fd1b7cfa581ca18da56449f7&topic=805.0 Scottie Piersal

Cleaning up an Edwards Unique – Hexagonal Straight Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

Over the years I have cleaned up, traded or kept many Edwards smoking pipes. The natural finish briar has always made these pipes attractive to me. The briar is always light weight and beautiful. Many have had a few fills in them but that in no way detracted from the beauty of the pipe. This one from my brother Jeff is different than any of the others that I have had pass through my hands. It is a square shank hexagonal Straight Dublin that has a shape that I have never seen before. The grain on it is quite stunning even though there are some small fills on the shank and on the right side of the bowl. The finish was in decent shape under the light grime on the surface. The beveled inner edge of the rim had some lava build-up and it spilled over to the flat portion of the rim toward the back side. I had field reamed the cake while I was staying with my brother in Idaho. The bowl was pretty clean and the inner edge of the rim was round. There were no dings or dents in the rim or the curved cap on the bowl. The stem was oxidized and had some fairly deep tooth marks at the button. Ed1 Ed2 Ed3

The shank was stamped on top with the word Edward’s and on the underside Algerian Briar with the shape number 87 underneath. There was a large #7 near the flat bowl bottom. Ed4 Ed5

I took a close-up photo of the bowl and the rim to highlight the cleanness of the bowl and the lava on the bevel. Ed6

I sanded the rim with a worn piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the lava on the rim surface and also to rework the inner bevel. Ed7

I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and cotton pads to remove the grime. I scrubbed around the rim surface as well. I sanded the rim with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then scrubbed it again. I was amazed at how well the rim came out. Ed10 Ed9 Ed10 Ed11

With the externals clean I scrubbed the airway and the mortise and the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. I used a dental pick to clear out the slot in the button. Ed12 Ed13

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation. I worked on the area around the tooth marks next to the button on both sides. I scrubbed out the tooth marks with alcohol and once they were clean prepared them for the patch. I patched the tooth marks with black super glue and set the stem aside so the glue would cure. Ed14 Ed15

While the glue dried I decided to work on masking the fills on the shank and the bowl of the pipe. I used a Black Sharpie and lightly drew lines across the fills on the right side of the bowl and the middle of the left side of the shank, working to blend them into the surrounding grain. Ed16 Ed17

Once the patches on the stem had cured I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the patch into the stem material. I sanded it with 280-600 grit sandpaper to smooth out the scratches and used a medium grit sanding stick to sand in the angles of the saddle. The oxidation on this stem was stubborn. I scrubbed it with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 and then spent a significant amount of time wet sanding it with 1500-1800 micromesh pads. Finally I got through the oxidation. It was not deep in the stem it was just stubbornly hard so breaking the surface took a lot of sanding. Ed18 Ed19 Ed20 Ed21 Ed22

With the oxidation finally conquered and the patches blended in I sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh some more – this time working to polish the stem. I gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil and sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads. I gave it another coat of oil and sanded it with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of oil and let it dry. Ed23 Ed24 Ed25

I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the wheel and gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I was able to clean up the rim so it looks almost new – little darkening on the inside bevel toward the back. The fill on the side of the bowl disappeared and the one on the shank is less glaring. The stem repairs look good and I was finally able to remove the oxidation. All in all it is a beautiful pipe with lovely grain and it should provide many more years of service. Ed26 Ed27 Ed28 Ed29 Ed30 Ed31 Ed32

Repairing and Restoring a KBB Yello-Bole 2070B Cutty

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Blog by Steve Laug

I was contacted by Robb, a reader of the blog about working on an old Yello-Bole Cutty that he had picked up. He said it was in decent shape but had a cracked shank that someone had already done a repair on. They had glued the shank with wood glue but when the stem was inserted it cracked again. He wanted the shank reglued and banded. We talked about different options for repairing the pipe and the costs of doing it. Finally, in an email he offered to trade me the pipe in exchange for one that I had for sale on the blog – a Kaywoodie Signature Bulldog. The deal was done and the pipe was now mine.

