Tag Archives: Isle of Man Pipes

Restoring an Unusual Meerschaum with a Bamboo Shank

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by Kenneth Lieblich

I was pleasantly surprised to find this pipe recently at a local thrift shop. The thrift shops around here don’t usually carry tobacco pipes and, those that do, normally offer nothing but the dregs of the pipe world. In this case, I found a charming, simple, and beautiful billiard pipe. The bowl is made of block meerschaum, the shank is made of bamboo, and the tapered stem is made of vulcanite. Its seemingly conventional design belies a slightly enigmatic history. I must admit, I am tempted to keep this one in my own collection, but maybe one of you will talk me into selling it. The only marks on this pipe are underneath the bowl, and read Genuine Block [over] Meerschaum. Annoyingly, there were no marks on the stem, shank, or anywhere else. Having said that, however, it did lead me to think that this pipe was manufactured on the Isle of Man. I have restored a few pipes from the Isle of Man and Steve has restored countless pipes from there. In a recent blog post, Steve wrote the following:

My research on the origins of [this pipe] can be summarized like this: It was made with African Meerschaum from the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation and produced by Laxey Pipe Ltd. on the Isle of Man.Here is some information from Pipedia about meerschaum production on the Isle of Man:

Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

 Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipes Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distributed by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meerschaum from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipes Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.Despite the paucity of maker’s marks on my pipe, the style of the marks that are there leads me to believe that this is a Manx-made pipe. One major detail that made me harrumph a bit was the bamboo shank. I wasn’t familiar with Laxey making bamboo shanked pipes. Steve commented that the pipe was not unlike pipes from the Kaywoodie Mandarin line of bamboo-shanked pipes. Again, however, as far as I know, the Mandarin line never included meerschaum. Steve asserts, however, that Kaywoodie did produce a bamboo-meerschaum pipe. Here is an example of an unbranded bamboo meer found on eBay. Not only does the pipe have no identifying marks, but the seller had no information either.The combination of meerschaum and bamboo in pipes is certainly not unprecedented in the 21st century. For example, one can find some spectacular examples from Walt Cannoy, Ryan Alden, and the famous Turkish maker, Said Altınay. Here is a beautiful example from him:As a side note, Altınay’s website includes an interesting note on the history of bamboo in pipemaking. I provide a brief quotation:

Bamboo began appearing in briar pipe construction in the early 20th century. The earliest known pioneer of this style is believed to be Sixten Ivarsson, the Danish pipe-making legend, who introduced bamboo shanks in the mid-1900s as both an aesthetic and practical innovation. The concept soon spread, embraced by artisans such as Tom Eltang, Tokutomi, and Takahiro Hibi, who elevated the use of bamboo into a form of fine art. Its appeal was twofold: the natural lightweight strength and the distinctive, organic appearance. While traditional briar offered durability and familiarity, bamboo introduced character, contrast, and subtle resilience — giving each pipe a unique signature.

Obviously, the pipe I found is not on the order of a Cannoy, Alden, or Altınay! But I also feel comfortable in saying that this pipe is a lot older than those fellows’ pipes. I would be interested in hearing from YOU if you know more about the marriage of meerschaum and bamboo in pipemaking. Thank you kindly.

The pipe was in generally good condition and didn’t seem too challenging to clean up. There was a bit of scratching, etc. on the stem, but nothing serious. The bamboo shank was aged, but perfectly sound. Finally, the meerschaum bowl was well worn, but not bad at all.I used oil soap 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.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.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 vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, 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, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. Alas, I forgot to take photos of this step.

The inside of the shank needed to be cleaned thoroughly. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol.I didn’t sand the bamboo in any way, but I did rub it with some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the bamboo and gives a beautiful depth to it. I then buffed the shank with a microfibre cloth.I moved on to the bowl. The first step was to ream it out – 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. Given the more fragile nature of meerschaum and the relative cleanliness of the smoking chamber, I only used a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel to clean things out. This was sufficient to ensure that all the debris was removed. My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim.I then cleaned the entrance to the bowl with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. This was done cautiously, as too much liquid can cause softening of the meerschaum. Due to my care, no such problems were encountered. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the bowl and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the meerschaum and provides a beautiful smoothness to it. As the photos show, I masked the darkened portion of the bowl with tape so as not to remove it while sanding. I rubbed some Clapham’s Beeswax Polish into the meerschaum and let it dry thoroughly. Then I buffed it carefully with a microfibre cloth. Ooo – what a shine! 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.

