by Kenneth Lieblich

I was intrigued about this pipe as soon as I saw it. The pipe is a beautiful GBD Virgin 347 apple, with an aluminum shank extension and a tapered, Perspex stem. I hadn’t seen one quite like this and I asked Steve about it. His exact words were, “Never seen anything like it”. Hmm. We wondered if this could be someone’s aftermarket experiment, but I’m not so sure. The extension fits perfectly and seems to have been precisely designed for the stummel. Regardless, it’s a very attractive pipe, with gorgeous grain. It also has wonderful drilling and feels great in the hand. Let’s look at the marks. The left side of the shank reads, GBD [over] Virgin. The right side of the shank reads London England [over] 347. Virgin is one of the higher-end lines from GBD and the 347 is designated as a straight apple shape (no bend), with a round taper stem. Well, that’s what we’ve got here!Please take a moment to read Pipedia’s article on GBD – it’s quite thorough and provides lots of useful information. You can find that link here. Meanwhile, here are some examples of 347s from some old GBD catalogues. Let’s investigate the condition of the pipe. The stem has some serious bite marks (i.e. dents) in it, but otherwise it’s in good shape. The shank extension has only the merest hint of wear, but is a bit dirty. The stummel has some wear. It’s quite dirty, has some cake on the rim (and some minor burn marks), and has a groove in the wood. I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the Perspex. This was done by filling those divots with clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. I left this to cure.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the Perspex. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the Perspex, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, clear shine to the stem when I was done. I also polished up the shank extension with some micromesh pads. This turned out beautifully. I deliberately didn’t sand the shank extension’s tenon, as it fit snuggly in the shank’s mortise.I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a pipe knife and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. There actually wasn’t much in there.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and distilled water, with cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Having completed that, I was able to address the notable groove on the bowl. I dug out my iron and a damp cotton flannel cloth. By laying the cloth over the affected areas and applying the iron to it, the hot and moist steam can cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was considerable improvement, as you can see in the before-and-after photos. The mark still remained to some extent, but was much better. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I also took a solid wooden sphere, wrapped a piece of 400-grit sandpaper around it, and sanded the inner edge of the rim. This achieved two things: first, it removed some of the burn marks; and second (and more importantly), the circular shape and motion of the sphere gradually returned the edge to a perfect circle. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.This GBD Virgin 347 Apple looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘British’ pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6½ in. (165 mm); height 1¾ in. (44 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¾ oz. (52 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.