Tag Archives: contrast staining

Finishing up a Stanwell de Luxe Regd No. 969-48 Shape 482 for Paresh

Whatever it takes to make a pipe usable – A Creative WWII Trench Repair

Blog by Steve Laug

I was on Facetime recently with Paresh and Abha in India, talking about pipe restoration and what they were currently working on together. Paresh showed me some of the pipes that they were working on as well as several that he wanted to send to me to work on. One of them was a pipe that had come to him from a family friend who told him it came from WW2 and had belonged to a German soldier. He was not sure what to do with this one and almost felt that it was not worth working on. A piece with that kind of story attached is always interesting to me and I wanted to see it and also work on restoring it. Paresh brought the metal box that the pipe came to him in and the assortment of pieces that made up the pipe to the table to show me what was there. It had what looked like two stem options with it. The one that looked right was a Perspex stem. He was able to remove the brass shank extension from the bowl while were talking and thought he had broken it. I did not think so but underneath the brass there was a broken shank. The brass had been slipped over the broken shank as an extension. The pieces could all be combined to make a functional pipe. I was excited to get this pipe and work on it. Here are some photos of the pipe box. It bears the initials CK and a raise pipe on the cover. When the box was opened the pipe parts were scattered in the larger compartment. There was a bent wire in the box as well. I have a theory how that was used and will talk about it shortly. It is obvious that the box was made to fit a pipe in the upper compartment and tobacco and lighting material in the lower portion. There is a fabric piece fixed to the lid that keeps the pipe from moving around the box.Paresh kept the box in India and mailed the pipe parts to me to see what I could do with them. It took a long time for the pipe to arrive in Vancouver from India. I would have forgotten about it if Paresh had not sent me WhatsApp messages to see if it had made it here. Finally there was a parcel notice hanging on my door when I came home from work. The postie had written that a package was at the post office and I could pick it up the next day after 1pm. I picked it up the next day after work and brought it home. I carefully unwrapped the plastic sleeve that enclosed the box. I cut the tape that held the box closed. Inside were the pipes that Paresh wanted me to work on. The “War” pipe was in a plastic bag and wrapped in bubble wrap. I carefully took it out of the wrappings and put it on the desk. I took the following photos to show the condition of all the parts before I started the cleanup and restoration.I examined the pieces carefully to see if I could come to any conclusions about the provenance of the pipe as it now stood. The bowl was in rough condition but I thought it could be cleaned up to at least carry on the trust of a pipeman from the past. The brass was very interesting and had been cut off on one end. Each end had a different diameter. One end was the size to fit on the broken shank and the other fit the wooden extension. The wooden extension appeared to be oak or a like hard wood. The inside appeared to have been burned and was darkened on each end. It had a copper ring around the end where the stem went. The ring had been hammered smooth and worked onto the shank end to keep it from splitting when the stem was inserted. The two stems were interesting. The white one looked like a cigarillo holder to me and probably was the first stem to be used on the pipe. It could possibly fit over the wooden extension prior to the addition of the copper ring. That leaves me to assume that the clear stem was a later addition and the ring was added to make sure that it did not split the wood when inserted. All parts were very dirty but I could see how they went together to make a smokeable pipe. We talked about the background of the pipe on Facetime and also on WhatsApp several other times and he told me the story that had been passed on to him by the friend of his family. I wrote to Paresh and asked if he could give me a summary about the pipe – write down some of what he had told me in our conversations. This is what he wrote to me.

This WWII pipe was handed over to me by one of my best buddies who has a family tradition of serving in the Army. This pipe once belonged to his eldest maternal Uncle who had participated in WW II as a Sepoy (an Indian soldier serving under British or other European orders) and later during the war rose to become a Junior Commissioned Officer. He had participated in the Operations in North Africa as part of a British Indian Division. It was during one of the battles at El Agheila during November – December 1941 that he had picked this up this pipe with its case from one of the overrun German trenches as a souvenir and had been with him since…. – Regards, Paresh

That was the information that I was looking for about this pipe. It is one thing to assume that the pipe was a War Memorabilia but another thing to get the history behind it. Thanks Paresh. Now I knew that I was dealing with a German soldier’s pipe and pipe case that had been left behind either when he was killed or when he abandoned German trenches in haste fleeing the British Indian Division. His friend’s uncle had picked up the case from the trench as a souvenir. It had remained in the family in the case in parts since that time.

This is where my imagination took over and tried to figure out how the pipe had come to its current state. I wonder what was in the mind of the pipeman who put the pieces together. So I took what I could see and imagined the following scenario from the parts.

Somewhere along the journey of the soldier CK and his pipe he had broken the shank on what must have been his only pipe. It was broken and either could be thrown away as garbage along the way or perhaps he could rebuild it. The broken shank was the impetus for repairing the pipe and the way it was done was highly creative.

The remnant of the shank was carefully modified with a knife judging from the way the broken shank end was carved. The pipe man had used his knife to create a ledge around the broken part where it connected to the bowl. A brass shell casing was cut and modified to fit on the shelf that had been carved thus repairing and lengthening the shank. The shell casing was pressed onto the carved shank until it was almost flush with the back side of the bowl. A piece of wood – branch or an oak stick was “drilled out” by heating the bent wire in the box until it was red hot and then inserting it repeatedly down the middle of the wood branch until there was an airway burned into the center. You can still see the burn marks on the inside.

The one end of the shank was drilled out and inserted into the small diameter end of the shell casing. The other end, the shank end of the piece of was carved out with a knife to receive a stem. There was a hammered copper ring that had been crafted and pressed onto the stem end of the shank. The box contained two different stems with the pipe. The first was a cigarette or cigarillo holder that could have been fit over the top of the dowel. Not very pretty and not very functional as it did not fit well. The second stem was a Perspex stem that was quite long. It obviously was the one used with the pipe as the airway was very dirty. There was also some internal burning in the stem itself that is odd. I wonder if the soldier who fashioned the pipe did not put a burning wire up the stem to open it as well and damage the internals of the stem.

I probably will never know the story behind the pipe for sure but what I have imagined is certainly a very real possibility. Whatever the story is the pipe is a fascinating piece of WWII memorabilia.

With the imagination satisfied and combined with the story that came with the pipe I examined the pipe parts to see what I was dealing with. It was obvious that the pipe was smoked a lot. It was probably the soldier’s only pipe and it rarely sat unlit by the looks of it. The bowl was thickly caked and damaged the externals were worn. It appeared that the pipe had been dropped a few times as there were deep gouges in the briar on the heel of the pipe. The finish on the briar was worn out and dark but underneath there were remnants of what looked like nice grain. The rim top was damaged and the inner edge of the bowl was rough. The bowl appeared to have been repeatedly reamed with a knife. The airway entering the bottom of the bowl was also worn from the piece of wire in the pipe case. I would clean up the pipe and leave the character intact. Many would have left the pipe as it was but to me the work that the original pipeman did to keep the pipe useable made me want to carry on his legacy and give Paresh a chance to at least smoke it.

I decided to clean up all of the parts individually. I scraped out the brass shell casing with a small pen knife and then scrubbed the inside with cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol until the inside was as clean as the shiny brass exterior. The first photo shows the cut edge that the wooden extension inserted into. The second photo shows smooth edge that sat on the carved ledge against the bowl and the other edge was the cut edge. I cleaned the wooden extension next, scraping the grit and tars that had built up on the inside. The end that fit toward the bowl had an airway drilled through from the other end. It looked to me that the airway had been burned through with a hot wire. It was darkened from being inserted into the brass and as it had oxidized it had coloured the wood. The end that held the stem was carved to receive the tenon. It had been banded with a copper ring to stabilize the wood. I used a pen knife to scrape the grime out of the extension and then cleaned it with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I used the topping board and 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the insert end and remove some of the damage to the wood.With the brass and wooden shank extensions cleaned it was time to clean the bowl. I took a photo of the bowl to show the thickness of the cake on the walls and the trough that had been carved in the bottom of the bowl to the airway leaving the bowl. It looks to me that the trough has been gouged out over time by cleaning the pipe with the wire that was in the box. The cake on bowl walls was thick and uneven all the way around. It was also quite crumbly and soft. The pipe smelled musty from the years that it had been sitting since the war. Once it was removed there would be work to be done to smooth out the walls of the bowl. There are spots that appear quite thin and there will need to be at least a bowl coating done to protect the bowl.I carefully removed the cake from the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife, scraping it from the walls. You can see from the photos how crumbly and soft the carbon chunks were. I wrapped some 220 grit sandpaper around a piece of dowel and sanded the walls to remove the remaining cake.I used a dental spatula to rebuild the inside back edge of the bowl rim with clear super glue and briar dust. This was just the first step in the process that would take a lot more work to bring it back to a useable condition.I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I did not want to remove much of the briar, just smooth out the damage. The first photo shows the topping and the second the rim after topping.I filled in the divots in the bottom of the bowl and carefully repaired what looked like a crack in the briar with clear super glue and briar dust. Once the repair had cured I sanded the repair smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the briar. I carefully sanded the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads. I set the bowl aside and worked on putting the parts of the shank extension back together. I heated the brass shell casing with a Bic lighter to expand it enough to be pressed on to the wooden shank tube. I scrubbed the tube with Before & After Pipe Balm and lightly sanded the extension with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the brass and copper band with micromesh sanding pads.I cleaned out the inside of the newly reassembled shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I cleaned out both ends of the new shank.I cleaned out the broken shank on the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol in preparation for gluing on the shank extension. I dried it out and coated the shelf with white all-purpose glue. Once the glue was in place I pressed the shank extension onto the bowl. I wiped away the excess glue. Once the glue had set I took pictures of the pipe at this point in the process. To match the stain remaining on the bowl I used the mislabeled tan aniline stain. It is a reddish-brown almost cordovan coloured. I figured it would match the existing colour very well. I applied the stain with a dauber and flamed it with a lighter to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until the coverage on the bowl was even.I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on a cotton pad to even out the coverage and make the stain more transparent. I wanted the grain to show through the finish. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge of the rim and the inside of the bowl.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem at this point in the process. It was truly a mess. There were tars and oils lining the airway making it almost black and there was damage to the interior of the stem material around the airway. I started the cleaning process using liquid cleanser and pipe cleaners to remove some of the tars. I was able to get a lot of the stuff out of the airway.I used a small round needle file to further clean out the airway. I sanded the interior of the airway to smooth out the surface of the drilled area. I ran alcohol dampened pipe cleaners through after the files to clean out the dust. The stem was finally getting clean. I took some close up photos of the stem to show the airway after filing. The photos also show the internal damage to the stem from what looks like fire. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I rubbed down the briar and the oak shank extension with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the smooth surface of the briar and oak with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. The grain is really starting to stand out. I polished stem and bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The newly stained finish works well when polished to really highlight the variety of grains and mask the damage around the bowl and shank. The polished Perspex stem works together with the beautiful grain in the briar and the brass and oak shank extension to give the pipe a rich look. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem demonstrate the creativity of the German soldier CK who left it in the trenches of North Africa. The dimensions are Length: 7 inches, Height: 1 inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 inches. The pipe is ready to head back to Paresh in India once I finish the other ones he sent to me. This pipe has really travelled – from Germany to North Africa to India to Canada and back to India. I wish it could tell its own story. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this interesting piece of memorabilia.

