Tag Archives: Oxidation

Restaining and Restoring a Green 2015 St. Patrick’s Day 05 Calabash

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe has been sitting here for almost three years. I have picked it up and looked at quite a few times and always set it back down for another day. Today is finally the day. It is a nice 05 Calabash from Peterson of Dublin. It is a Limited Edition 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Pipe. It came with the box, slip cover and green pipe bag. We bought it in 2018 knowing that it had some issues. The biggest was that the right side of the bowl and shank had faded to almost a green wash while the rest of the pipe was fully green. A second issue always stopped me was that the pipe had been dipped in a thick coat of urethane or at least varnish. I would have to remove it if I was to restain the pipe. The stem had a decaying rubber softee bit on it and we all know those can hide anything from tooth marks to bite-throughs and we would not be sure until it was in our hands and we removed it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up. Jeff took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show its condition. It is faded and washed out looking as much as the rest of the pipe. However it is also well smoked. The previous owner had smoked it but was careful with the rim edges and top – no burn damage or poor reaming. Those are redeeming features. He also took photos of the stem with the Softee bit in place and removed. Another redeeming feature was that underneath it was quite clean and undamaged. I let out a big WHEW once I saw that as it is a major amount of work avoided in stem repair. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the stain and the briar underneath. It is an interesting looking pipe. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank and you can see the thick urethane coat almost filling in the stamping. It is readable but it is also awful with the plastic coating on it.To be honest with all of you I am not a big fan of coloured pipes to begin with so this really is a hard one for me. I also really have no idea what the pipe must have looked like before the sun fading and thick urethane coat. Maybe it would be better? I was not sure so I decided to pause my work for a little longer and see what I could find out about the original 2015 St. Patrick’s Day pipe.

I Googled and found a site that had a decent description of the pipe. I could almost picture it from the words. It was a shop called Mission Pipe. You have to answer the age questions to get in but here is the link (https://www.missionpipe.com/peterson-2015-st-patrick-s-day-pipe). They had a photo but it was not that clear. I quote their description below.

Peterson 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Pipe – Peterson of Dublin just released their annual St. Patrick’s Day Pipe, and being their 150th Anniversary year, they went all out. The Peterson’s 2015 St. Patrick’s Day Pipe features an amazing emerald stain, carving reminiscent of Celtic knots on the bowl and rings of silver-colors that match the emerald perfectly…

Google next took me to Mark Irwin’s Peterson Pipe Notes site. His description was spot on and the photos showed me what I needed to know (https://petersonpipenotes.wordpress.com/tag/dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/). I quote below. I have also included a photo of the shape 05 that I have.

St. Patricks Day Pipe 2015 – A combination of smooth (green) and rustic (black) finishes with a smooth flat top at the top of the bow. The rustication is a Celtic knot. Twelve shapes (as shown): 01, 05, 68, 69, XL90. X220, 408, 338, 306, 304, 105, 106.I now knew what I was aiming for with the pipe in question. First the removal of the urethane then a restain with this objective in front of me. A carved Celtic Knot black band around the top edge of the bowl and then a very green stain that matched the green between the polished silver in the band on the shank end.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe as he normally does. He reamed it with a Pipnet Reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipeknife. He scrubbed out the inside of the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to see if he could break down the plastic coat. Unfortunately it did absolutely nothing to that finish. He removed the Softee Bit and scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrubb. He soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He rinsed it off and recleaned it. I took the following pictures when it arrived. That shiny coat kills me! I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of them both. The rim top is blotchy green in colour and the finish is not smooth. The heavy urethane coat is not smooth on the top. The stem looks very good and other than very light chatter it is in excellent condition. I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable but you can also see the high gloss shine of the urethane on the bowl in these photos. It is really quite thick.I took a photo of the bowl and stem separated to give a sense of the pipe but also to highlight the urethane coat the predominates the finish on this once beautiful pipe.Now it was time to try and strip the urethane coat off the bowl so I could restain it. It was going to be a lot of work. I sanded the bowl with 1500 grit micromesh sanding pads and also a medium and a fine sanding block to try and break up the urethane seal. I sanded for a while then wiped the bowl down with acetone. Eventually I was able to break through the urethane coat on the bowl sides and rim top. It sounds simple but I spent probably 3-4 hours sanding and wiping the bowl down with acetone to finally break through the plastic… a foul and loathsome thing!! With the finish finally removed I stained the Celtic Knot carving around the top of the bowl with a Black stain pen as it was in the original. The black looks very good at this point in the process.With that finished it was time to stain the bowl with the green stain. I chose a green stain that matched the green ring in the shank band. It is a Fiebing’s Kelly Green. I applied it with the wool dauber that came with the stain and flamed it to set it in the briar. The flame burns off the excess alcohol and opens the pores in the briar to let the colour into the grain. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage around the bowl. I set the bowl aside to cure and took a break on the front porch for a couple of hours. Before I called it a night I took the cork from the bowl and took photos of the newly stained bowl. I set aside the bowl to let the stain cure before going further with it. I turned my attention to the stem. I repainted the P stamp on the left side with some white acrylic nail polish. I brush it on and scrape of the excess with a fingernail. I lightly sanded it with a 1500 micromesh sanding pad and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine polish. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.This Peterson of Dublin St. Patrick’s Day 2015 shape 05 Calabash is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The Kelly Green stained finish around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights grain very well. It also matches the green in the shank band. The finish works well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. 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 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. (In taking the photos I can see that I need to do a heavier buff on the bowl and will do so after the finish cures a day or two.) The finished St. Patrick’s Day 2015 Bent Calabash sits 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 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. 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!

Another Gorgeous Sunrise – A Tawny Grain 215 Vintage Briar Bent Billiard

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is another one came to us from a group of pipes that Jeff and I picked up from an auction from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. The pipe is beautifully grained bent billiard shaped pipe with a mix of medium brown stains back in 2019. Jeff cleaned it up in 2020 and now I am finally getting to it is 2021. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Sunrise [over] Tawny Grain. On the right side of the shank it reads Vintage Briar followed by the shape number 215 near the bowl end. The pipe was dirty with a lot of grime ground into the bowl but the grain was still visible. The bowl was moderately caked with a light lava coat flowing onto the rim top and beveled inner edge toward the left front of the bowl. The stem was lightly oxidized and dirty with light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The stem had straightened slightly over time so the angle was wrong. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some 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 well as the lava and darkening on the front side of the rim top and inner edge. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the light oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took a photo the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of the beautiful grain around the bowl and shank. The stamping on the sides of the shank is clear and readable and read as noted above. The Sunrise pipe was a Comoy’s made pipe and the France stamp on the shank pointed me to the connection between London and St. Claude (England/France). I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s13.html) to get some background information on this beauty. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section. The third pipe listed bears the same stamping as the one I am working on – Sunrise Tawny Grain.The side bar includes this interesting piece of information. I quote:

The Sunrise brand perfectly illustrates the split pipe production of a same label between Saint Claude (FR) and London (GB) during the period Chapuis Comoy and Comoy closely collaborated (prior to early 1970s).