As with many of the pipes I repair and restore I want to learn as much about them as I can. I did some work on the internet trying to find the shape number of the pipe and information on the stamping. After a pretty fruitless search I wrote to Troy Wilburn of the Baccypipes Blog to get some information on dating the pipe. Troy has become my go to guy when I want to learn information on this particular brand of American pipes. He wrote back quickly with a reply which I summarize below. In it he walked me through the meaning of the stamping and how that helped with the dating of the pipe. His quick first answer stated that the pipe was made between 1933-1936. Here is the main portion of what he wrote to me:

“I’ll break down the stamping and numbers for you. Starting with the left side of the shank the pipe is stamped with KBB in a clover leaf and next to that it says Yello-Bole. Underneath it is stamped Honey Cured Briar. Yello-Bole pipes that come from 1933-1936 bore the stamp Honey Cured Briar. On the right side of the shank it is stamped 2070B. The meaning of the numbers breaks down as follows. The number 20 tells us that the stem is black vulcanite with a push tenon made between 1932-1940s. The next two numbers, 70 gives the shape – a long Belgian and that it was made between 1928/9 and 1935. They made a regular 70 (it’s just called Belgian), a large Belgian 70B, and a long Dublin Belgian 70B.”

I took some photos of the pipe with the stem in the shank to highlight the issues that I saw with the pipe. Not only was the shank cracked but the tenon was also cracked and set at an angle to the stem making alignment in the shank impossible. The dimensions of the pipe to give some perspective to the photos are: Length – 8 inches, bowl height – 2inches, outer bowl diameter – 1 ¼ inches, inner bowl diameter – ¾ inches. You can see that it is a large pipe. The finish was crackled and dirty – almost opaque to the point that the grain was hidden. The rim had a lava buildup and the bowl had a thin, uneven cake that covered it top to bottom. The stem was oxidized and yellow. The stinger was glued in place in the tenon with the broken tenon anchored firmly to the metal insert on the stinger. It was also glued in sideways instead of upright. I took a close up photo of the tenon and stinger repair that had been done to show the cracked and glue pieces of the tenon on the stinger. You can see in the photo where pieces of the tenon had broken free when I removed the stem from the pipe.The crack in the shank arced from one side of the pipe to the other forming a closed crack. The chunk of briar had been glued in place by what appeared to be wood glue. The repair was not strong enough to protect the shank when the angled tenon was inserted in the mortise. Each time the stem was inserted the crack opened wide. Because it had a start and an end point there was no threat in the crack spreading upward along the shank. I had two options for repairing this. I could either insert a tube inside the shank thus internally banding the pieces in place or I could use a band on the exterior to the same effect. As I worked on the i decided to band the shank rather than do an internal repair. The thinness of the tenon with the stinger in place would make it impractical to reduce the size of the tenon further to fit in the inner tube repair.I removed the stinger from the stem and broke away the pieces of the rubber tenon from the metal insert. The stinger was exceptionally long and once I replaced the tenon I would make a decision what to do with it.I have an assortment of threaded replacement tenons that I use to repair broken tenons. I went through my container and found one that was a good fit in the shank.I used the Dremel and sanding drum to flatten out the broken pieces of the old tenon on the end of the stem. I used the topping board to square up the end. I set up a cordless drill and a drill bit approximately the size of the threaded portion of the new tenon. I turned the stem onto the drill bit and slowly opened the airway to fit the new tenon. Once I had the airway open and deep enough to accommodate the threaded end I used a tap to cut threads into the inside of the stem. I turned the new tenon into the threaded airway in the stem to check the fit. When it was correct I gave the threads a coat of slow drying black super glue and turned the tenon into the stem until it was tight against the face of the stem. I set the stem aside to let the glue cure and began to work on the crack in the shank. It did not matter which way I chose to repair the shank I needed to clean up the previous repair and remove the dried wood glue. I needed a clean surface to reglue with super glue. Once I had the surface clean I pried open the crack and used a dental pick to push clear super glue into the crack. Once the glue was in place I clamped the shank until the glue set.I sanded the glued shank with 180 grit sandpaper to remove the finish and the over flow of glue from the repair. I wanted to make the surface smooth so that I could either band it externally or do it internally and then refinish the shank. The next two photos show the gold/yellow colour of the paint in the stamping of the shank on both sides. Once I stripped the bowl of the varnish coat this would disappear and I would need to recreate it.I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the mortise with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. It was dirty but cleaned up easily. I repeated the same process on the airway in the stem. It too was easy to clean. I reamed out the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife to take the cake back. Underneath the light cake I found that they original Yello-Bole coating was still in place.Once the glue on the shank had cured overnight I carefully put the stem in the shank to check the alignment of the stem and shank. I took the following photos of the pipe at this point in the process. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the varnish coat that was crackling. It took some scrubbing but the finish came off quite easily and left the colour in the briar.I was careful to not wipe around the repaired shank as the acetone will dissolve super glue and I would be back to square one. I sanded the bowl with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to further remove the finish.I wiped the bowl down with a light coat of olive oil to see what the grain looked like. I cleaned the shank and used European Gold Rub N’ Buff to restore the gold in the stamping. I really like how Yello-Bole and some of the older American pipes utilized the gold leaf in the stamping to make it highly readable.I scrubbed the stem with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 to remove the majority of the oxidation and polish the stem. The residue of the oxidation is shown on the cotton pad under the stem.I sanded the remaining oxidation with 220 grit sandpaper to remove it from the surface of the stem. There were some small tooth marks on the top and bottom sides of the stem as well that I sanded out with the sandpaper.I wetsanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final rubdown with Obsidian Oil. I drilled out the tenon to the diameter of the stinger apparatus that had originally come with the old tenon. I made it large enough that the stinger was removable in order that the pipe could be smoked with or without the stinger.The band that Charles shipped me came on Friday and it was a good fit on the shank. I coated the shank with some white glue and pressed the band onto the shank. I wiped away the excess glue with a damp cotton pad. I used a dark brown stain pen to touch up the area around the shank repair that extended beyond the band. The colour worked well with the brown/red colour of the stain on the rest of the shank.I buffed the area around the band with White Diamond on the wheel to blend in the stain colour with the rest of the pipe. I buffed the entire pipe with Blue Diamond, being careful to avoid the nickel band. I have found that when I buff the band at the same time as the rest of the pipe the black from the nickel on the buffing pad is transferred to the shank and stem. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and gave the stem and bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and then with a microfibre cloth to deepen and raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I really like the way it turned out and I am sure glad that I was able to work a trade with Robb for the pipe. I took some final photos of the pipe. The first photo shows the stinger next to the bowl and stem go give an idea of the size of the stinger and the second photo shows the stinger in place in the stem. Thanks for looking.