Renewing a Prince of Wales Hand Made Oom Paul

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is the second of a pair of Oom Paul pipes that my brother Jeff picked up in from a guy in Texas. I wrote a blog about the cleanup of that one already. It is the pipe shown on the left side in the photo below. It was a Siena Artistica Oom Paul. The link to the previous blog is: (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/09/04/finally-a-simple-restoration-a-siena-artistica-oom-paul/). The second pipe is shown on the right side of the photo above. It is also a full bent Oom Paul but it has a smooth finish. The finish was in rough condition and was a Cordovan colour. There were a lot of nicks and damaged fills on the sides of the pipe. It has some great grain that shows through the grime on the bowl sides. Once it is cleaned and repaired that grain should show through nicely. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank Prince of Wales over Hand Made. There is no other stamping on the shank or bowl. The rim top was dirty and there were nicks and dents in the crowned surface. Fortunately there was no damage on the inner and outer edges of the bowl. The bowl had a light cake in it that would be easy to deal with. The stem was acrylic and variegated red. It had some tooth chatter and scratching on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup up work. He took a closeup photo of the rim top showing that it was quite clean. The crowned surface was nicked and scratched. The edges of the bowl look very good. There is a light cake in the bowl. The stem was in good condition. There was some tooth chatter and scratches on the top and underside near the button.He took several photos of the finish to show the largest damaged fill on the right side of the bowl. The first photo gives an overview of the right side of the bowl and shank. You can see the wear and tear on the finish and the nicks and scratches. There is also a damaged fill mid bowl. The second photo shows the damaged fill clearly.The next photo shows the stamping on the shank and on the Scottish flag logo on the left side of the stem.I turned to the two websites that I regularly check for background on pipe brands. The first was Pipedia. I found the brand listed and the short description on the wiki that linked the brand to GBD pipes. It stated that it is a GBD sub-brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Prince_Of_Wales). It also included a link to the second site that I check, Pipephil. There it said that the brand was made in England. It bears the Scottish flag (X-shaped cross representing the cross of the Christian martyr Saint Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland) as logo. I did a screen capture of the stamping on the shank and stem that was included on the site. I include that below (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-p5.html). The stamping on shank read Prince of Wales over Hand Made like the screen capture above. It is very readable and clean. Jeff had scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil soap and removed the dust and grime that had accumulated there. The finish was damaged but was worn and needed some repairs once it had been scrubbed. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He cleaned the interior of the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The pipe came to me clean and ready to do the restoration. I took some photos of the pipe to show the condition at this point in the process. I took a photo of the rim top and to show the condition of the surface of the rim. There is some darkening on the inner edge of the bowl and a lot of nicks and surface damage. I also took close up photos of the stem to show its condition. There is some light tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button but otherwise it is in good condition.I took some photos of the bowl sides to show the dents, nicks and faulty fills that would need to be addressed in the restoration. I repaired the damaged areas on the bowl sides with clear super glue to smooth out the damage. Once they cured I would sand them smooth to blend them into the bowl. Because there were so many damaged areas it would require restaining the bowl.It did not take too long for the repairs to cure. I sanded the repaired areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I took photos of the bowl after the sanding to show the spotted, leprous look of the bowl after sanding. To further blend the repairs into the bowl surface I would need to stain it again. In preparation for restaining I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to remove much of the previous stain. I restained the pipe with my Fiebing’s Tan stain – remember it is mislabeled and is actually a cordovan stain. I applied it and flamed it with a lighter to set it in the briar. I repeated the stain/flame process until the coverage around the bowl was even.I let the stain set over night and in the morning wiped the bowl down with isopropyl on cotton pads to unveil the newly stained pipe. The pipe looked better. The fills were visible if you looked for them but they looked far better than when I had started. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the briar bowl and the rim top as well as the briar shank. I also have found that it really helps to blend a restain on briar. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers, working it into the exterior of the pipe. After it had been sitting for a little while, I buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The pipe really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand out the tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem just ahead of the button. They were not deep so it did not take too much to remove them.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust on the vulcanite. When I finished polishing and wiping it down I set it aside to dry. I polished stem and bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The dark undercoat and the cordovan combine to give the briar depth and a rich look. The polished variegated red and burgundy acrylic stem work together with the stained briar to give the pipe a rich look. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful smooth finish Oom Paul made by GBD. The pipe has already found a new home. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 3/4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 inches. This one will join the rusticated Oom Paul and soon be on its way to the southern US. Its new trustee is looking forward to firing up both of these pipes. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this unique Oom Paul.

Restoring a Beautiful Sandblast Fellini of Italy Sitter

Bringing a Butz Choquin Simour 1507 Back to Life

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Blog by Steve Laug

With this blog I worked on another of the pipes from Kathy’s Dad’s estate. This is the twelfth of the pipes from collection. For a reminder to myself and those of you who are reading this blog I will retell the story of the estate. Last fall I received a contact email on rebornpipes from Kathy asking if I would be interested in purchasing her late Father, George Koch’s estate pipes. He was a lover of “Malaga” pipes as well as others and she wanted to move them out as she cleaned up the estate. We emailed back and forth and I had my brother Jeff follow up with her as he also lives in the US and would make it simpler to carry out this transaction. The long and short of it is that we purchased her Dad’s pipes – Malagas and others. Included in the lot was this interesting Butz-Choquin Classic Pot shaped pipe with an inset of what looks like copper on the left side toward the rear of the bowl. The condition of all them varied from having almost pristine stems to gnawed and damaged stems that need to be replaced. These were some well used and obviously well-loved pipes. Cleaning and restoring them will be a tribute to this pipeman. Jeff took these photos of the Butz-Choquin before he cleaned it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to show the thick cake and what looked like potential damage to the inner edge of the rim at the right front and the middle at the back. He also took photos of the bowl from various angles to show the condition of the finish and the copper insert I spoke of above. The stamping on the left side of the shank clearly reads Butz-Choquin and underneath it is a bit more faint but looks to read Simour. On the right side it is stamped St. Claude over France and a shape number 1507 beneath that.The stem was in better condition than most of the others in the collection. There was light tooth chatter on both sides near the button and the sharp edge of the button had some tooth damage. As I look at it I wonder if it is not an acrylic stem. We shall see.Those of you who have followed me for a while know how much I love getting to know about the pipeman who held the pipes in trust before me. That information always gives another dimension to the restoration work. This is certainly true with this lot of pipes. I can almost imagine George picking out each pipe in his collection at the Malaga shop in Michigan. Once again, I am including that information with this restoration so you can know a bit about the pipeman who held these pipes in trust before they are passed on to some of you. I include part of Kathy’s correspondence with my brother as well…. I may well be alone in this, but when I know about the person it is almost as if he is with me while I work on his pipes. In this case Kathy sent us not only information but also a photo of her Dad with a pipe in his mouth.

Jeff…Here is a little about my dad, George P. Koch…I am sending a picture of him with a pipe also in a separate email.

Dad was born in 1926 and lived almost all his life in Springfield, Illinois. He was the youngest son of German immigrants and started grade school knowing no English. His father was a coal miner who died when Dad was about seven and his sixteen year old brother quit school to go to work to support the family. There was not much money, but that doesn’t ruin a good childhood, and dad had a good one, working many odd jobs, as a newspaper carrier, at a dairy, and at the newspaper printing press among others. He learned to fly even before he got his automobile driver’s license and carried his love of flying with him through life, recertifying his license in retirement and getting his instrumental license in his seventies and flying until he was grounded by the FAA in his early eighties due to their strict health requirements. (He was never happy with them about that.) He was in the Army Air Corps during World War II, trained to be a bomber, but the war ended before he was sent overseas. He ended service with them as a photographer and then earned his engineering degree from University of Illinois. He worked for Allis Chalmers manufacturing in Springfield until the early sixties, when he took a job at Massey Ferguson in Detroit, Michigan. We lived in Livonia, and that’s where his love for Malaga pipes began. After a few years he returned to Allis Chalmers and we moved back to Springfield. I remember that when we went back to Michigan to visit friends, Dad had to go to the Malaga store and acquire a few new pipes. Many a year I wrote to Malaga and they picked out a pipe for me to purchase that I could give Dad for a Christmas or birthday present. He was always pleased. His favorites were the straight stemmed medium sized bowl pipes, but he liked them all. He had some other pipes, but the Malagas were his favorites. I remember him smoking them sitting in his easy chair after work, with feet up on the ledge by the fire burning in the fireplace. Growing up it was my job to clean them and he liked the inner bowl and stem coated with Watkins vanilla, leaving a little of that liquid in the bowl to soak in when I put them back on the rack. Dad quit smoking later in life and so they’ve sat on the racks for many years unattended, a part of his area by his easy chair and fireplace. Dad passed when he was 89 years old and it finally is time for the pipes to move on. I’m very happy they are being restored by you and your brother and hope they find homes who enjoy them as much as Dad did. Thank-you for your care and interest. — Kathy, the oldest daughter

Kathy, once again I thank you for providing this beautiful tribute to your Dad. We so appreciate your trust in allowing us to clean and restore these pipes. I am also trusting that those of you who are reading this might carry on the legacy of her Dad’s pipes as they will be added to the rebornpipes store once they are finished.

Jeff cleaned this one up before he sent it my way. He is really good at the cleanup work. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the bowl, plateau rim and shank. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. The lava mess on the rim was thoroughly removed without harming the finish underneath it. It revealed the burned areas on the inside edge of the rim that I was wondering about. However, without the grime the finish looked really good. The feather or leaf carvings in the briar of the bowl and shank look good and the inset of what I thought looked like copper was flat. The acrylic stem would need to be worked on but I really like the shape. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took some close up photos of the rim and bowl to show the damage to the rim top and edge. Jeff did a great job on the cleanup but boy did it reveal some damaged spots. I have circled the damaged areas in red in the first photo below. I have also included some photos of the stem to show the condition before I polished it.The pipe has some stunning grain and then it has this copper coloured insert in the side of the bowl (It may well be a piece of copper, I will know more once I polish it). I am still trying to figure this out. I wrote an email to Butz-Choquin to see if they can give me information on the line. We shall see. The next photo shows the inset.The next photo shows the leaf or feather carvings on the shank and the grain pattern. This is a pretty piece of briar.I had an interesting challenge ahead of me – to try to remove some of the damage to the rim edge without damaging the carved feather/leaf on the rim top. I needed to reduce the burned area on the rim top so that I could bevel the edge inward to hide the darkening in those spots. I progressed slowly on the topping board, checking every couple of rotations to make sure I was not making things worse.Once I had the burn damage removed I worked on the darkening on the top surface of the rim toward the front and at the back side of the bowl. I was able to minimize the damage on the top. I sanded those areas with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend it in better. I beveled the rim inward with a folded piece of 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. I was happy with the finished look of the rim edge. A good blend of stains will blend in the edge even more.I stained the rim top with a Maple stain pen first to blend it into the rest of the bowl. I worked on the inner bevel with Cherry and Walnut stain pens to darken the edge of the rim. I feathered the stain toward the out edge of the rim top and buffed it by hand to smooth out the transitions between the pens.I rubbed down the briar with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the carved feather/leaf patterns around the bowl, rim and shank. I rubbed it into the smooth portions to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and the help of a horsehair shoe brush. I let the balm sit for a little wall and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Here is where things are after the balm. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. As I polished the briar the inset metal began to stand out. I was pretty certain that it was a piece of copper. It really began to shine and flash on the side of the bowl. It was an interesting touch to add that kind of adornment to a pipe. I set the bowl aside at this point and turned to work on the stem. I used 220 grit sandpaper to sand out the tooth chatter on both sides of the stem at the button. I also worked on the edge of the button to reshape it at the same time.I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth.

Restoring a Second Bari De Luxe Mahogany Freehand…

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Blog by Steve Laug

I was emailing back and forth with a pipeman in Edmonton who wanted to sell of his pipes. He was cleaning up things and thought he would see if I was interested in them. He said that he had several Bari’s that were in the lot and he wanted to move those out. He sent me photos of the pipes he had and we soon struck a deal. Since we were both in Canada it did not take long for the package to make its way to me. I opened it and went through his pipes to see what I had to work on. There were some pipe racks and accessories in the box as well. I went through the pipes and set them aside. Today I decided it was time to start working on them. I chose a second Bari De Luxe Mahogany Freehand as the second of those Bari’s that I would work on. I have included two of the photos of the pipe that he sent to me before I purchased the lot. You can see that it was a well-loved pipe and one that he smoked often. The finish on the sides and shank was in good condition but dirty. The shank end was a nice natural plateau but not as craggy as the previous one. The rim top had an over flow of lava on the top and there was a burn mark on the back inner edge of the rim. Under the tar and lava it looked like the rim top was in good condition. The stain highlighted the beautiful grain on the briar and the plateau was stained black in stark contrast to the reddish brown of the bowl. The bowl was caked and would need to be reamed but otherwise good condition. The stem was cleaner than the previous one and did not have any sticky substance on it. There was some oxidation under the oil but there were not any tooth marks or chatter on the surface. Tenon end was chipped and broken and would need to be repaired. I took the following photos of the pipe before I began the cleanup. (The pipe came in an original Bari pipe sock.) I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when I started. The rim top shows damage at the back inner edge of the bowl and on the rim top at that point as well. Other than general darkening and tar around the inner edge of the bowl the rim shows some nice grain. The plateau on the shank end is in excellent condition. The stem surface is in good condition other than some oxidation. When I took the stem out to examine the tenon and shank I found a surprise. When I spoke with John he was unaware of the issue as well and was surprised. The tenon had a large chunk out of the top side. There was almost half of the tenon missing.I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank. On the left it was stamped Bari over De Luxe over Mahogany and on the right side it was stamped Hand Made in Denmark. The stamping was faint toward the bowl on both sides of the shank but was still readable.In the previous blog on the Bari De Luxe Freehand I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes. Here is the link to the article on Pipedia: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari. I summarize the material that I found there as it gives a clear picture of the brand. I have been working on several pipes by Viggo Nielsen recently so it was a good reminder.

Pipedia states that Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding, Denmark around the turn of 1950/51. His sons Kai and Jørgen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975. Both have become successful pipe makers.

Bari successfully adapted the new Danish design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for its own models. Bari was sold in 1978 to Van Eicken Tobaccos in Hamburg, Germany though the pipes were still made in Denmark. From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production.

Helmer Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to “Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen”. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993. Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand – thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions were what they turned out. The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

I started my cleanup of this pipe by working on the internals. I reamed out the cake with a PipNet pipe reamer and took the cake back to the bare briar. I scraped out the remnants in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls in the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the walls. I sanded the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the burn damage on the back side of the bowl. I polished the sanded area with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the surface down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The first photo is a reminder of where things were at when I started the cleanup. While the burn mark was not totally removed it looked much better than when I started the cleanup. I used an Oak stain pen to restain the entire rim top. I used a Mahogany stain pen to touch up the inner edge of the bowl to try to blend in the darkening around the edges. Once the stain dried I rubbed it lightly with an alcohol dampened cotton pad to blend the colours together.I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar to enliven, clean and preserve it. I rubbed it in with my fingertips working it into the briar. I worked it into the nooks and crannies in the plateau on the rim and the shank end using a cotton swab. I brushed those areas with a shoe brush to work it in more deeply and spread it out. I set it aside for a little while to let the balm do its work. I buffed it off with a cotton cloth and then buffed it with a microfiber cloth. The photos below show the pipe at this point in the restoration process. I scraped the mortise walls with a sharp pen knife to remove the lacquer build up from tobacco juices and oils. It was thickly coated. Once I had that finished I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. It was dirty but I was surprised it was as clean as it was all things considered. I cleaned the airway in the stem the same way as the shank.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I reshaped the button with a needle file and sharpened the edge against the surface of the stem. I sanded the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the light tooth chatter on the surface of the stem and to break up the oxidation that was prevalent in the grooves and spindles of the stem. I started the process of rebuilding chipped tenon. I have done this on one other pipe and was quite happy with the results. I mixed a batch of charcoal powder and super glue to make a putty to start the rebuild. I applied it to the edge of the tenon with the sharp tip of a sanding stick. I wanted to layer the edge until the tenon was sharp and smooth. It would be a process of layering and shaping to get what was needed. The process was quite simple – set a base of the superglue and charcoal and shape the repair. Add more of the mix to the tenon and shape it again. The process would be repeated until the tenon was even all the way around. The pictures tell the story of the rebuild process. I applied another coat of the glue to fill in the airspaces left from the charcoal powder. I sanded the rebuilt tenon smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I wiped the end down with Obsidian Oil after sanding it smooth. It is starting to look really good and once the repair cures it will be durable.I set the stem aside and let it cure overnight and worked on other pipes. When I picked it up again this morning I polished it using micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and then buffing on the wheel with red Tripoli. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-12000 grit pads to further polish it. After each pad I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to protect and enliven the stem. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. When I finished with the polish I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. This second Bari De Luxe Mahogany Freehand is another beauty with swirling, straight and flame grain all around the bowl. The shank end has some interesting looking plateau that is deep and craggy. The smooth rim is quite nice and has some swirls of grain undulating in the briar. The brown of the bowl and the black of the plateau look really good with the black of the turned vulcanite stem. I buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish to raise the shine on the briar and the vulcanite. I lightly buffed the rim top and shank end as well. I was careful to not buff the stamping and damage it. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 1/8 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 3/4 inches, Diameter of the chamber: ¾ of an inch. This is the second Bari De Luxe that I have worked on and it more average or medium in size. The combination of smooth and rugged looking plateau on the shank end makes it an interesting pipe. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Refreshing a Jobey Hand Rubbed 015 Zulu/Woodstock

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This very sharp Jobey Hand Rubbed Zulu/Woodstock came to me via eBay auction block when I secured the Lot of 66 which has been a great acquisition for restoring pipes benefitting the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Brian, a pipe man in Kentucky, had already commissioned my last Peretti Oom Paul Sitter and saw this Jobey as he was checking out my page, For ‘Pipe Dreamers’ Only!. We came to an accord and Brian had two pipes in the queue for restoration. Here are pictures of the pipe that got Brian’s attention. The nomenclature of the Zulu/Woodstock has Jobey (cursive) over HAND RUBBED on the top of the shank. The bottom of the shank is marked with 015, which I assume is the shape number for a Zulu/Woodstock. The stem has on it the well-known JOBEY roundel ensconced on the top.When one searches the usual places for information about pipe manufacturers and names, Jobey consistently stands out as having a mysterious beginning. From TobaccoPipes.com, the Jobey history is summarized.

The exact origins of the Jobey Pipe Company are a mystery…Depending on the year, a Jobey pipe could have been produced in England, North America, or France. Since the early 1920’s, Jobey pipes have jumped continents with production falling into the hands of seven different companies over the years. No one is really sure who first produced smoking pipes under the Jobey brand. The pipes are believed to have originated in England; but their true origin is still a bit of a mystery. Jobey pipes were, for most of their history, primarily an English and American brand.

In the same article, interestingly it describes Jobey having a strong Danish influence in its early history as well:

Danish pipe artist Karl Erik had taken a strong interest in the Jobey pipes and started to offer a wide variety of pipe designs that became extremely popular in England and throughout some of the countries such as Holland and the Netherlands.

Today, Jobey pipes are manufactured out of Saint Claude, France, and in 2012 the name was taken on by the Weber Pipe Company, according to PipesTobaccos.com.

