by Steve Laug

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

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

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

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