Tag Archives: contrast staining

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.

Restoring “A Peterson’s Product” Made in the Rep. of Ireland Shamrock 268 Zulu

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe was a pipe that was in surprisingly good condition. The finish on the bowl and rim top looked very good other than being dirty. This old pipe is a smooth Zulu that has a rich coloured finish around the bowl sides and shank under the grit and grime of years. It was purchased from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/08/2024. It was stamped on the top side of the shank and read SHAMROCK. It was stamped to the underside of the shank and reads “A Peterson’s Product” [over] Made in the Rep. [over] of Ireland. The shape number 268 was on the right side of the shank next to the bowl. It was dirty when Jeff brought it to the table. There was a thick cake in the bowl and the inner edge but there was no lava on the rim top. The taper fishtail vulcanite stem was lightly oxidized and there was tooth chatter ahead of the button. There was also a Shamrock “S” logo on the topside of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked so it is hard to know the condition of the edges under the lava overflow. The stem looked surprisingly good. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. You can see the grime but the grain around the bowl is beautiful. Even so, it is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the top and underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and readable in the photos below as noted above. He did not capture the shape number stamp on the right side of the shank. The “S” logo on the top of the stem looks very good. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Shamrock Pipe. On page 312 it had the following information.

Shamrock (c1941-2009) Originally stamped SHAMROCK with no brand name, an inexpensive line first described in George Yale (New York) mail order booklet in 1941, imported by Rogers Import. The line was actively promoted beginning in ’45, aggressively promoted in US by Rogers from early ‘50s when they registered the Shamrock logo with US Patent Office, claiming propriety since ’38. Over the years offered with P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, with or without nickel band, with or without Shamrock logo on the band, with or without S stamped in white or later in gold on mouthpiece. Appearing in 2008 as unstained smooth and rustic, fishtail mouthpiece with gold impressed P on the stem. COMS of MADE IN over IRELAND (C1945-1965), MADE IN IRELAND forming a circle (c1945-1965), “A PETERSON’S PRODUCT” over MADE IN IRELAND (c1945-1965), MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC over OF IRELAND (c1948-1998). Model is always difficult or impossible to date.

Judging from the description above, the pipe I am working on is stamped with the stamp noted in red above. The stamping Made in the Rep. of Ireland narrows the date to approximately 1948-1998. It is just stamped SHAMROCK with no brand name and the S stamping on the stem.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. Surprisingly the walls looked unscathed from the heavy cake. 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 scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. When I examined the stem, it looked very good. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and edges to show how well it had cleaned up and the edges around the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth chatter on the surface ahead of the button on both sides. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. 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. I set the bowl aside and sanded out the chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button with 220 grit sandpaper.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The chatter was gone on both sides ahead of the button looked very good. The stem began to shine.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 am excited to finish this “Peterson’s Product” Made in the Rep. of Ireland Shamrock 268 Zulu. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it, looks great with the polished black vulcanite stem. This smooth Classic Shamrock 268 Zulu is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 32 grams/1.13 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for your time as I walked through the restoration.

Restoring a Butz-Choquin Vendôme Extra 1688 Apple

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Here’s a charming pipe! I’ve been restoring a good number of pipes for a local family and this is the latest of the bunch: a Butz-Choquin Vendôme Extra 1688. This is an apple shape (in French, the shape is called boule – meaning ball), with a round shank and a tapered stem. It’s an attractive pipe, but it has seen better days. Time to spiff it up for its new owner. Let’s have a look at the markings on this pipe. As the photos show, the left side of the shank reads, Butz-Choquin [over] Vendôme [over] Extra. The right side of the stem reads, St Claude [over] France [over] 1688. Additionally, the stem shows the BC logo of Butz-Choquin in a clear, acrylic circle. Both Pipedia and Pipephil have good write-ups on the history of Butz-Choquin and I encourage you to read both. Also, Steve has restored quite a few and it’s worth having a look at his writings too. For the moment, here is some information from Pipedia:

The pipe, from Metz to Saint-Claude.

 Jean-Baptiste Choquin of Metz started out as a tobacconist. This enterprise was prosperous; he had several employees. Among those, there was a certain Gustave Butz who was its first workman and who became his son-in-law by marrying Choquin’s daughter Marie in 1858.