I turned to Pipedia and looked under the French makers and the brand was not listed. Under the English makers it was listed as a Comoy’s Sub-brand or second. I turned to the Comoy’s listing and at the bottom of the article was a list of these pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s). I have included the list in its entirety and highlighted the Sunrise in red.

Seconds made by Comoy’s

Ace of spades, Ancestor, Astor, Ayres, Britannia, Carlyle, Charles Cross, Claridge, Coronet?, Cromwell, Dorchester, Dunbar, Drury Lane, Emerson, Everyman, Festival of Britain, Golden Arrow, Grand Master, Gresham, Guildhall, Hamilton (according to Who Made That Pipe), Kingsway, Lion’s Head, Lord Clive, Lumberman, Hyde Park, Lloyds, Mc Gahey, Moorgate, Newcastle, Oxford, O’Gorman, Rosebery Extra, Royal Falcon, Royal Guard, Royal Lane, Scotland Yard, St James, Sunrise, Super Sports, Sussex, The Academy Award, The Golden Arrow, The Mansion House, The Exmoor Pipe, Throgmorton, Tinder Box Royal Coachman, Townhall, Trident, Trocadero, Westminster, Wilshire

Now it was time to turn my attentions to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it 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 cleaned up really well. The rim top and outer edge of the bowl appear to be in good condition. The stem surface looked very good and the chatter on the stem on both sides near the button could easily be sanded out. The stamping on the sides of the shank is readable and reads as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The bowl looked very good and once I cleaned up the stem the pipe would look very good.Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. The pipe was in better condition than the other Sunrise pipes I have worked on recently. I was able to move immediately to polishing the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for ten minutes then buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I heated the stem with the flame of a lighter to soften the vulcanite and rebend it to the proper angles. It worked well.I polished the 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. Notice the white/silver spot on the right/topside of the saddle portion of the stem. It is a metal fleck that is often found in pipes that came out during and right after WWII. I polished it and left it there as part of the story of this pipe. This Comoy’s Made Sunrise Tawny Grain Vintage Briar 215 Bent Billiard is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The brown stained finish around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights grain very well. The finish works well with the polished vulcanite bent saddle stem. 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 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 Sunrise Tawny Grain Vintage Briar Bent Billiard sits 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 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 56 grams/1.98 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. 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!

This Gorgeous Sunrise Amber Grain 299 Vintage Briar Canadian Came Alive

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from a group of pipes that Jeff and I picked up from an auction from Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. The pipe is beautifully grained Canadian shaped pipe with a mix of medium brown stains back in 2019. Jeff cleaned it up in 2020 and now I am finally getting to it is 2021. The pipe is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads Sunrise [over] Amber Grain. On the underside of the shank it reads Vintage Briar [over] the shape number 299 near the bowl end. The pipe was dirty with a lot of grime ground into the bowl but the grain was still visible. The bowl was moderately caked with a light lava coat flowing onto the rim top and beveled inner edge toward the left front of the bowl. The stem was lightly oxidized and dirty with light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near and on the button. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some 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 well as the lava and darkening on the front side of the rim top and inner edge. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the light oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took a photo the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of the beautiful grain around the bowl and shank. The stamping on the sides of the shank are clear and readable and read as noted above. The Sunrise pipe was a Comoy’s made pipe and the France stamp on the shank pointed me to the connection between London and St. Claude (England/France). I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s13.html) to get some background information on this beauty. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section. The first pipe listed bears the same stamping as the one I am working on.The side bar includes this interesting piece of information. I quote:

Seconds made by Comoy’s

Now it was time to turn my attentions to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it 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 cleaned up really well. The rim top and outer edge of the bowl appear to be in good condition other than some slight darkening on the front. The stem surface looked very good and the chatter on the stem on both sides near the button could easily be sanded out. The tooth marks on the button surface would need to be addressed. The stamping on the top and underside of the shank is readable and reads as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The bowl looked very good and once I cleaned up the stem the pipe would look very good.Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. I topped the bowl lightly and sanded the beveled inner edge and top of the rim with 200 grit sandpaper to lighten the darkening that was there. There was also a spot on the front outer edge of the bowl that I needed to sand. I stained it with a Maple stain pen to match the colour of the bowl. The finished product looked better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The bowl was in such good condition that I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for ten minutes then buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the button surface and the deeper ones on the stem itself with clear super glue. I let it cure and once it had hardened I reshaped the button and sanded the repairs smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. 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 Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Comoy’s Made Sunrise Amber Grain Vintage Briar 299 Canadian is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The brown stained finish around the bowl is quite beautiful and highlights grain very well. The finish works well with the polished vulcanite oval taper stem. 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 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 Sunrise Amber Grain Vintage Briar Canadian sits 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.09 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. 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!

Breathing Life into a French Made Royal Ascot Deluxe Oom Paul

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was purchased form an online auction in Columbia, Missouri, USA. It is an Oom Paul shape that is stamped Royal Ascot [over] Deluxe on the left side of the shank and Algerian Briar [over] France on the right side. The shape is well done but I was not familiar with the brand. Jeff and I took a risk in purchasing it based on the shape alone but it looked to be worth it. The briar was mixed grain with birdseye on the sides and cross grain on the front and back of the bowl and shank. The finish was quite dirty with grime ground into the bowl sides and bottom. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top and inner edges. There appeared to be some burn damage on the top and inner edge toward the rear of the bowl but only clean up would determine that with certainty. The stem seemed to be older hard rubber and had some mild oxidation and tooth chatter and marks on both sides at the button. There was a faint Crown logo stamped on the left side of the taper. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his clean up work started. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the cake and the condition of the rim top and bowl. He included photos of the stem as well to capture what it looked like pre-cleanup. It is a very graceful looking piece. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl to capture some of the grain that is visible through the grime coat and what also looks like a varnish coat on the briar. The stamping on the sides of the shank was readable and read as noted above. You can also see what appears to be some varnish on the shank sides – kind of a crackly shine coat over the letters.To find out more about a brand which I was ignorant of I turned to Pipephil’s site for a quick overview (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r6.html). The Algerian Briar stamp on the shank led me to believe I was dealing with a pipe made for the American Market. The France stamp seemed odd to me with the very British sounding brand name “Royal Ascot” so I was intrigued to find out what I could learn about it. I have included a screen capture of the section on the site on the brand. There seems to have been a link to Duncan pipes.The side bar on the site included some interesting information. I quote

Pipes with this brand were manufactured in France for Duncan (according to J.M. Lopes, op. cit. and Wilczak & Colwell, op. cit.). They were destined to US market and sold by Mastercraft.

