Tag Archives: contrast staining

Bringing a Beautiful  Benaderet’s Smooth Poker/Cherrywood Back to Life

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a nice looking smooth finish Poker. We picked it up in 2018  from a fellow in Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. The pipe is a real mess with dust and grime ground into the finish on the bowl. There is a thick cake in the bowl and the rim top and beveled inner edge is covered in lava. The cake was so thick in parts of the bowl that it was hard to know for sure what the condition of the rim edge was under the lava. The finish appears to be a reddish brown or oxblood colour with dark highlights underneath. On the left side of the shank it is stamped Benaderet’s [over] Paramount [over] San Francisco. On the right side it is stamped Natural Grain [over] Made in England with the shank number 20 next to the shank bowl junction. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides just ahead of the button. There was not any stamping on the stem so it did not have any identifying marks. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the rim top and dust and grime in the finish. It was thick and hard and heavier toward the front of the bowl. Hopefully it had protected the rim and edges from damage. The lava is thick and scattered across the top and there is a buildup on the inner edge of the bowl.  The stem shows scratching, oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks on the stem surface and button. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish – the grime and grit all over the sides and bottom of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is very clear and readable as noted above.   From the Natural Grain stamping and the shape number on the shank I was pretty certain I was dealing with a Comoy’s pipe. The stamping Benaderet’s was a dead end and the shape number 20 seems to point to Comoy’s.

I did a quick google search for a Benaderet’s Pipe Shop and came on two good links. The first is from a post on reddit that included a quick bit of information on the shop being located in San Franscisco, California that closed in the 1970s. (https://www.reddit.com/r/PipeTobacco/comments/dzg3y8/any_info_on_a_benaderet_pipe_year_etc/ ). I quote:

Benaderet’s was a pipe shop in San Francisco that closed in the 70’s. Their house pipes were made by Comoys or Sasieni although smokingpipes had one made by GBD once. Good find.

The other link was to a blog (http://theothersideofthelizard.blogspot.com/2018/11/benaderets-pipe-shop.html). That blog gave the original address of the shop in San Francisco and the names of the owners of the shop.

Benaderet’s Cigarette, Pipe and Tobacco Shop
215 Sutter Street [Formerly at 566 California Street], San Francisco.
Owners: Robert and Edith Rashaw (Robert Rashaw: born 1916. Edith Edna Rashaw: born 1916.)

Store still extant in the late seventies. No longer there by the eighties. At one point, they had Egyptian cigarettes made for them. Their house pipes were usually by Comoys. There are also Benaderet Sasienis. More research required.

Quote: “Benaderet’s Inc. was California’s oldest pipe and tobacco store when it went out of business in 1980. Sam Benaderet was a tobacconist from New York City who came to San Francisco in 1915 to work at the Panama Pacific International Exposition. An immigrant to the United States from Turkey, Mr. Benaderet decided that he liked the West Coast’s Mediterranean like climate. After the Exposition closed, he stayed to open his own tobacco business. This new firm produced custom private-label cigarettes for men’s clubs. A lavish retail store was opened in the late 1920’s that quickly became a mecca for tobacco connoisseurs.”

So what I could find out about the pipe is that it is a pipe probably made by Comoys (The Natural Grain mark and the shape number points to this conclusion). It was made for Benaderet’s Cigarette, Pipe and Tobacco Shop in San Francisco, California. Since the shop went out of business in 1980 I now knew that the pipe was made before that time. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

This pipe was a real mess like many of the pipes we work on. I was curious to see what it would look like when I unpacked it. I was surprised at how good it looked. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked much better and the inner and outer edges were looking good. He had cleaned the internals and scrubbed the exterior of the stem and soaked them in Before & After Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked very good other than the tooth marks and chatter in the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it.   I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks very good. The beveled inner edge of the rim is clean and look great. The bowl is spotless. The stem is clean and has light tooth marks and tooth chatter.     I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show overall look of the parts. It is a nice looking piece of briar and the pipe will be a beauty.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down after each sanding pad. I decided to leave the few scratches in the briar and they would not steam out and they were minor enough to leave.  There were some light spots around the bowl and shank that I touched up with a Maple stain pen to blend into the surrounding briar. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl looks good at this point.     I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was in good condition and the light chatter and marks would be removed when I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine.  Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the Benaderet’s Cherrywood/Poker Paramount 20 pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the black vulcanite saddle stem contrasting with the colours of the bowl. The reddish brown stain on the Benaderet’s Paramount Cherrywood looks absolutely great. It is nice to know that it has a west coast tie to the San Francisco area and a long gone pipe shop. It must have been a fine smoking pipe judging from the condition it was when we received it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 36 grams/1.27 oz. This is one that will go on the British Pipemakers section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restemming and Restoring a No Name Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

