Tag Archives: fitting a stem

Restoring a Family Heirloom Brigham Select Canada Two Dot 289 Bent Acorn

Blog by Steve Laug

The pipe on the table is a rusticated Brigham Bent Acorn that came to me for restoration from a Alex who shipped it to me from Quebec. He had written recently to ask about restoring the pipe. Here is what he wrote at that point.

Hello,

I was gifted a Brigham from my grandfather who passed away in 1982.

The pipe still has the filter and had tobacco that I tossed out. It has heavy cake, the bottom of the bowl is now V shape and not U shape.

Also, I can’t get a pipe cleaner to pass the shank and get into the bowl, yet I can get air when I sip it.

How much would it cost to restore this pipe?

Thanks, Alex

We discussed what it would cost and chatted back and forth through emails. I asked him to send me some photos of the pipe so I could see what I would be dealing with. He sent the photos that I have included below that really give a clear picture of the pipe and what needs to be done with it. I told him I would take it on and he dropped it into the post for me to work on. The pipe arrived in Vancouver in this morning’s post. I opened the box and I examined the pipe carefully and no additional issues arose that I had not seen in the photos that Alex sent. I wrote Alex an email regarding what I saw. Here is my assessment:

The bowl is thickly caked as you noted and it is hard cake. No issues that I can see there though. Once I ream it I will know what the briar is like on the inside.
Rim top has a thick lava overflow on the top along the back and the inner edge. Will know more about the condition of the edge once I ream it.
The finish on the bowl was very dirty with grime and grit ground into the rustication on the finish. The smooth portions had sticky spots of tars and oils on the surface.
The stem fit very tightly due to a thick tar coating on the inside of the shank but no issues there. No cracks in the shank.
The filter is as you guessed garbage but once I have cleaned the pipe I will replace it with a new one.
Aluminum tenon/holder for the filter is dirty and has some oxidation at the stem end.
The inside of the stem is filthy but easy to clean.
Stem is badly oxidized but the tooth marks are very light and the tooth chatter is also very light.

This Brigham is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads 289 (shape number) followed by Brigham in script (over) Canada. There was a thick cake in the bowl leaving it almost conical as Alex noted. There was a lava overflow on the smooth rim top that was heavier on the back side of the top. The inner edge of the bowl were in good condition with a few small nicks and some darkening. The rusticated finish is dirty and dusty. The stem was oxidized and spotty on the top and underside and around the shank end. The stem did not have tooth marks or chatter. There were two brass dots on the left side of the taper stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows the thick lava on the back half of the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl shows an overflow of thick lava and cake. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It looked very good under the spotty oxidation. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank on the smooth patch. It is very clear and readable.I removed the stem from the shank and was not surprised to see the Brigham Hard Maple filter in the metal tenon. You can see the two brass dots on the left side of the stem in the photo below. I thought it would be helpful to give you all the background of the brand for those unfamiliar with the brand. I am including the information from Pipedia on Brigham pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history and background on the pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes). Charles Lemon (Dadspipes) has recently published a book on the history of the brand. If you can get a hold of a copy it is a great read. The Pipedia article is a good summary. I have included it below.

Roy Brigham, after serving an apprenticeship under an Austrian pipesmith, started his own pipe repair shop in Toronto, in 1906. By 1918 the business had grown to include five other craftsmen and had developed a reputation across Canada for the high quality of workmanship. After repairing many different brands of pipes over the years, Roy noted certain recurring complaints by pipe smokers, the most common referred to as “tongue bite”. Tongue bite is a burning sensation on the smoker’s tongue, previously thought to be due to the heat of the smoke (i.e. a “hot smoking pipe”).

He soon began manufacturing his own pipes, which were lightweight, yet featured a more rugged construction, strengthening the weak points observed in other pipes. The problem of tongue bite intrigued him, and he decided to make overcoming it a future goal.

About 1938, Roy’s son Herb joined him to assist in the business. The business barely survived the great depression because pipes were considered to be a luxury, not a necessity, and selling pipes was difficult indeed. In approximately 1937 [1], after some experimentation, Roy and Herb discovered that tongue bite was in fact a form of mild chemical burn to the tongue, caused by tars and acids in the smoke. They found that by filtering the smoke, it was possible to retain the flavour of the tobacco and yet remove these impurities and thereby stop the tongue bite.

Just as Thomas Edison had searched far and wide for the perfect material from which to make the first electric light bulb filaments, Roy & Herb began experimenting with many materials, both common and exotic, in the quest for the perfect pipe filter. Results varied wildly. Most of the materials didn’t work at all and some actually imparted their own flavour into the smoke. They eventually found just two materials that were satisfactory in pipes: bamboo and rock maple. As bamboo was obviously not as readily available, rock maple then became the logical choice.

They were able to manufacture a replaceable hollow wooden tube made from rock maple dowelling, which when inserted into a specially made pipe, caused absolutely no restriction to the draw of the pipe, yet extracted many of the impurities which had caused tongue bite. The result was indeed a truly better smoking pipe…

Charles Lemon has also written a great article on the stamping and marking on the Brigham pipes that fit into a time line that he has drafted. It is well worth a read and is fascinating. (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes_%E2%80%93_A_Closer_Look_at_Dots,_Dates_and_Markings). I quote from the pertinent section on the time frame for this pipe.

I have dubbed the decades between 1980 and 2000 the Late Canadian Era, a period that saw several changes at Brigham that are of note to the collector. First, the traditional 8-grade pinning system (the famous Brigham “Dots” which denoted the quality of the pipe) was changed to a 7-grade system to simplify pinning (more on this below), and the Norsemen and Valhalla series were merged to form the President Series, which represented the very finest pipes coming out of the Toronto factory. Early pipes from this era (left, below) are stamped with a shape number and “Brigham” over “Canada”; later pipes (late 1980s+, on right below) are stamped simply with a shape number and the Brigham logo.

This solidly places the pipe I am working on in the period of Brigham production that Charles calls the Late Canadian Era (1980-2000). It is a great looking pipe with a slightly different rustication pattern than some of the early Brighams I have worked on.

Charles also put together a chart that helps the restorer to understand the Brigham dot system. I quote from the same link on Pipedia as noted above. Since this pipe could be from the 1980s I have included the chart below.

The Original Brigham Dot System 1938 – 1980

Brigham pipes are renown in the pipe world for their famous “Brigham Dots”, a system of brass pins inset in the stem to denote the grade of each pipe. The original 8-grade pinning system, used for 42 years between 1938 and 1978 (spanning the Patent, Post-Patent and Canadian Eras) looked like this:

With the information from Charles’ article and the chart above I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. The pipe was made between in 1970-1980 because of the style of the stamping noted above. The 2 dots on the pipe told me that it was a Brigham Select. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I began my work by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the third cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The walls were clean and showed no damage from heat. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and the rim a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I used a brass bristle wire brush to cleanup the thick cake on the rim top. It worked very well to remove the remnant on the top of the rim. It looks much better.I scrubbed out the internals with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the shank and the airway into the bowl and the stem were clean. I worked on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage and marks.I polished the smooth rim top and smooth patches on the bowl sides with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top and patches took on a deep shine that highlighted the grain. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush 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. With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation on the surface of the vulcanite. It came out looking much better.I sanded out the remaining oxidation and the tooth marks with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. They take the surface from rough to shiny by the time I use the 3500 grit pad. Before polishing the stem further, I decided to fit it with a new Rock Maple Distillator.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 finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. I am excited to finish this Brigham Canada 289 Bent Acorn. 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 and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rusticated finish. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem with the shining brass pins was beautiful. This mixed grain on the rusticated Brigham Select 2 Dot 289 Bent Acorn 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: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/48 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be heading back to Alex to smoke in memory of his Grandfather. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

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

Restoring a Chonowitch Designed Stanwell Bordeaux 148 Canadian

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table to work on is one that was purchased on 01/26/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from Copenhagen, Denmark. This is a oval shank Canadian with a smooth finish and a thin brass band on the shank. It is another Made in Denmark Stanwell. The smooth finish on this pipe, around the bowl and shank has a mix of grain highlighted by the reddish brown stain. The pipe is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads STANWELL [over] Bordeaux. On the underside of the shank the shape number 148 is stamped [over] Made In Denmark. The pipe was a well used pipe when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish on the sides of the bowl. The mixture of brown stains highlights some mixed grain under the dirt. The bowl was moderately caked and there was an overflow of lava on the smooth rim top. The condition of the inner edge was hard to know due to the lava coat. The saddle stem is vulcanite and was dirty, oxidized and had light tooth marks, chatter and scratches on both sides ahead of the button and on the button itself. There is a brass Crown S logo inlaid on the topside of the saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before his clean up. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top and inner edges. It is hard to know what the condition of the inner edge looks like. He also took some of the stem to show the condition of both sides. There are tooth marks on the surface of the stem ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the grain around the bowl and shank. The mixture of brown stains adds depth finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on this one was around the bamboo horizontally and is shown in the photo below. It is clear and readable as noted above. The second photo shows the white stamped crown S on the stem side. Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to see if I could find any information that would help me get a sense of the line. I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any listing on the Bordeaux Line (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing listed.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) for more information. The article is great and gives a lot of history on the brand. There were also links to a shape article by Bas Stevens that I originally published on rebornpipes. I looked up the 148 shape number to see who had designed that shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I quote the information below.

Canadian, short saddle mouthpiece by Jess Chonowitsch.

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. 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 and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the stem. You can see the damage and the darkening on rim top and inner edge. The vulcanite saddle stem is in good condition with light tooth marks and some chatter as noted above. There are some deep tooth marks on the button surface as well.I took photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. The briar is quite beautiful and the dark and medium stains really make it stand out. I worked on the damage to the inner edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to bring the edge back into round and smooth out the scratches on the top. By the end it looked much better.I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the tooth marks on the surface and in the button edges. I used black CA glue and rebuilt the deep tooth marks on both side and on both top and underside button. I set the stem aside to cure. I used a small file to flatten the repair and to also cut the sharp edge of the button. I started sanding it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem surface and repairs near the button with a new product I am using. I ordered a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads from Amazon. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Stanwell Bordeaux 148 Canadian with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The mix of stains once cleaned up really highlights the grain and the polished sandblast 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 Bordeaux 148 Canadian 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 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams / 1.09 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email.

Spiffing Up a Handsome Churchwarden

Leave a reply

Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a charming bent Dublin churchwarden (ten inches long), commissioned for a priest friend of mine. He expressly asked for a churchwarden (of course, he did). Fortunately, I had one on hand and I did a nifty restoration job on it. This is just a quick-and-dirty report for two reasons. First, I lost most of the photos I took of the restoration. Grrr. Second, this pipe has literally no markings on it, so I have no information to provide on its origins.The pipe was in decent condition. It had been well-smoked, but the bowl and shank were fairly clean. The bowl had notable cake on the inside and some lava on the rim. I felt that some burning was possibly there too. On the bottom of the stummel, there was a strange, hard, brown substance – possibly wood glue or putty. Not sure what it was, but it wasn’t supposed to be there! Similarly, the stem was relatively clean – not much oxidation to speak of, and what I would describe as “typical” tooth marks on the bit. The stem was slightly bent out of shape (in the yaw and roll axes) and would need to be corrected. The stem was first on my list. I wiped the outside down with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. I cleaned out the insides with lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol and some churchwarden pipe cleaners.

I then heated the stem with my heat gun and gently worked the twisted stem back into place. I have bent many stems before, but churchwardens always seem trickiest – perhaps because they’re so long. In the end, I got it looking just as it should.

I scrubbed the stem with SoftScrub on some cotton pads. I built up the remaining marks on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and then cured it with the aid of some CA glue accelerator. I then carefully sanded the adhesive down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing (from 3,600 onward).

Now for the stummel. I reamed out the bowl to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper taped to a dowel to eliminate as much as I could. I took the chamber down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the wall. Fortunately, there were none.

I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel and it took a fair amount of cotton to get it clean. I used cotton rounds and some Murphy’s Oil Soap to scrub the outside of the stummel. I followed that up by cleaning the insides of the stummel with some Castile soap and tube brushes.

Next, I decided to de-ghost the pipe in order to remove any lingering smells of the past. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this.

In order to safely remove the damage on the rim, I “topped” the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded down the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively removed the damage, without altering the look of the pipe. I used some 220-grit sandpaper to remove the brown stuff on the bottom. No harm done. Then I sanded the stummel down with all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit).

Finally, I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm and buffed it with a microfiber cloth. During the restoration, I noticed some previously repaired damage to the end of the shank. The repair was sound but ugly, so I decided to add a charming band to the shank. I think it suits the pipe quite well and brings a bit of “bling”.

I then took the pipe to my bench polisher and buffed it with White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax. Wow – the pipe really looks lovely.

This churchwarden will suit my priest friend very well and I know that he will enjoy smoking it for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Resuscitating Prince Charming

Leave a reply

by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is this charming Ropp Grand Luxe 49. It is another pipe in my ongoing “French Collection” and it comes from a group of pipes I purchased recently. I have a particular interest in French pipes and pipeworks, and I grabbed this one to restore since I thought it was quite handsome. This is an old timer with a few wounds and needs just a little help to come back to life. This pipe was made by the venerable French pipe company, Ropp. Ropp has been around for a long time and their early pipes are really quite wonderful. The markings on the left-hand side of the shank read Ropp [over] Grand Luxe. The right-hand side of the shank reads 49, the shape number. There are no other markings. This pipe shape is a prince – a shape I love. This is a really pretty pipe and feels very comfortable in the hand. The stummel is a very nice piece of briar and the stem is made of buffalo horn – which tends to suggest an older piece. The stem has a tenon made of metal – not bone – and a cork-lined mortise. I remember Steve telling me that the fact the tenon is in metal (instead of bone) suggests a date around World War II. The stem has a normal, wide button – not an orific button. This all fits the date quite well.From Pipedia, here is a very brief history of the Ropp company:

Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830–1907) acquired a patent for the cherrywood pipe in 1869. In 1870, he established a workshop to manufacture such pipes in Bussang, in the Vosges mountains. Around 1893, his business moved into the former mill of Sicard (part of the community of Baume-les-Dames in Upper Burgundy. The pipes were a big success in export as well. Shortly before 1914, Ropp designated A. Frankau & Co. (BBB) to be the exclusive distributor in the UK and its colonies. Probably in 1917, a workshop in Saint-Claude in the rue du Plan du Moulin was acquired to start the fabrication of briar pipes. In 1923, another small building in Saint-Claude, serving as a workshop for polishing, was added. Cherrywood pipes were the mainstay of Ropp until the company finally closed down in September 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises in 1994.I have been working on figuring out the dates of Ropp pipes, based on their logos. This is an ongoing project and I am far from done. However, the logo on this pipe suggests a date that in the interwar period.

On to the pipe: it was in decent shape, but it had a few issues. The stem had a few bite marks, top and bottom. It also has a natural hole in the horn. The stummel also had a few issues. The rim and the outside of the bowl had some serious scratches. There was lava on the rim and some minor scorching. The inside was pretty dirty too – it would need a thorough cleaning. The stem was first on my list. This stem has a stinger in it – and it was being quite stubborn about coming out of the tenon! I opted to warm the stem and stinger with my heat gun and this didn’t work, surprisingly. I stuck it in the freezer for 20 minutes or so and that didn’t work either. I went back to the heat gun and tried again. Ugh. I successfully managed to break the stinger. Obviously, this wasn’t great, but it’s hardly the end of the world. I took a miniature file, shaped like a cylinder and sanded the hole in the tenon. I wanted to open the aperture a bit and remove the rough metal. Came out perfectly. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It took an awful lot of work to get this clean! In fact, I also used some Castille soap and tube brushes on the inside of the stem. Not something I usually do. I built up the worm hole and tooth marks on the stem with some clear cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. I then sanded the adhesive down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely grain of the buffalo horn on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. This stummel was a bit of a mess inside, so I first decided to ream out the bowl. I used the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to eliminate as much as I could. I took the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there none.I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was considerable filth inside this stummel and it took a lot of cotton to get it clean. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes. One of difficulties I encountered here was that this pipe had a cork-lined mortise and it was in very rough shape. Despite my best efforts, the cork was disintegrating and could not be saved. I took a wire drill bit and, but hand, scraped out the remaining bit of cork with it. I used some Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads on the outside of the stummel. That removed any latent dirt that blighted the wood. I moved on to de-ghost the bowl. I thrust some cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. As the photos show, there were some rough scratches on the rim of this pipe. In order to remove them, I “topped” the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded down the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively removed the damage, without altering the look of the pipe.There were a couple of very tiny pinholes in the wood. I dabbed a bit of cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them cure. I sanded the repairs down with 400-grit sandpaper. I also sanded out the scratches with the same. I felt that this pipe’s wood needed some revivification. In order to accentuate the external beauty of this pipe, I opted for aniline dye. I applied some of Fiebing’s Black Leather Dye. I applied flame from a BIC lighter in order to set the colour. I didn’t want to make the pipe black – I wanted the dye to accentuate the grain of the wood. So I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stummel to sand off the majority of the dye and then smooth the wood.I then added a coat Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye to act as a beautiful contrast. I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol to lighten it a bit. What a difference that made! It looked so much better with a fresh coat of stain. After that, I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm and let it sit for 15 minutes before polishing with a microfibre cloth. There is some beautiful wood after all. It is a lovely pipe! Before finishing up, I needed to address the mortise. Having removed the disintegrated cork, the tenon no longer fit in the mortise. Thanks to Steve’s advice, I fashioned a new cork lining from an old wine-bottle cork. I drilled out a hole through the middle of the cork and then used my Dremel to whittle down the cork until it fit – very tightly – in the mortise. I tested the tenon and it fit perfectly. I was delighted! Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood very attractive. This is a very handsome pipe and will provide many years of smoking pleasure. This is a wonderfully crafted pipe and has a very elegant feel to it. It took some work, but I am proud of it. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the “France” pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the Ropp Grand Luxe 49 Prince are as follows: length 6 in. (153 mm); height 1½ in. (36 mm); bowl diameter 1⅝ in. (40 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅛ oz. (36 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

New Life for a Republic Era “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 53 Lovat

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I am working through the remaining Peterson’s Pipes I have in my bins of pipes to work on. All that remain are pipes that neither Jeff or I remember where we obtained them. I chose to work on this nice looking Lovat with a fishtail style taper stem from that group of pipes. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read SHAMROCK. It was also stamped on the right side and reads “A PETERSON’S [over] PRODUCT” over MADE IN THE REP. OF IRELAND (3 lines) with the shape number 53 next to the bowl. There was also the Shamrock logo “S” on the left side of the saddle stem. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned as obviously Jeff had done his magic on it before I got it. He had scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. The rim top showed darkening and some damage on the inner and outer edges. He had rinsed it with warm water. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The vulcanite stem is lightly oxidized from sitting around here for years and has some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is also a stamped Shamrock “S” logo on the left side of the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the bowl to show the condition. The rim top had some nicks on it and some damage on the inner edge of the rim making it slightly out of round. There was also darkening on the bowl top. I also took photos of both sides of the stem to show the light oxidation and tooth chatter. Over all the pipe was in good condition.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of proportion.I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

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

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

Judging from the description above, the pipe I am working on is stamped with the stamp noted in red above. It reads “A Peterson’s Product” over Made in the Rep. Of Ireland which narrows the date to between approximately 1948-1998. It is just stamped SHAMROCK on the shank side and has an “S” logo on the left side of the taper stem.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening and damage on the inner and outer edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and clean up the edge. I also used a wooden ball and a piece of sand paper to give the inner edge a light bevel. It looked much better! I decided to leave the sandpits on the bowl side and filling them seemed unnecessary to me. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. (Note the sandpit on the left side of the shank near the bowl.) 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 started working on the stem. I touched up the Shamrock “S” logo on the right side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once it dried, I scraped off the excess wand sanded it clean with a worn 1500 girt micromesh 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 finished hand polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it on with my fingers and buffed it off with a soft cloth. The stem really began to have a deep glow. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.I am excited to finish this Republic Era a “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 53 Lovat. 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 flame grain all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This smooth Classic Shamrock 53 Lovat is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 41grams/1.45 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish 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 and as Paresh says each time he writes – Stay Safe.

New Life for a “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 338 Bent Billiard

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I am working through the remaining Peterson’s Pipes I have in my bins of pipes to work on. All that remain are pipes that neither Jeff or I remember where we obtained them. I chose to work on this nice looking Bent Billiard with a P-lip style taper stem from that group of pipes. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read SHAMROCK. It was also stamped on the right side and reads “A PETERSON’S [over] PRODUCT” over MADE IN THE REP. OF IRELAND (3 lines) with the shape number 338 next to the bowl. The bowl had been reamed and cleaned as obviously Jeff had done his magic on it before I got it. He had scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He had rinsed it with warm water. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The vulcanite stem is lightly oxidized from sitting around here for years and has some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There is also a stamped Shamrock “S” logo on the right side of the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the bowl to show the condition. The rim top was smooth and clean. There were nicks on the rim top and some damage on the inner edge of the rim making it slightly out of round. There was also damage on the front outer edge of the bowl. I also took photos of both sides of the stem to show the light oxidation and tooth chatter. Over all the pipe was in good condition.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of proportion. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

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

I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening and damage on the inner and outer edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and clean up the edge. I also used a wooden ball and a piece of sand paper to give the inner edge a light bevel. It looked much better!I decided to leave the sandpits on the bowl side and filling them seemed unnecessary to me. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. (Note the sandpit on the left side of the shank near the bowl.) 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 started working on the stem. I scrubbed the oxidation on it with Soft Scrub cleanser and was able to remove the majority of it. I sanded out the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil once I was finished. I set it aside to cure. I touched up the Shamrock “S” logo on the right side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once it dried, I scraped off the excess wand sanded it clean with a worn 1500 girt micromesh 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 finished hand polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it on with my fingers and buffed it off with a soft cloth. The stem really began to have a deep glow. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.I am excited to finish this Republic Era a “Peterson’s Product” Shamrock 338 Bent Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful flame grain all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This smooth Classic Shamrock 338 Bent Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 41grams/1.45 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish 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 and as Paresh says each time he writes – Stay Safe.

The Last Filthy and Messy Pipe – a Worn and Repaired No Name Rhodesian

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came is another one from the lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was traveling in Europe. In the box were 4 Stanwells, 1 Danmore Bowl, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, and 1 Brigham. I have restored the Nording, the snapped Stanwell, the Brigham, the Gourd Calabash with the briar bowl, restemmed the Danmore bowl, cleaned the Lorenzetti, restored the Stanwell Made in Denmark 11 Pot, the Stanwell Antique 25 Scoop and the Danish Sovereign Stanwell Second 64 Dublin. There are blogs on each restoration available. I now am down to one remaining pipe. The next pipe on the table is the last of the dirty pipes in a box full of very dirty pipes. There appears to be some stamping on the shank sides but it is so worn that it is utterly unreadable. The pipe was obviously someone’s favourite. The Rhodesian is one of my favourite pipe shapes. This one had not only been smoked to a point of heavy damage on the rim top and inner edge but the band on the shank held together a repair of three branched cracks on the shank. The stem fit well but there was a lot of grit and grime built up in the shank. There was a thick cake in the bowl, debris in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. The airway was plugged and there was no draught on the pipe. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and down the sides of the bowl and shank. The inner edges of the bowl were heavily damage, particularly on the right front side. The outer edge actually looked quite good under the grime. The rim cap was worn at an angle with more briar at the back of the bowl and on the left side than on the front side and the right side. The finish was dirty and there was lava on the sides and heel of the bowl. The stem was in rough shape in appearance but underneath the calcification and oxidation the tooth marks and chatter looked minimal. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I took a close-up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl. The rim top shows the thick lava on it and the edges. The inner edge of the bowl is so thickly coated lava that it is hard to know the condition. The outer edges of the bowl were very worn. You can also see how poorly the stem seats against the end of the mortise. There is a gap between the shank end and the saddle stem. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It looked very good under the calcification and oxidation.I took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the cracks in the shank. There is one long crack with two branches off of it. It had been repaired and banded. I also took a photo of the shank end to show the crack and the gummy tars in the shank. It was a mess. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I removed the stem and turned my attention to the bowl clean up. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the fourth (and largest) cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 180 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I scrubbed out the internals of the shank, mortise and the airway in the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. There was a lot of tar and oil in the shank and airway. It was a mess.Once I had cleaned the shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. You can see the repaired cracks in the shank under the band. Once the rim was topped the right side or the rim top and inner edge were very thin and work. The bowl was out of round and a real mess. What was I going to do with the mess? Leave it be or fuss with it? I chose to fuss and rebuilt the inner edge with clear CA glue and briar dust until the bowl was back in round. I cleaned up the inner edge of the rebuilt portion of the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and my Dremel and sanding drum. I was actually pretty happy with the finish… it seems I made a good choice.I filled in the deep flaws in the briar with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once they cured I sanded the repaired areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I used a dark Cordovan aniline stain to give the bowl an undercoat. I applied it with a wool dauber and flamed it to set it in the grain. I rusticated the finish with a home made rustication tools. I wanted to dig deep enough in the briar to mask the many fills in the wood and the repaired cracks in the shank. It would also give the pipe a tactile finish. I rusticated the bowl and shank but left the bull cap and rim top smooth. The twin rings around the cap are clean and still very visible. I used a light brown aniline wash to restain the bowl. I applied it to the briar and flamed it with a lighter. That set the brown on the top of the rustication. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish with a horsehair shoe brush and my finger tips to clean and enliven the briar. If you have read my blogs for a while you know that I do this religiously every time as it really works magic! With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped it down with some Soft Scrub on cotton pads to remove the oxidation and calcification. I was able to remove most of the oxidation and the calcification. It looked much better when I finished.I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of the marks on the top surface and all but three small deeper marks. I filled in those with black CA glue. I flattened the repair with a small file and further blended it into the surface with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It really was taking on a 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 finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I am excited to finish the reconstruction of this No Name Rhodesian. 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 and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished reworked bowl looks like with the polished black, saddle vulcanite stem was beautiful. This No Name Rhodesian turned out very well and feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I am not sure what I am going to do with at the moment. It is unique and rebuilt but looks like new. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

Yet Another Filthy and Messy Pipe – a Danish Sovereign Made in Denmark 64 Freehand Dublin

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I recognized the shape as being a Sixten Ivarsson design but Icould not remember the shape number associated with it. I turned to Pipedia’s article on shapes that Bas Stevens originally worked on to check it out (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I am including a shape chart below. It identifies the shape as a 64 (bottom right side of the fourth column in the photo below).I also have included information the site regarding the shape 64. The pipe I am working on is 64a in the list below. Stanwell’s “64” shape number actually corresponds to two different designs. The first is a larger version of the “64,” a Freehand, plateau top, saddle stem and designed by Sixten Ivarsson. This vintage “64” is of the first type, really showcasing flowing Dublin shape and the plateau rim top.

64. Two versions of this shape number

a) Freehand, Plateau top, saddle mouthpiece, by Sixten Ivarsson.
b) Bent billiard, medium size, full mouthpiece.

List by designer

Sixten Ivarsson: 01 (Nefertiti), 01 (Pick Ax), 02, 06, 07, 09, 10, 11, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20 (Boat), 20 (Bent Dublin), 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 30, 32 (Free Hand), 33, 34, 35 (Bent Free Hand), 37, 38, 41, 43, 48, 55, 59, 62, 63, 64, 70 (Free Hand Volcano/Sitter), 75 (Billiard w/oval shank), 79, 82, 85 (Bent e), 86, 87, 90, 91R, 95, 96, 105, 110, 119, 124, 2606, POY 1993.

Now I knew it was an Ivarsson Design shape 64 with a saddle stem. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I removed the stem and turned my attention to the bowl clean up. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the fourth (and largest) cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 180 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a brass bristle wire brush, a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I worked over the plateau rim top and the bowl some more with a brass bristle wire brush to further knock off the debris in the valleys of the finish.I scrubbed out the internals of the shank, mortise and the airway in the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. There was a lot of tar and oil in the shank and airway. It was a mess.Once I had cleaned the shank with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs I tried the fit of the stem in the shank. It fit tightly against the mortise end but the gap between the shank end and the stem saddle was still open. I examined the fit and found that the shank end was not even – in fact it was slightly wavy. I heated the brass band and pressed it onto the end of the shank and then checked the fit of the stem and it was perfect. The band created a smooth shank end for the saddle stem. I also really like the look of the thin band. I decided to deghost the bowl so I stuffed it with cotton bolls and rolled one into the shank end. I used a ear syringe to fill the bowl with isopropyl alcohol. I set the bowl aside overnight to let it leech out the tars and oils from the bowl and shank. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 git sanding pads. I worked on the high spots on the plateau top along with the bowl and shank. As I finished the last of the micromesh it looked much better. With the briar polished smooth I decided to stain the bowl with a Light Brown aniline wash. I used a wool dauber to apply the stain. I lit it with a lighter to set the stain in the grain. I repeated the process several time until I was happy with the coverage. I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish the newly stained briar. I like the way the wash made the grain stand out and blended in some of the darkened spots. It looked very good.

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. With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped it down with some Soft Scrub on cotton pads to remove the oxidation and calcification. I was able to remove most of the oxidation and the calcification. It looked much better when I finished.I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of the marks on the top surface and all but three small deeper marks. I filled in those with black CA glue. I flattened the repair with a small file and further blended it into the surface with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It really was taking on a 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 finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil.I am excited to finish this Ivarsson Design Danish Sovereign Made in Denmark 64 Freehand. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black, saddle vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Danish Sovereign Made in Denmark 64 Freehand 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: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.83 ounces/52 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting in the Danish Pipemaker Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiard

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Smooth Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased somewhere along the way. Neither Jeff or I remember where we picked it up. It is an interesting system pipe with some light road rash on the right side of the bowl and a chip out of the outer edge of the bowl on the right side. It was stamped Peterson’s [arched over] System [arched over] Standard on the left side of the shank. It is a bit faint but it is readable. On the right side it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 307. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the left side K&P [over] Petersons. Jeff had cleaned and reamed the bowl somewhere along the way and the finish is very clean. The top and edges of the rim were clean but showed some damage. The inner edge was out of round and the outer edge had a chip on the right side. The stem was the wrong stem for the pipe. It was not a Peterson’s style P-Lip but rather a Wellington style with the airway exiting on the end of the stem. Jeff had cleaned it up as well and it did not look too bad. I would need to restem it with a proper stem. I took photos before I started working on it today. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the bowl and the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top had darkening and damage and the inner edge was out of round. The outer edge on the right side showed a chip. I took photos of the stem it came with as well. You can see the tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. You can also see the exit of the airway on the stem end rather than the to of the P-lip.I took photos of the stamping on the side of the shank. The stamping was faint 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 [over] Petersons. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the parts. You can see how the stem is definitely not a Peterson’s P-Lip. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. It is a large looking 307 System Standard. 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.

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.

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 removed the incorrect stem and replaced it with a correct P-Lip stem for a 307 that I had here in my box of stems. It has a little larger flare than I remembered but it still fit better and looked very good. I took photos of the pipe with the new stem. I worked over the rim top and the inner and outer edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to smooth out the damage on the inner edge and remove the nicks on the top surface. The outer edge looked better though I left one nick on the right outer edge as a part of the story of the pipe.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 git sanding pads. I wanted remove as many of the light scratches in the briar as I could. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. With briar polished with the Restoration Balm I moved onto the metal. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jewellers cloth to raise the shine and to protect the ferrule from further oxidation. I took photos of the new stem before I put it in the shank. It is a new stem so it is quite shiny. It will look great on the pipe.I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson System Standard 307 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 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. Grain stands out nicely as do the marks of the pipe journey. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 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 2.47 ounces/71 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.

Restoring well repaired Soren Hand Carved Made in Denmark Freehand

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

It looked like I was once again working on a pipe made by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen for the US market as it was stamped Soren. I continued to do reading on another of my go to websites, Pipedia. Here is the link for the article there. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Refbjerg. I quote some of the more pertinent information.

Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen founded a company in 1969, which employed an average of 8 – 12 craftsmen in the 1970’s. The semi-freehands they produced were traded under his prename Søren. Rasmussen himself finished only the very best pipes. So his way of pipemaking closely resembled the ways of Preben Holm, Karl Erik Ottendahl or Erik Nørding. Altogether more than 1,000,000 pipes were sold.

There was also a note from Soren himself regarding the Danbark line of pipes that he made. I think that it is interesting to note that even on these he used the finest Corsican and Grecian briars. I assume that is also true of his other lines as well. I quote the note in full.

“A note from the carver:

I am very proud to introduce my new (!) series of hand-carved Danbark Pipes by Søren. These pipes are crafted from the finest Corsican and Grecian briars. I take a great deal of pride in crafting the Danbark Pipes to be highly functional and so they will provide the smoker with many years of dedicated service. The Danbark Pipes by Søren are available in several different styles and finishes with my personal touch and inspirations. At this time I favor making classic shaped pipes with a slight touch of my own hands and feelings. I do not produce many pipes today but the pipes that I do make available are individually crafted from the finest Corsican and Grecian Briars available to me. I still make free-hand pipes but not as many as I once made. For the past 35 years I have always tried to make good smoking pipes in my workshop located near Copenhagen, Denmark. I have always tried to craft my pipes in such a way as they will be long lasting and best friends with the owners. I take great pride in the shape of my pipes, the drilling of the pipes, and the overall dimensions of the pipes. I enjoy spending my spare time on the very long, rugged coasts of Denmark. I derive much relaxation from being on the coast while angling for Sea Trout with my own hand-tied flies. I find this environment is a great inspiration to me for making pipes. Many times I think to myself, “Inspired by nature, made by me”. — Happy puffing, Søren”

From that I knew that the pipe in my hands came from the 1970s. It bears the Soren signature stamp which also says that it was made for sale in the American pipe market. Armed with that information I turned my attention to restoring the pipe.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by working on the shank repair issues. I filled in the repair area with clear CA glue and pressed some briar dust into the glue. It took a few layers to smooth it out but the touch up on the repair was effective. I sanded the repaired area on the shank smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surrounding briar. I also sanded the burn mark on the side of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the third cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 180 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I used a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the debris in the plateau on the rim top. It took some work but it cleaned up well. I used a folded piece of sandpaper to clean up the inner edge of the rim and to sand the darkening off the smooth area around rim top. I sanded the vulcanite shank extension at the same time to break the oxidation on the surface. I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I touched up the sanded areas on the shank and the bowl spots using a Maple Stain Pen to start the process of blending them into the rest of the bowl. The colour is very close and once I restain the bowl it will work very well. I stained the bowl and shank with a light brown stain wash. I applied it to the surface of the briar with a wool dauber. I flamed it with a lighter flame to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until I was satisfied with the coverage. I polished the vulcanite shank extension and the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 git sanding pads. I wanted to make the new stain coat a bit more transparent. I wiped it down with a cloth and some Obsidian Oil. I scrubbed out the internals of the pipe with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I cleaned out the airway in the stem as well. I worked on these areas repeatedly until the shank and the airway in all the parts was clean.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. With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped it down with some Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation.I touched up the “S” stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once had dried I sanded out the excess with a worn 1500 micromesh sanding pad.I polished the oxidation and tooth chatter on 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 finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I polished finished Soren Hand Carved Danish Freehand with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The plateau on the rim top and shank end and the smooth Dark and Medium brown contrast finish work very well with the black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I have worked on several Soren pipes by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen and several Refbjerg pipes over the years and I have always been impressed by his craftsmanship and ability to work a pipe to follow the grain of the briar. He does great work and is quite innovative in terms of shapes, flow and finishes on his pipes. The Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 inches. The weight of the pipe is 73 grams/ 2.57 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish 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.