So there was the French/British connection and the connection to the US market and Mastercraft. There seems to always be a tie to the British or French houses with these odd brands and often a link to Mastercraft!

I turned then to Pipedia to see if there was further information as there often is when I use the two sources (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Ascot). Interestingly Pipedia quotes Pipephil’s site. There is a bit of additional information and some photos on the article as well.

According to PipePhil pipes with this brand were manufactured in France for Duncan (according to J.M. Lopes, op. cit. and Wilczak & Colwell, op. cit.). They were destined to US market and sold by Mastercraft. They are made in France and many are marked Algerian Briar. The logo is a crown on the stem. Some pipes of the same name with a horseshoe logo also exist that were made in England, but may not be the same company.

Jeff had done his usual clean up on the pipe – reaming it with a PipNet reamer and cleaning up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He cleaned out the shank and the airway in the mortise and stem with isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to break through the grime. He was able to remove most of the varnish coat at the same time. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub cleanser and cotton pads to remove the grime and light oxidation. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it off and wiped the entire pipe down with a light rub of EVO to enliven both. When I received it I put it away for awhile. I am just getting to work on it now in the summer of 2021 almost a year later. Here is what I saw when I took it out of the box of pipes to work on. I took photos of the damage to the rim top and inner edges of the bowl. Fortunately it appeared to be on the surface and not to deep on the rim top. The inner edge showed more damage to the front of the bowl. The stem was clean but was pitted and had tooth marks on both sides ahead of and on the surface of the button.The stamping looked very good. It was clean and readable. The faint logo on the stem is visible with a lens but otherwise it is gone. It is a crown like the one shown in the photos from PipePhil.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the proportion of this Royal Ascot Oom Paul.I decided to start my work on the pipe by scrubbing it down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the remnants of the varnish coat. It was surprising how much came off and how much better the bowl looked once it was finished. I decided to deal with the inner edge of the rim and the rim top damage next. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the slight bevel on the inner edge and remove the burn damage. I sanded the top as well and was able to make it look much better.There were a couple of rough spots – one on the right side at the shank/bowl junction and one on the heel – where the fills had shrunk. I filled them both in with clear super glue. When the repairs cured I sanded the smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surrounding briar. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads to further blend in the repairs and the sanded rim top. I dry sanded with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the debris. I paused the polishing to touch up the repaired areas and rim top with an Oak Stain Pen. The colour was the closest match to the rest of the bowl so once it was polished and buffed it would blend in well.I resumed the polishing with 6000-12000 grit micromesh and found that the areas on the bowl that I had stained blended in very well.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm and worked it into the briar. The product cleans, enlivens and protects the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work then buffed it off with a soft cloth. The pipe is shown below as it looks at this point in the process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the hard rubber stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks as much as possible. I was able to lift them significantly. I filled in the remaining one on the top side next to the button and on the underside in the same place with clear super glue. Once it cured I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil to help protect and preserve the rubber. I polished with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil to finish. I finished the stem and put the pipe back together again. I buffed the Royal Ascot Deluxe French Made Algerian Briar Oom Paul with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing wheel. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe is a real beauty. The dimension of the pipe are – Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 60 grams/2.12 ounces. The pipe will be added to the rebornpipes store in the French Pipe Makers section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Cleaning up a GBD Speciale 9438 Rhodesian

2 Replies

Blog by Mike Belarde

Hello. Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and walk through a fun clean up job on a GBD 9438.

I’m pretty excited about this pipe. Like many readers of this site, the GBD 9438 Rhodesian is one of my favorite shapes. There is just something endearing about this rendition of the bent Rhodesian. The thick walls of these pipes also seem well suited for many of the flake tobaccos that I enjoy. I was really thrilled when I won this pipe in an online auction out of New York. The pipe looked to be in good condition in the pictures provided for the online listing. The stummel looked to have a nice smattering of bird’s eyes and some cross grain on the right side.

When I received the pipe, I found it to be in great condition. The stain looked a little faded, but the pipe had a nice orange-ish brown or reddish-brown tint to it. The stamping was legible and crisp. The rim was grungy and blackened. The chamber had only a trace of cake. The stem looked great. It was free of tooth marks and heavy oxidation, but looked to have some sanding marks, or scratches from being over buffed. All in all, I felt very pleased with the condition of the pipe. Here are some pictures of the pipe, prior to cleaning process. As you can see from the photos, this pipe is in great shape for its age. Now let’s proceed to the cleaning process.

The first step in the process is to address the internals of both the briar and stem, and then clean up the grime on the stummel, and the carbon build up on the rim. For this job I only grabbed a nylon bristled shank brush, some bristled and regular pipe cleaners, 99.9% isopropyl alcohol, and a bit of folded 320 grit sandpaper.I cleaned the shank over the sink with the shank brush dipped in alcohol. After each pass through the shank, I rinsed the shank brush under running water and re- dip it in the alcohol. I repeated this process until the soiling coming out on the shank brush began to lighten. Once this happened, I transition to bristled pipe cleaner dipped in alcohol, and then lastly, regular pipe cleaners.

I also ran both alcohol dipped bristled and regular pipes cleans through the stem. I was happy that the pipe was fairly clean and I only ran through a small hand full of pipe cleaners.

There wasn’t enough cake in the chamber to warrant the use of the reamer, so I opted to just sand out the chamber lightly with a folded piece of sandpaper. Once that was completed, I scrubbed out the chamber and the shank with alcohol dipped cotton swabs. With the internals cleaned, I scrubbed the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and an old toothbrush. I then scrubbed the rim with an old green scouring pad. The rim and the chamber cleaned up well and appeared to be in good condition. I took the rest of the charring or darkening on the rim and inner rim with a folded piece of 320 grit sandpaper. I light sanded out the darkening on the rim and reestablished the slight bevel in the inner rim with the sandpaper. The stummel seemed to be fairly clean but I decided to de-ghost the piped further. I inserted two folded tapered fluffy pipe cleaners through the shank and down into the chamber to act as a wick. To ensure that there was contact on all the surface of the internal walls of the shank, I add two more folded pipe cleaners into the large shank of the Rhodesian. I have found using the fluffy pipe cleaners is easier for me than trying to fish an elongated cotton ball down the shank. I then placed a cotton ball in the chamber and saturated it with isopropyl alcohol.