This morning I received another call from a customer sent to me by the local pipe shop. The fellow had a pipe that needed to be restemmed. He said he would stop by and drop the pipe off for me to work on. Irene and I were out and about so he left it in the mail box. When Irene brought it down to me in the shop the smell was overwhelmingly strong and filled the room with the overly sweet smell of years of aromatic vanilla smelling tobaccos. It was in a plastic bag and once I opened the bag it was even more pungent. The bowl was filled with a thick cake that took over half the diameter of the bowl. There was tobacco debris stuck on the walls of the bowl. The cake was sticky and tacky with the tars and oils. The exterior of the pipe was cake with sticky substances around all the sides and on the rim top. The rim top had been beat up and was in rough condition with a thick buildup of lava on the top. The finish was in rough condition with a lot of nicks and gouges around the sides of the bowl and shank. It was really a mess. The stem was chewed and split in half at the button forward for about an inch up the stem. Once I removed it the inside of the shank was as smelly as the rest of the pipe. I took photos of the pipe before I began my clean up. I took a photo of the rim top to show condition of the bowl. You can see the damage to the top and the inner and outer edge. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat on the heavily damaged rim top. It is a very dirty pipe. I also took photos of the stem to show its condition. It has tooth marks and cracks on the top and underside of the stem near the button.  You can also see that the stem does not fit tightly against the shank but has gaps on both sides. I took the pipe apart and took photos of the pipe as a whole. It is in rough condition and I think that the stem was a replacement at some point in its life.The pipe stunk so bad and filled the room with the odor to the degree that I decided to clean the bowl before restemming the pipe. I reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer using three of the four cutting heads. I removed the cake back to bare walls so I could check for damage to the inside of the bowl from heat or otherwise. I scraped the remainder of the cake from the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and scraped the rim top at the same time. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I worked to get the thick grime off the outside of the bowl and shank. I rinsed it with running water and rinsed off the soap and grime. I cleaned out the shank and the airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to remove the tars and buildup in the shank. I wanted the shank clean before I fit a new stem.I built up the inside edge of the bowl and the damage to the rim top with super glue and briar dust. I layered the mixture on the rim and rebuilt the inner edge. Once I had it built up I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. Once I topped it smooth I stained the rim top with a Maple Stain Pen. I found a stem that was the same diameter as the ruined stem. I turned it on the PIMO tenon turning tool and my hand drill. I took the excess material off the diameter and the length of the stem to get a snug fit in the shank. I took photos of the fit of the stem to the shank. The fit of the stem to the shank end was the same as the previous one.There was a gap on both sides and it sat firm against the top and bottom. I examined the shank end and saw that it had been damaged and was no longer flat. I decided to square it up with a thin brass band as it would give a flat surface for the stem to face against. I glued and pressed it onto the shank end and set it aside to cure.   I used the Dremel and sanding drum to take down the excess diameter of the stem and sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had the fit correct I put the stem in place on the pipe and took photos of the fit and look at this point in the process.    I filled in the nicks and chips in the finish with briar dust and clear super glue. Once it had cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to remove the finish and the dust on the briar.  I restained the bowl and shank with a light brown aniline stain. I flamed it with a lighter and repeated the process several times until I had the coverage that I was looking for.Once the stain had cured I took the pipe off the cork and took photos of the stained look of the bowl and shank with the brass band.   I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to make the stain more transparent. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down between pads with a damp cloth. 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. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out.    I sanded out the scratch marks on stem from the Dremel with 220 grit sandpaper. 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 Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem.  This pipe has come a long way from where it was when I received it to restem. It is not flawless but it looks better. The Vancouver piper who it belongs to has received far more that what he originally wanted – just a new stem. The briar around the bowl is clean and looks better. The rich brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The rim top while not perfect is far better. I put the newly fitted vulcanite 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. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The pipeman will be picking it up soon and will be reintroduced to this pipe. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Repairing a broken shank on a Savinelli Liquirizia 920KS Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

On Tuesday this week I received the following email from a fellow here in Vancouver regarding repairing a couple of pipes for him. He wrote as follows:

Hi Steve… You were recommended to me by our good friends at City Cigar (Vancouver).  I have 2 pipes I’d love to have rescued – if possible!  Please let me know if you could be of service.  I’ve attached a few photos.

One is a Peterson 2018 Pipe of the Year, Smooth Fishtail.  Pipe is great – except there is an unsolvable (for myself) blockage in the stem.  I think the filter is damaged.

The other is an unfortunate Savinelli; the actual wood is broken, right at the connection between pipe body and stem.

Let me know your thoughts!  I’d love to regain these to a workable state if possible; they are lovely pipes.

Thanks kindly and best regards, Zak

He included pictures of both pipe for me. I decided to tackle the Savinelli first. Here are the photos that Zak included with his email. As you can see the shank is snapped with a clean break about ½ inch up the shank. Zak fortunately had the pieces of the broken pipe and delivered them to me. The break had not damaged the stamping on the pipe. It read on the left side Savinelli [over] Liquirizia. On the right side it had the Savinelli Shield S logo followed by the shape number 920KS [over] Italy. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Hand Made. The pipe had a beautiful acrylic stem with a white band on the end. The tenon was Delrin and had been drilled out for a Savinelli 6mm filter or a Balsa filter. The bowl had a moderate cake and some lava on the rim top. The stem and shank had tar and oils. I cleaned out the shank and the areas of the break and glued the broken piece back in place on the shank using clear CA (super glue). The photos below show the glued shank piece.  When I repair this kind of break in a shank gluing and clamping it is not sufficient to hold. As the stem is put back in place the break will happen again due to the pressure from the tenon on the walls. I have learned that a simple band will bind it together and add strength. I have some brass bands that I picked up online that are quite thin but have and end cap that works really well to bind it all together and strengthen the joint. I went through the bag of bands I have and found the one that fit the best.I sanded the repaired area smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repair into the surface of the briar. Once the repair was smooth heated the band with a lighter and pressed it onto the shank end against my topping board to press it in place. The band added stability to the repair.I filled in a few spots with clear CA glue and resanded them with 220 grit sandpaper. Once the repairs cured I wiped the bowl down with acetone to remove the spotty varnish coat that was on the rest of the bowl. I touched up the repaired areas with a Cherry stain pen to blend it in and prepare it for a further stain coat a little later.I reamed out the uneven cake in the bowl with a PipNet reamer and cut it back to bare briar so I could inspect the interior walls. I cleaned up the remnants of the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The walls of the bowl looked very good with no heat damage or fissures.I put a cork in the bowl and stained it with a dark brown stain. I flamed the stain to set in the briar and then repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage on the bowl. It did a great job blending the repaired area into the briar.   I set the bowl aside so the stain coat would cure overnight. Here is what it looked like in the morning when I brought it to the table.   I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to make the finish more transparent. I began to see the grain stand out.  I continued to wipe it down until I had the variation in colour I was looking for. The grain really stood out now and the brass band was a great contrast.   I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the bowl down between each pad with a damp cloth. The contrasting colours really came alive.  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. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out.    I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The photo below shows the polished stem.  This nicely grained Savinelli Liquirizia 920KS Bent Dublin with a thin brass repair band and a swirled acrylic stem is a great looking pipe. The briar around the bowl is clean and really came alive. The rich brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The grain really popped. The brass band binds the cracked shank repair and gives it a bit of bling. I put the acrylic 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. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Savinelli Liquirizia Bent Dublin is a beauty and feels great 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44grams/1.55oz. The pipe will be going back to Zak as soon as finish the second one. He will soon, so he can enjoy it again. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Reworking and Restoring a Kuhl Record Briar/Bakelite Dublin System

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an antique dealer on the Oregon Coast, USA back in 2019. It has been sitting here for a year. Jeff took photos in in February of this year. Now I am finally getting a chance to work on it. The pipe is a system pipe with a Briar Bowl, a Bakelite base and a vulcanite stem. The pipe was an absolute mess. On the backside of the briar bowl it is stamped with Bruyere [over] Garantie. The Bakelite base is embossed and reads Kuhl Record across the front of the base. The mix of stains were worn and spotty around the bowl but still showed the original orange and brown look even with the grime ground into the finish. It was very dirty with dust and debris ground into the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. The inner edge looks good but we will know for certain once the bowl is reamed and cleaned. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was heavily caked with a lava overflow on the rim top. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the calcification, oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button. He took photos of the sides and heel to show the fit of the bowl to the Bakelite Base as well as the condition of the pipe under the grime.  There were some large fills around the bowl sides that are visible in the photos below. Jeff took two photos to capture the stamping on the backside of the bowl and the front of the Bakelite base. It is clear and readable as noted above.    He removed the stem from the shank and the bowl from the base and took photos of the parts of the pipe. The shank is lined with cork that needs to be rejuvenated but is in good condition. The brand was not listed on either Pipephil’s site or Pipedia. So I googled the name on the web and also found no links.

I turned to the Smoking Metal.co website as I have found it to be very helpful on these mixed material pipes (http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=509). I checked the index page and found the Kuhl Record listed. It gave the following description as well as some photos of the pipe. I have included that below.

