Tag Archives: contrast staining

Resurrection of a Well-Loved, Tired Old Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

Sometimes when we get around to working on a pipe I am struck with asking why we picked this one up. That is the case with the next poor old Dunhill. It has been either well loved or abused depending on your perspective. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. Probably the Shell finish and the Dunhill stamp is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads 4106F on the heel of the bowl. That is followed by Dunhill Shell [over] Made in England25. It has a classic Shell briar dark brown/cordovan/black finish sandblast that is a stark contrast to the two silver coloured inlaid rings in the stem. From the side view it is a great looking sandblast pot. However, when you turn it over and examine it from the top down that can begin to see the abuse or love. The bowl appears to be moderately caked at first glance but it is actually quite thick at the bottom half of the bowl and hard as aged concrete. The inner edge and the top show lava overflow and it is hard to know if there is rim damage at this point because of the lava. And let’s talk about that stem. It is oxidized and calcified which is quite normal for what I see. However, the deep tooth marks and chomp marks on the stem surface and button edges are deeper than they first appear. You can picture the old pipe man (or maybe a young one though I doubt it) chomping down on the stem while concentrating on whatever his hands were doing in the shop. Cleaning it up will truly reveal the depth of the mess but first impressions are not good! There were two inlaid metal rings in the taper stem – sandwiching a piece of vulcanite. This is something I have not seen before on a Dunhill stem. The classic white spot is on the top of the stem and looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. What are your impressions? Would you have bought it or left it? He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the lava on the rim top and edges as well as part of the cake in the bowl. It is thicker starting about half way down the bowl. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is actually far worse than even the photos show. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed a great sandblast. It is a great looking piece of briar at least on the outside at this point! He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. There was some faintness to the stamping of the shape number on the heel of the bowl but it was still readable.As is my regular practice, before I started my work on the pipe, I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Shell Pipes to get a refresh the information I know regarding the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Shell

A deep craggy sandblast with a black stain finish (usually made using Algerian briar) – the color of the stain used has varied over the years. Although there is some doubt as to them being the first to sandblast pipes, Dunhill’s Shell pipes, and the sandblasting techniques developed to create them are considered one of Dunhill’s greatest and most lasting contributions to the art of pipe making.

The documented history of Dunhill’s inception of the Shell is largely limited to patent applications — there are no catalog pages or advertisements promoting blasted pipes at the time. The preliminary work on the English patent (No. 1484/17) was submitted on October 13, 1917. The patent submission was completed half a year later, on April 12, 1918, followed by the granting of the English patent on October 14, 1918. This was less than a month before the end of The Great War on November 11th.

In 1986 Dunhill released a line of premium Shell finish pipes – “RING GRAIN”. These are high-quality straight grain pipes which are sandblasted. Initially only Ring Grain, but now in two different finishes. In 1995 the “Shilling” was introduced with Cumberland finish – it is an extremely rare series. These pipes exhibit a deeper blast characteristic of that of the 1930’s – mid-1960’s (and the limited ‘deep blast’ pipes of the early 1980s) and show a fine graining pattern. These are considered the best new Dunhills by many enthusiasts today and are very rare. The finish is sometimes described as tasting like vanilla at first, with the taste becoming more normal or good as the pipe breaks in.

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png).I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a superscript suffix 25 after the D in England it points to the 1960 line on the chart below. To date it just add 1960 +25 for a date of 1985. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent section in the chart.I now knew that I was working on a Shell that came out in 1985. The shape of the pipe is called a Pot with a 4106 Shape number on the heel of the bowl.

I turned to Pipephil’s shape list (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html). At the bottom of the list of shapes (with the 06 being a pot) is a key for interpreting the digits in the stamp I have included that below.

