Tag Archives: cleaning a stem

Way Off the Beaten Track…

by Kenneth Lieblich

This remarkable and charming pipe came to me from an online auction, where it was described very simply as “Tuareg smoking pipe”. The seller had no more information. I was intrigued and tried to dig a little further. Most of the images I could fine online for pipes of the Tuareg people didn’t look like this. Tuareg pipes tend to be tubular in shape – but the materials used are similar to what I have here. The more I examined and studied this pipe, the more fascinated I became. It has a wonderful, rustic look and feel. Perhaps a brief word on the Tuareg people is in order. I was familiar with them, but only superficially. Here is a very brief summary of them, from the Bradshaw Foundation:

The Tuareg inhabit the Saharan regions of North Africa – Niger, Mali, Libya, Algeria and Burkina Faso. Tuareg is an Arabic term meaning abandoned by God. They call themselves Imohag, translated as free men. No one knows the true origin of the Tuareg, where they came from or when they arrived in the Sahara. Reputedly of Berber descent, the language of the Tuareg is Tamachek, with their own script known as Tifinagh, thought to have ancient Libyan roots. Their numbers are unclear, but estimates run between 300,000 and 1 million. The most striking attribute of the Tuareg is the indigo veil, worn by the men but not the women, giving rise to the popular name the Blue Men of the Sahara, or Men of the Veil. Men begin wearing a veil at the age 25.

Let’s take a closer look at this pipe. The wood is dark, dense, and hard. I am no dendrologist, but my elementary research tells me that this wood is likely either African blackwood (Dalbergia melanoxylon) or African ebony (Diospyros crassiflora). Both woods are quite similar insofar as they are both thoroughly black, extremely hard and dense, very difficult to work, and among the most expensive in the world. Based on what I read, my educated guess is that this is African blackwood – but that is only a guess. Perhaps the loveliest feature of this pipe are the decorative lines all along its side. Amazing workmanship! Both the stem and the inside of the stummel are made of metal – however, there are at least two metals involved (and possibly three). The metal inside the shank seems to be ferrous. I tested it with a magnet and it was strongly magnetic. However, neither the metal on the stem nor the metal inside the smoking chamber were magnetic. The metal Inside the smoking chamber seems soft – perhaps something like zinc. The stem, however, is clearly a different metal. It did have a bit of tarnish on it, and I think it is likely to be brass. But I don’t have a definitive answer. The overall condition of this pipe was very good. No problems to be resolved and only a little cleaning. My gut tells me that this pipe was never smoked, but I couldn’t swear to that. The stummel was quite clean and without major issues. There is a small hole on the underside, but that is deliberately there – either as a ventilation port or as a means of accessing the inside. The stem is just fine and has no issues of note.

I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. I used only a few pipe cleaners and cotton swabs.Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and some tube brushes, and scoured the stem to remove as much grime as possible. This was pretty easy, as the stem was quite clean.I deliberately did not sand either the stem or the stummel, as I wanted to maintain the hand-crafted nature of this pipe. Instead, I took the finest two or three micromesh pads and shined the surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using these pads. There was a wonderful, metallic shine to the stem when I was done.It was then a case of rinse-and-repeat for the stummel. I cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. Just like the stem, not much work was needed, fortunately.To tidy up the wood, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. I also very lightly smoothed out the overlapping edge of metal on the rim. I did not modify the look in any way – just wanted to make the transition slightly less jarring.Then, again, just like the stem, I buffed the stummel with only the finest two or three micromesh pads. Maintaining the original look of the pipe was key for me. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the black wood and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to it. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth until it shone beautifully! All done! This Tuareg blackwood and metal pipe looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Various Makers’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5¾ in. (145 mm); height 2½ in. (64 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ⅓ in. (8 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅜ oz. (41 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring an Impressive Grecian Plateau Lovat by Mark Tinsky

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

Here’s a real beauty. Recently, I was given the opportunity to purchase a small group of pipes by master pipemaker, Mark Tinsky. How could I say no? The answer, of course, is that I could not and I happily acquired them. This pipe is actually not one from the aforementioned lot, but was a Tinsky I already had. It seemed sensible to add it on to this series of pipe restorations. Whereas the others I restored recently were from the Canadian family of pipe shapes, this one, as you can see is a lovat. Or, perhaps, a lovat with a Dublin-like bowl. Another nice detail about this pipe is that it comes with its original pipe sock! This is a beautiful pipe with fantastic, straight grain. The rim is just wonderful. It has a lovely, rich brown colour to it and a silky-smooth surface. This is an older Tinsky than the ones you’ve seen from me recently. The star logo on the side of the stem is different from previous ones, insofar as it is engraved into the acrylic. Under the shank are the markings and they read: American [over] Reg No [over] 081 GP MT 15. I’m not sure but I assume that the 081 tells us that the pipe was made in 1981; the GP indicates that Grecian plateau briar was used, MT indicates that Mark Tinsky made it himself; and I sadly have no idea what the 15 refers to.As I’m sure you know, Mark Tinsky is one of the great names in American pipe making. He is best summed up in this quotation from Erwin Van Hove:

His more than reasonable prices, and his good-natured personality, have made Mark [Tinsky] the favorite of many Americans. It is difficult to find an amateur who does not possess at least one pipe made by the American Smoking Pipe Company, that Tinsky founded in 1978 with his friend Curt Rollar. In 1990, after the departure of his associate, Tinsky continued on by himself building a solid reputation using quality briar from Greece and stem blanks imported from Italy, offering collectors a vast assortment of models and finishes. In short, his pipes are beautiful and well-made pieces that produce a taste beyond reproach. Neither off-the-shelf nor haute couture, they are solid hand mades for an affordable price.There is a wonderful and extensive article on Tinsky, Rollar, and the American Smoking Pipe Company at Pipedia. I highly recommend reading it here. You can also visit his website: http://www.amsmoke.com/. There’s also a small blurb about him at Pipephil:This pipe was in generally very nice shape – there were a few light marks on the rim – but nothing serious at all. The stem was also in good shape – a few bite marks, but the acrylic was sound and is easy to repair. This was clearly a well-maintained pipe. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean – but not much work was required as it was already pretty clean.I then set about fixing the marks in the acrylic. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the acrylic, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. This ensured that all the debris was removed. Again, like the stem, this didn’t take much work as the pipe was quite clean.I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the whole stummel. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Mark Tinsky Grecian Plateau Lovat looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6½ in. (165 mm); height 2⅜ in. (60 mm); bowl diameter 1¾ in. (45 mm); chamber diameter 1 in. (25 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2¼ oz. (67 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

A Wonderfully Long, Long, Long Pipe by Mark Tinsky

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

Recently, I was given the opportunity to purchase a small group of pipes by master pipemaker, Mark Tinsky. How could I say no? The answer, of course, is that I could not and I happily acquired them. There are some real beauties here and I am going to restore them all and then turn them over to you. Interestingly, all of the pipes are in the Canadian family of pipe shapes. I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing them, and here is a link to the first one and the second one and the third one, in case you missed them. Let’s move on to the fourth pipe. This is a beautiful Canadian – well-proportioned bowl with a looooong, oval shank and a handsome taper stem made from acrylic. It’s incredibly long – even longer than the first three Tinsky pipes I worked on. It has a deep, rich brown colour to it and a lovely, smooth surface. There is a charming star logo on the top of the stem. Under the shank are the markings and they read: American [over] 10/99-MT. This tells us that the pipe was made in October 1999 by Mark Tinsky himself.As I’m sure you know, Mark Tinsky is one of the great names in American pipe making. He is best summed up in this quotation from Erwin Van Hove:

His more than reasonable prices, and his good-natured personality, have made Mark [Tinsky] the favorite of many Americans. It is difficult to find an amateur who does not possess at least one pipe made by the American Smoking Pipe Company, that Tinsky founded in 1978 with his friend Curt Rollar. In 1990, after the departure of his associate, Tinsky continued on by himself building a solid reputation using quality briar from Greece and stem blanks imported from Italy, offering collectors a vast assortment of models and finishes. In short, his pipes are beautiful and well-made pieces that produce a taste beyond reproach. Neither off-the-shelf nor haute couture, they are solid hand mades for an affordable price.There is a wonderful and extensive article on Tinsky, Rollar, and the American Smoking Pipe Company at Pipedia. I highly recommend reading it here. You can also visit his website: http://www.amsmoke.com/. There’s also a small blurb about him at Pipephil:This pipe was in generally very nice shape – there were a few nicks on the rim – and I could deal with that in short order. The stem was also in good shape – a few bit marks, but the acrylic was sound and is easy to repair. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.I then set about fixing the marks and dents in the acrylic. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure.Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the acrylic, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a pipe knife and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. It took quite a bit of cotton to get clean. To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Having completed that, I was able to address the nicks on the rim. I dug out my iron and a damp cotton flannel cloth. By laying the cloth over the affected areas and applying the iron to it, the hot and moist steam can cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was some significant improvement! Not everything was removed, but most of it was. I also gave it a light topping on my topping board to finish off the rim. Unfortunately, I neglected to take a photo of this step.

I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the whole stummel. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Mark Tinsky 10-99 smooth Canadian looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 7¼ in. (185 mm); height 1⅞ in. (47 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ⅞ in. (21 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1½ oz. (45 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

A Long and Smooth Canadian by Mark Tinsky

1 Reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

Recently, I was given the opportunity to purchase a small group of pipes by master pipemaker, Mark Tinsky. How could I say no? The answer, of course, is that I could not and I happily acquired them. There are some real beauties here and I am going to restore them all and then turn them over to you. Interestingly, all of the pipes are in the Canadian family of pipe shapes. I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing them, and here is a link to the first one and the second one, in case you missed them. Let’s move on to the third pipe. This is a beautiful Canadian – well-proportioned bowl with a looooong, oval shank and a handsome taper stem made from acrylic. It’s even longer than the first two Tinsky pipes I worked on. It has a deep, rich brown colour to it and a lovely, smooth surface. There is a charming star logo on the top of the stem. Under the shank are the markings and they read: American [over] 06/98-MT. This tells us that the pipe was made in June 1998 by Mark Tinsky himself.As I’m sure you know, Mark Tinsky is one of the great names in American pipe making. He is best summed up in this quotation from Erwin Van Hove:

His more than reasonable prices, and his good-natured personality, have made Mark [Tinsky] the favorite of many Americans. It is difficult to find an amateur who does not possess at least one pipe made by the American Smoking Pipe Company, that Tinsky founded in 1978 with his friend Curt Rollar. In 1990, after the departure of his associate, Tinsky continued on by himself building a solid reputation using quality briar from Greece and stem blanks imported from Italy, offering collectors a vast assortment of models and finishes. In short, his pipes are beautiful and well-made pieces that produce a taste beyond reproach. Neither off-the-shelf nor haute couture, they are solid hand mades for an affordable price.There is a wonderful and extensive article on Tinsky, Rollar, and the American Smoking Pipe Company at Pipedia. I highly recommend reading it here. You can also visit his website: http://www.amsmoke.com/. There’s also a small blurb about him at Pipephil:This pipe was in generally very nice shape – there were a few nicks on the rim – but that didn’t require too much work. The stem was also in good shape – only very light wear.I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the acrylic, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.I moved straight on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. This ensured that the debris was removed – and it was very clean inside.I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. It took quite a bit of cotton to get clean.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds and used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Having completed that, I was able to address the nicks on the rim. I dug out my iron and a damp cotton flannel cloth. By laying the cloth over the affected areas and applying the iron to it, the hot and moist steam can cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. This worked superbly well.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the whole stummel. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Mark Tinsky 06-98 smooth Canadian looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 7 in. (178 mm); height 1⅞ in. (49 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¾ oz. (51 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

A Blast-from-the-Past Pipe by Mark Tinsky

2 Replies

by Kenneth Lieblich

Recently, I was given the opportunity to purchase a small group of pipes by master pipemaker, Mark Tinsky. How could I say no? The answer, of course, is that I could not and I happily acquired them. There are some real beauties here and I am going to restore them all and then turn them over to you. Interestingly, all of the pipes are in the Canadian family of pipe shapes. I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing them, and here is a link to the first one in case you missed it. Let’s move on to the second pipe. This is a beautiful Canadian – well-proportioned bowl with a long, oval shank and a handsome taper stem made from acrylic. It’s a bit longer than the first one I worked on. It has a nice sandblast that as a wonderful, leathery feel to it. It’s obviously not made of leather, but the texture is really satisfying. There is a lovely star logo on the top of the stem. Under the shank are the markings and they read: American [over] 03/98-MT. This tells us that the pipe was made in March 1998 by Mark Tinsky himself.As I’m sure you know, Mark Tinsky is one of the great names in American pipe making. He is best summed up in this quotation from Erwin Van Hove:

His more than reasonable prices, and his good-natured personality, have made Mark [Tinsky] the favorite of many Americans. It is difficult to find an amateur who does not possess at least one pipe made by the American Smoking Pipe Company, that Tinsky founded in 1978 with his friend Curt Rollar. In 1990, after the departure of his associate, Tinsky continued on by himself building a solid reputation using quality briar from Greece and stem blanks imported from Italy, offering collectors a vast assortment of models and finishes. In short, his pipes are beautiful and well-made pieces that produce a taste beyond reproach. Neither off-the-shelf nor haute couture, they are solid hand mades for an affordable price.There is a wonderful and extensive article on Tinsky, Rollar, and the American Smoking Pipe Company at Pipedia. I highly recommend reading it here. You can also visit his website: http://www.amsmoke.com/. There’s also a small blurb about him at Pipephil:This pipe was in generally very nice shape – there were a few nicks on the rim – but that didn’t require too much work. In fact, the stem didn’t require any work from me at all! When I got this pipe, the stem was nowhere to be seen – there was only a stummel. So, I sent the pipe to Mark Tinsky and had him fashion a new stem for this pipe. The new stem is a perfect match from the man himself.I moved straight on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a pipe knife and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed – but it was very clean inside.I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. It took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds and used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Having completed that, I was able to address the nicks on the rim. I dug out my iron and a damp cotton flannel cloth. By laying the cloth over the affected areas and applying the iron to it, the hot and moist steam can cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was some significant improvement! Not everything was removed, but most of it was. I also gave it a light topping on my topping board to finish off the rim. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the smooth rim and the smooth part of the shank. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Mark Tinsky 03-98 sandblasted Canadian looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6¼ in. (170 mm); height 1⅞ in. (48 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¾ oz. (52 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

A Terrific American-Canadian Pipe from Mark Tinsky

3 Replies

by Kenneth Lieblich

Recently, I was given the opportunity to purchase a small group of pipes by master pipemaker, Mark Tinsky. How could I say no? The answer, of course, is that I could not and I happily acquired them. There are some real beauties here and I am going to restore them all and then turn them over to you. Interestingly, all of the pipes are of the Canadian family of pipe shapes. I’m sure you’ll enjoy seeing them, so – in no particular order – let’s get started with the first one. This is a beautiful Canadian – well-proportioned bowl with a long, oval shank and a handsome taper stem made from acrylic. It has a finish that Steve calls ‘blasticated’ – sort of a hybrid of sandblasted and rusticated. There is a lovely star logo on the side of the stem, encircled with inlaid briar. Under the shank are the markings and they read: Reg. No. [over] 2/97-MT. This tells us that the pipe was made in February 1997 by Mark Tinsky himself.As I’m sure you know, Mark Tinsky is one of the great names in American pipe making. He is best summed up in this quotation from Erwin Van Hove:

His more than reasonable prices, and his good-natured personality, have made Mark [Tinsky] the favorite of many Americans. It is difficult to find an amateur who does not possess at least one pipe made by the American Smoking Pipe Company, that Tinsky founded in 1978 with his friend Curt Rollar. In 1990, after the departure of his associate, Tinsky continued on by himself building a solid reputation using quality briar from Greece and stem blanks imported from Italy, offering collectors a vast assortment of models and finishes. In short, his pipes are beautiful and well-made pieces that produce a taste beyond reproach. Neither off-the-shelf nor haute couture, they are solid hand mades for an affordable price.There is a wonderful and extensive article on Tinsky, Rollar, and the American Smoking Pipe Company at Pipedia. I highly recommend reading it here. You can also visit his website: http://www.amsmoke.com/. There’s also a small blurb about him at Pipephil:This pipe was in generally very nice shape and didn’t require too much work. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the acrylic. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the acrylic. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the acrylic, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a pipe knife and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. It took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds and used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the smooth rim and the smooth part of the shank. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This Mark Tinsky 02-97 Canadian looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘American’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6⅛ in. (156 mm); height 2 in. (52 mm); bowl diameter 1⅝ in. (41 mm); chamber diameter ⅞ in. (23 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¾ oz. (54 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

Hold on to your hats, folks – you’re in for a wild ride of pipe restoration. This amazing pipe has had quite a life, and its latest chapter includes coming into my possession. This is a Bjarne Hand-Carved freehand sitter from one of the great characters of the Danish pipe industry, Bjarne Nielsen. This pipe found its way to me through an auction and I was immediately besotted. It is a wonderful piece of briar, with a spacious bowl, and a charming, bent vulcanite stem. It’s a beauty and really makes an impression. Underneath the shank, the following words are engraved: Bjarne [over] Hand-Carved [over] Made in Denmark. There is no logo on the stem. Given the absence of a logo, I suspect that this is an older Bjarne pipe.Pipedia has a good article on Bjarne Nielsen and I recommend reading it here. For now, here is a part of that biography:

Bjarne Nielsen was born in 1941, and started smoking a pipe when he was 16 years old, and he also made some pipes for his own use at that time. He liked the pipes and made some more, giving some away as presents to friends. At the University of Copenhagen he obtained an MBA degree and found work at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs where he helped Danish companies that were exporting their products establish contacts in foreign countries. That was in the 1960’s when the high demand for Danish freehand pipes started, so Bjarne was often asked if he knew of any companies that could sell those types of pipes. But all those companies had their order-books filled, so Bjarne always had to give a negative answer. One day he decided to send some pictures of his own pipes, and the response was overwhelming. He was asked how many pipes he could make and how quickly he could deliver them, and at once Bjarne had order for more pipes than he could make. What had been a relaxing hobby now became much more than that.

With a demanding job it was hard to find time to make pipes in that quantity, and Bjarne had to choose. His dream had always been to have a company of his own, and if he wanted fo fulfill that dream, now was the time to do it. But to leave a promising career, in which he probably would have become a Danish ambassador in some foreign country, was indeed a big step to take. “Many thought I was crazy”, Bjarne says, “and one of them was my wife. But she supported my decision anyway.”

He made that decision in 1973, and became a fulltime pipemaker. But he soon realized that it was impossible for one person to handle all of it–he could not make a lot of pipes, sell them and collect money for them all by himself. So he decided to find some pipemakers to help him. In those days Preben Holm was one of the biggest makers of fancy pipes, and he employed a great number of pipemakers. But not all of them were happy to work for Preben,m so Bjarne recruited a few of those.

During the first years all of Bjarne’s pipes were sold in the USA, but at the end of the 1970s he visited the pipe show in Frankfurt and found that there was a market for his there as well. However, he found that the Germans wanted a completely different style of pipes–pipes in traditional shapes. So if he wanted to be successful there, he had to add a completely new line to his production. “It was not easy, we learned it the hard way,” Bjarne says. But they certainly succeeded, and for a number of years Germany became the top-selling market for Bjarne’s pipes.Let’s take a closer look at this pipe’s condition. It was obvious right away that this was a terrific pipe – but, boy, was it dirty. The stem was heavily chewed, with some significant dents in the vulcanite. There was a lot of calcification and oxidation. The stem will be fine in the end – it’ll just take some hard work. Similarly, the stummel needed help. The briar was dirty and tired. The rim was coated in lava, and the bowl was full of cake. I just needed to uncover the beauty of this baby. Let’s get on with it. To begin, I used a disposable lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame. The gentle heat of the flame can cause the dents in the vulcanite of the stem to expand back into shape. In this case, it worked quite well and I got some lift in the dents. Not perfect, but definitely some improvement. The stem’s calcification was quite substantial. I used an old butter knife and gently scraped some of the thicker accretion off. Doing this now helps later in removing the oxidation. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps.The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. I used a good numbers of pipe cleaners.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush. Due to the severity of the oxidation, I then repeated the scrubbing with the cream cleanser for maximum effect. This really helped a lot.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. However, it was clear that there were a few heat fissures inside the bowl that would need to be repaired. It’s difficult to tell from the photo below, but the quantity of debris removed was enormous. It must have been a well-loved pipe!Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I normally take a piece of machine steel and gently scrape the lava away. However, a jackhammer would have been more appropriate in this case! Instead, I soaked the rim in some oil soap and this softened things up enough for me to scrub the debris off with a nylon-bristle brush. To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds and used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean. Additionally, there was a minuscule line on the bottom of the stummel. It was so small, in fact, that I couldn’t really determine if this was a craze line in the briar or just a little scratch. Just to be on the safe side, I applied a tiny bit of clear cyanoacrylate adhesive and sanded it down.To address the heat fissures inside the bowl, I used an epoxy adhesive that is extremely hard, resistant to high temperatures, and completely inert when cured. It worked superbly. I gently filled the affected area with the epoxy and let it cure for a full 24 hours. The next day, I roughened up the epoxy’s surface with 220-grit sandpaper for the next step. I thinly coated the inside of the bowl with a mixture of my wife’s homemade yogurt and activated charcoal. Once hardened, this provides a good, faintly rough surface for a new cake to build.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows. You can now see why I called this article ‘You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby!’All done! This Bjarne Hand-Carved freehand sitter looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Danish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6¾ in. (175 mm); height 3 in. (75 mm); bowl diameter 1¾ in. (44 mm); chamber diameter 1 in. (25 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2½ oz. (74 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Handsome Peterson System 1312 Sandblast

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

Next up is a pipe that came in a recent lot I acquired – and it’s a classic. This is a republic-era Peterson System Standard 1312 bent billiard. The sandblast on it is really craggy, attractive, and satisfying. Naturally, the stem has the classic Peterson P-lip. The 1312 is exactly the same pipe shape as the 312 – the initial ‘1’ simply indicates that it was made for the Canadian market. Looking on the underside of the stummel, we can see the marks. First, we have Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. To the right of that we see Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland. Then the shape number 1312. On the nickel ferrule, there are more marks. K&P [over] the symbols (not hallmarks) of a shamrock, a lion and a standing figure. Next to that is the name Peterson’s.Steve and I have written about the Peterson System many times in many blogs. The Peterson System pipes are well-storied among Peterson collectors/admirers. I took the opportunity to read the article on Pipedia, specifically about the System pipes, by Jim Lilley. There is lots of good information there and I encourage you to read it: https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe.As usual, I owe a debt of gratitude to Mark Irwin of Peterson Pipe Notes. He has a very interesting article on the various System shapes and I highly recommend having a look: https://petersonpipenotes.org/146-a-guide-to-system-shapes-1896-2019-part-1-the-300-shape-group/. Here is a screenshot of the relevant bit:On to the pipe itself. It appears to be in very good shape, albeit a bit drab from use. There’s cake inside the bowl, but the outside looks perfectly sound. The stem has a bit of tooth chatter, but (fortunately) very little oxidation or calcification.I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those spots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. However, I did notice a few small craze lines on the inside. Someone must have been smoking with great gusto! No problem – I can fix that.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds and used a nylon-bristle brush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.To deal with the little craze lines, I used an epoxy adhesive that is extremely hard, resistant to high temperatures, and completely inert when cured. It worked superbly. I thinly applied it to the affected area and let it cure for a full 24 hours. The next day, I roughened up the epoxy’s surface with 220-grit sandpaper for the next step. I thinly coated the inside of the bowl with a mixture of my wife’s homemade yogurt and activated charcoal. Once hardened, this provided a good, faintly rough surface for a new cake to build.I then buffed the nickel ferrule with a couple of very gentle Micromesh pads, then then buffed it with a jewellery cloth.I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Peterson System Standard 1312 bent billiard looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Irish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅔ in. (143 mm); height 4 in. (102 mm); bowl diameter 1⅓ in. (34 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1½ oz. (46 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring and Restemming a Jobey Dansk #1 Freehand

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

I found this stemless stummel in a lot of pipes I bought recently. It’s a really good-looking piece of wood and I felt sorry for this lonely hunk of briar. I have a good number of spare stems kicking around, and I figured that I could find one that would match well. One noticeable aspect of this pipe is that it was coated with something waxy and unattractive. This doesn’t seem like it would have been original to the pipe – perhaps it was added later. Regardless, I didn’t like it, as it detracted from the handsome wood. An attractive pipe was hidden under there and it was my job to find it. The markings on the pipe were clear enough. On the underside of the shank, read Jobey [over] Dansk [over] Handmade in Denmark [over] 1.This was useful information, so I went looking into Jobey Dansk a bit more. Here is some of what Pipedia had to say:

Throughout decades Jobey pipes were mainly sold in the USA, Canada and England but remained almost unknown in continental Europe. The bulk of Jobeys were predominantly made according to classical patterns and mainly in the lower to middle price range. The predominant judgment of the pipe smokers reads: “A well made pipe for the price.” So there is hardly anything very special or exciting about Jobey pipes although a flyer from ca. 1970 assures: “The briar root Jobey insists upon for its peer of pipes is left untouched to grow, harden and sweeten for 100 years. […] Jobey uses only the heart of this century old briar and only one out of 500 bowls turned measures up to the rigid Jobey specifications.” 99.80% of cull… that makes the layman marveling! Yet then there are partially really exciting Freehands mainly in the seventies, that Jobey – Weber owned back then – bought from Danish pipe genius Karl Erik Ottendahl. These pipes were offered as Jobey Dansk – ’70’s pure! (BTW waning sales caused Ottendahl to discontinue exports to the United States in 1987.)I read somewhere (can’t remember where) that the number on the shank indicates the grading. I wasn’t immediately sure if the ‘1’ on this pipe meant top of the line or bottom of the line. However, a page from an old 1979 Jobey catalogue provided the answer:Here, you can see that the #2 is more expensive than the #3, which leads me to conclude that the #1 would be more expensive again. So, this would appear to be a top-of-the-line Jobey Dansk freehand. Excellent!I began with the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. The photo doesn’t quite communicate it, but there was an incredible amount of cake inside this pipe. Took ages to clean out.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim – and, boy, there was a lot. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently dug away at the lava. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim. Quite frankly, this was insufficient, as there was just too much stuff here.The inside of the stummel needed to be cleaned thoroughly. However, this pipe was so clogged, that I first needed to open the horribly occluded airway. So, I took a long drill bit, held in a drill chuck, and hand-cranked it to dislodge the dreadful detritus inside. Hand cranking is essential because it provides a precision and caution that a power drill cannot provide. I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.In order to advance on the rim, I soaked it in a dish of oil soap. I left it for 30ish minutes to soften up. I then took a nylon-bristle brush and scrubbed like crazy. I did this on the rim, of course, but also on the entire outside of the stummel to remove whatever goo and dirt had coated it. This worked well – despite the faded look to the pipe. I wasn’t worried about that at all. I knew that the colour and character was still there. I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.After that, some small spots on the wood needed to be touched up. I used some of my furniture pens (which is simply dye in pen form) to match the colours. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. Beauty! I then went to my drawers of pipe stems and found the perfect one to complement this pipe. It was dirty and needed some TLC, but I really like the way it worked with the freehand stummel. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Jobey Dansk #1 Freehand looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Danish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6⅜ in. (162 mm); height 2⅛ in. (56 mm); bowl diameter 1¾ in. (45 mm); chamber diameter 1 in. (25 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2⅛ oz. (62 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring an Unusual Meerschaum with a Bamboo Shank

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

I was pleasantly surprised to find this pipe recently at a local thrift shop. The thrift shops around here don’t usually carry tobacco pipes and, those that do, normally offer nothing but the dregs of the pipe world. In this case, I found a charming, simple, and beautiful billiard pipe. The bowl is made of block meerschaum, the shank is made of bamboo, and the tapered stem is made of vulcanite. Its seemingly conventional design belies a slightly enigmatic history. I must admit, I am tempted to keep this one in my own collection, but maybe one of you will talk me into selling it. The only marks on this pipe are underneath the bowl, and read Genuine Block [over] Meerschaum. Annoyingly, there were no marks on the stem, shank, or anywhere else. Having said that, however, it did lead me to think that this pipe was manufactured on the Isle of Man. I have restored a few pipes from the Isle of Man and Steve has restored countless pipes from there. In a recent blog post, Steve wrote the following:

My research on the origins of [this pipe] can be summarized like this: It was made with African Meerschaum from the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation and produced by Laxey Pipe Ltd. on the Isle of Man.Here is some information from Pipedia about meerschaum production on the Isle of Man:

Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipes Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distributed by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meerschaum from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipes Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.Despite the paucity of maker’s marks on my pipe, the style of the marks that are there leads me to believe that this is a Manx-made pipe. One major detail that made me harrumph a bit was the bamboo shank. I wasn’t familiar with Laxey making bamboo shanked pipes. Steve commented that the pipe was not unlike pipes from the Kaywoodie Mandarin line of bamboo-shanked pipes. Again, however, as far as I know, the Mandarin line never included meerschaum. Steve asserts, however, that Kaywoodie did produce a bamboo-meerschaum pipe. Here is an example of an unbranded bamboo meer found on eBay. Not only does the pipe have no identifying marks, but the seller had no information either.The combination of meerschaum and bamboo in pipes is certainly not unprecedented in the 21st century. For example, one can find some spectacular examples from Walt Cannoy, Ryan Alden, and the famous Turkish maker, Said Altınay. Here is a beautiful example from him:As a side note, Altınay’s website includes an interesting note on the history of bamboo in pipemaking. I provide a brief quotation:

Bamboo began appearing in briar pipe construction in the early 20th century. The earliest known pioneer of this style is believed to be Sixten Ivarsson, the Danish pipe-making legend, who introduced bamboo shanks in the mid-1900s as both an aesthetic and practical innovation. The concept soon spread, embraced by artisans such as Tom Eltang, Tokutomi, and Takahiro Hibi, who elevated the use of bamboo into a form of fine art. Its appeal was twofold: the natural lightweight strength and the distinctive, organic appearance. While traditional briar offered durability and familiarity, bamboo introduced character, contrast, and subtle resilience — giving each pipe a unique signature.

Obviously, the pipe I found is not on the order of a Cannoy, Alden, or Altınay! But I also feel comfortable in saying that this pipe is a lot older than those fellows’ pipes. I would be interested in hearing from YOU if you know more about the marriage of meerschaum and bamboo in pipemaking. Thank you kindly.

The pipe was in generally good condition and didn’t seem too challenging to clean up. There was a bit of scratching, etc. on the stem, but nothing serious. The bamboo shank was aged, but perfectly sound. Finally, the meerschaum bowl was well worn, but not bad at all.I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. Alas, I forgot to take photos of this step.

The inside of the shank needed to be cleaned thoroughly. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol.I didn’t sand the bamboo in any way, but I did rub it with some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the bamboo and gives a beautiful depth to it. I then buffed the shank with a microfibre cloth.I moved on to the bowl. The first step was to ream it out – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. Given the more fragile nature of meerschaum and the relative cleanliness of the smoking chamber, I only used a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel to clean things out. This was sufficient to ensure that all the debris was removed. My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim.I then cleaned the entrance to the bowl with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. This was done cautiously, as too much liquid can cause softening of the meerschaum. Due to my care, no such problems were encountered. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the bowl and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the meerschaum and provides a beautiful smoothness to it. As the photos show, I masked the darkened portion of the bowl with tape so as not to remove it while sanding. I rubbed some Clapham’s Beeswax Polish into the meerschaum and let it dry thoroughly. Then I buffed it carefully with a microfibre cloth. Ooo – what a shine! For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This bamboo meerschaum billiard looks fantastic again and I am delighted with the results. As I mentioned before, I might keep this for myself, but you’re welcome to reach out to me if you’re interested in acquiring it: kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅝ in. (142 mm); height 1¾ in. (44 mm); bowl diameter 1⅜ in. (36 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is ¾ oz. (24 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.