While the stummel was de-ghosting. I placed the stem in a small Tupperware container to soak in Briarville’s Oxidation Remover solution. This pipe was very clean and I only let both the stummel and stem to soak for about eight hours.Both the alcohol and the Briarville solution further cleaned the pipe. I took the stem out of the solution and rinsed it and then ran some alcohol dipped pipe cleaners through it. I then scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and the scouring pad to clean it up further. I then worked on the stem. There appeared to be light scratches and a bit of pitting near the button. I took a folded piece of 400 grit sandpaper and sanded out the damage the best I could. The sanding seemed to have taken care of most of the flaws in the stem.In the next step I took the stem through the progression of micromesh pads (1500-12000). I polished the stem with each pad and wiped the stem down with a cotton pad soaked in Obsidian Oil in between each pad. In the last step, I polished the stem with Before and After’s Extra Fine Polish. Satisfied with the progress on the stem, I turned my attention to the stummel. I polished the briar with the progression of micromesh pads (1500-12000) wiping it down with a damp paper towel. Once this step was done, I mixed some dye up to touch up the stain.I really liked the light orange or red tint that this pipe had, so I decided to try and re-stain it with British Tan. I mixed a one-to-one ratio of British Tan with alcohol to thin the leather dye down a bit. I like to apply the stain with a small hobby brush. I find that the brush helps me to coat the stummel evenly. Once the stain was applied, I used a small tea candle to fire the briar and set the dye. I let the stummel sit for a couple of hours and then removed some of the excess stain with a cotton pad soaked in acetone. After removing some of the excess stain with acetone I began to polish the stummel with the micromesh pad series (1500-12000). I wiped the briar down with a damp paper towel between each pad.

Once I was finished with the micro pads, I worked some Before and After Restoration Balm into the stummel. The pipe was really looking nice at this point! I let the balm sit for about 10 minutes and then buffed the stummel with a cotton cloth. In the last step of the process, I buffed both the stummel and stem with Red Tripoli and Blue Diamond. I then gave both several coats of Carnauba wax and buffed them with a cotton cloth.

I’m really happy how this pipe turned out, and am looking forward to loading it up and relaxing with it in the backyard. Thanks for taking the time to read this post!

Restoring the final pipe of the Thrift Shop Foursome – A GBD Tapestry 1970 Diplomat

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I was scanning through Facebook Marketplace and came across a collection of four pipes that were being sold near where I live in Vancouver. I messaged the individual and it turned out it was an animal rescue/hospital thrift shop. They were selling the four pipes and the rack with all proceeds going to their charity. My second daughter and I made the drive over to visit and have a look at the pipes. I have included the photo from the advertisement to show the pipes and their condition. The label on the sale was inaccurate but I could see what at least three of the pipes were and I was interested.When I parked in front of the shop and went in the clerk brought out the pipes and rack so I could have a look. In the order they are in the rack from left to right the pipes were as follows: A GBD Tapestry 1970 Shape (Diplomat), a Brigham 228 two dot sitter in a shape I had not seen before, a Chacom Meridien 811 Dublin with a diamond shank, and a Kriswill Saga 140. The Brigham and the Chacom both had cracks. The Brigham had a hairline crack in the bowl and Chacom a cracked shank. I paid the price we agreed on for the pipes and headed home.

I wrote Charles Lemon of Dad’s Pipes who is the go to guy for all things Brigham and asked him about the pipe. He said it was a shape he did not have and did not have on his shape chart. I thought about it overnight and sent it off to him on Monday morning. I look forward to his blog on this pipe as it is a really Danish looking Brigham.

That left me with three pipes to work on. I worked on the Chacom Meridien first and have written about the work (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/07/23/repairing-and-adding-a-touch-of-antiquity-to-a-chacom-meridien-diamond-shank-811-dublin/). The second pipe, a Kriswill Saga Scoop has also been finished (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/08/07/restoring-an-interesting-kriswill-saga-140-scoop-egg/). The final pipe, the GBD Tapestry was a great looking shape but it was also a bit of a mess. The bowl had not only a moderate cake in the bowl and lava on the rim top toward the back side. The edges looked quite good with darkening on the back rim top. The mixed finish sandblast with smooth patches was filthy with ground in grit and grime. The stamping on the pipe was minimal. On the underside it read GBD in an oval [over] Tapestry over London England [over] the shape number 1970. The chairleg stem had the brass GBD roundel on the topside. There was a lot of oxidation, calcification and tooth marks on chatter on both sides. It was tired but showed a lot of promise. I took photos of the pipe as it was when I brought it home. I took some close up shots of the bowl and rim top along with the stem to show the condition of both. You can see the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows the lava coat that is all the way around but heavier on the right rear and side. The photos of the stem show its condition. You can see the oxidation, calcification, some paint spots and tooth marking in the photos below.I took photos of the stamping on underside of the shank and it read as noted above. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to give a sense of the beauty of contrasting finish of sandblast and smooth panels on the bowl and shank. It is a nice looking pipe.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD) and read the history section to see if I could find any information on the Tapestry Line. There was a paragraph toward the end that gave a list of the pipe grades and where Tapestry fit into the brand. I quote:

The following list comprises the better grades in descending order: Pedigree, Pedigree I, Pedigree II, Straight Grain, Prodigy, Bronze Velvet, Virgin, Varichrome, Prestige, Jubilee, New Era, Prehistoric, International, Universe, Speciale Standard, Ebony, Tapestry, New Standard, Granitan, Sauvage, Sierra, Penthouse, Legacy, Concorde.

I turned to the related article on Shape numbers for GBD pipe to see if I could find anything about the 1970 shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Shapes/Numbers). I found the following listed item:There was a slight issue in the information above. I would indeed call the shape a Diplomat and it has a 1/8 bent stem. However, the shank is oval not round.

I turned to another Pipedia article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD_Model_Information) looking for information on the Tapestry line. I found it listed under the heading of a List of GBD Models. It said:

Tapestry — Factory unknown: light brown sandblast, geometric panels masked before blasting. -TH: Chairleg stem. -catalog (1976).