Dunhill pipes are stamped with a four digit code.
Digit 1: (from 1 to 6) denotes the size of the pipe (the group).
Digit 2: denotes the style of the mouthpiece (0,1=tapered, 2=saddle)
Digit 3 and 4: denote the generic pipe shape (in yellow in the chart on top) 

Example: 5102
(5 = size | 1 = tappered stem | 02 = Bent)

When 5 digits occur, the meaning of the 4 first remain the same

The 4106 was thus a Group 4 size, with a taper mouthpiece, and in an 06 or Pot shape.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good but there was a thick ring at the bottom of the bowl. The question was whether it was more cake or damage to the bowl bottom. The airway appears to be drilled at the bottom. This will take some more work. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean but if you look closely you can see the thick ring toward the bottom of the bowl. The stem was clean but the tooth damage is very visible on both sides of the stem and button. The pipe has potential but it will be a lot more work to bring it back.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable even though it is faint in spots. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.It did not take long to decide where I would start with this pipe. I tried to raise the tooth marks as much as possible by “painting” the surface with a lighter flame. It did very little to lift the marks in the stem. I forgot a photo of this but you have seen them before. I filled in the deep marks by layering in the rubberized black CA glue. Once it had cured I flattened the repairs and recut the button with a small file. I reshaped the button top and edges and further flattened and blended in the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was a big improvement but still more work to go! I continued the sanding process with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The repairs began to disappear into the surface of the vulcanite and the stem began to take on a smooth new look. Progress for sure.It was ready for the next step. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to finish this step. I fit the polished stem with a Vauen Dr. Perl Junior 6mm filter in the tenon. It fit perfectly and as normal the filter reduced the draught on the pipe. The pipe can easily be smoked without the filter.I set the stem aside and worked on the bowl. I worked on the thick “concrete” like build up at the bottom of the bowl. It was very hard and thick. I used a PipNet Reamer to work on it a bit and a lot came out of the bowl. I chipped away at it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the build up until the bottom and walls were clean.I cleaned the shank and the bowl again with alcohol and pipe cleaners to remove the dust and debris from the work on the bowl bottom. The exterior of the bowl was in excellent condition. I did not need to sand or do anything in preparation on the pipe. I set the stem aside and worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to finally seeing the 1985 Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The repaired and polished vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of Shell stains on the bowl and shank. This Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard was a lot of work to bring back to life. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.31 ounces/ 38 grams. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section soon. Let me know if you wish to add it to your collection.

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

Breathing new life into a BBB Own Make Made in London England 636 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a BBB pipe with a silver shank band and a vulcanite taper stem. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads BBB in a Diamond with Own on the left side of the Diamond and Make on the right side. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in London [over] England [over] 636. The silver band is stamped Sterling Silver under BBB in a Dimaond on the left side of the band. It is oxidized and scratched. The finish is a reddish-brown colour that really highlights the grain around the bowl and shank. The bowl colour is a stark contrast to the silver band and the black taper stem. There is a BBB Diamond brass logo inlaid on the top of the stem. The bowl was moderately caked and there was some lava on the inner bevelled edge of the rim and the top. The vulcanite stem had some oxidation and some chatter and light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. It also looks like it had a softee bit on the stem at one time as it left a defined line. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim edge and top. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is oxidized and appears to have had a Softee bit on it at one time. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain. It is a pretty piece of briar. He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the Sterling Silver band. The stamping was clear and readable on both shank sides and the band as noted above. He also took a photo of the BBB logo on the topside of the taper stem. Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was very clean and showed that the inner tube sitting in the bottom of the bowl. The stem looked good with very light tooth marks and chatter. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I decided to start my work on the bowl by polishing the rim top and the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. I gave the bowl and shank a coating of Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the silver band with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and oxidation. It took some elbow grease but the cloth works to clean and protect the silver from further tarnishing. It looks significantly better than when I started. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I finished polishing the stem with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. This BBB Own Make 636 Made in London England Billiard turned out to be a great looking pipe. With polishing, the grain shines through clearly. The black vulcanite stem is in excellent condition and works great with the polished briar. The polished silver is a touch of class. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished BBB Own Make 636 Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 43 grams/1.52 ounces. It is a great looking pipe that I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a Sandblast Handmade in Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that came to us from the group of pipes that Jeff and I purchased from our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark on 10/17/2022. It is clearly a Danish Freehand style sandblast that is in good condition. It is stamped on a smooth panel on end of the shank and reads Handmade in Denmark stamped diagonally across the shank end. There is no other stamping on the pipe so it is unclear who made it. The rim top and shank end are plateau briar and quite rugged. Everything about the pipe suggests that it is a Preben Holm made pipe but of course I cannot prove that. The pipe has a mix of black and brown stains on a sandblast finish and some amazing grain that the shape follows well. The finish was dusty around the nooks and crannies of the sandblast but otherwise fairly clean. The rim top had a thick lava cake on the top in the plateau that was heavier on the left side. There was also lava on the inner edge flowing from thick cake in the bowl. The fancy saddle stem was oxidized, dirty and had light chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a thick lava in the plateau on the rim. He captured the condition of the stem when it arrived. The stem has light chatter ahead of the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain in the sandblast around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also dirty with dust ground into the finish. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above.Once again it is on pipes like this that I really appreciate Jeff’s thorough cleaning process. It gives me real freedom in dealing with pipes when they arrive here. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed it under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. He soaked the vulcanite stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and once finished rinsed off the remaining product when he removed it from the mixture. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. Look at the amazing sandblast grain on this beauty. I took photos of the bowl and rim top from a closer angle to show how good it looked. The darks stain on the rim stop is slightly washed out and will need to be restained. The stem photos show how good the stem looks and even the tooth chatter is gone. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the look of the parts of the pipe to give a sense of size and perspective.I tried to capture the diagonal stamp on the underside of the shank. It is clear but I did not capture it well. It reads as noted above.I touched up the stain on the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a black stain pen. It looked much better after staining. I went over it with a brass bristle brush to knock off an loose pieces in the plateau.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get it into the nooks and crannies of the plateau and blast. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned to the vulcanite stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the remnants of oxidation on the and finish blending in the chatter. It looked very good once finished.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect it. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it looks better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Handmade in Denmark Freehand back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished fancy vulcanite saddle stem. This Handmade in Denmark Freehand is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/65 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

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

Restemming a Petite Apple with a vulcanite ferrule

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by Steve Laug

Before I move on to another of the pipes I have to work on from Jeff I decided to do a quick restem on a nice petite apple bowl with a vulcanite ferrule. It did not have a name on the bowl but the shank and the ferrule made for a beautiful little pipe. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned by Jeff somewhere along the journey. It had been sitting here in a box of bowls for a few years now. There was a fill on the front of the bowl that had fallen out and left a divot in the briar. Other than that the bowl was in excellent condition. I repaired the divot on the front of the bowl with some black CA glue and a little bit of briar dust. I flattened out the repair with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the briar.I wiped the bowl down with some isopropyl alcohol and cotton pads to remove the opacity of the stain and make it a bit more transparent. The grain began to stand through with a lot of clarity. I like the look of the grain around the bowl. The repair on the bowl was a bit lighter than the rest of the bowl and would need to be stained. I stained the repair on the front of the bowl with a Walnut stain pen. It blended into the surface of the bowl with the stain pen. The match was very good.I sanded the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grits sanding pads. Once again, I wiped it down with a damp cloth following each pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I went through my stems here and found a nice looking military bit stem that would look great with the pipe.It was clean and unused so I only need to polish it. I did that with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil. I put the No Name Apple pipe together and took it to the buffer. I buffed both the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave both multiple coats of Carnuaba Wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I further polished it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is a beautiful petite pipe that should be a great smoker. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 3/8 inches, Bowl diameter: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .67 ounces/19 grams. If you wish to add it to your collection let me know. I will be putting it in the rebornpipes store shortly in the American Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for taking time to read this restoration and restem. As always I appreciate questions and comments.

PipaCroci fatta a mano Manitova-Italia Amica Dublin

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by Steve Laug

The pipe was a nice little Pipa Croci smooth, nicely grained Dublin. The bowl and rim were smooth. We purchased it 12/09/2024 via Facebook’s Pipe Exchange from a seller in Wellsville, Kansas, USA along with the other two previous Pipa Croci pipes I have written about. It is stamped on the left underside of the shank and reads Pipa Croci [over] Fatta A Mano [over] Mantova – Italia. Underneath and toward the bowl it is stamped Dal 1983 – the year that the company started. On the right underside it is stamped with the PC logo [over] Amica. It is a light weight well-made pipe with an amber/tan – coloured acrylic half saddle stem that fits against the shank end. The stem has the insert bar and dot logo on the top side. There were light tooth marks on both sides at the button but otherwise the stem was in good condition. The black Delrin tenon was in excellent condition. The tenon was made for a 9mm filter. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. I have included those below. Jeff took photos of the rim top to show the condition. There is some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and spots of lava on the rim top. He also captured the condition of the stem when it arrived. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also very dirty with grime and oils ground into it.Jeff took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. Before I started working on my part of the restoration I decided to do a bit of research on the Pipa Croci brand. I wanted to clearly understand the stamping and possibly get date for the pipe and some background on the brand. I turned to Pipephil first to see what I could learn from there (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c8.html). I have included a screen capture from the section on the brand and a few of the sidebar notes below that.Artisans: Paolo & Gianni. Grading (ascending): Pipa Croci, Amica, True, True I, Quality Street, Starlight, Golden Flame. Production (2007): ~ 3000 pipes/year. Pipa Croci is part of the Molina Group (2012)

I knew from that information that I was working on a grade two Amica pipe. I also learned that the pipe was made by Paolo and Gianni Croci. It is a great looking pipe and I was looking forward to seeing what Pipedia added to the information.