All done! This bamboo meerschaum billiard looks fantastic again and I am delighted with the results. As I mentioned before, I might keep this for myself, but you’re welcome to reach out to me if you’re interested in acquiring it: kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅝ in. (142 mm); height 1¾ in. (44 mm); bowl diameter 1⅜ in. (36 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is ¾ oz. (24 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Millennium of Tynwald Black, Faceted Meerschaum Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is an interesting faceted Black coloured Meerschaum Bent Billiard. It is a pipe that we found somewhere along the journey but have no record of when or where we picked it up. It is a classic Manx style African Meerschaum pipe. It was stamped on the ferrule on the shank end had had the Manx running legs logo and read Millennium [arched over] Of Tynwald in a circle around the . It was in great condition when I brought it to the table. There was a heavy cake in the bowl and some lava on the rim top and edges of the bowl. The brass coloured ferrule was in good shape but had scratches that would need to be polished. The stem had the same running legs logo on the top of the saddle. There was some oxidation and calcification on the stem surfaces as well as light chatter and tooth marks near the button on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks on the top and underside near the button.  I took photos of the stamping on the left side of the brass ferrule. It reads as noted above. I also captured the stamping on the stem to show the running legs logo there as well. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I did a quick search on Google to see what I could learn about the Millennium Of Tynwald brand. The first link I found was for one that was on Worthpoint that had a fascinating description of the brand (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/meerschaum-pipe-manx-millennium-1979-464084331). I include a portion of that quote below.

Manx Tynwald Millennium Meerschaums Pipe. The pipe will probably date from 1979 the year of the Millennium. Made in the Isle of Man by J Laxey & Co. Meerschaum production ceased in 2002. From the 1960’s they produced bowls for Barlings and Petersons among others.

I am not sure how the year 1979 is linked to the Millennium but somehow the write above associates that and dates his pipe. I am not clear about the dates of the pipe. I know that it was made prior to 2002 when the Laxey Factory closed.

I turned then to Pipephil and did a quick search there for information linking the Millennium brand stamp with Manx (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/nonbriar/meer.html). Sure enough the link was there. I have included a screen capture of a pipe with the same ferrule and stem stamp as the one that I am working on. I also included a note from the sidebar.Laxey Pipe Factory (closed in 2002). Other brands from the factory: “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland”. See also: Man Pipes

I turned to Pipedia to have a read about the history of the Laxey Pipe Company on the Isle of Man (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Laxey_Pipes_Ltd.). There was a short history of the brand that I included below.

Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

 Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipes Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distributed by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meerschaum from East Africa ran out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipes Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.

ADDENDUM 
After publishing this blog I received a response on Facebook about the stamp on the ferrule and more information about the brand and logo. I quote from Adrian Sacco

The millennium referred to is the 1000th anniversary of Tynwald, the Isle of Man parliament. It’s the oldest/longest continuous government in the western world. The Isle of Man is a self-governing British crown dependency located between Great Britain and Ireland. It is not part of the UK…  Just to add, the famous “three legs” is the symbol of the Isle of Man. It’s called a triskelion. The Manx motto is “quocumque jeceris stabit “ which translates “whichever way you throw me I stand”. This reflects the resilience often found in small island nations.

Thanks Adrian for the added information on the pipe. Very helpful.

