Tag Archives: fitting a stem

New Life for a Rovera Cordova Italy rusticated oval shank Sitter

by Steve Laug

This rusticated finished bowl with a short saddle stem was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a great oval shank Cherrywood like Sitter with a rich brown rusticated finish on the bowl and shank. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem. The bowl is stained with a mix of browns that highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. It has a smooth rim top and ring around the bowl and shank end. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Rovera [over] Cordova. On the shank end next to the stem/shank junction and is stamped Italy. The bowl had a thick cake and some tobacco debris on the walls. There was an overflow of lava on the rim top that was heavier toward the back of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish which left the finish looking quite dull. The vulcanite saddle stem has a map of Italy in gold on the top of the saddle. There was some light oxidation on the surface and some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the current condition. The inner edge and the rim top showed darkening and spots of lava as mentioned above. The photos of the bowl show the cake on the walls. The stem photos show the oxidation and light marks on the rim top on both sides. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition of the bowl and the grain around the bowl. He took photos of the underside of the shank to capture the stamping. They were clear and readable as noted above.Before I started working on the pipe I did a bit digging into the brand. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r5.html). The information in the screen capture below shows the same stamped logo as on this pipe in the second pipe pictured below. I included the side bar information below the screen capture below.Artisan: Damiano Rovera is the son of Dorielo (See also Ardor and Angelo).

From there I turned to various entries on the Rover on Pipedia. I found some information on the listing for Roverart (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Roverart). I have included some information found there and also a great advertising flyer that I have included.

RoverArt pipes are made by Dorelio and Damiano Rovera, makers of the Ardor line, at a rate of approximately 500-800 pipes a year.Courtesy Doug Valitchka

They are available in seven different styles, including the Armony, finished with a light walnut stain, the Sinfony, finished in dark mahogany, the Ricciolo, with carved curls, the Ritmica, a rusticated pipe with red accents, the Tuba, a carved pipe with a bamboo shank, the Sax, a rusticated black pipe with a screw in bowl, and the Cornetta, a large horn with a briar shank. The Roverart line contains some of the less conventional pipes made by the Roveras. For more information see Ardor.

This is an interesting family of pipemakers. Take time to read about them. I am sure there is more available but now it is time to work on the pipe.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Since Jeff always follows the same pattern of work in his cleanup we do not include photos but rather a simple summary. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the spotty lava build up on the rim top and you could see the marks on the top and edges of the rim. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it with warm water to rinse off the residue. The stem was clean and the oxidation was gone. I took photos of what the pipe looked like when I brought to my worktable. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge looked good. There was some darkening in spot on the rim top and the inner edge was also darkened. The stem was clean and there were light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.I worked on the inner bevelled edge and rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the darkening on both. It is looking much better.I sanded the edge and rim top with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the sanding debris. It began to look very good. I polished the smooth rim top and ring around the bowl top and shank end with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl surface down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. Once I finished the exterior of the briar was clean and the grain really stood out. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. The stem was clean and ready to work on. I set the bowl aside and touched up the stamp on the topside of the saddle. It was a map of Italy. I worked the Rub’n Buff Antique Gold into the stamp and polished off the excess.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I carefully avoided the stamping as I did not want to damage it. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth to wipe of the sanding debris.I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Rovera Cordova Italy Rusticated Oval Shank Sitter with a vulcanite saddle stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the mix of grain on the sides of the bowl. Added to that the black vulcanite saddle stem was beautiful. This smooth Rovera Cordova Italy Rusticated Sitter 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams /1.38 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time reading the blog. I appreciate it.