KUHL Record Bakelite shank, vulcanite stem, briar bowl. Length: 5 5/8″ height 1 3/4″ diameter of bowl 1 5/8″

This pipe was a bit of a mess like many of the pipes we work on. I was curious to see what it would look like when I unpacked it. I was surprised at how good it looked. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked better. The inner edge showed damage at the back side of the bowl. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better other than the light oxidation that remained and some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it.  I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks better but the burn damage is very evident at the back of the bowl. The stem has light oxidation remaining and some tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button.   I took a photo of the stamping on the front underside of the Bakelite base and on the back of the briar bowl. They read as noted above.   I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe. The threads on the right side of the Bakelite base are chipped but they do not affect the fit of the bowl to the base.I started my work on the pipe but addressing the cracking varnish finish on the briar bowl. I wiped it down with acetone and was able break down much of it.   I filled in the damaged fills with super glue and sanded the surface smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair. I sanded the rest of the bowl at the same time and evened out the finish. I forgot to take photos of the bowl before I stained it but that is the process. Once it was smoothed out I stained it with a dark brown aniline stain and flamed it to set it in the briar.  Once the stain had set in the briar I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads to make the stain more transparent an to raise a shine on the briar. I wiped it down with a damp cloth  after each pad.  I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain and the separate finishes really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the Bakelite Base. I greased the cork in the shank with Vaseline Petroleum Jelly to enliven and give it back its flexibility.  I rubbed the Bakelite down with Before and After Restoration Balm to rejuvenate it as well as clean and protect it. I put the base aside with the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I built up the damage to the stem surface with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I smoothed them out with 220 sandpaper to blend them in and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.    I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine.   Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond. 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl, Bakelite base and vulcanite stem look like with the wax and buff. This richly stained Kuhl Record Bruyere Garantie is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ¼ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 46 grams/1.62 oz. This is one that will go on the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Reworking and Restoring a Jura Scoop Made for The Tinder Box

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an antique dealer in Pocatello, Idaho, USA back in 2018. It has been sitting here for 2 years. Jeff took photos in December of that year. Now I am finally getting a chance to work on it. The pipe is an interesting scoop shaped pipe with worm trail rustication lightly carved around the bowl. The shank had a repair band that was damaged and poorly fit on the shank and had been hammer on the shank end. Because of the damage to the band the stem did not seat correctly against the shank. The pipe was an absolute mess. On the underside of the shank it is stamped with the The Tinder Box [arched over] Jura. The mix of stains had faded around the bowl but still showed the original orange brown look even with the grime ground into the finish. It was very dirty with dust and debris in the valleys of the rustication. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top that is heavier on the back of the bowl. The inner edge appears to have some burn damage on the back side but we will know for certain once the bowl is reamed and cleaned. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was heavily caked with a lava overflow on the rim top. You can see that there appears to be some burn damage on the back inner edge of the bowl. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the calcification, oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button.  In person the tooth marks are far deeper than they look in the photos.  He took photos of the sides and heel to show the worm trail style rustication around bowl. There appears to be some nice grain under the grime.  Jeff took two photos to capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.   The repair band covered a portion of the stamping and you can see the damage on the outer edge of the band.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t6.html) to see if I could find a listing for a Jura pipe made for The Tinder Box. There was nothing specifically listed for Jura on the site so I turned to the section on Tinder Box pipes. It appears that The Tinder Box had many different pipe makers craft pipes for them. The section did not include the Jura. I have included the screen capture of that section below. Pipedia gives a short history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jura) that is well worth reading.

Jura, was the name of the region of France where St. Claude is located, is a name that has graced many pipes by many makers, including Alpha, who made a Jura line for The Tinder Box, and Chacom, who still makes a Jura line of pipes. The brand Jura, however, was made by André Lançon, who built a factory in 1926 later acquired by Ropp.

That got me a little closer on the nomenclature of this pipe and lists several other makers that turned out pipes for The Tinderbox. I wonder if this shape was made for Tinder Box by Alpha.

This pipe was a bit of a mess like many of the pipes we work on. I was curious to see what it would look like when I unpacked it. I was surprised at how good it looked. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked better. The inner edge showed damage at the back side of the bowl. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better other than the light oxidation that remained and some light tooth marks and chatter on the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it.  I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks better but the burn damage is very evident at the back of the bowl. The stem has light oxidation remaining and some tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button.     I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The Jura stamp is readable and the arched The Tinderbox is faint but readable.I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe. The band was damaged and with some effort I was able to remove it from the shank. There was a hairline crack on the right side of the shank that did not go to far up the shank. I cleaned up the shank end with acetone and fit a new thin brass band on the shank end. Another feature of the thin band is that it did not cover The Tinder Box stamping as the other one had.  I sanded around the shank end to clean up the darkening using a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once I finished that I used a black Sharpie pen to colour in the worm trails around the bowl. They are dark in the following photos but will blend in better when I have completed the pipe. I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on a cotton pad and then topped the bowl to remove the damage to the rim top. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper on a board to give me a smooth hard surface to work on. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads to raise a shine on the briar. I wiped it down with a damp cloth  after each pad. I used a Maple Stain pen to touch up the faded areas around the sides and rim top of the bowl. The colour was a perfect match to the rest of the briar and the pipe was beginning to look very good.   I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain and the separate finishes really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set it aside and worked on the stem. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I built up the damage to the button surface with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I smoothed them out with 220 sandpaper to blend them in and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.   I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine.   Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a heavier touch 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained The Tinder Box Jura Scoop is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.38 oz. This is one that will go on the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restoring a Beautiful Sandblasted Bari Squash 7930 Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an antique mall in Bozeman, MT, USA back in 2018. It has been sitting here for 2 years. Jeff took photos in December of that year. Now I am finally getting a chance to work on it. The pipe is a classic pot shaped sandblast pipe with almost a Dunhill Shell Briar Brown and Black finish with highlights of red. The pipe was an absolute mess which probably accounted for how we ended up purchasing it for a fair price. On the underside of the heel and shank it is stamped with the Bari [over] Squash followed by Made In Denmark followed by 7930. The mix of stains makes the sandblast look multidimensional even with the grime ground into the finish. It was very dirty with dust and debris in the valleys of the sandblast. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top that is heavier on the back of the bowl. The edges look to be in good condition as far as we can tell until we clean up the pipe. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stem had a damage white Bari stamp on the left side of the saddle. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was heavily caked with a lava overflow on the rim top. You can see that it is heavier on the back inner edge that the rest of the bowl. The inner and outer edges look very good. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button.  In person the tooth marks are far deeper than they look in the photos.  Jeff took two photos to capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.  I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) to see if I could find a listing for the Bari Squash with this four digit number. There was nothing specifically listed for this line of Bari pipes. There was also good info on the brand as a whole and that it was founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and he ran it until 1978 when Age Bogelund managed the production for them. In 1993 it was sold to Helmer Thomsen. Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari) that is well worth reading. There were also examples of the Bari pipes showing their stamping.

This pipe was a bit of a mess like many of the pipes we work on. I was curious to see what it would look like when I unpacked it. I was surprised at how good it looked. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked very good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better other than the light oxidation that remained and the deep tooth marks and chatter on the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it.  I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks very good and the bowl is spotless. The stem has light oxidation remaining and some tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button.   I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The BARI SQUASH stamp is faint but readable but the rest of the stamp is very clear. I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe. The cleaning had left behind some light spots that needed to be blended into the rest of the bowl. I used a combination of Black and Walnut Stain Pens to touch up the finish on the bowl and rim top.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain and the separate finishes really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set it aside and worked on the stem.  I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on the surface of the stem and was able to lift them significantly. I filled in the remaining spots with black super glue. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out with a file/rasp to bend them into the surface. I further smoothed them out with 220 sandpaper to blend and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I scrubbed the remaining oxidation with Soft Scrub cleanser an was able to remove most of it. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine.    Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a heavier touch with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained Bari Squash Sandblast 7930 Pot is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy breaking it in for yourself. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¼ 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 45grams/1.59oz. This is one that will go on the Danish Pipemakers section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

A Farewell to my Work Buddy Spencer – A Comoy’s Extraordinaire 804 Rusticated Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The pipe on the work table now came to us from one of Jeff’s pipe hunts on the Oregon Coast back in 2018. It turns out that it is the last pipe that I will have worked on with my Supervising Buddy Spencer, my Black and Tan Cocker Spaniel. While I was working on the rim top this morning he slipped over the rainbow bridge curled at my feet in his usual place. I will miss his presence and his wet nose nudging me for a treat…

This is a big pipe at 9 ½ inches long and 2 ½ inches tall. It is stamped on the heel of the bowl and reads Comoy’s [over] Extraordinaire followed by the shape number 804. It is a handful that is for sure. The deeply rusticated finish has a beauty of its own. It is a dirty pipe with a lot of dust and debris deep in the rusticated grooves of the rustication. The rim top is covered in a coat of lava overflowing from the thick cake in the bowl. When you realize how big the bowl is and then see that the cake fills in over half of the bowl you can see how thick it is. The cake is rock hard and will be a bear to ream out. It is hard to know the condition of the inner edge but the front outer edge has some damage from being knocked hard on something to remove the dottle from the bowl. The stem is probably a replacement and does not have an inset C on the side or topside. It is an old one in that it has the same feel as the Solid Rubber stems. It is oxidized, calcified and has deep tooth marks on the underside near the button and chatter on the top side. It will be an interesting looking pipe once it is cleaned up. Jeff took these photos before he started his cleanup work.The next photo Jeff took gives a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava on the rim top. It is one well-loved pipe and the previous pipeman must have smoked it all the time. It is a good sign that it is a great smoker. He also took photos of the stem to show the oxidation and the toot marks on the surface. The top side is in better condition than the underside.  He took photos of the sides and heel of the pipe to show the overall condition of the finish on the bowl. It is a deep swirling rustication. The next photo shows the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It reads as noted above. The stamping is readable but the Extraordinaire and shape number 804 are faint.I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-comoy.html) to look up the Extraordinaire line. I did a screen capture of the second on the line and have included it below. The sidebar on the left of the picture below reads: The “Extraordinaire” designation was given to either oversized pipes or to unusual pipes. This pipe fits both designations – it is large and it is unusual.I turned to Pipedia’s section on Comoy’s (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s). It gives a great history of the brand and toward the bottom of the page it had the picture below. It shows a contrast between the Extraordinaire 804 and a Group 4 sized Dunhill 120 for comparison. The caption below the photo says that this pipe is a 1930’s Comoy’s pipe.

1930’s Comoy’s 804 Extraordinaire shown with a 1965 Group 4 sized Dunhill 120 (which is the equivalent of a Group 5 size today) for size comparison – Courtesy of Mike Ahmadi.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. 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 soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The rim top had some slight darkening on the back of the bowl and some damage to the inner edge on the back. The outer edge is rough on the front and the right side from knocking the pipe against something hard. It is hard to know if the rim top was rusticated or smooth from the damage on it. The back rim top looks like it may have been rusticated. The stem surface had deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.   I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is tapered. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the inner edge and the rim top with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to minimize the damage.  I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage to the rim top and outer edges of  the bowl. I used some clear super glue and briar dust to rebuild the front outer edge and the right side edge and then retopped the bowl. With the top and rim edge cleaned up I used my Dremel and the burrs shown in the photo below to rusticate the rim and try to approximate what was visible in the photos above. I finished the rustication with the wire brush on the Dremel as well. When I had it way I wanted I stained it with three stain pens mixed together to give the stain depth – Black, Walnut and Maple. The second photo below shows the rim top. What do you think? I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the rim top, bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.     I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the top and underside with black super glue and set the stem aside to let the repairs cure. Once the repair cured I used a rasp and a small file to flatten the repairs and recut the button edge on both sides. I sanded the stem smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to further blend them into the surrounding vulcanite. I started polishing with 400 grit wet dray sand paper. It was in very good condition so 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 restoration is for you Spencer, my fellow curmudgeon and friend… I already miss you greatly and find myself looking over where you used to lay and reaching for a treat and a rub behind your ears… The pipe is a big one with a big personality just like yours buddy. It is a Comoy’s Extraordinaire 804 Bent Billiard with a vulcanite taper stem. It is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and lightly buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Extraordinaire is a real handful and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 9 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of this pipe is 43g/1.52oz. This is one is a keeper and will go in my rack in memory of my old boy… Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Breathing Life into a BBB Natural Grain 01 Zulu

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from a pipe hunt that Jeff and his wife recently did in Utah, USA.  The pipe is a classic Zulu shape pipe. The pipe was an absolute mess which probably accounted for how it ended up where it was at a fair price. On the top of the shank it is stamped with the BBB Diamond Logo [over] Silver Grain. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 01. The stain is a mix of browns that makes me wonder about the Natural Grain stamping on the pipe. The finish was very dirty making it hard to see beyond that to the grain that pokes through underneath. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a thick overflow of lava onto the rim top and edges. It was hard to know at this point the condition of the rim edges. The stem was oxidized and there were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides just ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. The stem had a stamped BBB Diamond logo on the topside of the taper. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below.   Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was thick and hard cake with an unbelievably thick lava overflow on the rim top and edges. Hopefully it had protected the rim and edges from damage. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the scratching, oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button. The tooth marks are quite deep on both sides of the stem.     Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish – the grime and grit all over the sides and bottom of the bowl. The finish so dirty it is hard to see the grain but it is present nonetheless.  Jeff took photos of the stamping on the top and right side of the shank. It is very clear and readable as noted above.    This pipe was a real mess like many of the pipes we work on. I was curious to see what it would look like when I unpacked it. I was surprised at how good it looked. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked much better but had some darkening that I would need to deal with. The inner edge showed some significant damage and outer edges looked good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better other than some light oxidation and the tooth marks and chatter in the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it.  I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks better than before and the damage is very obvious to the rim top and the inner edge. The bowl is spotless. The stem has some deep tooth marks on both sides and the button itself. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.  I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe. I was surprised to see a rather large stinger. I would be removing that and not putting it back. If the new owner wants it I will include it in the package with the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by cleaning the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had it cleaned up I topped the bowl on a topping board to remove the damage to the rim top. It also helped to minimize some of the damage to the inner edge. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded the bowl and rim top with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. The briar really took on a shine by the final pads.   I touched up the rim top with a Maple stain pen to match the rest of the briar around the bowl. Buffing and polishing would blend it in further.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain and the separate finishes really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 10-15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set it aside and worked on the stem. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I started by heating the stinger with a lighter and carefully turning it out of the tenon. It was pressure fit so the heat loosened the tars that held it fast and I was able to remove it. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift them as much as possible. I filled in the remaining tooth dents and marks with Black Super Glue and set it aside for the repairs to cure. Once they cured I flattened them with a file. I cleaned up the repaired areas with 220 sandpaper to blend the repairs into the surface of the stem. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.  I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine.   I used some Rub’n Buff Antique Gold to touch up the brass/gold colour in the BBB Diamond logo on the topside of the stem. I rubbed it in and rubbed it off leaving the gold behind in the stamp.   Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a heavier touch 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained BBB Natural Grain 01 Zulu must have been a fine smoking pipe judging from the condition it was when we received it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions 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 25grams/.88oz. This is one that will go on the British Pipemakers section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

 

Cleaning up a new brand to me – a Mullins & Westley Covent Garden 45 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an online auction from Ancram, New York, USA.  It is a bent Billiard that is stamped on the left side of the shank and read Mullins and Westley LTD. [arched over] Covent Garden [over] London. On the right side it is stamped Westleys [over] Covent Brand. On the underside of the shank the shape number 45 was stamped near the shank end. The finish was very shiny and the varnish was nicked and scratched on the sides and heel of the bowl. The varnish on the rim top was peeling on the inner edge of the bowl. The bowl was heavily caked and there was a light and spotty lava overflow on the rim top. The inner and outer edges of the rim appeared to have no damage. The taper stem had a W stamped on the left side. It had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.   He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and tobacco debris as well as the spotty lava coat on the top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks on the topside and underside near the button.  Jeff took a photo of the heel of the bowl to give a picture of the condition of the finish on the pipe. You can seep the nicks and spots where the varnish is damaged. There is some nice grain under the varnish coat.The stamping on the sides of the shank is clear and readable and read as noted above. Since I had never heard of the Mullins & Westley Brand or as the right side of the shank read the Westleys Covent Brand I turned to Pipephil’s site to see if I could garner any helpful information on the company and the maker. I found a listing for the brand and actually learned that it was a tobacco shop in Covent Garden, London (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m8.html). I have included a screen capture of the section the brand. I quote a note that appeared in the sidebar.

Brand of the Covent Garden tobacconist who also blends its own pipe tobacco. Address: 27A The Piazza, Covent Garden, London WC2E 8RDI turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/British_Pipe_Brands_%26_Makers_M_-_Q) and found the listing for the brand. There was not an article but it did confirm the information on PipePhil’s site. I quote:

Mullins & Westley Tobacconists; 27A The Piazza, Covent Garden, London. Today probably most famous for their snuff tobaccos. Private label pipes made by various European brands.

I googled the shop and found that it had a website that no longer worked. There were photos of the shop that others had collected. I saved one from Flicker that captured the essence of the small shop. It reminds me of some of the shops that I visited in York, Bath and Cambridge on a trip to England. Here is the link to the photo and the photo as well (https://c1.staticflickr.com/7/6181/6056846779_698d27c9f9_b.jpg).Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it 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 soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.   The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top and edges of the bowl show the peeling varnish coat. It is hard to see in the photos above but the entire bowl has the same issue. The stem surface looked very good with very light tooth marks and chatter on the top and the underside near the button. The stamping on the left side of the shank is clear and readable. It reads as noted above. I would need to touch up the W stamp on the stem side.   I removed the taper stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. There was an aluminum stinger in the tenon that I would need to remove.Now it was time to work on the pipe. When I have to deal with removing a peeling varnish coat I always move forward with a bit of fear and trepidation as I have learned the hard way that you never know what will be underneath the varnish. A shiny coat often hides a multitude of surprises. I went ahead and scrubbed the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish. It took some work but it came off pretty well. I was surprised that actually there were only a few small fills in the briar. I breathed a sigh of relief!  Once I had the coat of varnish removed I wiped the bowl down with a clean pad and some more acetone to remove the debris of varnish that was left behind on the briar. I took photos of the briar to show that the pipe was actually quite nice under the varnish coat. I decided to stain the bowl with a Cordovan aniline stain. I applied the stain with a dauber and flamed it with a lighter to set the stain in the briar. I repeated the process until the coverage was what I wanted. I set the bowl aside to let the stain cure.I wiped the briar down with alcohol on cotton pads to remove the excess and to begin the process of bringing the grain to the surface so it is more visible.  I buffed the pipe with red Tripoli on the buffing wheel and removed some more of the top coat of stain on the bowl. The grain is starting to really come alive. I wanted the stain to be a bit more transparent and make the grain pop. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. There is a fill on the lower left side and the upper right side that stood out a bit but that was the extent of the visible fills.      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 ten minutes and then buffed it with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive and the finish looked rich. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I touched up the W stamp on the left side of the stem with Liquid Paper. I scraped off the excess material with my fingernail and buffed around the stamp with cotton pad.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.  This Mullins & Westley Ltd Covent Garden 45 Bent Billiard is a great looking pipe now that it has been stripped and refinished. The smooth finish around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights the grain and works well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. The fills on the sides of the bowl are less visible after polishing. 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 Westley Covent Garden Bent Billiard 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe was 47g/1.66oz. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!  

Restoring a Large Ben Wade Martinique Freehand Sitter

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us from a recent pipe hunt Jeff and his wife Sherry did in Utah. They picked this beauty up at an Antique Mall along the way of the hunt. Even though the finish was dull and lifeless it showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Ben Wade in script [over] Martinique [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The finish is filthy with grime and oil ground into the smooth briar of the bowl and shank sides. There were flecks of white paint on the sides as well. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava on the plateau rim top filling in the grooves and valleys of the finish. The acrylic stem was dirty and had some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show its overall condition before he started his cleanup work.He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava on the plateau finish of the rim top. There is dust and debris stuck to the walls of the bowl clearly visible in the photos. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the grime.    He took photos of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I remembered a bit of history on the brand that thought that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement.

Ben Wade Ad in a Tinder Box catalog, courtesy Doug Valitchka

I quote the portion of the article that summarizes the Danish period of the history of the brand:

Young Copenhagen master pipemaker Preben Holm had made a meteoric career heading a pipe manufacture employing 45 people at the age of 22! But around the turn of 1970/71 he was in major financial difficulties. His US distributor, Snug Harbour Ltd. in New York City, left him in the lurch. Holm had three unpaid invoices on his desk and another large shipment was ready for the USA, when Snug Harbour’s manager told him on the phone that there was no money at all on the account to pay him.

So the Dane went to New York for an almost desperate search for a new distribution partner. He made contacts with Lane Ltd. and met Herman G. Lane in February 1971. Lane Ltd. had no interest in Holm’s serial pipes produced at that time but so much the more in the hand-carved freehands because the hype for Danish freehands and fancies in the States was still on its way to the climax then. The meeting resulted in an agreement to start a cooperation. Lane insisted to improve the quality considerably and in return he assured to be able to sell essentially larger quantities.

Holm went back home to work on new samples with all-new designs and altered finishes for Lane. Both, Lane and Holm, agreed that it would be unwise to sell the pipes under Preben Holm’s name as long as Snug Harbour had a considerable stock of Preben Holm pipes and might sell them pipes at very low prices just to bring in some money.

So on Mr. Lane’s proposal it was determined to use the name Ben Wade belonging to Lane Ltd. Lane spent considerable amounts of money for advertising the new brand in the big magazines– the centerpiece being whole-page ads showing a very exclusive Seven Day’s Set.

The cooperation with Lane Ltd. proved to be an eminent business success for both partners. Within a very short time Ben Wade Handmade Denmark sold in much larger quantities and at higher prices than they had ever dreamed of. And the hype these freehands and fancy pipes caused went on unbroken long after Herman G. Lane deceased. Preben Holm – obviously much more brilliant in pipe making than in pipe business – was in major troubles again in 1986 and had to sack most of his staff. The Ben Wade production was significantly lowered but continued until his untimely death in June of 1989.

Up to now Preben Holm made Ben Wade pipes are cult and highly sought for on the estate markets.

With that information my initial thoughts were confirmed. This pipe was a Preben Holm made Freehand distributed in the US by Lane Ltd under the name Ben Wade. The freehand rage occurred in the late 70s and the pipes were made until Preben’s death in 1989. My guess would be that this pipe was made sometime during that time period and potentially in the late 70s.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. 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 stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.   The rim top had some darkening on the back of the bowl. The beveled inner edge of the rim looked very good with some darkening. The stem surface looked very good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.    I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read clearly as noted above.  I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is turned fancy acrylic. I started my work on the pipe by cleaning up the darkening on the inner bevel of the plateau rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the darkening and I like the looks of the rim top.  I touched up the black stain in the valleys of the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a Black stain pen. I would use the micromesh pads to knock off any of the black on the high spots when I polished it.    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 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 and into the plateau rim top with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.   I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks from the surface of the acrylic with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.   I polished the acrylic 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 Ben Wade Martinique Freehand Sitter with a fancy, turned acrylic stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. 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 Martinique 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: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!