Tag Archives: fitting a new stem

Repairing and Restemming a BBB Ultonia 504 Gold Banded Canadian

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by Steve Laug

Not too long ago I received an email from a Andrew in Greece asking if I could work on some pipes for him. He had some that needed a stem and a couple of pipes with broken stems and a Canadian that had a crack down the back of the bowl and across the right side. We emailed back and forth and he sent me the following photos. I figured they would be some interesting pipes to work on so he sent them to me to work on. I received the box yesterday. When I opened it this morning I was amazed to see what he had sent. The Sandblast Canadian that needed restemming was stamped 264 Peterson’s Kapruf. The rest of the stamping was quite faint. The pipe needed to be restemmed and it had a small divot in the shank end and what looked like a crack. The second, a smooth Canadian was a BBB Ultonia 504 with a gold band. The two Sandblast with broken stems turned out to be Stanwells. The larger on is stamped Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48. It is followed by the shape number 858 [over] Old Briar. The smaller one is stamped Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 followed by de Luxe followed by the shape number 87. The last of the five with the cracked bowl is an 8 Dot Sasieni [over] London Made [over] Pat. No. 1513428. It was also stamped “Amesbury”. They were going to be an interesting lot to work on.

I chose to deal with the BBB Ultonia 504 Gold Banded Canadian next. It was in decent condition, probably the best of the lot. The stamping on the topside of the shank was BBB in a diamond [over] Ultonia and on the underside was the shape number 504. It was clear and readable. The smooth finish was nice but dirty. The bowl had a light cake in it and there were spots of lava on the rim top and inner edge. The inner edge was a little rough from previous reaming. There was a nice looking gold band on the shank end that was decorative as I could find no cracks. The interior of the shank was quite dirty. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of them bowl. The lava on the rim top was spotty and had some darkening. The inner edge was also damaged. I also took a photo of the top underside of the shank to show the faint stamping that was present. It is faint in spots but is still readable.I turned to Pipephil’s site to see if it listed the Ultonia line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-bbb.html). It did not but it gave a short summary of the brand. I quote:

BBB: ”Best British Briar” is now a brand of the Cadogan Company (Oppenheimer group). American rights to use the brand name were sold to Wally Frank in 1980. Founder of the brand in 1847: Louis Blumfeld. The oldest pipe brand name in the UK has been registered in 1876 (Blumfeld Best Briar) Grading (ascendant): Own Make, Bold Grain, Best Make, Rare Grain.

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/BBB) to see if I could get some specific information on the Ultonia. I read through the history on the site and I quote the pertinent section of article below.

Louis Blumfeld develops from the very start of important international trade, with a particular success in Canada, in Australia, in Zealand News, India and in the extrème Is Europe, in Switzerland and, with a special mention, in Denmark. If the USA were never an extraordinary market, a branch is opened all the same in New York. In fact, the marketing strategy was focused especially on the countries of the Britanique Empire. Little before 1914, A Frankau & Co was also a sole agent for the pipes Cherry Wood of the Ropp house to cover the United Kingdom and its colonies.

If the BBB are its the most known pipes, A Frankau & Co had several marks of pipes: Capt. Kidd, Fairway (“F” in white; FAIRWAY/LONDON MADE/ENGLAND), Frankau’ S (London Made/Made in England), Glokar, Major Daff, the Snap-FIT. It also seems that Ultonia and Last Word must be regarded as marks with whole share, in spite of the fact that they are presented as being product lines under label BBB. That would explain their absence of catalogues BBB…

… In the Thirties, the top-of-the-range one becomes “BBB Best Make” with alternatives like “Super Stopping” and “Ultonia Thule”. The BBB Carlton, sold with the detail with 8/6 in 1938, is equipped with a system complicated out of metal, system which equipped the BBB London Dry too. Blue Peter was not estampillées BBB but BBB Ultonia, and the BBB Two Star (* *) become the bottom-of-the-range one. The calabash leaves the catalogues, but some pipes with case and some scums are still produced. The forms also are typical of this time: half are billiards, some princes and bullcaps, a limited number of bulldogs and curved. It is as at that time as the top-of-the-range series receive an incrustation of initials BBB out of metal, whereas the bottom-of-the-range series have only the engraved pipe.

I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and scraped out the cake that was present to get it back to bare briar. I sanded the walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. The pipe began to look much better.I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a wooden sphere to remove the damage on the rim top and the inner edge. I cleaned up the bevel on the inner edge and smoothed out the damage.I sanded the rim top and the bowl sides with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the nicks and damage to the finish. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded with each pad and then wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the debris. It began to look rich and smooth. I cleaned out the internals of the shank and bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. The pipe is very clean. I like it clean to make a better fit for new stem. I cleaned out the airway in the stem I had chosen with pipe cleaners and alcohol.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to work it into the sandblast. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I polished gold band with a jeweller’s cloth to polish and protect it from oxidation. It is a great looking piece of bling. I went through my stems and found one that was the right length and would need some slight adjusting to fit the diameter of the shank and the tenon. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to shape and rework the stem and tenon to fit the shank end. Once I was finished with the reshaping of the stem I put it in the shank and took photos of the look of the stem.I sanded the stem with 320-1500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth to remove the sanding dust. It began to look very 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 an Obsidian Oil Cloth. The stem began to take on a rich shine. This older BBB Ultonia 504 Gold Banded Canadian with a new vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain on the briar shines through 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 BBB Ultonia Canadian 504 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.09 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I hold until I have finished working on the other three pipes that Andrew sent me. Once I am finished with the lot they will be heading back to Greece. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Repairing and Restemming a Peterson’s Kapruf 264 Canadian

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by Steve Laug

Not too long ago I received an email from a Andrew in Greece asking if I could work on some pipes for him. He had some that needed a stem and a couple of pipes with broken stems and a Canadian that had a crack down the back of the bowl and across the right side. We emailed back and forth and he sent me the following photos. I figured they would be some interesting pipes to work on so he sent them to me to work on. I received the box yesterday. When I opened it this morning I was amazed to see what he had sent. The Sandblast Canadian that needed restemming was stamped 264 Peterson’s Kapruf. The rest of the stamping was quite faint. The pipe needed to be restemmed and it had a small divot in the shank end and what looked like a crack. The second, a smooth Canadian was a BBB Ultonia 504 with a gold band. The two Sandblast with broken stems turned out to be Stanwells. The larger on is stamped Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48. It is followed by the shape number 858 [over] Old Briar. The smaller one is stamped Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 followed by de Luxe followed by the shape number 87. The last of the five with the cracked bowl is an 8 Dot Sasieni [over] London Made [over] Pat. No. 1513428. It was also stamped “Amesbury”. They were going to be an interesting lot to work on.

I chose to deal with the Peterson’s Kapruf 264 Canadian first. It was a worn and tired Canadian. The stamping on the underside of the shank was faint and worn. What was readable I included in the previous sentence. The sandblast was worn and dirty. The bowl had a light cake in it and there was an overflow of lava on the rim top and inner edge. The end of the shank had a divot out on the underside which when examined showed a thin hairline crack. The interior of the shank was quite dirty. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of them bowl. The lava in the sandblast rim top was quite thick and had some darkening. I also took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the faint stamping that was present. It is faint but is still readable.I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and scraped out the cake that was present to get it back to bare briar. I sanded the walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. The pipe began to look much better.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and some undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the sandblast with the brush to clean out the dust and debris in the finish. I used a brass bristle wire brush to work over the rim top and knock off the grime and debris. I rinsed the soap and grime from the finish and it looked much better. I cleaned out the internals of the shank and bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. The pipe is very clean. I like it clean to make a better fit for the band and the new stem.Now it was time to address the crack in the underside of the shank. I found a nice older Sterling Silver Band that would fit the shank well. I worked glue into the crack and the length of the crack. I worked glue around the shank end as well. I pressed the Sterling Silver band on the shank end and wiped off the excess glue. I took photos of the shank with the fitted band. It worked very well. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to work it into the sandblast. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I went through my stems and found one that was the right length and would need some slight adjusting to fit the diameter of the shank and the tenon.I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to shape and rework the stem and tenon to fit the shank end. Once I was finished with the reshaping of the stem I put it in the shank and took photos of the look of the stem. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol to remove the sanding debris and dust in the newly fitted stem. I sanded the stem with 320-1500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth to remove the sanding dust. It began to look very 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 an Obsidian Oil Cloth. The stem began to take on a rich shine. I am excited to finish this Peterson’s “Kapruf” 264 Sandblast Canadian. I am really happy with how the bowl turned out when I consider the condition of the bowl and the cracked shank on the pipe. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the colours popping through the sandblast. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver Band and the black vulcanite taper stem was beautiful. This shapely Classic Peterson’s “Kapruf” 264 Canadian is nice 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: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29grams/1.02oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I hold until I have finished working on the other four pipes that Andrew sent me. Once I am finished with the lot they will be heading back to Greece. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restemming and Restoring a Danish Pride by Ben Wade Hand Made in Denmark Bowl

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by Steve Laug

This particular mixed finished Freehand pipe was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It really is another beautiful smaller Freehand Bowl that combines a plateau rim top and smooth patches that flow up from the bowl sides. The shank end is sandblasted like the bowl and shank with a spot of plateau. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the left side of the shank and reads Danish Pride [over] by [over] Ben Wade [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The bowl is a mix of sandblast on the majority with some smooth grooves on the front and sides. The shank is also sandblasted with the underside being smooth for the stamping. The bowl had a moderate cake and some spots of lava overflow in the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish and dust and debris in the plateau valleys on the shank end. The finish was a rich oxblood colour that really highlighted the grain in the sandblast. The stem was missing so I would need to fit a suitable replacement. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the spotty lava on the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain in the sandblast and the smooth portions. It is a beautiful bowl. It is a smaller size freehand and one that catches my eye. Have a look. The next photos Jeff took show the stamping on a smooth portion on the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in places but still readable as noted above. In a previous blog I had researched the brand quite a bit. I have included it below for information on this pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/10/03/restoring-a-danish-pride-by-ben-wade-mixed-finish-handmade-freehand-sitter/). I quote:

I remembered that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement.I quote the portion of the article that summarizes the Danish period of the history of the brand:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed the bowl and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the plateau rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the remaining oxidation. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were. The rim top and bowl look good. The shank end was sandblasted and had a spot of plateau on the top right.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. You can see from the photo that it is faint but readable. It is clearer on the top half of the stamp than the lower but it is still readable. I went through my stems and found a variegated cream and brown acrylic taper that would work well with the bowl. It would take some work to fit it but I took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe. The bowl was in such good condition after the clean up that I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush to get into the crevices of the plateau and sandblast portions. The product is incredible and the way it brings the grain to the fore is unique. It works to clean, protect and invigorate the wood. I set the bowl aside and started working on the stem. I used a flat file to shape the stem to fit in the shank. It took some work to shape it but it looked much better. I cleaned up the stem work with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish blending it into the surface of the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2-inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian after each pad to remove the dust and polishing debris. I polished it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am happy with the way that this Preben Holm Made Danish Pride by Ben Wade Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and mix of smooth and sandblast finishes around the bowl and shank. The rugged plateau on the rim top and shank end are beautiful. The fancy original vulcanite saddle stem works well with the reddish brown of the stained briar. The pipe really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Danish Pride by Ben Wade really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2  inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches wide x 2 inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. The pipe will be staying with me, at least for awhile as I appreciate the craftsmanship. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

A Unique and Beautiful Sandblast Malaga Second on the work table now

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is an interesting Malaga Second Sandblast Dublin. Jeff saw it on eBay and purchased it on 08/22/2024 from a seller in Harrison Township, Michigan, USA. The grain on this pipe is quite nice beneath the oil cured finish. The pipe is stamped on the right side of the shank and reads Malaga [over] Second. It is a nice one in terms of the well-done ½ Bent Dublin. The bowl and shank were in good condition. The finish was in good condition though dirty with dust in the depths of the sandblast. The bowl had a thick cake that over flowed over the top of the sandblast rim in a lava coat. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl appeared to be in good condition under the grime. The saddle stem was vulcanite and was lightly oxidized and calcified. There were tooth marks and chatter on the top and the underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work.  Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the cake and lava coat in the sandblast on the rim top and edges. The inner edge of the rim was caked and lava coated but seemed to be okay underneath. It was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. The vulcanite saddle stem was lightly oxidized, calcified and had some tooth marks and chatter on both side against the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show how the sandblast has followed the grain around the bowl and shank. The oil curing/finish makes the grain really stand out on the smooth panels on the sides of the bowl and underside of the shank. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the right side of the shank and it is clear and readable as noted above. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am also including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also am including a link to some printed material on the Malaga brand that came to me from the daughter of George Koch (we purchased George’s pipes from his daughter) to help identify the particular stamping on the pipe. The link takes you to the entire collection of materials that were sent to me. (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/27/malaga-pipes-catalogue-of-pipes-and-tobaccos/).

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual process. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He cleaned up the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and the calcification on the surface. He cleaned out airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. It looked clean. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top was clean and the inner and outer edges of the bowl showed no burn damage. The stem looked better and the tooth marks are very visible on both sides ahead of the button. There was also a hairline crack in the topside of the stem mid blade.I took a photo of the stamping on the top side of the shank to show that it was clean and faint in spots but still readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. The condition of the bowl was excellent after the cleanup. The only thing that look like it needed work were the smooth patches on the sides and underside of the shank. They showed sanding marks and scratching. I would need to smooth out the marks and polish the smooth portions. I used 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth them out. It looked much better. I polished them further with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded with each pad and wiped the smooth spots down with a damp cloth to remove and sanding debris. While not flawless it looked much better. 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 finished bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I examined it and found that the blade was cracked at the bend. It would need to be replaced. To replace the stem I need to find one that would work. I went through my stems and found one that look workable. It was a little larger in diameter at the saddle than the broken one but with some work it would fit well. I reduced the diameter of the tenon and the diameter of the saddle portions with a Dremel and a sanding drum. I needed to sand out the sanding marks and make the fit smooth to the shank and mortise. I took a photo of the fit of the stem at this point. It needed more sanding to get a smooth transition with the shank but it looked quite good. I set the bowl aside and worked on the tooth marks on the stem. I “painted” them with the flame of a lighter to lift them. They came up a bit and I filled in what remained with the extra strength rubberized Black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out and redefined the button edge with small flat files. I sanded them smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.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 did a final hand polish of 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 put the new stem back on the Malaga Second Sandblast Dublin and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Malaga Second Sandblast Dublin and the vulcanite saddle stem and smooth patches in the sandblast finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/64 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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

Restoring and Restemming a Sven Lar Hand Made Grade C Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe that I am working on came from a seller in Downey, California, USA on 08/12/2025. It was very dirty and rich combination of red and brown stains when we received it. The smooth finish around the bowl was dirty and had hand oils ground into the finish. The bowl had a moderate cake in the bowl and a coat of lava flowing onto the inner edge and the plateau rim top. The flared shank end is smooth and has a rich birdseye grain on its surface. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and read Sven Lar [over] Hand Made [over] C. Jeff took photos of the pipe so I could have a sense of what it looked like before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. There was a lava build up on the plateau top of the rim and the inner edge of the bowl. It is a rugged rustication that is very dirty but still has a stunning beauty.Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime in the finish around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years the grain looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The pipe did not have a stem and the tenon was snapped off in the shank. It was stick in place and could not be easily removed at this point.I always begin my part of the restoration work by doing some background work on the brand. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s14.html) to gather information on the Sven Lar brand. I did a screen capture of the pertinent section on the brand. I included the side bar information below the photo. “Sven Lar” is a brand owned by Michael Kabik who retired in the late 1980’s. These pipes were crafted after he stopped producing CHP-X pipes.I followed a link there to CHP-X pipes on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c4.html#chpx). I quote the pertinent information below. There was a link to the Sven Lar brand.

Artisan: Michael V. Kabik (retired in 1989-90) started making pipes in the early 1970s. The CHP-X brand is named after Chuck Holiday which Kabik replaces in 1971 when the former leaves the wokshop. The CHP-X studio closed in 1973. After this period Kabik created the Sven-Lar brand and produced it together with Glen Hedelson.

I turned then to Pipedia’s listing on Kabik (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kabik) to see what I could learn. I quote from the article’s information taken from Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes

Michael Victor Kabik or Michael J. Kabik, now retired artisan and pipe repairman, was born in Annapolis, Maryland in 1950. As a student he was fascinated by science, but finally turned to the arts. In the early 1970s he started working as an artisan and designer for Hollyday Pipes Ltd., and when the company closed he set up in his own right.

He created the Sven-Lar brand for Associated Imports — many of his reputed friends followed the Danish Design then, at the height of its popularity, which accounts for the commercial choice of a Nordic sound brand name. He has also used Wenhall, also produced by Karl Erik, and Tobak Ltd. as brand names.

Then, as he says, a beetle ‘burst’ into his workshop and changed his life. He fell in love the study of insects, and decided to dedicate himself to environmental protection. Today he runs the firm Insect Empire, which produces artistic works based on such creatures…

We decided on the name Sven-Lar. Why ? Well, when I bought out CHP-X, I also got a small drawer full of metal stamps that were created for private-label work. The Sven-Lar name was conceived but never realized. Aside from having the stamp already made, there were other reasons we chose Sven-Lar. First, we were making a line of pipes in the Danish freehand tradition and also, sadly, we knew the difficulty American pipe makers had breaking the foreign market mystique barrier. The latter certainly played a big part in the demise of CHP-X.

I now knew that I was working on a freehand carved by Michael Kabikhat came out after CHP-X closed in 1973. The shape of the pipe was a Hand Made Sven Lar grade C Freehand.

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 rim top shows some damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. 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. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. Now it was time to address the broken tenon in the shank. It was solidly stuck in place. I tried my usual tricks to pull it. Time in the freezer did nothing – still very tight and unmovable. I used an ear syringe to drop alcohol in he shank to see if it would loosened it – again nothing. I almost wonder if it was not glued in the shank. It looks like my only option was to drill out the broken tenon. I used a drill bit a little smaller than the diameter of the mortise but big enough to give me some bite on the tenon. I used my cordless drill and slowly drilled it into the shank. In a few moments the broken piece came free.I went through my stems and found a nice acrylic, unused stem that would work perfect. It was the right colour and shape to be a good match for the pipe. I had been drilled for a tenon but did not have one so I used a threaded Delrin tenon I had here for the stem. I gave it a light coat of glue and carefully turned it into the stem with a pair of pliers. It still needed to be polished but I wanted to see what the stem looked like with the bowl. I put it in place and took some photos. I like it! It turns out with the stem in place the pipe is a sitter with the flat heel of the bowl. I took a close up photo of the magnificent plateau rim top and shank end to give a sense of its craggy beauty and condition. I also took photos of the stem to show the condition of the top and underside. It was unused but had some scratches and nicks from sitting in a can of stems here awaiting use.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the bowl and its new stem sitting with it to show the look of the pipe. It is a beautiful piece of briar.The bowl looked so good that I polished it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded with the pads and wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The briar began to shine and the grain stood out. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with sanding pads- using 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. The stem was beginning to look much better.I polished the vulcanite 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. It really took on a shine and I knew that once it was buffed it would look amazing. This Sven Lar Hand Made Grade C Freehand is a beautiful looking piece of briar that has a shape that follows grain. It is a great looking pipe that came out looking even better after the cleanup. The finish on the pipe cleaned up well. The black and brown stain on the bowl works well to highlight the grain. The newly fit and polished variegated bronze and black acrylic saddle stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Sven Lar Hand Made C Freehand 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: 7 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ½ inches long x 2 ¼ inches wide, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 94 grams/3.35 ounces. It will soon be added to the American Pipe Makers Section on the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know

Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restoring and Restemming a Grant’s Tanblast 831 Canadian with a Taper Stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another one that came to us from the seller in Caldwell, Idaho, USA on 07/12/2025. It is a Canadian bowl with a broken tenon in shank and no stem. It is in dirty but in good condition as can be seen in the photos below. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Grant’s [over] Tanblast. That is followed by the shape number 831 and stamped after that Made in London [over] England. The stamping is clear and readable. It has rich natural sandblast Finish on a nicely grained sandblast finish that the shape follows well. The finish was dusty and dirty with grime ground into the finish. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was tobacco debris in the bowl. The rim top had a lava coat on the top and edges. The stem was missing but the broken tenon was stuck in the shank. I would need to pull it and restem it. I took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before I started working on it. I took a closer photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of the bowl and rim. You can see the light cake in the bowl and the darkening and lava on the top and inner edge. It was heavier on the left side but also covered the back and front of the rim and top.I took a photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.Before starting working on the pipe I did a Google search to see what I could learn about a Grant’s Tanblast 831 Canadian. The first thing that came up is a pretty clear and succinct AI Overview of the stamping. I am including that information below.

Based on the stamping “Made in London England” and “Grant’s,” this pipe is a house brand from Grant’s Pipe Shop in San Francisco, California. These pipes were produced in London for Ed Grant, who purchased the historic Sutliff pipe shop in 1953 and retired in 1988. 

Key Information regarding Grant’s Pipe Shop Pipes:

  • Manufacturer: Many Grant’s Pipe Shop pipes, including the “Corinthian” line, were manufactured in London by Comoy’s.
  • Stamping: The pipes often feature “Grant’s Pipe Shop,” “San Francisco,” and “London Made” or “Made in England”.
  • “Tanblast”: This likely refers to a specific finish or line offered by the shop, featuring a tan/brown sandblasted finish.
  • Number 831: This indicates the specific shape number for the pipe in the Grant’s/Comoy’s catalog.
  • Period: These are typically vintage pipes, largely dating between the mid-1950s and the late 1980s. 

Grant’s Pipe Shop was a renowned Californian tobacconist that sold high-quality English-made estate pipes

This information gave me a clear connection to Grant’s Pipe Shop and the Tanblast stamping on the underside. It also linked the 831 shape number to both the Grant’s Pipe Shop and Comoy’s catalogue. Thus, I know that pipe is linked to Grant’s Pipe Shop and Comoy’s shape 831 Canadian.

Now that I have the link to Grant’s Pipe Shop in San Francisco, California I turned to Pipephil’s site to see if I could learn more (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-g5.html). I did a screen capture of the information on Grant’s and have included it and the side bar information below.Tobacconist’s brand founded 1849 by Henry Sutliff. In 1925, Sutliff opened a shop in the 500 Block of Market St. In 1953, Ed Grant the manager, purchased the store renaming it Grant’s Pipe Shop. He retired in 1988 and passed away in 2003. Ted Ware and Joe Barron took over the oldest Californian tobacconist in 2004.

I turned to Pipedia and found an interesting article on the shop and its closure in 2012. There was also an advert card on the shop showing what the shop looked like inside and out from 1849-2012 (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Grants_Pipe_Shop). I have done a screen capture of the card and added it below.I enjoy working on Pipe Shop pipes and it is fun to be able to trace them back to the company that made the pipe – in this case Comoy’s of London. I turned to work on the pipe itself. Before addressing the bowl, I decided to pull the broken tenon from the shank. I used a drywall screw and turned it into the airway. I wiggled the tenon free from the shank. With it removed it was ready to be fit with a new stem once it was clean.I turned to clean up the bowl in preparation for the restemming. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the cutting heads 2 and 3. I finished the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I worked on the darkening on the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush. I was able to remove the majority of the darkening with this method.I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and both bristle and regular pipe cleaners.I scrubbed the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and some undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the dust and soap from the finish. I dried it off with a soft cloth and it looked much better. I had a stem in my can of stems that would work on this pipe. I fitted the stem to the shank. It would take a bit of adjusting to get the fit in the shank correct. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and some small flat files. I removed the stem and set it aside. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to work it into the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside to let the Before & After Restoration Balm do its magic and turned to work on the thickness of the stem at the side, top and underside. It was quite close but some fine tuning would clean it up and make the fit seamless. I sanded the surface of the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to shape the fit to the shank. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch pads to further adjust the fit of the stem to the shank. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.I polished the vulcanite 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. I the polished newly fit vulcanite taper stem and the Grant’s Tanblast 831 Canadian bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches and raise the shine. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax then 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. This turned out to be a beautiful Grant’s Tanblast 831 Canadian with a Taper Stem. The finished pipe is shown in 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 1.23 ounces/35 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration and restemming with me as I worked this beautiful little Comoy’s Made Grant’s House Pipe. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for looking.

New Life and a New Stem for a 1973 Dunhill Red Bark N792 F/T Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another one that came to us from the seller in Caldwell, Idaho, USA on 07/12/2025. It is a Dunhill Red Bark Canadian missing the original stem. It is in dirty but in good condition as can be seen in the photos below. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads N792 F/T [followed by] Dunhill [over] Red Bark. That is followed by Made in [over] England13. That is followed by a stamping Circle 4R/B. The stamping is clear and readable. The pipe has rich Red Bark Sandblast Finish with a blend of red/oxblood stains on a richly grained sandblast finish that the shape follows well. The finish was dusty and dirty with grime ground into the finish. It appeared to have a crack in the shank on the topside that extended into the shank about ½ inch. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was tobacco debris in the bowl. The rim top had a thick lava coat on the top and edges. I was excited to work on the pipe and forgot to take photos before I started working on it. I had a tarnished Sterling Silver Band that would fit the shank well so I heated it and pressed it in place. Then I remembered that I had not taken photos before the band. I took photos of the pipe with the banded shank to show what it looked like before I started working on it. The stamping on the underside of the shank is readable as noted above. I took a photo of the stamping.One of the first things I like to do is to unpack the stamping and understand each element in it. I turned to Pipephil’s helpful site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shell-briar1.html). The stamping is interpreted as follows: The N792 is the shape of the pipe which is a Canadian. The F/T designates a Fishtail stem. The Dunhill Red Bark is a red stained sandblast finish. Following the Made In England13 gives the year that the pipe was made.  The circle 4R/B is the stamp for a Group 4 in a Red Bark finish.

From the above information I could see that I was working on a Red Bark Canadian shaped pipe.

From there I wanted to pin down the date stamp 1. I have included Page 2 of the Dunhill Dating Key (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). Following that it takes me to the box with 1960+suffix. That tells me that the pipe is a 1973 pipe.I wanted to know more about the Red Bark finish and when it was introduced by Dunhill. I turned to a listing on Pipedia that gave me the information I was looking for (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill).

Red Bark:

Red Bark: Introduced in 1972, the Redbark was a sandblasted finish characterized by a reddish stain and is arguably the most famous of Dunhill’s discontinued lines. Initially, the stain was a medium red, but a few years after its introduction, it was changed to a significantly brighter, almost pinkish hue. This new colour proved unpopular, causing sales to plummet. In response, the company reverted to the original, darker red stain in 1976. The Redbark finish was officially discontinued in 1987.[122][123]

Now I knew that I was working on a Dunhill Red Bark N792 which original would have had a Taper Stem that was made in 1973 and was only made until 1987 before it was discontinued.

I turned to work on the pipe itself. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the cutting heads 2 and 3. I finished the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and both bristle and regular pipe cleaners. I scrubbed the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and some undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the dust and soap from the finish. I dried it off with a soft cloth and it looked much better. I worked on the darkening on the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush and some Before & After Briar Cleaner. I worked it into the grooves on rim top sandblast and let it sit for 5 minutes. I repeated the process four times and when finished I wiped it off. I was able to remove the majority of the darkening with this method. I polished the band with micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil Cloth to clean it up and add to the shine. I cleaned the Sterling Band with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and protect the silver from further tarnishing. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to work it into the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned to deal with the stem. I had a stem in my can of stems that would work on this pipe. I fitted the stem to the shank. It did not take any adjustments to the tenon or the stem. It is a perfect fit to the shank.I sanded the surface of the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and clean up the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.I polished the vulcanite 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. I the polished newly fit Sterling Silver Band and the new vulcanite taper stem and the 1973 Dunhill Red Bark N792 F/T Canadian bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches and raise the shine. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax then 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. This turned out to be a beautiful Dunhill Red Bark N792 F/T Canadian with a Taper Stem. The finished pipe is shown in 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 1.38 ounces/38 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration and restemming with me as I worked this beautiful little Dunhill Red Bark. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for looking.

Restemming and Restoring a Sandblast Benaderet’s Coral 135 Billiard

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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.