Tag Archives: fitting a stem

Restemming and Restoring a Comoy’s Vanguard 296 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a customer, Ted about some pipe work for him. He had three pipes that he said needed different things and offered to send some photos. He also sent a second email with a description of what each pipe needed. I have included that email and the photos he sent below.

Peterson 309 needs stem restoration and bowl cleaned out. Rhodesian needs full restoration – my English teacher from high school gave it to me a little over two years ago. The Comoy’s Canadian needs a new bit I broke it… The box of pipes arrived on Tuesday here in Vancouver. I decided to work on the Comoy’s restem and cleanup first. The pipe is stamped on the top of the shank and reads Comoy’s [over] Vanguard. On the underside of the shank it is stamped with a shape number 296 mid-shank. That is followed by the COM stamp MADE IN LONDON in a circle with IN in the centre. Underneath the circle it is stamped ENGLAND in a straight line. There was a light/moderate cake in the bowl with lava on the rim top. The shank had the broken tenon inside that would need to be pulled. The finish was in decent condition. There was dirt and debris ground into the finish and there was spotty varnish/shellac finish on the surface of the briar. I always check a shank for cracks when the pipe has been dropped and a tenon snapped. There were several spidering cracks along the top of the shank on the pipe. I took photos of the pipe before I started 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 some lava on the smooth finish. The inner and outer edges of the bowl looked good. I took photos of the stamping on the pipe. It is stamped on the top of the shank and on the underside. It was clear and readable as noted above.I took a close-up photo of the top of the shank to show the crack. You can see it mid shank. From top end of the crack it spread to the left and the right from the end. It looked as if it had been dropped and the crack spread.I put the bowl in the freezer for ten minutes to try to loosen the broken tenon. The change in temperature and the different expansion rates for briar and stem material would loosen it. I took it out and used a screw to turn into the airway in the tenon. I wiggled it free of the shank with very little problem.I decided to deal with the cracks in the shank first. I repaired each one with a small spot of glue on a tooth pick then heated the band and pressed it in place on the shank. I took photos of the newly banded shank to show what it looked like. 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 cleaned up the rim top with a worn piece of 1500 grit micromesh and a piece of 6000 grit wet dry sandpaper. It looked much better once it was finished. 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 wiped the bowl down with acetone to remove the spotty varnish coat on the wood. It looked much better. 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 polished the smooth briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. 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 and calcification. I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter along with the remaining oxidation with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.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 restemming and restoration of this Comoy’s Vanguard 296 Canadian. 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 with the nickel band looks like with the new, polished black, vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Comoy’s Vanguard 296 Canadian is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6  inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.09 ounces/31 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and after I finish Ted’s other two pipes I will be sending it back to him to enjoy. 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.

Re-stemming and Restoring a Danmore De Luxe Made in Denmark Scoop

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came from a 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 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, 1 Danmore bowl, and 1 Brigham. I have restored the Nording, the snapped Stanwell, the Brigham and the Gourd Calabash with the briar bowl. There are blogs on each restoration available.The next pipe on the table is the scoop shaped bowl without a stem at the top of the photo above. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Danmore [over] Made in Denmark. On the right side of the shank it is stamped De Luxe. There is no visible shape number stamped on the pipe. There was a thick cake in the bowl, cobwebs 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 lava overflow on the rim top. The inner edges of the bowl were damaged and the outer edge had been knocked about and damaged on the front side. The finish was dirty and dusty and there was lava on the sides and heel of the bowl. The pipe did not come with a stem so I would have to go through my collection of stems here to find one that fit well. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up and the damage on the edges of the bowl. The cake was thick and hard and I am hoping that at some level it protected the edges from damage. You can see the nicks in the inner edge and the damage on the rim top. I also took a photo of the shank end. You can see the tars and build up around the opening.I turned to Pipedia to read about the Danmore brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Danmore). There was a brief article there that I quote below.

Danmore was founded by Hans Sørensen in the early 1970s, and produced pipes from that time until the early 1980s, at one point having up to 30 employees. The pipes were sold in the first Dan Pipe catalog. In the early 1980’s, however, production ceased in Denmark due to labor costs, and the company’s production was outsourced to Italy and Spain, and they began to also make pipecleaners and smokers articles.

Sørensen focused on the pipecleaner side of the concern, and eventually bought a share in the factory in the Far East making them. Today the company, owned by Hans’ sons Jesper and Lars Sørensen, no longer makes pipes, and instead makes only pipe cleaners under the name Danmore Hobby Aps, selling only to hobby and craftshops in Denmark and Scandinavia.

Hans Sørensen passed away in 2012. The Sørensen family continues to own the trademarks for the use of the Danmore name in relation to pipes, matches, and tobacco.

There was also a shape chart on the site that I have included. The shape was a 3041 which I have drawn a red box around.With that I turned to work on the pipe. I went through my can of stems and found one that would work well with the bowl. It is a uniquely carved saddle stem with a twist of a freehand. I sanded the tenon now slightly to allow it to fit the shank. I put it in the shank and took photos of the pipe. I like the looks of the one I chose over the original! I set the stem aside and turned to the bowl clean up. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the second and 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 220 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. 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 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 over the damage on the inner edge of the bowl and the rim top. I also smoothed out the damage on the outer edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better after I sanded the damaged areas smooth.I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The briar 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 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 “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I sanded out what remained with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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 restemmed Danmore De Luxe 3041 Made in Denmark Scoop. 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 rusticated gourd and the polished black, fancy turned vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Danmore De Luxe 3041 Scoop is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/48 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.

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.

Putting Humpty Dumpty Back together again – Stanwell Antique 15

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came from a 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 5 Stanwells, 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.The pipe on the table is a mixed finish (sandblast and smooth) Bent Apple with a diamond shank and acrylic amber shank extension from the lot above. It is the pipe in the lot that is in the worst condition with a snapped shank at the bowl. The pipe is faintly stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Stanwell [followed by] the shape number 15 [over] Antique. Underneath it is stamped Made in Denmark. There was a thick cake in the bowl, cobwebs in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and down on the sides of the bowl and shank. The edges of the bowl were so thickly coated with lava that it was hard to know the condition. The finish is oily, dirty and dusty around the bowl and shank sides. The sandblast was almost filled in with lava. The smooth panel on the front was also heavily tarred and covered in lava. The amber coloured shank extension was so coated with tars that it was hard to see its true colour. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside. The snapped shank is a clean break and there is darkening around the airway on both parts. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I checked my usual sources for information on the Antique line but there was nothing specific on either Pipedia or Pipephil’s site. I also checked on Pipedia in the article on shape number and shape designers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers).

15. Two versions of this shape number:

a) Quarter-bent footless cutty with a round shank and tapered churchwarden stem.
b) Bent apple with a triangular shank and saddle, or half-saddle, stem.

 The data was all coming together finally – I was working on a Stanwell Antique in shape 15 which is a Bent Apple with a triangular shank and amber coloured extension with a saddle stem. Now it was time to work on the repair of this tired and worn looking old timer.

I reamed the bowl portion of the broken pipe 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 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and the broken shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It looked surprisingly better and the tars and lava filling in the sandblast was gone. I scrubbed the broken face of the shank and bowl with the tooth brush to remove the lava around the airway. I used a short piece of aluminum inner tube to bind the two parts together. I measured what it would take to have some of the tube in each side of the break. I cut it to fit with a hacksaw blade. I inserted it in the parts and took a look at the fit. I glued it in the airway in the bowl end with clear CA glue and painted the tube and the two briar faces with the clear CA glue. I pressed the two pieces together and held them together until the glue cured. I filled in the areas in the crack repair that were visible with another coat of clear CA glue and briar dust. I worked the area over with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the high spots on the repair and wiped off the excess CA glue with a cotton pad and acetone (fingernail polish remover). The photos below show the repair at this point. I wiped off the bowl with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust from the clean up at this point. I took photos of the repaired bowl at this point. I used a Dremel and a burr to clean up the worn sandblast patterns around the bowl and shank. I used it to also carry the blast across the repaired area. It looked much better. At this point in the process it was time to stain the pipe. I used a Cordovan to approximate the reddish brown stain that was on the original Antique pipe. I applied it with a wool dauber and then flamed the grain to set the stain. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage. I wiped the bowl down alcohol to make the finish more transparent and give some depth to the grain. I used cotton pads and isopropyl to remove it. I repeated the process until I was happy with the new coverage. I remembered at this point that I had not cleaned the internals. 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. You will notice that there was some red stain that came out of the inside of the shank with the cleaning. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the darkening on the high spots on the blast. The sanding would give depth and contrast to the finish. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top 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. I set the bowl aside and “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a “Bic” lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to raise them some but not completely. I filled in the remaining marks on the button edge and the surface with black CA glue. Once it cured, I used a file to shape the button edge and also smooth out the fill. I sanded the remaining marks with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the surrounding vulcanite. I started polishing the stem surface with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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. This Stanwell Antique 15 Bent Apple with a Triangle Shank and a saddle vulcanite stem turned out very nice. The mix of Cordovan and black stains highlights the sandblasted grain around the bowl sides and bottom. The rim top and edges look very good. The finish on the pipe turned out great even in the repaired area. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Antique 15 Bent Apple is very nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. It is a nice pipe whose dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 62 grams/2.19 ounces. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over what appeared to be a hopelessly damaged pipe. This Stanwell Antique 15 Bent Apple turned out fairly well. It will make someone a great pipe at a great price. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know! Thanks for your time.

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 Brigham Select Two Dot Bent Billiard from the Regina Lot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came from a 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 travelling in Europe. In the box were 5 Stanwells, 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.The pipe on the table is a rusticated Brigham Bent Billiard from the lot above. The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads 224 [shape number] followed by Brigham in script. Underneath it is stamped Made in Canada. There was a thick cake in the bowl, cobwebs in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. There was a light lava overflow on the smooth rim top. The edges of the bowl were in good condition with a few small nicks on the outer edge. 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 some thin lava spots on the smooth finish. The inner and outer edges of the bowl looked good. 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.The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. The two horizontal brass dots on the left side of the stem side were slightly tarnished.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.For historical background 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.

Around the late 1960s or early 1970s, at the beginning of what I’ve called the Canadian Era (roughly 1970 – 1980), the stampings changed again as Brigham moved to modernize its logo. Pipes are stamped with the 3-digit shape number and “Brigham” over “Made in Canada”.

This solidly places the pipe I am working on in the period of Brigham production that Charles calls the Canadian Era (1970-80). 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.

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 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. You will notice that there was some red stain that came out of the inside of the shank with the cleaning. 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 polished the smooth rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The rim top 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 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.  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 2 Bent Billiard. 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 Bent Billiard 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.90 ounces/54 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Canadian Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. 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.

My Grandfather’s Apple

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a personal pipe – and one that is staying in my collection. This pipe is a charming apple shape with a straight stem of what I assume is amberoid – and not real amber. I do not know where my grandfather acquired it (or under what circumstances), but I suppose it does not ultimately matter. My grandfather was an enthusiastic pipe smoker and he clearly enjoyed this one. I am definitely looking forward to cleaning this one up. It has a value well beyond dollars. As the photos show, this pipe has a stem that tapers towards the button. In addition to this, it also has an orific button. These two facts suggest a pipe from the pre-WW2 era. For more information on the orific button, take the time to read Steve’s interesting article on the subject. This type of button is a feature that apparently disappeared by the 1930s, but the metal tenon suggests a date that is more likely in the 1940s. The pipe’s markings read Racine de [over] Bruyere [over] Garantie (on the left side of the shank). Alas, there are no other markings to be found. As you may know, Racine de Bruyere Garantie means “Guaranteed Briar Root”. This indicates that the pipe almost certainly comes from St Claude, France, but gives no indication of who made it. As previously mentioned, I do not know the exact date of the pipe, but it is likely from the 1940s.Anyway, on to the pipe – and it’s a pipe that just makes you smile. There is something wholesome and comforting about the look of the pipe. I must admit, however, that I may be thinking of my grandfather more than the pipe!

This poor pipe was not without its issues. The stummel had the following problems: lava on the rim, charring to the rim, a bashed rim, plenty of cake in the bowl, a few substantial and ugly fills, and a tired, worn-out colour of wood. By the way, some of the strange “marks” on the bowl are, in fact, old bits of newspaper. After my grandfather died, the pipes were wrapped in newspaper and stuck in a box. The newspaper got wet at some point in the intervening years. Meanwhile, the stem had its own set of problems: major tooth marks and dents, a bite-through, and a filthy stinger. The stem was first on my list. The stinger actually screwed into the tenon – and it was being quite stubborn about coming out! I opted to warm the stinger with a heat gun and this provided just enough softening of the internal goo to allow me to pull it out. The stinger then went for a soak in some lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I let it set for several hours and then cleaned it off and it looked much improved. I then finished it with some 0000-grit steel wool, greased the threads with some petroleum jelly and moved on. 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. As I mentioned earlier, I think this stem is made from amberoid. This is a synthetic of small pieces of amber, pressed together under great pressure and high heat.Now it was time to make a fix the damage. I tried desperately hard to clean the discoloration inside and outside the stem, but this met with limited success. I ended up filing the dents etc. with clean cyanoacrylate adhesive. I first plugged up the stem’s draught hole with a pipe cleaner coated in petroleum jelly. This ensured that any of the cyanoacrylate would not accidentally plug up the air passage in the stem. I then used a miniature file to shape the button and make it suitable for sanding. I then sanded the stem down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. This ensures that it keeps its shape and looks like it should. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stem to make look as much like amber as possible. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. It is worth noting that a repair this big on a stem will never be invisible, but I was pleased with how the stem finished up. On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I used the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake, and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to remove as much as I could. I wanted to take the bowl down to bare briar to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel – it took many pipe cleaners et cetera to clean it out. Have a look at the photos – disgusting! I decided that a de-ghosting session would be a good idea. 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 the oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this. One interesting point of note is that the mortise on this pipe is lined with cork (another sign of the pipe’s age). This complicated the cleaning process, as I needed to ensure that the alcohol etc. didn’t degrade the cork. I worked carefully and it turned out alright.I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. That removed the bits of aforementioned newspaper and any remaining dirt. I also soaked the rim in Murphy’s for a while, then used a toothbrush to loosen up the lava.There were several notable dents and nicks on the rim. Normally, I would top the pipe on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. I didn’t do that this time because I wanted to maintain the rounded profile of the rim. I still used 220-grit sandpaper, but made sure to keep the look of the pipe.Having completed that, I was able to address the fills on the stummel. I used a dental tool to dig out the old, crumbly putty. I filled the divots with a mixture of cyanoacrylate adhesive and briar dust – then let it cure. Now, with the nicks filled, it was time to sand down the stummel. I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand everything smooth.After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. What a difference that made! I felt that this pipe really needed some colour for two reasons: some dark colour would contrast nicely with the orange of the stem and it would help obscure some of the dreadful fills. I applied Fiebing’s Cordovan Leather Dye with a cotton dauber. I flamed it with my Bic lighter, let it set, then coated it again with dye, flamed it again, and let that set too. I decided to let the pipe sit overnight. Upon the morrow, I used isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the pipe and remove excess stain. I am very happy with the results.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 look absolutely beautiful.This is a wonderfully crafted pipe and has a very elegant feel to it. It took a lot of work, but I am proud of it and the final product is (hopefully) worthy of my beloved grandfather’s memory. Obviously, this is one pipe that I am keeping for myself and adding to my collection. I am sure that I will be enjoying this one for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅜ in. (136 mm); height 1⅝ in. (43 mm); bowl diameter 1⅜ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¼ oz. (40 g). 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.

Refreshing a Peterson’s System Standard Smooth Made in the Republic of Ireland 312

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Rusticated Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from and estate in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s System Standard on left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 312. It has nice grain around the bowl and shank that has oils, debris and grime ground into the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim top that was heavier toward the back side. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. 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 top and left side K&P [over] three hallmarks – a harp, a wolf hound and a tower. That is followed by Petersons. It small dents in the nickel ferrule on the right side. The vulcanite stem is a Peterson’s style P-Lip with a “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime in finish around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of shank. The stamping was 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. 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 312 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 312 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.

Jeff cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual clean up process. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour I was amazed it looked so good. The stem showed some damage on the button edge and surface. The bonus was that the tenon had a brass chimney in the end that was correct for this pipe. I took some close-up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the back of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the tooth marks and damage to the button edge and stem surface is visible in the photos below.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I started by working over the edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim 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 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jewellers cloth to remove the remaining tarnish and to protect the surface from further tarnishing. The shine was quite nice. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. There were several issues that I needed to deal with to secure a good fit. The brass chimney was stuck in the tenon and I could not remove it. I heated the chimney with a lighter and was finally able to unscrew it from the stem end. I cleaned out the threaded area on the stem and the threads on the chimney and greased it with Vaseline. I screwed it back in the stem.The fit of the stem in the shank was canted to the left and the brass chimney hit against the wall of the mortise. As I examined it I saw that the drilling in the shank was more worn on the right side than the left. I smoothed out the walls of the left side of the shank with small half circle needle files. I also sanded the right side of the stem to adjust the seat in the shank. Once I had completed the process the fit was perfect in the shank.I fit the stem in the shank and the adjustments straightened out the cant of the stem. I took photos of it to show the new fit in the shank.I rebuilt the top edge of the button with black CA glue. I filled in the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem. Once the repair hardened/cured I used a small file to reshape the edge of the button and flatten the repairs. I reshaped the top of the button with the file at the same time. I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper to further smooth it out. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the leg and tail of the “P” stamp.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. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. 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’s System Standard 312 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond. 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 grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 312 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 feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.01 ounces/57 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.

New Life for a Peterson’s Kapet Republic of Ireland 106 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s Large Straight Billiard pipe that we purchased from and our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark on 04/11/2023. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] Kapet on the left side of the shank. On the right it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) followed by the shape number 106. It is a large Billiard that has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip taper stem with a “P” logo on the left side. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks, chatter, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface on both sides of the stem. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above.

I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). There was a short note toward the bottom of the page about the series. It is definitely referring to the newer line that came out later. I quote:

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson) to first pin down a date that the pipe was made. I knew that the Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp would give me that. I quote:

As usual when trying to get accurate facts in regard to Peterson history, something will jump up and get in the way. They are missing many of their records. The following is the best that we can do for a guide to the myriad markings during the period 1922–1949. Prior to 1920 it was rare for a country of origin to be stamped on the pipe, just Peterson’s Dublin on the band. After 1921/22, if it is stamped “MADE IN IRELAND” and the “Made in” is stacked over “Ireland” or “MADE IN EIRE” or several other forms, it was made between 1922 and 1938. A considerable number of Peterson pipes were stamped “Irish Free State”. From about 1930 to 1949, most of the pipes (those which were stamped) were stamped “Made in Ireland”.” If the stamp reads “MADE IN IRELAND” in a circle, the pipe was made between 1939 and 1948. These are all “Pre-Republic” pipes. I can tell you that the mark “Irish Free State” was adopted in 1922; and replaced by “Eire” in 1937 and then by “Republic of Ireland” in 1949.

That gave me a date for the pipe – it was made after 1949 as can be proved by the Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp on the right side of the shank.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Kapet Line. On page 305 it had the following information.

Kapet (1925-87) Line first described in 1925 brochure and featured in occasional catalogs through 1987. Early specimens will be stamped IRISH over FREE STATE. Described in 1937 catalog as available in dark plum or natural finish. Featured an aluminum “inner tube” or stinger until 1945.  Mid-century specimens may be stamped Made In over Ireland. Specimens from 1970 on may have mounts with hallmarks.

Judging from the Made in the Republic of Ireland stamp, the pipe I am working on is probably made after 1949. Those dates work also for the Kapet information above. The stem the “P” emblem on the stem side but no inner tube.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work.  I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the back of the bowl. The rim top is clean but in nicked and scratched. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the tooth marks on ahead of the button are present but hard to see in the photos.Once again I have to comment on what I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I started by working over the edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim 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 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a Bic lighter to try and lift the marks. I was able to lift them slightly. I filled in the marks that remained on the stem with clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I polished it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the leg and tail of the “P” stamp.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. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I always am excited to finish working on a pipe. This Made in the Republic of Ireland Peterson’s Kapet Straight Billiard is no exception. 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 a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the bowl looks like with the black vulcanite taper stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Kapet Smooth Billiard 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 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 53 grams/1.87 of an ounce. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the Irish Pipe Makers Section if you are interested in it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

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.

Thanks Bill for the chance to craft one of my own

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Blog by Steve Laug

Earlier in the summer I received a package from a friend in Saskatchewan that included some nice pipes for me to enjoy that he had restored along with this partially finish Billiard. It had been shaped and drilled and had some large flaws on the left side of the bowl. The one mid-bowl was quite large and another toward the top of the bowl and onto the rim top. Both were deep and ragged looking and both would need work. I filled them both in with briar dust and clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. I was not too worried about it as in the shaping process much of the briar around the sides and rim would be removed. I took closer photos of the repairs to the flaws in the sides of the bowl. I layered in briar dust and clear CA glue to build up the flawed areas. I wanted to be able to start the process with a smooth surface on the bowl and shank. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out with files and then sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I used a Dremel and a sanding drum to further blend them into the surface of the bowl. I removed the long taper billiard stem and “discovered” that it was a filter stem made for a 9mm filter. I decided to get rid of that stem and with the length of the thick shank that I would fit a new stem. I chose a stem that was about an inch shorter than the taper original. It was a thick looking saddle stem that I thought would look great and create a nice looking Lovat.I set up the PIMO tenon turning tool on my hand drill. I adjusted the settings to give me a very clean turn on the tenon. In the first photo you can see the misshaped tenon. I measured the tenon and then turned it once. I cleaned off the excess and turned it a second time to smooth out the roughness of the edges. I tried it in the shank and though the diameter of the stem was larger it looked very good. I used a flat rasp to remove excess material from the stem diameter. I continued to sand and file off the excess until it was close to the same diameter as the shank. I took photos of the fit of the stem to the shank on the pipe. I used a Dremel and sanding drum to bring it down further. I worked on the stem/shank fit with 220 grit sandpaper. It was looking very good at this point. It was getting very close to the shank fit. I fit the stem on the shank and took photos of the new look of the stem/shank fit. It still needed work but it looked very good at this point. I worked on the stem some more with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the transition between the stem and the shank. Once it was smooth I decided to see what the shank would look like with a band. I had a gold band that was perfect size for the shank. I put the band on the shank and took photos of the bowl with the shank. What do you think? To me it is exactly the touch I needed for this pipe to step up a bit. I like the look on the shank. I fit the stem to the shank to have a look at the flow of the pipe with the gold band and the saddle stem. Now I was even more convinced that the band was a great idea. It gives the pipe a classic Lovat look with a touch of bling. In preparation for staining the bowl I polished it with micromesh sanding pads 1500-400 grit pads to smooth out the repaired areas and the scratches on the surface of the bowl and rim top. It looked much better at this point in the process. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and then put a cork in the bowl and prepared the bowl for staining. I have had success in using a Cordovan stain when I am dealing with large repairs like this bowl had on the rear and left side of the bowl. It works to blend them in better than just a brown stain.I applied the stain with a dauber and then flamed it with a lighter it to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage. You can see the darkness and coverage of the stain in the photos below.I like the stain to be more transparent to allow the grain to shine through but I want it opaque enough around the repairs to blend them into the surrounding briar. I sanded the bowl and shank with a medium and fine sanding sponge and I am really pleased with the coverage and the transparency of the colour. I rubbed the bowl and rim 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 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I sanded out the file marks and the scratches with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It looked significantly better and was ready to polish it. 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. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I love it when I am carving or shaping a pipe to come to this point in the process. If always feels I am on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Lovat I have carved is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and gold band on the thick shank. This Thick Shanked Lovat was a fun pipe to carve and to finish. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The repaired fills blend well into the stain of the finish. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½  inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.15 ounces/61 grams. I am looking forward to loading a bowl and enjoying this pipe. Thanks again Bill for the gift and the joy I had in working on it.

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 Savinelli Punto Oro 316KS

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is an interesting Diplomat shaped pipe that we obtained in a trade from a fellow in Japan 01/12/2023. It was stamped on the top side of the shank and read Savinelli [over] Punto Oro. On the underside of the shank it was stamped with a Savinelli S shield followed by the shape number 316KS [over] Italy. It has a smooth finish with beautiful grain patterns around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. The bowl was quite clean and appeared to have been recently reamed and cleaned. The top and edges of the rim looked very good with some light darkening on the back inner edge of the crowned rim top. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was an acrylic replacement that was not a perfect fit to the shank with a slightly smaller diameter crosswise to the shank so it would not be changed in the restoration. As it was acrylic there was no issue with oxidization or calcification on the stem. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the bowl and the rim top. It looked very good and there was some darkening on the back inner edge of the crowned rim top. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. I turned to Pipephil’s site to get a feel for the Punto Oro line. All of the previous Punto Oro pipes that I have worked on were smooth finish with great grain. This was a sandblast one and I do not recall working on one before. Here is the link (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-savinelli3.html). I have included a screen capture of the pertinent information on the line below. It appears the line came out in both smooth and sandblast finishes.I turned to Pipedia to look at what information they had on the brand. I found a catalogue page on the Punto Oro which confirmed what I had surmised about the line having both smooth and sandblast finished pipe (https://pipedia.org/images/d/db/Sav_Punto_Oro.jpg). I have included a screen capture of the page below. It says that the line was available in 2 distinct finishes – a rich Mahogany smooth finish and a genuine sandblast.The Savinelli shape number was 310KS so I turned to the Savinelli Shape Chart on Pipedia and included a screen capture (https://pipedia.org/images/4/41/Sav_Shape_Chart_2017.jpg). I have drawn a red box around the 316KS shape in the photo below. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. You can see the darkening on the inner edge of the rim and the top.  The stem looks clean of oxidation and the tooth marks and chatter are very clear in the photos.I took photos of the stamping on the top and the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in spots but it is still readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I removed the darkening and nicks on the inner edge. It looked significantly better.  I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim 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 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. There are still small nicks in the briar but I have decided to leave them as part the pipe’s story. I built up the rounded edge of the button on the top side with black, rubberized CA glue. I filled in the deep marks on the stem with clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once it cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Savinelli Punto Oro 316KS Oval Shank Dublin and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I polished the briar and the vulcanite of the stem until there was a rich shine. This classic Savinelli shape and finish really highlights a proportionally well carved pipe. Once I buffed the pipe the briar came alive as the grain just popped with polishing. The black acrylic saddle stem has a rich glow. This Punto Oro 316KS fits well in the hand and sits right in the mouth. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of and inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. This beauty will be going on the rebornpipes online store in the Italian Pipemakers Section. If you are interested let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as it was a pleasure to work on.

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.

Repurposing a Brigham Voyageur 109 into a Frankenpipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a bit of a Frankenpipe – one I have cobbed together from a variety of pipes. A Frankenpipe is simply a pipe composed of parts from a variety of sources. In this case it included a Brigham bowl, a Copper Plumbing fitting as a ferrule and a vulcanite freehand stem. Put together these parts create a totally unique pipe that is more than a total of its parts.

I originally received it in a lot of pipes that I worked on for a fellow here in Vancouver. It was a bowl sans stem that was in a bit of rough shape. I described it as follows when I first received it (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/08/03/converting-a-brigham-voyageur-109-into-a-churchwarden/). The pipe is an apple shaped bowl that is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Brigham [over] Voyageur [over] 109 Italy in a smooth panel on the rusticated bowl and shank. The shank end had nicks and chips but was in fair condition. There was no stem with the bowl. The stem would have had the lighter weight nylon system tenon since the pipe is one of the Italian made Brighams. It was another one of the fellow’s pipe finds on a recent pipe hunt in Vancouver. The rusticated finish had almost a scale like rustication pattern with flecks of paint in the finish. The rim top was damaged and was darkened toward the back of the bowl. The finish was very dirty and there was a thick cake in the bowl. When I first received the bowl from the fellow we talked about replacing the missing stem with an original Brigham stem. I talked with Charles Lemon and he sent me a stem blank and an aluminum system shank for the Brigham. When it arrived, I talked with the Vancouver fellow about that and together we concluded that a churchwarden stem might look good on it. I ordered some from JH Lowe and found that they only have one diameter size stem. I ordered it and when it arrived it was significantly smaller in diameter than the shank. I had an interesting copper ferrule that I thought might work to provide a different look to the pipe and provide a way of using the smaller diameter churchwarden stem. I slipped the ferrule on the shank and put the stem partially in place in the mortise and took the following photos to send to the fellow to see what he thought. He liked it so I moved forward with the restoration of the bowl and the fitting of the stem. I am including the cleanup description of the work on the bowl as it adds to the story of the next stage of the creation of the new Frankenpipe.I slipped the ferrule off the shank and took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is very clear and readable. I sanded the shank to smooth it out for fitting the ferrule. I cleaned out the inside of the shank with a dental spatula to remove the heavy tar buildup on the shank walls. The shank was ready for the new ferrule.I used a heat gun to heat the copper ferrule and pressed it onto the shank end. I repeated the process until it was set on the shank as far as I wanted it to be. To remove the paint flecks on the rusticated finish on the bowl I scrubbed it with a brass bristle wire brush and used a dental pick to remove the flecks. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the dust and debris from the finish. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Piper Reamer using the first two cutting heads to remove the majority of the cake. I cleaned up the remnants on the walls of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I used a dowel wrapped with sandpaper to sand down the walls on the bowl. I cleaned out the airway in both the bowl and stem with alcohol (99% isopropyl), pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until they were clean on the inside.When I restored the pipe originally I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I also polished the smooth portions of the rustication with the micromesh pads at the same time. I rubbed down the briar with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips and finished working it in with a shoe brush. The balm worked to clean, preserve and enliven the surface of the finish on the small bowl. The briar was coming alive so I took some photos of the pipe at this point. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed the bowl with a shoe brush.

I finished the stem as well and put it in the shank of the pipe. I took photos of it to show the look of the Church Warden that we had designed.The fellow smoked the pipe and enjoyed for a while but decided the Church Warden was not for him. We tried different stems and looks but, in the end, it came back to me. It has been here in a small box on the shelf behind my desktop. I had several stems in the box along with the last stem I had fashioned for it a few years ago. Today I decided it was time to work on it again and finish crafting a new Frankenpipe. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. The rim top was and inner edge showed darkening and damage. The bowl was nicked and out of round. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the stem surface. There were marks and chatter on the stem ahead of the button on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank side. It read as noted above. When I had placed the copper ferrule earlier I was careful to not cover the stamping on the shank… surprising as I usually don’t worry about that when I am crafting a new pipe from a damaged bowl.I took photos of the elongated tenon on the stem that I crafted for the pipe. I wanted to not use a Brigham system filter so I worked to make a long tenon that left a small gap between the entrance of the airway into the bowl and shank end. It functioned quite well.Now it was time to rework the bowl and rim. I started by cleaning up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I gently topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove some of the rim damage.I used a wooden ball and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around it to give the inner edge of the bowl a bevel to help minimize the burn damage on the briar.I touched the stain on the rim top with a Walnut stain pen to blend it into the surface of the briar. I let it dry before I polished it with micromesh sanding pads.I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sadded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down between the pads with a damp cloth. With that finished the bowl was very clean and the sandblast looked great. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on both sides of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter and as expected I was not able to lift them at all. I filled in the tooth marks with clear CA glue and let the cure. I flattened out the repairs with a small file to start blending them in. I sanded the areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper, though I forgot to take photos of this part of the process. 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 to give the sanding pads some bite. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to keep the stem from oxidizing as quickly. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in making Frankenpipes I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when newly fashioned Brigham Voyageur 109 Apple is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the replacement stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the newly fit 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 depths of the rustication come alive with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl. This Frankenpipe Brigham Voyageur Frankenpipe with a copper ferrule and modified Freehand stem was fun to create. It really is a quite stunning looking creation. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.73 ounces/49 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Canadian 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.