Tag Archives: fitting a new stem

Restemming and Restoring a Sandblast Benaderet’s Coral 135 Billiard

by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was a bowl sans stem that I have had in my box of bowls to be restemmed. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Benaderet’s [over] Coral followed by London Made [over] the shape number 135. The sandblast highlights great grain around the sides of the pipe. The shape number said I was dealing with a GBD made pipe. It had been reamed and cleaned by my brother Jeff many years ago. The rim and the inner edge were clean and with some light areas on the front right of the bevelled rim top and inner edge. The finish had been scrubbed and was very clean. I took photos of the bowl before I worked on it. I found an acrylic taper stem in my can of stems that would work with some adjustments. The tenon would need to be reduced in diameter and the diameter of the shank end would also need to be reduced. The size and shape of the stem were perfect to start with. I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. With the new stem in place it is going to be a beautiful pipe once it is completed.From the shape number on the shank I was pretty certain I was dealing with a GBD pipe. The stamping Benaderet’s Coral was a dead end but the shape number hit the mark. I turned to Pipedia’s shape number listing and found it (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Shapes/Numbers). I have included a screen capture of the listing below.

I did some more digging on the net and found that Benaderet’s was a pipe shop in San Francisco that closed in the 70’s. Their house pipes were made by Comoys or Sasieni although smokingpipes had one listed that was made by GBD once.

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

Benaderet’s Cigarette, Pipe and Tobacco Shop – 215 Sutter Street [Formerly at 566 California Street], San Francisco.

Owners: Robert and Edith Rashaw (Robert Rashaw: born 1916. Edith Edna Rashaw: born 1916.) Store still extant in the late seventies. No longer there by the eighties. At one point, they had Egyptian cigarettes made for them. Their house pipes were usually by Comoys. There are also Benaderet’s Sasienis. More research required.

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

So what I could find out about the pipe is that it is a pipe made by GBD (Shape number confirms this). It turns out that the pipe was a GBD pipe made for Benaderet’s Cigarette, Pipe and Tobacco Shop in San Francisco, California. Since the shop went out of business in 1980 I now knew that the pipe was made before that time. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I decided to fit the shank with a thin polished brass band. The shank end was tapered slight and was no long round. It appeared to have been sanded for a stem somewhere in its journey. The thin band would smooth out the transition and square it off. It would also set off the briar and the new stem. I pressed it onto the shank and it was firmly in place. I stained the rim edges and top with a Walnut stain pen to match the rest of the bowl and shank colour. It looked very good. I worked some Before and After Restoration Balm into the finish of the briar with my finger tips. The product works to clean, enrich and restore the briar. The photos show the beauty that pipe really had at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the stem as much as I safely could do and then used a flat file to take it further. I cleaned up the diameter fit with a smaller flat needle file. It worked well to remove the excess acrylic to match diameter of the shank. It was getting there.I used a small hole saw and small round, oval and flat files to shape the round hole in the button into a slot with an oval. It looked much better once I finished it.I sanded out the files marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I becamse smooth to the touch and was ready to be sanded further with sanding pads.I moved on to sand the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The stem began to look much better.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 some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem and slow down the oxidation. Once again, I am at the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the Benaderet’s Coral 135 Billiard and new acrylic stem back together and buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a heavier touch with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished sandblast finish and thin brass band. The black acrylic stem stands out as a shiny black contrast to the colours of the bowl. The reddish brown stain on the Benaderet’s Coral Billiard looks absolutely great. It is nice to know that it has a west coast tie to the San Francisco area and a long-gone pipe shop. It must have been a fine smoking pipe judging from the condition it was when we received it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 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 1.41 ounces/41 grams. This is one that will go on the British Pipemakers section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restemming and Restoring a Unique Venezia Bruyere Garantie Thick Shank System Billiard

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by Steve Laug

Once again, I am breaking the rhythm of restoration of pipes that Jeff has sent to me work on a bowl that I have in a very big box of bowl without stems. There are probably about 100 bowls that I have been chipping away at for a long time now. Yesterday I had to urge to restem a few of the bowls. The next bowl I chose was this interesting thick shank Billiard bowl that was a system style pipe that had two airways entering the bowl and shank. I ran a pipe cleaner through each airway in the shank and the came out in the bowl bottom. The shank end had a thick step-down brass fitting that was oxidized and greenish coloured. The stamping on the left side of the shank was an oval that reads Bruyere [over] Garantie. The front of the bowl was carved with the word VENEZIA (smooth) in a rusticated oval. Somewhere along the way Jeff had reamed and cleaned the bowl and it was waiting a new stem. The briar was dirty from sitting in my box for years. The rim top had a bit of debris and darkening on the surface that was probably present after Jeff’s previous cleanup. I examined the brass shank end for any stamping and there was nothing in the brass as it was unmarked.