Armed with that information, I started my clean up of the pipe by reaming it with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bowl walls. I further cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the cleaning of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the bowl walls and checked for cracks and flaws. All looked very good. I cleaned off the build up in the rim top with the edge of the Savinelli Fitsall knife and scrubbed it with cotton pads to remove the residual grime. I looked better but there was more work to do. I scrubbed the interior of the bowl, shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. It was full of tars and oils that with a bit of work came clean. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the finish. 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. You can see the interesting carved lines on each of the facets of the bowl. It adds an almost primitive touch to the bowl.      I polished the nickel ferrule with micromesh sanding pads with a jewelers cloth to remove the oxidation and give it a shine.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed it with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove the oxidation and light calcification. It took a lot of oxidation off the stem as can be seen in the photos.   I sanded the light tooth marks and chatter out of the surface and removed the remaining oxidation with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.   I touched up the running legs logo with white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it cured I scraped it off and polished it with a worn 1500 grit micromesh pad. 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 am excited to finish this Laxey Pipes Millennium Of Tynwald Black Faceted Meerschaum. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly 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 deepen the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to further raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with etched facets all around it. Added to that the brass coloured ferrule and the polished black vulcanite stem and you have a beautiful pipe. This Millenium Of Tynwald Meerschaum is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 51 grams/1.80 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be adding the British Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store. I you are interested in adding it to your collection please let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe and for reading this blog.

Restemming and Breathing New Life into a Flumed Genuine Block Meerschaum Author

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on was another bowl from my box to restem. This one is an interesting looking meerschaum with a rugged rustication on the bowl and shank. It has a flumed black rim top with the colour going down a short distance on the bowl sides. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Genuine Block [over] Meerschaum. Arched around the end at the shank stem it is stamped GT. Britain. The stamping was faint but readable and to me it looks like an African Meerschaum pipe made by Manx pipes on the Isle of Man. It had been cleaned and reamed somewhere along the way by either Jeff or me. I honestly don’t remember when or where we got this bowl. It was tired looking but showed a lot of promise. The stem was long gone so this would be a restemming job. I took some photos of the bowl to give a since of the condition of this nice little Author. I took some photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. There was a smooth panel on the underside of the shank. It is stamped/carved Genuine Block Meerschaum. It is faint but still readable.The next photo shows the flumed rim top and edges. It also shows the condition of the bowl and rim top/edges. It is clean but there is still a bit of lava on the rim top that will need to be addressed.Jeff had picked up some great unused stems of all sorts and sizes. In the bag I received from him yesterday was the kind of stem I had been looking for for this pipe. It is an oval saddle stem whose thickness is correct but the width will need to be adjusted. The tenon will need to be turned to fit the shank and will also need to be shortened for a proper depth. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. I started with fitting the stem to the shank. I used the PIMO Tenon Turning Tool to reduce the diameter of the tenon and smooth out the face of the stem. I drilled the airway to hold the guiding pin and adjusted the cutting head for the first and then the second turn that removed the excess diameter of the tenon. I always love the swirls of vulcanite that peel off while the turner does its work. I cleaned up the casting remnants on the face of the stem with a file for a proper fit against the shank. I constantly checked the fit in the shank while I worked on it. I shortened the length of the tenon a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. When it was finished I fit it in the shank and took photos of the pipe and its new stem. I still had a lot of work to do but there was progress. Now it was time to adjust the width by reshaping the sides of the new stem. I would also need to do some adjustments to the fit against the shank face. I took some photos of the top and underside to show the excess material on the stem that would need to be removed.I used my Dremel and a sanding drum to do the rough work on the stem. I worked on it carefully to remove as much excess as I could from the sides and reshape the look of the stem to match the stem. The only way I know how to do this is with the new stem in place in the shank and then carefully move the sanding drum up and around the stem surface to get a close/rough fit. It was getting much closer but there was a lot more work to do hand shaping it with sandpaper and files. I decided to enjoy a bowl of Friedman & Pease Fool’s Cap in a Nachwalter I cleaned and restored a while ago. I find that slowly puffing a bowl relieves some of the tedium of shaping and sanding a newly fit stem to get all the angles just right.I took photos of the pipe after I had fit the stem to the shank. The look and fit of the stem looked like it was original. I was pleased with the look and read to move on to polishing it. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. With the shaping and polishing finished on the straight stem it was time to bend the stem to match the angles of the shank. I used a heat gun to soften the vulcanite and then gave it a slight downward bend. I left the stem in the shank and touched up the polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it with a cotton cloth. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With the stem finished (all but the final buff) I turned my attention to the bowl. I used a brass bristle wire brush to clean up the debris still in the rusticated, flumed rim top of the bowl. It looked better when I finished.  I scrubbed the rusticated surface of the bowl and rim with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed the bowl off with warm water to remove the debris and clean the brush. The finish looked much better. I used a black stain pen to touch up the flumed rim top and edges. I applied it carefully around outer edge of the bowl as well following the pattern of the previous flume.I am excited to be on the homestretch with interesting British Made Flumed Rusticated Meerschaum Author. This is the part I look forward to when it all comes back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and the new stem together and polished the stem and bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the vulcanite and give a light shine to the bowl. I gave 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 rugged rusticated finish looks really good with the deep nooks and crannied of the rustication and the porous spots showing the “grain” in the meerschaum. The restored bowl goes really well with the new polished black saddle vulcanite stem. This Rusticated Flumed Author was another fun pipe to work on and came out looking great. It is a comfortable sized pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 51 grams/1.80 ounces. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your rack it will be on the rebornpipes store in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Pipe Section soon. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Cleaning up a Nording Rusticated Meerschaum Pot Made on the Isle of Man

