Tag Archives: buffing

Restoring an Old Amphora X-tra 509 Pot

Blog by Steve Laug

This is the last of the lot I found while on a recent trip in Northern Alberta, Canada. It is stamped Amphora X-tra 509 on the left side of the shank and on the right side it is stamped Genuine Briar over Made in Holland. The stem has an AA in a circle stamped on it (not a stamping for Amphora pipes I was familiar with). The pipe was in good shape. The rim was dirty and had a slight bit of build up on the surface. The bowl had a thin cake that was crumbly. The outside of the bowl was soiled and had some white paint on the surface. The stem was dirty and very slightly oxidized. There were no teeth marks on it so it was just dirty. The insides were also dirty. The inside of the shank and the stem were caked with a tarry buildup. There was an inner tube inserted in the tenon that extended into the shank almost as far as the airway at the bottom of the bowl.

I used a PipNet reamer and started with the smallest cutting head and took back the cake. I followed that with the next size of cutting head and took the cake back to the bare wood in the bowl. The bottom of the bowl had some gouges in it and looked like someone had done a reaming with a knife.

I removed the stem and dropped the bowl into an alcohol bath to soak overnight.

I mixed a batch of Oxyclean and put the stem together with others I was working on into the bath of Oxy clean to soak at the same time.

In the morning I took out the bowl and dried it off with a soft cloth. The finish was clean and the surface of the bowl free of the paint and grime that was present when I placed them in the bath. I took the stems out of the bath of Oxyclean and dried them off as well. The oxidation on the stem was softened and the stem was dark (it is the top stem in the second photo below).

I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to clean off the remaining finish. In the photo above of the bowl it appeared to have a fill on the bowl side. As I scrubbed it the surface cleaned up and the area was not a fill. The piece of briar has some great birdseye grain and a some cross grain on the front right side and the top of the bowl and shank. I also cleaned out the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners and Everclear. I scrubbed the rim to remove the tars and buildup.

I wanted to highlight the grain on this one so I decided to stain it using some Cherry Danish Oil which is Linseed oil and stain. I rubbed on the stain, rubbed it off and rubbed it on a second time. I set it aside to dry. Once it was dry I buffed it with White Diamond.

While it was drying I used micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to work on the stem. I worked around the double AA on the stem logo. It is faint but still visible. Once I had finished sanding I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. When it was dry I rubbed it with a soft cloth to buff it by hand.

I polished the aluminum inner tube with 0000 steel wool to remove all grime that was remaining on the aluminum. I gave it a coat of wax and polished it off with a clean soft cloth.

I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and then with a soft flannel buff to give it a shine. The final photos below show the finished pipe.

When I saw it I thought it was a Sasieni one dot billiard

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I came across this little billiard in an antique shop last weekend and when I saw the blue dot on the stem and saw the classic English shape of the bowl I truly thought I had found an elusive Sasieni one dot pipe. Lots of things about it seemed to signal that is what I had. The stamping was hard to see under the grime but there were i’s and an e. I was hopeful and I guess also wishful in my thinking. The pipe was dirty as can be seen below. The stem had obviously been damaged and cut off by the previous owner and a new button filed into the stem. The bowl was badly caked and the rim was damaged with dents and chips. I took the picture below while I was relaxing in a pub near the shop and looking over the finds of the afternoon.

When I got home I took it to the basement and wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to remove some of the grime. Once the outside was wiped down I tried to read the stamping with a magnifying lens. I could not make out the stamping – it was too faint. There was no stamping on the right side of the shank. On the underside it appeared that there had been stamping but it was no longer visible. The next three photos give a good idea of what the pipe looked like before I did a cleanup on the bowl and stem.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took it back to bare wood. I picked at the inside of the bowl to check out the solidity of the walls and to check for potential burns. Everything looked and felt like it was solid so I dropped the bowl in an alcohol bath to soak over night.

The next day I took it out of the bath and dried it off. The bath had removed the old finish for the most part. I finished by once again wiping it down with acetone on a cotton pad. After soaking part of the stamping had become visible. I was disappointed that it appeared that the pipe was not a Sasieni. The stamping that showed up after it was dry read Genuine Briar, which seemed to point to an American made pipe post WW2. I believe it is post war as that is when it became necessary to identify genuine imported briar in contrast to the Manzanita and other alternatives used by American manufacturers during the war years due to a shortage in briar. The briar was a nice piece – birdseye on one side, nice grain on other parts of the pipe and a clean shape to the bowl. I knew it would clean up nicely.

I topped the bowl using my normal method of anchoring a piece of sandpaper on a flat board and twisting the top of the bowl into the sandpaper until the top is smooth. I started with 220 grit sandpaper and then used a medium and fine grit sanding block to smooth out the rim.

When I had finished topping the bowl I wiped it down with acetone and a soft cotton pad to remove the sanding dust and the grime from the topping process.

The stem had a poorly cut button on the end and the button as well as the taper on the stem needed to be reworked. I used a rasp and file to shape the taper on the stem and to take out the pinched look of the angle to the 90 degree cut on the button. The button was also not straight and not squarely cut so I also straightened out the flat edge of the button while I worked with the rasp and files. The next three photos show only the initial work on the stem and not the finished work. I removed quite a bit of the material and smooth out the slope of the taper so that it flowed evenly into the button on both the top and the bottom of the stem.

I sanded the newly shaped stem with 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches left by the rasp and files. Once I had the basic shape in place I decided to restain the bowl. I warmed the briar and then gave it several coats of a dark brown aniline stain thinned 1:1 with isopropyl alcohol. I flamed it between each coats to set the stain. The rim took extra coats to match the colour of the rest of the bowl.

I buffed the newly stained bowl lightly with White Diamond and then gave it a coat of a light cherry coloured Danish Oil. Once dry I buffed it by hand and then also gave it a light buff with White Diamond to polish it.

I then removed the stem and worked on the slot in the button. When the end of the stem had been cut off some of the flair of the original airway remained leaving the end of the button with a small rectangular opening. I used needle files to open the flair and widen the slot into more of an oval that extended the width and height of the button end.

Once I had the slot opened the way I like it I sanded the inner edges with a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth it out. I also did some more shaping with files to the taper of the stems. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper until I had the slope well-defined from the tenon back to the button. I also shaped the externals of the button to clean up the angle at the point the button and stem taper met. I also sanded it with a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches left behind and to also remove the oxidation at the stem shank junction.

