Tag Archives: fitting a stem

Restoring a Gift Brigham 595S Zulu – A new stem and a new look

4 Replies

I wrote earlier in a blog post about helping a Bill Tonge with the stamping on a Brigham pipe that he had picked up. He had told me that the stamping was 5955 on the underside of the shank. He said he had called Brigham and that they had told him that number was not on their shape charts. He had hit a dead-end. We connect on Twitter so he contacted me and asked for help. I thought I would give it a try to see what I could find out about the pipe. I Googled and read various online pipe forums where information was given. I searched for Brigham shape and numbering charts and old catalogues. Nothing helped. Then I decided to go to the Brigham site itself and go through the layers of information there and see what I could dig up. I was certain the clue to the mystery had to be there. It was just a matter of spending the time reading through the layers of information there to see what could be found.

Using this information I took the number that was given to me – 5955 stamped on the bottom of the pipe’s shank – as my starting place. The first number in the stamp denoted the series (1 to 7). Thus the pipe was a 500 series pipe. The next 2 numbers indicated the shape number which in this case was 95. I am assuming that is the shape number for the Zulu or yachtsman shape of this pipe. Summarizing what I had learned so far – I now knew what the first three digits in the stamping meant. The “595” indicated a 500 series pipe in shape #95. Reading further I found that a letter could follow the numbers in the stamp – particularly on older pipes. The letter indicated the size of the bowl. Thus the letter S = small, M = medium, ML = medium/large, L = large. I wrote the questioner and asked him to magnify the stamping on his pipe. Sure enough, the pipe was a 595S – the final stamp was the letter S, making this pipe a 500 series Zulu with a Small bowl. Mystery solved on this one.

I sent him the information and shortly later received a tweet from him that he was sending the pipe to me. He thought I would enjoy working on it and seeing what I could do with it. It arrived here in Vancouver yesterday and I opened the box Bill had sent. Inside were quite a few samples of English tobaccos that he was passing on to me, a nylon Falcon style pipe that Bill had refinished and the old Brigham Zulu. The smells were divine and I am looking forward to enjoying Bill’s generosity. But last evening I had to get started on the old pipe. I had a Brigham 5 dot stem in my stem can that I had scavenged from a friend who had a Brigham that he converted to a church warden. He did not want the saddle style stem so he gave it to me. Being the scavenger that I am I have had it in the can for about 15 years. Last night it met the pipe that it would grace.

Before I worked on the fit of the new stem I took some pictures of the pipe when it arrived. The pipe was definitely a Brigham, stamping and finish said that clearly. The stem was not a Brigham stem. It was a poorly made replacement stem. It was larger in diameter than the shank and bulged as it moved away from the shank. The finish on the stem was rough and the fit was poor. The rubber had a different feel to it than most of the vulcanite stems I have worked with. It was very thick at the bit and was not a comfortable stem to hold in the mouth. The tenon was definitely not a Brigham tenon. At first it looked to have been cut off but upon closer examination it was clear that the back part of the tenon was like a Dr. Grabow or Medico filter tenon with the slits on the sides that allowed the tenon to be widened to fit tighter in the shank. Into that tenon someone had inserted a piece of aluminum tubing that had walls that were approximately twice as thick as the aluminum used in the Brigham tenon. When I tried to fit the Brigham filter in, which should have fit nicely in even a cut off tenon, it did not fit. All of that confirmed my suspicions that the tenon was a repair replacement. IMG_8038 IMG_8039 The finish on the bowl was dirty and the grooves were plugged with an oily build up almost to the point that the Brigham rustication was smoothed over. The bowl was slightly out of round with some burn damage on the inner rim at the back left and right sides of the bowl. The cake in the bowl was quite heavy and smelled of good heavy latakia tobacco. It was uneven and I wanted to do some work on the inner rim and try to bring it back as close to round as I could so I would need to ream the bowl back to the wood to do that work. IMG_8040 The stamping on the underside of the bowl is worn but legible. The Brigham stamp is identifiable as 595S and next to that is a patent number that is almost illegible but I think it reads Can. Pat. 372982 which is the same patent number as one of my older Brighams. The Brigham logo is stamped over Made in Canada and is next to the patent number. IMG_8041 I removed the stem from the bowl, reamed it and cleaned the outer surface with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I use the soap undiluted and scour until the surface is clean and then rinse it off with running water. I keep the water out of the inside of the bowl and shank. IMG_8022 IMG_8023 IMG_8024 IMG_8025 I cleaned out the inside of the bowl and shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. Once I had the majority of the tarry buildup out of the shank I found that the metal end of the hard maple filter had broken off inside the shank and was stuck against the airway. I examined the airway from the inside of the bowl and poked at it with a dental pick. I soon found that the airway was clogged at the side of the bowl with a tarry, oily buildup. I picked it free and found the airway very open and quite large. I was able to carefully turn a drill bit by hand into the shank and catch the metal of the end cap and draw it out of the shank. I then scoured the shank with alcohol until all the cleaners came out white.