I turned to the link on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipa_Croci). I have included the article in part below.

Pipa Croci pipes are created by Paolo & Gianni Croci from Mantova, Lombardia. The company was founded in 1983 and on each pipe you will find the nomenclature reads “dal 1983”. Each and every pipe is hand crafted from aged Italian Plateau Briar. This is a company that makes no two pipes alike and they truly create some masterpieces. In their own words:

“The Pipa Croci is an artisan enterprise. The pipes which are born from our hands are all differnt from each other. This means that the owner of a Croci pipe possesses something totally unique. Keeping up with the avant-garde in styling and marketing, in addition to our Free Hand we have created the Classical Models. Furthermore, we produce several hand-carved objects related to the pipe smoker and made of briar.”

The quality classification of the pipes is as follows (ascending): Pipa Croci; Amica; True; True 1; Quality Street; Starlight; Golden Flame.

So the “Pipa Croci” is the least expensive and the “Gold Flame” the most costly, but the most exceptional. The classification takes place in a careful and accurate manner and the criteria for these choices are form, character of the briar and beauty of its grain.

The pipes are divided into groups according to their design; these groups or series have been given the following names: Normale; Artistica; Gran Camino; Gran Camino Artistica; Calumet; Calumet Artistica; Calumet Gran Camino; Calumet Gran Camino Artistica; Calumet 2000; Calumet 2000 Artistica; Calumet 2000 Gran Camino; Calumet 2000 Gran Camino Artistica.

The Classical models are hand-made reproductions of the traditional shapes. These well-known shapes have the following letter-number references: Billiard = A1; Apple = F1; Dublin = H1, etc…

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim look very good. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of shank. The stamping is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I sanded the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grits sanding pads. Once again, I wiped it down with a damp cloth following each pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I fit the stem with a 6mm filter and put it back on the shank. It fit well but if the next pipeman wishes, the pipe could be smoked filterless though it would have a wide-open draught.I put the Pipa Croci Hand Made, Manitova, Italia, Amica Dublin Freehand bowl and 9mm filter stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. 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 rich brown stains worked amazingly well with the polished acrylic saddle stem. The grain around the bowl and shank and looks quite remarkable. This is truly a beautiful Pipa Croci Amica Dublin. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches wide x 2 inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.87 ounces/54 grams. This beautiful, Italian Hand Made Pipa Croci will be added to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

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

Pipa Croci fatta a mano Manitova-Italia dal 1983 Diamond Shank Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The pipe was a nice little Pipa Croci smooth Diamond Shank Billiard. The bowl and rim were smooth. We purchased it 12/09/2024 via Facebook’s Pipe Exchange from a seller in Wellsville, Kansas, USA. It is stamped on the left underside of the shank and reads Pipa Croci [over] Fatta A Mano [over] Mantova – Italia. Underneath and toward the bowl it is stamped Dal 1983 – the year that the company started. On the right underside it is stamped with the PC logo. It is a light weight well-made pipe with a rose/amber – coloured acrylic stem that fits like a military bit into a matching shank extension. The stem has the insert bar and dot logo on the top side. There were light tooth marks on both sides at the button but otherwise the stem was in good condition. The black Delrin tenon was in excellent condition. The tenon was made for a 9mm filter. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. I have included those below.Jeff took photos of the rim top to show the condition. There is some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and spots of lava on the rim top. He also captured the condition of the stem when it arrived. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also very dirty with grime and oils ground into it. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. Before I started working on my part of the restoration I decided to do a bit of research on the Pipa Croci brand. I wanted to clearly understand the stamping and possibly get date for the pipe and some background on the brand. I turned to Pipephil first to see what I could learn from there (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c8.html). I have included a screen capture from the section on the brand and a few of the sidebar notes below that.Artisans: Paolo & Gianni. Grading (ascending): Pipa Croci, Amica, True, True I, Quality Street, Starlight, Golden Flame. Production (2007): ~ 3000 pipes/year. Pipa Croci is part of the Molina Group (2012)

I knew from that information that I was working on a grade one Pipa Croci pipe. I also learned that the pipe was made by Paolo and Gianni Croci. It is a great looking pipe and I was looking forward to seeing what Pipedia added to the information.

