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Can this Danmore 3090 Be Brought Back to Life?

Blog by Steve Laug

Sometimes I look at a pipe we purchased and wonder what we were thinking when we went for it. That was the case with this Danmore 3090 freehand. We purchased it from an online auction in Los Fresnos, Texas, USA on 01/10/2018. You can see from the fact that it has been sitting here in a bag since 2018. When Jeff received it, the pipe was in pieces and he put it together for these photos. The bowl was intact with no cracks or serious nicks. The horn shank extension had come unglued and looked like it might have some delaminating happening on the long portion that held the stem. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank with the shape number 3090 followed by Danmore [over] Handmade Denmark. The stem had a rubber tube fit on the end that had originally been in the shank extension but was now stuck on the stem. The stem itself had been chewed or broken off and was probably missing at least ½ inch of its length. It still had the Danmore Logo on the top of the taper but that was all it had going for it. The bowl was thickly cake and there was a thick lava coat on the rim top obscuring the edges of the bowl. It had obviously been someone’s favourite pipe and had been smoked to death. The finish was filthy with grime and hand oils ground into the smooth panels and the sandblast making it all almost smooth to touch. It was impossible to know if the rim top was smooth or sandblast as there was so much tar on it. The inside of the shank that held the extension was filled with tars and oils and the inside of the horn shank extension was the same. Jeff got some good photos of the pipe before he did his clean up work and I have to hand it to him it looked pretty interesting. The question in my mind really was whether it was redeemable. The bones were nice but what was underneath once it was cleaned remained a haunting question. He took photos of the rim top and bowl and you can see what I mean by the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. It is so thick that it is flaking off in chunks only to reveal another layer! You can also see the broken off/chewed off condition of the stem in the photos he included. He included photos of the sides of the bowl and the contrasting patches on the bowl sides along with an interesting sandblast. The only thing that can be said is that the stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable as noted above and the Danmore D logo is very readable on the chewed off stem. You can also see the separation of the horn shank extension for the shank end in these photos. Lots of work to be done in the resurrection.The horn shank extension was originally lined with a Delrin or rubber liner to stabilize the horn from the inside. It would have been glued in place in the horn and not moved when the stem was removed. In the photo above and those that follow you can see that the liner piece has crept up the stem to where there is very little that is actually in the horn itself. I am hoping that once it is here I can work it off the stem and reinsert it in the horn again. We shall see.Jeff let the pipe fall back into its parts and took photos of it. You can see the bowl and its filthiness, the stem with the creeping rubber insert from the horn and the tired looking horn extension. In the second photo you can see the filth in the inside of the horn and into the shank itself… lots of work in cleaning it and not making things worse.I knew that the pipe was a Danish Made pipe but it has been awhile since I worked on a Danmore pipe. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-d2.html). There was a very short clip there with one photo of a pipe very different from the one I am working on. It simply states that the factory is closed and that the pipes are made by third parties. Not too much helpful information there that is for sure.I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Danmore) and was much more successful. The article is short and succinct but very helpful. I have included it below for ease of reference.

Danmore was founded by Hans Sørensen in the early 1970s, and produced pipes from that time until the early 1980s, at one point having up to 30 employees. The pipes were sold in the first Dan Pipe catalog. In the early 1980’s, however, production ceased in Denmark due to labor costs, and the company’s production was outsourced to Italy and Spain, and they began to also make pipecleaners and smokers articles.

Sørensen focused on the pipecleaner side of the concern, and eventually bought a share in the factory in the Far East making them. Today the company, owned by Hans’ sons Jesper and Lars Sørensen, no longer makes pipes, and instead makes only pipe cleaners under the name Danmore Hobby Aps, selling only to hobby and craftshops in Denmark and Scandinavia.

Hans Sørensen passed away in 2012. The Sørensen family continues to own the trademarks for the use of the Danmore name in relation to pipes, matches, and tobacco.

Now I knew that the pipe was made by Hans Sorensen and was made between the early 1970s and early 1980s when production ceased in Denmark due to labor costs. From that point on the pipes were outsourced to Italy and Spain. So, I guess the pipe was made during the 10 year or so window when the pipes were handmade in Denmark. All of that info makes me a bit more interested in resurrecting this pipe.

