by Steve Laug

This next pipe was purchased from an online auction on 05/30/25 from a seller in Capac, Michigan, USA. It is an unsmoked, new old stock pipe (NOS) Malaga. The prices on the once unknow Malaga brand have soared to reach incredibly unbelievable prices. This freehand was still affordable and was a beautifully shaped Malaga creation with an acrylic golden saddle stem. I have come to appreciate Malaga pipes and have several nice ones in my collection. They are uniformly great smokers. I have also restored my fair share of them over the years. The stamping on the left side of the shank reads MALAGA. There is no shape number or other stamping around the shank or stem. The pipe has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank and a plateau rim top. The bowl is very clean and smooth and the finish on the pipe was spotty from sitting but otherwise quite clean. There is some dust in the plateau and in the finish. The stem is acrylic, variegated gold and has no stamping on the saddle stem. It came with its own original blue pipe sock. I took photos of the pipe before I started to work on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before my sprucing up the unsmoked pipe. I also took some of the stem to show the condition of both sides. The stamping on the left side the shank is shown in the photo below. It is clear and readable as noted above.For those of you reading this blog who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am also including the link to a previous blog that I wrote. It gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more, then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

The pipe was in great shape other than the debris of sitting in a display somewhere in its life. The dust and debris in the plateau and the spotty wax shine on the surface needed attention. I scrubbed off the dust and debris on the plateau and in the finish with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed off the debris and soap with warm running water. I dried the pipe off with a soft cloth. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads to remove the ripples in the finish that were present. Once the top coat on the finish was gone the grain really stood out on the smooth briar. I dry sanded with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I worked it into the plateau rim top with a shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. It looks like the unsmoked pipe that it is! I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. The process removed a lot of the scratches in the acrylic. 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 NOS Malaga Unsmoked Freehand is a great looking pipe after polishing. The beautiful finish really highlights the grain and the polished finish 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 finished Malaga Freehand 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: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams /1.55 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the American Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing 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.