The most well-known invention that has been associated with Jobey is the Jobey Link – the tenon system that is popular for its ease of cleaning and replacing. In his post on of a Jobey Cauldron on RebornPipes, Steve became the recipient of original packing information about the Jobey Link that I found fun and interesting:The Jobey Hand Rubbed Zulu/Woodstock is fitted with the famous Link. Regarding the Jobey line, Hand Rubbed, from some old eBay posts I found some ‘Hand Rubbed’ Jobey pipes and one listing gave it a general dating in the 1980s. From this Pipedia Jobey article, I found this older ad for a Jobey Hand Rubbed Poker that I thought was interesting giving a description of the unique properties of this line of Jobey offerings. For the ease of reading, I clipped the description.The Jobey Hand Rubbed Zulu/Woodstock now on the worktable is in good shape. The cake is almost nonexistent. The stem is in good shape with almost no detectable tooth chatter but with a bit of oxidation. The briar grain is stunning, and I see few problems with the surface. The only question is the shiny finish over the briar. I’m hoping that it isn’t an acrylic finish which is a bear to remove. This restoration may be more of a refresher if the finish isn’t a problem. I begin refreshing this Jobey by first removing the Jobey Link from the stem and running some pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% to clean the internal stem. I then add the stem to a soak with Before & After Deoxidizer along with 5 other stems. The Deoxidizer does a good job dealing with oxidation and is friendly to stampings and, in the Jobey’s case, the brass roundel. After soaking for a few hours, I fish out the Jobey stem and wipe off the raised oxidation with cotton pads wetted with light paraffin oil. I also run a pipe cleaner, dipped in alcohol, through the airway to clear the Deoxidizer. The Deoxidizer has done a good job.Turning now to the stummel, with the chamber being so lightly caked, I use only the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Tool to scrape the walls removing the cake. It did not take much. I follow by sanding the chamber with 240 grit paper to clean more and to reveal fresher briar for a fresh start. I then wipe the bowl with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to remove the leftover carbon dust. Pictures show the progress. Now to clean the external surface. I’m hoping that using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap will make a dent on the shiny finish. I scrub with Murphy’s using cotton pads and rinse with cool tap water. The stummel cleans up nicely, but as the picture below reveals, there remains a shine on the surface which says to me there’s still old finish needing to be removed to get to the natural briar. I also detect a small fill that is pitted and will need some attention.To continue the cleaning regimen, I use pipe cleaners and cotton buds wetted with isopropyl 95% to clean the internal mortise and airway. I’m getting the impression that this pipe has not been smoked a lot. The internals are not too grungy, and the cotton buds and pipe cleaners are coming out clear.Now, to see if I can remove the shine from the briar surface, I first try using alcohol on cotton pads to see if it will do the trick. Not quite – still some shine. Next, I apply acetone with cotton pads. That did the trick.Now, to work on the shaky fill on the stummel. I take a closeup of it. I use a sharp dental probe to excavate the old material. I then clean it with a cotton pad and alcohol. To create a good blending patch, I mix a small amount of briar dust and CA glue to form a putty. When mixing the two, when it reaches the consistency of molasses, it’s ready to be applied to the patch. I use a toothpick as a trowel. I then set the stummel aside to allow the patch to cure.While the patch cures, I turn my attention back to the stem. The stem is in good shape, but the vulcanite surface is rough. I use 600 grade paper and wet sand the entire stem. I follow the 600 with 0000 grade steel wool. The paper and steel wool did the job, now I’m ready to move to the micromesh pad phase. Using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, I wet sand the stem. I follow by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. Between each set of 3 pads I apply Obsidian Oil to the stem to revitalize the vulcanite. And, it looks great! With the stem poised to join a stummel, I look now to the Jobey Zulu/Woodstock bowl. The briar dust putty patch has cured and is ready to be filed and sanded. I initially use a flat needle file to bring the patch mound down near to the briar surface. I keep the file on the patch mound to not impact surrounding briar. I follow the file with 240 grit paper and sand the mound flush with the briar surface. I then cover the scratches of the 240 with 600 grit paper. To deal with the lightening of the wood around the patch due to sanding (above) I use both a cherry and walnut dye stick to color the area – seeking to strike a good blend. I would also dab the area with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to achieve the blend. I’m satisfied.To address the small nicks on the surface, I start the micromesh sanding pads wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sand with 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. I take a picture after each set of three to watch the briar grain emerge. Next, I apply Before & After Restoration Balm to the briar surface. I have grown to like this product. What I like about it is that it enhances the natural grain color by deepening and enriching it. I squeeze some of the Balm on my finger and work it into the briar. The Balm starts with a light oil texture but then thickens into a wax-like consistency as it works into the briar. After fully saturating the bowl, I set the Zulu/Woodstock aside to allow the Balm to do its work for a few minutes. I take a picture capturing this. Then, I wipe the Balm off with a cloth – it starts tacky, but this buffs out. I like the results.I reassemble the Jobey Link tenon and reunite the stem with the stummel and mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on the Dremel with the speed set at about 40% full power. I then apply Blue Diamond compound to the stem and stummel. When completed, I use a felt cloth to buff the pipe, wiping off the compound dust in preparation for the wax. I then mount another cotton cloth wheel to the Dremel, maintain speed at 40% and apply a few coats of carnauba wax to the pipe. I complete the restoration by giving the pipe a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to bring out the shine.

This Jobey Hand Rubbed Zulu/Woodstock is a keeper and I enjoyed recommissioning him. The briar grain reminds me of a zebra – the bird’s eye and swirls are incredible. The Zulu/Woodstock shape always seems to have a bit of attitude to it. This Jobey Zulu/Woodstock is a classic expression of this pipe shape. Brian commissioned this Jobey Zulu/Woostock and he will have first opportunity to acquire it in The Pipe Steward Store and this benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!

Fashioning a Churchwarden from a Forlorn, Throw away Billiard – a story of the Phoenix

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Blog by Dal Stanton

The Greek mythological Phoenix is a long-lived bird that cyclically regenerates or is otherwise born again, according to Wikipedia. It is regenerated out of its own demise, from its own ashes. The images that come to mind are Harry Potter-esque – the Phoenix’s name is Fawkes and “as stated by Dumbledore, they are extremely loyal creatures, and are capable of arriving to the aid of beings who share a similar devotion. This was how Fawkes arrived to assist Harry in slaying the Basilisk in the Chamber of Secrets during his second year at Hogwarts” (LINK). The tear of the Phoenix could also bring healing and recovery from near death.

What does the Phoenix have to do with pipes and Billiards? True confession: I enjoy immensely working on vintage pipes with well-known and sought names like Dunhill, Savinelli, Comoy’s, Stanwell, GBD, Jeantet and BBB. But truth be known, I LOVE taking the throwaways, the discarded, the ‘only good for the waste heap’ pipes – that make most people cringe and reach for latex gloves – to take these pipes and see what I can do to help. There is a satisfaction at the end of such projects that translates into, ‘Wow! Who could have imagined…!” The discovery of hidden beauty that was always there, but no one took the time to help it emerge. I guess, at the core of it is the sense that sometimes people are treated in such a way or may view themselves in such a way that does not reflect the often hidden value that people intrinsically have. Helping is seeking to bring new life out of the ashes of the past.