I turned to the link on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipa_Croci). I have included the article in part below.

Pipa Croci pipes are created by Paolo & Gianni Croci from Mantova, Lombardia. The company was founded in 1983 and on each pipe you will find the nomenclature reads “dal 1983”. Each and every pipe is hand crafted from aged Italian Plateau Briar. This is a company that makes no two pipes alike and they truly create some masterpieces. In their own words:

“The Pipa Croci is an artisan enterprise. The pipes which are born from our hands are all differnt from each other. This means that the owner of a Croci pipe possesses something totally unique. Keeping up with the avant-garde in styling and marketing, in addition to our Free Hand we have created the Classical Models. Furthermore, we produce several hand-carved objects related to the pipe smoker and made of briar.”

The quality classification of the pipes is as follows (ascending): Pipa Croci; Amica; True; True 1; Quality Street; Starlight; Golden Flame.

So the “Pipa Croci” is the least expensive and the “Gold Flame” the most costly, but the most exceptional. The classification takes place in a careful and accurate manner and the criteria for these choices are form, character of the briar and beauty of its grain.

The pipes are divided into groups according to their design; these groups or series have been given the following names: Normale; Artistica; Gran Camino; Gran Camino Artistica; Calumet; Calumet Artistica; Calumet Gran Camino; Calumet Gran Camino Artistica; Calumet 2000; Calumet 2000 Artistica; Calumet 2000 Gran Camino; Calumet 2000 Gran Camino Artistica.

The Classical models are hand-made reproductions of the traditional shapes. These well-known shapes have the following letter-number references: Billiard = A1; Apple = F1; Dublin = H1, etc…

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim look very good. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of shank. The stamping is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I sanded the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grits sanding pads. Once again, I wiped it down with a damp cloth following each pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I fit the stem with a 9mm filter and put it back on the shank. It fit well but if the next pipeman or woman wishes, the pipe could be smoked filterless though it would have a wide-open draught. I put the Pipa Croci Hand Made, Manitova, Italia, Diamond Shank Bent Billiard bowl and stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. 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 rich brown stains worked amazingly well with the polished acrylic saddle stem. The grain around the bowl and shank and looks quite remarkable. This is truly a beautiful Pipa Croci Hand Made Bent Billiard. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.27 ounces/36 grams. This beautiful, Italian Hand Made Pipa Croci will be added to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

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

Restoring a Pipa Croci fatta a mano Manitova-Italia – True – Dublin

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by Steve Laug

The pipe was a nice little Pipa Croci smooth Dublin. The bowl and rim were smooth. We purchased it 12/09/2024 via Facebook’s Pipe Exchange from a seller in Wellsville, Kansas, USA. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Pipa Croci [over] Fatta A Mano [over] Mantova – Italia. Underneath and toward the bowl it is stamped Dal 1983 – the year that the company started. On the right side it is stamped with the PC logo [over] TRUE. It is a light weight well-made pipe with a rose-coloured acrylic stem with a black thin line around the end next to the shank. The stem has the insert bar and dot logo on the top side. There were light tooth marks on both sides at the button but otherwise the stem was in good condition. The black Delrin tenon was in excellent condition. The tenon was made for a 6mm filter. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. I have included those below.Jeff took photos of the rim top to show the condition. There is some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and spots of lava on the rim top. He also capture the condition of the stem when it arrived. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also very dirty with grime and oils ground into it. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. Before I started working on my part of the restoration I decided to do a bit of research on the Pipa Croci brand. I wanted to clearly understand the stamping and possibly get date for the pipe and some background on the brand. I turned to Pipephil first to see what I could learn from there (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c8.html). I have included a screen capture from the section on the brand and a few of the sidebar notes below that.Artisans: Paolo & Gianni. Grading (ascending): Pipa Croci, Amica, True, True I, Quality Street, Starlight, Golden Flame. Production (2007): ~ 3000 pipes/year. Pipa Croci is part of the Molina Group (2012)

I knew from that information that I was working on a grade three TRUE pipe. I also learned that the pipe was made by Paolo and Gianni Croci. It is a great looking pipe and I was looking forward to seeing what Pipedia added to the information.