In 1858 Jean-Baptiste Choquin created, in collaboration with Gustave Butz, the Choquin pipe. This bent pipe with a flat-bottomed bowl was finished with an albatross-bone mouthpiece, fixed with silver rings.

In 1858, still in Metz, Gustave Butz built an establishment for the manufacture of the Choquin pipe which took the name of. In 1951, the Berrod-Regad company bought the trademark, continuing manufacture until 2002. Departing from Metz, the workshop was relocated to Saint-Claude, then also called “the world capital of the briar pipe”, under the Berrod-Regad group. The Berrod-Regad group would go on to completely rebuild the network of representatives until finally entering the export market in 1960 and has since won several prizes, as well as the Gold Cup of French good taste.

In a few years, the brand’s collection increased from ten to seventy series. 135 years after it was founded, the pipe is still well-known not only in France but throughout the world. In 2002, the Berrod family, wishing to preserve manufacture of pipes in Saint-Claude, handed over the company to Fabien Guichon, a native of the area, who will continue to develop the brand during the 21st century.Meanwhile, Pipephil says this:

The origin of the brand reaches back to 1858 when Jean-Baptiste Choquin in collaboration with his son-in-law Gustave Butz created their first pipe in Metz (France). Since 1951 Butz-Choquin Site officiel Butz Choquin, pipes de Saint-Claude jura. BC pipe de bruyere luxe is a brand of the Berrod-Regad group (Saint-Claude, France).

Jean Paul Berrod managed the company from 1969 to 2002 when he retired and sold the corporate to Mr Fabien Gichon. Denis Blanc, allready owner of EWA, took over the S.A. Berrod-Regad in 2006.

In an old Butz-Choquin catalogue, I found the pipe shape in question, listed with its requisite number:An inspection of the pipe showed a few flaws to be addressed. The bowl was dirty and stained. It also had some burn marks on the rim top. Furthermore, it had an unattractive lacquer-like finish to it. Meanwhile, the stem was dirty and scratched. There were minor bite marks and there was some oxidation.To begin, I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on. The primary cleaning comes next. I cleaned the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result is a hideous brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some de-oxidation fluid. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew the stem out from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.Now that the stem is clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This is done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduce the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I want to remove the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I use all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also apply pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.Now that the stem is (nearly) complete, I can move on to the stummel. The first step for me is to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplishes a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleans the bowl and provides a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake is removed, I can inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there is damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed. Plenty of cake in there…The inside of the stummel needs to be cleaned thoroughly. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean (as the photos will attest).I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds (and a toothbrush). This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process is to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes. This is normally the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.However, I noticed that the lacquer was flaking and looking terrible. As a result, I chose to remove it all with acetone on some cotton rounds. Of course, acetone is a volatile chemical, and I only use it rarely and judiciously in my pipe work. In this case, it acted perfectly to remove what I needed and left beautiful wood underneath. In fact, it looked so much better after having wiped it down. The damage to the rim is not terrible, but it is notable. In order to lessen the burns on the rim, I ‘topped’ the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively minimizes the damage, without altering the look of the pipe. A little of the burn remains, but that is part of this pipe’s life story.I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the outside of the stummel to finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood.The removal of the lacquer was a positive, necessary step, but it made the stummel a bit pale. I decided to stain the wood with an alcohol-based, aniline dye. I use this type of dye because it is easy to work with, uniform in colour, quite penetrating, and is easily thinned with isopropyl alcohol. For this pipe, I chose a light brown colour, as it most closely resembled what the pipe would have looked like when new. I spread the dye all over the outside of the stummel with a small dauber and then applied a gentle flame to it. This flame assists in setting the stain by quickly evaporating the isopropyl alcohol. If necessary, the stain can be lightened by wiping the briar with pure alcohol – and, in this case, that’s precisely what I did. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 20 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it – first with a white diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.This Butz-Choquin Vendôme Extra 1688 apple is a very handsome pipe and will provide many years of smoking pleasure for its new owner. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5¼ in. (134 mm); height 1⅝ in. (40 mm); bowl diameter 1⅓ in. (34 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅛ oz. (34 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring another Republic Era Peterson’s Dublin 2 101 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