I want you to meet my forlorn Billiard stummel. I’m sure that one past day he enjoyed the attention of a steward. He proudly was settled on the rack with other proud pipes of The Rotation. One day something happened, and he lost that favored position, and everything changed. I found him in a bag of a second-hand/antique vendor in Sofia, Bulgaria’s ‘Antique Market’ in the city-center. The bag was full of broken and discarded stems, stummels and other things unrecognizable. He had no stem. I plucked him out of the bag along with a few other pieces, paid the vendor a very small sum for what had no value to the vendor or to anyone else. The small Billiard stummel was marked with the most generic of all markings, ‘Real Briar’. Absolutely nothing special. Here are pictures of the redeemed Billiard on my worktable. I just completed the restoration of a Monarch Pat. 1989069 – 1074H Bent Ball for Andy, a pipe man living in Maryland, who attends the church where I was formerly the pastor on the Eastern Shore – the peninsula created by the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean east of Washington DC. Andy commissioned the Monarch from the ‘For Pipe Dreamers Only!’ section on my blog. He told me he was also hoping to land a Peretti Oom Paul and a Churchwarden someday. He had seen several of the Peretti Lot of Oom Pauls that I had already restored and recommissioned for new stewards and was hopeful. I had no more Perettis to share, but I proposed that I could fashion a Churchwarden from repurposed stummels. I also had one 8-inch Warden stem left in my stores. Not long ago, I completed a fun restoration I called ‘A Tale of 3 Church Wardens’ – where I fashioned 3 Churchwardens that all found new stewards in Germany. I directed Andy to check out the post to decide what he wanted to do. It didn’t take long and he decided to add a Churchwarden to his Monarch Bent Ball – each of these pipes benefit the work we do here in Bulgaria with the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited to find a new life and hope. The next question for Andy was what stummel would mast the Warden stem and rise from the ashes like the Phoenix? Here were the options I sent to Andy with a warning not to be distracted by the color or condition – to look only at the shape. Here’s what he saw.From the top, his choices were a Rhodesian, a Panel, a carved Apple and the forlorn Billiard. Andy chose the classic Billiard shape, influenced mainly by the longer shank which will add a bit of flow to the Churchwarden he would become when transformed. The interesting factoid that I reported before, in my writeup of the 3 Churchwardens, was from Bill Burney’s Pipedia Pipe Chart. It provides the framework for forlorn bowls to rise as the Phoenixes. What brings this power? A Churchwarden stem:As you would expect, our Billiard that Andy chose has many challenges. The worst of his obvious problems is the rim which has been chewed and gnarled! It has a large divot on the internal lip over the shank. Also, on the shank side, the rim slopes away having endured a ‘skinned knee’ experience. The old finish is totally old and the stummel has some small fills that need checking. Yet, underneath the grime and tired finish – where there is finish, is briar grain with potential. I begin the story of this Billiard hoping to rise as a Phoenix by doing the basic cleaning of the stummel before fashioning the precast Churchwarden stem. To mark the beginning of the restoration, I take a picture of the Billiard stummel with the Warden stem – the place where Pipe Dreamers begin!I take a picture of the chamber and see that there is very little cake build up, but I also see that it appears someone took a pocket knife to the chamber in the past – with little care. I take the Savinelli Fitsall Tool and I ream the bowl of residue carbon. Following this, I sand the chamber with 240 grit paper by wrapping the paper around a Sharpie Pen seeking to clean it but also to smooth the top of the chamber where knife marks were. I then clean the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl to rid it of carbon dust. The chamber wall seems to be in good shape – no cracks or heat fissures are visible, but I will need to do a bit more sanding – I’ll wait to do this along with the rim repair. Now I turn to internal cleaning of the stummel. Using cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 95%, I realize very quickly that the grunge in this mortise and airway was thick. I put the cotton buds down for a time and start scraping the mortise walls with dental spatulas. I also insert a drill bit the size of the airway and hand turn it to excavate the tar and oil buildup. In time the cotton buds started coming out less soiled. I plan to give the stummel a kosher salt and alcohol soak through the night to clean the internals further and freshen the stummel for the new steward. The pictures show the grunge warfare!With the stummel cleaned, I now turn to the precast Churchwarden stem. I begin by pulling out my new electronic caliper that I acquired when I fashioned the 3 Churchwarden stems before. I take an internal measurement of the Billiard’s mortise, which is the target. The reading is 8.13 mm. For a conservative target in shaping the new tenon on the precast Warden stem, I add .40 mm to the 8.13 which gives me a conservative target of 8.53 mm. I now mount the drill bit to drill the tenon’s airway enlarging it to receive the guide pin for the Pimo Tenon Turning Tool, which I also just added to my tools. I mount the Pimp Tenon Turning Tool into the drill chuck and cut a conservative practice cut on the tenon to get an initial measurement. The practice cut measurement is 8.96 mm which means I need to remove around .43 mm to arrive at the conservative target of 8.53 mm. The purpose of the conservative target is to get close to the exact size of the mortise, but not quite. This leaves room to sand the tenon to fashion the custom size because every mortise is different. The fit between the newly fashioned tenon and the mortise must be snug but not too tight. I crank down the blade on the Tenon Turning Tool a bit and make another practice cut and remeasure. Now, I have a perfect example of why doing practice cuts is a good idea! The next measurement was 8.23 – only .10 mm off the actual mortise size – too close for comfort. I don’t want to risk taking off too much. I back the blade off a little and recut. I come to an 8.49 mm which is good. Using a flat needle file, 120 and 240 grit papers I gradually bring the size of the tenon down. After MANY filings/sanding and testing the fit in the mortise, I can seat the tenon snugly into the mortise. The shank is slightly larger than the diameter of the stem when the stem is inserted into the mortise. The picture below shows how the briar is extending at this point, but as I look around the shank, the amount of overhand is not the same. I use the flat needle file to start bringing the briar overhang flush with the Warden stem. The picture below shows the shank having that ‘stuff pants look’ as the taper of the shank to the stem is not gradual. To address this, I file and sand around the shank to create a more gradual tapering from the bowl through the shank to the Warden stem. Most of the briar bulging was on the shank sides not on the upper and lower areas which look pretty good. After a lot of sanding with a flat needle file, 120 and 240 papers, I arrive at a nicer tapering from shank to stem. I sacrificed the ‘Real Briar’ stamping on the left side of the shank for the more balanced look on both sides of the shank. I thought about it for a few minutes, and sanded away in favor of a reborn Phoenix! The shank overhang has been sanded out and the shank/stem junction is flush. I like the flow from bowl, through the shank, and into the stem. Before bending the stem, while still in the same customized position, I also file and sand down the sides of the precast stem to remove the seams created by the casting halves. I aim for rounding the stem. With the Billiard’s straight shank, the bend will be very small and subtle. Last time I fashioned Churchwarden stems I found that I was consistently overbending the stem and then I would need to back off the bend for the best look. I place pipe cleaners in the stem at both ends to maintain the integrity of the airway during the heating and bending process. I use a hot air gun and warm the vulcanite in the area where I make the bend. As it warms, the vulcanite, a rubber compound, becomes supple and is fashioned easily. After making the bend, by simply eyeballing it, I take the heated stem to the sink and cool it with tap water to set the bend. I remount the bent stem and I like it. It has a gentle bend, not too much. The Phoenix is coming to life!Looking now to the stummel, I use a sharp dental probe to test the very small fills on the stummel. They seem to be solid. I then look at the gnarly rim. The next step is to remove the damage by utilizing the topping board. Using a chopping block, I place a sheet of 240 grade paper on it. After inverting the stummel on the board, I begin to rotate the stummel over the paper. I’m thankful for the fact that Churchwardens typically have smaller bowls. That’s good news because I’m taking a bit of briar off the top. After a while, there is still a divot on the inside of the rim over the shank which I will address by creating a bevel. After the 240 grade rotation, I then use 600 for a bit and finish the topping. Using 120 grit paper, I start carving a bevel on the inside lip of the rim. I follow by moving to the outside edge of the rim. I create the bevel by pinching the rolled piece of sanding paper under my thumb and then methodically move it around the rim putting pressure on the paper. The continuous movement is what keeps the bevel consistent. I then follow with 240 paper for both the inside and outside edges of the rim. I think it looks good – what an improvement!To address the stummel surface to remove the top surface and scratches and old finish, I start by using a coarse sanding sponge on the entire stummel. I follow the coarse sponge with medium and then light sanding sponges.I decide now to continue working on the stem. Using a flat needle file and 240 grit sanding paper I continue smoothing and shaping the stem. I work on the rough button with the file to shape it with the file. I sand the entire stem with 240 grit because, even though the stem is new, the vulcanite contains ripples and ribs from the casting process. I work the stem with sand paper so that it’s smooth and the stem is rounded. From filing and 240 grit, I sand the entire stem with 600 grade paper. I finish this sanding phase by sanding/buffing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool. The pictures show the progress. My day is ending and I finish at the worktable with a kosher salt and alcohol soak to further clean and refresh the stummel. I create a wick from a cotton ball by stretching and twisting the cotton. I then insert/stuff the wick in the mortise and airway. I then put the stummel in an egg crate to stabilize it and fill the bowl with kosher salt which leaves no after taste as does iodized salt. I then use a large eye dropper to fill the bowl with alcohol until it surfaces over the salt. After a few minutes I top off the alcohol. I set the stummel aside and turn out the lights.The next morning the kosher salt and alcohol soak did the job – the salt and wick are soiled by drawing out more tars and oils from the mortise and airway. After dumping the expended salt, I wipe the chamber with paper towel to remove the old salt. I blow through the stummel as well to clear out the left overs. To make sure all is clean, I run a few more cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 95% through mortise. Moving on.Time to micromesh the Churchwarden stem. Using pads 1500 to 2400 I wet sand the stem. Following this, I dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 and then, 6000 to 12000. After each set of 3 pads, I apply Obsidian Oil to the stem to enrich the new precast Warden stem. I take only one picture at the end because it’s difficult enough to see the detail of black vulcanite with regular sized stems, with the Churchwarden stem, the picture is from orbit!With the stem drying, it’s time to begin the micromesh sanding of the stummel. Using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 I wet sand the stummel. As has happened on previous restorations, the wetting of the stummel during the wet sanding process spelled the end of the once solid fills that I saw before. The fill material must be made of a water-soluble material – not sure what it is, but it isn’t anymore! The fills fully disintegrated.The detour means that I need to apply patches to the pits – I mix briar dust and thick CA glue to form a putty that I apply to the holes. I first use a sharp dental probe to make sure the pits are free of debris. I use an index card to do the mixing by placing some dust in a pile. I then place some of the CA glue next to the briar dust. Using a toothpick, I gradually draw a bit of the dust into the glue while mixing it with the toothpick. I continue to do this until the putty reaches a molasses-like consistency. I then apply the putty to the places needed – there are a few. After applying the briar dust putty, I spray the patches with an accelerator to cure the patches more rapidly. Then, using a flat needle file, I begin filing down the patches to near the briar surface. Then I use 240 grit paper to remove the remaining excess patch material bringing the fill flush with the briar surface. Following the 240 paper, I use 600 grit paper on each of the patch areas. Finally, I return to the initial micromesh pads and sand the patches with 1500 to 2400 grade pads. The detour is complete, back on track. The pictures show the patch repairs. These patches will blend very well. I pick up again by dry sanding using pads 3200 to 4000 and then 6000 to 12000. The pictures show the finished result. I enjoy so much watching the grain emerge during the micromesh process. This lonely stummel just may be a Phoenix after all!At this point, aiming for the color preferences Andy described when he commissioned the Billiard, I will stain the stummel using the base as Fiebing’s Saddle Tan Pro Dye but add to it just a bit of Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye to darken it a bit. I believe this will add more depth to the grain contrast – or I hope! After mixing the dyes in a shot glass, and inserting a cork into the shank to act as a handle, I then warm the stummel using a hot air gun. This expands the briar making the wood more receptive to the dye. After warmed I apply the stain using a folded pipe cleaner. After the stummel is completely covered, I flame the aniline stain using a candle. The alcohol in the dye immediately combusts leaving the dye set in the grain. After a few minutes, I repeat the same regimen including flaming. I then set the stummel aside to rest and settle through the night. The next morning, after an early 5AM trip to the Sofia Airport to drop off a summer intern who was returning to the US, I returned to the worktable ready to ‘unwrap’ the Billiard that had been dyed the night before. I enjoy this a lot! I mount a felt wheel on the Dremel, set to the lowest speed, and begin removing the flamed crust encasing the stummel. I use the coarser Tripoli compound to do this. As I work the buffing wheel methodically over the surface, I avoid applying too much downward pressure but allow the felt wheel, speed and compound to do the work. During the process, I purge the wheel often to clean it and keep it soft. After finishing with the felt wheel, I switch to a cotton cloth wheel and apply Tripoli to the crook between shank and stummel which the felt wheel is unable to reach. After the Tripoli, I wet a cotton pad with alcohol and wipe down the stummel to blend the new stain and to lighten it a bit.In the same manner as the Tripoli compound, I apply Blue Diamond, a finer compound. I mount another cotton cloth wheel on the Dremel, increase the speed to about 40% of full power. I apply the compound to both stem and stummel. After I finish, I wipe down both stem and stummel with a felt cloth to remove compound dust in preparation for applying the carnauba wax. Before applying the wax, I want to add a special touch to this reborn Phoenix Billiard Churchwarden. I decide to band the shank – always a nice touch. I pull out my collection nickel bands and find one that fits over the shank but leaves about a 1/4 inch slack between the end of the shank and the end of the band. To slide the band safely up the shank I heat the band with a hot air gun while on the shank at the tension point. As the band heats, it will expand microscopically. After a time of heating, I turn the shank downward and gently but firmly press down against a thick cloth on the hard wood surface. This pressure moves the band up the shank a few millimeters and the cloth cushions the end of the band so it doesn’t bend with the pressure. If one presses too hard and tries to expand the band too quickly, the nickel can rip – that is not good. I got through the heating and pressing cycle a few times and the band is seated well. I remount the stem and eyeball the band placement. It looks good and I think the new steward will like this touch of class a lot for this Phoenix Billiard Churchwarden. Before I wax the pipe, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on the Dremel that I use exclusively on nickel. I want to shine the band up before applying wax. I set the speed at 40% and apply White Diamond compound to the band. I’m careful not to run the buffing wheel over the band to the briar as it can discolor the wood. I learned this the hard way in the past. I’m not sure what the chemical process is, but when polished at high speed, a dark residue is produced. You can see it on the White Diamond bar as well as on the wheel. This is another reason why each compound and use have a dedicated wheel. After finishing with the White Diamond buffing, I buff the band with a microfiber cloth and, oh my! How it shines!Now, the home stretch. Time to wax the pipe. Again, I change to another cotton cloth wheel dedicated to carnauba, maintain a 40% speed on the Dremel, and apply a few applications of the wax to the stem and stummel. I finish the polishing by hand buffing the Churchwarden with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.

Few words describe the transformation of this lonely Billiard into a Phoenix. Again, I’m amazed at the beauty in what God has created, even that which we often pass by with the shrug of the shoulders. The gain revealed in the Billiard is beautiful. The rim, gnarled as it was, looks great and is not diminished by the briar I was forced to take off. As I look at it, the slightly squatter bowl works very well as the mast of the long, flowing Churchwarden stem. The band mounted on the shank simply rocks, what can I say. Andy commissioned this Billiard now Phoenix Churchwarden and he will have the first opportunity to acquire it in The Pipe Steward Store. This pipe benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls trafficked and sexually exploited. Thank you for joining me in the telling of the story of the Phoenix!

Recommissioning a Monarch Pat. 1989069 – 1074H Bent Ball

3 Replies

Blog by Dal Stanton

This nice-looking Monarch Bent Ball shape came to me along with 65 pipes in an eBay acquisition which I’ve called the Lot of 66. The Bowl shape has a very nice feel in the palm with the dimensions an adequate: Length: 6 1/4 inches, Height: 1 1/4 inches, Bowl width: 1 3/4 inches, Bowl depth: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber width: 15/16 inches. This pipe got Andy’s attention in the special section on my blog site called “For ‘Pipe Dreamers’ Only!” where pipe men and women (and their significant others looking for special gifts!) can commission pipes. Andy is from the state of Maryland in the US and he and his wife attend church where I used to be the pastor – in a former life many, many years ago! Andy reached out to me via Facebook Messenger:

I really enjoy your posts with the restored pipes, and I’m wondering what might be available now and what the costs are. I really like the Oom Paul’s (and some of the other Peretti’s), and the Savinelli from May 29. Many years ago, I had a small collection which included a Comoy, and, if I recall correctly, a Peretti and a Savinelli. Sadly, they were lost somewhere along the way. Thanks for reigniting my interest (no pun intended). I looked at your website and found the answers I needed. What can you tell me about the Monarch Pat. 1989069 – 1074H Bent Ball shape on the Pipedreamer’s page? It looks very similar to one I had many years ago, and I might be interested in commissioning it if it’s still available. Thanks!

It’s amazing how pipes become so much a part of memories and associations in our lives! Andy and I dialogued, and he commissioned the Monarch and will have the first opportunity to acquire the Bent Ball when it is restored and placed in The Pipe Steward Store, benefiting the Daughters of Bulgaria. Here are the pictures that caught Andy’s attention. The stampings on the pipe are distinctive: on the left side of the shank is stamped ‘Monarch’ in cursive script with swirly tail, over ‘PAT. 1989069’. The right side of the shank has ‘1074H’ stamped which I assume is a shape number. The stem has a dot marked on the top which I notice actually appears to be a vent – the black center of the dot is not solid but a hole. Interesting. A quick trip to Pipedia in search of ‘Monarch’ turns up useful information.

Monarch Pipe Co. was established in Hartford Con, most likely in the late 1930 by Fred Warnke, who obtained a patent on the system pipe on January 22 1935. The company moved to Tulsa Oklahoma at some point in the 1950s, after which Monarch Pipe Co was moved to Bristow, Oklahoma. The Monarch Pipe Co. also makes E.A.Carey Magic Inch and Duncan Hill Aerosphere Pipes.

So, the question in my mind was, are pipes still being produced by the Monarch Pipe Co. in Bristow, Oklahoma? After searching the internet, I found an interesting newspaper article from the The Oklahoman, published January 15, 1995, entitled, ‘Bristow Manufacturer Lives on Pipe Dreams Pipe Fitting As Fragile as a Smoke Ring, The Art Still Burns in Bristow’ (LINK). Excerpts from the article are enlightening and interesting:

Monarch has manufactured pipes in Bristow for 32 years. Once it employed 12 workers and produced 5,000 pipes a month; now the workforce is four, including Austin (a manager mentioned earlier).

Monarch was founded in 1929 in Connecticut. In 1962, a Tulsa businessman who ordered his pipes from Monarch discovered his source might close down, so he bought it. He and his partners moved it to Bristow…. Some 15 years ago, Carey bought the little enterprise.

This excerpt mentions Monarch’s parent company was the E.A. Carey of Ohio, company most well known for the ‘Carey Magic Inch’ pipes which boasts of a system that produces a drier, cooler smoke. Still wondering if Monarch currently was producing pipes, I search again, “Monarch Pipe Co.” and found an old business link from Buzzfile.com that gave information and a ,mailing address – no email or website. I plugged the Bristow, OK, mailing address in Google Maps and found this picture of the Monarch Pipe Co. The date of the photograph from Google is July 2012 – now six years ago. Still desiring to know if Monarch pipes were being manufactured, I decided to try one more angle. The 1995 Oklahoman Newspaper article above said that E. A. Carey bought out the small Monarch enterprise 15 years earlier, in 1980. I searched for the Magic Inch E. A. Carey of Ohio name and found a website: http://www.eacarey.com. As I’ve successfully done many times in the past, I went to the sites ‘Contact Us’ page and used the email provided to see if anyone there knew anything about the Monarch Pipe Company? I received a reply from Danielle:

Thank you for the email. We are sorry, but the Monarch pipe company closed a few years ago. The woman who ran it has retired. We do still sell magic inch pipes, they can all be found on our website: www.eacarey.com Any pipes she made for us, we no longer have.

In reply, I went out on a limb asking if they had a Monarch Shapes Chart…. We’ll see what happens! (Addendum: Danielle responded in a few days to say that they had no information on Monarch pipes. Oh well!)

The closing lines in the 1995 Oklahoman article proved to be prophetic. The former manager of Monarch Pipe Co., Francis Austin was quoted:

Still, he said, Carey “realizes the stability of the smoking industry” is as fragile as a smoke ring, and is diversifying into such areas as children’s safety toys and goose down products.

Someday, concedes Austin, who’s 60, his artful pipes will be collectors’ items.

This Monarch Bent Ball is now a collectible! The other interesting aspect of the Monarch nomenclature is the patent number given: ‘PAT. 1989069’ which is for the system evident in the fittings of the Monarch ‘System’ pipe. I took the patent number to the United States Patent and Trademark Office site searched the patent number. I found that the patent was approved January 22, 1935 and a diagram that is also referenced by Pipedia, showing a cutout of a pipe with the system that remains in the Monarch on my worktable. I was also intrigued by reading the full patent document submitted by Fred L. Warnke in 1931. I clipped the header from that document and placed it below. The first several paragraphs describes how the system would provide the holy grail of pipe technology – a cooler and dryer smoke! One last interesting item to note which I referenced earlier. The dot on the top of the stem is a hole or a vent air regulator which is labeled #25 in the Fig. 1 1931 patent diagram. I found this caption that I clipped from the patent document interesting as it describes the purpose of the vent and how it contributes to a ‘dryer and cooler’ smoking experience as it regulates the introduction of fresh air to the to the smoke. I really wish I could try out some of the pipes I restore to experience these inventions in practice!As I take a close look at the Monarch Bent Ball, the chamber has light cake buildup with some lava flow on the rim, but light. The stummel looks to be in good shape. I see no fills and only the normal grime that builds on the surface. I’m not quite sure how the internals of this system pipe work, I’ll have to experiment to see how to clean it. The stem has mild oxidation and some tooth chatter. So, with a better understanding of the provenance of this Monarch Bent Ball and the technology of the patent, I begin the restoration by cleaning the internal airway and air chamber of the stem with pipe cleaners and cotton buds then I add the Monarch stem to Before & After Deoxidizer along with five other pipes’ stems to address the oxidation.After some hours, I fish the stem out of the Deoxidizer and wipe off the Deoxidizer and oxidation with a cotton pad and light paraffin oil (mineral oil). I also clear the airway of Deoxidizer using a pipe cleaner dipped in isopropyl 95%. The Before & After Deoxidizer did a good job – the stem’s oxidation is removed.Turning to the stummel, I begin to clear the light cake using the Pipnet Reaming Kit. I take a picture to mark the start and spread paper towel to minimize cleaning. I jump over the smallest blade head with this large chamber and use the next blade to the largest blade head. I then use the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Tool to fine tune the reaming by scraping the chamber walls where the blade heads missed. To get down to fresher briar, I then sand the chamber by wrapping a piece of 240 grade paper around a Sharpie Pen. Finally, to clean the chamber removing the carbon dust, I wet a cotton pad and wipe the chamber. Looking at the chamber wall – I see no problems. The pictures chronicle the progress. Turning to the external surface, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to scrub with cotton pads and I also utilize a brass brush on the rim. After cleaning I rinse the bowl under tap water. The rim came out well with most of the lava removed.

I decide to explore the internals of the Monarch’s mortise. I first clean the nickel mortise airway tube with pipe cleaners and shank brushes. The tube was easily cleaned. After looking at the patent diagram again, mainly at figure five which shows the mortise fitting, I decide to see if it will come out. The base appears to be threaded. Carefully, I clamp down on the flat sided flange shown as #26, and gently rotate the stummel holding the mortise fitting stationary. It starts a bit sticky but then gradually loosens up until it is removed. What I’m looking at looks close to the 1935 patent diagram. I find that #15 is loose and comes off of the main threaded insert. I read in the patent document that this hardware was designed to enable an exact adjustment to position the stem with the stummel. We’ll see after I clean everything and reassemble how this works. I wanted to see if there was a crud trap at the end of the tubing near the draft hole. I am pleased to see that there wasn’t after plunging a few cotton buds down through the opened mortise. After cleaning and reassembling the mortise insert, it did take a bit to figure out how to work the adjustment mechanism. It was a combination of rotating the threaded insert (#14) so that the flange (#15) was loosened and could rotate a degree or so and tightened to change the alignment of the stem that would then be screwed on…. After a few tightenings and loosenings, I was able to align the stem as it should be! The new steward will have to figure this out! I take a picture to show the alignment. To address the stem’s tooth chatter, I first use the heating method to expand the vulcanite, thus reducing the severity of the indentations. I use a Bic lighter and paint both the upper and lower bit. I follow that by using a flat needle file to re-shape the button lips, both upper and lower, then I sand using 240 grit paper to erase the file scratches and to sand out the tooth chatter. Following the 240 grit paper, I use 600 grit paper to erase the scratches of the 240. Then, over the entire stem, I sand/buff using 0000 grade steel wool. The tooth chatter is removed, and the button’s new lines look good. The stem is ready for the micromesh process. Using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, I wet sand the stem. Following this, I dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000. After each set of 3 pads, I apply a coat of Obsidian Oil to rejuvenate the vulcanite. The stem looks good – the glossy pop is what we aim for! The stem is waiting in the wings and I now look to the stummel. To begin, I decide to do a very light topping using 600 grade paper on the chopping board to refresh the rim lines and to remove the remaining lava traces. Inverting the stummel onto the board I only go a few rotations and I’m satisfied with the results. To remove the minor cuts and nicks on the stummel from normal wear, I use micromesh pads 1500 to 2400 and wet sand the stummel. Following this, I dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 then 6000 to 12000. Well, at the beginning of the second set of micromesh pads while sanding, I spied a blemish in the briar that I hadn’t seen before (second picture below). It was a bit too large for me to be happy with the finished restoration, so I take a little detour. I apply a drop of clear CA glue on the spot. I spray it with an accelerator to instantly cure the patch. I keep the drop as small as possible so not to impact the surrounding briar. Surgically, I file and sand the patch down with a flat needle file, then use 240 and 600 grade papers and then play catchup with the spot with the first 3 micromesh pads. Finally, I then complete the micromesh process with the final six pads. The grain is looking good on this Monarch Bent Ball! At this point I decide to add a stain to darken the stummel, but to give it a nudge in a reddish direction. I decide to use Fiebing’s Saddle Tan Pro Dye to do this. For the staining process, I remove the Monarch System insert in the mortise. I then wipe the stummel with a cotton pad and alcohol to clean the surface. Using a hot air gun, I warm the bowl causing the briar to expand. This helps the grain be more receptive to the dye. After the bowl is heated, I use a folded pipe cleaner to apply the Saddle Tan dye to the briar. After I coat the stummel thoroughly, I flame the stain with a lit candle. This causes the alcohol in the dye to combust and to set the pigment in the briar. After a few minutes, I repeat the process of applying dye and flaming. I set the stummel aside to rest through the night. It’s a good idea, and I turn out the lights. The next morning has arrived and I’m anxious to ‘unwrap’ the flamed Saddle Tan crust encasing the stummel. I mount a felt buffing wheel on the Dremel and set the speed at the slowest and I use Tripoli compound to remove the layer. The felt wheel, coupled with the Tripoli, a coarser compound, removes the leftover stain as well as finely buffs the briar surface. I work the Tripoli compound methodically ‘sweeping’ the briar surface revealing the grain beneath. With my wife’s help, I include a picture of the process. At the end of the application of Tripoli compound, I give the stummel a light wipe with a cotton cloth wetted with isopropyl 95% to blend the new stain. Next, I rejoin stem and stummel and I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on the Dremel, turn up the speed to about 40% and apply Blue Diamond compound, a less abrasive compound. Completing this, I use a felt cloth and wipe the pipe removing the compound dust in preparation for applying wax. I mount another cotton cloth wheel to the Dremel, maintain the 40% speed and apply a few applications of carnauba wax to both stem and stummel. I complete the waxing with a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth.

My goodness! The grain on this Monarch Bent Ball just stands up and shouts! As one traces the patterns around the Ball’s bowl, there’s flame grain, some bird’s eye and a rippled stream of grain that reminds me tiger fur – a landscape of grain pleasing to the eye. The Monarch Ball shape fits naturally in the palm. Andy from Maryland commissioned this Monarch Bent Ball and he will have first dibs on it when it’s placed in The Pipe Steward Store. This pipe benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!

Discovering the History of a Pipe Pub Brigade Made in London, England, Canadian Lumberman

2 Replies

Blog by Dal Stanton

This Canadian Lumberman came to me in the Lot of 66 that I’ve mentioned several times having restored several pipes coming from that one eBay acquisition. He has a hefty presence. He has a length of 6 3/8 inches, bowl height of 2 inches, bowl width of 1 5/16 inches, and a depth of 1 ¾ inches – plenty of room for one’s favorite blend. I do not have an active Canadian shape in my rotation and I had considered adding this Pipe Pub Brigade to my collection, but I decided to put him on The Pipe Steward site in the “For ‘Pipe Dreamers’ Only!” section to benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls we seek to help who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Towner, a long-time friend living in Pennsylvania, saw the Pipe Pub Brigade online and sent me a note desiring to commission this Canadian. I recalled talking to Towner last year when my wife and I were visiting Towner’s church and talking about our work in Bulgaria – he said that he wanted to add a Canadian to his collection and that he would wait for me to get back to Bulgaria. He waited and now his commissioned Canadian Lumberman is on my worktable. Here are the pictures that got Towner’s attention as he was ‘Pipe Dreaming’! According to Bill Burney’s Pipedia Pipe Shapes Chart, this Canadian is a Lumberman. Here is his helpful information for those of us seeking to understand the nuances of the Canadian pipe family. The Lumberman stands out among the Canadians with the oval shank coupled with the saddle stem. The combination of both unique characteristics translates into a classy looking pipe.

The nomenclature of this Canadian Lumberman proved to be a bit more difficult. Mid-way on the top of the long shank is stamped, PIPE PUB over Brigade, in a ‘old world’ looking script. On the opposite side of the shank is stamped, MADE IN over LONDON, ENGLAND. Stamped on the top of the oval saddle stem is ‘PP’ in a cursive script, which I’m assuming stands for Pipe Pub. To learn more about the provenance of the Pipe Pub name I started my search in my regular go to sites – Pipedia.com and Pipephil.eu and came up with absolutely nothing. I broadened my search on the internet by simply searching ‘Pipe Pub’ and ‘Pipe Pub Brigade’. My initial findings had more to do with bagpipers, bagpipe brigades, Irish pubs and pipes…, all of these go well together! Yet, I wasn’t finding anything that helped me with the Canadian looking back at me on my worktable. I looked in my copy of Wilczak and Colwell’s ‘Who Made that Pipe?’ and found nothing giving me a direction. Usually, when I face the brick wall my response is to send Steve an email. With all his vast Rebornpipes experience, surely, he’ll know something. Steve’s response was quick and helpful:

Hi Dal

I have heard of it. Here is a link to one on Smoking pipes.com

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=200834

I would try to ferret out the shape number. For instance on the one from Smoking pipes it is a 124… which interestingly is a GBD shape number for a Billiard. I wonder if the brand was not made by special order for pipe shops and stores.

SteveI looked at the link and saw my first example another Pipe Pub pipe – a very nice classic Billiard. I immediately looked again to see if I missed a shape number on the Canadian – I still saw no number. But the other piece of information that Steve gave was helpful – the brand was perhaps a special order for pipe shops and stores. I went back to Google not looking for pipes but for places named ‘Pipe Pub.’ I hit pay dirt and the dirt was surprising! With the COM of the Canadian stamped indicating London, England, I had been expecting to find something that was UK based but instead, I found a reference for Pipe Pub that was based in the great US state of Texas – who would have thought? Through several iterations of search parameters, I came across a Google Group chat stream that started in 1998 entitled, “Pipe Pub?” . The question posed was about a Pipe Pub “almost Canadian” pipe that had the same nomenclature and stem ‘PP’ as mine, but the COM was stamped, ‘Italy’. The questioner in the stream proposed a correlation with the Italian Savinelli name wondering if Pipe Pub might be a second of that well-known Italian pipe house?

The next response to Bro. R from Larry introduced the Texas connection:

Bro. R,

Back in the 70’s the mall tobacconists here in Austin, TX, were named Pipe Pub; they became Pipe World a little later. I don’t know if, then or now, these businesses were strictly local or part of a larger chain. I’m pretty sure they sold a store brand with their name on the pipes. Today, Pipe World’s store brand pipes *are* made by Savinelli.

Larry

With these two entries, I knew that we were talking about the same pipe name – the ‘PP’ on the stem was the clincher. Pipe Pub is a local Texas tobacconist which had pipes manufactured with the Pipe Pub name. But there was more information that perhaps should be submitted to Pipedia! The next entry I’m including in its entirely because it brings in much of the historical context with much color and the source of the information is a Jon Carter, who is described by Don Schram as a manager of Pipe Pub in the 80s.

Here’s the skinny on Pipe Pub, as related to me by Jon Carter, former manager of Pipe Pub from 1983 to 1987, who isn’t online as of yet. (Messages will be relayed to him through me at: dsc…@bigfoot.com ,however.)

Pipe Pub was started in the Houston area of Texas in the early 70’s with a single downtown store. It was joined a short time later by a store located in the Austin, TX, area, which was owned and operated by a brother-in-law of the original founders (whose name escapes Jon for the moment). While Pipe Pub wasn’t nationwide, they owned approx. 14 stores throughout Texas, primarily in the Houston area, and were much in competition with Tinderbox. (Comparable to Churchill’s in the S.E. Michigan area.)

The Pipe Pub pipe in question was confirmed by Jon to be a pipe from this chain. The letters ‘PP’ in script on the stem indicate that the bit is original, and you are correct in that it stands for Pipe Pub. As far as the age, there is no definite method of dating this pipe, however; Pipe Pub only carried their own line of ‘Private Label’ pipes between the early 70’s and 1983 when they were phased out in favor of higher grade (and higher priced) pipes, to coincide with the Texas oil boom of the 80’s. Jon was not able to confirm positively that the pipe is indeed of Savinelli make (second or otherwise), however, he did point out that Pipe Pub did have an excellent relationship with the Savinelli company, as they were allowed to carry and sell the rare Savinelli 0000 (Quadruple-ought) Autograph, of which only 3 have been produced in the last century. Jon also pointed out that he and another manager sold it to a gentleman who worked for the telephone company to complete a collection of Savinelli Autographs. (He went to the bank and took out a $5000 loan for it. The bank, initially thought he was purchasing ‘oil drilling pipe’, but gave him a personal loan for the tobacco pipe anyways. He kept it in a lock box for a while, then finally broke it out and smoked it for the first time during the 1986 or 1987 Superbowl.)

To round out the history of Pipe Pub, the chain was bought out, save one store, in 1985 by a family, by name of Kowalski, who turned the tobacco chain into a chain of mall knick-knack stores. (Sound all-too familiar Churchill’s customers?) The one store, Pipe Pub in Austin, run by the brother-in-law, was not included in the deal, but it was agreed that he would change the name of the store. Jon commented that the lone store may have changed its name to Pipe World, but wasn’t really privy to such information, as it was, more or less, operated as a renegade store. The Kowalski’s opened one additional store in Louisiana, their home state, and promptly ran the chain right into the ground after one Christmas season, due to poor ownership and product focus. Jon pointed out, “They carried vibrating pillows, for God’s sake!” Forcing the company into bankruptcy, the Kowalski’s sold the chain back to the original owners, whom to his
knowledge, still own it today.

For more information, Jon recommends calling down to Houston and asking information for their main office, which was on Mitchelldale. [A search of Yahoo Yellow Pages came up empty, however there is a Carol’s Pipe Pub in Bacliff, TX, a suburb of Houston. Phone (281) 488-7300. It’s unknown if they’re related.]

DS (Don Schram.)
This information-filled post is dated, 1998. On a hunch, I google the name of the offshoot store characterized as the ‘renegade’ store that wasn’t part of the reported 1985 Pipe Pub acquisition described in stream above. As part of the legal agreement this store was required to change the name without further association with the Pipe Pub name. Pipe World, based in Austin, and run by a “brother-in-law” family member came into existence – or, more accurately, carried on the original legacy of Pipe Pub under a different name because it seems that the new owners of Pipe World ran the company off the rails. I found http://pipeworld.com/ with different locations in Texas and wondered if this was the same ‘Pipe World’ referenced above.

As I’ve done in the past with surprising success, I go directly to the front door and knock. I went to the ‘Contact Us’ section on the Pipe World site and sent an email asking if anyone had been around long enough to know something about the history of the former, Pipe Pub Tobacconist out of which Pipe World came. You never know what will happen! I received a reply to my email the same day from Pipe World – from Kyle who asked me to call directly if I had any questions. Thankfully, I have an internet phone from Bulgaria and I called Kyle in Texas. Kyle answered the phone and was extremely helpful. His grasp of the history was amazing – he had been there during the whole transition. I was totally taken off guard when I discovered through our conversation, that he was the owner of Pipe World. His name is Kyle Haas. He was the ‘brother-in-law’ referenced above who opened the new Pipe World and held firm to the values that had been true historically of Pipe Pub.

I enjoyed talking with Kyle, his recall of the events and his grasp of all the many moving parts of the tobacco industry fascinated me. He was able to answer the primary question I had about the origin of the Pipe Pub pipes. Definitively according to Kyle, during the 70s and early 80s, GBD/Comoy’s was producing the English line of pipes with the Pipe Pub name out of the London factory. Pipe Pub pipes marked ITALY were all produced by the well-known Italian house of Savinelli. He said that he doubted that Savinelli continued to do sub-contract work because they sell enough of their own pipes today to make it worthwhile. He said that they had to order a lot of each shape as part of the requirements – I believe he said that they introduced a new shape each year. He mentioned that the pipes that were produced in England and Italy with the Pipe Pub label were done with higher quality in mind. I said that I could attest to this as I looked at the GBD/Comoy’s factory made Pipe Pub Canadian on my worktable.

After talking about the current climate in the tobacco industry, some of the current issues with Dunhill and the like, I shared with him our work with the Daughters of Bulgaria (he was surprised to hear I was calling from Bulgaria!) and my love for restoring classic pipes which benefit our Daughters of Bulgaria Foundation. We ended our conversation with words of friendship and for me, a desire to stop off at Pipe World and visit Kyle at their shops in Round Rock and Austin, Texas. I appreciated the time Kyle gave me on the telephone to discover a bit more pipe history.