I turned to the link on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipa_Croci). I have included the article in part below.

Pipa Croci pipes are created by Paolo & Gianni Croci from Mantova, Lombardia. The company was founded in 1983 and on each pipe you will find the nomenclature reads “dal 1983”. Each and every pipe is hand crafted from aged Italian Plateau Briar. This is a company that makes no two pipes alike and they truly create some masterpieces. In their own words:

“The Pipa Croci is an artisan enterprise. The pipes which are born from our hands are all differnt from each other. This means that the owner of a Croci pipe possesses something totally unique. Keeping up with the avant-garde in styling and marketing, in addition to our Free Hand we have created the Classical Models. Furthermore, we produce several hand-carved objects related to the pipe smoker and made of briar.”

The quality classification of the pipes is as follows (ascending): Pipa Croci; Amica; True; True 1; Quality Street; Starlight; Golden Flame.

So the “Pipa Croci” is the least expensive and the “Gold Flame” the most costly, but the most exceptional. The classification takes place in a careful and accurate manner and the criteria for these choices are form, character of the briar and beauty of its grain.

The pipes are divided into groups according to their design; these groups or series have been given the following names: Normale; Artistica; Gran Camino; Gran Camino Artistica; Calumet; Calumet Artistica; Calumet Gran Camino; Calumet Gran Camino Artistica; Calumet 2000; Calumet 2000 Artistica; Calumet 2000 Gran Camino; Calumet 2000 Gran Camino Artistica.

The Classical models are hand-made reproductions of the traditional shapes. These well-known shapes have the following letter-number references: Billiard = A1; Apple = F1; Dublin = H1, etc…

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim look very good. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of shank. The stamping is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I sanded the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grits sanding pads. Once again, I wiped it down with a damp cloth following each pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I fit the stem with a 6mm filter and put it back on the shank. It fit well but if the next pipeman wishes, the pipe could be smoked filterless though it would have a wide-open draught.I put the Pipa Croci Hand Made, Manitova, Italia, True Dublin Freehand bowl and stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. 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 rich brown stains worked amazingly well with the polished acrylic saddle stem. The grain around the bowl and shank and looks quite remarkable. This is truly a beautiful Pipa Croci True Dublin. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches wide x 2 inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.12 ounces/61 grams. This beautiful, Italian Hand Made Pipa Croci will be added to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

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

Restemming a Beautiful, Sandblast WDC Milano Ripple Briar Hesson Apple

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by Steve Laug

Time for another break from the repairs that I am working on for Rob. I had a couple of bowls in my box that needed to be restemmed. I chose to work on the first of them which is a beautifully sandblasted Apple bowl. The blast is very deep the rim top is thin and flows directly down the sides. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank and read WDC in a triangle followed by Milano [over] Ripple Briar [over] Hesson [over] Patd. Dec. 22, 192(6?). The last digit of the date is covered with a Sterling Silver band on the well repaired shank that is cracked on the left side. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned and was in great shape. There were a few worn spots on the top of the rim on the front and the right side. The shank on the left side had a long crack that had been repaired and banded with a sterling silver band. The band was clean with just a few scratches and the words Sterling curved on the topside. The shank was threaded but the threads were worn and it was missing a stem so I needed to find another one. I took photos of the bowl and have included them below. It shows the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. It is quite clear and readable as noted above. I also tried to capture the Sterling Silver stamp o the band.I went through my stems and found one that was close to the right diameter to the shank and had a small diameter tenon. It would need some adjusting but it would fit very well. I took photos of it showing the look with the bowl.I started work on this pipe by polishing the bowl. The bowl was very clean and had little wear on it. The cracked shank had been banded and repaired somewhere in its journey. The silver band was very clean with some small scratches in the surface. It was in great condition so I started by staining the rim top faded and marks spots with a Walnut stain pen to blend them in and clean up the damage. It looked very good.After the touch up stain cured, I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem I had chosen for the pipe. I cleaned up the tenon and shortened it slightly to fit the shank of the pipe. I sanded the diameter with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to fully match the shank diameter. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem.I put the stem on the shank and took photos of the fit of the stem to the bowl and the new look of this deeply sandblast pipe. I am liking the looks of the new stem. I removed the stem from the shank and sanded it further with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. By the time I finished with the 3500 grit pad the stem really looked good. I also sanded out the rough spot on the underside of the silver band to smooth it out.I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with each pad. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish and wiped it down a final time with the oil cloth. The finished WDC Milano Ripple Briar Hession Apple looks great with its new stem. The taper stem brings out the contrast of the silver band and dark nooks and crannies of the sandblast. I buffed the pipe with a light coat of White Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of Carnauba Wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing wheel and it is a real beauty. The dimensions of this WCD Milano Ripple Briar Apple are length: 5 ½ inches, height: 1 ½ inches, outside bowl diameter: 1 inch, chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .67 ounces/19 grams. This is a beauty that will be going on the American Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for giving the blog a read.

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

Restoring a tired Dunhill Shell Group 4 Diplomat

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by Steve Laug

I have been working on the 12 pipe lot since I got back from Asia along with two other repairs that I took on before I left. I need a break to work on something of my own for a bit. I went through my boxes from Jeff here and chose a Dunhill to bring to the work table. It is a shape that I have not worked on before and it intrigued me. It was one that we had purchased from a fellow in Ogden, Utah on 12/12/24. It is a unique Dunhill Shell Diplomat with a great sandblast. The stamping on the underside of the shank had a Circle 4 on the heel of the bowl identifying it as a group 4 size pipe. That is followed by Dunhill Shell [over] Made in England followed by a number 21 to the right of the D in England that will help me date the pipe. The bowl had been reamed not long ago. There was some dust and debris in the sandblast on the rim but the inner and outer edge looked good. The sandblast finish was rugged and dirty but it could not hide the lovely blast around the bowl and shank. The stem was clean and there were light tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The classic Dunhill White Spot was on top of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava coat overflowing onto the top. He also took photos to capture the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. The stem is also oxidized and calcified. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the interesting sandblast grain around the bowl and the amount of grime ground into the surface of the briar.   He took photos of the stamping underside of the shank. It is clear, though in some places it is faint. The overall text is still quite readable. As is my regular practice, before I started my work on the pipe, I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Shell Pipes to get a refresh the information I know regarding the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Shell

A deep craggy sandblast with a black stain finish (usually made using Algerian briar) – the color of the stain used has varied over the years. Although there is some doubt as to them being the first to sandblast pipes, Dunhill’s Shell pipes, and the sandblasting techniques developed to create them are considered one of Dunhill’s greatest and most lasting contributions to the art of pipe making.

The documented history of Dunhill’s inception of the Shell is largely limited to patent applications — there are no catalog pages or advertisements promoting blasted pipes at the time. The preliminary work on the English patent (No. 1484/17) was submitted on October 13, 1917. The patent submission was completed half a year later, on April 12, 1918, followed by the granting of the English patent on October 14, 1918. This was less than a month before the end of The Great War on November 11th.

In 1986 Dunhill released a line of premium Shell finish pipes – “RING GRAIN”. These are high-quality straight grain pipes which are sandblasted. Initially only Ring Grain, but now in two different finishes. In 1995 the “Shilling” was introduced with Cumberland finish – it is an extremely rare series. These pipes exhibit a deeper blast characteristic of that of the 1930’s – mid-1960’s (and the limited ‘deep blast’ pipes of the early 1980s) and show a fine graining pattern. These are considered the best new Dunhills by many enthusiasts today and are very rare. The finish is sometimes described as tasting like vanilla at first, with the taste becoming more normal or good as the pipe breaks in.

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png).I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a superscript suffix 21 after the D in England it points to the 1960 line on the chart below. To date it just add 1960 +21 for a date of 1981. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent section in the chart.I now knew that I was working on a Shell that came out in 1981 as far as I could tell by the faded date stamp. The shape of the pipe is called a Diplomat but there was no shape number stamped on the heel of the bowl. From the shape chart on the site I could know that I was dealing with a Diplomat (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html).

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim look very good. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of shank. The stamping is clear and readable (though in some spots it is faint). I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. The bowl was in excellent condition so it took little work to prepare it. It was very clean so I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks on the top and underside. It worked very well. I filled in the two remaining marks on the stem with rubberized black CA glue. I set the stem aside to let the repair cure. Once the repair had cured I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to blend in the repair on the surface of the stem. It looked much better and the repair was solid.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the 1981 Dunhill Shell Diplomat bowl and stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The Shell Briar stains worked amazingly well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. The grain around the bowl and shank and looks quite remarkable. This is truly a beautiful Dunhill Shell Diplomat. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/45 grams. This is such a unique shape that I am going to enjoy it for awhile before deciding what to do with it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

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

Restemming and restoring a Comoy’s Made Town Hall Made in England 19 Military Bit Billiard

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by Steve Laug

I decided to restem another bowl that I had here in the box. Jeff and I purchased on 11/23/2020 from a seller in Brazil, Indiana, USA. It is a nice bowl with a silver ferrule on the shank end. The left side of the shank is stamped at and angle and reads Town Hall [over] Made in England. The right side has the shape number 19 next to the bowl/shank junction. The ferrule is stamped with an arched Sterling Silver. The bowl is quite clean with no cake and no lava overflow on the rim top or the bevelled inner edge. The briar is dry but clean – just a bit lifeless looking but there is some great grain hidden by the dullness. The silver ferrule is not oxidized but there are some dents on the shank end on the underside. The ferrule is a bit ragged looking around the entrance to the mortise. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on restemming and restoring it back to its former glory. I tried to capture the stamping on the shank sides. It is readable but faint in spots. It reads as noted above.The ferrule was loose so I removed it and took a photo to show the dents and the condition of the opening on the ferrule end.I went through my stems and found this partially shaped stem that would work quite well. It would need to be reduced in diameter and cleaned up. There were some gouges on both sides ahead of the button that looked like someone had started shaping a dental bit. Before I started working on the pipe I wanted to get an idea of the maker of the Town Hall brand. Something about the shape and the number reminded me of the Guildhall by Comoy’s but I was not sure. I turned first to Pipephil’s site and found a link that gave a good summary of the information and confirmed the Comoy’s connection (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t7.html) that I suspected. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section and the side bar information below the photo.Other Comoy’s seconds with a one bar mouthpiece logo: Carlyle, Charles Cross, St James, The Golden Arrow, Trident,

I turned to Pipedia for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s). Other than the great history of the brand there was a note in the section entitled “Seconds made by Comoy’s” that had a listing for Town Hall. I scrolled down the page and found some interesting photos that I have included below including an original box for the pipe. The second and third photos show similar stamping though horizontal on this pipe. At the very bottom of the article I found perhaps to me, the most exciting connection – a Town Hall – same shape, same silver ferrule as the one I was working on. The stamping on it was clearly a Comoy’s Town Hall Pipe, Made in England. The thing I am glad for is that the photos show the type of stem I would need to fit on the pipe. The one I had chosen would work quite well with some shaping.I started my work on this one by fitting the newly chosen stem first. If you have followed me you will note the departure from my normal pattern of working on the bowl first. But in this case, I really wanted to see if I could duplicate the stem shown above for this pipe. I shaped the conical end with my Dremel and a sanding drum to get it close to the look I was shooting for. The rough shape was done but I would need to fine tune it by hand.I carefully sanded the conical portion with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and blended it into the rest of the stem. I reshaped it in the process and sanding out the gouges in the button end on both sides. I was able to remove the roughening left by the Dremel and the shape was beginning to look right. I worked on the silver ferrule to try to smooth out the dents and damage to the opening on the stem end. I was able to remove some of the dents and minimize the others. It looked better. I pressed it onto the shank and fit the stem. I took photos of the stem in place to give a sense of how it was beginning to look. The fit of the stem still needed adjusting and the scratches needed to be sanded out from the surface. It was beginning to look much better. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to polish out the scratches in the surface. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris on the surface of the stem. It began to take shape and look better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped down again with Obsidian Oil and set it aside while I worked on the stem. I sanded the briar with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the scratching and nicks in the rim edge and the side of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. It is starting to look very good at the end of the process. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain really began to sing. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. This Comoy’s Made Town Hall 19 Military Bit Billiard was one I was looking forward to seeing come together. The brown stains highlight the grain around the bowl – sides, top and heel. The polished silver ferrule and the black vulcanite military bit that I fit to the shank works very well with the look of the pipe. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I polished the silver band with a jeweller’s cloth. The finished Town Hall 19 Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.20 ounces/34 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This pipe will be added to the British Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.