I found the VENEZIA carving interesting, which is what drew me to it in the first place. I have worked on Savinelli pipes that were in a line called VENEZIA and I have worked on a folding pocket pipe from my late friend Chuck (https://rebornpipes.com/2012/09/05/chucks-gift-pipes-part-1-venezia-vogini/) that also bore that name along with Vogini. I have done a bit of digging and I cannot put a finger on the maker other than it is separate from the Savinelli Line. The one thing I know is that they have certainly made some unique pipes. This System Pipe is certainly another unique and special looking pipe. My guess is that it probably had a horn stem with a plunger in the centre of the tenon and an airway on the top left and right of the centre dropping the smoke into the rest of the airway in the stem as cool and dry. I took a photo of the carving on the front of the bowl and the left side of the shank. They are clear and readable as noted above.I took a photo of the airways as they entered the shank. You can see one at the top right and top left. There is also fitment at end of the mortise that looks like it held a pin in the centre as a condenser that fit in the mortise.I went through my stems and found an interesting white acrylic saddle stem that would look good with this bowl and the brass shank end. I would need to reduce the diameter of the tenon to fit in the large mortise and would also need to reduce the diameter of the saddle portion to reflect the diameter of the shank.I used a Dremel and a sanding drum to take down the diameter of the saddle portion of the stem and also the tenon. I decided to try something a bit different – to fit the end of the stem with a reversed shank band/ferrule. I reduced the stem diameter enough to press the band onto the end of the stem.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the marks from the Dremel. I followed that by sanding it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend down the sanding areas. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.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 set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol to remove the spotty finish and the debris on the bowl sides. It began to look much better. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a rich shine. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with a shoe brush to get into the carving on front of the bowl and my fingertips on the smooth. The product works 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 Unique Vezania System Bowl with the new White Acrylic stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The rich finish gives the shape an elegant look. The flow of the bowl and the new stem have a great hand feel. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Vezana System Bowl and new stem fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 59 grams/2.08 ounces. This is unique enough that for the time being I am going to hold on to it and enjoy its look, feel and smoke it! Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restemming and Restoring a GBD Prehistoric Bulldog with a Cracked Shank

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was another bowl I had sitting in the box. This one was a nice-looking bulldog with beveled rim top and a sandblast finish on the bowl. There was a very faint stamp on the left underside of the shank. It had the GBD oval logo [followed by] Prehistoric [over] Made in England. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned it before it went in the box. The rim top was smooth and other than a few small nicks was in good condition. The twin rings around the cap were also perfect. The sandblast finish was worn and the stain was faded. The shank had a crack on the right and the left top side. I had an old silver band that would fit the diamond shank well. I was so excited to fit the band on the shank that I did not take any before photos. I did however take photos of the band once it was in place on the shank. I heated it with the flame of a lighter and pressed it onto the shank end. The band is oxidized and is stamped with three hallmarks – an anchor, an M and a rampant lion [over] Sterling. I went through my can of stems and found a nice diamond taper stem that was unused. The tenon had been worked on but the rest of the stem still had the casting marks and debris on the angles and the button. Only later did I figure out that it was a twin bore or bite proof stem. I really liked the look of it and with the banded bulldog it worked well. The photos also show the condition of the bowl at this point in the process. I started on the bowl. I polished the smooth portions of the rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to take on a rich shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the depths of the sandblast on the bowl and shank. The product works 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 1500-3000 grit micromesh sanding pads and then finished with a jeweller’s cloth to raise the shine and protect it from further oxidation.I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to clean up the tenon angles and smooth them out. I also used it to remove the excess vulcanite on the shank end of the diamond stem. I was excited and totally forgot to take any photos of the process. For that I apologize.

Once finished I sanded out the marks from the Dremel and the scratches with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked on it for quite a while to smooth out the surface and get the fit to the shank correct. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth. I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend down the sanding areas. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.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. This Sandblast GBD Prehistoric Bulldog is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored and restemmed. The rich finish and Sterling silver give the pipe an elegant look. The Twin Bore stem works with the pipe and is unique. The flow of the bowl and stem make for a great hand feel. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished GBD Prehistoric Bulldog fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.62 ounces. It is a great looking and light weight pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restemming and Restoring a Neidlinger Imported Briar Rhodesian Bowl

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by Steve Laug

Once in a while I break the rhythm of restoration of pipes that Jeff has sent to me work on a bowl that I have in a very big box of bowl without stems. There are probably about 100 bowls that I have been chipping away at for a long time now. Yesterday I had to urge to restem a few of the bowls. The first of them was this interesting rusticated Rhodesian bowl that looked a lot like some of the rustication on Custombilt pipes though with a bit of variation that separates it from them. It bears an oxidized Sterling Silver band on the shank that will need some attention. The stamping on the left side of the shank reads NEIDLINGER [over] Imported Briar. Somewhere a long the way Jeff had reamed and cleaned the bowl and it was waiting a new stem. I examined the silver and it was stamped across the top of the band and read STERLING. I took a photo of the stamping on the shank side. It was clear and readable as noted above.I went through my can of stems and found one that that was close to the diameter I needed and the tenon would need a slight adjustment for it to fit in the shank. I used a file to reduce the diameter of the tenon. I cleaned up the tenon diameter with my Dremel and a sanding drum. It did not take much for the stem to fit well in the shank. I put it in place and took photos. You can see in the photos that the stem diameter will need to be adjusted as the shank is not round and the stem is. I worked on the adjustment of the outside diameter of the stem with my Dremel and a sanding drum. I took off the majority of the excess vulcanite that way. The rest would need to be done with files and sanding pads. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the marks from the Dremel. I followed that by sanding it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend down the sanding areas. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.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 set the stem down and turned my attention to the clean bowl. I used a brass bristle wire brush to work over the rim top and remove the debris in the carving. It looked cleaner.I polished the silver band with 1500-3000 grit micromesh sanding pads and then finished with a jeweller’s cloth to raise the shine and protect it from further oxidation. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the carving on the bowl and shank. The product works 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 Rusticated Neidlinger Imported Briar Rhodesian is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored and restemmed. The rich finish gives the shape an elegant look. The flow of the bowl and stem are well done make for a great hand feel. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Neidlinger Rhodesian 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 64 grams/2.26 ounces. It is a great looking and light weight pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring the last of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 30 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes (actually as mentioned on the last pipe I can’t count) but going over it again I found I was right the first count. There were six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite, Citation in need of a stem and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.The last pipe I had to work on was a Bertram Bent Billiard that needed to be cleaned up and restored. This last one is from Jack’s 11 pipes – a dirty, dull Bertram with an oxidized tapered vulcanite stem that I swapped with a straight billiard. The pipe is stamped on the left side and reads Bertram [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. There is a shape number 30 on the underside of the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the bowl and some nicks and flaws where the fills were shrunken or broken around the sides. The bowl was moderately caked with a light lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The new stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The photos show the condition of the stem surface. There were no markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the calcification, tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem and the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. The Bertram stamp was clear and readable as noted above. Once restored again it will have a long life ahead of it. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe.As I have worked on a lot of Bertram pipes in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

I have included the following link to give a bit of historical information on the pipe company. It is a well written article that gives a glimpse of the heart of the company. http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/01/bertrams-pipe-shop-on-14th-street.html#