When I had the scratches removed as far as possible with the sanding sponge I went on to sand the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the stem with 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit sanding pads and the dry sanded with the remaining grits.

I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the surface of the vulcanite. I took it to the buffer and buffed the stem with White Diamond. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and polished the pipe with a clean flannel buff to bring up the shine. The finished pipe is pictured below. I still wish I knew what the stamping says in full. That blue dot certainly is a symbol of some unknown to me brand of pipe. The mystery remains but in the mean time I have a great little billiard to enjoy.

Reworking a Unique Nylon “Vikingish” Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I saw this old pipe in the rack at the antique mall I wanted it because of its uniqueness. The price was also good – $9.95. I figured at that price it was like buying a corn cob pipe and certainly would function in the same capacity for me. This one had a nylon base and stem with a briar bowl that screwed into the base. Dr. Grabow bowls fit this pipe base perfectly but Falcon bowls do not fit. The only stamping on the pipe is on the bottom of the base where it reads Nylon. In researching this pipe on the net I was unable to find any pertinent information. When I posted it on Pipe Smoker Unlimited Forums I got a suggestion and a link to the Smoking Metals site. Low and behold the link took me to the exact pipe base as the one I had found. Here is the link: http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=60 The pipe pictured has a far better bowl than the one that I found. What I found interesting was the information that was on the site regarding this pipe. I am copying it verbatim:

“No makers name, simply the word ‘NYLON’ on the base of the stem under the bowl. The briar bowl is Viking style, accepting all Dr Grabow Viking and Koolsmoke bowls. The bit can be varying colours and not always vulcanite so often severely damaged. The stems can be silvered or in gilt, or even painted, but it is not known if this is how they left the manufacturer. Among names sold under is Forecaster Superline. US Patent# 179,373 Inventor Berenson would seem to apply.”

This pipe was in good shape. The stem is attached and not removable. It had some tooth chatter but no tooth marks or bites. It was made of nylon and not vulcanite even though it is black. The base itself is an opalescent white colour and showed tobacco stains in the base and the shank. The bowl was unfinished and showed tooling marks from the turning on the lathe. There was a slight uneven ridge on one side where the top of the bowl curved upward. There were rough spots all around the bowl and the finish was unsanded. The wood is not briar and seems more like the maple or hickory bowls that come from Missouri Meerschaum. The inside of the bowl has a slight uneven carbon build up in the top of the bowl and dried and hardened pieces of dottle stuck to the sides in the bottom half of the bowl. The reservoir in the base also had a buildup of tars and shreds of tobacco stuck to the base. The first photo below was taken the day I found the pipe. Photos two through five show the bowl when I began working on it at my work table.

I unscrewed the bowl from the base and set it aside while I worked on the base to begin with. I cleaned out the stained reservoir with cotton swabs dipped in Everclear and used bristle and fluffy pipe cleaners on the inside of the stem and the shank. The dried tobacco shreds were stuck to the base so it took some scrubbing to remove the dried materials. The next three photos give an idea of the state of the reservoir and the slight tooth chatter on the stem. The fourth photo shows the cleaned but stained base of nylon.

Once the base was clean and the tars and buildup removed I worked on the finish of the bowl. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the marks from the lathe and the rough spots. I wanted to remove as much of the marking on the bowl as possible without changing the shape. As I sanded it I was impressed by the grain on the particular piece. I sanded the stem at the same time with the 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter. Interestingly the nylon stem sanded out greyish white. The sanding dust was light grey in colour.

The next step in the sanding process was to use a medium grit sanding sponge and also with a fine grit sanding block to remove the marks and scratches left behind by the 220 grit sandpaper on both the bowl and the stem. I followed that by wet sanding the bowl and the stem with 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit micromesh sanding pads.

I then dry sanded with the remaining grits of micromesh sanding pads from 3200-12,000 grit. I used the micromesh pads on both the bowl and the stem. I did not include pictures of all of the sanding process but chose the one below as representative.

When I had finished sanding the stem and the bowl I buffed them lightly with White Diamond and then gave both a coat of carnauba wax. I chose for this bowl to not stain it but leave it natural as I like the look of the grain in the wood. The photos below show the finished pipe. Any ideas on what the wood might be?

Reworking an Old Pal Pencil Shank Pot

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I just finished cleaning up another of the old pipes I found on my trip. It is a petite pot shaped pipe with a pencil shank. The overall length is barely over 5 inches and the weight is negligible. It is stamped on the left side of the shank in arc – Old Pal, over an Eagle with spread wings and then underneath Made in France.

On the right side of the shank it is stamped 5 which I assume is the shape number. The stem is also stamped with the words OLD PAL on the left side of the saddle portion. On this particular pipe it is faint. In checking on the background information on “Who Made That Pipe” I found that it had two French makers for Old Pal listed. The first of those is Marechal Ruchon and Cie. (Incidentally it is the company that owned the GBD brand). The second maker listed is Rubinovich & Haskell Ltd. The bird emblem is probably the key, but I can find no reference to it. My own thinking is that the brand was made by Marechal Ruchon & Cie. I was able to dig up this brief summary of the MR&C brand. Ganeval, Bondier and Donninger began making pipes in 1850 and rapidly gained prominence in briar pipe making. Of the three, Bondier survived the others by 30 years, but new partners took their places. The name of the company changed to Bondier Ulrich & Cie, then Bine Marechal & Cie and finally to A Marechal, Ruchon & Cie. August Marechal and Ferdinand Ruchon saw the firm into the 20th century, their names being used for the company for well over 50 years.

Prior to 1899, Marechal, Ruchon & Co. became A. Oppenhiemer’s sole agent for cigarette papers but still remained in the pipe making business. Then in 1902, Marechal, Ruchon & Co.. owners of GBD and referred to as French pipe makers, merged with A. Oppenhiemer. In the 1915 London Directory of briar pipe makers one will find: “”Marechal, Ruchon & Co. – 38 Finsbury Sq. E.C.; London works, 15 & 16 Featherstone St. E.C. and Oppenhiemer, A. & Co. – 38 Finsbury Sq. E.C. listed separately.