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I began my work on the pipe by reaming out the cake. I started the process by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and took the cake down to bare walls. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the bowl work by sanding the inside with piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once it was finished the bowl was clean. With cake removed I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime ground into the briar and to remove the buildup of lava on the rim top and edges. It really was a nice looking piece of briar. I scraped the walls of the mortise with a small pen knife to scrape away the thick tarry buildup that was present. I cleaned out the mortise, the airway into the bowl with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. It was very dirty with tars and oils and took a lot of swabs and pipe cleaners. I had already put the stem in the deoxidizer so cleaning the airway would have to wait.I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the darkening on the rim top. I was able to remove much of it. The rest would lessen with polishing.I dropped the stem into a soak of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and set it aside for several hours while I worked on the bowl.While the stem soaked I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl began to take on a deep shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish my fingertips and into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast portion with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The product brought the briar to life and gave some depth to the finish. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I took it out of the Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rubbed it down with a coarse cloth. The oxidation was still present but primarily around the fancy turned portion of the stem. I remembered to clean out the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with Soft Scrub cleanser on cotton pads until I had removed the remaining oxidation. The stem was actually starting to look very good at this point in the process.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine Stem Polishes. I wiped it down a final time with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This GBD Tapestry 1970 Diplomat turned out to be a real beauty with some nice grain on both the sandblast portions and the smooth patches. I put the stem on the shank and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the stem and bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it to deepen the shine. The grain on the briar came alive with the buffing and the gold of the band was a great contrast between the briar and the polished vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside Diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the Chamber: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.23 ounces/35 grams. It is really a great looking pipe. The oval shank and fancy chair leg style stem looks excellent. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Makers section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Restoring an interesting Kriswill Saga 140 Scoop/Egg

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I was scanning through Facebook Marketplace and came across a collection of four pipes that were being sold near where I live in Vancouver. I messaged the individual and it turned out it was an animal rescue/hospital thrift shop. They were selling the four pipes and the rack with all proceeds going to their charity. My second daughter and I made the drive over to visit and have a look at the pipes. I have included the photo from the advertisement to show the pipes and their condition. The label on the sale was inaccurate but I could see what at least three of the pipes were and I was interested.When I parked in front of the shop and went in the clerk brought out the pipes and rack so I could have a look. In the order they are in the rack from left to right the pipes were as follows: A GBD Tapestry 1970 Shape (Banker), a Brigham 228 two dot sitter in a shape I had not seen before, a Chacom Meridien 811 Dublin with a diamond shank, and a Kriswill Saga 140. The Brigham and the Chacom both had cracks. The Brigham had a hairline crack in the bowl and Chacom a cracked shank. I paid the price we agreed on for the pipes and headed home.

That left me with three pipes to work on. I addressed the cracked shank in the Chacom Meridien first and have written about the work (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/07/23/repairing-and-adding-a-touch-of-antiquity-to-a-chacom-meridien-diamond-shank-811-dublin/). The second pipe of the three I chose to work on was a Kriswill Saga Scoop. The pipe was a great looking shape but it was also a bit of a mess. The bowl had not only a moderate cake in it but also about a ½ bowl of old tobacco that was unsmoked. The cake in the bowl had erupted onto the crowned rim top and left a light lava coat toward the back side. The edges looked quite good with some nicks on the front outer edge. The briar was filthy with ground in grit and grime. The stamping on the pipe was minimal. On the underside it read Kriswill [over] Saga followed by the shape number 140. The stem had the Kriswill star logo on the topside of the taper. There was a lot of oxidation, calcification and tooth marks on chatter on both side. It was tired but showed a lot of promise. I took photos of the pipe as it was when I brought it home. I took some close up shots of the bowl and rim top along with the stem to show the condition of both. You can see the half smoked bowl of tobacco and the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows the lava on the left side at the back and toward the front on the right side. The photos of the stem show its condition. You can see the oxidation, calcification and tooth marking in the photos below.I took photos of the stamping on underside of the shank and the logo on the stem and have included them below. They read as noted above.I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to give a sense of the beauty of the shape. It is a nice looking pipe.I turned to Pipephil’s site for a quick overview of the brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html). I have included a screen capture of the brand below. From that I knew that the pipe I was working on was post 1970 because of the stamping and the star on the stem.There was also a side bar that gave further information on the brand. It established an end date for the pipe I was working on. It was made before the late 1970s when the company went bankrupt. I knew that it was made between 1970-1978/79. I quote below

Kriswill is a brand of Kriswork Briar Trading, in Kolding (Denmark) established about 1955. Some of Kriswill pipes were designed by Sigvard Bernadotte, Swedish prince and brother to the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark. He collaborated with his Danish partner Acton Bjørn. When the company went bankrupt in the late 1970s it was on a level with Stanwell. Dan Pipe Cigar & Company (Hafenstrasse 30 D-21481 Lauenburg/Elbe, Ge) bought the rights to use the name and it is Holmer Knudsen and/or Poul Winsløw who make the Kriswill line.

Pipedia has a great history write up on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kriswill). It gives a great summary of the history. There were several shape charts there and there was not a shape 140 but there was a 40 that was identical. With that out of the way it was time to work on the pipe.

I began my work on the pipe by reaming out the cake. I started the process with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the unsmoked tobacco and the moderate cake in the conical bowl. I took it back to bare briar then sanded the bowl with piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once it was finished the bowl was clean.With cake removed I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime ground into the briar and to remove the buildup of lava on the rim top and edges. It really was a nice looking piece of briar. I cleaned out the mortise, the airway into the bowl with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. It was very dirty with tars and oils and took a lot of swabs and pipe cleaners. I had already put the stem in the deoxidizer so cleaning the airway would have to wait.I dropped the stem into a soak of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and set it aside for several hours while I worked on the bowl.While the stem soaked I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl began to take on a deep shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The product brought the briar to life and gave some depth to the finish. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I took it out of the Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rubbed it down with a coarse cloth. I was pretty happy with how good it looked. I cleaned out the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol.I touched up the star logo on the top of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. I applied it and when it dried scraped it off with a tooth pick and then polished it with a worn 1500 grit micromesh pad. I am happy with the finished look of the logo.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine Stem Polishes. I wiped it down a final time with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Kriswill Saga 140 Scoop/Egg from the 1970s is a real beauty with some nice grain. I put the stem on the shank and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the stem and bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it to deepen the shine. The grain on the briar came alive with the buffing and the gold of the band was a great contrast between the briar and the polished vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are – Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside Diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the Chamber: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. It is really a great looking pipe. The oval shank and tapered stem looks excellent. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers section shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me. Cheers.

Rebirth of a Special 1912 BBB Own Make Glokar Collegiate Class Zulu

8 Replies

When I saw Bri’s post on this old BBB Glokar on Facebook I wrote and asked her to do a blog on the restoration. She agreed. I am excited to have this blog here both for the pipe itself but also for the unique techniques that Bri uses in here restorations. Thanks Bri and welcome to rebornpipes.

Blog by Bri Hill

My name is Bri Hill, a new member of the pipe restoration community. I have a newly opened store on Ebay called Vintage Overhauled. My experience restoring tobacco pipes has been short so far, only a couple months experience under my belt. In that short amount of time it has been an awesome whirlwind learning so many new and different things. I recently had the privilege of acquiring and restoring a 1912 BBB Own Make Glokar Collegiate Class Pipe. It was specifically made for the University of Michigan class of 1913. I found it on Facebook through an antique store in my home state of Michigan. This was a true gem to me for many reasons. Two of which, it is extremely rare and I am a tried and true Maize and Blue fan.Before I go into further detail I wanted to mention, full disclosure, I was not prepared for this amazing opportunity of writing about my experience with this beautiful piece. The opportunity to write this blog article was presented after the pipe was finished being restored. Therefore, I did not take as many pictures during the restoration process as I would have liked for this restoration project.

The process I follow has taken some time to iron out and is continually evolving, but for this piece it was very simple.

The first step was a two part process. One part was to put the stem in an Oxyclean soak. This helps speed the process of removing oxidation. The second step I follow is rubbing down the stummel with vinegar diluted in water. I rubbed it down with 0000 steel wool. The fine grade of the steel wool prevents most scratching during the cleaning process. After only about five minutes with the steel wool the entire outside of the stummel is clean like new, even the char on the rim is completely gone. The metal lettering and band cleaned up immediately. From there, I then ran a fine grade pipe cleaner through the shank a few times continually dipping the pipe cleaner in the vinegar water solution during this.

The next step involves adding in reaming techniques. I chose to pursue a less aggressive approach when first reaming this pipe in order to be as careful as possible with it. I use a dropper to suck up the vinegar and water solution. I pour the solution from the dropper into the chamber while using my finger to plug the hole at the shank end. I let it sit for 30 seconds then release my finger off the shank to pour out the solution. This gets the cake in the chamber moistened up to prepare for reaming. I repeat this step throughout the reaming process. This makes it much easier than reaming the chamber when dry. For reaming the chamber this is a two part method. First, I take a piece of silverware with the smallest handle I can find. One with a round end at the handle. I gently scrape away at the cake trying to remove just a small initial layer at a time. I then repeat the solution with the dropper process for 30 seconds. Ream again. Repeat. I do this until the chamber is reamed to my satisfaction. I then move to the second and final part of reaming. Using a traditional reaming tool, I give it a couple spins to even out the chamber.

After reaming is complete, some sanding is done in order to even out the leftover cake in the chamber. I decided for this pipe I wanted to use a less aggressive method of sanding than my prior technique of just wrapping sandpaper around a toothbrush end. Instead I used some 320 grit sandpaper followed by 600 then 800 and 1200. I do this to ensure the chamber ends up looking even and smooth. (However on a side note, when I was completely done restoring the stummel I noticed there were uneven layers of cake toward the top of the chamber near the rim. After much debate with myself over it. I decided to forgo going back and sanding again.) I wrap the strip of paper around the end of my finger to create a curved surface in order to address the bottom of the chamber. Once sanding is complete I plug the shank hole and put coffee grounds and alcohol in the chamber. I let this sit overnight. Once I drain and clean out the coffee grounds . I run a bit of hot water through the chamber using the dropper to clean out any leftover grounds. Afterwards, I took a tool that came with my Fiebings dyes. I dip the tool in EA Carey sweetener and disinfectant.

I then insert the tool into the chamber and lightly twist and scrub around the chamber. I let the excess drip out through the shank, while being careful not to get the solution on the outside of the stummel. The solution sweetens and disinfects the chamber and shank. The solution leaves the chamber smelling minty and fresh.

After, it is time to turn my attention to the rim of the bowl. There are two very small nicks in the rim.

I wasn’t sure at first if I needed to fill the nicks with CA glue and briar dust or if I could lightly sand and get results that way instead. I chose the sanding route because I wanted to preserve the originality of the pipe as much as possible. When choosing this approach I always start with the highest grade sanding paper possible and work my way down until I find the right grade for the situation. If you choose a grade too low it can alter the rim in multiple ways; such as taking off the stain and creating uneven spots on the rim. I started with the 2500 grade and worked my way down to 1200. I sanded each nick lightly, only for a few passovers. I would then switch to the Black Emery compound with a rotary tool cloth polishing bit. This might be unconventional to some, because many rave over Brown Tripoli and White Diamond. There have been some situations where I have used White Diamond and it produces positive results. In regards to Brown Tripoli. No matter what I have tried, I cannot produce the results that many speak about. For me, it just produces a dull and foggy look. In my experience the Black Emery produces a shinier luster than the Brown Tripoli. I repeat the process 3 times of sanding very lightly with 1200 and then using the Black Emery after. I focused my attention to the rim structure during this in order to make sure I was not creating an uneven spot by sanding too much. This is the end result, although the initial picture doesn’t really show the full extent of the nicks.Once the nicks were handled I moved on to buffing the stummel. For the first step of this process I used the Black Emery with a white cloth rotary buffing bit.

I then one over the stummel with 5000 sandpaper. After that, I apply the Green compound using a string buffer and then follow that with 10000 sandpaper. I do another round of Green and follow up for a final time with 15000 sandpaper. I have found that alternating between both sanding methods not only produces a great shine, but the high grit sandpaper polishes out the micro scratches the buffing compound process leaves behind. I avoid the rim edges with the sandpaper when doing this because it can produce uneven coloring on the rim and edge areas. I also avoid the metal lettering and band when using the sandpaper. I noticed it creates micro scratches. I stick to just the compound for the metal parts.

For the final step I apply two rounds of Carnauba wax with a string buffer again. I let the wax sit for 15 minutes each time.

Once the stummel process is complete I move on to the stem that has been soaking in Oxyclean. I use 0000 steel wool and a magic eraser. After about 7 minutes of alternating between both, the stem is all clean. I had to pay a little extra attention to the lip of the stem. Oxidation is always a bit more difficult to remove in that area. Once clean I noticed there is a decent size indent from a bite mark on the stem. I use a lighter to apply short stints of heat to the bite area, this pulls the indent out a bit each time. Be careful not to apply the heat too close. It will burn and damage the stem. My trick is putting a finger right next to the area I’m working on. This way I can feel if the lighter is too close. In my experience you don’t need a high temperature of heat applied. I do about 2 or 3 second stints with applying the heat. After the 3^rd time the indent pulled outward enough that I felt satisfied in moving on to buffing and polishing.

For polishing and buffing the stem I use the same Black Emery and General Green approach along with the same buffing bits. However, I only used one round of 15000 sandpaper right before waxing. I skipped the 5000 and 10000 step I used on the stummel. The approach that I found works best is applying a round of Black Emery first. Followed by the green and then the 15000 sandpaper. From there I apply two rounds of wax just like I did with the stummel.

Here is the final result. I’m quite satisfied with it. I am very excited for this piece to be a part of the new Vintage Overhauled collection. Visit my store on Ebay to check it out and see others that have been restored.