I then cleaned the inside of the 5 dot stem that I had and fit it into the shank of the pipe. It fit well and actually had an interestingly look (IMHO). It was oxidized and needed work but it fit. The shank was still very tight at the end so I was not able to get the maple filter to fit in the tenon and still fit tightly against the shank. I have to do a bit more work opening the far end of the mortise to accommodate that. The next series of four photos show the 5 dot stem and give a rough idea of the look of the pipe at this point. IMG_8029 IMG_8032 IMG_8034 IMG_8035 I took the next three photos of the two stems side by side to show see the difference in diameter of the stems and the difference in shape of the two tenons. In the first photo the top stem is the replacement one and the bottom is the original Brigham made stem. The second and third photos show an end view of the two different tenons side by side. The one on the left is the replacement tenon and the one on the right is the original Brigham. Note the difference in diameter of the inner circle of the opening and the thickness of the walls of the tube in both tenons. The maple filter tube fit tightly in the replacement stem with no allowance for air to flow around the tube. It was shorter as well so the filter would not have been used with the replacement stem. IMG_8042 IMG_8043 IMG_8044 To start the cleanup on the oxidized stem I decided to use the Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 scratch remover on the stem. It works quite well to remove some of the surface oxidation. I let it dry before buffing it off with a soft cloth. IMG_8045 The deeper oxidation still remained so I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and medium and fine grit sanding sponges. I followed up with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads and a final rub down at the end. IMG_8047 IMG_8050 IMG_8051 Once the Obsidian Oil had dried I buffed the pipe with White Diamond and then gave the bowl a light coat of carnauba wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed in between with a soft flannel buff to polish each coat. The finished pipe is shown below. I am looking forward to firing it up with one of the good English tobaccos that Bill sent along. Thanks again Bill for the great addition to my collection. IMG_8059 IMG_8060 IMG_8061 IMG_8062

Restoring and restemming a second Television Pipe – a Prince

5 Replies

The second Television Pipe I received was a prince shape bowl without a stem. From the previous post I found out that it was an English Brand with a long stem. The brand was sold by A. Grunfield Co. and was produced by Gasparini. That bit of information came from Jose Manuel Lopes – Pipes Artisans and Trademarks. The bowl had a thick coat of varnish and a large fill on the front of the bowl. It appeared to be a deep fill and went from the top edge of the rim down about a third of the bowl. It did not go all the way through the briar to the bowl itself. There was also a smaller fill on the bottom of the bowl near the shank bowl junction. The grain was very mixed. On the back side and on the left and right sides there was some nice straight grain. The front of the bowl looked bald with the fill in the middle. The rim had a tarry buildup and was rough. The bowl had an uneven cake on the inside. Since there was no stem with the pipe and I did not have any church warden stems on hand I had some choices to make on the stem. I had a vulcanite stem and a clear Lucite stem that had potential. They were both longer than a typical prince stem but still not a church warden style. IMG_7880 IMG_7881 IMG_7883 I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the varnish and the grit that was in the finish. IMG_7885 IMG_7887 I set up my topping board and 220 grit sandpaper to top the bowl and smooth out the surface. With the fill going from the rim down the side I wanted to clean off the surface to see what repairs would need to be done. IMG_7888 Once the top was cleaned off the fill looked like it was a crack that ran from the inside to the outside of the bowl. Upon examination with a loupe I could see that it was not a crack but the edges of the putty fill. I decided not to remove the fill at this point as I did not want to destabilize the bowl so I left it. IMG_7889 I reamed the cake back with a PipNet reamer. IMG_7890 I decided to use the clear Lucite stem that I had so I turned the tenon down with the PIMO Tenon Turning Tool on a cordless drill. IMG_7891 I fine tuned the fit in the shank with 220 grit sandpaper. The diameter of the stem was wider than that of the shank so I sanded it with 150 grit sandpaper to bring it down in size. IMG_7892 When I got it close to the proper diameter I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to smooth out the scratches in the Lucite. I sanded the shank to match so I had a smooth transition. I intended to restain the pipe any way so this was not a real problem. I liked the overall look of the new stem and with a slight bend it would look like a long stemmed prince. IMG_7893 IMG_7894 IMG_7896 The Lucite stem did not have a slot carved in the end – merely a drilled airway so that I would need to use needle files to open and shape it into a funnel. The next four photos show the progress of the shaping of the slot. I apologize for the blurriness of the last two photos but they do give a rough idea of the shape of the slot at this point. IMG_7898 IMG_7899 IMG_7902 IMG_7903 To bend the stem I set up my heat gun and heated the Lucite until it was pliable and then bent it over my rolling pin. It took a few tries to get the bend that I wanted but eventually I set it with cool water. IMG_7904 IMG_7905 IMG_7906 The next series of five photos show the bend in the stem. I still needed to do some sanding on the underside of the bend to thin it and shape it more cleanly. The angle appears a little abrupt but some sanding and shaping would take care of that. I also rubbed down the bowl with a cloth and olive oil to darken the briar to get a better idea of the grain patterns. I often use this method to show the grain but I am careful to not put too much oil on it. IMG_7907 IMG_7908 IMG_7909 IMG_7910 IMG_7911 To polish the inside of the stem/airway I used a pipe cleaner dipped in Bar Keepers Friend (a cleanser). I have found that the grit of the cleanser polishes the inside of the airway. IMG_7912 IMG_7913 I sanded the stem to thin it on the top and on the underside of the bend with 220 grit sandpaper and when it was an even taper I sanded it with medium and fine grit sanding sponges. I sanded with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. IMG_7915 IMG_7916 IMG_7917 I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond to raise the shine. I put cotton balls in the bowls of the prince and the other Television pipe and used an ear syringe to put isopropyl alcohol in them to draw out the tars and oils of the tobacco. I set them in an old ice cube tray overnight. In the morning the alcohol had drawn out a lot of oils and the cotton was dark. I removed the cotton and cleaned the bowl and shank with cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. IMG_7918 IMG_7919 IMG_7952 I rubbed down the bowl with some walnut stain in a Danish Oil and put it on a cork to dry. I know that many may question the use of linseed oil on pipe bowls but I use it sparingly on a few specific pipes that I want to give protection. In the case of this particular pipe, the large fill in the front seemed like it needed the extra protection. IMG_7959 IMG_7961 IMG_7962 I buffed the finished pipe with White Diamond and gave the bowl and stem several coats of carnauba wax to protect it. I buffed it with a soft flannel buff to give it a shine. The finished pipe is shown below. It is drying on a pipe stand to let any residual alcohol from the cotton ball and alcohol soak to evaporate. After than it will be given an inaugural smoke to make sure the draw is correct and the stem is comfortable. Who knows I may even reheat the stem and experiment some more with the bend. IMG_7967 IMG_7968 IMG_7969 IMG_7970

Restoring and restemming the first of two Television pipes – a Pot

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The first Television pipe of the two that came to me in a gift box of bowls needing stems was this pot shaped bowl. I had not heard of the brand before so I put a question on the online pipe forums that I frequent and got two responses with information. The first was a link to the Smoking Metal website which has become a standard place I check for metal pipes that I pick up or pipes with screw on bowls. I had not thought of looking on that site as the Television pipes that I had found were regular briar pipes. The link follows and gives a look at a unique Television pipe with a threaded bowl http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=277. The second response came from Jose Manuel Lopes – Pipes Artisans and Trademarks. Lopes states that the brand was sold by A. Grunfield Co. and was produced by Gasparini. They were known to be an English brand with long stems.

The first bowl I had was a pot shape without a stem. Like the second bowl it had a thick coat of varnish. There was a large fill on the right side of the bowl toward the top. It was a putty fill and was lighter than the briar. The grain on the pipe was very mixed. On the back and front of the bowl was cross grain and on the sides was some nice birdseye. The rim had a tarry buildup and a burned area on the back right side of inner rim. The bowl had an uneven cake on the inside. The right side of the shank was stamped Imported Briar over Italy and the left side was stamped TELEVISION. The second pipe bore identical stamping. There were no shape numbers on either bowl or shank. Both pipes had a broken tenon in the shank. IMG_7559 IMG_7562 IMG_7561 I used a wood screw I keep around for pulling out the broken tenons. I screw it in by hand and the wiggle it until it comes out. I removed the broken tenon from both of the pipe shanks while I was at it. IMG_7563 IMG_7564 I found a vulcanite stem in my can of stems that would work with the pipe and make it a standard pot shape pipe and stem. I turned the tenon on the PIMO Tenon Turning Tool until it was close and then fine tuned the fit with 220 grit sandpaper. The diameter of the stem was larger than that of the shank so I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to match the two. IMG_7780 IMG_7784 IMG_7785 IMG_7794 I decided to replace the large ugly fill on the right side of the bowl. It was a light brown/pink colour and stood out from the rest of a decently grained pipe. I picked it out with a dental pick and found that underneath the surface it was a white hard putty. IMG_7786 IMG_7788 There was also a fill on the underside of the bowl that I picked out and one on the rim. I decided to top the bowl to see how close to the side fill the top one was. I set up the sanding board and topped the bowl. Once it was topped I could see the fill on the rim and I decided to leave it as it was close to the inner edge of the bowl. IMG_7790 IMG_7791 I wiped off the surface of the bowl with isopropyl alcohol and spent time scrubbing the large fill on the side of the bowl. I then took some briar dust that I had and began to work on the patching material for the hole. I poured some Fiebings Dark Brown stain into the briar dust and mixed it until the briar dust was evenly stained a dark brown. IMG_7792 IMG_7793 photo b I then mixed in some Weldbond multipurpose white glue into the stained briar dust. Once it began clumping I worked it into a dough and kneaded in the briar dust until it was evenly mixed. photo c photo f The mixture was tacky but not wet. I tamped it into the two repairs on the bowl, the bottom and the left side. I pushed it down into the deep parts of both fills with a dental pick and a pipe nail. photo e photo i When the patch had cured overnight it looked like the photo below. It was a solid bump on the side of the bowl. It took a lot of sanding with 180 grit sandpaper and 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the footprint of the patch and level it with the surface of the briar. The next series of photos show the process of sanding the patch. IMG_7797 IMG_7800 IMG_7805 IMG_7810 I also sanded the shank to smooth out the junction of the stem and the shank at the same time I worked on sanding the patch. I used 220 grit sandpaper and then sanded both the bowl and shank with medium and fine grit sanding sponges. IMG_7801 IMG_7803 IMG_7804 IMG_7802 When all the sanded areas were smooth I sanded them again with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-3200 grit pads and dry sanding with 3600-6000 grit pads. When the scratches no longer stood out I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain (same colour I had used in the briar dust patch). I applied the stain and flamed it and repeated until the coverage was even. I wiped the bowl down with acetone and isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to make it less opaque. It took quite a few wipes to get it to the colour I wanted. The next series of photos show the progress of the wipe down. (The stained briar dust and wood glue dough patch did not work well in terms of blending with the briar. It still stood out but now was a dark brown.) IMG_7816 IMG_7818 IMG_7819 photo o photo p I still needed to do more sanding on the bowl – particularly in the area of the patch as it looked grainy. I wanted it to be smooth to the touch so I worked on it with the micromesh sanding pads and tried to blend it in more with the stain on the bowl. I also sanded the bowl and stem with the micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded as usual with 1300-2400 grit pads and 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down between each three grits of pads with Obsidian Oil. IMG_7821 IMG_7824 IMG_7828 I decided to use a walnut stain and boiled linseed oil. I wiped it on the bowl and then wiped it down. I used a cork and candle stand to hold the bowl while I let the linseed oil dry. I put the stem back on the bowl and then buffed both the bowl and stem with White Diamond and gave them multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed with a soft flannel buffing pad between coats of wax to give it a deep shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is ready to load and smoke an inaugural bowl of tobacco by whoever owns it next. IMG_7844 IMG_7845 IMG_7846 IMG_7847