Breathing Life into a Jarl Made in Denmark 1526 Acorn

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by Steve Laug

This reddish, brown mixed finish, beautifully grained, saddle stem was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a great looking Bent Acorn with a sandblast finish on most of the bowl and shank and a smooth patch on both sides and a band on the shank end. The stem is a vulcanite fancy saddle stem. The bowl is stained with a contrast of browns that highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Jarl [over] Made in Denmark. On the underside of the shank band it is stamped with the shape number 1526. The bowl had a thick cake and some tobacco debris on the walls. There was lava on the rim top and some spots of darkening on the inner edge of rim top. There was grime ground into the finish which left the finish looking quite dull. The vulcanite saddle stem was stamped with an upper case “J” with a Crown on the left side. There was some light oxidation on the surface and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the current condition. The inner edge and the rim top showed darkening and spots of lava as mentioned above. The photos of the bowl show the cake on the walls. The stem photos show the oxidation and light marks on the rim top on both sides. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition of the bowl and the grain around the bowl. It reminds me of a Stanwell Vario. He took photos of the underside of the shank to capture the stamping. They were clear and readable as noted above. Before I started working on it I did a bit of research on the brand to remind myself of what I knew of the maker. I turned to Pipephil’s site first (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j1.html#jarl). I did a screen capture of the information on the site. I did a screen capture of the pertinent information and have included it below.I then turned to Pipedia and found that a very short article that confirmed that the pipes were made by Niels Mogens Jorgensen (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jarl). I have included the article in its entirety below.

In December of 2010 Ellen Jarl wrote that Jarl pipes were made by her grandfather, Niels Mogens Jørgensen in a little factory in the town of Bramdrupdam, just outside Kolding, Denmark. We have no reason to doubt that Niels Mogens Jørgensen is the maker of these pipes.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Since Jeff always follows the same pattern of work in his cleanup we do not include photos but rather just a simple summary. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the spotty lava build up on the rim top and you could see the marks on the top and edges of the rim. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it with warm water to rinse off the residue. The stem was clean and the oxidation was gone. I took photos of what the pipe looked like when I brought to my worktable. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge looked good. The stem was clean and there were light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the Crowned J stamp on the left side of the saddle stem. It is clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.I polished the smooth patches of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl surface down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. Once I finished the exterior of the briar was clean and the grain really stood out. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Jarl Made in Denmark Bent Acorn 1526 with a vulcanite, fancy saddle stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the mix of grain on the sides of the bowl. Added to that the black vulcanite saddle stem was beautiful. This smooth Jarl Made in Denmark Bent Acorn 1526 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 35 grams /1.20 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time reading the blog. I appreciate it.

Irish Seconds Made in the Republic of Ireland thick shank Dublin

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by Steve Laug

This smooth finish, beautifully grained saddle stem Dublin was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a great Bent Dublin with a rich brown smooth finish on the bowl and shank. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem. The bowl is stained with a mix of browns that highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Irish Seconds. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland in three lines. There is no shape number stamped on either side of the shank. The bowl had been lightly smoked and only the bottom half of the bowl had darkened. The rim top and edges were very clean. There was dust and debris in the finish from a pipe hat had been sitting unused for awhile. It left the finish looking quite dull. The vulcanite saddle stem was dirty but not oxidized and was free of tooth marks on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and edges. You can also see that it is lightly smoked and that the top half of the bowl is not darkened by smoking. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show how good it looked. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. Though dirty and dried out it has some great grain peeking through the grime.He took photos of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950-1989. It was a smooth Bent Dublin with an interesting pattern. The finish was stained with a combination of brown stains. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants 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 in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Briaville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. The rim top and inner edge of the rim looked very good with minimal damage. The stem surface looked very good with some remaining oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil permeated cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it another wipe down with the Obsidian Oil Cloth and set it aside to dry. This Peterson’s made Irish Second Bent Dublin with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. There is some great grain around the bowl and shank. I put the stem back on the bowl and 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 Irish Second Bent Dublin fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 60 grams/2.12 ounces. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection I will be adding it to the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. Send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