We received the next pipe from our source in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/08/2024 – almost a year ago. It is a fitting New Year’s Day restoration. It is a Peterson’s 101 Military Bit Billiard. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin 2 and the stamping is very clear. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) and the shape number 101 is next to the bowl shank junction. The ferrule on the shank is stamped Peterson’s [over] Dublin next to that it is stamped Sterling [over] Silver. Following the r in Silver are three hallmarks – 1. Hibernia seated with her arm on a harp, 2. A crowned harp for the silver quality and finally 3. A date letter stamp, in this case a lowercase “l” that dates the pipe to 1977. The pipe is dirty, obviously a favourite smoker. There is grime ground into the finish. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the inner edge and rim top. The silver ferrule is lightly tarnished. The stem is dirty, but is shiny and well cared for. Jeff took photos of it before he started his clean up work. I have included those below. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and there was some darkening and a light lava overflow on the rim top and the inner edge. The stem looks amazingly good for a pipe of this age. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. The grain is quite beautiful around the sides of the bowl and shank. It is another nice looking pipe. He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and readable in the photos below and is as noted above. The stamping on the silver ferrule is clear and readable as noted above. As with the blog just previous to this one, I turned to an earlier blog on a pipe with the same stamping that I had restored. I am quoting from what I learned in writing that blog below.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Dublin 2. On page 298 it had the following information.

Dublin (1906-2003) Although DUBLIN appears under PETERSON’S on many pipes over the decades, it has served mostly as part of the brand name. The word first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1906-11, stamped PETERSON’S over PATENT over DUBLIN. The simpler PETERSON’S over DUBLIN first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1912 after the expiration of the patent. Illustrations of pipes in the ’37 catalog show a random dispersion of the stamp PETERSON’S over OF DUBLIN together with the ordinary PETERSON’S over DUBLIN on every model offered. Specimens of the former will bear either an Irish COM or LONDON MADE over ENGLAND COM and almost certainly date from 1945-62. It was first mentioned as part of a model name in the ’68 price list, as K&P DUBLIN, in ’92 for a Danish market line and in the 2017 (see below).

“Dublin” (1992-2003) An orange-brown smooth line with a brass-nickel-brass sandwich band, vulcanite fishtail mouthpiece, consisting mostly of D shapes released for the Danish Market. Stamped PETERSON’S in script over “DUBLIN”. A tenth anniversary pipe for the line was produced with a sterling band stamped 2001. Market demand fell shortly thereafter and several pipe stamped “DUBLIN” were released in ’03 for the Fourth of July commemoratives for the US Market.

I wrote to Mark Irwin again and asked for his help in clearing up the mystery and helping to date this pipe. I asked him to provide any additional information for me. He responded with the following:

Steve… It’s first decade of Early Republic (1948-1958). The 2 and 3 numbers were discontinued int in 1958. Great little pipe! The “w” = today’s Premier grade.

I had forgotten to include the hallmarks on the silver so that left me even more in a quandary. So, I wrote Mark back about the date stamp on the silver and the conflicting stamping on the pipe.

How does that work with the date on the ferrule seeming to point 1975 (in this case 1977)? It has the standard stamping – woman on a chair, harp and the letter “h” (in this case “l”),

Mark responded as follows with regard to that pipe (the material fits this pipe very well).

Haha! I love it. You have just entered the Twilight Zone of Peterson Pipes, because the “2” and the small “h” for 1975 cancel each other out. I would prefer to leave it there: “a dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.” If, however, you want to get mundane about it, there are only two possibilities: it was rebanded in 1975 (highly unlikely but not impossible) or someone picked up the old stamp (and they have dozens and dozens) who was new to the hand-stamping job. For myself. I’d rather leave it in the imponderables, but there are always skeptics who prefer the easy explanation to the miracle.

I could not have said it any better! The Twilight Zone of Peterson’s Pipes. So I have a pipe that was made between 1948-1958 with a silver ferrule that is dated 1977. What a great mystery. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. Surprisingly the walls looked unscathed from the heavy cake. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes 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. It looked better but still dark. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The rim top looked better but there were some issues with some roughening on the inner edge and scuffing on the top. I took a closeup photo of the rim top and edges to show the issues I spoke of. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the stem.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the rim top and damage on the inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the damage on the inner edge and also to smooth out the darkening on the rim top. It began to look much better.I worked over the surface of the rim top and the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to look good. 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. 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. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. The stem was clean and the light tooth marks were minimal. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet 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 it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish this beautifully grained Peterson’s Dublin 2 Military Mount 101 Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. I polished the twin golden bands on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth. This smooth Classic Peterson’s Dublin 2 Military Mount 101 Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 27 grams/.95 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for walking through this restoration with me. I am always glad to answer questions or clarify if you would like more information.