When it arrived here it was in a plastic sandwich bag and I promptly put it aside in a drawer of pipes to work on. Periodically I would take the bag out and dump out the parts and look it over. Everytime other than today I have just put it back in the drawer, shaking my head. I think it could be fixed but did I want to was the serious question that haunted me each time I looked at it. From 2018-2024 my answer was categorically, NOT INTERESTED! So, what changed today? Got me! Last evening, I took it out of the baggie and looked it over, put the pieces together and took some photos. Something about it caught my eye this time around and I wanted to see if I could bring it back to life. I sent Jeff a note and he sent me the photos above.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the horn shank extension and the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how good it looked. The sandblast rim top was clean and the inner edges aw also in good condition. The stain had faded some but it would not be too much to bring it back. The shank extension was very loose with nothing holding it in place in the shank. The stem was another story. The end had been either gnawed off or broken off and still smoked that way. It cleaned up well for sure – looked much better. It would need to be replaced.Though the photo below is a bit blurry the stamping is very clear on the underside of the shank. I removed the stem from the shank end and took a photo of the pipe and extension with the stem below to get a sense of what was there now.Now it was time to put the pieces back together again. For me this is the challenge that I enjoy. Will I be able to reconstruct the pipe back to functionality without changing the plan that crafted it originally? I love that challenge. In this case I decided to start with regluing and rebuilding the shank extension. I am very thankful that it was not delaminating. The horn was dry but still very stable which took away a very time-consuming part of the work. I worked on removing the old glue from the shank end and the tenon of the extension. I used a dental spatula and small blade to scrape the surfaces and then scrubbed them with 99% isopropyl alcohol and cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I also worked on the airway in the mortise of the briar so that the extension would have a very clean surface to bond with.Once the mortise was dried out I used some all-purpose white glue and painted the inside of the mortise and the tenon on the extension with it. I pressed the parts together and held them with pressure until the glue cured. Once it had hardened sufficiently to take the pressure off and wiped off the excess glue that had squeezed out with a damp cotton pad. I took photos of the pipe at this point. I cleaned up the Delrin/rubber ring that fit in the shank end and gave it a thin coat of all-purpose glue. I pressed it into the shank extension end and set it aside to cure. Once the glue hardened I polished the joint of the horn extension and the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the horn down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The horn began to take on a shine. I polished the smooth panels on the bowl sides and the horn shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the horn down after each sanding pads with Obsidian Oil. It began to take on a shine as I worked through the pads. I used a Walnut Stain Pen to touch up the spotty finish around the bowl and shank and on the faded rim top. It looked significantly better once the stain cured. The colour looked much better. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I went through my collection of stems to find one that would work on the pipe. The one I found is identical to the broken one. It has the same shape as the broken one with the fishtail button. It was about ½ inch longer that accommodated the broken portion of the stem. It would need to be cleaned up and polished but it was a good match.I cleaned out the internals of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. It smelled and looked much better.I started working on polishing the stem with my 320-2500 grit sanding pads. I was able to remove the scratches and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It looked much better at this point in the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. This beautiful sandblast Danmore 3090 Freehand with a horn shank extension and a military mount stem turned out very nice. It came together amazingly well – far better than when I began. The mix of brown stains highlights the grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and 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 Danmore 3090 Freehand is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store, in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Chonowitch Designed Stanwell Bordeaux 148 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table to work on is one that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a oval shank Canadian with a smooth finish and a thin brass band on the shank. It is another Made in Denmark Stanwell. The smooth finish on this pipe, around the bowl and shank has a mix of grain highlighted by the reddish brown stain. The pipe is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads STANWELL [over] Bordeaux. On the underside of the shank the shape number 148 is stamped [over] Made In Denmark. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish on the sides of the bowl. The mixture of brown stains highlights some mixed grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was an overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The condition of the inner edge was hard to know due to the lava coat. The saddle stem is vulcanite and was dirty, oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter and scratches on both sides ahead of the button and on the button itself. There is a brass Crown S logo inlaid on the topside of the saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top and inner edges. It is hard to know what the condition of the inner edge looks like. He also took some of the stem to show the condition of both sides. There are tooth marks on the surface of the stem ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was around the bamboo horizontally and is shown in the photo below. It is clear and readable as noted above. The second photo shows the white stamped crown S on the stem side. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Bordeaux Line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand. There were also links to a shape article by Bas Stevens that I originally published on rebornpipes. I looked up the 148 shape number to see who had designed that shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I quote the information below.