New Life for a Jarl Chieftan Made in Denmark 15116 saddle stem

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by Steve Laug

This reddish, brown mixed finish, beautifully grained, saddle stem was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a great looking ¼ Bent Billiard with a sandblast finish on most of the bowl and shank and a smooth patch on both sides, the rim top and a band on the shank end. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem. The bowl is stained with a contrast of browns that highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Jarl Chieftan [over] Made in Denmark. On the underside of the shank band it is stamped with the shape number 15116. The bowl had a thick cake and some tobacco debris on the walls. There was an overflow of lava on the rim top and some spots of darkening on the back left and right front of the rim top. There was grime ground into the finish which left the finish looking quite dull. The vulcanite saddle stem was stamped with an upper case “J” and there was some light oxidation on the surface and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the current condition. The inner edge and the rim top showed darkening and spots of lava as mentioned above. The photos of the bowl show the cake on the walls. The stem photos show the oxidation and light marks on the rim top on both sides. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition of the bowl and the grain around the bowl. It reminds me of a Stanwell Vario. He took photos of the underside of the shank to capture the stamping. They were clear and readable as noted above. Jeff did not capture the shape number on the underside of the shank which was also clear.Before I started working on it I did a bit of research on the brand to remind myself of what I knew of the maker. I turned to Pipephil’s site first (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j1.html#jarl). I did a screen capture of the information on the site. I did a screen capture of the pertinent information and have included it below.I then turned to Pipedia and found that a very short article that confirmed that the pipes were made by Niels Mogens Jorgensen (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jarl). I have included the article in its entirety below.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Since Jeff always follows the same pattern of work in his cleanup we do not include photos but rather just a simple summary. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the spotty lava build up on the rim top and you could see the marks on the top and edges of the rim. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it with warm water to rinse off the residue. The stem was clean and the oxidation was gone. I took photos of what the pipe looked like when I brought to my worktable. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge looked good. The stem was clean and there were light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is faint in spots but still readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I polished the smooth portions of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl surface down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. Once I finished the exterior of the briar was clean and the grain really stood out. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. As I examined the underside of the stem I found two deeper grooves from teeth. I filled in these marks with extra strength black CA glue. Once it cured I sanded the surface and the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It blended the marks and repairs into the surrounding surface. I touched up the “J” logo stamp on the left side of the saddle with White acrylic fingernail polish. Once it hardened I scraped off the excess and sanded the area around the stamp with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. I sanded the surface of the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look very good.I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Jarl Chieftan Made in Denmark ¼ Bent Billiard 15116 with a vulcanite saddle stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the mix of grain on the sides of the bowl. Added to that the black vulcanite saddle stem was beautiful. This smooth Jarl Chieftan ¼ Bent Saddle Stem Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 40 grams /1.41 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your rack let me know by message or by email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for your time reading the blog. I appreciate it.

Restoring A Great Looking The Doodler Imported Briar Pot with a filter stem

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by Steve Laug

This darker beautifully grained saddle stem pot was purchased on 08/10/2025 from a seller in Livingston, New Jersey, USA. It is a great looking Pot with a rusticated finish on the bowl and shank. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem made for a Medico style filter. There is also a nickel band on the shank for decorative purposes. The bowl is stained with a contrast of various browns that highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads The Doodler [over] Imported Briar. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of lava on the inner edge and rim top the unique Doodler bowl. There was grime ground into the grooves and bands around the bowl sides which left the finish looking quite dull. The vulcanite saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem at the saddle area and ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the rim top to show the condition of the top and edges of the bowl. It is dull but quite clean with no lava. It is uniquely a beautiful pipe. The stem had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the finish around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. You can see the grime ground into the surface of the briar. The stain combination really makes the grain stand out. I look forward to seeing it once it is clean and polished.He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. The Doodler pipe designed and made by Tracey Mincer of Custombilt/Custom Bilt fame has always intrigued me. It may be the oddity of the design that first caught my attention. The rusticated bowl with one, two or three grooves around the circumference of the bowl and then holes drilled vertically connecting the rim to the bottom of the last ring just had my attention. I continue looking for them, both on eBay and on my treasure hunts through antique malls and thrift shops. When I had seen the drawings and photos in Bill Unger’s book on Custombilt pipes I picked up some of them. I enjoy the look and the smoking of them. If you are a pipeman you should at least give one a smoke and see what you think.