New Life for a Republic Era Peterson’s 101 Military Bit Billiard

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by Steve Laug

We received the next pipe from our source in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/08/2024 – almost a year ago. It is a fitting New Year’s Eve restoration. It is a Peterson’s 101 Military Bit Billiard. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin 2 and the stamping is blurred from overstamping. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) and the shape number 101 is next to the bowl shank junction. The final 1 in the shape number has a small fill that also makes it blurry. The ferrule on the shank is stamped Peterson’s [over] Dublin next to that it is stamped Sterling [over] Silver. Following the r in Silver are three hallmarks – 1. Hibernia seated with her arm on a harp, 2. A crowned harp for the silver quality and finally 3. A date letter stamp, in this case an uppercase “P” that dates the pipe to 1981. The pipe is dirty, obviously a favourite smoker. There is grime ground into the finish. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy overflow of lava on the inner edge and rim top. The silver ferrule is lightly tarnished. The stem is dirty with light oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of it before he started his clean up work. I have included those below. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and there was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and the inner edge. The stem is lightly oxidized and grimy. It has some light tooth marks on the top and underside near and on the surface of the button itself. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. The grain is quite beautiful around the sides of the bowl and shank. You can see some flaws or sand pits in the briar or pits but otherwise it is great grain. It is a nice looking pipe.He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. The blurriness of the left side stamp is accurate and not a camera issue. It has been double stamped and the result is the blur. The stamping on the silver ferrule is clear and readable as noted above. I turned to an earlier blog on a pipe with the same stamping that I had restored. I am quoting from what I learned in writing that blog below.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Dublin 2. On page 298 it had the following information.

Dublin (1906-2003) Although DUBLIN appears under PETERSON’S on many pipes over the decades, it has served mostly as part of the brand name. The word first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1906-11, stamped PETERSON’S over PATENT over DUBLIN. The simpler PETERSON’S over DUBLIN first appeared on pipes hallmarked 1912 after the expiration of the patent. Illustrations of pipes in the ’37 catalog show a random dispersion of the stamp PETERSON’S over OF DUBLIN together with the ordinary PETERSON’S over DUBLIN on every model offered. Specimens of the former will bear either an Irish COM or LONDON MADE over ENGLAND COM and almost certainly date from 1945-62. It was first mentioned as part of a model name in the ’68 price list, as K&P DUBLIN, in ’92 for a Danish market line and in the 2017 (see below).

“Dublin” (1992-2003) An orange-brown smooth line with a brass-nickel-brass sandwich band, vulcanite fishtail mouthpiece, consisting mostly of D shapes released for the Danish Market. Stamped PETERSON’S in script over “DUBLIN”. A tenth anniversary pipe for the line was produced with a sterling band stamped 2001. Market demand fell shortly thereafter and several pipe stamped “DUBLIN” were released in ’03 for the Fourth of July commemoratives for the US Market.

I wrote to Mark Irwin again and asked for his help in clearing up the mystery and helping to date this pipe. I asked him to provide any additional information for me. He responded with the following:

Steve… It’s first decade of Early Republic (1948-1958). The 2 and 3 numbers were discontinued int in 1958. Great little pipe! The “w” = today’s Premier grade.

I had forgotten to include the hallmarks on the silver so that left me even more in a quandary. So, I wrote Mark back about the date stamp on the silver and the conflicting stamping on the pipe.

How does that work with the date on the ferrule seeming to point 1975 (in this case 1981)? It has the standard stamping – woman on a chair, harp and the letter “h” (in this case “P”),

Mark responded as follows with regard to that pipe (the material fits this pipe very well).