An Elegant New Look for a Forester Pinecrest Chubby Apple

5 Replies

I worked on this chubby apple over the weekend. It was in rough shape when I started the stem had a bite through on the end and was missing a large chunk. It was badly oxidized and dirty. The pipe itself had many fills in the bottom side and small sandpit fills all over the bowl. The rim was dirty and damaged on the inner and outer edge. There were missing pieces from it as well. The finish was absolutely gone but it has some really nice looking grain on it and that is why I picked it up – that and it was a chubby apple which is one of my favourite shapes. The stamping on the left side is FORESTER over Made in England and on the right side reads PINECREST. There was a stinger in the tenon that was tarry and stained. I went digging on the web and could find nothing on the brand of pipe. PipePhil had photos and a question mark as to the maker. No one showed any information as to the manufacturer so this one will remain a mystery.

I have to apologize for the lack of detailed photos of the pipe before and during the initial stages of the refurb. I had some great photos of the pipe before and during these stages but sadly they are no longer available to me. During the course of last evening my dog died in our arms and somehow in the fog of that I erased the majority of the photos of this old timer. So… you will have to take my word for the work that needed to be done.

In the two photos below I show the bowl after I had fit the new stem. I had turned the tenon on my PIMO Tenon Turning Tool and then hand fit it. I had to shorten the tenon as I wanted to be able to use the stinger on the pipe. I sanded the stem and the shank to get a good fit against the shank. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish that remained. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and then hand shaped the inner and outer edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and then medium and fine grit sanding sponges. IMG_7748 IMG_7749 I drilled out the tenon to receive the stinger apparatus and glued it in place with metal and wood glue. With heat it is removable. In the photo below you can see the old stem and the new one. I added about ½ inch of length to the new stem and made the taper more defined. I liked the added length to the stem and thought it would look good with the bowl. IMG_7753 I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. I cleaned it until the swabs came out clean. The pile of pipe cleaners and swabs shown in the photo is about half the number it took to clean this old timer. Normally I would have used a retort but I needed the therapeutic repetitiveness after we buried our old spaniel. IMG_7754 IMG_7755 I inserted the stem part way into the shank so I had something to hold onto while I stained it. I used a dark brown aniline stain and stained, flamed and repeated the process until the coverage was sufficient. I then wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to help the grain stand out through the stain. IMG_7756 IMG_7757 I sanded the stem with fine grit sanding sponges and then with the usual array of micromesh pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and then dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I also sanded the bowl and shank with the higher grades of micromesh from 6000-12,000 grit. IMG_7760 IMG_7761 IMG_7768 Once the bowl was dry I used a black permanent marker and used it to darken the fills – spots and larger ones on the bowl sides and bottom. I then gave the bowl a coat of Danish Oil with a walnut stain in it. I know that using this product bothers some folks but I like the way it seals the black touch ups on the fills and helps to mask them and blend them into the finish. I used a wine cork in a candle holder to hold the bowl until it dried. The grain on this old pipe really pops now and the birdseye and cross grain look quite stunning with the top coat. IMG_7763 IMG_7764 IMG_7765 When the pipe dried I gave it a light buff with White Diamond and buffed the stem more rigorously. I gave the entire pipe a buff with multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed with a soft flannel buff between coats. The finished pipe is shown in the next series of photos below. The new stain and stem give it an attractive and rather elegant look. IMG_7776 IMG_7777 IMG_7778 IMG_7779

A Painful Stem Refitting – a Schowa Briar Selected Billiard

3 Replies

Yet another gift bowl made its way to the work table today. It is stamped Schowa Briar Selected. The brand was one I had never heard of and never seen before. There is little background information on the brand on the internet. What I could find came from Pipephil’s website http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s4.html There I read that the brand belongs to the Schum family who were established in Bad König (Odenwald, Hesse), Germany. The name was a combination of the Schum name and Odenwald. The factory crafted briar and porcelain pipes (Bavarian style). I have no idea on the date or time of the brand. I did find some porcelain examples of their work from the mid to late 1970’s and some nice briar pipes with no dates. They seem to also have carved figurals in briar. That was the extent of information I could find.