Jeff carefully reamed this Doodler with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the rim top and bowl sides. He scrubbed the internals of the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol until the airways were clean and the pipe smelled fresh. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and then let it soak in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water when he took out of the soak. The pipe looked much better once the bowl and stem were clean. Before I started my part of the work I took photos of the pipe. It is a pretty pipe. I took close up photos of the bowl and the rim top to show the condition. It looked better and the inner edge and top were in very good condition. I also took photos of both sides of the stem to give a sense of the condition of both sides at the button. There were light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and stem. It reads as noted above and is very clear and readable. The circle B logo on the stem is faded but should be easy to repair. I took the stem off the shank and took photos of the pipe to give a sense of its beauty and proportions. I worked over the darkening on the rim top and rings on the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It cleaned it up and it looked much better.I sanded the smooth parts of the bowl and rim with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad to remove the sanding debris. It looked much better. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The finish looked very good (forgot to take photos). I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to get it into the grain. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I sanded the stem to remove the chatter and tooth marks with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. There were marks on the top and underside against the button and also against the saddle stem. There were also marks on the bevelled edges of the stem surface.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to start the blending process. It looks significantly better at this point. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.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 gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I used some white acrylic fingernail polish to touch up the faint star logo on the left side of the saddle stem. I scraped off the excess white acrylic and buffed it clear. It is faint but slightly visible on the left side.I fit the metal tenon with a Medico paper filter and put the pipe back together. It looks quite good at this point. I am excited to put the final touches on this interesting piece of the Tracer Mincer story. It is a beautiful Three Ring The Doodler Imported Briar Billiard shaped pipe with a vulcanite filter stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the bowl sides, top and bottom. The polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl to make a stunning pipe. This Three Ring The Doodler Imported Briar 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: 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 42 grams/1.45 ounces. I will be adding it to the Americsn Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes store shortly. If you want to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

What a Beautiful GBD International London Made Conquest 262 P Lumberman

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by Steve Laug

This darker mixed finish, beautifully grained oval shank, saddle stem was purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. It is a great looking Liverpool with a dark, smooth finish on most of the bowl and shank and a bit of rustication on the right side and bottom of the bowl. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem. The bowl is stained with a contrast of blacks and browns that highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads GBD in an oval [over] International [over] London Made [over] Conquest. On the underside of the shank it is stamped London, England with an upper-case P near the shank end. The bowl had a thick cake and some tobacco debris on the walls. There was an overflow of lava on the rim top that was heavier toward the back of the bowl. There was grime ground into the finish which left the finish looking quite dull. The oval, vulcanite saddle stem has a GBD oval logo on the topside. There was some light oxidation on the surface and some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the spotty lava overflowing onto the top and over the edges. The short saddle stem is oxidized, calcified and has some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It is another dirty pipe. He took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition of the pipe and the interesting grain around the sides and heel. The photos of the right side and heel of the bowl show the unique rustication present on those areas. It really is a beautiful pipe bowl. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank and it is clear and readable as noted above. He also captured the GBD oval logo on the saddle stem top. I like to unpack the stamping if I can before I work on a pipe. I knew that the GBD International was a Line of GBD pipes that generally have a rusticated or carved plateau style rim top. They are made in either France or England. The London Made stamp says it is made in England. The International is a unique line that combines black and brown stains. Instead of a carved rim top this one had a carved heel of the bowl and right side of the bowl. The Conquest stamp identifies it as a large pipe. The 262 is the shape number. Now I wanted to see if I could find some more information.

As is my usual practice I turned to the Pipephil’s site to see what I could find out a bit more information on the International line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-gbd.html). The site had some photos of various examples of this line. This one is stamped on the topside and is like the first one below and has a GBD in a rounded rectangle on the shank top.From there I turned to Pipedia to see what I could learn. I followed the link to the section on the Model information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Model_Information). I quote from the site below:

International — France and England made: medium brown smooth, carved top rim, rim stained black. -TH: Matt take off finish “with just a hint of surface waxing” -catalog (1976)’.