Spotlight: Ladies Pipes, Part 2/7, a Clinton Straight Oval

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INTRODUCTION
I came across a more subtle but still rather sexist yet humorous comment concerning the perceived relationship of women to pipe enjoyment, this time in the older ad above for Flying Dutchman tobacco. No longer in production, it was an aromatic blend of Kentucky Burley, Cavendish, Virginia, Oriental Turkish and “Other/Misc.” Sounds pretty good to me. But it makes me flash on an email I received from a friend on Smokers Forums UK. Her name is Liz. She wrote:

“I always wanted to smoke a pipe even when I was a child. I had seen photos of my dad smoking a pipe but he had quit smoking by the time I was born. I started smoking cigarettes in my early teens and the desire to smoke a pipe became stronger once I became an adult and started to do a lot of camping. I thought it would be very nice to sit by the campfire and smoke a pipe.”

Here comes the sad crux of Liz’ response. “But as a woman, I never felt comfortable or confident enough to go in a store and buy one. Finally in 2004 I got the nerve to go in the tobacco shop and buy a pipe. I used the excuse that I was buying it for my brother. [Emphasis added.] …I had no one to teach me anything about smoking the pipe so what I learned I found on the internet.”

I was struck by the eloquent and poignant plight of a woman I have come to think of as supremely confident and self-assured in all matters, albeit that our friendship is based in the ether world. This is a woman I should very much like to meet some day in person. Liz’ reluctance to purchase a tobacco pipe, at a tobacconist, for herself as a woman who had always wanted to partake of the pleasures she rightly imagined she would discover (around a campfire, no less, and as an alternative to the pernicious and addictive additives in cigarettes), plucked a mournful acoustic chord in my heart like listening to Albinoni’s Adagio for guitar alone on a torrential night.