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another one of the pipes that Jeff and I picked up on our recent Alberta trip. It is the second pipe down on the far right column in the photo below. It is a rusticated Eric Nording Meerschaum Pot with a tapered bit. I have circled it in red in the photo below to make its identification easier.The pipe has a rustic finish on the bowl with a flumed rim top and down the top edges of the bowl. The bowl itself has already picked up some colour/patina or perhaps it came that way. There is an unmarked brass ferrule on the shank end. The shank itself is lined with a Delrin tube – this together with the ferrule add strength to the shank. The pipe had been lightly smoked with the bottom two thirds of the bowl raw meerschaum. There is some darkening around the top third of the bowl. The pipe smelled like tobacco but was unidentifiable as to type. The stem was vulcanite and had an N stamped on the top of the tapered stem. The tapered stem is shaped to give the appearance of a military bit. It has an integral tenon in the vulcanite stem. I took photos of the pipe before I did the cleanup. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem surface. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. There was some lava overflow on the rim top on the left and rear of the bowl. There were also some nicks around the inner edge of the bowl and some on the rim top. There was a thin cake on the top third of the bowl. The stem showed some tooth chatter on both sides near and on the button surface.I took a photo of the shank end to show the Delrin lining in the mortise.Eric Nording distributed meerschaum pipes with his logo on the stem that were made for him by Manxman Pipes Ltd on the Isle of Man. I have included a screen capture of the listing for  these meerschaums on the PipePhil site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-n2.html).I also scrubbed the rim top plateau with a wire brush to knock of the lava that was built up there. It did not take too much work to clean up the rustication on the rim top.I scrubbed the meerschaum with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked to remove the remaining lava and minimize the darkening. I rinsed it under warm running water. The photos show the rim top after scrubbing. It looked much better at this point. With the outside cleaned and shining I moved on to clean up the inside airways and mortise in the shank and the stem. I scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners.    I set the cleaned bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth chatter with 220 grit sandpaper and started to polish it with a folded piece of 400 wet dry sandpaper. Once it was finished it began to shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some 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. When I finished I gave a coat of a new product that Briarville Pipe Repair released called No Oxy Oil. It is rubbed down with the oil and the soft cloth that came with it. I am going to be experimenting with it for a while now. This is a Nording Meerschaum rusticated pot made by Manx Meerschaum on the Isle of Man. It has an interesting tactile finish with a flumed rim top and extending down the rim sides. It has a great look and feel. The shape fits well in the hand with the rustication giving the pipe a nice tactile sense when held. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of the yellowed, rusticated meerschaum  and the polished vulcanite stem work well together. I like the finished look of this Nording Meerschaum pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 7/8 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This Isle of Man Meerschaum pot is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe.