Tag Archives: Bowls – refinishing

Repairing a cracked shank

Blog by Steve Laug

I received this older BBB Tortoise that was in pretty good shape. I did a topping on it and a restain that is posted in a separate blog posting. But in the cleaning process I also found that the shank had a crack in it. In the picture below you can see that the crack is quite long and is open. I know that others repair these with a shank insert and glue the crack together, but I have not ventured into that avenue as yet. On this kind of crack in the shank my normal process is to glue the crack with super glue and then band the pipe. In this essay I want to describe that process for you.

I removed the stem from the shank and cleaned out the shank with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I want the surface to be grime free. I also wiped down the crack with an alcohol wipe to make sure the outer surface was also grime free. I then pried the crack open by inserting my dental pick in the mortise and giving it a small bit of pressure to open the crack. The key at this point is not to apply to much pressure as it will continue to crack. Being gentle and taking your time is critical at this point or you will make the problem a bigger one. Once the crack is open I drip super glue into the crack and then hold it together with the stem removed in order for the glue to bind the crack. Once that is done I wipe off the outside of any excess glue that will extend beyond the width of the band and set it aside.

I heat the band with my heat gun and pressure fit it onto the shank of the pipe by pressing the band and shank into the piece of carpet pictured in the photos. It is important to keep the pipe absolutely vertical and straight as you press the band into place. You will want to press the band on the shank until the lower edge is flush with the end of the shank so that the stem fits properly. With the band heated this is not difficult to do. The band will pretty easily slide up the shank with the pressure you apply. Check for a good fit and then let it cool for a few moments.

Once it is cooled the stem can be fit to the shank. I find that with the band the tenon will need a slight bit of sanding to fit correctly. I use some 220 grit sandpaper to remove a little of the material. I make one pass with the paper and then try it for a fit. It should slide in snugly so you must be careful not to remove too much material. Often just one pass is enough and the stem should go in perfectly.

With the stem refit the pipe is ready for a buffing and polishing. Avoid buffing around the band on the buffer as it will cause the pad to go dark and leave a black/grey haze on the briar around the shank and band area. I buff the shank avoiding the band and then polish the entirety with a light touch on the carnauba wheel. Below is the banded and repaired pipe.

Refurb LHS SEC system pipe – strange one

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Blog by Steve Laug

In my ongoing quest to collect pipes that are unique and give a picture of the history of interesting inventions and modifications to the simple smoking pipe I wanted to post this refurb that I finished. It is a LH Stern (LHS) SEC pipe. It is a system pipe as can be seen from the blown out pictures and the diagrams from the patent office. It is an interesting piece of history. The apparatus inside is quite elaborate. The stem is green perspex that serves as a collection chamber for sediments before the smoke goes to your mouth. I cleaned and reamed the bowl and polished it with carnauba wax. The stem had some tooth marks and cuts. I lifted the majority of them with my heat gun and finished by sanding them and buffing them smooth.

Here are pictures of the pipe when it arrived:

Here are pictures of the pipe after I cleaned it and polished it:

Here is the pipe taken apart – it has an amazing assortment of parts. I have also included a copy of the patent information for those interested in the background of this pipe.

GBD Prehistoric Prince 357 Refurb

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Blog by Al Jones

These old GBD’s just seem to follow me home. This one, a Model 357 in Prehistoric finish, wasn’t getting much action on Ebay and I bit. The Ebay pictures showed the briar was in pretty good shape and Perspex stems are generally pretty easy to restore. I didn’t have a Prince style pipe in my collection and this one looked like a suitable candidate. I weighed the pipe at 35 grams. That was also appealing and it should be comfortable in the mouth.

The pipe as I received it from the seller:

Using my Castleford tool, I reamed the light cake in the bowl and let it soak with some Sea Salt and Everclear. The Everclear took some of the finish off the bowl top and revealed some scrapes as well. I decided the blast was too nice to leave it in that condition and I knew the nicks on the bowl top would polish smooth. A smooth, beveled GBD bowl top looks great in my opinion and that feature is an attractive aspect of these pipes.