This bowl is on the small side with the stamping on the left side of the shank. It was pretty clean internally. The finish was gone and what remained was bare briar. There were several nicks in the sides of the bowl. The inner edge of the rim has some burn damage and there was a burn mark on the front middle top of the rim and inner edge. The back outer edge of the rim had a large divot out of it. The shank was pinched at the end and was out of round. The left side was significantly thinner than the right side. Restemming it was going to be a bit of a challenge in terms of getting a good clean/smooth fit of the shank and stem.
IMG_7619 IMG_7620 IMG_7622 IMG_7623 I found a stem in my stem can that would work with this bowl and sanded the tenon so that it would fit in the shank. The diameter of the stem was larger than the shank and the out of round and pinched shank was going to make getting a proper fit an issue. IMG_7624 IMG_7625 IMG_7626 IMG_7627 IMG_7628 I took down the excess material with a Dremel and sanding drum and then hand sanded with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth things out. I could easily sand about ¾ of the shank to get a smooth fit but the left side stamping made working on that side a challenge. IMG_7630 IMG_7631 IMG_7632 In the photo below of the top of the pipe the indent on the left side is visible. The stem and the shank dip in at the joint and make the fit less than I wanted to achieve. The other three sides were perfect. IMG_7633 I decided to leave the bothersome fit of the stem and work on the bowl. I topped the bowl with my usual method of a sanding board and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the burn damage on the front and the large divot on the back of the rim. I was able to remove most of it with a light topping. The remaining dark spot on the front of the rim would blend in to the stain fairly well. IMG_7634 IMG_7635 I wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish that remain and to prepare the pipe for staining. IMG_7637 IMG_7638 I cleaned out the shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol until the cleaners came out with no colour. IMG_7639 The dip in the left side of the union of the stem and shank bothered me. I took photos of the shank end and the end of the stem to show the degree that they were out of round. These are slightly out of focus but the problem can be seen. The left side of the stem next to the tenon is thinner than the right and the same is true of the shank. The stem is straight and clean edged but the shank is pinched inward. The union of the two would always be slightly pinched on the left. IMG_7640 IMG_7643 I was not happy with the fit but decided to leave it for the moment. I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain (Fiebings) and flamed it. I repeated the process until the coverage was even. I wiped down the bowl and shank with isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to lighten the stain on the bowl and make it less opaque. (In the first photo the troublesome left side joint really stands out.) IMG_7644 IMG_7645 IMG_7646 The joint bothered me enough that I took out a second stem and fit it in the shank. I sanded the outer diameter until it was a close fit to the shank. This time I did not sand the shank any further and avoided the junction on the left side altogether. I decided to focus on keeping the profile of the stem straight and not worry about the pinched end on the left side of the shank. I knew that it would look slightly oversized on the left when finished but I could live with that look. IMG_7671 IMG_7672 IMG_7673 I washed down the bowl when I was finished with isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to clean up the sanding dust from the stem and further lighten the look of the stain on the briar. IMG_7674 IMG_7675 Once I had finished with the bowl I worked on the stem. I sanded it with a medium and find grit sanding sponge to clean up the scratches left behind by the sandpaper and then used micromesh sanding pads to polish it. I wet sanded with 1500-3200 grit pads and dry sanded with 3600-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between the wet and dry sanding and also between each successive group of three grits of micromesh pads. This time the fit on the shank was better though far from flawless. It would work for me though. One day I may well end up banding this pipe but not today. IMG_7676 IMG_7677 IMG_7678 I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond and then gave it repeated coats of carnauba wax to raise a shine and protect the new finish. The finished pipe is shown below. While the stem fit is far from perfect it is now a serviceable pipe and ready for use. IMG_7682 IMG_7683 IMG_7686 IMG_7689

Renewing a 30’s Era KBB Yello-Bole Honey Cured Briar

8 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I just finished restoring and restemming an older Yello-Bole billiard. The bowl was stamped with the KBB (no ampersand) on the left side of the shank and next to it is stamped Yello-Bole in capital letters. Underneath is stamped Honey Cured Briar. On the right side of the shank it is stamped 2068B.
IMG_7566 The bowl was in decent shape. The finish had a heavy coat of varnish over the stain but the briar appeared to be quite nice. I could not find any visible fills in the bowl. There was some good grain under the varnish. The rim had been topped and was rounded and crowned. It still had some scratch marks in the wood and also it was stained in a much lighter colour than the rest of the bowl. The stem was missing. It originally had a push tenon stem as the mortise was not threaded. Fitting a new stem would not be difficult but getting proper look to the stem required that I had some idea of the era of the pipe. That pushed me to do a bit of research. IMG_7567IMG_7570 Since Yello-Bole pipes are one of my favorite older US brands doing the research would be enjoyable. As with other early brands made in the states I have found that older is better. A KBB in a cloverleaf stamp will date them back to the ’30’s. I have found through my reading that the 4 digit shape numbers are older than 2 digit ones. The pipes with the logo on top of the stem are older than ones that have them on the side. That is just some of the information that I found with a cursory read through the forums and a variety of websites.

I found that Kaywoodie would sort shipments of briar and send the culls to be used for Yello-Boles, meaning they got some quality briar. One fellow on the web believes that is why Yello-Bole pipes tend to be smaller over all, working around flaws. He also said that he thinks calling them Kaywoodie seconds is a bit of a misnomer, being that Kaywoodie was one of the largest briar purchasers in the world at the time (’20’s-50’s) and got some fantastic wood.

I came across the SM Frank website http://www.smfrankcoinc.com/home/?page_id=2 and found a wealth of historical information on Kaywoodies, Yello-Boles and the merger between KBB and SM Frank and later Demuth. It was a great read and I would encourage others to give the website a read. The information in the next paragraph was condensed from that site. I found confirmation for the statement above that the Yello-Bole line was an outlet for lower grade briar not used in Kaywoodie production. Yello-Bole’s were introduced in 1932 and manufactured by Penacook, New Hampshire subsidiary, The New England Briar Pipe Company. Advertising from the 1940′s, pictures the Yello-Bole “Honey Girl” and urges the pipe smoker to smoke the pipe with “a little honey in every bowl.” Honey was an ingredient of the material used to line the inside of the bowl. It was said to provide a faster, sweeter break-in of the pipe.

I went hunting further to see if I could find information on establishing dates for Yello-Bole pipes and found that there was not a lot of information other than what I had found above. Then I came across this link to the Kaywoodie Forum: http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/archive/dating-yello-bole-pipes__o_t__t_86.html I quote the information I found there as it gives the only information that I found in my hunt to this point.

“OK so there isn’t a lot of dating information for Yello-Bole pipes but here is what I have learned so far.
– If it has the KBB stamped in the clover leaf it was made 1955 or earlier as they stopped the stamping after being acquired by S.M. Frank.
– From 1933-1936 they were stamped Honey Cured Briar.
– Pipes stems stamped with the propeller logo they were made in the 30s or 40s no propellers were used after the 40s.
– Yello-Bole also used a 4 digit code stamped on the pipe in the 30s.
– If the pipe had the Yello-Bole circle stamped on the shank it was made in the 30s this stopped after 1939.
– If the pipe was stamped BRUYERE rather than briar it was made in the 30s.

That is all I have in my notes right now I don’t have anything on the multitude of stem stampings or any other age indicators. If anyone has more definitive information or other methods of determining date please feel free to post it and I will edit this as I go. I currently have 2 from the 30s and 6 from pre 55 and 2 fairly modern ones.”

One further item was also found on that site. It was just a passing comment in the midst of some information on Kaywoodie pipes. I quote: “The pre-Kaywoodie KB&B pipes were marked on the shank with a cloverleaf around KB&B. Some early Kaywoodies had this same marking on the shank, but the practice was dropped sometime prior to 1936. Yello-Boles also had KBB in the leaf on the shanks, but did not have the ampersand found on Kaywoodies.” (Highlighting is mine)

Given the above information I discovered that the pipe I was working on was made sometime between 1933-1936. It was stamped with the Honey Cured Briar stamping on the shank and had a four digit code. Thus it was an early Yello-Bole from the 1930s. With that information I had a fairly clear idea of what kind of stem I needed to fit to the shank. I looked for photos of the pipe online and found none from that era. So I looked at KW stems to get some sense of what the shape of the stem and the slope of the taper would have been like. I found one the shape I was looking for in my can of stems. It had the right taper and look and after turning the tenon I was able to fit it to the shank. The diameter of the stem was slightly larger than the shank on the top and would need to be sanded until the transition was smooth between the shank and stem. IMG_7577IMG_7578IMG_7579 I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess material on the top side. I sanded the shank to make the transition smooth. I planned on removing the varnish and touching up the stain on the rim anyway so to touch up the shank would not be a problem. I sanded carefully so as not to damage the stamping. IMG_7592IMG_7593IMG_7594IMG_7595 There were some slight ripples in the taper of the stem so I sanded it with a sanding block to smooth out the high points on the taper and even out the line. IMG_7596IMG_7597IMG_7598 I wiped down the bowl with acetone and cotton pads to remove the varnish and some of the stain coat. I always do that when I am going to do a restain on the rim and shank as I find that it makes the new coat of stain much simpler. IMG_7599IMG_7600 I wanted to remove the crown and rounding of the rim and flatten it out. The original bowls did not have a crowned rim but a flat one so I wanted to repair that and bring it back to its original look. I set up a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper and pressed the rim into the sandpaper and sanded the top flat. IMG_7601IMG_7602 I sanded the rim with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge and also with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to prepare it for staining. I stained the bowl, rim and shank with oxblood aniline based stain, flamed and repeated until the coverage was even. I then buffed the pipe with White Diamond. IMG_7604IMG_7605IMG_7606IMG_7608 I sanded the stem with medium and fine grit sanding pads once again and then sanded it with the micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and when it had dried took the pipe to the buffer. IMG_7609IMG_7610IMG_7611 I buffed the pipe with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax, buffing with a flannel buff between the coats. The finished 1930’s era pipe is shown below ready to be loaded and enjoyed for another 80 years. The stain does a great job highlighting the grain on this little pipe. It came out looking like new. The stamping stands out and is still sharp. The stem tapers just right to my liking. It is finished and waiting. Now the only decision left is what tobacco to use to break it in once again. IMG_7613IMG_7617IMG_7615IMG_7616

A Malibu Bent Billiard by Savinelli Restemmed and Restored.

1 Reply

The next pipe from the gift box of bowls was a bent billiard stamped MALIBU on the left side of the shank and Italy on the underside. There is no other stamping on the pipe. I searched the internet for information on the brand and also looked in the book Who Made That Pipe and there found that the pipe was made by Savinelli. I emailed Savinelli but have not yet received a confirmation of that information. I will update this post as soon as I hear from them. In the meantime I worked on the bowl. It was in decent shape though covered by a thick varnish coat that gave it a perma-shine. The bowl and shank were dirty but had not been smoked enough to build up a cake or tars. The rim was in excellent shape and the finish other than being very plastic looking was clean. In the first photo below you can see the two large fills that were on the bowl and shank on the left side. The first is on the side of the bowl, just ahead and below the bend. The second is on the shank next to and below the stamping. They seemed to have taken the stain and though they are visible are not a bright pink. There was no stem with the pipe so I found the one in the photo below that would fit the shank with a little work.
IMG_7519
I turned the tenon down with a PIMO Tenon Turning Tool and then sanded some of the seams that still showed on the side of the bowl. The diameter was very close to being the same – I had to make a few adjustments on the top and the right side to get a seamless fit.
IMG_7520

IMG_7521

IMG_7522

IMG_7523
I sanded the stem in place and sanded the shank at the same time. I needed to remove the varnish coat anyway so I figured it would be okay to sand the shank at the same time. I did not want to reduce the size of the shank – merely that of the stem and then match them. I find that if I do that with the stem off the shank it is easy to round the edges of the stem. With it in place and using a sanding block I can get a smooth transition. I also work to restain the sanded area of the shank to match the bowl.
IMG_7524

