Tag Archives: Comoy’s Grand Slam Pipes

A Tale of the Rebirth of 3 Pipes – Pipe #3 – a Comoy’s Grand Slam Pipe 484B Billiard

Blog by Steve Laug

While this is the third and last of the trio I ended up finishing it second. The little panel prince has some added challenges that I was not expecting so it will actually be finished last even though I started on it second. Ah well the surprises of pipe restoring are part of fun.

Last week I received an email from a fellow named Stanley who had gotten my info from the local Pipe and Cigar shop. He wrote that he had a trio of Comoy’s pipes that needed to be worked on. Two of them were Grand Slam Pipes and one was a Tradition. We connected via email and he said he would drop them off this week for me to work on. I am including part of his email so you have a sense of what I would be working on. I am also including the two photos that he attached to the email for me to see.

Hey Steve,

I had recently the chance to talk to a very kind and excellent gentleman over at City Cigar; I unfortunately was never able to get his name. However I mentioned I was looking for some replacement stems and he gave me your info…

…The pipes in question are attached in photos, I’ve never done any sort of pipe restoration in my life but I have attempted to take the cake down with a pocket knife. If you’d do it, would you be able to do a ream/clean on the three, as well as deal with the stems?

If possible, I’d prefer to save the original stems by repairing them, but it seems to me that most people remedy this problem with a replacement stem. Whatever you think is best I will go with.

If you think that I’d be better off without the stinger insert in the shape 64, then would you be able to remove it? I’m afraid I’d break the stem if I tried haha.

The 484b also seems to have a crack starting near the “Comoy’s Grand Slam” part of the shank, where it meets the stem. Is it possible to deal with this?

That is all! Please let me know what you think!

Thanks! Stanley Last night Stanley stopped by and dropped off the three pipes. I took photos of pipes as there were when I opened the bag they were in. All three pipes were very dirty but the reaming had been started as noted in his email. The stems all had bite throughs on the underside. The bottom pipe in the photo below is a Grand Slam Pipe shape 64 Billiard. The stem has a 3 part C on the left side. The middle pipe is a Tradition 3591 Prince with 8 flattened panels on the bowl near the top. The stem also has a bite through and a missing divot. It also has a 3 part C on the left side. The top pipe in the photo is also Grand Slam Pipe 484B with a replacement stem that also has a bite through. The shank is also cracked on the left side.I decided to finish the last pipe of the trio while I waited for some stem repairs to cure on the second pipe – the Tradition Prince. I had left the pipe in the worst condition to work on last. It was another Grand Slam Pipe shape 484B or maybe 4846 as it is hard to read. It was in rough condition. The finish has a lot of dirt and dark grime ground into the briar but it appears to have some nice grain underneath all of that. I hope to be able to set that free with cleaning. It was probably a Comoy’s Billiard but somewhere along the way it had been given a replacement stem that turned it into a saddle billiard. The stamping is faint but with a light and lens reads COMOY’S [over] Grand Slam [over] Pipe. On the right side it has the shape number 484B(?6) next to the bowl/shank junction and that is followed by a very faint Comoy’s COM stamp that reads Made in London in a circle [over] England. There was a crack in the shank about an inch long on the left side extending into the Grand Slam Stamp. It is a hairline but is a definite issue. It appears that when it was restemmed the shank cracked. The pipe is dirty so it is not readily apparent. The bowl had been scraped but there was still a moderately heavy cake. There was an overflow of thick lava on the top of the rim and on the inner bevel of the bowl. The top and outer edge had been hammered and had a lot of damage. The replacement saddle stem was pitted and rough. There was a large bite through on the underside. This was the pipe I was the most worried about when I assessed the damage. I took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the overflow of lava on the rim top. You can see the thick lava and the damage to the inner and outer edge of the bowl. I also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the condition of the stem surface and the bite through on the underside. I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank. They are faint but read as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. It is a well shaped billiard. Once the stem was off I noted that tenon had a thick coating of wax as did the shank which made me wonder if that had cause the crack.I looked on Pipephil’s site for information on the Comoy’s Grand Slam Pipe and found the following information I have included a screen capture (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-comoy.html). The one I am working on is like the second one in the screen capture below. It has has a replacement saddle stem so there is no C on left side. The stamping on the shank is the same as the one I am working on.I turned to the article on Pipedia about dating Comoy’s pipes but the style of the stamping (https://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Comoy%27s_Dating_Guide#1917_to_the_end_of_the_1930.27s_.28at_least_1938.29). I have include the section in the screen capture below that date this pipe to the 1950s.

Now the Comoy’s stamp can be found in three variants in the 1950s

A simple block-letter style without serifs but with the C larger than the other letters and the apostrophe before the “S”.
A return to the slightly more fancy block letters with serifs and the apostrophe. (It seems that some grades carried different stamps, or at least that the stamping changed in different years for some grades.)
A simple block-letter style without serifs and without the apostrophe and with the “C” the same size as the rest of the letters. This stamp was probably not used very long.
A simple block-letter style without serifs but with the apostrophe before the “S” and with the “C” the same size as the rest of the letters.

Made in London England

Appears in two versions. This is again stamped in a circle with “MADE” at the top, “IN” in the middle, and “LONDON” at the bottom, with “ENGLAND” in a straight line beneath. It can be assumed that this stamp was first used in the export drive in the early 1950s. On a Bulldog Sandblast from the early 50s the Comoy name no. 2 above was used together with “MADE IN LONDON” over “ENGLAND”. There are no known examples of pre-WW II Comoy’s stamped in this way. The second version is the same as above but in a “rugby ball ” shape. This shape is verified on Comoy´s “Extraordinaire” pipes.

That article gave me some helpful information regarding the pipe that I was working on. I knew that the stamping and logos identified the pipe as having been made in following WW2 and from what I can see from the above information it is a 1950s era pipe.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2^nd and 3^rd cutting head to remove the remaining cake back to briar. I followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the remnants of cake. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. I rinsed it under running water and dried it off with a soft cloth. I was topped the bowl on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a topping board to smooth out the damage on the surface of the rim and reduce the damage on the edges. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the beveled inner edge of the rim. With the general cleanup finished I decided to address the cracked shank. I have circled the area of the crack in red in the photo below. I removed the stem and spread the crack slightly and used a tooth pick to put super glue in the crack. I pressure fit a thin band on the end of the shank to bind it together. The band allowed the glue to cure and the crack virtually disappeared. The band is thin enough not do obscure the stamping on the shank sides.I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank so as not to damage the stamping. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem repairs. I cut a piece of cardboard for a pallet, put aside two charcoal capsules, and set out the spatula and the Loctite 380 black CA glue. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the stem. I filled in the hole in the stem with a mixture of charcoal powder and Loctite. I used the spatula to fill in the bite throughs on all of the stems. I sprayed the repair with an accelerator to set the glue and removed the pipe cleaners from the stems. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the top side of the stem with black super glue and set the stems aside to let the repairs cure. I took a photo of the three pipes at this point to give a feel for where things stood. I smoothed out the repairs with a needle file and started blending them into the surface of the stem. I sanded the remaining repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend it into the stem surface. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This 50s era Comoy’s Grand Slam Pipe 484B Billiard with a replacement vulcanite saddle stem turned out to be a nice looking pipe now that it has been restored. I did a lot of work on the bowl and repaired the bite through on the stem. The rich browns and blacks of the contrasting stains came alive with the polishing and waxing. The thin brass shank band adds a touch of class to the pipe. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Comoy’s Billiard is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I am looking forward to what Stanley thinks of his repaired pipe. He had said the threesome were his favourite pipes. While this was the last of the threesome it pushed ahead of number 2 in the queue so there is one more to come! Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring another of Barry’s Dad’s Pipes – a Comoy’s Grand Slam Pipe 202

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Blog by Steve Laug

Late in the summer of 2017 I received an email on rebornpipes blog from Barry in Portland, Oregon. He wanted to know if I would be interested in purchasing his father’s pipes. He wrote that his Dad was a gracious, dignified and dedicated father, businessman and community leader for many years in Fresno, California where he was raised. He acquired his pipes when he gave up smoking cigarettes in the 1960s. There wasn’t an ounce of pretense in the man and he smoked his pipes for pleasure and as a pass-time while reading, enjoying company or watching sports on TV. Barry and I corresponded back and forth and concluded our deal. I became the proud owner of his Dad’s pipes. The inventory of the pipes he would be sending included some real beauties – Comoy’s, Parkers, Dunhills and some no name brands. They were beautiful and I could not wait to see them. I had him send them to Jeff where he would clean them up before I received them. Jeff took some photos of the lot as he opened the box. Each pipe was individually wrapped with bubble wrap and taped to protect them. There were 25 bubble wrapped packages and a lot of pipe accessories included – pipe racks, reamers, scrapers and Comoy’s filters and washers. There were pipe pouches and a wooden cigar box that held all of the accessories and reamers. There was a boxed KleenReem pipe reamer that was virtually unused. Jeff unwrapped the pipes and took pictures of the estate showing both the pipes and the accessories. Barry had labeled each pipe with a sticky note. It was an amazing addition to my pipe and tool collection. The next pipe I chose to work on from the collection was a Comoy’s Grand Slam Pipe, one of four Comoy’s pipes. It was also was missing the original stem but the shape of the bowl and shank were elegant. The shape was a classic Yachtsman or Zulu. The bottom of the shank was flattened and the pipe could stand on the desktop. The finish was dirty and filled with the detritus of years of use followed by sitting unused. The bowl was thickly caked and had an overflow of lava on the rim top. Even through the grime and grit you can still see the amazing birdseye on the sides and cross grain on the front and back of the bowl and the top and underside of the shank. Once more the presence of the replacement stem told me that the pipe had been a favourite and that the original stem had been either gnawed or broken and replaced. The new stem was well made and fit the shank perfectly. The pipe repairman had done a great job on the stem. I also had some use and was lightly oxidized and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem at the button. The surface edges of the button also had tooth marks that were present. This stem also had some calcification around the button as well that made me think that perhaps the stem had once sported a softee bit. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up. The photos tell the story better than my words can. He took some close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake and their condition. He also took photos to show the grain on the side, front and underside of the bowl. He also photographed the stamping on both sides of the shank to show what it read and the condition of the stamping. The left side is stamped Comoy’s over Grand Slam over Pipe. On the right side it is stamped with the Comoy’s Com stamp Made in London in a circle over England. Next to that is the shape number 202. There is no patent number on the shank and the markings of the leather washer size *5 on the underside of the shank at the shank/stem union. The replacement stem was oxidized as mentioned above and had tooth chatter and marks. Jeff took photos of both sides of the stem to capture their condition before he cleaned the pipe.I wanted to learn a bit more about the Grand Slam line. The pipe had originally come with a special stinger/filter apparatus screwed into the tenon. I found the following photos and info on the pipephil website. I include both the link and the following photos for your information. http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/comoy1.html The next photo shows the original metal filter system that was made to force “the air stream through a go-between space before entering the stem and the smokers mouth.” The stem that I have does not have the threaded tenon and thus cannot hold the apparatus. The photos below show the stem and the diagram of the system.I also wanted to have some idea of the date on this old pipe so I did a bit of digging on Pipedia. I found a helpful dating guide there. I found that the Comoy’s Grand Slam stamp on the shank dated it to the 1950s. At that time there were four variants to the stamping.

A simple block-letter style without serifs but with the C larger than the other letters and the apostrophe before the “S”.
A return to the slightly more fancy block letters with serifs and the apostrophe. (It seems that some grades carried different stamps, or at least that the stamping changed in different years for some grades.)
A simple block-letter style without serifs and without the apostrophe and with the “C” the same size as the rest of the letters. This stamp was probably not used very long.
A simple block-letter style without serifs but with the apostrophe before the “S” and with the “C” the same size as the rest of the letters.

Variant number 4 fits the style of stamping on this pipe. It is stamped with capital letters, block style without serifs and having an apostrophe between the Y and the S of Comoy’s. That helped me identify the pipe as coming from the 1950s.

The COM stamp (Country of Manufacture) is like the one in the picture to the left. The picture shows exactly what is stamped on the shank of this pipe. It is stamped in a circle with “MADE” at the top, “IN” in the middle, and “LONDON” at the bottom, with “ENGLAND” in a straight line beneath. According to the Pipedia article it can be assumed that this stamp was first used in the export drive in the early 1950s. Here is the link to the article: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s_Dating_Guide

Jeff did his usual stellar clean up job on the pipe leaving it pristine and without damage to the finish. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim and shank with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime of the smooth finish on the bowl and shank. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the dust and debris were removed the finish looked very good. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took some close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show their condition. The bowl was very clean and the rim top looked good other thank some light nicks and darkening. He had been able to remove the lava from the finish. The inner edge was in excellent condition and there was some slight roughness on the outer edge. The stem is lightly oxidized as can be seen in the photos and has small tooth marks near the button on both sides.I started with the stem on this one. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a Bic lighter and was able raise most of them even with the surface of the stem. I used some clear super glue to fill in the tooth mark on the top of the button that did not rise with the heat. Once the glue dried I sanded out the tooth chatter and the tooth marks next to the button on both sides and the repair on the top of the button with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish, both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I worked on the darkened rim and the small marks and nicks on it with micromesh sanding pads. I lightly sanded it first with 220 grit sandpaper and followed it up with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad to check on the progress. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the briar on the smooth finish to clean, enliven and protect it. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl is really beginning to stand out and will only do so more as the pipe is waxed. I put the stem back on the bowl and worked the pipe over on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond to polish the stem. I buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish to raise the shine on the briar and the vulcanite. I was careful to not buff the stamping and damage it. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The rich brown stain allows the grain to really stand out on this little pipe and it works well with the rich black of the polished vulcanite stem. This Comoy’s Grand Slam is a beautiful and interesting looking pipe. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 1 3/4 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 1/8 inches, Diameter of the chamber: 3/4 inches. This 1950s era Comoy’s is one that will fit well in any pipeman’s collection and add a touch of real class. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Bringing a Comoy’s Grand Slam 5 Straight Bulldog Back to Life

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on my worktable was a Comoy’s Bulldog. Personally, I think Comoy’s nailed the straight bulldog shape better than most others. It is a perfect bulldog shape and it is a pleasure to hold and smoke. The stamping on the left side of the shank reads Comoy’s over Grand Slam over Pipe. On the left underside of the shank next to the stem it is stamped X7. On the right topside it is stamped in the classic circle reading Made in London with the “in” in the centre of the circle. Underneath the circle it reads England. Further up that side of the shank is a number 5 stamped almost next to the bowl. I examined the C-inlay on the stem to see how it was made. I have learned over time and through research on these pipes that if it’s been applied in three steps, then it was made pre-1980. This one was indeed a three-step C-inlay. Thus I knew it was made earlier than 1980.

Like all of the pipes I work on, I took a moment to give the pipe a quick assessment. Before I even start the clean up and restoration I take time to look it over to make sure I see what I have to deal with on a particular pipe. The examination helps me to plan how I am going to address the issues on this particular pipe. The Comoy’s pipe was definitely in need of some TLC. The original finish on the Grand Slam Pipe line was rich and full of life. The contrast of dark stain that highlights the grain and the top coat of stain that varies from a rich red to a dark golden combine together to give a very beautiful finish. There were no major dents in the briar that needed to be addressed, though there was a small one in the shank near the stem junction on the sharp edge on the right side that could not be repaired. The briar itself was lifeless and faded looking dull and flat. There was some dirt and grime on it and particularly at the bowl shank junction. The rim had a thick coating of tars on top and some minimal damage to the inner bevel. The bowl had a light cake and seemed to have been reamed recently. It would need to be tidied up.

The stem was badly oxidized and had tooth marks on the top side and the underside near the button. The slot was partially plugged and would need to be opened.

I cleaned up the bowl with a wipe down of alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the dirt and grime and begin to soften the tars on the rim. I gave it a light sanding with 1500 grit micromesh sanding pads. Then I wiped it down once more with the alcohol and cotton pads. The buildup was just about gone. Just a little more scrubbing and the rim was finished. I lightly sanded the stem with a medium grit sanding sponge to loosen the oxidation and then dropped it in a bath of Oxyclean to soak overnight. In the photo below you can see the oxidation begin to run off the stem into the white bubbles of the Oxyclean mixture. The next morning when I took it out of the bath the mixture was yellow with the oxidation. I dried off the stem with a coarse cotton towel to remove the softened oxidation. The stem was much cleaner and black of the vulcanite was beginning to show. I put the stem on the shank and sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper followed by a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the oxidation that had come to the surface after the soak.

I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and then took the following photos of the stem to show the progress so far.

I cleaned out the deep tooth mark on the underside of the stem with a dental pick and then a cotton pad and alcohol. Once it was clean I used clear super glue to make a patch on the marks. I over filled the repair so that it would dry and not shrink too much requiring a second coat. I set the repaired stem aside to dry for the day while I was at work. After work I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and then with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. When the surface of the repair matched the stem material the sanding was finished. I then used a flat blade screw driver to unscrew the end of the stinger in the tenon. The cap on the end held a replaceable leather washer in place. Once the cap was off I was able to remove the washer. I then used a pair of needle nose pliers on which I have covered then ends with a thick wrapping of scotch tape. This provides a cushion when grabbing onto metal. The stingers in the Grand Slam were threaded and I heated the metal tenon until the goop holding it tight was loose. I turned it with the pliers until it was free of the tenon. With all of the parts removed from the stinger I cleaned it with a soft bristle brass tire brush to clean off the tars. I cleaned out the interior of the stinger with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I used the brass brush to also clean the threads on both ends of the stinger. When I had them cleaned I used coated the threads on the front of the stinger with a light coat of Vaseline to protect it and lubricate them when I turned the cap onto the end. I had cleaned it with some soap and warm water and then used the Vaseline to give it some life. With it all cleaned and lubricated I put it back together and set it aside while I cleaned the shank and the stem. I used the drill bit on the KleenReem pipe reamer to clean out the airway from the end of the mortise to the bottom of the bowl. It had almost closed off with the tars. The draught on the shank was very constricted. Once I had run the bit through it several time cleaning out the buildup the draught was open and unrestricted. I cleaned out the shank and airway with alcohol on cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. Once they came out clean the shank was finished and ready for the stem.

I cleaned out the stem with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs while I had the stinger out. I was able to remove all of the buildup in the stem and then put it all back together again. The stinger end was lubricated and then threaded back into the tenon. It sits quite deep in the tenon and has a small flange that sits against the tenon end. Here are some photos of the stinger in place in the stem.

I used a 1500 grit micromesh pad to further polish the aluminum of the stinger. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-4000 grit pads. Between the first set of three pads and after the second set I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. When it dried I buffed the stem with White Diamond on the wheel to polish the vulcanite. I brought it back to the worktable and gave it a further coat of Obsidian Oil.

I finished dry sanding with 6000-12,000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed the stem down a final time with Obsidian Oil and buffed it with Blue Diamond Plastic Polish on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. Between each coat of wax I buffed it with a clean, soft flannel buffing pad to raise the shine. The photos below show the finished pipe. It is cleaned, polished and ready for that next inaugural smoke.