Tag Archives: Jobey Link System tenon

Moving another one of my own – a Jobey Stromboli 160 Bent Author

Blog by Steve Laug

This is another pipe that I have taken out of my personal collection as I just do not use enough to warrant keeping it. This pipe was given to me in a group of pipes and I used it a bit when it came in. It is from a period of my journey where I smoked solely Virginia tobaccos so it is quite clean. The airway in the shank and the mortise were quite clean. The rusticated finish and rim top were in excellent condition. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Jobey in script [over] Stromboli. The shape number 160 follows that. There was a light cake in the bowl but the top and inner edge of the bowl clean. The Jobey link system is in the shank and the stem slides on to it. The variegated brown/tan/gold acrylic stem is in good condition with some light tooth chatter ahead of the button on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I did my clean up work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to verify the description above. I also took photos of the stem surface showing the light chatter on either side.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took the stem off the bowl and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of proportion of the pipe. You can also see the deep and rugged rustication on the briar and it is a beauty.Now it was time to work on the pipe. I cleaned up the light cake in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper.I cleaned the mortise and airways in the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol to remove the debris and tars from my smoking. You can see that it was not too bad as I tend to keep my pipes clean. The bowl was in such good condition that decided to give the bowl and shank a coating of 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 the briar. 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. Since the stem was in quite good condition other than tooth chatter I polished out the chatter with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I rubbed it down between pads with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine Pipe Stem Polish. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil and buffed it off. It is a beautiful stem. I am excited to put the final touches on this great looking Jobey Stromboli Rusticated Author. I put the pipe back together and buffed the stem 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 hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rugged rustication all around it. Added to that the polished brown/ gold/tan acrylic stem combined with the bowl and make a stunning pipe. This rusticated Jobey Stromboli 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 43 grams/1.52 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

A Sad and Tired Looking Jobey Stromboli 440 Square Shank Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is one that came to us from a fellow we have bought pipes from in Brazil, Indiana, USA early in 2020 and I am finally getting to it. It is a nice looking Jobey rusticated, square shank billiard with a fancy acrylic stem. It is stamped on the underside of the shank Jobey [over] Stromboli. To the right of that is the stamped shape number 440. The yellow acrylic saddle stem was missing the brass inlaid Jobey oval. The pipe has a heavily rusticated finish with deeper random craters carved in the rusticated surface. The finish was absolutely filthy on this one with grime and dust deep in the crevices. There was a heavy cake in the bowl and a heavy overflow of lava onto the rim top. There were some nicks or at least worn spots on the outer edge of the rim but the rustic carved rim top makes it hard to know if they deep or just worn. The stem had a blackened airway from the tobacco juices and it had some shallow tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stem was screwed onto the shank with the Jobey Link system which was in excellent condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he did any clean up. He took photos of the rim top and the stem. The photo of the rim top shows the incredibly thick cake in the bowl and the heavy coat of lava on the filling in the crevices and valleys of the heavily rusticated rim top. The stem photos show the oils and tars in the airway of the bright yellow stem and some tooth chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the rustication on the pipe and the sheer filthy condition of the finish. There is still something attractive about the rusticated finish on the bowl. I took photos of the stamping on the right and left side of the shank. The stamping is clear and reads as noted above. You can also see the top of the stem where the brass Jobey logo is missing. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the Jobey Link system tenon. The threads screw into the threaded shank and the smooth portion is supposed to fit snugly in the stem.I reread several of the blogs I have written on the brand in the past restorations of Jobey pipes and decided to include the material on the brand before I write about the cleanup of the pipe. Here is the link to the blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/04/03/restoring-jennifers-dads-jobey-asti-245-pot/). I quote:

I turned to Pipephil’s site for a quick review of the brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j3.html). I quote a section of the post on the Jobey brand: These pipes are made in St Claude (France) by Butz-Choquin (Berrod-Regad group) since 1987. Before this date some were manufactured in England and Denmark (Jobey Dansk).

I turned then to Pipedia to gather further information regarding the brand and quote the first part of the article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jobey).