This in turn sparked a connection to the woman in my previous blog of this series, the person who inspired me to tackle the subject in the first place with her soft-spoken, somewhat tentative inquiry to Chuck, at my local tobacconist, asking if he had any ladies pipes. After I read with delight and growing admiration for the fine woman Liz’ responses revealed her to be from the several questions I posed to her as a preliminary breaking of the ice in an ongoing interview process, I played back my mental tape of Chuck’s encounter with the good lady in search of a suitable pipe, and doing so recalled the trepidation in her voice and body language. With some amazement, I realized that she had probably worked herself up for untold years to that moment when at last she was determined to ask for that which she had always wanted!

As a man, I am compelled to declare that this clear and present state of social antipathy toward women who wish only to savor a pipe – and indeed the attitude must be widespread, or else I could not have come in contact with two ladies in hardly a month with the same reluctance to buy something so basic that they fancied obtaining – is intolerable. I mean good Lord, have we come so short a distance from the days when women on their own volition and in the strength of groups protested the double standard of cigarette smoking as chic by men while the practice was viewed as vulgar by females? Alas that science was not what it is today, and many beautiful pioneering civil rights women perished early from the intrinsic impurities and carcinogens of cigarettes. And let’s not forget the infamous bra burning demonstration so popular when I was a youngster (and to my natural titillation, no pun intended). With hope, therefore, these blogs will help to alleviate the barriers.

VARIOUS BRAND LADIES PIPES
I noticed Peterson’s had at least one ladies pipe, and reader/blogger Mark Irwin, who read my previous blog on this subject, urged me to include some of them during the course of the series. Here are several samples of fine ladies pipes, starting with a Peterson I found offered in Italy, per Mark’s suggestion.Paddy of SF let me know that his wife has a sweet collection of Savinelli 606 pipes, at least one for each day of the week, like the following example. BTW, Paddy writes, the missus also has “one Castello of a similar shape which she received as a gift.” Good company, indeed. And now, here is the Clinton Real Briar Oval as it came to me. RESTORATION
The Clinton, as well as the FRASA I restored for my first of these seven blogs, has an unusual stinger tenon, heightening my surprise that neither of them seems to have any discernible history, not even as seconds. In addition to the tenon, the Clinton also has a distinctive upside-down C on the bit.By way of synopsizing the pipe’s chief and obvious problems, the bit was badly discolored, there was a crack on the upper left side of the bowl extending from the rim downward (but not penetrating into the chamber), and the stain was far too dark for my taste, given the apparent decency of the obscured grain. And so I began by soaking the bit in an OxiClean bath and the stummel in some used Everclear I keep on hand for such occasions.The bit was ready first, about a half-hour later, and I removed it from the soak and rinsed it, then took out the stinger and ran a soft cleaner through the airway. I wiped the stinger clean with a soft cotton gun cleaner square and sanded both sides of the bit’s lip end with 200-grit paper. Then I wet micro-meshed the entire bit from 1500-12000 and had a nice bowl of D&R Two-Timer Gold in my Peterson Killarney Straight Bulldog Dress Pipe. I ordered the beautiful black “ebony” pipe online during a brief overwhelming fixation on these pipes that also landed me a sleek Nat Sherman. Both remain favorites.

That Everclear strip lasted just long enough for my consummate Burley mix to work its way down to a fine ash – or maybe I made it last the proper time, as was my prerogative! Whichever the case may have been, I had a couple more handy cotton cloth squares ready, one to stuff into the chamber with a pinkie and twist so I could clean out any residue there and hold the body in place while I scrubbed the still wet outside of the wood with the other. Look at the scum that would have ended up trapped below the stain I later applied. Some would ask what it would matter. I like to think the devil is in the details.With considerable difficulty given the tiny chamber diameter (1” in length and 1” deep but a mere 0.5” across), I coaxed a small, limp piece of 150-grit paper inside and somehow worked it up and down enough to make a difference, then switched to 200- and finally 500-grit., finishing with a cotton cloth square with a squirt of purified water to remove the extra char. On the outside, I used 200-grit paper to clear away the stubborn remaining stain and residue from the Everclear soak. I micro-meshed from 1500-12000. I was ready at last to consider the crack.It looks pretty nasty, doesn’t it? Again, the consensus was to shave down the rim. Having Executive Power of veto, I opted for a fix I never tried before with a little concerted sanding of the rim with 150-grit paper, it comes down appreciably.Then I got a wild hair to do the unthinkable. I retrieved my file, an old, wrecked briar stummel I’ve kept for several years knowing I would never dare to try restoring it and some Super Glue, and scrape off enough of the wood to make a nice pile of super fine particles. I’ll tell you right now, the first two attempts at mixing Super Glue with the briar particles and then moving the ultra-fast-drying gloop to the top hole in the Clinton didn’t turn out well. Eventually I conclude the trick is sprinkling some of the fine wood into the gap and then sealing it with a kiss of glue.I did hasten to scrape some of the excess glue into the hole and remove the rest using the edge of a business card. When it was dry, which was in almost no time at all, I retorted the pipe Before the finishing touches, I sanded it down to smoothness with 200-grit paper and re-micro-meshed.

Afterward, taking the matter under full advisement and consideration, I mulled over Lincoln Marine Cordovan (burgundy) to stain it, which might have been overkill, and a mix with that and two or three times more Feibing’s Brown. I chose the latter, of course. I mixed the two stains in my small Tupperware. Staining the surface of the Clinton stummel for the most part had a nice effect, not counting the serious accentuation it gave to the small remaining hairline crack beneath the one I sealed on the rim. Therefore, following the same process I so painstakingly learned before, only going straight to the effective method, I prepared more briar shavings and, Super Glue at the ready, set the stummel down left side up and sprinkled the dust over the area where the crack was forming. After using another business card (what else are they good for?) to get the most of the particles, I squeezed a nice precise dot of glue over the spot and spread it out to let it dry in a thin coat.Of course I was forced to sand down the resulting obnoxious big round shiny bump, and in the process some of the surrounding stained surface, but it was worth it knowing the integrity of the pipe would be sound and none of my pipe aficionado friends with their eagle eyes would spot the former crack. Here is after sanding and before touch staining.And now for the finished product, after buffing with white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba. Red and white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba gave this bit a higher than usual shine. CONCLUSION
However lighthearted the ad with which I opened this installment of the series was intended to be, women are not here to be led around by the nose in the pursuit of so-called manly pleasures. Granted, no doubt, for the most part the pleasure of partaking of tobacco pipes has always been more the purview of men, but to think that women are incapable of such finer sensibilities of life is sheer sophistry, and shamefully self-deceptive and fallacious reasoning at that.

Furthermore, women need not have masculine qualities to favor the subtle qualities of pipe appreciation. And although most humans are capable of normal synaptic reflexes, the electrical impulses generated do not produce identical stimuli tickling the pleasure centers of the brain and kicking out uniform reactions. On the contrary, the magnificence of the human brain is that everyone’s reaction to a given stimulus is unique.

Why, then, should anyone be deprived of the deeply personal reflections facilitated by the mere puffing of a favorite tobacco in a like pipe? These are propositions that we hold to be self-evident, that all people are created equal. I would no more give up my pipes than my gun. Call me a radical or a revolutionary, but don’t call me a redneck or late for dinner.

SOURCES
https://www.smokingpipes.com/smokingpipesblog/single.cfm/post/top-pipe-picks-for-ladies Ladies pipes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo7IJY4ZjCU The Ladies of the Youtube Pipe Smoking Community

Spotlight: Ladies Pipes, Part 1/7, a FRASA French Bent Billiard

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A pipe in the mouth makes it clear that there has been no mistake–you are undoubtedly a man.
— Alan Alexander Milne (1892-1956) – English author, playwright, poet essayist and storyteller best known for Winnie the Pooh – from “Smoking as a Fine Art,” in Not That It Matters, 1919, a collection of wide-ranging and manly essays

INTRODUCTION
I admit, my choice of the above quote was calculated, but not to raise the ire of any female smokers I indeed admire and whose attention I hope to draw to this forum and others, with the goal of opening a dialogue between the genders who share at least one common love. Of course, as with all well-meaning attempts at good natured humor mixed with more than a grain of satire, I should not be surprised if this one, in the spirit of political incorrectness, backfires in my face like a good ole boy’s sawed-off shotgun packed with too much rock salt.

But no, I think my message is clear. A.A. Milne was a good man and without doubt one of the most celebrated and creative writers of children’s stories of his time, albeit the product of the languid ease and floating, hypnotic comfort of his youth in the English countryside and predetermined defining crucible at Cambridge’s Exeter College at a time when his contemporaries were such traitors as Guy Burgess and Kim Philby to name but two. Yet Milne chose the right path, whatever unavoidable world-view of woman and their “rightful places” in the homes and gardens and still grander scheme of the universe. Milne escaped the abyss of prison, execution or exile to a dacha on the steppes of Mother Russia – outside of his day-to-day harrowing home life. All in all, notwithstanding the opening and somewhat tasteless quote, Milne turned out a bit alright.

So now, a few words about the earth-shattering day at the Stag Tobacconist in Albuquerque, New Mexico, US of A, deep in the Land of Enchantment. How â propos is that, I ask? Holy Shades of a Midsummer Night’s Dream, Batman! You see, I was sitting in my customary spot with a view of the entire room against the unlikely and therefore ever-present threat of imminent attack by unknown sinister forces, which seem to lurk in every corner of this wannabe city. The place continues to groan and grumble with unnatural growing pains.

I was sitting there in my comfortable cushioned chair in the smoker’s lounge, working on my laptop, when I overheard a woman who had come in looking for a “lady’s pipe.” I wasn’t eavesdropping, I just couldn’t help overhearing, along with the rest of the conversation, although my interest was piqued and my ears pricked. From her demeanor, I guessed it was her first visit to the shop. She was a rather large lady, dressed in a heavy long black coat. I knew right off that I had exactly what she was looking for at my apartment in an assortment of nice smaller pipes that nevertheless were not minis. I knew not to interfere with Chuck Richards, my friend and mentor, who had engaged the good woman

Scanning my mental knowledge of the shop’s inventory, I settled on a few of the no-name Italians and some mini carved meerschaums in the glass case below where Chuck and the lady stood at the end of the service counter, only a few yards from my curious ears and eyes. To my immense surprise, I watched Chuck (whose lips were pulled back in a look of distaste I recognized, whether or not the woman detected it) as he produced with appropriate care the open box of one of the meerschaums. The woman made a definite sound of pleasure that was stifled by Chuck’s masterful discourse on the pros and cons of meerschaum minis. He went on about the quality of the material and their ability to burn any type of tobacco without a lingering taste; their fragility and special precautions needed to use them, and in particular their construction with small push-in tenons that can be difficult to maneuver the vital cleaners through. He demonstrated and then explained how the cleaner would also be inserted into the shank after smoking but that he couldn’t handle the surface of the pipe because of its porous nature that absorbs skin oils and dirt, leading to serious damage.

Choking back a laugh, I thought I could not have discouraged a sale better if I had tried! I happen to know Chuck despises fancy, carved meerschaums for his own collection but would never hesitate to sell one to the right person. And so he moved on to several nice, shiny, natural finish no-names of medium length and bowl size. My excitement was growing. I decided if and only if Chuck proved unsuccessful in matching the female customer with a pipe – a wholly unlikely event – would I scurry out the door after her and offer the prospective customer my card and services.

But of course, Chuck sold her a very nice pipe, albeit twice the size of those I will show in this series. Thus was conceived the idea for this series, which, in my original plans, I envisioned, as usual, in a single blog. After a mere glimpse at the boggling research needed to undertake the endeavor, however, not to mention the difficulty of blogging seven restores in one space, I had the brainstorm of splitting the project into a series.

My friend on the Smokers Forums UK (http://www.smokersforums.co.uk/), who goes by the username “im2for1” there, is a Team Member at the Forums and owner of Ladies of the Briar for women only on Yahoo Groups and Friends of the Ladies of Briar of Facebook. She is also vice president of New Jersey Fellowship of Pipe Smokers on Yahoo and Facebook. With some careful, specific prodding, I hope to elicit some invaluable intelligence from Liz as this series progresses.

Here are some pictures of the seven pipes, which I relegated to a special pile on the big work desk in my office. I automatically segregated them for their unusual small sizes but had no idea that distinction would someday come in handy. Now, for a description of my first foray into a so-called Ladies Pipes, although it could be smoked without shame by a man (if I didn’t already sell it to one of my best customers, known to some readers here as Ashley and going back to my first real restore). This is a FRASA (from the brand mark on the shank), a French piece of work about which I can find no background. I wonder if the larger capital letters indicate an acronym. It’s a lovely, little, delicately curved, natural, dark red briar billiard. RESTORATION
This was one of the cleanest pipes I’ve ever come across in a lot, but I’ve never seen one yet on which I couldn’t improve. I showed all of the pipes I’m restoring for these blogs to Ashley at one of our weekly pipe meetings a few weeks back, and I had a good idea which one she would like best. I’ve come to know her tastes, having sold her several pipes, not to mention one to her husband, Stephen. Her hand went straight for the FRASA and her eyes sparkled with P.A.D. I knew I had her. I pointed out the clean but slightly rough to the touch chamber, which took a flashlight to determine that it had indeed been lightly smoked. Then there were some minor blemishes on the bowl. I also said I’d like to lighten it up a bit, unless she liked it the way it was.

“Go for it!” she said.

And so I tossed the bit in an OxiClean bath.Moving to the stummel, I wiped it down with purified water and soft cotton cloth gun cleaners before using 320-grit paper gently and evenly before micro-meshing from 1500-12000. Removing the bit from the OxiClean and rinsing it, I wet micro-meshed it to a nice dark shine.I sanded the small chamber with 200- and 320-grit papers and retorted it just to be thorough, but I didn’t expect to find anything, and I didn’t. Now, that’s a clean pipe!

I finished by buffing the stummel with white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba, and the bit the red and white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba. CONCLUSION
In the next installment, I plan on getting more to the meat and potatoes issues of relative numbers of women who partake of the magic instrument of divine contemplation – recognizing, of course, the futility of trying to get anywhere near exact numbers. I also hope to have feedback from Liz and others like her who are as active as any men in their smoking communities, with some insights into the kinds of pipes they actually enjoy, whether “ladylike” or more “manly.” Yes, sir (or ma’am), the times, they are a-changin‘.

I’ll leave you with these parting shots of two lady smokers, one real and one – ahem – well, never mind.

The Lot arrived and in it was a Small Dunhill Chestnut Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me a link to a lot of pipes on Ebay and I loaded and viewed the pictures in full size. There in the lot was a small bent billiard. In the photo below it pipe at the bottom of the photo circled in red. To my eye it looked for all things like a small Dunhill pipe. There were some other nice pipes in the lot but that is the one that caught my eye and made me suggest that we go for the lot. It was a bit of a bidding war and at the end the pipes were ours. When I was recently in the states to visit my mom and dad I stayed with my brother. The pipes came in the mail and I could not wait to open it.I could not believe my eyes when I unpacked the pipes. Sure enough the little pipe in the photo was a Dunhill. It was stamped 2102 next to Dunhill over Chestnut on the left side of the shank. The four digit numeric code tells a lot about the pipe. The first digit, in this case a 2 tells me that the pipe is a Group 2 sized pipe. The second digit, in this case 1 tells me that the stem was originally a tapered stem. The third and fourth number, in this case 02 tells me the shape of the pipe – a bent billiard. The Chestnut finish also had a Cumberland stem and there under the grime on the stem was Cumberland. On the right side it was stamped Made In over England with a superscript underscored 31 after the D. From my calculations that made it a 1991. I arrived at that date by at the superscript number to 1960. The Chestnut finish with the Cumberland stem was first released by Dunhill in 1982 so this is a later version of the finish.

I took some photos of the little pipe once I got it to the work table back home in Canada. It was a beauty. The Chestnut finish was dull and dirty but looked good under the grime. The rim had a coating of lava and was slightly out of round. The bowl had a cake that was soft and broken. The stamping on the shank was crisp and distinct. The stem fit perfectly and was oxidized. The first inch of the stem from the button forward looked as if the stem had sported a rubber softee bit. There was a thick coat of calcification and crud (technical term) where the rubber bit had been. The oxidation on the stem pretty well hid the Cumberland material – the striations of colour on the stem were almost invisible. The inside of the pipe was dirty and tarred. The slot was filled in partially with debris. I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim. The picture below shows the tars and lava on the rim. I had reamed the bowl when I was staying at my brother’s so I have no picture of the cake. I would need to clean up the reaming with the Savinelli Pipe Knife. You can also see damage to the inner edge of the bowl where it is out of round. I also took two photos of the stem – the topside and the underside near the button. The next two photos show the stamping on the right and the left sides of the shank. I scrubbed the stem with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 on cotton pads and removed a lot of the oxidation and the calcification. The area under the calcification was lighter than the rest of the stem so I would need to polish and sand it to blend it into the stem. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the areas of the stem. Once I had sanded away the tooth marks and the damage on the stem it was ready to polish with micromesh.I cleaned out the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I also cleaned out the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. The fit of the stem in the shank was very tight so cleaning it out would make it fit well. To repair the out of round inner bowl edge I wrapped a piece of 220 grit sandpaper around my KleenReem pipe reamer and sanded the bowl. The size of the reamer and sandpaper was the same size as the bowl and twisting it around the inside of the bowl quickly brought the bowl back into round and cleaned it up.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it 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 coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I carefully scraped the surface of the rim with a sharp knife blade to remove the lava and then scrubbed the rim with a cotton pad and saliva to remove the darkening and smooth out the rim. I did not want to top the bowl but try to preserve the finish. I scrubbed until the surface was smooth and clean. I touched it up with a stain pen along the outer edge to even out the colour. I hand buffed it with a cloth. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and smoothed out all of the marks on the finish. I buffed with multiple coats of carnauba wax and then buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown below. It is a beauty. Thanks for looking.

Fixing a Citation Squat Bulldog

Refinishing an English made Comoy’s Gold Bark 87S Zulu

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Blog by Steve Laug

Quite a few years back now, my daughters gave me this little Comoy’s Golden Bark Zulu as a birthday gift. They had dutifully hunted for the pipe and then picked it up at a local pipe shop. I loved the look and the shape of it as it reminded me of an older one that I had smoked from time to time. I loaded a bowl and smoked it just twice because the finish bubbled and blistered in the sandblast on the back, front and sides of the bowl. I talked with others about what to do and found out that really there was nothing left to do but refinish the pipe or return it to the shop. I looked into returning it to the shop but found that it was one of a kind so I kept it. I put it in the pipe cupboard and there it remained for many years. In the photos below you can see the blistering in terms of discolouration on the sides of the bowl. The underside of the shank had also faded and was significantly lighter than the rest of the pipe. Fast forward to several weeks ago. On Facebook I was following a conversation that Chuck of Stag Tobacco in Albuquerque, New Mexico was having with one of the Stokkebyes and found that they were talking about Comoy pipes. I wrote a real time question on the thread there and found out quickly that what I had in hand was an English Comoy and that it was significantly older than I had originally imagined. Somehow I thought it was made during the period when the Italians made the pipes during the Cadogan era. I was wrong it turns out. The stamping on the underside of the shank reads COMOY’S over GOLD BARK over the round COM stamp with Made in London in a circle with the in residing in the center of the circle. Underneath the circle is a straight line reading ENGLAND. Next to that stamping is the 87S shape number and then along the edge of the shank stem joint is stamped 004.

I decided then that it was time to address the finish on the pipe. I took a few close up photos to show the blistering of the finish to give you an idea of what I was working with. The rim also had a little darkening from the little bit I had used it and there was the beginning of a light cake in the bowl.To begin stripping the bowl I wiped it down with acetone on cotton pads and found that it worked to remove the finish on the high spots of the blast but left a lot of the shiny bubbly finish in the deep grooves. To deal with the bubbly finish in the grooves of the blast I used a brass bristle brush and then wet the bowl down with acetone to keep the surface wet while I scrubbed it with the brush. I finished removing the finish with more acetone on cotton pads until the finish was clean. I took a few photos of the pipe at this point to show the new look of the finish. The lighter colour of the shank was beginning to blend in better with the rest of the pipe. I gave the bowl a light coat of olive oil to highlight the red tones in the finish and then buffed it lightly with a clean buffing pad. I gave it a coat of Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a shoe brush. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The colour of the blast and the look of the pipe exceed what I thought it would look like when I was finished. The grain on the pipe shows through the blast and gives the pipe a beautiful look in my opinion. Thanks Chuck for the impetus to get this pipe cleaned up. I am once again looking forward to using this pipe and enjoying the gift from my daughters. Thanks for looking.