With that background information I worked on this old pipe to clean it up and restore it. When I picked it up the bowl was badly caked and packed full. The rim was dirty and tarred with what appeared to be a fill on the top of the rim right side. The entire right side of the pipe was full of fills of various sizes and shaped. There was one fill on the left side as well. The grain on the bowl was mixed and the finish was pretty beat up. The fills were shrunken and they left small pits in the surface of the pipe. The stem was oxidized and had tooth chatter on both sides near the button. The shank and airway were dirty and tarry. When the stem was removed there was an interesting flared tube that extended into the shank from the end of the tenon. The end looked like the bell of a horn. This was badly tarred and the inside of the tube was packed with debris.

I separated the stem and the bowl. The bowl was reamed with a PipNet pipe reamer back to a thin cake. Then I dropped the bowl in an alcohol bath to soak away the grime and to soften the fills. I drop the stem in an Oxyclean bath to raise the oxidation and soften it. I scrubbed both while in their respective baths to loosen the grime and buildup on the surfaces. I removed the bowl from the alcohol bath after two hours of soaking. I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the bowl as well as the inside of the stem. The trumpet like tube came out of the tenon and I cleaned it inside and out and reset it in the tenon. It is an interesting contraption as it is flared and the flared end rests against the end of the mortise directing the smoke directly into the mouthpiece. I have not seen that design before (see the photo below after the stem cleanup paragraph).

I used a dental pick to dig out the fills that had softened in the bowl. My objective was to remove them altogether and replace them with a briar dust and superglue fill that turns black and gives a different look than the red putty fills.

After removing the fills I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the finish from the bowl and to remove extraneous dust from the holes where the fills used to be. I repeated this process until the bowl was clean. Once finished I used a drop of superglue in each pit and then pressed briar dust into the holes using a dental pick. I repeated the process until the fills were repaired. I then sanded the bowl to remove the excess briar and superglue fill material with 220 grit sandpaper, medium grit sanding sponges and a fine grit sanding block.

The black marks on the right side of the bowl highlight the fills in the bowl. I have often used a permanent black marker to blend in the fills to the grain. I decided to try that with this pipe as well.

I gave the bowl several coats of dark brown aniline stain mixed 1:1 with alcohol. I applied the stain, flamed the bowl, reapplied and reflamed until the colour was even over the entire surface. I then took it to the buffer and buffed the bowl with red Tripoli and White Diamond to polish the stain. I also wanted to see how well the fill material was working. I have found that as it dries it can still shrink.

I brought it back to the work table and gave it a coat of linseed oil.

The fills had shrunk and left divots in several spots so I reapplied the superglue and briar dust (less this time around). I sanded the bowl with a sanding sponge and a fine grit sanding block to smooth out the surface. I reapplied the stain and the linseed oil and then buffed the bowl.

I took the stem out of the bath and wiped it down. The majority of the oxidation wiped off with a damp cloth and then I polished it with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 and wiped it off the stem. I wiped the stem down with a polishing cloth and buffed it with White Diamond.

I applied a coat of Obsidian Oil and when dry rubbed it off. I reinserted the stem and buffed the stem with multiple coats of carnauba wax. I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the entirety with carnauba wax and a soft flannel buff to a shine. The following pictures show the finished pipe.

In the bright flash of the camera the fills on the right side of the bowl appear to stand out more than they do in the natural light. They tend to look dark spots in the birdseye of the grain. They do not stick out as badly as they appear in the photo below.

The final picture I have included is one of the Old Pal pipe with a package of Old Pal Pipe Cleaners that I picked up at an antique shop in Edmonton. The two form a nice complement to one another.

The Story of the Lorenzo Oom Paul – Gift from Bill Cumming

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I returned home from a recent funeral I officiated for a good friend there was a package from Bill awaiting me in the mail box. It was oddly shaped so I was very curious what would be inside when I opened it. I carefully cut the tape on the end of the box that was shaped like a Toblerone bar and slid out the contents. The inside package was wrapped in a short letter that had a beautiful drawing attached to it (I have photographed the drawing and posted it here on the blog). Underneath that was another layer of bubble wrap that contained a stem for a bent bulldog and under that was a beautiful Lorenzo pipe – an Oom Paul with a Savinelli Capri-like finish that Bill had sent as a gift. I am floored by Bill’s thoughtfulness and generosity. Thank you, Bill.

The pipe is a classic example of an Oom Paul sitter. The finish is in excellent shape and the rim is perfect. The inner bevel of the rim is smooth and unblemished and the bowl is still perfectly round. The bottom of the bowl is flattened enabling the pipe to stand on its own – which it is doing now next to my keyboard as I write this post. The bowl is clean and smells of rich tobacco recently burned in its depths – a great smell in my opinion. The shank and well (sump) is also clean due to Bill’s creativity explained later in the letter from him I have included in this post. The stem has minor tooth chatter but no bite marks and is oxidized but will clean up nicely. The Upside down cursive L on the top of the blade of the stem is stamped and still bearing the white colour it had originally when it was purchased. This one will be a simple restore and I will soon be enjoying a bowl of tobacco in it.

Here is Bill’s letter to me that accompanied the pipe. It gives the story of the pipe and an interesting discovery Bill shares with regard to a trick for easing the gurgle that often is found in the Oom Paul pipes.

The Story of the Lorenzo Oom Paul – by Bill Cumming

I started smoking a pipe in Germany while in the US Army, as did some buddies. We all started with Dr. Grabow’s or basket pipes. The first quality pipe (no reflection upon Grabows!) was one my friend bought, a Savinelli Capri – he loved it, a real prize! Shortly after I found a Lorenzo Oom Paul, dark brown, more rusticated than sandblast… identical to the one I’m sending you, except yours is more red (very close to the stain on Capris, though they also come black).

I treasured this pipe! Bought in 1969, I still have it, it smoked as well as my friend’s Savinelli Capri and I’ve always felt same quality as a Capri … NOTE: I have 3 Capris.

I became an Oom Paul aficionado! I loved how they sit, how they look, how they “hang”, how they have a heritage, their noticed by others; they’re not all that common… I collected Oom Pauls: Savinelli Capri, Savinelli Estrella, Edwards, Caminetto, Savinelli Non-Pareil, even some nameless basket Oom Pauls. I also found two matching Oom Pauls to mine from Germany – a smooth and the red one I’m sending you. I still have my first (1969) and the smooth one. I “horse traded” some of the other Oom Pauls, but also still have some I won’t part with.