While the bowl was soaking, I worked on the Perspex stem. It had a few tooth marks that I was able to sand out starting with some 1500 than 2000 grit wet paper. I than buffed it with the 8,000 and 12,000 grade micromesh pads. I ran some bristle pipe cleaners with Everclear thru the stem. I’d been advised previously to run a dry cleaner thru following the Everclear as to not cloud the stem draft hold of Perspex material.

Then, as with the stem, I used some 1500 than 2000 grit wet paper on the polished bowl top, than the last two grades of micromesh. Next up, re-staining, which is still a little nerve-wracking to me.

I reviewed Steve’s past blog entries on re-staining a bowl. I had previously completed that step only two other times. I soaked the bowl in a small container of isopropyl alcohol for several hours. I used an old brass bristle brush to help remove the stain and any wax. Than, I let it soak for another few hours. Once the finish was removed, I prepared to re-stain it. I really liked the light brown factory finish and used some Fieberlings Medium Brown stain, but thinned it considerably. On my first two re-stain jobs, my finish came out too dark. This time, I nailed it and the color is just what I desired. I used the dauber supplied by Fieberlings to apply the stain, held by a bent pipe cleaner. After the first coat dried, I applied a second coat. This time I set the stain with a flamer from a lighter. Be sure to not have the pipe sopping with stain, as that burns too long and could leave a burn mark on the briar.

Applying the stain:

The next step was on the buffing wheel with some White Diamond rouge. A light touch is used as to not damage the bowl or add any unnecessary wear. Carnuba wax was then applied using a dedicated loose cotton buff. The bowl following the White Diamond and Carnuba wax applications:

The final step was a hand polish with Halycon wax and she was ready to smoke. I’m dedicating this one to Orlik’s “Golden Sliced” blend, which is a good smoke in the hot summer months of Maryland.

The finished pipe:

A Barling’s Frustration

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I had this old bowl in my box that just looked like a Barlings. I took it out and studied under bright light and a loop. It had the arched Barlings over Make. The other side was stamped EL and Made in England (I believe). It had a serious crack in the shank so I superglued it and banded it. This little pipe became the definition of frustration for me. It was a beautiful and I was incredibly hopeful when I cleaned it up and prepared it for the new stem I had cut for it. The grain was very nice and to find that it was an older Pre-transition Barling’s pipe was exciting. The bowl cleaned up very well. The shank and new band looked great. All that remained was to finish working over the stem for it.

About that time my wife came down to the basement where I was working on it and we decided to go for our Saturday morning walk about. We had planned to take the bus down to an area we like to visit and check out the antique shops. This is something that we both enjoy so I put the little Barling’s my pocket and brought along some sand paper to work on it while sitting and waiting for the bus. We had a good morning, went to the Vancouver Flea Market and even found a couple of older Peterson pipes that I picked up. We decided to have some lunch before going home so we walked over to a nearby Korean BBQ and ordered a nice lunch.

While we were waiting for our lunch I guess the pipe fell out of my pocket. I did not notice until the waiter stepped on something and I heard a crack. Well the long and short of it is when we sat down to lunch it had fallen out of my pocket and when the waiter stepped on it the shank cracked off just ahead of the band. I had a sick feeling as I picked up the pieces of the broken old timer. My visions of a nice older Barling’s Pot shape were pretty much crunched. I put the pieces on the table and looked them over as we continue to wait for the meal and I grumbled about my stupidity in not zipping the coat pocket and also about bringing it with me in the first place.

Once we had finished eating and headed home I had calmed down enough to think about what I would do with the pipe. I took the pieces to the basement work table and turned on a bright overhead light so that I could examine the damages. As I looked at the broken shank I could see that the wood was darkened, almost burned around the crack. It was almost as if the heat in the shank had found a flaw in the briar and followed it outward to the surface. It had not gotten all the way to the surface but was just under the outer layer of the finish. So it appeared that the crack was worse than I had imagined.

That helped me to get over being incredibly frustrated and disappointed in the broken shank. So I spent some time looking it over and decided I could work with it. I decided to turn it into a nose warmer. The saddle stem I had made was too small in diameter to fit so I had to cut another stem. I cut off the ragged edges of the break and used a piece of sandpaper on a solid board to face the shank again. I also drilled out the shank and opened it up enough to accept the new tenon. The tenon is a bit shorter than normal 5/8″ to allow a little difference between the opening in the bowl wall and the mortise. I re-banded the shank for a second time to strengthen the shank after the previous break. I fit the stem to the pipe and sanded and polished it to a shine. Then I buffed and waxed the “new” little pipe. I made it such that I can one day put a church warden stem on the bowl should I desire to do so. For now though it is a nose warmer with a short taper stem. Total length is 4 3/4 inches.

Here are some pictures of the finished pipe. I had pictures of the pipe before and after the break but somehow they were erased so this is all I have left to show. I hope you can imagine what it looked like with the new saddle stem before it broke. But if not, you can see the new version. I am also ordering a churchwarden stem for it so I can fit one of those to it as well. Should look great that way as well.

BBB Diamond shank billiard

Old Croydon-Reborn

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I have spent a bit of time on this old Croydon Bent (Peterson Line of seconds I believe). In fact I probably spent more time than I should have done, judging by other refurbishers throw away buckets. Sometimes I just have to see what I can make of an old tired ugly looking pipe. It is a challenge more than it is a labour of restoration. In fact it could probably be argued that when I am done with this one it really no longer should be considered a Croydon at all. I suppose it is a matter of how far one goes in the process of restoration before it becomes a totally new work of briar. In my mind this one would probably qualify for the removal of the name – or at least a hyphenated name CROYDON-REBORN.

When I received this one it was in pretty rough shape. In the pictures below you can see the state of the finish on the bowl. There were places where pieces of the lacquer finish were peeling away and falling off. The stain on the bowl was spotted and variegated. Even the many fills all over the bowl had shrunken significantly and what remained were dips and divots in the surface. The rim was one part of the pipe that was in pretty good shape. It had some tar build up and a bit of blackening but no nicks and dents. That is actually remarkable given the condition of the rest of the pipe. The silver shank cap was split in half and torn from the stem being jammed in and out of the bowl. The P-lip stem was also marked with tooth chatter, was oxidized and dented.

I did not have any end caps in my collection of pipe odds and ends so I decided to put a regular nickel band on the shank as it was thin and weakened from the broken shank cap. I cleaned the shank end with alcohol and dried it out. I heated a band and pressure fit it on the shank. There was a small gap at the edge that I filled with wood glue to give stability to the shank. I probably should have waited to apply the band but the shank seemed fragile and I wanted to stabilize it before further work on the bowl.

I have never liked the thin Peterson type stems so I decided to restem it with a saddle fish tail stem. I used my PIMO tenon turner and turned the tenon close and sanded it to a good tight fit. I used my Dremel to take down the excess diameter of the stem and worked on the ridges and seams with the Dremel. I sanded the roughness of the new stem until it was smooth with 240 grit sandpaper followed by 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper and a bit of water. It was finished with the regular regimen of micromesh pads – 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 4000 and 6000 grit. The final polish was done on the buffer with White Diamond and carnauba wax.

The bowl was a major problem. I tried to strip the bowl using acetone and 99% Isopropyl alcohol and could not break through the finish – don’t what they coated it with but it would not let go. I resorted to sanding the bowl to try and remove the finish and sanded, sanded and re-treated it with acetone and alcohol. The finish was finally gone and I had a raw briar bowl with so many fills in it that it looked like it had freckles. I decided to try staining it with a dark brown stain to hide the fills and give it a good deep colour that was a bit opaque. Once it was dry I buffed it and polished it with wax. It looked really awful and I hated it!!! Soooo… I decided to rusticate it. I used my fist full of nails (pipe with nails inserted in it) to do the rustication that appears in the photos below. The previous coat of stain that I had applied helped with the process of rustication and I could clearly see where I needed to do a bit more work. This is when I wished that the band was not present as it would have been a bit easier to avoid contact with the band and the rusticator.