Haha! I love it. You have just entered the Twilight Zone of Peterson Pipes, because the “2” and the small “h” for 1975 cancel each other out. I would prefer to leave it there: “a dimension beyond that which is known to man. It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man’s fears and the summit of his knowledge.” If, however, you want to get mundane about it, there are only two possibilities: it was rebanded in 1975 (highly unlikely but not impossible) or someone picked up the old stamp (and they have dozens and dozens) who was new to the hand-stamping job. For myself. I’d rather leave it in the imponderables, but there are always skeptics who prefer the easy explanation to the miracle.

I could not have said it any better! The Twilight Zone of Peterson’s Pipes. So I have a pipe that was made between 1948-1958 with a silver ferrule that is dated 1990. What a great mystery. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. Surprisingly the walls looked unscathed from the heavy cake. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes 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. It looked better but still dark. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The rim top looked better but there were some issues with some roughening on the inner edge and darkening on the top. I took a closeup photo of the rim top and edges to show the issues I spoke of. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening on the rim top and damage on the inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the damage on the inner edge and also to smooth out the darkening on the rim top. It began to look much better.I worked over the surface of the rim top and the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to look good. 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. 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. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. The stem was clean and the light tooth marks were minimal. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet 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 it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish this beautifully grained Peterson’s Dublin 2 Military Mount 101 Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. I polished the twin golden bands on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth. This smooth Classic Peterson’s Dublin 2 Military Mount 101 Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for walking through this restoration with me. I am always glad to answer questions or clarify if you would like more information.

Restoring a Lovely Peterson’s “Kapp-Royal” X105 Billiard with a Cumberland 9mm Filter Stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe was a mess and one that obviously had been the previous pipe smoker’s favourite pipe. The finish and condition were abysmal. It was definitely a stranger to any cleaning! This one is a smooth Billiard that has a rich coloured finish around the bowl sides and shank under the grit and grime of years. The shank end had a double brass band separating it from the stem. This pipe was purchased on 12/09/2023 from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark. The finish is shiny but is also so dirty it was hard to know what to expect once it was cleaned. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Kapp-Royal”. It was stamped to the right of the shank and reads MADE IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND (three lines) with the shape number X105 next to the bowl. The underside of the shank was stamped Huber over Munchen. It was filthy when Jeff brought it to the table. There was a thick cake in the bowl and lava on the back of the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. The outer edge looked good. The Cumberland stem was oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and there was a light lava overflow on the back of the rim top and the inner edge. The stem is oxidized and grimy. It has some light tooth marks on the top and underside near and on the surface of the button itself. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. The grain is quite beautiful around the sides of the bowl and shank. It is a nice looking pipe.He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. There is a golden “P” inlaid logo on the left side of the taper stem. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). There was a short note toward the bottom of the page about the series. It is definitely referring to the newer line that came out later. I quote:

Kapp Royal Series: The Kapp Royal series is a relatively new one, but has a well establish history in Europe. They are a handsome colourful series with a good quality natural stain briar and bright orange Lucite stems and occasionally Cumberland.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Kapp-Royal Pipe. On page 306 it had the following information.

Kapp-Royal (1969, 1976-79, c1988, 2004) First appearance as a line introduced 1969. In 1976-79 Iwan Ries catalog offering identical with non-System Dunmore line. Second appearance in the late eighties as a high-grade Italian market line with briar band inset into the mouthpiece. From c.2004, Italian line available in US as high grade, orange finish, sterling band, amber-colored acrylic fishtail stem or sometimes vulcanite, embedded aluminum P.

Judging from the description above, the pipe I am working on is probably one of the first appearing series that came out in 1969. As noted in Red above it came with an occasional Cumberland stem. The Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp on the right side of the stamp puts it in the Republic Era 1950-1989.

On the underside of the shank it is stamped Huber [over] Munchen. From a past restoration (I have included the link) [https://rebornpipes.com/2023/10/14/petersons-kildare-special-hg-republic-of-ireland-10-canadian/]. I turned to page 300 of “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg as noted by him in the previous blog and found a great paragraph on the stamping. I quote in full.

GH Retailer’s Monogram (c. 1960s) George Huber of Munich, Germany, a Peterson distributor and retailer for decades, stamped their monogram on pipes sold in their store, G overlaid on H. Peterson shared in the 1988 commemoration of Huber’s 125th year in business by producing a special pipe with a sterling rim cap, stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION.