English – American – Danish – French… Sadly, solid information about Jobey is scant…

Probably established in England around 1920(?) the brand hiked into the USA later. In the course of time owner, distributor and manufacturer changed repeatedly. As far as is known the following companies have been involved with the brand:

George Yale Pipes & Tobacco, New York (1942)

Norwalk Pipe Co., New York (1949)

Arlington Briar Pipes Corp., Brooklyn (when?)

Hollco International, New York (1969).

Weber Pipe Co., Jersey City, NJ (1970’s)

The Tinder Box, (1970’s – 80’s).

Throughout decades Jobey pipes were mainly sold in the USA, Canada and England but remained almost unknown in continental Europe. The bulk of Jobeys was predominantly made according to classical patterns and mainly in the lower to middle price range. The predominant judgment of the pipe smokers reads: “A well-made pipe for the price.” So there is hardly anything very special or exciting about Jobey pipes although a flyer from ca. 1970 assures: “The briar root Jobey insists upon for its peer of pipes is left untouched to grow, harden and sweeten for 100 years. […] Jobey uses only the heart of this century old briar and only one out of 500 bowls turned measures up to the rigid Jobey specifications.” 99.80% of cull… that makes the layman marveling!

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I decided to start with the stem. I sorted through some of the pipes remaining for me to work on and I had this broken Jobey stem. I used a small pen knife to lift the brass logo out of the damaged stem to use on the yellow one. I put some white all purpose glue in the indentation on the stem top and used a small dental probe to press the brass logo into the spot it was missing. I wiped off the excess glue and pressed the edges down with the probe and I was happy with the look and fit of the “new” brass logo. The Jobey link was stuck fast in the stem and I had a hard time removing it. I used a small screw driver as a wedge and lifted it out of the stem. Once I had it out I would need to sanded the smooth side to loosen the fit while yet leaving it snug.With the tenon removed from the stem I was able to clean out a lot more of the tars and oils in the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I also used a small round needle file to file the inside of the airway and remove more of the staining. Once I finished it looked much better. I used a wood rasp to smooth out the surface of the tenon end that fit in the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the scratches in the Delrin. I wanted the fit to be snug but not tight. I worked well.I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks and chatter and blend them into the surface of the acrylic. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the 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. I turned back to the bowl. I rubbed the it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the rustication on the bowl and with a horsehair shoe brush to get into the nooks and crannies of the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Once again I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the Jobey Stromboli 440 Square Shank Billiard back together and buffed the bowl and stem 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 raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the dark rusticated finish. The swirled fancy yellow acrylic stem stands in contrast to the dark colours of the bowl. It is a light weight pipe that could be clenched and smoked while doing other things. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ 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 37 grams/1.31 oz. This one will soon be on the American Pipemakers page on the rebornpipes online store. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Repairing and Refurbishing a Jobey “Gondoli” From Steve’s Grab Box

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

Steve, my friend and mentor, had sent me a pipe lot of 15 pipes for restoration about 3 years back. These assorted pipes were requested by me with an intent that these would provide me with an opportunity to further hone my skills and gain experience in tackling varied issues that one may come across during restoration. Each of these pipes has its own set of issues to address and I look forward to work on each one of this pipe lot. Here is the picture of the pipes as I received it. The one marked with a red cross is a Dunhill Root that has been restored by Steve for my personal collection.

I have worked on a no name straight billiard and an Oom Paul from this lot and both turned out to be beautiful pipes. The next pipe from this lot that I selected to work on is a Jobey “GONDOLI” and is marked with a green arrow and numeral 3.This pipe has a nice hand feel to it and the classic Prince shape with a beautiful variegated fancy stem makes it a very attractive looking pipe. The stummel boasts of beautiful mixed grains. It is stamped on the left side of the shank as “Jobey” in fancy script over “GONDOLI” in capital letters, towards the shank end. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with shape code “965”. The variegated acrylic stem with swirls of brown carries the trademark logo of JOBEY in a brass roundel atop the surface of the stem.I had previously worked on two Jobey pipes and had researched the brand at that time. Here is the link for the research and write on the pipe. A Simple Restoration of a “Jobey Filtersan # 690” | rebornpipes

No other information was available on the internet that I could link with the GONDOLI line or the shape code # 965. Any assistance in unearthing additional information is most welcome!!

