Tag Archives: Jobey Designer Pipes

Restoring a Unique Jobey Designer Bent Egg Sitter

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was purchased on 05/10/22 from an antique mall in Astoria, Oregon, USA. This unique Jobey has a flat base with a short tail that stabilizes the sitter. It has a rugged, finish that looks like a combination of sandblast and rustication (blastication) with lots of nooks and crannies in the briar. The top of the shank and the upper 1/3 of the bowl are smooth briar. The come together and really are quite beautiful! The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the topside of the shank and reads Jobey [over] Designer. The valleys and ridges of the “blasticated” grain showing through the grime and dirt are a mixture that leaves a rich texture. It had rich dark and medium contrasting brown stains that do not look too bad. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the crowned top of the rim and covering the inner edge. It was hard to know if the rim edges were damaged. It was a beautiful pipe that was dirty and tired looking but there was a thick coat of shiny varnish or shellac covering the whole thing. The stem was golden variegated acrylic that had fancy turnings on the saddle. The tenon was the patented Jobey Link System that was developed to protect the shank. There was a hairline crack on the top of the stem where the tenon fit but it was not open and was very fine. There were tooth marks and chatter on the stem near the button on both sides. There is a brass Jobey oval logo on the top of the stem identifying it as a Jobey pipe. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the rim top and edges of the bowl. It was thick and hard but hopefully it had protected the rim and edges from damage. It was hard to know for sure from the photos. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. The airway in the stem was stained with the tars and oils that would need to be cleaned up. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the rugged dark look of the blastication. There is a lot of dust and grime filling in the valleys. The smooth portions on the top 1/3 of the bowl, the underside of the shank and foot as well as the patch on the top of the shank. He took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panel on the topside of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos and read as noted above. He also captured the logo brass insert on the top of the stem. I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find a Jobey Designer or any information on the line (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jobey). Along with the history of the brand that is there which you can read if you are interested there was also a photo of the same pipe that I am working on with a dark stem rather than the yellow of the one on the table. The shape and stamping are identical so I have included them below. I am also including and advertisement that was included on the site. I have included it below along with an enlargement of the section on Jobey Designer pipes. The Designer series combines real craftsmanship with a unique pipe design. This perfectly balanced briar features a smooth walnut finish, complemented by a golden Lucite stem. It sold for $50USD

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking sandblast around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and rinsed it with running water. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. The airway in the stem still had some darkening and would need to be cleaned up some more. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top and edges looked very good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the staining in the airway on the stem. The hairline crack is in the darkened spot near the shank end.I took a photo of the stamping on the topside of the shank and it is clear and readable. I also took a photo of the Jobey oval brass inset on the top of the stem. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a clear picture of the pipe from the left side profile and the top looking down. It is a really pretty pipe.I wiped down the briar with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the shiny varnish coat. It took some scrubbing but the grain really stood out on the smooth portion much better. I polished the extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the surface off after each pad to remove sanding debris. It is becomes more shiny with each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to trying to get some of the tars from the stem. I removed the Jobey Link Tenon from the stem and worked it over with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. It was amazing how much grit and grime came out of the stem. I then used some Soft Scrub on the pipe cleaners and continued to work on the airway and was able to remove a lot of it. I flushed it a final time with alcohol. It was much better when I finished. The only draw back (if it is one) is that the hairline crack was very visible after cleaning.There was a tooth mark that was deep on the top left side of the stem next to the button. There was also a small crack in the turned area of the stem and top. I filled both of them both in with clear CA glue and set the stem aside to cure. Once it cured I sanded the repaired areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the Lucite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Unique Jobey Designer Egg Sitter turned out to be a great looking pipe. The mix of dark stains highlights the smooth and rusticated portions around the bowl sides, top and bottom. The golden coloured acrylic stem works very well with the natural and dark finish on the bowl. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad followed by hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished full bent Jobey Designer Bent Egg Sitter 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 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/64 grams. I will be adding it to the American Pipe Makers Section on the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in carrying on the pipeman’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

A Beautifully Grained Jobey Designer Cauldron Lay Under Thick Varnish

8 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

When I was visiting in Idaho my brother Jeff pulled out this Jobey box and handed it to me to look at. I had no idea what to expect once I opened the box. I have cleaned up a lot of Jobey pipes over the years and have really liked the rusticated Jobey Stromboli pipes with their colourful stems and deep rough surfaces. I have seen others that were pretty but nothing spectacular. I turned the box over in my hands to see if there were any hints on the outside what was hidden under the lid but there was nothing – just the classic red box with the Jobey Pipe logo on the lid.I opened the box to have a look and was surprised. What was inside was actually a really nice looking pipe at first glance. It was stamped on the left side of the shank Jobey over DESIGNER and on the right side of the shank D80 over HANDMADE. The stem was Lucite with a variety of brown tones that ran at an angle across the stem. The finish looked funny to me in that for a handmade pipe it was rough textured. I expected it to be silky smooth but it was rough to the touch and there were brush marks all over the surface. It looked to me like someone had brushed on a thick coat of varnish to give the pipe a perma-shine. The box also had the red pipe sleeve and a Jobey Polishing Cloth in the lid.Inside the polishing cloth package there was also a cloth for treating the stem. Both were Jobey specialty products. The Jobey sock is slightly worn.I took the leaflet out of the top of the box to have a look and it was a fun read. It reads: “The Jobey Pipe Guarantee, Limited Warranty. Should any Jobey pipe burn out within 90 days of normal usage, a new bowl will be furnished by us without charge. Shanks and mouthpieces are not guaranteed, but may be repaired for a moderate charge. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from state to state. Return the burned out bowl with a request for bowl replacement to: – Hollco International Repair Department, 37 Warren St., New York, NY 10007.”

The other side reads: “This Pipe has the “Jobey Link” U.S. Pat.No. 3537462. The unique “Jobey Link” is the first big breakthrough in high quality pipe mounting. There is no metal. Easy to repair – just ask your dealer for an economical replacement “Jobey Link” it keeps your pipe permanently mounted without loosening up. The “Jobey Link” is precision threaded into the briar, but is still adjustable within the stem so that it always lines up straight. If the “Jobey Link” becomes difficult to unscrew use a coin in the convenient unscrewing slot (X). The “Jobey Link” comes in 4 sizes, small, medium short, medium long and large.”I took some photos of the pipe to show how the varnish coat had muddied the finish and hid the grain as well as hopefully captured some of the brush strokes. Under the varnish on the rim on the back inner edge of the bowl there was also some tar that had been painted over. I took some close-up photos of the rim and the stamping on the shank. In those photos you can clearly see the tar on the rim, the clear stamping on the shank and the brush strokes of the varnish on the pipe. I was hopeful that the shiny coat on the bowl was not urethane but merely varnish. The muddiness of the finish and the way it felt in the hand made me hopeful. I scrubbed the bowl with acetone on cotton pads and was amazed at how easily it came off. I was really happy that I was not dealing with a plastic coat. I scrubbed it repeatedly until the grain clearly showed. The bowl was still rough under the varnish so I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I scrubbed the internals of the mortise and airway in the shank to clean out any build up in the threads and airway. I used cotton swabs and alcohol and found that it was really quite clean. I remove the Jobey Link from the end of the stem and cleaned out the airway in the link and the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol.I threaded the Jobey Link into the end of the shank and set it then pushed the stem in place on the other end of the link.I reamed the bowl back to bare briar with the Savinelli Pipe Knife.I wet sanded the Lucite stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and wiped it down with a cotton pad. I sanded 3200-4000 and wiped it down again. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads to finish polishing it. I gave the bowl a light coat of olive oil and then buffed it and the stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Personally I have never seen a Jobey quite like this one. The carver who did the work captured the lay of the grain extremely well with it flowing up the shank. The new oil and wax finish really went well with the brown striated Lucite stem. Thanks for looking.