A Labour of Love – Repairing a Badly Damaged, Cracked Karl Erik Grade A Hand Made

6 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I am pretty sure that I am a sucker for both a good story and a badly damaged pipe. The next pipe on the table came with both. I received an email from Dewey in Iowa about a pipe he bought over 20 years ago. It was one of his favourite pipes and it had a serious crack in the exterior of the bowl. He wrote asking what he could do about it. Here is what he wrote:

Dear Steve,

I have owned a Karl Erik pipe for over 20 years. Bought it from the National Cigar Store in Waterloo, Iowa…..it is my favorite pipe…

just yesterday I found a large crack has appeared on the bottom of the pipe. It still smokes fine but is there anything that can be done to stop it from cracking further and can the crack be filled? …The crack does extend up the front of the pipe into a small design where a short second crack is present…wow…

I was going to send pics but don’t know how to add them here

Thank you so much for your time and consideration.

I wrote him back and asked him to send the photos to my email account. He sent three photos of the pipe. I think that the first two are teasers to get my interest before he hits me with the photo of the damage to the bowl. He obviously took photos mid smoke. It is a uniquely shaped pipe and one that he really loves to smoke. You can see from the photos above what I saw. The pipe was obviously heavily caked and the plateau on the rim top was filled in with lava overflow. The stem was chomped and had deep tooth marks visible on the topside. But so far it looked no different than any other pipes that I have worked on. It was a nice looking Karl Erik pipe that had been thoroughly enjoyed for over 20 years. Then came the next picture of the damage in question. Wow!He also added that there was more damage. I have included our further email conversation below.

Steve, the crack does extend up the front of the pipe into a small design where a short second crack is present…wow…

…there is also a very small crack extending below the stem hole…but it has been there for quite a while now and doesn’t seem to be growing larger.

Thanx, Dewey

So now I knew what we were talking about. A crack in the heel of the bowl and up the front into the carved design with a second smaller crack in the design itself. There was also a small crack on the shank end extending downward from the mortise. I wrote Dewey back about what he could do with the crack in terms of self repair. His response was to ask if I would do the repair. We wrote back and forth for a while and finally I agreed to take on the project. I wanted to make sure that he understood that the repair would be solid but that it could possibly crack again. He was fine with that and reiterated that he was in no hurry with the pipe. Several weeks went by and the pipe arrived in Vancouver. Here is what I saw. The pipe was far dirtier than I could see from the photos. When the package arrived and my wife brought it in I could smell the sweet, smoky aroma of the pipe through the padded envelope. My wife handed it to me we the short declaration “IT STINKS”. I had to admit that it did. The bowl had a lot of oils and grime ground into the surface of the briar that all but hid the grain on the bowl. The plateau rim top was almost smooth with the filled in lava overflow and there was a thick cake in the bowl. The stem was oxidized, calcified and chomped with heavy tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. When I removed the stem the mortise and airway were reduced from the tars and the airflow through the shank and stem were restricted. The pipe would need a serious ream and clean before I could assess the damage from the crack. I would need to ream it back to bare briar to see if the cracks went into the chamber. It was impossible to see the condition of the chamber.

I took close up photos of the rim top and bowl and the stem before I started my clean up work so that I could document the condition of the pipe when I started my work on it.The stamping on the underside of the shank is quite filled in with the grime but reads Karl Erik [over] Hand Made in Denmark [over] A which is the grade stamp.I took photos of the crack in the heel of the bowl and up the front side into the carving. It is quite long and large and the crack is singular. It has not taken off in other directions. That is the good news with this damaged bowl.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the look of the pipe. It is an interesting shaped pipe with a jutting chin on the front.In order to move forward with the examination of the bowl I needed to clean it up. To inspect the inside walls of the chamber and the base of the chamber to see if the crack goes into the chamber I needed to remove all of the cake. It needed to be smooth if I was going to be able to examine it properly. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants in the chamber with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I wrapped a dowel with 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the walls and bottom of the bowl to further clean it up.At this point I examined the bowl with a flashlight and a dental probe and I could not see any cracking on the bottom of the bowl or the sides parallel to the crack on the heel and the front of the bowl in the carving. That was a wonderful discovery! I knew now that I was dealing with a crack on the exterior of the bowl that had not proceeded inside. I am wondering at this point if Dewey had dropped the pipe on a hard surface as that would explain what we were dealing with.

I decided to clean up the exterior of the bowl next. I scrubbed it with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap, a tooth brush and a brass bristle brush for the plateau. I scrubbed it with the soap and the brushes until it was a mess and rinsed it off with warm running water. I repeated the process until I was convinced I had removed the thick grime coat and lava on the rim top. I took photos of the cleaned bowl at this point. It is nice to see the grain poking through. It is a really nicely grained pipe. I am thinking that the characteristic carved patterns around the bowl and shank were done to deal with flaws in the briar. I wonder if the crack started in the carved area and proceeded downward? I focused some of the cleaning on the crack on the front carving where it appeared that there were two cracks. I have circled the crack in the second photo and have red arrows pointing to the damaged spots. I also cleaned the crack down into the heel of the bowl. I wanted it to be free of grime and oils so that the repair would be solid.With the externals clean and the bowl reamed it was time to clean out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem. I scrubbed them with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they came out clean. The pipe was finally beginning to smell less sour.With the pipe clean it was now time to work on the cracks. I drilled a small micro pin hole at each end of the crack to stop it from spreading further. I filled in the pin holes and the crack with briar dust and clear super glue. I layered the repair using a dental spatula to pressed the dust deep in the cracked area. I did the same thing with the small hairline crack on the shank end.Once the repair had cured I sanded the heel of the bowl, the front of the repair and the chin edge with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repaired area and blend it into the surrounding briar.I used a black stain pen to fill in the crevices of each of the carved areas around the bowl and shank sides as well as those in the plateau areas on the rim top and shank end. It appeared that this is what it looked like originally and I like the sense of contrast and depth that it gives those areas once the bowl is polished.I stained the repaired areas with a Maple stain pen to match the surrounding briar. It involved staining the heel of the bowl, the nose and carved area on the front of the bowl, the rim top high points on the plateau and the high points on the plateau on the shank end. The pipe is beginning to take shape and look better.With the staining finished I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down between the pads with a damp cloth to remove the debris. By the end o f the process the bowl began to take on a rich shine. The repairs, while still visible were less so than when I started the polishing. I rubbed the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips to clean, preserve and protect the briar. I let it sit for 10-15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the oxidation and calcification which seemed to reside on the surface of the vulcanite. I scrubbed out the tooth marks at the same time working the scrub deep into them. I was amazed at how clean it was when I had finished. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them to the surface. The heat raised them significantly but not completely. I filled in the remaining marks with clear super glue and once it had cured flattened the repairs with a file and also recut the button edges. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into the surface and started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil which cleans and protects the vulcanite. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final wipe of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. It was good to be finished with this labour of love. I would be glad to pack it up and send it back to Dewey. It looks amazingly good considering where it was when I started. Some may not agree with my method of repair but it has worked for me for many years. The cracks in the exterior of the briar were repaired and filled in. The bowl been restained and polished. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and the bowl began to shine. The Karl Erik A Hand Made Freehand looked almost like new (minus the dark line of the crack repair). The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl:1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. I know Dewey will be excited to get this back when I send it out next week. It is a beautiful pipe and with the repair and restoration it should continue to serve Dewey for a long time to come. Thanks for walking through this repair with me.