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Bent Billiard has some mixed grain around the bowl. This pipe has a Grade 30 stamp on it. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening. I also started to sand the shank repair at the same time. The old warrior is visible in the photos below.I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. Since I was restemming the pipe I would do the clean out on the new stem when I got to it.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top came away clean. Once I cleaned the bowl with the soap I brought it back to the work top and examined it. This was a pipe full of fills around the rim top and the right front side of the bowl. All were shrunken and need of repair. I filled in all of the damaged fills with clear CA glue. I smoothed them out with a dental spatula. Once the repairs cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the briar. Once finished it looked much better. I sanded the bowl it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further remove the stain and make a more transparent finish on the rim top, the bowl and shank. The light spots blended in better. I wiped the briar down with a drop of Olive Oil to see if I have any areas that I still needed to work on. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the repairs to the repairs blended in better with work. The photos tell the story. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface and the repairs blended even more as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I laid the bowl aside and turned my attention to fitting a new stem. I made a decision about putting the short taper stem to the bent Billiard and putting a nice saddle stem on the straight Billiard. This new stem was the right length for this smaller Bent Billiard and was very close to the diameter of the shank – slightly larger but very workable. It would take some work to clean up but it would look good once it was finished. The taper stem had a small bite through on the underside ahead of the button. I greased a pipe cleaner and inserted it in the airway below the small hole. I filled in the tooth marks in the top of the stem as well. I removed the pipe cleaner to continue working on the stem. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was a dirty stem. I sanded the stem surface and repairs with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to flatten the repairs and also remove some of the oxidation. It would need more sanding but I turned to the make the slot in the button. I reshaped the entrance of the airway in the stem end with needle files. I used oval and round files to reshape the entrance into an oval shape. It looked much better. I used my heat gun to soften the vulcanite. Once it was soft enough to shape I bent it at the right angle to match the flow of the curves of the bowl. I set the bend in the stem with cold running water and took a photo of the newly bent stem. I removed the stem from the shank and sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to adjust the fit to the shank. By the time I was finished sanding it the stem very well to the shank and the transition was smooth.I sanded the surface of the new vulcanite stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine. 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 the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Bertram Washington DC Smaller Bent Billiard 30 with a newly fit taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Bertram Bent 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 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.69 ounces. This final pipe of Jack’s is another beautiful pipe that I will send to him later this week. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this resurrected beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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.

Retemming and Restoring a Citation Imported Briar ¼ Bent Apple – Jack’s 12th Pipe

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them. He sent them to me and evidently, I cannot count. There was a 12^th bowl sans stem in the box that was a Citation Imported Briar.After finishing the first seven pipes I was kind of excited that the light at end of the tunnel was showing. I went through the box to see what I had left to work on. There was a large Bertram Billiard and two Bertram Bent Billiards (needed restemming) and sitting at the bottom was a lonely bowl without a stem. It had a threaded mortise so it would have originally had a stinger. I decided to take a break from the Bertrams and work on this one next. It was a slightly bent apple or perhaps an author bowl that needed to be restemmed. This is more complicated that fitting a tenon as you will see in the unfolding tale below. This pipe is literally number 12 from Jack’s 11 pipes (that is correct, I cannot count evidently). It is a lightly used, dull bowl that is stamped on the left side and read CITATION [over] Imported Briar. The finish was dusty but otherwise quite clean. The bowl was clean of cake and lava build up and only dust had gathered in the bottom of the bowl. There was no stem so I would I would need to fit one with a stinger style tenon. Like the rest of the pipes that Jack sent, this one had promise that should come alive with a cleanup and new stem. I took photos of the bowl before I started his cleanup work. I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above. It is clear and readable.I did some digging on the make of the Citation pipe and found two possible leads – one made by Savinelli in Italy and one made by Alpha in Israel. Both had the country of origin stamped on them and both used a script for the name of the brand. This one is block letters so I am left with a bit of a mystery. If anyone can give more clarity to this please leave a comment below. Thanks.

I started my work on the bowl by cleaning out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. Since I was restemming the pipe I would do the clean out on the new stem when I got it.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the dusty inside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. I paused from the bowl cleanup to see what I could find regarding a stem and a stinger that I could use. I found a stem that had the same diameter as the shank. It was a push stem so I cut off the tenon with a hacksaw blade. I have collected many stingers over the years and put them in a jar. I scavenged them from ruined stems and other places and have kept them all. I went through the jar and found the stinger I needed for this mortise. I threaded it into the shank and checked the fit. It was perfect.Now I had the proper stem and the proper stinger tenon. Now I had to put those pieces together in such a way that the stem lined up properly with the shank. I drilled out the airway in the stem with my cordless drill. I checked the fit of the threaded end of the stinger in the airway and it fit well. I cleaned the inside of the airway with alcohol and pipe cleaners so that it would be clean(no photos taken). I threaded it into the shank and marked the top. I unscrewed it and coated it with a layer of all purpose glue. I turned it into the stem end and set it aside to dry. The glue did not cure hard enough and when I turned it into the shank it popped loose. I reglued it with black CA rubberized glue and set aside once again. Once the tenon hardened in the stem I screwed it onto the shank and lined it all up to make sure it was straight! It was perfect! I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to soften the vulcanite so I could bend it. Once it was flexible I set the bowl rim top down and pressed down on the stem where I wanted the bend to be and let it cool in that position.Since it was in decent condition after cleaning it I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It looked very good once I finished. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention back to the vulcanite stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and smooth out the tooth chatter on the surface. It looked better.I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks and remaining casting marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine.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 the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Citation Bent Apple/Author with a newly fit taper stem and metal stinger tenon. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the new black vulcanite stem. This Citation Bent Apple/Author 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 43 grams/1.52 ounces. It is another beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 4 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this next beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restemming a Radford Ravel Rhodesian I have worked on before

