KBB Doc Watson | rebornpipes

Blog by Andrew Selking

My wife and I enjoy browsing antique shops and last weekend checked out a new shop. They didn’t have many pipes, most were worn out drug store pipes, but this one little pipe stood out. The first thing I notices was the fantail stem and interesting inlay on the stem. I picked it up and discovered that it was a rusticated panel billiard shape, unlike anything I’ve ever seen. I pulled the stem from the shank and saw a very unusual stinger/tube apparatus. The stem looked like it was hand cut, very thin and the button had nice clean angles. From what I found out about KB&B pipes, the clover leaf without the ampersand was from the 1930s. The best part was the price, $4.95! Here is what the pipe looked like, thick cake, but otherwise not too bad.

I missed some of the documentation process, but I cleaned the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a toothbrush. I decided to remove the stinger, which I accomplished with a heat gun, but still save it for the historical value. I then soaked the stem in Oxyclean. It had a lot of tar build up as you can see from this picture. Next I turned my attention to the bowl. This is a very small bowl, my smallest reamer didn’t fit, so I ended up using a pen knife to carefully remove the cake.

With the bowl clean and the stem started, it was time for the retort. Normally when I put cotton balls in the bowl I can fit three or four, this bowl only fits one. Although the stinger allowed for a lot of tar build up, it kept the shank much cleaner than most. After a few q-tips it was clean. The stem was just as dirty as the shank, but the retort made the job of removing tar a breeze. You can see from what boiled out just how much tar the stem had. The first couple of fuzzy sticks dipped in rubbing alcohol came out very dirty, but it was mostly tar and it didn’t take long before they came out clean.

Since the outside of the bowl was already clean, I used a progression of micro mesh pads, starting at 6000 and worked up to 12,000 to polish the bottom of the shank and the high spots on the bowl. I used 400 grit wet/dry with water to remove the oxidation from the stem then switched to micro mesh pads (1500-2200) with water. I finished the stem with the full progression of micro mesh pads through 12,000 grit to get a nice polished finish to the stem. I tried something different this time. Rather than use the buffing wheel I just used the Halcyon II wax and a soft cloth. We’ll see how that holds up. Here’s what the finished pipe looks like.

Yet another of the gift bowls was on the work table today. It a delicate Dublin shaped bowl that is stamped on the top of the oval shank with KBB in the cloverleaf and next that Doc Watson in an arc over Italian Bruyere. There are no other stampings on the bowl or shank. I was intrigue to work on this old pipe as Doc Watson was one of my favourite musician/singers. I enjoy his guitar playing and singing. I have no idea if this pipe is connected to him in any way but the name brought back memories of small concerts when I lived in Southern California. The finish was dirty and the briar darkened on the left and right side of the bowl where it was held in the hands. Oils and soil from the hands of the previous smoker had darkened the bowl. It had a dark oxblood stain that hid the grain of the briar. There was a small nick on the bottom front of the bowl that did not go too deep into the briar. The rim was darkened and had a buildup carbon and oils that would need to be cleaned. The bowl had a light uneven cake and the shank was dirty.

I had a new oval Lucite stem in my stem can that would work well for this bowl. The slot in the button had not been cut or shaped. The diameter of the stem was slightly larger than the shank so it would need to be shaped. The tenon was too longer so it would need to be shortened to fit in the shank.

I used a Dremel to sand the diameter of the tenon and shorten it. When I had the fit close I sanded it by hand to assure a snug fit in the shank.

I initially sanded the excess diameter on the stem with the Dremel and a sanding drum. I followed that by sanding with 150 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and bring it closer to matching the stem. I When I had the fit close I sanded the shank and stem together with 220 grit sandpaper to make the transition absolutely smooth.

I wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish. I find that when I break down the stain I can actually bleed it into the sanded portion of the shank. This colours the shank and makes it easier to apply the next coat to the whole bowl.

I sanded the bowl and shank with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. Then wiped it down a final time with isopropyl alcohol.

I stained the bowl with a oxblood aniline stain, flamed it and repeated the process. It covered the pipe very well.

When it had dried I buffed the pipe with White Diamond to polish it. The bowl was ready to be buffed with carnauba but I waited until I had worked on the stem then I would buff them together.

I sanded the stem with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads. I then worked on the slot. I wanted to have a wide open oval slot in the button so I used needle files to open the airway in the end of the stem. I used flat, round and oval files to open it and then a folded piece of sandpaper to polish after filing.

I dry sanded the stem and the end of the button with 3200-12,000 grit pads. To remove some of the scratches left on the button I also started again and wet sanded with the 1500-2400 grit pads. When I had finished sanding I polished it with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. The Oil does not soak in like it does on vulcanite but provides a lubricant that works well when I buff the Lucite stem with White Diamond.

I buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax, polishing it with a clean flannel buff between coats. When finished the pipe looks like it must have the day it left the KBB factory. It is cleaned, restored and ready to smoke. The finished pipe is shown below.