Refreshing A Guildhall 250 Straight Stemmed Dublin by Comoy’s

Leave a reply

Post by Mike Belarde

Hello. Thank you for taking the time to read this post, and walk with me through a fun and enjoyable restoration project.

Pipe restoration has become a recent hobby for me, and I’ve been restoring estate pipes for my personal collection over the last year and a half. Most of the techniques I use, I have gleaned from the Reborn Pipes and The Pipe Steward websites. Both Steve and Dal have been a great source of info. Steve has also been very gracious, and has let me share a post on the site.

I have had this nice Dublin for several months now, and am finally getting a weekend to work on it and clean it up. I purchased it through an online auction from a seller out of Minnesota. What caught my eye with this pipe was the interesting looking grain, and the shape. I have several bent Dublins, but did not own a straight stemmed version. The fact that the pipe was a Guildhall also caught my attention. I own several Everyman Pipes, which are also Comoy’s seconds, and seem to be of good quality.

This pipe is marked with the Guildhall, and made in England stamps, and a shape number of 250.

I have provided a link to the Comoy’s article from Pipedia here, which lists Guildhall as a Comoy’s second. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s. Also, on the Pipedia site there is an interesting example of a Comoy’s advertisement briefly describing the Guildhall line, and I have included it below.According the Pipedia site’s shape chart reference, the shape number 250 corresponds to a straight stemmed, oval shanked, Dublin. This matches the pipe that I’m working on. When I received the pipe, it was in fairly good condition. The stummel had a light shine, but still looked slightly grimy. The rim had a light coating of carbon/lava overflow, and the chamber was lightly caked. From what I could see, the shank and draft seemed to be in good condition without a lot of tar and carbon build up. As you can see from the pictures, the pipe has some interesting cross grain and perhaps small birds’ eyes. Once the cleanup process is complete, I’m expecting that this will be a very attractive pipe, and a nice addition to my collection. The stamping on the pipe was in good condition and easily legible. The stem looked to also be in great condition. The stem was only lightly oxidized. There didn’t seem to be any tooth marks or chatter, but there was a small area of calcification around the button portion of the stem. Perhaps the prior owner had utilized softy bits? All in all, the pipe looked to be in great shape! The first step in the process is to address the internals of both the briar and stem, and then clean up the grime on the stummel, and the carbon build up on the rim. Recently, I’ve been trying to clean the shank with a shank reamer and nylon shank brush dipped in alcohol first in order to save on the amount of pipe cleaners that I have been going through. My first step is to ream the bowl and clear as much of the cake that I can. I used two head sizes on the reamer, and gently cleared out the majority of the carbon. I transitioned next to a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a small dowel to further sand out the chamber.I then turned my attention to the shank. I first run the shank reamer through the shank and gently turn it in a clockwise motion to remove any of the buildup in the airway. This particular reamer is 3.5mm in diameter. I only want to remove the build up without removing any of the actual briar. I don’t want to alter and widen the draft on this pipe. On Steve’s advice, I have also attached a similar sized drill bit to a cordless drill and have gently turned other stummels by hand to clear the airways.I run a shank brush several times through the shank and rinse it under running water, then dip the bristles about half way up the brush. I found out the hard way that if you dip the entire brush in alcohol, you can inadvertently sprits the stummel with alcohol on the backstock, potentially damaging a good stain and finish.

Once that shank brush starts to come out only lightly soiled, I move on to cleaning the shank with bristled pipe cleaners, and then soft pipe cleaners. Thankfully this pipe was fairly clean, and I only ran through a handful of cleaners on the stummel and stem.Once that step is completed, I moved on to cleaning the shank and the chamber with cotton swabs dipped in alcohol. As you can see by the swabs, the pipe cleaners still left some tar in the shank. With the internals cleaned, I scrubbed the stummel with Oil Soap and an old toothbrush. I gently sanded some of the lava build up on the rim with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper, and removed the rest of the build up with a green scouring pad. Now that everything is clean, it looks like the rim and chamber are in great shape! I decided to de-ghost and clean the stummel further. I inserted two tapered fluffy pipe cleaners through the shank and down into the chamber to act as a wick. I have found using the fluffy pipe cleaners is easier for me than trying to fish an elongated cotton ball down the shank. I then placed a cotton ball in the chamber and saturated it with isopropyl alcohol. I resaturated the cotton ball every couple of hours and then left the stummel to sit overnight.

While the stummel was de-ghosting. I placed the stem in a small Tupperware container to soak overnight in Briarville’s Oxidation Remover solution. After soaking overnight more of the tar build up was removed from the stummel. The stem also looked good. The light oxidation and calcium build up was removed, and this revealed a few light toothmarks on the underside of the stem. I decided to work on the stem first. I tried lifting some of the toothmarks with a Bic lighter. It raised the indentations some. I sanded the rest of the marks out with a small piece of 320 grit sandpaper. After the toothmarks were dealt with I began to polish the stem. I took the stem through the progression of micromesh pads. After each pad I wiped down the stem with a cotton pad soaked in Obsidian Oil. In the last step I polished the stem with Before and After’s Extra Fine Polish. The stem seemed to have come out pretty well. I moved on to the stummel. I started to polish the stummel with the micromesh pads and about halfway through the process decided that the stain looked a little worn and washed out. So, I decided to touch up the stain.

I mixed a one-to-one ratio of Cordovan Leather with alcohol to thin the leather dye down a bit. Recently I have been finding that my dye jobs have been darkening the briar too much, and hiding a lot of grain. I wanted to see how this would turnout. I like to apply the stain with a small hobby brush. I find it helps me to coat the stummel evenly. Once the stain was applied, I used a small tea candle to fire the briar and set the dye. I let the stummel sit for a couple of hours and then removed some of the excess stain with a cotton pad soaked in acetone. After removing some of the excess stain with acetone I began to polish the stummel with the micromesh pad series. I wiped the briar down with a damp paper towel between each pad.Once I was finished with the micro pads, I worked some Before and After Restoration Balm into the stummel. It is always encouraging to see the grain come to life after applying the balm! I let the balm sit for about 10 minutes and then buffed the stummel with a cotton cloth. The last step in the process, I buffed both the stummel and stem with Red Tripoli and Blue Diamond. I then gave both several coats of Carnauba wax and buffed them with a cotton cloth.