NOTE: Steve, I took them under my wing, with a real attachment from my first one. Sure, I knew the “rap” against them – gurglers and unable to pass a cleaner directly from stem into the bowl (inherent engineering) with one notable exception. The Savinelli Non-Pariel Oom Paul will send a cleaner straight through!

But, let me share with you a bit of a revelation. I always accepted the engineering of Oom Pauls and if they gurgled, I carefully removed the stem from a hot pipe to run a cleaner through the draft hole. I know that’s a “no-no”, but I’ve never cracked a shank.

• I started to realize most of the gurgling is in the stem, not the draft hole.

• I, later, became a big fan of Peterson Systems!

• It dawned on me, one day, this is fact… Oom Pauls are not (never were billed as) system pipes. Yet, their engineering is similar! A bit of a well, a cleaner goes into the well, not the draft hole; Peterson Systems have a military bit so it’s easy to remove the stem to run a cleaner into the bowl.

• So why couldn’t I incorporate the same little “trick” I use with Peterson Systems?

• Many folks seem to regard Sytems as too high maintenance! During the smoke, if you set the pipe down and it falls over (like spilling a cup of coffee), you’ve now sloshed the accumulated foul smelling liquid into the draft hole or up the stem!

• I took somebody else’s wonderful suggestion for Pete Systems… while preparing the pipe for a smoke, I roll up a small piece of tissue paper, or Kleenex, into a “pea” and push it down into the well with a pipe tool, making sure this “paper pea” is beneath the draft hole. BINGO! The “pea” absorbs all the moisture and juice, and is easily plucked out and discarded after the smoke. I’ve read some stories about horrible system estate pipes where the well was never dumped, never cleaned… ugh, like, how bad do you suppose it smelled? This “paper pea” is (for me) a mandatory integral part of enjoying System pipes.

• So, I thought, why not do the same thing with my Oom Pauls? BINGO again! I make a smaller “pea” (and nobody ever claimed an Oom Paul was a System Pipe) but his has given another dimension to smoking and enjoying my Oom Pauls! The engineering is no longer a problem. Gurgle? The moisture is in the stem (mostly) – run a cleaner through the stem (down) and you can easily fell the “softness” when it hits the “pea”!

•I never remove a stem anymore from a hot Oom Paul pipe.

Well, Steve, I don’t know your history with Oom Pauls, or other shapes. I’ve noticed a lot of your pipe work is on straight pipes. You mentioned you found most Lorenzo pipe to be too large. I don’t think the three Lorenzo Oom Pauls (the red one for you) are all that large. They are smaller than all my other Oom Pauls (Caminetto, Savinelli, Edwards).

It’s a narrow, but deep, bowl so fits well with certain tobacco. The rustication is identical to my original 1969 dark brown pipe. That one, the smooth one and the red one (yours) all smoke fine.
I like the little upside down L on the stem.

I’m downsizing some of my pipes, doing a bit of “horse trading” again, but I felt passing this Lorenzo Oom Paul to you would be a fitting “return gesture” for the unexpected gift from you.
I hope you’ll enjoy it (I’m sure you’ll clean it up a bit) especially maybe some cold fall or winter evening. Maybe my story has provided you another perspective on Oom Pauls! I guess we all remember our first love! 🙂 – Bill Cumming

Once again, thank you, Bill. What follows are the details of the clean up and refurbishing of your gift to me.

The next two photos show the pipe on the work table. The photos do not show the dust in the deep grooves of the bowl. They do show the overall good condition of the pipe.

I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a fine bristle tooth brush. I use the Murphy’s undiluted as I have found that it does not remove the finish as easily. Once I had scrubbed all the nooks and crannies of the rustication I rinsed it under warm water until the soap was gone and then patted the bowl dry. I kept the water out of the bowl and the shank while I did the scrubbing and rinsing to keep the interior dry. The first photo below shows the soap on the briar. The second, third and fourth photos show the bowl after I had rinsed it with the warm water and dried it off.

I cleaned out the shank and the bowl with Everclear and pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until they came out clean and then coated the exterior of the bowl and shank with Halcyon II wax and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. The photo below shows the pipe after the waxing and buffing.

I scrubbed the stem with a cotton pad and Meguiar’s Scratch X 2.0 polish. It is used for polishing plastic and removes oxidation and scratches to the finish of plastics. I have often used it as the first step in removing oxidation. I find that it quickly removes the surface oxidation and softens the deeper oxidation as well. I followed up the cleaning with the use of micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to remove the softened oxidation. I stopped after wet sanding with the 1500 and 1800 grit pads and used a liquid paper used in correcting typos in typed writing to re-whiten the stamping on the stem. I then continued to sand the stem with the remaining grits of micromesh pads until the oxidation was gone.

I then polished the stem with White Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the bowl a good light buff as well. I took it back to the work bench and wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry then coated the stem with carnauba wax and hand buffed it until it shined. The four photos below show the finished pipe. It is cleaned, refurbished and ready to smoke.

A Unique Vertical Oval Shank Meerschaum Reborn

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I saw this old Meerschaum pipe bowl on Ebay and decided to put a low bid on it. I was not surprised to have won it and paid for it quickly. The seller packed it very well and shipped it off to Vancouver, Canada. Below are the Ebay photos that caught my attention. I think the thing that intrigued me the most was the vertical oval shank on the pipe. To restem that pipe would be a great challenge – find a stem large enough to work with and shape it until it fit. I thought I had just the stem in my box – a gift from a friend on Pipesmokers Unleashed Forum, Robert.

From the photos it looked to be in rough shape. The pipe case said it was a WDC but I have no way of knowing if that is true. The gold filigree on the band looks like the old WDC pipes of the late 1890s but I am still uncertain as to the maker. It was in rough shape as can be seen from the photos. There were many scratches and gouges around the outside of the bowl. The shank had marks on the top that looked like someone had taken a file to it. The rim was probably the worst. With the rough edges on the back right side of the bowl the rim/top appeared to be angled to the right side and worn down. The tar build up was heavy in the bowl and on the rim. The tenon was broken off in the shank. It appeared to be an old bone tenon and a bone insert in the mortise that was threaded to take the screw in tenon. I am assuming the pipe probably had an amber stem in its first appearance in the shop but that was long since broken and lost. The WDC case was also very rough – the edges were worn away, the wood broken and a hinge dangling unused. The inside was badly stained.

Yesterday afternoon I came home from work early and found a package awaiting me – I knew that the meer had arrived. I had to laugh when I cut open the box – it had a previous label a Funeral Home in Ohio. I don’t know if that was a commentary on the pipe bowl that resided inside the box or if a funny coincidence. I cut the tape and opened the box. The pipe inside was both in worse shape than I had imagined from the seller’s excellent pictures and in better shape. The meer under the band was cracked as can be seen in the photo above and that was as it was when it arrived. The scratches in the surface of the bowl were not as deep as they appeared in the photos and the pipe when place on the rim on a flat board was actually not slanted to the right – the damage to the outer edges of the right back side made it appear worse than it actually was in reality. The next photos show the pipe on the work table just out of the box.

After examining it carefully with my lens and a dental pick I decided to begin the clean up by trying to remove the tenon. I used the screw that I generally use to remove a tenon to no avail. The threads in the mortise were locked tight around the tenon. I picked at it with the dental pick and was unable to remove it that way either. I decided to drill out the old tenon. So I set up a cordless drill with a drill bit slightly larger than the airway in the broken tenon. I slowly drilled the airway with the bit and exchanged it for increasingly larger bits until I had the airway cleared of the debris. I then used a ¼ inch bit to open the mortise and clear out the remaining debris of the mortise and tenon. The second photo below shows the mortise after I opened it up. I used a dental pick to clean out the remaining pieces and hand turned the quarter-inch drill bit into the mortise to smooth out the walls of the airway and open it to receive a new tenon.

I took the pipe bowl back to the work table and set up a coarse sanding block on my worktable to top the bowl of the meer. I have used this block in the past with good success on the softer meerschaum material. I placed the bowl, rim down on the surface of the block and sanded it in a clockwise direction (no reason for that other than I am right-handed). I sanded it, checking often to see how the rim was cleaning up until the surface was clear and the top of the bowl once again level. Surprisingly I did not have to remove too much material from the rim to clean up the surface.

When I had finished the sanding, I used micromesh sanding pads to sand the top smooth once again and remove the scratches from the coarse sanding block. The micromesh sanding pads from 1500 – 12,000 grit bring a shine back to the surface of the meer and prepare it for rewaxing once the pipe is finished.

At this point in the process I decided to see if I could fit a new stem on the pipe. The diameter of the oval shank was quite large and would require a large diameter round stem. To make it an oval stem would require that much of the existing vulcanite of the stem would have to be removed in the shaping process. I had an old Brebbia stem that a friend on Pipe Smoker Unleashed Forum sent me for an old Peterson that I was restemming. The tenon was too small for the Pete but too large for the old meer. I used a Dremel with a sanding drum to remove the excess material from the tenon until the fit was very close. The remainder of the fitting was done with a wood rasp and sandpaper. Once the tenon was finished I pushed the stem into the old meer to check on the fit of the tenon in the newly opened mortise. As can be seen in the photo below, the fit was perfect. You can also see from that photo how much work would need to be done to fit the stem to match the shank of the pipe.

The stem had deep bite marks on the top and the bottom near the button. They did not break the surface of the vulcanite. I decided to heat the surface of the stem with a heat gun and try to lift the dents from both sides as much as possible. I also wanted to straighten the stem significantly to give a better profile to the pipe. The heat gun worked to achieve both aims. The tooth marks lifted quite a bit and would have to be filled with black superglue to finish the work and the bend straightened to the angle I wanted for the new stem.

I sanded the initial excess vulcanite off the diameter of the shank with the sanding drum on the Dremel. Once I had removed a large portion I took it back to the work table and used a rasp to continue to shape and reduce the stem to the right proportions. The next series of eight photos shows the effectiveness of the rasp in shaping the stem. (In the midst of the shaping my daughters brought down a bowl of popcorn for a snack while I worked – that appears in several of the photos.)

I removed the stem from the shank and cleaned up the tooth dents so that I could fill them with black superglue. The glue takes quite a bit of time to cure so I waited until I was finished for the evening and then filled the dents and set the stem aside to cure over night.

This morning I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and also sanded the superglue patch on the underside of the stem. The next four photos show the stem as it begins to take shape and the repaired spot on the underside of the stem. The oval is coming along nicely but there was still a lot of excess material that still needed to be removed.

I continued to sand the stem to further tune the shape of the oval to match the shank. I used 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess and shape the stem. I worked on the superglue patch on the underside of the stem with the 220 grit sandpaper as well. In the next series of three photos you can see the shape I am aiming for with this stem. You can also see the size of the patch on the stem. The patch is still larger than the marks it covers so more sanding will need to be done on it to blend it into the vulcanite.

I cleaned up the bite marks on the top of the stem and applied the black superglue patch to that surface as well. I set it aside while I worked on the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with Murphy’s Oil Soap on a cotton pad to clean off the grime on the surface while leaving as much of the old patina as possible. The first photo below shows the superglue patch. I applied it and used a dental pick to push it around the surface and also build up a few tooth marks on the edge of the button. The second photo below shows the patch after it had dried and I had sanded the patch with 220 grit sandpaper.

While working on the stem I decided to open the button to make it simpler to insert a pipe cleaner. I used needle files to make the slot larger. The second photo shows the opened slot in the button. I sanded the inside of the slot with a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth the surface and polish the slot.

I took the pipe back to the Dremel and sanding drum to remove more of the excess vulcanite. I had the basic shape in hand and just wanted to get it closer to the size of the shank before doing the finish sanding. I brought it back to the work table and sanded with 220 grit sandpaper until the fit was right. The next four photos show the progress in the fitting of the stem.

I sanded the stem with a medium grit sponge backed sanding pad. It helped to remove the scratches left behind by the 200 grit sandpaper. Then I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to polish and shine the vulcanite and the patched areas. The white Lucite band that was a part of the stem began to take on a shine as well in the process. The next nine photos capture what took about an hour to achieve in the sanding process. I wet sanded with the 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanded with the remaining grits of micromesh.

I buffed the stem with White Diamond and a blue plastic polishing compound to bring out the final shine on the stem. I hand waxed the meerschaum with beeswax and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. The next four photos show the finished pipe with the new stem. I like the marks and scratches in the meer as they seem to speak of the long journey the pipe took to get to me. The white Lucite band on the stem fits nicely in my thinking against the gold of the filigree band. The slight bend it the stem works nicely for me. From the last two photos you can see the oval shape of the stem now that it is completed. It has come a long way from the round stem I received as a gift from Ron.

Charatan’s Make 109 Rhodesian Restoration

18 Replies

Blog by Al Jones

I have been a fan of the Charatan Shape 109, but rarely see them become available. This one was recently posted on Ebay. It is a Lane era pipe, with the L stamp, but it has a tapered stem versus the more common Double Comfort. I think the Double Comfort stem on Chartan Bulldog or Rhodesian stems look a little ungainly, so this one was very appealing. The pipes small size was a definite appeal. It is similar to a Group 4 Dunhill or XX Ashton. The pipe weighs approximately 45 grams, which is my right in my sweet spot.

The Ebay pictures for the pipe weren’t very detailed and there were some pretty deep teeth marks on the bottom of the stem. The pips is stamped:
Charatan’s Make
London England
109 and the L stamp

I’ve learned that Charatan pipes stamped in this manner were known as having the “Rough” grade. From a somewhat controversial web article by Ivy Ryan, I’ve learned that:
“Sandblasted pipes stamped Charatan’s Make over London England and a number are one version of the famous “Rough” grade. These were apprentice pipes that didn’t come out well
enough to be graded but were still eminently smokable. To save the wood and give the
less-well-off a quality smoke, Charatan would first hand rusticate the pipe gently, then sandblast
it. (Due to Dunhill’s patent, they couldn’t simply blast the pipe, and the rustication made for a very
different blast.)”

The “L” in circle stamp denotes a pipe imported into USA by Lane Ltd between 1955 and 1988. If anyone has information to narrow down that range, please chime in.

Here is the pipe as it was delivered. The nomenclature on the stem was in decent shape but it had some heavy tooth waves on top and heavy indention’s underneath.

Once again, I employed the Stew-Mac black superglue to repair the teeth marks on the bottom of stem. The first photo shows the application of the superglue and the second shows it sanded smooth with 800 grit sandpaper.

I reamed the bowl and soaked it with alcohol and sea salt. There was some tar build up on the bowl top, but that was removed with a very mild oxy-clean solution and a cloth.

I removed the oxidation on the stem with 800 grit wet sandpaper, then progressed thru the 1500 and 2000 grade paper. Most of the waves came off the top of the stem and the marks underneath blended in nicely with the superglue. The button was in good shape. I stayed away from the CP stem logo. The stem was then buffed lightly with white diamond rouge.

I finished the bowl with some Halycon wax, worked into the bowl with an old toothbrush polished by hand

Here is the finished pipe.

My Buffing Motor & Work Station Setup – Updated May 2025

7 Replies

Blog by Al Jones

See the June 2017 Updates at the bottom of this page
I get a lot of requests about my buffing station, so I thought an entry here on the blog would be handy to use as a point of reference. I do my pipe work in my garage which is well-lit. I have a small Coleman propane heater to warm up the space during the winter months.

For a buffing motor, I use an old Century brand motor that I found in my parent’s basement. I believe it was used on their old furnace motor or a back-up. It is a 1725 rpm, 1/4 hp motor. I wired an old appliance cord for power. It does not have a capacitor start, which would be nice. It does have two oil ports, which apparently aren’t used on modern motors.

I bought a 1/2″ arbor extension from Jestco Products. This bolts to the motor shaft and allowed for a buffing pad to be mounted. I also use Jestco for my buffing pads. I use 6″ wide pads. They make left or right thread arbors. A dual shaft motor would be a nice upgrade, in order to keep two pads mounted. A nut holds the pad in the arbor, I replaced it with a wing-nut to allow for easy hand changes. The pad only needs to be held snugly in place. I ground the wing-nut down a bit to make sure it wouldn’t inadvertently hit the pipe or stem.

Jestco is also a good source for bars of rouge. I get carnuba bars from my local Woodcraft store. The bars pictured below have been in use for three years and would seemingly last many more years.

I mount the buffer in my bench mounted vise. When not needed, I can easily pull it off and store it under my bench. Below is the link for Jestco Products.
http://www.jestcoproducts.com/index.php?act=viewProd&productId=40

I keep my bars of rouge and pads in plastic holders above the bench. There are pads for Carnuba wax (loose cotton), Tripoli, White Diamond and Plastic Polish (sewn cotton buffs)

I have a small, plastic, three drawer cabinet under my work bench for my reamers, needle files, etc. I also keep my supply of micromesh paper there along with my retort.

Other supplies are kept in a cabinet above the work bench, alcohol, stain, etc.

Below is the entire work area. I share the work space for my car and motorcycle mechanical work but my pipe supplies don’t take up much space. Everything is easily stored off the work bench, when it is needed for big mechanical jobs.

Updated – June 2017

I’ve made a number of changes to my pipe restoration station since writing this blog entry on 2013. I’ve been doing enough pipe work that my shared car, pipe and general work bench was getting cramped. I sold my motorcycles, but kept the MGB. That freed up a generous area of the shop that I could dedicate to my pipe work station and a winter smoking area.

in 2016, During a restaurant remodel, I happened across a small, stainless steel work table that was going to be discarded. It had a 39″ height, which was perfect for pipe work (no need to stoop too low). I found a pair of inexpensive drawers from a hardware company, which was perfect for small tool storage, files, sandpaper, etc. The table is positioned under the only window in the garage, which is nice for some additional light.

I bolted my single arbor, 1725 rpm-1/4 hp motor to the work bench and installed some pockets to hold the pads and rouge/wax sticks. A cabinet mounted above allowed for plenty of storage for the other items. I added a two-bulb fluorescent light above the bench.

This setup served me well but I always wished for a dual-arbor motor to reduce the pad changes (my three most commonly used pads: Carnuba wax, White Diamond, Plastic Polish). In June 2017, on Facebook of all places, I found a local man selling out an old workshop. He had what appeared to be an old motor for sale. I inquired about the specs, which turned out to be perfect: 1725 rpm and 1/2 horse-power. The motor was an old Craftsman, and had two oil ports. Modern motors have eliminated the oil ports for supposedly “lifetime bearings”. I prefer the oil port motors. Here is the motor as received, with short arbors and an exterior mount power switch.

Like my other motor, this one did not have a capacitor start, and a cheap, plastic switch mounted on the exterior. I sourced a heavy-duty, double-insulated metal switch from Lowes, which is also on the other motor.

Once again, I sourced extended arbor mounts from Jestco Supply. They are the only ones to make 6″ extensions that I have found. This motor had 1/2″ and 5/8″ arbors, which Jestco sold in right and left hand options. The webpage for Jestco is below, I highly recommend this vendor for all of your buffing supplies, service and quality is first rate.

Jestco Supply – Buffing Accessories

My next decision was how to mount the motor. I like having the pad off the table surface to give me plenty of working room. The motor spins clock-wise, away from the operator and I usually have the pipe or stem around the 7 o’clock position. With two arbors, I decided to remove the rubber feet, install four bolts and then drill four matching holes in the table. The buffer simply sets down in the four holes and I can rotate the buffer 180 degrees to use the other pad.

Drilling stainless isn’t easy. I used a small, good bit for the pilot hole, with some WD40 on the bit and table surface to keep the bit from burning up. You need to drill at a relatively slow speed. I used a “step bit” to enlarge the holes, which was done quite fast (also with lubrication).

Below is my cabinet with extra supplies.

Below is the finished station. I mounted a paper-towel holder under the shelf. I use a lot of paper towels during the stem standing process, to keep the water from damaging the stain of the briar. I may upgrade the light to a four-tube fixture for the winter, when the garage is closed up and a bit darker.

Update – May 2025

We moved from Maryland to Louisiana in August of 2024. I brought my shop table down and basically set it up the same way down here. I purchased some used cabinets and was lucky to find a garage that had a similar work area and a laundry tub sink.

I started fly-fishing down here (after a 25 year hiatus). So the work table does dual duty for pipes and fly-tying. I added a nice bright LED lamp.

The white box in the bottom right of the cabinet is my photo light-box.

A New Look for a Duncan Hill Aerosphere

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Over the years I have owned and sold several Duncan Hill Aerosphere pipes. The system on the pipes and the thinness of the bit always made the airway too tight for me and the draught sluggish at best. I have repaired several of them over the years as well and never found one that really worked well for me. Then in one of the lots I picked up on Ebay that needed new stems there was a Duncan Hill Aerosphere bowl without a stem. It had a wide open airway and was in decent shape. The bowl had a light cake and the rim was tarred but not damage. The bowl was still round and obviously the pipe had not been smoked very much. I figured it was an opportunity to restem it with a standard stem and see what I could get from it.

I tried two different stems on the pipe. The first was a flat blade saddle stem blank. I turned the tenon with a PIMO tenon turning tool and fit it to the pipe. I decided to put a nickel band on the shank for cosmetic purposes as I thought it would look good with the saddle stem. There were two problems with this fitting. The rustication pattern on the Duncan Hill made a smooth fit of the band virtually impossible and the gap around the shank did not work for me. The second issue was that the stem itself was just a few millimeters’ smaller in diameter than the shank. It was not noticeable except with the band it was accentuated. I removed the band and tried the stem without the band and it did not work well. I abandoned that option and went back to my can of stems to see what else I could find that might work in terms of both diameter and length.

For the second stem I found an older “pre-used” stem that worked in terms of length and diameter. I cleaned up the tenon and shortened it slightly and the fit was quite good. I left the band in place and tried to rusticate the band to match the bowl rustication. I heated it and used a scribing tool to carve it up to get the bowl finish look. I stopped that rustication process and worked on the stem fit. For some reason the stem taper on top and bottom did not match. With the fitting on the Duncan Hill bowl the angles at the top did not match the bottom. Reversing the stem made the stem fit even worse. The diameter needed slight adjustments to repair the taper and fit it well against the band.

I used a Dremel to take off material on the stem to adjust the taper to match on both the top and the bottom. I also used the Dremel to clean up the fit at the shank/band. I tried to mark the band with the Dremel in the process as well. I used a scribing tip and still did not get much more of finish than I had with the hand scribing tip. I did not like the look so I took the stem back to the worktable and sanded it to remove the scratches left behind by the sanding drum.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper, a medium grit sanding sponge and a fine grit sanding block to clean up the fit and also remove the scratches. The more I looked at it the less I liked the band. The area around the stem shank union looked terrible and the scribing merely looked like scratches. It was awful looking. I decided at this point to remove the band from the shank. I heated the band and slipped it off the shank. I cleaned up the light marks left by the band on the shank with micromesh sanding pads.

With the band off the pipe the tenon was too long for the stem to seat properly. This was not visible to me with the band in place. It felt tight but without the band there was a gap at the junction. I measured the tenon and found that I needed to remove some of the length on the tenon and also needed to countersink the mortise slightly. The countersink on the mortise is a slight bevel inward. I used a knife to bevel the inner edge of the mortise. Once the mortise was prepared and the tenon shortened to measure the stem fit tightly against the shank. I used 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge to remove a little more of the diameter of the stem to clean up the junction. The two bands on the stem appear to be briar but are actually Cumberland/brindle inserts. I sanded the top of the bowl/rim and the colour matched the twin bands on the stem.

I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to remove the scratches on the vulcanite and polish the stem. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit micromesh pads and dry sanded with the remaining grits. Between 3600 and 4000 grit pads I polished the stem with Maguiars Scratch X2.0. It polished the stem considerably. I then finished sanding with the micromesh pads. While I sanded the stem with the micromesh I also sanded the rim to polish it. With each successive change of grit the rim and the twin bands on the stem began to truly match. The combination looked like it was factory designed to be a combination. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside for the evening. In the morning I rubbed the stem down and then waxed it with carnauba.

I gave the bowl a several coats of Halcyon II wax and buffed it with a shoe brush to raise the shine. I buffed the stem with carnauba several time to raise the shine as well. I then buffed the pipe with a soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is pictured below. The look of the Duncan Hill with the banded stem that matches the rim is a great combination. The improved draught of the pipe is exactly what I was aiming for. The Duncan Hill Aerosphere pipe re-enters life with a new level of service to the pipeman who ends up with it in their collection.

K&P London Made Found in a Bargain Shop

8 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Yesterday afternoon I went with my eldest daughter to Walmart here in Vancouver. Across the street is a bargain shop that sells lot of movie set items and other things that are collectible and antique. I have found quite a few good pipes there over the years. I went to the shop while she was in Walmart and looked over the lot they had this time. There were quite a few pipes in the case and most of them while interesting just did not capture my attention. Then I moved a few of them out of the way and underneath was this little P-lip apple. I could tell it was a Pete and an older one because of the thick shank and stem. I held it up to the light and my guess was confirmed. It was a Peterson. It was marked $28 and I offered $25 for it. They accepted the offer and I paid the bill and put the pipe in my pocket. I picked up my daughter and headed home to check it out.

I wiped off the shank with a cotton pad dampened with saliva and found that it was stamped K&P LONDONMADE on the right side of the shank. On the left side it was stamped 215 and A “PETERSON’S PRODUCT” Made In London. So I had found an English made Peterson’s shape 215 pipe. The band was silver and was badly tarnished but I could see from the hallmarks that it was also stamped with English hallmarks. The first was an anchor which told me that the band was made in Birmingham. The second was a reclining lion which is the stamping for Sterling silver. The third mark was hard to see with the grime and tarnish but looked like an animal face in the cartouche. Closer examination would have to wait until I had cleaned up the tarnish.

The pipe was in fair shape. The bowl had nicks in the sides in several places as well as a very rough rim. It looked as if it had been hammered about and was damaged. It would require topping to remedy that problem. The bowl had been reamed and was slightly out of round and then smoked again for some time – long enough to build up an uneven cake with most of the cake at the top of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl was bare wood. The silver band was loose and had turned about a quarter turn clockwise. The stem was very tight in the shank – which thankfully had kept the band in place on the pipe. The stem had many bite marks and tooth dents up the shaft from the button for about an inch. It looked as if the individual who had smoked it held it far back in his teeth. Both the underside and topside of the stem were damaged with tooth marks and a series of grooves from a tool. The button itself and the ledge on the underside were in very good shape. The round opening in the button was elongated from years of pipe cleaners.

I was able to carefully remove the stem and the inside of the shank was darkened with tars but not terribly dirty. The end of the tenon is stepped down and the fit in the shank was very snug. After cleaning the stem would fit well. There was no stamping on the oxidized stem and appeared to be no remnant of stamping. The oxidation on the stem was heavy at the shank stem union and also around the button on the top and bottom.

I wrote about the stamping to Mark Irwin who is my Peterson’s go to contact for information on Peterson pipes. He is a wealth of information that I have been unable to find in other places. He was on the road but sent me the following information. “…The “Peterson Product” indicates the pipe is a lower line. They began using this stamp in the 1930 catalog for their “K” pipes, but if it was this, you should’ve seen a “K” on it. There were several “200” series shapes, but the “215” is not in a catalog I have here. The London factory was much smaller than the Dublin, but I’ll have to ask Gary about the hallmarks, as I’m unfamiliar with the Brit system. Best my guess tonight is that the pipe dates anywhere from 1920-1940. I have photos of a thick-shanked and thick-stemmed straight apple hallmarked Dublin 1920–I can send you a .gif when I get home if this sounds like the pipe. If so, the shape itself goes back to at least that year.”

That was helpful information on the dating of the pipe. I sent Mark the photos last evening and then this morning received this reply concerning the pipe. “… Gorgeous! Yup, it’s the same shape as the photo I have, which means the shape itself goes back to at least 1920.” In the mean time I had cleaned up the band with silver polish and scrubbed it with a soft cotton pad. I reset it with white glue on the shank and examined the hallmarks under a bright light with a jewelers loop. It became clear that the last of the hallmarks was not an animal but rather a letter in the cartouche. It was well worn but from the outlines on the mark it appeared to be the letter “T” which dates the pipe to 1943.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using the smallest cutting head and the next size as well. I removed the cake back to the wood to even out the broken cake. I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs to remove all the tars and oils in the shank. Once I had cleaned out the shank I also cleaned the stem with pipe cleaners. I used Everclear with cotton swabs on both. When it was finished I put the stem back in the shank and the fit was snug.

I topped the bowl with my usual method – 220 grit sandpaper on a flat board and turned the bowl clockwise as I pressed the rim into the sandpaper. I sanded the top until the damaged portion of the rim was removed. One side benefit of the process was that it also removed some of the damaged inner rim as well bringing the bowl back into round.

To prepare the bowl for restaining I wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad. I wanted to remove as much of the finish as possible so that I could more easily blend the new stain on the rim with the stain on the bowl. I have found that if I thin down the original stain on the bowl I can generally make a good match with the rim when I stain the entire pipe. The rim always takes several more coats of stain than the bowl but the match comes out very well. I wanted to end up with a stain colour that matched the original stain colour as much as possible. Between each coat of stain I flamed the stain to set it in the grain of the briar. The stain I used was an aniline stain in a dark brown that I thinned 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. Once it was dry I hand buffed it with a shoe brush to blend the colours of the stain and give me a clear look at the stain to make sure it was evenly applied.

I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded the stem with medium grit emery paper to remove the oxidation and also clean up the vulcanite around the tooth dents. Once clean, I heated the dents by passing the flame of a lighter across the tooth marks. The heat of the flame lifts the dents to the surface. The key is to keep the flame moving quickly and not allow it to sit in one place too long or the stem will burn. The first photo below shows the tooth marks on the top side of the stem. There were matching tooth marks on the underside. The second photo shows the stem after the heating with the flame. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and also a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches and remnants of the dents. I filled the two remaining dents with super glue, sanded the glue down to match the surface of the stem and then finished the sanding with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit (Photos 3 – 5).

Once the stem was sanded with the 12,000 grit micromesh pad I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and when dry rubbed it into the stem. I gave the stem several coats of wax and returned it to the bowl. I polished the silver band a final time and also waxed that. I buffed the pipe lightly with White Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is pictured below. It has some beautiful grain on it. There are also some flaws in the briar that I chose to leave as I find they add character to the pipe.

rebornpipes

reclaiming old and worn estate pipes

Tag Archives: buffing

Restoring an Old Amphora X-tra 509 Pot

When I saw it I thought it was a Sasieni one dot billiard

Reworking a Unique Nylon “Vikingish” Pipe

Reworking an Old Pal Pencil Shank Pot

The Story of the Lorenzo Oom Paul – Gift from Bill Cumming

A Unique Vertical Oval Shank Meerschaum Reborn

Charatan’s Make 109 Rhodesian Restoration

My Buffing Motor & Work Station Setup – Updated May 2025

A New Look for a Duncan Hill Aerosphere

K&P London Made Found in a Bargain Shop

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