There was a section there labelled Plus Sized Pipes. I am including the information there below.

In addition to the pipe line and shape information stamped on the pipe GBD also had codes for plus sized pipes. These codes in ascending order of size were…

Conquest
Collector
Colossus

International – France and England made: medium brown smooth, carved top rim, rim stained black. In addition to the pipe line and shape information stamped on the pipe, GBD also had codes for plus sized pipes. These codes in ascending order of size were Conquest, Collector, Colossus.

From there I followed another link on the Pipedia GBD article on specific shape number and Model Information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Model_Information).

It provides a lot of information on their interesting history. The shape number 262 corresponds to GBD’s identification of this pipe as Liverpool. The problem for me is that the pipe does not have a round shank or taper stem that are characteristic of the Liverpool shape. It has an oval shank and a saddle stem. To me this configuration makes it a Lumberman rather than a Liverpool.

I followed another link on Pipedia to help me understand the various shapes of the Canadians (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Lpool.gif). I have included the information below. It is a shape chart with descriptions of the various Canadian off takes. It fits my description of the Lumberman shape above.With all that information it was time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and shank brushes. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He was able to remove the lava on the rim top and edges and the grime from the bowl. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the calcification and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the debris and the product that remained. The pipe looked better when I received it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. It looks good with the tars and oils removed from the rim top. The condition of the bowl and rim top were very good. The vulcanite stem looked much better with some light chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the top and underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is clear and reads as noted above. It was hard to capture in the photos. I removed the stem from the shank and took photo to show the overall look of the pipe.I polished the briar on the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I touched up the GBD oval logo stamp on the topside of the saddle stem with Antique Gold, Rub’n Buff. I worked it into the light stamp with a tooth pick. I buffed it off with a soft cloth to remove the excess material. I polished it with a soft cloth. It looked good. I sanded it with 320-1500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I dry sanded and after each pad wiped the stem down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. By the final pad the stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I finished by wiping it down with Obsidian Oil and buffing it to a shine. I always look forward to this part of the restoration when all the pieces are put back together. I put the GBD International London Made Conquest 262 Lumberman back together and carefully buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a soft cloth to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the new black vulcanite saddle stem almost glowing. This GBD International London Made Conquest Lumberman is nice looking and feels great in my hand. It is one that could be clenched and smoked while doing other things as it is very light weight and well balanced. It must have been a fine smoking pipe judging from the condition it was when I received it. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 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 1.45 ounces/41 grams. I will be putting it in the English Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. This will make a great addition to someone’s pipe collection. 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 pipeman or woman.

Weber Imported Briar Rusticated Campaign Calabash Pipe

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a rugged looking the Campaign style pipe with a deep rustication. It was one purchased on 01/20/2026 from a Facebook seller in Quaker Town, Pennsylvania, USA. The bowl and the shank are heavily rusticated. The top of the bowl insert, base of the calabash and the end of the shank band are smooth. It is a great looking pipe. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Weber in an oval [over] Imported Briar. The finish was dirty and had a lot of grime and grit ground into the rustication and the smooth portions. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl is dirty with a thick overflow of lava the edge and the top that was heavier toward the back of the bowl. The bowl insert was stuck in the calabash base and had no give. There is a thick cake in the bowl. The vulcanite taper stem is dirty and has light tooth marks and chatter on the surface ahead of the button. There were no logo stamps on either side of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. It showed a lot of promise. Jeff took photos of the briar bowl insert in the calabash base. It is stuck but you can see the thick lava coat on the rim top, heavier toward the back. The cake in the bowl is quite thick and overflows over the top. It is a dirty pipe. I am curious what the bowl of the calabash underneath looks like. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the finish around the bowl and the condition of the pipe. You can see the grime ground into the surface of the briar. The stain combination really makes the grain and the depths of the rustication stand out. I look forward to seeing it once it is clean and polished. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. Jeff put the bowl in the freezer to try and loosen the insert from the calabash base. After some time, there he was able to remove the insert. He took photos of the parts to show the dirty condition. There was crumbling cork gasket around the inner edge of the calabash base. It will need to be replace. I checked on Pipephil and though there was great information on the Weber brand of pipes. There was nothing in the list there that showed a Campaign pipe or referred to it. I turned to Pipedia’s article on Weber and it was a great on the history of the brand. There was nothing there on the Campaign pipe. From there I turned back to the various Campaign pipes on rebornpipes that I have worked on before.

I am attaching the link to one of the blogs and some of the information that I found in researching the brand at that time. (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/wdc-campaign-calabash-pipe/). The information is all on the WDC made Campaign pipe but the information is helpful.

In my online research I found a brief interchange on a Google group. I include the link if you would like to read it in context and its entirety. It gives some helpful information regarding this particular pipe. https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.smokers.pipes/kpkpd3zXoiwExcerpt from pipedia.org

To a request for information regarding the WDC Campaign pipe on the Google Group there was quite a long string of answers. I am quoting two of those in full…

Respondent 1: While I can’t say anything about this pipe specifically, I have a hazy memory of that shape listed in a book about pipes; (I may be totally misremembering this, but here goes) the shape being called the “Dawes”, named after Harding’s Vice President? Anyone else remember this? Sounds like an interesting pipe, whatever it’s called…

Respondent 2: From Weber’s Guide to Pipes: “The Dawes Pipe (more correctly named the Lyons, after its inventor, Charles Herbert Lyons) happened to be the favorite pipe of General Charles G. Dawes, Vice-President of the USA from 1925 to 1929. General Dawes smoked the curious pipe incessantly and it became popularly known as the Dawes Underslung, because the shank joined the bowl near its rim.”

I looked on Pipedia, (https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_Lyon_Pipe) for information on the Dawes Underslung pipe or what was known as a Lyons Pipe. It is a fascinating read regarding the shape and the build of the pipe. I have also included a copy of the Patent page that was on that link.

General Charles G. Dawes (August 27, 1865 – April 23, 1951) was an American banker and politician, as well as the 30th Vice President of the United States. He was a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1925, and later in life the Ambassador to the United Kingdom. He also, of interest to pipe smokers, so incessantly smoked a Lyon pipe that his party used it as a campaign emblem and the pipe took on his name, now being referred to as the Dawes Pipe. In fact, this pipe was invented by Charles H. Lyon (February 17, 1861 – January 1, 1947).

The Lyon pipe, now more commonly known as the Dawes pipe, was characterized by an inner bowl which was threaded into an outer bowl, with smoke traveling through the bottom of the inner bowl to reach the airway much as in a traditional gourd calabash. On September 11, 1924, the Ellensburg Daily Record reported from Chicago that Mr. Lyon worked from a small tin shanty on the outskirts of Chicago, but upon Dawes’ nomination for the Vice Presidency became swamped by orders for the pipe, with 75,000 orders received at that time, and a factory struggling to produce 1,000 pipes a month.

The Lyon pipe was invented by Charles H. Lyon (1862-1947) while working in his workshop in the Chicago area in the early 1920’s. In late 1920, the inventor, a former millwright, was without his right arm due to a factory accident he suffered during World War I, without a job, and at 60 contemplating a start in the real estate business to feed his family. While considering his options, he thought up the pipe that bears his name, and applied for a patent for its design on September 23, 1920. The following year, having seen him smoking a pipe, Lyon sent a pipe to the General as a sampler and the General began ordering the pipes by the dozen.

The two became friends, and General Dawes used the pipe as a campaign giveaway in his 1924 campaign for the Vice Presidency, making the pipe famous. In the meantime, Lyon had been granted a patent for the pipe on September 18, 1923. It is reported in Lyon’s obituary on January 2, 1947 in the Oakland Tribune that Dawes and Lyon had become partners in the production of the pipe. Jeff carefully reamed this Weber Imported Briar Campaign Insert bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the inner bowl and the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the rim top and bowl sides. He scrubbed the internals of the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol until the airways were clean and the pipe smelled fresh. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and then let it soak in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water when he took out of the soak. The pipe looked much better once the bowl and stem were clean. Before I started my part of the work I took photos of the pipe. It is a pretty pipe. I took close up photos of the bowl and the rim top to show the condition. It looked better and the inner edge and top were in very good condition. There were some scratches in the top and on the inner edge that will need to be cleaned up. I also took photos of both sides of the stem to give a sense of the condition of both sides at the button. There were light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. On the underside there was also a deeper mark on the button itself.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank.. It reads as noted above and is very clear and readable. I took the briar inner bowl out of the outer bowl and took some photos of the various parts of the pipe. You can also see the inset on the top edge of the base where a cork gasket was fit to hold the insert in place. It is an interesting piece of pipe history and it is in excellent condition for a pipe of its age. I worked on the damage on the rim top and inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the rough areas smooth and smoothed out the rim edge. It began to look better.I sanded the smooth rim top of the insert with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust. It looked very good.I polished the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped down the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. To achieve a snug fit of the insert in the base I cut a piece of cork from a thin sheet of cork to make a gasket for the base bowl. The cork had a sticky back on it and I pressed two layers or the cork in place and trimmed the excess off the top of the bowl with a knife. Once finished I gave it a light coat of Vaseline to soften and preserve it. I pressed the two parts together and it fit snugly into the outer bowl. I hand buffed the bowl with a microfibre cloth and took photos of the pipe at this point in the process. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a shoe brush to get it into the depths of the rustication. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I filled in tooth marks that were present with Extra Strength CA glue – strengthened with rubber. Once it cured I used a small flat file to flatten the repairs and recut the button edge. I blended the repairs further with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth after each pad. By the last sanding pad it began to take on a deep shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to put the final touches on this interesting piece of American Pipe History a beautiful Weber Imported Briar Campaign Calabash Pipe with a double bowl. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the bowl sides, top and bottom. The polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl to make a stunning pipe. This older Weber Imported Briar Campaign Calabash Pipe 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.41 ounces. I will be adding it to my own collection for now to enjoy and experiment with. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring and Replacing a Broken Stem on a Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard XL307

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s System pipe that a reader, Don sent to me to work on. It was stamped Peterson’s [arched over] System [arched over] Standard on the underside side of the shank in a smooth panel. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number XL307. It has a a great looking smooth bowl with some nice grain around the bowl and shank that is dirty with ground in oils, debris and grime. There was a moderate cake in the bowl and a light lava overflow and darkening on the rim top. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the left side K&P [over] three faux hallmarks. That is followed by Petersons. It is not dented or damaged. The stem was broken midway between the button and the saddle. I would need to restem it with a proper stem in the process of my work. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the light lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges look very good. Only clean up would tell the full story.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint in spots but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s over three Peterson marks used on nickel ferrules.I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. This is the second of two Peterson’s System Standard pipes in Bob’s collection marked with the 307 shape number. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. I am also including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientiﬁc effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture ﬂows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the ﬂow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. My guess is that the pipes is a 1960s era System pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started with the bowl and reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scrubbed out the internals of the bowl, sump and shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. I also cleaned up the inside of the stem at the same time. It was ready for the rest of the restemming process.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the scratches and dark marks in the briar. I worked over the bowl and shank with each pad and wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with each pad and wiping it down after each one with a damp cloth. The briar began to take on a rich shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips to work it into the finish. 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 diameter of the shank and the tenon. It was on older Peterson’s P-lip that I had here that fits these 307 pipes. It was oxidized and had light tooth marks but otherwise was a duplicate of the original. It did not have the P logo on the stem side.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. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson System XL307 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and the new stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and nickel ferrule. This Peterson’s System Standard XL307 Bent Billiard was fun pipe to work on. It is a stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.12 ounces/59 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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 Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 Old Briar 858 Billiard

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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.