IMG_7525

IMG_7526

IMG_7527
Once the transition was smooth I wiped down the bowl with acetone to remove the varnish coat. It took some scrubbing with acetone wet cotton pads. I was finally able to break through the finish with the acetone.
IMG_7528

IMG_7529

IMG_7530
I sanded the bowl and shank, carefully avoiding the stamping, with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. I sanded the entire bowl and shank and then wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to remove the sanding dust.
IMG_7531

IMG_7532
I sanded the stem with the same sanding sponges and removed the majority of the scratches left behind by the sandpaper. I set up a heat gun and heated the stem to soften it so I could bend it. When it was pliable I bent it over a rolling pin with a hard cardboard tube over it to smooth out the wood. I bend it until the stem looks right with the bend in the shank and then use cool water to set the bend.
IMG_7533

IMG_7538

IMG_7539
With the bend set I took it back to the worktable to sand the bowl to even out the existing finish and the stem.
IMG_7541

IMG_7542

IMG_7543

IMG_7544
I stained the bowl with a medium brown aniline stain, flamed it and repeated the process. I sanded the stem with the usual battery of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads and then as a final rub down once I had buffed the stem with White Diamond. I buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond and then gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax – buffing with a soft flannel buff between coats of wax. The finished pipe is shown below. The fills on the left side are still visible but the blend into the bowl is quite good. It is tolerable. The pipe is cleaned, refinished and ready for the rack of the next pipe man who will smoke it.
IMG_7551

IMG_7565

IMG_7552

IMG_7553

New Life for an old KBB Doc Watson Dublin

Leave a reply

Yet another of the gift bowls was on the work table today. It a delicate Dublin shaped bowl that is stamped on the top of the oval shank with KBB in the cloverleaf and next that Doc Watson in an arc over Italian Bruyere. There are no other stampings on the bowl or shank. I was intrigue to work on this old pipe as Doc Watson was one of my favourite musician/singers. I enjoy his guitar playing and singing. I have no idea if this pipe is connected to him in any way but the name brought back memories of small concerts when I lived in Southern California. The finish was dirty and the briar darkened on the left and right side of the bowl where it was held in the hands. Oils and soil from the hands of the previous smoker had darkened the bowl. It had a dark oxblood stain that hid the grain of the briar. There was a small nick on the bottom front of the bowl that did not go too deep into the briar. The rim was darkened and had a buildup carbon and oils that would need to be cleaned. The bowl had a light uneven cake and the shank was dirty.
IMG_7445

IMG_7446

IMG_7447

IMG_7448
I had a new oval Lucite stem in my stem can that would work well for this bowl. The slot in the button had not been cut or shaped. The diameter of the stem was slightly larger than the shank so it would need to be shaped. The tenon was too longer so it would need to be shortened to fit in the shank.
IMG_7449

IMG_7450
I used a Dremel to sand the diameter of the tenon and shorten it. When I had the fit close I sanded it by hand to assure a snug fit in the shank.
IMG_7451

IMG_7453
I initially sanded the excess diameter on the stem with the Dremel and a sanding drum. I followed that by sanding with 150 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and bring it closer to matching the stem. I When I had the fit close I sanded the shank and stem together with 220 grit sandpaper to make the transition absolutely smooth.
IMG_7454

IMG_7486

IMG_7487

IMG_7488

IMG_7489
I wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish. I find that when I break down the stain I can actually bleed it into the sanded portion of the shank. This colours the shank and makes it easier to apply the next coat to the whole bowl.
IMG_7490

IMG_7491

IMG_7492

IMG_7493
I sanded the bowl and shank with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. Then wiped it down a final time with isopropyl alcohol.
IMG_7494
I stained the bowl with a oxblood aniline stain, flamed it and repeated the process. It covered the pipe very well.
IMG_7495

IMG_7496
When it had dried I buffed the pipe with White Diamond to polish it. The bowl was ready to be buffed with carnauba but I waited until I had worked on the stem then I would buff them together.
IMG_7499

IMG_7500

IMG_7501

IMG_7502
I sanded the stem with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads. I then worked on the slot. I wanted to have a wide open oval slot in the button so I used needle files to open the airway in the end of the stem. I used flat, round and oval files to open it and then a folded piece of sandpaper to polish after filing.
IMG_7503

IMG_7504

IMG_7507

IMG_7509

IMG_7512
I dry sanded the stem and the end of the button with 3200-12,000 grit pads. To remove some of the scratches left on the button I also started again and wet sanded with the 1500-2400 grit pads. When I had finished sanding I polished it with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. The Oil does not soak in like it does on vulcanite but provides a lubricant that works well when I buff the Lucite stem with White Diamond.
IMG_7513

IMG_7514
I buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax, polishing it with a clean flannel buff between coats. When finished the pipe looks like it must have the day it left the KBB factory. It is cleaned, restored and ready to smoke. The finished pipe is shown below.
IMG_7515

IMG_7516

IMG_7517

IMG_7518

A Non-descript Old Bowl turns out to be a Worthwhile Peterson

1 Reply

In the gift box that I received there was an old worn bowl that had a thick coat of grime on the finish. The shank was cracked and had been repaired but still showed. There was stamping on the shank but it was illegible without magnification. The bowl had been reamed but was out of round. It had been topped at some point but had not been flattened it had an odd crown and was quite a bit lighter than the rest of the bowl. The briar itself was quite nice under the grime. The right side of the bowl had some birdseye grain while the rest was mixed grain. The rim also had birdseye grain on it. I used a magnifying glass to look at the stamping – low and behold it was stamped Peterson’s (with a forked P) over Kapet on the left side of the shank. It was faint but clearly readable with light and magnification. The right side was even more worn but I was able to make out that it was stamped Made in London England. The shape number was not readable. There was not a stem with the bowl but I had one that would work in my box of stems.
IMG_7455
I cleaned up the shank area with a wipe down with acetone on a cotton pad. I wanted to avoid covering the remaining stamping with the band but wanted a band that would strengthen the repair that had been made to the cracked shank. I heat the band and pressed it into place on the shank. I also sanded the tenon on the stem so that it would fit the shank.
IMG_7456