Initial Visual Inspection
This grab bag that Steve had sent me contained few pipes that Jeff had already cleaned and sent across to Steve for further restoration. Thus, unfortunately, before condition pictures are not available with me to share with the readers, but fortunately, I get to work on a pipe that Jeff has already worked his magic upon and presented me with a clean pipe. Below are a few pictures of the pipe as I had received it. Detailed Inspection
The chamber is nice and clean with thick walls without any damage. The rim top surface has a couple of darkened areas which should be easy to clean up. The inner and outer rim edges are in decent shape and the chamber smells clean.The external surface of the stummel has been cleaned and lacquer coat has been removed in most of the places. However, a few spots remain where the lacquer coating is visible. The stummel had a reddish orange stain that has been cleaned out but would need to be eliminated completely (personal choice!). There are a few fills (encircled in pastel blue) at the back of the stummel that would need to be refreshed. There are few dents and dings over the stummel surface that needs attention. Through all this patchy lacquer coat and stain, beautiful Angel’s hair peeks out from the smooth surface. Once the stummel is cleaned and polished, these grains will pop out in all their refined glory. All in all as it stands now, this is one dull and tired looking stummel that requires a lot of TLC!! The mortise is threaded to accommodate the screw-in Jobey link tenon which was patented by Jobey. The mortise is otherwise clean but for the accumulation of dust and grime from three years of storage. This will need to be thoroughly cleaned. The famed Jobey-link Delrin tenon is shown below.The variegated acrylic fancy stem with swirls of browns and grey look very attractive, but to put it mildly, is an utter mess!! It has bite marks (encircled in green) on both upper and lower stem surface with minor tooth chatter all over the bite zone on both sides; however, these should be an easy fix. The real serious damage to the stem can be seen at the tenon end. There is a deep crack from the face of the tenon end on either surface that extends right up to the shoulders of the stem. Along the way this crack on either surface, has further bifurcated in to a couple of more cracks extending to the sides. The extents of all these cracks are indicated with red arrows.

Note: This is one tricky stem repair that I would be undertaking. I had half a mind to completely replace this stem with a new one rather than repair it. But I wanted to preserve the originality of the pipe and secondly, I did not have a suitable acrylic stem to match the beauty of the original stem and pipe combo. So repairs to this stem are the way out for me at the moment. The Process
Firstly, I cleaned the stummel exterior with Murphy’s soap and hard bristled tooth brush. I used an abrasive Scotch Brit pad to completely eliminate the lacquer coat from the surface. I diligently worked the rim top surface to remove the minor traces of darkened stains that remained. With a shank brush, I thoroughly cleaned the mortise of all the dust that had accumulated inside and along the mortise walls.

Note: The reddish orange stain on the stummel has reduced significantly, but not completely. I would need to resort to other stronger measures to eliminate the old stain. The rim top is now clean and the lacquer coating from surface has been removed completely. The fills would need to be refreshed. Next, I wiped the stummel with pure acetone on a cotton swab to eliminate the minor reddish orange stain that remained on the surface. The acetone worked well and the stummel is now free of the old stain, presenting me a fresh canvas to work further. Continuing with the stummel refurbishment, I decided to refresh the fills at the back of the stummel. Using a sharp dental tool, I removed the old fills and cleaned the area with a cotton swab and isopropyl alcohol. The gouged out spots were filled with clear CA superglue and set aside for curing.With the stummel fills set aside for curing, it was time to undertake the repairs to the stem. I first cleaned the stem surface with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton swab. Using nose pliers, I gently flexed the crack just enough for the superglue to seep in. I applied a generous layer of clear CA superglue of medium viscosity over the crack and flexed it a couple of times to make sure that the glue had seeped in to the crack. I pressed the crack together in a vice and set it aside for the glue to cure.