Canadian, short saddle mouthpiece by Jess Chonowitsch.

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. You can see the damage and the darkening on rim top and inner edge. The vulcanite saddle stem is in good condition with light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above. There are some deep tooth marks on the button surface as well.I took photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. The briar is quite beautiful and the dark and medium stains really make it stand out. I worked on the damage to the inner edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to bring the edge back into round and smooth out the scratches on the top. By the end it looked much better.I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the tooth marks on the surface and in the button edges. I used black CA glue and rebuilt the deep tooth marks on both side and on both top and underside button. I set the stem aside to cure. I used a small file to flatten the repair and to also cut the sharp edge of the button. I started sanding it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem surface and repairs near the button with a new product I am using. I ordered a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads from Amazon. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button. I polished the 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 Stanwell Bordeaux 148 Canadian with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The mix of stains once cleaned up really highlights the grain and the polished sandblast finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Stanwell Bordeaux 148 Canadian fits nicely in the hand and feels great. 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 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams / 1.09 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s Canted Dublin “Churchwarden”

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Blog by Steve Laug

It is a cold and overcast day here in Vancouver and I decided to work on a pipe that has been sitting here for many years. It was purchased on 12/17/2016 off an eBay auction from Somerset, United Kingdom. This is a canted bowl Dublin. The smooth finish on this pipe, around the bowl and shank has a mix of flame and straight grain highlighted by a brown and a green wash over the briar. The stamping is faint but readable. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] “Churchwarden”. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines). The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The mixture of brown stains and green highlights some beautiful grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was an overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The inner edge had some damage. The stem is vulcanite and was heavily oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is a stamped “P” logo on the left side of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the light lava coat on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. The inner edge shows some damage around the edge. Some spots it is nicked from what appears to be a reamer and others seem to be burn damage. He also took some of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the uniquely stained grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains and green wash adds depth to the finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was on the sides of the shank and are shown in the photos below. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the stamped P on the left side of the stem. I turned to The Peterson Pipe by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg, p. 313 to the listing under Specialty Briars. It says this is a term used to describe several lines. Here is the information on the Churchwarden.

Churchwarden (1945-) Long pipe with various smaller bowl shapes and a fishtail mouthpiece; smooth finish, rustic starting in1969, spigot in 2018.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. The rim top and inner edge cleaned up very well. There was some darkening and some roughness to the inner edge of the rim. The stem looks cleaner, but still has some oxidation (from sitting here since 2016). There are light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above.I took photos of the stamping on the shank. The stamping is faint but readable as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the flow and proportion of the pipe. It is a beautiful looking Churchwarden.I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the damage to the fill on the right side of the shank near the bowl. It is not deep but it looks like the fill has fallen out. It was quite clean and I used clear CA glue to fill in the area. Once the repair cured I will sand it when I am working on the bowl and shank polishing.I then turned to work on the damaged inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and round the edges. Once I finished it the rim top and edges looked much better. I also used it to smooth out the repaired fill on the right side of the shank at the bowl.I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the oxidized stem. I worked on it with Soft Scrub and cotton pads. I was able to remove the majority of the oxidation with the pads and polish. The stem is looking much better.I touched up the “P” stamp on the left side of the stem with white enamel fingernail polish. I applied it with a dauber and worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick. Once it had dried I scraped and sanded off the excess with a 1200 grit micromesh sanding pad. It looked very good.I worked on the remaining oxidation on the vulcanite stem surface and chatter near the button with a new product I am using. I ordered a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads from Amazon. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad.I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry. This delicate Republic Era Peterson’s Dublinesque “Churchwarden” with a vulcanite taper stem is a classic looking Churchwarden Specialty Pipe. The mix of stains once cleaned up really highlights the grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Peterson’s “Churchwarden” fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 10 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams /1.02 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

What an incredible beautifully grained Ivarsson Design Danish Made Stanwell 75

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Blog by Steve Laug

It is a cold day, but still sunny here in Vancouver and I decided to work on another pipe that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a Danish oval shank Freehand with a smooth finish and great grain. It is another Made in Denmark Stanwell. The smooth finish on this pipe, around the bowl and shank has a mix of flame and straight grain highlighted by the rich brown stain. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank next to the silver band and reads STANWELL [over] Made in Denmark. On the underside mid shank, it is stamped with the shape number 75. The end of the shank sports a silver band that is decorative. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The mixture of brown stains highlights some beautiful grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was an overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The inner edge looked quite good. The stem is vulcanite and was dirty, oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is an inlaid silver crown S logo on the top side of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the lava coat on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. The inner edge looks to be okay. He also took some of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the uniquely stained grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth to the finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was on the underside of the shank and is shown in the photo below. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the silver inlaid crown S on the top of the saddle stem. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Stanwell pipes with a simple silver band (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand.