IMG_7457
With the new band in place I cleaned up the tenon and pushed the stem into the shank. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter and also to adjust the diameter of the stem at the band. I wanted it to fit evenly against the band so that looking at the pipe from the end view there would we equal silver all the way around the stem junction.
IMG_7458

IMG_7459

IMG_7460

IMG_7461
When I had the fit against the shank and band correct I sanded the stem with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to clean up the scratch marks. I also used a folded piece of sandpaper to work on the inner edge of the rim to bring it back to round. I wiped down the bowl with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the grit and buildup on the bowl and lighten the bowl to match the current colour of the rim. Even though I would later end up topping the bowl I knew that the lightening of the stain would make the restain much simpler.
IMG_7462

IMG_7463

IMG_7464
I cleaned the inside of the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol until the cleaners went in and came out the same colour. The photo below shows some of the building pile of cleaners that were used to get the pipe clean.
IMG_7465
I set up the topping board and 220 grit sandpaper and twisted the rim into the sandpaper until I had the top of the bowl flat once again. I took out the rounded/crowned rim that had been done earlier and squared it up with sharp edges once more.
IMG_7466

IMG_7467
I sanded the rim with the sanding sponges and also with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratches. I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain with several more applications of stain to the rim to achieve a match with the bowl. I applied, flamed and repeated the process of staining until I got an even coverage on the bowl and rim.
IMG_7468

IMG_7469

IMG_7470
To make the stain less opaque I washed it down with alcohol on cotton pads. I wanted to remove enough of the stain to make the grain visible.
IMG_7471

IMG_7472

IMG_7473
I sanded the bowl with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to further lighten things. I buffed the bowl with White Diamond, while avoiding the light stamping. I rubbed the bowl down with a light coat of olive oil. The result was exactly what I was aiming for. The reddish brown tint of the briar came through beautifully.
IMG_7474

IMG_7475

IMG_7476

IMG_7477
I sanded the stem with the medium and fine grit sanding sponges and then went on to sand with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 150-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each of the three groups of micromesh pads. The Oil penetrates deeply into the vulcanite and makes the sanding simpler. The oil that sits below the surface lubricates the surface and the micromesh cuts into the vulcanite to clean up the scratches.
IMG_7478

IMG_7479

IMG_7480
I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil and when it dried I buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond. I gave both multiple coats of carnauba wax and between the coats I buffed it with a soft flannel buff. I hand buffed the bowl with a shoe brush. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is not a large pipe – a mere 5 ½ inches long and 1 3/8 inches tall. The bowl is in good condition and cleaned and ready to smoke. This should make a great little Virginia pipe.
IMG_7481

IMG_7483

IMG_7484

IMG_7485

One Just for Fun: A New Frankenpipe – Combining a Few Parts to Craft a Rustic Pipe

2 Replies

In the box of gift bowls that came to me were a few that I could fiddle with and see what I could come up with. There were no stems for these items so it was a blank slate to work on. The first of these was an old rustic bowl. As I looked at it I could see some possibilities for this old bowl. The bowl had a decent cake on the walls and there were no cracks in the piece of wood. It was like an old branch of cherrywood. The bark had been peeled and the top roughly carved. The bottom of the bowl was rounded. Internally the bowl bottom was flat and sound. The airway entered the bowl precisely on the bottom. There was a drilled airway on the side of the bowl that looked like it probably had a long stick for a shank and stem – possibly a reed stem.
IMG_7394

IMG_7395
I did not have a reed stem or a wooden shank to insert in the bowl but I did have an old vulcanite long stem that would work. The tenon had been tapered down and it had a slight saddle that gave it a unique look.
IMG_7393
I sanded the taper and reduced the diameter of the end of the stem/tenon. I sanded it until it fit snug in the hole in the bowl. I sanded it with 150 and 220 sandpaper to shape the stem and clean up the fit. I sanded it with a medium and a fine grit sandpaper to remove the scratches left behind by the sandpaper.
IMG_7396
I have a briar shank piece left over from other work I had done and for a short time considered inserting that between the bowl and the stem. I laid it out to see what it would look like and did not like the look so I set it aside for a later project.
IMG_7397
I turned the stem directly into the bowl and checked on the fit. The short tenon end on the stem was the precise depth of the hole in the side of the bowl. That made the fit perfect.
IMG_7398
I decided to glue in the stem with wood glue rather than leaving it a pressure fit stem. I decided the look would be similar to a mini-church warden cob and the fixed stem would work well with this particular bowl. I put the glue on the tenon and pressed it into place. I wiped up the spill over and wiped it down with a cotton pad to clean the briar and vulcanite surfaces.
IMG_7399
I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. The look of the pipe was quite acceptable.
IMG_7401

IMG_7402
I gave the bowl a thin coat of medium brown aniline stain, flamed it and buffed it. The finished pipe is shown below. Now I need to get a straw hat and use it as a yard pipe. It should work well as a pipe that will not leave any worry when I am working in the garden or mowing the lawn. It will be a good pipe to smoke while sitting and reading on my front porch.
IMG_7414

IMG_7413

IMG_7411

IMG_7412