Note: The last picture shows that the glue had seeped completely in to the crack and inside the stem opening that houses the tenon. I shall resort to sanding to remove the excess glue from inside the stem. Once the glue had completely hardened, I applied another coat of superglue over and around the cracks on either surface. I spot filled the tooth indentations in the bite zone with clear CA superglue and set the stem aside for the glue to cure.Next, while the stem fills are curing, I sand the stummel fills with a flat head needle file to achieve a rough match with the rest of the surface. To achieve a better match and also to address the dents/ dings over the stummel surface, I sand the entire stummel surface with a piece of 220 grit sand paper. I also work the rim top surface and inner rim edge with the sandpaper to even out the rim edge. This sanding also helps in removing residual old stain while providing a smooth surface for the next stage which is polishing cycle using complete set of micromesh pads. I was especially very careful while sanding the sides of the shank around the stampings, as it is very easy to miss out the stamp and one swipe of the sand paper is enough to ruin/ damage the stampings. To remove the sanding marks and bring a deeper shine, I polished the stummel with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 pads. I wiped the surface with a soft cloth at the end of the micromesh cycle. The shining stummel looks amazing with a deep brown coloration and beautiful Angel’s hair grains popping over the stummel surface. Next, I rub a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to the briar with my finger tips and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful darkened grain patterns on full display. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. The next afternoon, I work the stem as the fills had hardened nicely. First, with a flat head needle file, I sand the fills in the bite zone to achieve a rough match. I further fine tuned the match by sanding the filled area with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper pinched between my thumb and forefinger.Next, I sand the excess glue from over and around the crack using a flat head needle file followed by a piece of 220 grit sand paper. I used a round needle file and a rolled piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand out the excess glue from inside the stem opening for the tenon. I also remove excess glue from within the grooves of the fancy stem.

Note: I was careful to maintain a very thin layer of glue over the cracked surface as it would lend additional support and rigidity to the cracked area. Also, I was extra careful while sanding the inside of the stem opening for the tenon to achieve a smooth and even surface for the seating of the tenon.One of the probable causes for the cracks over the tenon end of the stem could have been a very tight fitting tenon. I lightly sand the smooth end of the Delrin tenon with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to achieve a snug fit (not tight and not very loose) in to the stem opening for the tenon. I frequently checked for the seating as I did not want to open up the cracks again. At this stage I am very pleased with the stem repairs and the seating of the Delrin tenon in to the stem.

Note: While sanding the smooth end of the Delrin tenon, one has to be careful and ensure an even all around sanding of tenon as it directly affects the seating of the tenon in to the mortise and thus the seating of the stem face against the shank. Next I dry sand the entire stem surface using 600 and 800 grit sand papers followed by wet sanding with 1000 grit sandpaper. This serves to reduce the sanding marks of the more abrasive sand papers. I also sharpened the button edges with the sand papers. I wiped the stem with a cotton swab and alcohol to remove all the oxidation and sanding dust from the surface.I followed up the sanding regime with micromesh polishing to bring a shine on the stem surface. I wet sand the stem with 1500 to 12000 girt micromesh pads. I rub a small quantity of olive oil (though not necessary for acrylic stem) in to the stem surface to hydrate it and set it aside. The stem looks nice and shinning.Now, on to the home stretch!! I very excited to see the result of the final polishing cycle with Blue Diamond and carnauba wax.

To apply the finishing touches, I first mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and apply a coat of Blue Diamond to the stummel and the stem to polish out the minor scratches. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I apply a coat of carnauba wax and continue to work on it till the complete coat of wax had been polished out. I mount a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and give the entire pipe a once over buff. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks fantastic, the beauty of which is accentuated by its classic shape, size and hand feel. P.S. The stem repairs are solid and with a little care while handling, this pipe should last a few more decades. This pipe is all set for a new home and is now truly ready for a long hiatus with a new piper, providing years of service in future.

Thank you all for reading through this write up and for the valuable time you have invested in doing so. If any reader is interested in adding this pipe to his/ her pipe rotation, feel free to contact me at deshpandeparesh@yahoo.co.in

Breathing New Life into a Jobey Asti 200 Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from an antique auction mid-2019 from Huntington Station, New York, USA. It is a Bulldog shaped pipe with the mixed smooth and rusticated finish that I have come to associate with Jobey Asti pipes. The pipe has a saddle vulcanite stem. The pipe is stamped on the left underside of the shank and reads Jobey [over] Asti. On the right side it is stamped with the shape number 200. On the left side of the saddle stem was the inset Jobey brass oval logo. The finish had a lot of grime ground into both the smooth and rusticated portions and it was very dirty. The bowl was heavily caked and there was a thick lava coat on the flat rim top and the inner edge of the rim. It was hard to tell what condition of the inner edge was because of the lava coat. Only cleaning would make that clear. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The pipe showed promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the condition of the rim top and edges. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation, calcification and chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. He took photos of the stamping on the shank and the logo on the left side of the saddle stem. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I turned to Pipephil’s site for a quick review of the brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-j3.html). I quote a section of the post on the Jobey brand: These pipes are made in St Claude (France) by Butz-Choquin (Berrod-Regad group) since 1987. Before this date some were manufactured in England and Denmark (Jobey Dansk).

I turned then to Pipedia to gather further information regarding the brand and quote the first part of the article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jobey).

English – American – Danish – French… Sadly, solid information about Jobey is scant… Probably established in England around 1920(?) the brand hiked into the USA later. In the course of time owner, distributor and manufacturer changed repeatedly. As far as is known the following companies have been involved with the brand:

George Yale Pipes & Tobacco, New York (1942)

Norwalk Pipe Co., New York (1949)

Arlington Briar Pipes Corp., Brooklyn (when?)

Hollco International, New York (1969).

Weber Pipe Co., Jersey City, NJ (1970’s)

The Tinder Box, (1970’s – 80’s).

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 and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After 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 good with a bit of damage on the inner edge and on the rim surface on the front right. There was some burn damage on the front and right that made the bowl slightly out of round. The stem surface looked very good with some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. It also had some residual oxidation. I took photos 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. The stem has a patented Jobey Link Tenon. I started my work on the pipe by working over the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl to clean up the damage. Once finished the rim top and edge looked much better. I polished the smooth briar on the rim top and cap of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrubb All Purpose cleaner to remove the residual oxidation. It works very well to remove deep oxidation. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of lighter to lift the bite marks on the vulcanite. Heat lift the marks to the surface of stem. I was able to lift the majority of them but there were a few left on each side. I filled them in with clear super glue and set it aside to let them cure. When the repairs cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Jobey Asti 200 Bulldog with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished smooth part of the finish and the dark rustication on the lower part of the bowl is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully 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 grain just popped with the wax and the buffing. It is a beauty! The finished Jobey Asti Bulldog 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: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 35gr/1.23oz. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection 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!

Restoring a Jobey Florentine Canadian that weary and worn

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Blog by Steve Laug

Along with the recent Kaywoodie Original (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/01/25/new-life-for-a-kaywoodie-original-imported-briar-freehand-stack/) and the Royal Danish 984R Canadian (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/01/26/an-easy-restore-a-royal-danish-984r-canadian/) that I worked on, my brother Jeff sent me an interesting Jobey Canadian. The pipe has a Sea Rock style finish. The underside of the shank is stamped Jobey over Florentine in script followed by EXTRA and finally by PATENT PENDING. That helps to date this to the time after the patent was filed in 1970. Like the other pipes that came from this Idaho auction the pipe was in good condition – dirty but really not too bad. The finish was very dirty with grime worked into the grooves and valleys of the rustication. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the rim top leaving a thick coat of lava. It was hard to know what the inner and outer edges of the bowl looked like until the pipe was reamed and cleaned. The stem looked good but had deep tooth marks on both sides of the stem. Jeff took these pictures of the pipe to show its condition before he started his cleanup work. Jeff took a close up of the bowl and rim. The bowl thick cake and the photos show the lava overflow onto the rim top. It was thick and had filled in the crevices and valleys of the rustication.On the underside of the shank the stamping was very clear and readable. It is stamped in a smooth panel that runs from the heel of the bowl to end of the shank. It is evidently an early Jobey that is stamped Patent Pending. I am sure that the Patent refers to the Jobey Link in the shank.He took photos of the stem to show the oxidation on the stem. The first photo shows the faint/light Royal Danish Crown on the top side of the taper near the shank. The second and third photo show the oxidation and the otherwise pristine stem surface.On the topside of the tapered stem there is a brass Jobey insert that is pressed into the vulcanite. It was readable but dirty.Jeff followed his usual regimen of cleaning an estate pipe. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the bowl, rim and shank. He rinsed it under running water and dried it off with a soft cloth. It looked a lot better but the rim was still dirty. The stem had deep tooth marks on both sides from the button forward. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the rim top that shows the clean bowl and the remaining hard coat of lava in the grooves at the front right side of the rim top. The stem was clean and Jeff had used Before & After Deoxidizer to soak and remove much of the oxidation. He rinsed out the inside of the stem and rinsed off the exterior as well. It is hard to see the rippling tooth marks in the photos but they are on both sides of the stem.I removed the stem from the shank to show the Jobey Link that screwed into the shank and the smooth end that the stem sat on.I used a brass bristle wire brush to clean up the rim top of the bowl and loosen the remaining debris and dust in the grooves in the rustication toward the front of the bowl.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm into the coral rusticated finish of the bowl and the shank to deep clean the briar. I worked it into the smooth portions the sides and the bottom of the bowl. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a horsehair shoe brush to polish it. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I sanded the stem down with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the tooth marks and waves in the surface of both sides. I used a piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper to polish out the scratches in the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished the stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches and gave it several coats of carnauba. I polished the bowl and shank with Conservator’s Wax and buffed it with a shoe brush. 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 finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 3/4 inches, Height: 1 3/4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this rusticated Patent Pending Jobey made Canadian.

An easy restore on a smooth Jobey Extra Underslung Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

I think that the shape of this one is what caught my brother’s eye when he saw this Jobey. He has introduced me to some neat looking Jobey’s that have great grain, shape and stem work. The Jobey Link tenon system is a breeze to replace and repair as it screws into the shank and is pressure fit into the stem. This one has some great grain on it all the way around – birdseye on the sides and cross grain on the front, back and the top and bottom of the shank. It was in decent shape with just a few dings in the left side of the bowl. The rim was lightly tarred and the cake in the bowl was not very thick. The finish was faded in spots. The stem was in great shape other than the usual tooth chatter on the top and underside near the button. There were no deep tooth marks. The link system was undamaged. The next two close up photos show the stamping and the condition of the rim. The stamping is simply Jobey in script over Extra. The E on Extra is faint. The Jobey medallion on the stem is in great shape. The inner edge of the rim shows some buildup of tars and oils.As usual my brother cleaned up the pipe before sending it to me. I am getting spoiled as he is doing a lot of the hard clean up. He reamed the bowl with the PipNet reamer and scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a soft tooth brush. He rinsed of the soap with running water. He cleaned out the airway in the stem and the shank and the mortise with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. When it arrived in Vancouver I took the following photos. The next photo shows the bowl and the rim after he had cleaned it up. It was in excellent shape.The next two photos show the tooth chatter on the stem and a light oxidation that was over the surface of the stem.I tried to steam the dents out of the side of the bowl with a damp cloth and a hot knife and was able to lift quite a few. There were three of them with rough edges that I lifted some but was not able to smooth them out with steam. I used some drops of clear super glue to fill in the spots on the bowl side. Once the glue dried I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and then with 1500-4000 grit micromesh sanding pads.I restained the areas on the bowl that had lightened from sanding with a combination of light, medium and dark stain pens and a little bit of black Sharpie pen. I gave the entire bowl several coats of dark brown aniline stain mixed 50/50 with isopropyl alcohol. I flamed it and repeated the process until I had an even coverage. I set the bowl aside to dry. I was sure that I would need to do some more touch ups to blend the stain well but I wanted the stain to set. I sanded the tooth chatter off the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and was able to smooth out all of the tooth marks.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the final rub down I let the stem dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond after the stain had cured and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe is really a beauty and the stain and shine make the grain stand out. This one will also be going on the store so if you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know via email, message or a comment on the blog. Thanks for looking.