The pipe I have is one that does not bear that monogram and does not appear to have ever had the sterling rim cap and was not stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION. It was however, stamped Huber and Munchen – the city where the shop was located. With that information I turned my attention to working on the pipe.

I was utterly surprised when I took this pipe out of the box and compared it to the before photos. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. Surprisingly the walls looked unscathed from the heavy cake. 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 of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The cleaned up rim top looked very good around the edges and the top. I took a closeup photo of the rim top and edges to show how well it had cleaned up. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near and on the button itself.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I also captured the gold insert P on the left side of the Cumberland stem. It looked great. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I started my work on this pipe polishing 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. 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. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. The stem was clean and the light tooth marks were minimal. There was pitting on the topside of the stem that left it feeling rough. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the pitting and marks in the Cumberland. Once finished it was greatly improved.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet 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 it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I put a new 9mm filter in the tenon on the stem. It fit well and looked great. I used Vauen filters as they are easily accessible here and on Amazon.com.I am excited to finish this beautifully grained Peterson’s Kapp-Royal X105 Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. I polished the twin golden bands on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth. This smooth Classic Peterson’s Kapp-Royal X105 Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 45 grams/1.59 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for walking with me through this restoration.

Cleaning up a Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 Bamboo Acorn

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by Steve Laug

I was recently contacted by a fellow here in Vancouver about some pipes he had. He was referred to me by a local pipe shop. I was unclear if he wanted them cleaned or exactly what. When he came on the weekend he brought six pipes in two pipe boxes for me to have a look at. I spoke with him about the cost of restoring them. It finally became clear to me (I guess I am slow) that he wanted to sell the pipes. He was tasked with the job by his sister in law as the pipes were from her late husband’s collection. As I unpacked them it was clear that they were some nice pipes and some were higher grade. All but one was smoked and had the heavy smell of fruity aromatics to them. Some had cake in the bowl and lava on the rim. Of the six, four of them had significant rim damage – bowls out of round, burn marks, cut marks. The saddest part is that the damage was most significant on the higher end pipes. Most of them had tooth marks in the stems. Obviously, they had been his late brother in laws favourites and he had enjoyed them. He left them with me and I went over them, researched the brands and wrote up an offer for him to present to his sister in law. By the end of the day we had a deal. The six pipes now have a new home and the fruity smell needs to be exorcised!I set aside the long queue of pipes I am working on here to work on the second of these pipes. I bumped it ahead of the queue. It is a beautiful looking older Stanwell Regd. No. Bent Acorn Bamboo. It is stamped on the left side of the bamboo shank and reads Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 [over] Made in Denmark. There was an acrylic spacer on both ends of the bamboo. The one is between the shank and the bowl and the other is between the stem and the bamboo. The bowl had beautiful straight grain around sides. The Bamboo shank had a great patina. The finish is spotty and there were a lot of dents, scratches. The bowl and rim top were clean or cake and lava but a very prevalent smell of aromatic, fruity tobacco surround the bowl. The stem was clean but and had light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to give you and idea of what I see. It is too bad that Word does now allow for the inclusion of smells because this is filling my work area. I have a candle going to mask the smell a bit. You can see the damage to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There is no cake in the bowl. The bamboo looks very good with some nice Patina. The stem is dirty and has light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the Bamboo shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took photos of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportion and appearance of the pipe.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to get a quick review of the Bamboo line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). The pipe I was working on did not have Brass Crowned S inlaid on the stem. I have included a screen capture of the brand info there.I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand. There were also links to catalogues at the bottom of the page. I am including a page from a catalogue on the site below that gives a bit of a glimpse into the brand. Here is the link (http://www.axeljeske.de/Pfeifen/Stanwell_Amager.pdf). The catalogue page gives a great description of the Bamboo line. It reads as follows: Top quality bowls perfectly fitted with porous bamboo shanks for casual elegance.

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I cleaned out the stinky, fruity smelling tobacco oils and tars in the shank and the airway in the stem. I used 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners and was able to remove the debris and some of the stench. I needed to “deghost” the bowl and try to exorcise the smell. I stuffed bowl with cotton bolls and used an ear syringe to fill it with alcohol. I set it aside to let the alcohol do its work and wick the oils into the cotton. While it sat for the afternoon, I did some other work. That evening I removed the cotton bolls and quite a bit of tars and oils had leeched out. It smelled significantly better.
I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to minimize the damage on the inner edge of the rim and smooth it a bit. I was careful to not change the profile of the rim top and edges. There is some darkening on the rim top that remains and the bowl is slightly out of round.I used 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the scratches and nicks in the surface of the briar. There we many small scratches most of them in the varnish coat and lightly in the briar. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down the bowl after each sanding pad. As I examined the bowl before I gave it a coat of Before & After Balm I rubbed my fingers over the surface. I felt some flaws in the briar. I used my headlamp and build in lens to examine what I felt with my fingers. I saw some well done fills in the briar that followed vertical grains. They were shrunken in spots which made the bumps I was feeling. I used the headlamp and lens to give a clear view. I used a tooth pick and clear CA glue to fill in the spots in the briar. This was going to make a bit more work for me but it was worth doing.Once the fills cured I sanded each strip smooth with the edge of a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I sanded the area with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I followed that by polishing the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. Again I wiped the bowl down with damp cloth to remove the sanding debris on the briar. I restained the area on the bowl side with a Walnut Stain pen. I blended the areas into the surrounding briar. The look and feel of the bowl was very good.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I was able to polish out the light tooth marks and chatter with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. It was beginning to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Stanwell Bamboo Shank Acorn with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful finish really highlights the grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Bamboo Shank Acorn fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 37 grams /1.31 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring an interesting Nameless Silver Spigot Bent Acorn

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from a group of pipes we purchased on 02/29/2024 from a seller from Spring Branch, Texas, USA. It is a nice looking richly stained acorn shaped pipe with a stick bit silver tipped stem. The bowl has a dark reddish brown colour stain that highlights grain. There are also a lot of lighter coloured fills around the bowl and shank. I am hoping to mask these a bit in the clean up. This pipe has no stamping on the shank or the stem. There is a stamped Silver [over] 925 on both the band/ferrule and the silver tip on the stem. There is no other stamping. The bowl had been reamed and but then smoked so there was a light cake in the bowl and some lava on the top and edges of the rim top. The Sterling Silver ferrule and stem tip is oxidized and dark. The stem is black acrylic and there were some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe looks to be in good condition under the grime. This is a nice looking pipe and in a well-loved shape. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. He took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show their general condition. You can see the lava, scratches and nick marks on the rim top and the light cake in the bowl. The bevelled inner edge of the bowl looks to be okay. The stem is acrylic and dirty and there are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The silver ferrule and stem tip is also oxidized and almost black. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the grain around the bowl as well as the number of putty fills. I cannot wait to see what it looks like once it is cleaned and polished. Should be interesting to minimize the visual prevalence of the fills. He captured the stamping on the silver ferrule and stem tip in the next photos. Even through the oxidation they are clear and readable. It really amazes me that a pipe with silver shank and stem adornments has no name stamped on it and that a pipe with these many fills would even bother with the silver. Ah well….Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank, stem and shank extension with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and lava on the rim top. The finish looks much better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights grain of the briar. The rim top had some damage to the around the entire top of the bowl. The silver ferrule and stem tip were oxidized but clean. Jeff worked the acrylic stem over with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove any grime or debris in the bite marks and on the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver and I finally started my work on it I was amazed it looked so good. Here are some photos of what I saw. I took some photos of the rim top and stem. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl shows damage and nicked spots. The close up photos of the stem shows that the surface of the stem is pitted. There are tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem near the button. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe at this point. You can clearly see the condition, size and shape of the pipe.To start my work on the pipe I decided to wipe it down with acetone to remove some of the darker portions of the stain and try to blend in the fills to the lighter colour once it was finished. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads. I really like the way it came out. Have a look. I sanded out the scratches in the briar around the bowl sides and rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The sanding really brought the grain to the front and blended in the marks of the fills. This is a great piece of briar. And once it is waxed and polished it should really be a beauty. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad.  I touch up some of the lighter spots on the shank/bowl junction and rim top with a Mahogany stain pen to match the rest of the bowl. Once it dried I hand buffed it and the restained areas looked very good. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I sanded out the tooth marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove and smooth out the marks.I sanded out the scratch marks on the stem surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. The stem began to shine.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem. This No Name Bent Acorn with the Silver Spigot with an acrylic stem is a nice looking pipe. The finish looks very good and the grain stands out. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank sides during the process. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The flow of the grain and the way the shape follows it is very well done. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.52 ounces/42 grams. This interesting No Name Bent Acorn Silver Spigot is a great looking pipe in excellent condition. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

Finding a Stem for a Bjørn Thurmann Hand Made

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Steve’s recent foray into re-stemming pipes inspired me to try the same. In my box of various-and-sundry pipes, I was drawn to a nifty Danish freehand – but it was missing its stem. The beautifully rugged and chunky stummel has a real charm to it. The grooves and trenches are quite remarkable. This is a pipe that deserves a new stem. Let’s take a deeper dive into Thurmann’s pipes. The pipe was made by the esteemed pipemaker, Bjørn Thurmann. Unfortunately, I am not able to date the pipe, as the photo below shows all of the markings to be seen. On the underside of the stummel were some identifying markings. They read Thumann [over] Hand Made [over] Denmark [over] 3.Thurmann passed away a few years ago, but his company, Thurmann Piber, is still well known in Copenhagen for the fine quality of his work. The reference book, Scandinavian Pipemakers by Jan Andersson, provides us with a nice overview of his background and work. I will quote a bit of it here:

Bjørn Thurmann was born in 1946 – some would say, born into the tobacco trade. In 1953, his parents opened a pipe shop in central Copenhagen and Bjørn helped them there from the beginning, mainly by sorting pipes. Initially, the pipes were bought from a firm called Larsen & Stigart, but eventually they decided to start their own production.

Bjørn’s parents thought that their son ought to widen his views and get some international experience, so, in 1968, he was sent to London to work in different tobacconists shops, a period of learning that ended at Dunhill’s famous shop on Duke Street. After returning home, he almost immediately received an offer to work for Iwan Ries & Co. in Chicago, an offer that was hard to resist, so off he went.

 In 1976, Bjørn established himself as an independent pipemaker, and since then he has had shops in several places in Copenhagen. Bjørn has also written a book called Pibemagerens Handbog (The Pipemakers Handbook), which tells how to make pipes using simple tools most people have at home.Clearly, Thurmann was a vastly experienced and talented pipe man. One can not only see, but also feel, the quality of the briar. Here is a screenshot from Pipephil:Let’s get working! The first step for me is to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplishes a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleans the bowl and provides a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake is removed, it allows me to inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there is damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed. I’m pleased to report that the inside of the bowl looks good.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took an old butter knife and gently scraped the lava away. This provides an edge that is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim.The inside of the stummel needs to be cleaned thoroughly. So I then cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. It took some work to get clean!I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds (and a toothbrush). This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process is to scour the inside of the stummel with some all-purpose cleanser and tube brushes. This is the culmination to a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Before picking a stem and slapping it on, there is quite a bit of prep work required. First, the flat face of the shank obviously once had a shank extension. A few years ago, I worked on another Thurmann pipe that also had a shank extension, so this didn’t surprise me. However, there was no shank extension anymore, so I had to improvise.After pondering the situation, I decided to carve the shank face in a style similar to the rest of the pipe. I took my Dremel and a couple of different burrs, and carved a trench that matched those on the bowl. I think it came out really well.The edge of the shank face was quite sharp. This makes sense when one considers that the extension would have butt up against it. However, it didn’t look right anymore. Instead, I very carefully sanded this sharp edge to match the rim’s edge. After that, I used some of my furniture pens (which is just dye in pen form) and matched the colours. Looks great.I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and left it to sit for 20 minutes or so. I also had to use my horsehair brush and a cotton swap to get into the nooks and crannies. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. Now, I had to find a suitable stem and make it work with the stummel. I quickly found a stem in my stores that worked perfectly. It matched the style and shape of the pipe, and I felt that it was a great choice. First, I reduced the thickness of the tenon until it fit snuggly in the stummel’s mortise. I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even everything out, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. The final step is buffing. I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it – first with a white diamond compound for the stem, then with three coats of conservator’s wax for the stummel. Naturally, this procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Bjørn Thurmann Hand Made was a pleasure to work on. It looks fantastic and is ready to be enjoyed again by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Danish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅝ in. (12 mm); height 1¾ in. (44 mm); bowl diameter 1⅔ in. (43 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅞ oz. (54 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.