There was also a link to a shape article by Bas Stevens that I originally published on rebornpipes. I looked up the 75 shape number to see who had designed that shape and there was nothing there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). The shape 75 is described as a Freehand, slightly bent, oval stem and mouthpiece, by Sixten Ivarsson.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. The rim top and inner edge cleaned up very well. There was some darkening on the left side and backside of the rim top. The stem looks clean but still has light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above.I took photos of the stamping on the shank. The stamping is readable as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the flow and proportion of the pipe. It is a beautiful looking Freehand. I started my work on the pipe by polishing the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I polished the silver band on the shank end with a jewellers cloth. It works to remove the tarnish and oxidation and also protects the surface from further tarnishing.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished the vulcanite stem surface and repairs near the button with a new product I am using. I ordered a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads from Amazon. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry.This Ivarsson Design Stanwell Made in Denmark 75 Freehand with a vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe and really looks like an S. Bang shape. The mix of stains once cleaned up really highlights the grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Stanwell Made in Denmark 75 Freehand fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 40 grams /1.41 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring another Truly Elegant Danish made Stanwell Brass Band 56 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

It is a cold but sunny day here in Vancouver and I decided to work on another pipe that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a classic Danish Canadian with a smooth finish and an oval shank. It is another Made in Denmark Stanwell. The smooth finish on this pipe, around the bowl and shank has a mix of grain highlighted by the rich brown stain. The pipe is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads STANWELL [over] Brass [over] Band. On the underside it is stamped with the shape number 56 [over] Made in Denmark. The end of the shank sports twin brass bands sandwiching a Cumberland acrylic spacer. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The mixture of brown stains highlights some beautiful grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was a moderate overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The inner edge looked quite good. The stem is vulcanite and was dirty, oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter and scratches on both sides ahead of the button. There is an inlaid brass crown S logo on the top side of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the lava coat on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. The inner edge looks to be okay. He also took some of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the uniquely stained grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth to the finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was on the underside of the shank and is shown in the photo below. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the brass inlaid crown S on the top of the saddle stem.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Brass Band Line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand. There was also a catalogue page courtesy of Doug Valitchka that showed the line. I have included that below.There was also a link to a shape article by Bas Stevens that I originally published on rebornpipes. I looked up the 56 shape number to see who had designed that shape and there was nothing there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). The shape 56 is described as a Canadian with a tapered stem.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. The rim top and inner edge cleaned up very well. The stem looks clean but still has light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above.I took photos of the stamping on the shank. The stamping is readable as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the flow and proportion of the pipe. It is a beautiful looking Danish Canadian.I started my work on the pipe by polishing the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished the vulcanite stem surface and repairs near the button with a new product I am using. I ordered a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads from Amazon. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad.I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry. This Stanwell Brass Band 56 Canadian with a vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe and really looks like an S. Bang shape. The mix of stains once cleaned up really highlights the grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Stanwell Brass Band Canadian 56 fits nicely in the hand and feels great. 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. The weight of the pipe is 35 grams /1.23 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

A Restored Stanwell Made in Denmark Black n’ Silver Lovat 98.

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Blog by Steve Laug

I moved on to work on another pipe. The next one I chose was another Stanwell in a Pipe Sock that came to us from our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark 01/26/2023. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the underside of the shank it is stamped ahead of the black and silver band and reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] Black ‘n [over] Silver. the right side of the shank it is stamped with a shape number 98 mid-shank. The end of the shank had a combination silver and black fancy band on it. The stem had a brass Crowned “S” Stanwell logo inlaid on left side of the saddle stem. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was some lava, dust and debris on the rim top and inner edges. The finish was in okay condition with oils and grime ground into the briar around the bowl sides. The acrylic stem has light tooth marks on the top and a bite through on the underside next to the button. It showed a lot of promise through the grime. Jeff took photos of the pipe as he saw it at this stage of his clean up. Jeff took photos of the bowl and the rim top to show their condition. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the heavy overflow of lava on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge because of the lava coat. The stem is also shown in the photos and you can see the bite through in the underside of the stem in the third stem photo below. He took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to show the amazing grain that stands out through the grime on the finish. It is a beauty! He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the band and Crown “S” logo on the stem side. There was not much information available on the Black’n Silver Line but I did find a listing on Google when I searched. Smokingpipes.com had on listed that was an Ivarsson design billiard (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/denmark/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=284389). I have included the description below:

We see it here in the ‘Black N Silver’ series, with a smooth, walnut finish, along with a neat, metal-accented jet-black stem. There are some dings and scratches around the bowl, but otherwise condition is good.

The best I can determine is that the Black ‘n Silver stamp refers to the colour of the band on the shank end. It has a combination of a black and silver pattern on the surface. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem to show how clean they were. You can see that rim top and edges look very good. There are some darker spots on the rim top that should come off with polishing. The stem is clean and there are tooth and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. On the underside of the stem there is a small bite through and wear that is visible in the photo.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and on the brass plaquette. The stamping is clear and readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of what the pipe looked like and also what the band was like on the shank end. I decided to switch things up a bit on this pipe. I started with the repair to the bite through on the underside of the stem first. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it into the slot under the bite through. This prevents the repair from seeping into the airway. I filled in the hole and wear around it with black CA rubberized glue. I filled in the tooth marks next to the button on the top side at the same time. I set the stem aside to let the glue cure. I sprayed it with an accelerator and removed the pipe cleaner from the airway. The airway was clear and the airflow was perfect.Several hours later I came back to the stem. The repair had cured and I used a small file to flatten out the repaired areas on both sides. I further smoothed out the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surrounding surface area. It was looking much better at this point. I polished the vulcanite stem surface and repairs near the button with a new product I am using. I ordered a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads from Amazon. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil.I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I started my work on the pipe by polishing the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I polished the black and Sterling Silver band with a jewellers cloth to restore the shine and remove the tarnish. It really glows now. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I am excited to put the finishing touches on this unique Stanwell Made in Denmark Black’n Silver 98 Lovat. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the brass plaquette and the polished vulcanite stem. This Stanwell Black’n Silver 98 Lovat is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.20 ounces/34 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting in the Danish Pipemaker Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

Breathing New Life into a Danish Design Stanwell Royal Guard 32 Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

The rain has stopped for the moment here in Vancouver and I am up early so I decided to work on another pipe that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a classic Danish Straight Bulldog with a mixed finish and a diamond shank. It is another Danish Design Stanwell. The finish on this pipe is smooth and almost a matte finish. The brown stains highlight grain. The pipe is stamped on the left underside of the diamond shank and reads STANWELL [over] Danish Design [over] Royal Guard in script. On the right underside of the shank it has the shape number 32 stamped. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The mixture of brown stains highlights some beautiful grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was an overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The inner edge looked quite good. The stem is acrylic and was dirty and had light tooth marks, chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is a stamped white crown S logo stamped on the top side of the diamond saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the lava coat on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. It is interesting that the bowl bottom is clean. The inner edge looks to be okay. He took photos of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the uniquely stained grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth to the finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was on the underside of the shank and is shown in the photos below. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the white stamped crown S on the top of the diamond saddle stem. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Danish Design Royal Guard Line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I did a Google search for the Danish Design Royal Guard 32 Bulldog. I wanted to find out why the additional stamp “Danish Design” was present. I found a listing on smokingpipes.com that I am including below.

Stanwell’s “32” Bulldog is an old shape, given a bit of a revamp back in the 1990s by Tom Eltang. The plumper style of bowl works wonderfully with the hard lines of the diamond shank, and its overall compact size makes it an easy choice when searching for that smoker to take with you wherever you go.

That pretty well captured the description of the pipe I have in my hands.

There was also a link to a shape article on Pipedia written by Bas Stevens that I originally published on rebornpipes. I looked up the 32 shape number to see who had designed that shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I quote that below

Two versions of this shape number:
a) Straight bulldog with a saddle stem; Stanwell’s first pipe shape (originally designed in 1942).

b) Bent Dublin-strawberry hybrid with a rounded rim and saddle stem, by Sixten Ivarsson. Redesigned by Tom Eltang in the early 1990s.

Further down the article there was this note on the shape 32a. I quote it below:

32: Poul Stanwell’s 32(a), the first shape designed for Stanwell, a classical straight bulldog, released in 1942. It was reworked by Tom Eltang and given a facelift in the 1990s.

Somewhere along the way in my reading I came across discussions on when the stamping changed from Made in Denmark to Danish Design. It is linked to the move from Denmark to Italy. I did a bit of searching for where I may have come across the information and found this discussion on Pipesmagazine Forum (https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/italian-stanwell.20233/). There was discussion on the change in locale and the change in stamp. I quote some sections of the discussion below.

Brief summary of Stanwell:
1942-1982 the family era
1982-2003 Rothmans International (absorbed by British American Tobacco in 1999)
2003-now Scandinavian Tobacco Group
Italian produced pipes began 01/01/10.

Essentially the whole issue boils down to perspective, either that of a pipe-collector or a pipe-smoker.

The pipe-collector is very interested in nomenclature, as well as timeframes of production periods. Such is the case with Pre-Transition Barling’s or Pre-Lane Charatans. There’s also a romantic side on the emotive level which invests heavily in tradition and mystique. These are important considerations of course, but has not much to do with the actual smoking qualities of the pipe itself.

The pipe-smoker simply wants a well-performing pipe and in this case I’d say the Danish Design pipes are pretty close to equal with the final years of Stanwell production, what I call the “decal era”.

Now I knew that the pipe was made after the move to Italy. It was an Italian Made Stanwell that came out after 2010. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. The rim top cleaned up very well. There is some slight darkening and some nicks on the smooth rim top. The stem looks clean but still has light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above.I took photo of the stamping on the undersides of the diamond shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. The briar is quite beautiful and the brown stains really make the grain stand out.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the rim top and the inner edges. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the top and the edges.I polished the smooth portions bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush to get into the two rings around the bowl cap. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks on the vulcanite stem surface near the button with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove them all. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry. This Stanwell Danish Design Royal Guard 32 Straight Bulldog and an acrylic saddle stem is a great looking pipe with a beautiful grain. The stain once cleaned up really highlights the grain around the bowl. The polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Stanwell Danish Design Royal Guard 32 Bulldog fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 40 grams /1.41 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Resuscitating Prince Charming

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is this charming Ropp Grand Luxe 49. It is another pipe in my ongoing “French Collection” and it comes from a group of pipes I purchased recently. I have a particular interest in French pipes and pipeworks, and I grabbed this one to restore since I thought it was quite handsome. This is an old timer with a few wounds and needs just a little help to come back to life. This pipe was made by the venerable French pipe company, Ropp. Ropp has been around for a long time and their early pipes are really quite wonderful. The markings on the left-hand side of the shank read Ropp [over] Grand Luxe. The right-hand side of the shank reads 49, the shape number. There are no other markings. This pipe shape is a prince – a shape I love. This is a really pretty pipe and feels very comfortable in the hand. The stummel is a very nice piece of briar and the stem is made of buffalo horn – which tends to suggest an older piece. The stem has a tenon made of metal – not bone – and a cork-lined mortise. I remember Steve telling me that the fact the tenon is in metal (instead of bone) suggests a date around World War II. The stem has a normal, wide button – not an orific button. This all fits the date quite well.From Pipedia, here is a very brief history of the Ropp company:

Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830–1907) acquired a patent for the cherrywood pipe in 1869. In 1870, he established a workshop to manufacture such pipes in Bussang, in the Vosges mountains. Around 1893, his business moved into the former mill of Sicard (part of the community of Baume-les-Dames in Upper Burgundy. The pipes were a big success in export as well. Shortly before 1914, Ropp designated A. Frankau & Co. (BBB) to be the exclusive distributor in the UK and its colonies. Probably in 1917, a workshop in Saint-Claude in the rue du Plan du Moulin was acquired to start the fabrication of briar pipes. In 1923, another small building in Saint-Claude, serving as a workshop for polishing, was added. Cherrywood pipes were the mainstay of Ropp until the company finally closed down in September 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises in 1994.I have been working on figuring out the dates of Ropp pipes, based on their logos. This is an ongoing project and I am far from done. However, the logo on this pipe suggests a date that in the interwar period.

On to the pipe: it was in decent shape, but it had a few issues. The stem had a few bite marks, top and bottom. It also has a natural hole in the horn. The stummel also had a few issues. The rim and the outside of the bowl had some serious scratches. There was lava on the rim and some minor scorching. The inside was pretty dirty too – it would need a thorough cleaning. The stem was first on my list. This stem has a stinger in it – and it was being quite stubborn about coming out of the tenon! I opted to warm the stem and stinger with my heat gun and this didn’t work, surprisingly. I stuck it in the freezer for 20 minutes or so and that didn’t work either. I went back to the heat gun and tried again. Ugh. I successfully managed to break the stinger. Obviously, this wasn’t great, but it’s hardly the end of the world. I took a miniature file, shaped like a cylinder and sanded the hole in the tenon. I wanted to open the aperture a bit and remove the rough metal. Came out perfectly. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It took an awful lot of work to get this clean! In fact, I also used some Castille soap and tube brushes on the inside of the stem. Not something I usually do. I built up the worm hole and tooth marks on the stem with some clear cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. I then sanded the adhesive down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely grain of the buffalo horn on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. This stummel was a bit of a mess inside, so I first decided to ream out the bowl. I used the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to eliminate as much as I could. I took the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there none.I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was considerable filth inside this stummel and it took a lot of cotton to get it clean. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes. One of difficulties I encountered here was that this pipe had a cork-lined mortise and it was in very rough shape. Despite my best efforts, the cork was disintegrating and could not be saved. I took a wire drill bit and, but hand, scraped out the remaining bit of cork with it. I used some Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads on the outside of the stummel. That removed any latent dirt that blighted the wood. I moved on to de-ghost the bowl. I thrust some cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. As the photos show, there were some rough scratches on the rim of this pipe. In order to remove them, I “topped” the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded down the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively removed the damage, without altering the look of the pipe.There were a couple of very tiny pinholes in the wood. I dabbed a bit of cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them cure. I sanded the repairs down with 400-grit sandpaper. I also sanded out the scratches with the same. I felt that this pipe’s wood needed some revivification. In order to accentuate the external beauty of this pipe, I opted for aniline dye. I applied some of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye. I applied flame from a BIC lighter in order to set the colour. I didn’t want to make the pipe black – I wanted the dye to accentuate the grain of the wood. So I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stummel to sand off the majority of the dye and then smooth the wood.I then added a coat Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye to act as a beautiful contrast. I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol to lighten it a bit. What a difference that made! It looked so much better with a fresh coat of stain. After that, I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm and let it sit for 15 minutes before polishing with a microfibre cloth. There is some beautiful wood after all. It is a lovely pipe! Before finishing up, I needed to address the mortise. Having removed the disintegrated cork, the tenon no longer fit in the mortise. Thanks to Steve’s advice, I fashioned a new cork lining from an old wine-bottle cork. I drilled out a hole through the middle of the cork and then used my Dremel to whittle down the cork until it fit – very tightly – in the mortise. I tested the tenon and it fit perfectly. I was delighted! Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood very attractive. This is a very handsome pipe and will provide many years of smoking pleasure. This is a wonderfully crafted pipe and has a very elegant feel to it. It took some work, but I am proud of it. 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 “France” pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the Ropp Grand Luxe 49 Prince are as follows: length 6 in. (153 mm); height 1½ in. (36 mm); bowl diameter 1⅝ in. (40 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅛ oz. (36 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this 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.

New Life for a Made in Denmark Stanwell Vario Straight Bulldog 32

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Blog by Steve Laug

The rain has stopped for the moment here in Vancouver and I am up early so I decided to work on another pipe that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a classic Danish Straight Bulldog with a mixed finish and a diamond shank. It is another Made in Denmark Stanwell. The finish on this pipe combines patches of smooth and sandblast portions. The brown stains highlight both the smooth and blasted portions. The pipe is stamped on the left underside of the diamond shank and reads STANWELL [over] Made in Denmark [over] Vario in script. On the right underside of the shank it has the shape number 32 stamped. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The mixture of brown stains highlights some beautiful grain and deep sandblast portions under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was a moderate overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The inner edge looked quite good. The stem is vulcanite and was dirty, lightly oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is a stamped white crown S logo stamped on the top side of the diamond saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the lava coat on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. It is interesting that the bowl bottom is clean. The inner edge looks to be okay. He took photos of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the uniquely stained grain and sandblast portions around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth to the finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was on the underside of the shank and is shown in the photos below. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the white stamped crown S on the top of the diamond saddle stem. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Vario Line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand. But there is nothing specific on the Varios. I did a quick Google search and came up with a link for Smokingpipes.com that had a description for a Vario (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/denmark/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=345545). I have included that description below:

Stanwell’s Vario finish is characterized by a dark-stained sandblast interspersed with smooth, lighter-stained briar. The dual tone and mix of textures are found here on this classic “32” Bulldog — a rendition that caters to lovers of pipe chart standards and offers versatile appeal in its convenient size and light weight.

That pretty well captured the description of the pipe I have in my hands.

Two versions of this shape number:
a) Straight bulldog with a saddle stem; Stanwell’s first pipe shape (originally designed in 1942). b) Bent Dublin-strawberry hybrid with a rounded rim and saddle stem, by Sixten Ivarsson. Redesigned by Tom Eltang in the early 1990s.

Further down the article there was this note on the shape 32a. I quote it below:

32: Poul Stanwell’s 32(a), the first shape designed for Stanwell, a classical straight bulldog, released in 1942.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. The rim top cleaned up very well. There is some slight darkening and some nicks on the smooth rim top. The stem looks clean but still has light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above.I took photo of the stamping on the undersides of the diamond shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. The briar is quite beautiful and the brown stains really make the grain and the sandblast stand out. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the rim top and the inner edges. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the top and the edges.I polished the smooth portions bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush to get into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks on the vulcanite stem surface near the button with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove them all. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I touched up the white stamp on the left side of the saddle stem with White Acrylic Fingernail polish. Once it dried I scrapped of the excess and sanded the surface until the excess was all gone.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry. This Stanwell Vario 32 Straight Bulldog and a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe with a beautiful combination of finishes. The mix of stains once cleaned up really highlights the grain and the depth of the blast. The polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Stanwell Vario 32 Bulldog fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 32 grams /1.16 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a Truly Elegant Danish made Stanwell Brass Band 179 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

It is a cold and rainy day here in Vancouver and I am up early so I decided to work on another pipe that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a classic Danish Apple with a smooth finish and a rectangular shank. It is another Made in Denmark Stanwell. The smooth finish on this pipe, around the bowl and shank has a mix of grain highlighted by the reddish brown stain. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads STANWELL [over] Brass [over] Band [over] Made in Denmark. Next to the Stanwell stamp it has the shape number 179 stamped. The end of the shank sports twin brass bands sandwiching a Cumberland acrylic spacer. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The mixture of brown stains highlights some beautiful grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was a moderate overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The inner edge looked quite good. The stem is vulcanite and was dirty, oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter and scratches on both sides ahead of the button. There is an inlaid brass crown S logo stamped on the top side of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the lava coat on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. The inner edge looks to be okay. He also took some of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the uniquely stained grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth to the finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was on the underside of the shank and is shown in the photo below. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the brass inlaid crown S on the top of the saddle stem.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Brass Band Line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand. There was also a catalogue page courtesy of Doug Valitchka that showed the line. I have included that below.There was also a link to a shape article by Bas Stevens that I originally published on rebornpipes. I looked up the 179 shape number to see who had designed that shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I quote that below and the connection between the 178 and the 179. The difference is in the bend of the stem. It is fascinating to see that design (at least of the mouthpiece) was by S. Bang.

Billiard, conical bowl, oval stem with panels, full mouthpiece by Bang.
Same as shape 178 but slightly bent by Bang.

Though it is listed as a Billiard I believe that is a wrong designation and should be noted as an Apple.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. The rim top cleaned up very well. There is some slight darkening on the back right side. The stem looks clean but still has light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above.I took photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint on the left portion of the stamping but it is still readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. The briar is quite beautiful and the reddish-brown stain really make it stand out.I started my work on the pipe by polishing the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks on the vulcanite stem surface near the button with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove them all. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I set it aside to dry.This Stanwell Brass Band 179 Apple with a rectangular shank and a vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe and really looks like an S. Bang shape. The mix of stains once cleaned up really highlights the grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. 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 Stanwell Brass Band Apple 179 fits nicely in the hand and feels great. 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams /1.69 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.