With a better understanding now of the origins of this Pipe Pub Made in London, England, Canadian Lumberman thanks to Kyle, I look to recommissioning it for yet another lifetime. I take a few close-ups to take a better look. The chamber has light carbon cake which will not be difficult to remove getting down to fresh briar for a fresh start. There is some darkening on the rim and nicks, cuts and bruises over the entire briar surface. I identify an odd-looking fill at the shank/stummel transition. It looks like dark CA glue, but it doesn’t blend at all. I also identify about mid-way on the side of the shank a divot of sorts in the briar. The finish is old, worn, and tired, though the briar grain hiding beneath shows very good potential. The stem also has some dents and button damage. To start, after cleaning the internal of the stem with pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95%, I add the short saddle stem to a soak with Before & After Deoxidizer along with 5 other pipe stems in queue for restoration. After soaking for a few hours, I fish out the saddle stem and wipe off the Deoxidizer and raised oxidation with cotton pads and light paraffin oil. I also run some pipe cleaners through the airway dipped with alcohol to clear the Deoxidizer. The Before & After Deoxidizer did a good job on the oxidation. I decide to first work on the stem by using the heating method to minimize the tooth chatter and dents. Heating the vulcanite causes it to expand and return to some degree to the original condition of the vulcanite. I paint the problem areas with a flame from a Bic lighter – both upper and lower bit. I take starting point pictures to compare both uppers and then lowers. The heating technique made a difference by minimizing the damage and raising the compressions. With the dents and chatter less extreme, I’m able to sand out the remaining problems. Using 240 grade paper I sand both upper and lower bit and I also redefine the button lips using a flat needle file. I’m very careful to avoid the Pipe Pub “PP” stamping – the second “P” is thin and I don’t want to add to its challenges!To erase the 240 scratches, I follow by sanding with grade 600 paper then with 0000 steel wool to smooth further and buff up the vulcanite. I like the results.With the stem progress at this point, I turn to the Pipe Pub Canadian Lumberman stummel. To deal with the very light carbon cake buildup in the chamber, I utilize the Pipnet Reaming Kit and jump to the 3^rd largest blade head – the bowl is large! I remove a good bit of the cake and then I transition to the Savinelli Fitsall Tool to fine tune – getting to the lower part of the chamber and removing more carbon. To get down to the fresh briar, I then wrap a piece of 240 grit paper around a Sharpie Pen and sand the chamber wall – the pen gives me leverage. Finally, to remove the carbon dust I wet a cotton pad with isopropyl 95% and wipe out the chamber. I inspect the chamber walls and I see no cracks or heat fissures – all looks great! The pictures chronicle the steps. Turning to the external briar surface, using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap, I scrub using cotton pads and utilize a brass brush on the rim. I also use a pen knife carefully to scrape the rim. The stummel and rim cleaned up nicely.Before proceeding with the external surface, I clean the internals of the stummel – the long Canadian mortise and airway. Using isopropyl 95%, I employ many cotton buds, utilize a dental shovel to scrape the mortise walls, and pipe cleaners and shank brushes to reach into the long Canadian airway. There was a lot of lodged tars and oils but it finally started giving way. I plan to clean further utilizing a kosher salt and alcohol soak at the end of my work day. I take a picture of the weapons and carnage!As I look over the stummel and shank, I see two problem areas, both on the shank. As the shank merges with the bowl, there is an old fill that is shiny black and stands out like a sore thumb. It appears to be solid CA glue but an eyesore. The other problem is mid-way on the right side of the shank. It appears to be a gouge or puncture in the grain. I take pictures of both as I consider what to do.I address first the shiny black fill. I want to remove the fill but not impact the surrounding briar with sanding. To do this I will try to dissolve the CA fill by applying a small amount of acetone directly to the fill and hopefully it will soften and allow me to dig it out with a dental probe. It works like a champ. Since acetone evaporates quickly, I repeatedly dob a bit of acetone on the fill using a cotton bud. While the acetone rested on the fill as a droplet, I would carefully scrape and probe the fill with a sharp dental probe. Gradually the CA began to soften, allowing the dental probe to undermine the integrity of the fill. After repeating the dob, scrape, probe several times, the fill disintegrated, and the briar blemish can be refilled and hopefully blended better. The pictures show the process. For the gouge on the other side, I gently clean out the wound with the sharp dental probe to remove any old fill and debris that had collected. I then wipe both repair areas with alcohol to clean the areas in preparation for a new fill.I mix together thick CA glue and briar dust to form a putty. I place some briar dust on an index card and put a few drops of the CA glue next to the briar dust. Using a toothpick, I add briar dust to the CA glue until I reach a viscosity of about molasses. I then apply the Briar putty to the two areas on the shank – a mound of putty over the areas in anticipation of sanding them down after the putty cures. I put the stummel aside for several hours. With the patches curing, I turn to the stem and using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, I wet sand the stem. I follow by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and then 6000 to 12000. After each set of three I apply a coat of Obsidian Oil to rejuvenate the vulcanite stem. Throughout all the sanding I take care to avoid the Pipe Pub ‘PP’ stamping on the top of the stem. The first ‘P’ is strong but the second ‘P’ is faded. Later I will add paint to the stamping with hope that there’s enough tread left in the second ‘P’ to hold the paint. I like the progress – the vulcanite stem has a glossy pop! The patches on the shank are ready for filing, sanding and blending. I use a flat needle file to bring the patch mounds down near to the briar surface. Then I follow with 240 grit paper rolled up tightly, then 600 grit – each removing the scratches of the former. Finally, I run 0000 steel wool over each patch. I take pictures to show the progress. Moving on to the micromesh phase. To address the tired finish and the myriad of small scratches over the stummel from normal wear, I wet sand using micromesh pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and pads 6000 to 12000. I love watching the gradual unveiling of the briar grain during the micromesh cycle. I never grow tired of the beautiful matrix of grains – no pipe is the same, each a new showcase of God’s creation. The pictures show the progress. I’m at a decision point. The question before me is whether to apply a darker stain to the stummel or leave it at the natural grain hue? The current state is very attractive except for the fact that the briar patch I applied closest to the bowl, as seen in the pictures above, stands out more than I like because it is surrounded by lighter wood. I wonder if I would have applied simply a drop of clear, regular CA glue the patch would have been lighter? Hmm. Something to consider in the future. While I’m considering the question of staining, I decide to give the stummel a kosher salt and alcohol soak to further freshen the internals of the Canadian for the new steward.

First, I form a wick to insert as far down the long shank’s airway as possible to draw out tars and oils. I use a cotton ball and by stretching it out and twisting it I form the wick. I use a straight wire to help force it down to airway. I then fill the bowl with kosher salt, which leaves no aftertaste. After setting the stummel in an egg carton for stability, using a large eyedropper, I fill the bowl with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt. I wait a few minutes and top off the alcohol again. I set the stummel aside to soak for several hours.While the stummel is soaking, I take another closeup of the ‘PP’ stamping on the stem. To add a nice touch to the recommissioning of this Pipe Pub Canadian, I want to add white acrylic paint to the lettering. I have no pictures of Pipe Pub pipes that give this detail to compare, but I’m assuming that when this Pipe Pub Canadian rolled off factory line in London, the ‘PP’ stamping was colored. I’m hoping too, that the second ‘P’ can hold the paint. Using white acrylic paint, I apply a very small amount over the ‘PP’ stamping spreading it with a toothpick and then using a cotton pad I dob off some of the paint – to thin it so that it will dry more evenly. I take a picture at this point. I let it set for a few hours. Using the mid-part of a toothpick to rub lightly the dried paint, I’m able to achieve a good look with the first ‘P’. I apply more paint over the second ‘P’ and let it cure. Well, after some time I’m somewhat satisfied with the results – it’s the best I can do with the worn, thin second ‘P’. The stummel has been in a kosher salt and alcohol soak for several hours. The salt has discolored and the wick as well. Its done its job. I shake the salt in the waste and clean the bowl of salt with paper towel. I also blow through the mortise to dislodge in salt crystals. The bowl is fresher now and the new steward will appreciate this!After some thought, I decide to darken the hue on the stummel to mask more effectively the fills on the shank and to capture a more classic darker English style considering the London, England origins of this Canadian. I use Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye and I cut it with isopropyl 95% by about 50%. I want a darker stain but not too dark. As an aniline dye, if I elect, I can lighten it further by wiping the stained stummel with alcohol. I first mix the stain with alcohol in a shot glass, and then I clean the stummel by wiping it down with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol. I fit the stummel with a cork in the shank to act as a handle. I then heat the stummel using a hot air gun to expand the briar making the grain more receptive to the dye. After heated, I apply the dye liberally to the stummel and long Canadian shank with a folded over pipe cleaner. After thoroughly covering the stummel with dye, I flame the stummel by igniting the aniline stain and the alcohol in the dye combusts leaving behind the dye set into the grain. After a few minutes, I repeat the application of applying dye and flaming. I set the stained stummel aside to rest through the night. I turn off the lights and do the same! The next morning arrives, the stummel has rested through the night allowing the stain to set well. I enjoy ‘unwrapping’ the stummel of the flamed dye crust to reveal the grain below. To do this, I mount a dedicated felt buffing wheel on the Dremel – the felt wheel creates more torque and friction on the surface. With the felt wheel I apply the coarser Tripoli compound with the Dremel set at the slowest speed. I purge the wheel with the metal edge of the Dremel’s adjustment wrench which removes old compound and softens the wheel. I then methodically work the wheel over the surface with the compound to reveal the newly stained briar and buffing with the compound. I purge the wheel often as old compound collects quickly. I pause and take a picture to show the border of progress. It takes close to an hour to complete the use of the felt wheel. With the felt wheel I was unable to reach into the crook where shank and bowl meet, so I change a cotton cloth wheel and increase the speed of the Dremel to about 40% and apply Tripoli to the crook to remove the flamed stain. When complete, I give the stummel a very light wipe with alcohol using a cotton wipe not really to lighten but to blend the new stain. Pictures show the progress. After the Tripoli, I apply the finer Blue Diamond compound to both reunited stem and stummel. I mount a cotton cloth wheel dedicated to Blue Diamond onto the Dremel, keep the speed at 40% and apply the compound methodically over the entire pipe. After completing the Blue Diamond compound, I wipe the pipe with a felt cloth to remove the compound dust in preparation for the wax. I mount another cotton cloth wheel on the Dremel with the speed at about 40% and apply a few coats of carnauba wax to stem and stummel. I finish the restoration by giving the pipe a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth.

Wow! I’m pleased with the results of this Pipe Pub Canadian Lumberman. I appreciate more the history of the Pipe Pub name and the provenance of this pipe manufactured in London, England. What stands out in this Classic Canadian shape is the briar grain. Oh, my…the pop of the grain is beautiful, and I know that a new steward will enjoy this pipe. Towner commissioned the Pipe Pub Canadian Lumberman from the “For ‘Pipe Dreamers’ Only” area of The Pipe Steward site and he will have first dibs at it in The Pipe Steward Store. As usual with other restorations, this pipe will benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!