Once the rustication was acceptable to me, and the pipe felt good in the hand I prepared it for staining. On this one that involved using the floral frog to knock off any loose chips of briar and to smooth out the surface before I wiped it down with a damp alcohol cloth. I also sanded the rim smooth and used the micromesh to get rid of any scratches. A smooth rim and a smooth spot around the Croydon stamping would look good on the finished pipe. I decided to go for an aged leather like finish on this pipe as it seemed to fit the shape and the look. I gave the pipe a coat of black stain as an undercoat and then buffed it off the high spots. I gave the entirety a coating of Fiebing’s Medium Brown for the top coat. I flamed it and after drying took it to the buffer for a light buff. I waxed it with Halcyon II and buffed it with a soft cloth to give it the final look. Below are pictures of the finished pipe. In my book it is a significant improvement over the original!

This One is a Mystery Pipe – Is it a ?Dunhill?

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You will notice from the title of this blog piece that the Dunhill title is framed with question marks. The pipe is a mystery to me all the way around. There is nothing straightforward with it in terms of stamping or composition. It is composed of three distinct pieces (stem, shank and shank/bowl) that have been joined together at some point in the pipe’s history. From the pictures below you can see the junction of the bowl and the shank. The stem on the shank is a white dotted Dunhill stem. How did this pipe come to be and how did it incorporate at least two different pipes? It would be great if this old timer could tell its story because I am sure that it would be an interesting tale. Did the original owner break the shank on his pipe and then have a repair man do the fix? If so, did the repairman use a second pipe shank to add to the bowl for the repair or did the original owner take two of his pipes (both broken) and have them put together in this creative fashion? Did he take the bowl from one and the longer shank and stem from another and join them to form a new third pipe? Was the original of both pipes a Canadian or was the one that the bowl came from a billiard? I don’t think I will ever know the answer to those questions and even others if I took the time to think it out. But I do know that this is part of the pleasure I derive from working on estate pipes. I enjoy trying to put together the story of an old pipe.

I picked this one up from EBay. I was the only one bidding on it. I think the seller had marked it a Dunhill Canadian for sale so it had many viewers but no other bidders. I knew from a quick look at the pictures the seller provided that it was probably not a Dunhill. I could not be certain but the shape of the bowl did not quite measure up to other Dunhill Canadians that I have and the flow of the stem and bowl was different to my eye. Others may be able to point out other inconsistencies that they see but that is what I felt as I looked at the pipe. What caught my eye though and caused me to put in a minimal bid were the shank construction (reconstruction) and the flow of the pipe. I liked the looks of it. I was also curious to see how it was done. It looked like a well done repair, if indeed it was one. I wanted to see it close up and study it. The white spot on the stem was a bonus though I could see from the photos that it was not likely a Dunhill.

When it arrived I took it from the box and did a quick field dress cleaning of the pipe. Reamed the bowl, wiped down the outside with an alcohol damp cloth so that I could see the stamping or remnants of stamping that remained. The bowl portion (the section from the front to the union on the shank) has stamping on the bottom of the shank that looks to be what remains of a Sasieni stamp or at least the last few letters “ieni”. That is a bit mysterious to me in that the other Sasieni Canadian I have has the stamping running in the opposite direction. So my guess is that this one is upside down – not unheard of but interesting nonetheless. The shank and stem portion (from the junction backward to the stem) are definitely from the same pipe. The fit of the stem to the shank is absolutely perfect with no sanding or shaping marks, no gap and no change of profile to the stem. Under a bright light is possible to make out faint stampings on the shank remnant – and I do mean faint. They appear to be the last four letters of Dunhill – “hill” and under that there are the four letters “land” which could be then end of the word England. From that I would conjecture that what I have is a combination of a Sasieni and a Dunhill pipe. The Sasieni contributed the bowl and part of the shank and the Dunhill the rest of the shank and the stem. Whoever did the union of the two old pipes did a superb job as the joint is very well done. The grains of the two parts of the shank are very different and the staining does not match. But other than that it is a flawless union.

With the mystery still unsolved I went to work on the ?Dunhill?/Sasieni. I gave it a better reaming and also cleaned it. The bowl had been very caked when I initially cleaned it so I did a deeper reaming taking it back to the wood. It had a very heady smell of Lakeland style tobaccos so I wanted to remove the remnant of that in the cake and prepare it for the tobacco that I would smoke in it. The shank and stem were tarry and restricted by the gunk inside them. I used a shank brush and many pipe cleaners to clear out the airway. I also tried to shine a light down the bowl to see if there was any evidence of how the repairman had done the union of the shank pieces. But the light would not shine that far down the shank. From the ease with which the pipe cleaners slid down the shank and the smoothness of the airway it was clear that the job was very well done. I also used a drill bit on my KleenReem reamer and ran it through the shank with no catches.

Obviously this was a favourite pipe for the previous owner. It was well cared for, repaired and put together and well smoked. I cleaned it with Isopropyl 99% and then sanded out the tooth chatter on the mouth piece. I wiped down the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and scrubbed it with a tooth brush. It removed the grime from the bowl and the rim. Once dry I cleaned off the remaining lava on the rim with 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. Once the bowl and shank were clean I wiped the entirety down with acetone. I wanted to get as much of the stain out so that I could try to get a bit better match on the two parts. I re-stained it with a cherry stain I have in the shop as it seemed likely that it was that colour from what was under the grime. The union of the two is still very visible even with a re-stain. The two parts took the stain very differently. I finished by buffing it with Tripoli and White Diamond before giving it multiple coats of Carnuba wax. I am happy with the results. I have smoked it quite often since the refurbishing and find that it is a great smoker. It is lightweight and comfortable in the mouth and the hand. The only thing that would make it even better in my opinion is to have the whole story behind this pipe. Ah well… I am going to go and fire up a bowl of good Virginia and enjoy adding my story to this pipe.

Refurb on an old AD pipe from 1909

GBD 9438 Tapestry Refurb

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Blog by Al Jones

I am truly honored that forum owner, Steve, asked me to write a guest article on his wonderful blog. Just a little over one year ago, I made the transition from occasional cigar smoker to an avid pipe smoker/collector. Pretty early on, I discovered that access to better quality pipes could be had through the estate market. It was also about that time I found the SmokersForums.uk forum and quickly made that venue my go-to spot for pipe information. While reading the “Restoration & Maintenance” section, it became apparent to me that even finer estates could be found if I was willing to put in a little elbow-grease and restore them. If one reads the “Stickies” in that section, pipe restoration techniques can be quickly learned thru contributions from professionals and amateurs. I was fascinated and dove in.

My tools evolved from simple sandpaper and some buffing wheels mounted in a hand drill to a bench mounted buffer, micromesh sanding papers, reamers, needle files etc. Making some of the tools to save a few bucks was all part of the fun and learning process. I favor Vulcanite stems, so occasional maintenance will be a part of my pipe smoking experience.

Due to my Welsh heritage, I’m a big fan of anything British, primarily cars and motorcycles. So, it seemed natural to be attracted to the classic shapes produced by the British masters. I’m a fan of GBD brand pipes and those estates can be readily found at reasonable prices thru Ebay, etc. The 9438 Author shape is a particular favorite and I have several models of that shape. The pipe I chose to document in this article is in Tapestry finish. I was intrigued by the turned stem and after a little research, I found it was a “chair-leg” stem used on certain Tapestry models. My joy in finding this pipe quickly evaporated when I opened the box and saw the level of oxidation on the many curves and crevices. I tend to purchase estates with saddle stems, but this one ramped the difficulty notch up significantly. Indeed this stem proved to be the most difficult I’ve encountered.

Some “before” shots of the pipe:

Typically, it takes me about an hour or so to restore a stem. This one took nearly twice that long. Fortunately, the previous owner had left no teeth indention issues to resolve. I soaked the stem in a mild Oxyclean solution as the first step. In badly oxidized stems, I think this step pays off in removing oxidation from the inside of the stem as well. Next up, I used some 1500 and than 2000 grit wet paper until the brown was removed. Getting oxidation from the chairleg creases was frustrating and finger aching. I almost gave up at one point, but sitting the project down for a few hours strengthened my resolve. I’m always eager to smoke an estate I’ve cleaned up, so there is always that pot at the end of the rainbow. I found wrapping the sandpaper around a thin kitchen knife allowed me to get the oxidation from those thin crevices. Next up, was a polish with each of the final four grades of “micromesh” (4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000). Micromesh comes in pads and sheets. I found the larger, 6” x 2” sheets last longer and are easier to fold into creases, etc. Following the micromesh, the stem had a deep, black shine that I enjoy on my mostly Vulcanite stems.

The next step was to buff the stem lightly with some White diamond and then “Blue Magic Plastic Polish”, each product getting it’s own cloth wheel. The Blue Magic product is made for the automotive industry and available at most autoparts stores (Megiuars also makes a similar product). Some folks are adverse to putting an automotive product on their stems, but so far, I’ve found no adverse tastes, etc. I do think the product helps “seal” the Vulcanite as oxidation seems to either not occur or very slowly. James Upshall pipes are noted for their fast oxidation, but so far my restorations using this product has kept my collection shiny. I also gave the pipe a light coat of “Obsidian Stem Oil”.

The bowl wasn’t in bad shape, but had the usual tobacco/tar buildup on the bowl top. I used my Castleford reamer set to remove the thin cake than soaked the bowl with Sea Salt and Everclear for a few hours. This was done while I was working on the stem. Following the soak, the draft hole was thoroughly cleaned with a series of bristle pipe cleaners soaked in Everclear. I’ve had success eliminating ghosts by cleaning this area of the pipe until the cleaners come out nearly white. I gave the bowl a light buff on the wheel with some white diamond, then Carnuba wax. A hand polish with Paragon wax completed the briar clean up. The wood on the bowl top was a little lighter in color, but I knew smoking it would even out and darken that area. (plus I was not looking forward to prepping and staining the mixed “Tapestry” finish..)

The completed pipe:

It may be a combination of the pipe shape and the effort required to refurbish it, but this particular pipe has become a favorite. I swore that I’d never purchase another chairleg stemmed pipe, but won an Ebay auction last night for another GBD Tapestry pipe with a chairleg stem……

Smoke safe!
Al Jones

Restoring Horn Stems

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have had the pleasure of working on over a half dozen horn stems on some old pipes I have purchased and been given. Each of them presented a different challenge in terms of restoration. Several had the normal tooth dents and chatter that come as a normal part of the stems of many old pipes while other stems had been gnawed to the point of changing the profile of the stem forever. Horn is significantly different to work with than vulcanite or Lucite stems. In many ways it is softer and more pliant than either of the other materials. When it is in good order the sheen is almost translucent and there is deep almost internal warmth to them. In this article I want to talk about the process of reworking horn stems and restoring them to their former glory.

The first issue with horn stems I had to learn to work on was the tooth dents and tooth chatter that often covers the last half inch or more of the stem just ahead of the button. When I first attacked this I did it with a bit of fear and trepidation as I had all kinds of concerns about the laminate of the horn separating or delaminating. However, through the help of several of the folks on Smokers Forums, an online pipe smoking community, many of my concerns were alleviated. Here are some pictures of this first issue with horn stems. I took pictures of the top/side profile and the bottom/side profile of this particular stem as it highlights the issue.

Looking closely at the stems above you will see the tooth marks along the button area of the stem. This area was rough to the touch and was dry and almost flakey feeling. I was concerned that the horn had softened from the breakdown of the outer coating and wondered if it could be brought back. They were shallow though so I went to work on them with multiple grits of sandpaper to smooth out the surface. I used 240 grit to smooth out the roughness and then worked my way through 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. The trick with the latter two was to wet them as I sanded the stem. Each progressively higher grit smoothed out the roughness until it was smooth to touch. The wetness of the sandpaper made the grit really bite into the surface of the horn. I then used micro-mesh pads beginning with 1500 grit followed by 1800, 2400, 3200, 4000 and 6000. By the time I got to the 3200 the scratches in the surface were virtually gone – even under a bright light. Again the trick is to work with a bowl of water near at hand to wet the pads as you sand the stem. When I finished with the 4000 and 6000 there was a good sheen to the stems.

At that point in the process I took them to my buffer to finish the work. I used White Diamond polishing compound on the buffing wheel to give it a deep gloss finish. Then I gave a polish with carnauba wax and buffed to a glassy finish.

Here are some pictures of the finished stem minus the tooth chatter. The original issue had been addressed and the stem returned to its former beauty.

One quick note that I should mention is that horn will stink as you work it. Its smell has been likened to the smell of a tooth getting drilled by the dentist or burning hair. I found though, that as I worked with it I got used to it.

The second issue with horn stems that I had to learn to deal with was more serious. It involved deep tooth dents and a chewed stem. The stem pictured below was a real mess. The previous owner obviously gnawed it and clenched it so the horn was dented and chewed with the profile changed. The question for me was whether I would be able to raise the tooth dents and smooth the surface while reworking the profile of the old stem to make it look as much as possible like it did when it came out of production. Here are three pictures to give you a look at the stem in its state of disarray.

Looking closely at the stem pictured above you will see the depth of the tooth dents in the second and third picture and the serious loss of shape in the stem profile in the first picture. The profile shows the pinched look of the stem in front of the button and how thin the stem had been squeezed by chewing. My concern was whether there would be enough meat on the stem at that point to restore it without breaking through into the airway. The second and third pictures show the stem from the top and the bottom. In those two pictures you can see how deep the dents are in the surface of the stem. Also notice the virtual loss of the lip on the edge of the button. The stem appeared to be a loss.

From Chris Askwith, a talented young British pipe maker I learned a few tricks that I was anxious to try out on the stem (http://www.askwithpipes.com/). I had used the same tricks to lift dents out of the rims and sides of briar bowls so I was looking forward to seeing the process work as described by Chris. I steamed the dents and lifted the major depth of them by using a damp cloth laid on the surface of the dents and then heating a butter knife on the gas stove and applying the hot blade to the wet surface of the cloth on the stem. The gentle hiss and the presence of steam assured me that the steaming was working. You have to be careful as you work this process, checking repeatedly as you apply the knife and steam to make sure not to scorch or split the horn. Most of the deeper dents rose significantly and the more shallow ones came out completely.

I sanded the stem and cleaned up the chewed part starting with 240 grit sandpaper as I did with the stem above. I gradually worked my way through 400 and 600 grit wet dry sandpaper clean up and even out the surface. I worked on the profile and cleaned up the sharp edges of the button with a set of needle files to restore the right angles of the button and stem surface. There were still a few remaining spots on the stem where the tooth dents had cut the surface of the horn and would not lift with the steam. I addressed these by filling them with a few drops of clear super glue. The glue dried quickly and left a small bump in place of the dent. I sanded these with the sandpaper combo mentioned above until the surface was even and smooth. Once I had a clean and smooth surface to work with I then moved on to Micro-mesh pads beginning with 1500 grit followed by 1800, 2400, 3200, 4000 and 6000. By the time I got to the 3200 the scratches in the surface were virtually gone – even under a bright light. Again the trick was to work with a bowl of water near at hand to wet the pads as you sand the stem. When I finished with the 4000 and 6000 there was a good sheen to the stems. They were beginning to shine like glass.

I took the stem to my buffer and used White Diamond polishing compound to buff the surface smooth and shiny. It was truly glassy in terms of look and feel. I finished the stem by applying a good coat of carnauba wax and buffing to polish the wax.

Here are some pictures of the finished stem minus the tooth dents and with a restored profile. Notice the restored profile of the stem in the first and second picture below. Notice the functional button and lip that has been restored. The third and the fourth picture show the top and bottom of the stem and show the way the super glue patch and the work with the steam and sandpaper restored the deep pits in the surface of the stem.

Because of the success I experienced with these two different issues with horn stems I have gone on to bid on others that need work. I have found those that only needed a buff and polish to restore them to their pristine condition and I have found others with similar problems to those shown above. The challenge of restoring them to the original beauty always is a draw to me. To smoke one of these old horn stem pipes is an experience that all pipemen should have. The work to restore them is worth the effort when you put the newly restored stem in your mouth for the first time. There is nothing quite like the feel of a “new” horn stem on your lips as you puff a favourite tobacco. And that is to say nothing of the good aged briar that is on the other end of the stem. Give restoring a horn stem a try. It is a pleasure! Won’t you join me for a bowl full in one of these old timers?

Steve Laug

June 8, 2012

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rebornpipes

reclaiming old and worn estate pipes

Tag Archives: Bowls – refinishing

Repairing a cracked shank

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This One is a Mystery Pipe – Is it a ?Dunhill?

Refurb on an old AD pipe from 1909

GBD 9438 Tapestry Refurb

Restoring Horn Stems

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