The final pipe I had left to deal with was the larger Stanwell Old Briar 858 billiard next. It was in decent condition, probably the best of the lot. The stamping on the shank read Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 followed by Old Briar [over] the shape number 858. It was clear and readable. The sandblast 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 in excellent condition with no damage. 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 in the sandblast. The inner edge looked very good. I also took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the faint stamping that was present. It is faint in spots but is still readable.I turned to do a bit of research on the Stanwell Old Briar line first to Pipephil’s site and found a listing there with a photo of the stamping (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). I included the sidebar information below the scan.Logo without crown. The “Regd. No.” stamping discontinued in late 1960s to very early 1970s.

I know that Pipedia has some great history (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) on the brand so I turned there hoping to see the Old Briar. There were several examples of the Old Briar line shown on the site and references to it appearing in both a 1960s and 70s catalogue. I turned to an offsite catalogue from the 1970s and scrolled through until the page I am including below that show the Old Briar Line(https://files.homepagemodules.de/b169807/f122t2475p9130n1.pdf). It also states that the 800-899 shape numbers included the Sandblast De Luxe which includes the shape 858 Billiard that I am working on.I knew that the pipe I had in hand was pipe a robust Sandblast De Luxe 858 Billiard. With the Regd. No. on the shank, the pipe was made in the period between 1948 and 1960.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by reaming it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I cleaned the lava built up on the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to clean up the remaining bits. It looked much better after the clean up. I cleaned out the internals of the shank and bowl with pipe cleaners – regular and bristle 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 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 Dremel and sanding drum along with 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 Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 Old Briar Sandblast 858 Billiard with a new vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restemmed and restored. The beautiful sandblast 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 Stanwell Regd. No 969-48 Old Briar 858 Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 35 grams/1.23 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and the last of the five pipes that Andrew sent me. Once I am finished with it, 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. On a lark, I slipped a thin brass band on the shank just to see what it would look like. I figured it would give it a great, distinguished look. It was not needed so it was solely for decorative purposes. I sent picture of the pipe with and without the band to Andrew and he liked it as much as I did. With that in mind, I glued the band in place on the shank and let cure. I took photos of it once it was finished.

Restoring and Restemming a Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 deluxe 87 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

I chose to deal with the smaller Stanwell de Luxe 87 billiard next. It was in decent condition, probably the best of the lot. The stamping on the Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 followed by de Luxe followed by the shape number 87. It was clear and readable. The sandblast finish was nice but dirty. The bowl had a light cake in it and there were spots of lava in the sandblast on the rim top and inner edge. The inner edge was a little rough from previous reaming. 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 in the sandblast. The inner edge looked very good. I also took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the faint stamping that was present. It is faint in spots but is still readable.I turned to do a bit of research on the Stanwell de Luxe line first to Pipephil’s site and found a listing there with a photo of the stamping (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html).I know that Pipedia has some great history (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) on the brand so I turned there hoping to see the de Luxe. There were several examples of the de Luxe line shown on the site and references to it appearing in both a 1960s and 70s catalogue.

I turned to the article on designers and shape numbers to see if I could find data on the 87 Shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I found that the shape had four versions of this shape number a) Large billiard, full mouthpiece, b) Large “Chimney”, full mouthpiece, c) Freehand, conical bowl, long saddle mouthpiece by Sixten Ivarsson. 87R. Same as 87(b).

I knew that the pipe I had in hand was pipe a) above – a Billiard and in this case small one. With the Regd. No. on the shank, the pipe was made in the period between 1948 and 1960. But I wanted to know more. I can find many examples of the de Luxe line online but no one explains the meaning of the term. Do any of you readers have any information on this quandary? Post a response and let us in on the information.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by reaming it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scraped the lava built up on the rim top with the edge of the knife. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to clean up the remaining bits. It looked much better after the clean up.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 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 Dremel and sanding drum along with 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 I 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 Sandblast Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 de Luxe 87 Billiard with a new vulcanite taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restemmed and restored. The beautiful sandblast 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 Stanwell Regd. No 969-48 de Luxe 87 Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 22 grams/.78 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will hold until I have finished working on the final pipe 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.