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by Steve Laug

I have worked on this Radford Ravel Rhodesian for this pipe man quite often and I know that this is at least the second stem I have worked on for this pipe. That does not include the many rebuilds and refits that I have done on the first stem. The pipe is one of his favourites and one that he repeatedly is drawn to. I remember restoring the pipe originally in 2017 – repairing and banding the cracked shank (https://rebornpipes.com/2017/03/19/banding-and-restoring-a-radford-ravel-rhodesian/). I cleaned up the stem, reshaped, repaired and polished it. In 2023 he brought the pipe back as the stem was loose. I reworked the thin saddle stem to improve the fit and shape (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/04/28/restemming-a-radford-ravel-rhodesian/). Since then I have rebuilt the area ahead of the button and the button area where tooth marks both marked it and ended up becoming bite throughs. Yesterday he stopped by left the pipe with me to replace. The top of the stem had cracked and the repaired areas on the topside were gone. I took photos of the pipe before I started the restemming process. Have a look at what I saw. I went through my can of stems and could not find a saddle stem that would fit. I did find a new vulcanite taper stem that would work once I fit the tenon to the shank. It was a little larger than the shank in diameter and I would need to remove the excess material to get a fit.I used the Dremel and a sanding drum to knock off the marks on the tenon and smooth it out to fit the shank. I took photos of the newly fit stem to show the casting marks on the sides of the stem and on the button/slot end. You can also see that the stem is slightly larger in diameter than the shank and nickel band. It is going to look very good! I used my Dremel and a sanding drum to knock off the casting debris on the stem sides and button end. I also began the process of reducing the diameter of the stem to match the shank. I took the majority of the excess of the vulcanite off the stem to start the fitting. I was working to get it down to where it would fit inside the band. I worked on it some more with the Dremel and sanding drum to get close. I was getting there. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil and then heated the stem with a lighter. Once the vulcanite was flexible I bent it to the angle that matched the bends of the shank and bowl.I sat on the front porch and sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further shape and fit the stem to the shank. The bend and flow of the stem looked very good at this point in the process.I sanded the tenon to smooth out the marks and striations still remaining as well as fine tuning the shape and fit of the stem in the band. I continued sanding the stem surface with 2×2 inch sanding pads – grits 320-3500. By the end all of the sanding marks were removed and the stem began to take on a shine as did the tenon. It was looking very good.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 some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I finished the restem by buffing the bowl and stem with the Blue Diamond and moved on to buffing with carnauba wax. Once I have a good shine in the briar and vulcanite I always give the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I following up the wax buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I follow that up with a hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished vulcanite stem. It really is a beautiful pipe. The smooth finish around the cap and shank show the grain shining through the rich brown stains of this Radford Ravel Rhodesian. The finished 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.05 ounces/57 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and now that I have finished restemming it, he will get to enjoy it once more.

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 pipemen 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.

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.

Restemming and Restoring a Duncan Hill Aerosphere Smooth Pot – another of the 12 Pipes

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by Steve Laug

Back in January I received an email from Robert with a group 12 pipes that needed to be restored in various ways from cleanup to restemming. I chose to work on the Duncan Hill Aerosphere bowl next. It is a nice-looking smooth bowled Pot. The bowl and shank were in good condition. The bowl had been reamed at some time so there was no cake in it. The rim top was clean but had some darkening around the top and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl was dirty with some visible fills on the left side of the bowl. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Duncan Hill [over] Aerosphere. There was a tenon in the shank and three rings on mortise end of the tenon. There was an orange acrylic ring sandwiched between two brass rings. The bowl came without a stem and I would need to either find an Aerosphere stem or fit the tenon on an existing stem. I took some photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The tenon was removable and I turned it out of the bowl. The sandwiched triple ring fitting on the tenon was also removable.Before I started work on fitting a new stem to the shank I did a bit of work on the brand itself. I Googled Duncan Hill Aerosphere and the first bit I found was from a Google group for ASP. There I found the following quote. I have the reference link placed at the end of the quote if you want to follow up on the information:

“The Duncan Hill Aerosphere smoking system (U.S. patent #4,275,747) utilizes the same principle of physics as the manometer. The Aerosphere, visible as the brass pin on the side of the mouthpiece, brings a scientifically measured amount of air into the stem with each puff. The control of the amount of air and the velocity of the air produces two effects that result in superior smoking pipe performance.” https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.smokers.pipes/GUxdN5Dus4Q

I also found a link to an advertisement for the brand featuring the designer in Popular Mechanics Magazine, February 1980, pg. 31 on Google books. Here is the link:
https://books.google.ca/books?id=m9UDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=Duncan+Hill+Aerosphere+Pipes&source=bl&ots=tR4egGI0ig&sig=XeACE0-Vh19-1JNcA0kAgS87kRI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p1QbVbPTEpLvoATEpoLoCQ&ved=0CBwQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=Duncan%20Hill%20Aerosphere%20Pipes&f=false Next is an advertisement from Popular Mechanics Magazine, September 1982, pg. 216 on google books. Here is the link. https://books.google.ca/books?id=f9kDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA216&lpg=PA216&dq=Duncan+Hill+Aerosphere+Pipes&source=bl&ots=fsZtVqD0z9&sig=Kl3wI-76NJqpFxAg8SPndnnWyqM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=owEcVdGGKdj9oQSD_4L4Bw&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAjgo#v=onepage&q=Duncan%20Hill%20Aerosphere%20Pipes&f=false Finally using the patent number in the ASP quote I was able to find the patent documents for the pipe on the US Patent Office site. I have included the documents from the US Patent Office here. There are four pages – 2 of drawings and two of description. I love finding this old information and reading about the persistent search for the dryer cooler smoking pipe that has led to many creative solutions. It lends some colour to the work of my refurbishing to be able to read about the design ideas and the inventors themselves as I work on the pipes. Armed with new information it was time to work out a new stem for the pipe. I went through my collection of stems and did not have an Aerosphere stem to replace it with. I did find a nice looking acrylic black stem that would work very well. It did not have a tenon and would need to be drilled out to receive the Duncan Hill tenon I had. The beauty was that the diameter of the shank was very close to the diameter of the stem.I drilled out the airway in the stem with increasingly larger drill bits until I had it open enough to fit the tenon. Once I had it drilled out I checked the fit of the tenon in the shank and in the newly drilled out stem. The fit was perfect in the stem. I painted the tenon end that fit in the stem with black rubberized CA glue. I pressed it in place in the stem and set it aside until the glue cured and the new tenon was solid.With the tenon cured I put the stem on the shank and took a photo of the new stem. Though it did not have the Duncan Hill carburettor on the left side of the stem the fit was good and airflow was perfect. With a few adjustments of the diameter of the stem to match the bands the look was very good and it would provide a great smoke. I started the adjustments to the diameter with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It took a lot of sanding to get the flow of the stem and band correct but it was starting to look very good. I removed the stem and fine tuned the flow of the decorative band on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. It was really beginning to look very good at this point.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The stem began to take on a rich shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The stem looked very good. Before I turned to work on the bowl as a whole I took time to clean out the shank, mortise and the airway in both the shank and the new stem. The shank was very dirty and the airway was clogged. I used a straightened paper clip to poke through the clog and break it up. The airflow is great now.I now turned my attention to the bowl. I wiped down the bowl with acetone to remove the shine varnish coat from the surface. It looked much better and with sanding and polishing would look very good. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edge of the rim and to sand out the darkening on the rim top. It looked better but there was more to be done.I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further smooth it out and remove the nicks and scratches in the briar. The bowl was progressing in smoothness and beauty. I polished the briar with the nine micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. The bowl took on a rich shine. 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 put the Duncan Hill Aerosphere Pot Bowl and the new stem 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 original brown 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 Duncan Hill Aerosphere. 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.52 ounces/42 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.