Tag Archives: Oxidation

Pulling a Broken Tenon and Restemming a Tiny Hexagonal Dublin

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by Steve Laug

I received two pipes for repair from Brady, who works at a Pipe and Tobacco Shop in Texas yesterday. The first is a tiny Hexagonal Dublin stamped Genuine Briar. The second one is a leather coated bowl stamped Longchamp France Billiard. Both were quite dirty and needed some special attention. I decided to work on the harder of the two pipes – the tiny Genuine Briar Hex Dublin. It had a broken tenon in the shank and a small stem. In looking it over I felt it was too thin to set a new tenon in. I would need to restem it. I was in a rush to work on it so I started without taking the customary photos. I put the bowl in the freezer to see if the cold and change would loosen the tenon from the shank. I took it out and used a screw to try and pull it. It did not work as it was solidly stuck. I repeated the freezer trick with no luck at all. I examined it and found that the tenon in the shank was quite cracked. I used a dental tool to pull out the pieces as much as possible. I cleaned up the shank with a pen knife to scrape out the remnants of vulcanite. A second issue became clear. There was a snapped aluminum stinger in the shank with a large ball on the end. It took some work and the ball stinger dropped out of the shank.With the stinger removed I worked on fitting a new stem to the shank. I toyed with a thin brass band to stabilize the thin shank. I tried it on for the fit and look and liked it. I glued it in place. I used sand paper and the Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the tiny tenon. I finished it and the fit was right. All that was left was to polish it. I reamed the tiny bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife and took cake back to briar. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 sandpaper.I cleaned out the internals of the bowl, shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It came out smelling much better.The bowl had a lot of tars, lava and even varnish underneath the grime. I wiped it down with acetone on cotton pads until the surface of the bowl was much cleaner. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar down after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The bowl began to look much better. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the sanding dust and protect the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. This Petite Genuine Briar Hexagonal Dublin with a new vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. 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 Genuine Briar Dublin 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 inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .71 ounces/21 grams. This tiny, older American Made Hexagonal Dublin is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will set it aside and once I finish the other pipe that Brady sent to me, I will send them back to him. Thanks for your time.

Refreshing a Beautiful 1995 Dunhill Bruyere 932 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

I have been working lately replacing tenons on bowls in my own work box. After 6 of them I am ready for something different. While I was in Florence, Italy I had received and email from Jack regarding some pipes that he had that needed some work. Here is his email.

I have a Dunhill from unknown era, a Hardcastle, and possibly a third pipe that could use your workmanship. If you’d like, I can send you pictures of the pipes so you know what condition they’re in. Please let me know the necessary details! — Jack

We chatted about that and I suggested he email me when I returned to Canada. He wrote back and asked me to work on not three but four pipes. He listed what he had and I thought these would be an interesting diversion from tenon replacement work.

Are you still willing to entertain restoring/refurbishing a few pipes? I have four in various stages of need, and I’ve attached pictures of each for your evaluation. I would be very grateful for anything that you could and would be willing to do.

  • 1992 (?) Dunhill
  • Bertram 80
  • Hardcastle – This pipe looks very clean except for some pitting? fissures? in the chamber.
  • Dr. Grabow Supreme – This poor pipe… well, it’s a doozy.

Thank you very much! – Jack

I agreed and asked that he send them to me. Interestingly they arrived the day I finished the last of the tenon replacements. I unpacked them and they were indeed as interesting as his email had led me to believe. I decided to work on the third pipe listed in the foursome next – the Dunhill that he lists as a possible 1992. Here are the photos he sent to me of that pipe. I will give my evaluation of the work that will need to be done on the pipe as I walk through the photos with you.

The first two photos that Jack sent show the overall condition of the pipe. You can see from these photos that the bowl and rim top look very good. There is not a cake in the bowl and it makes me wonder if it is smoked much at all. The finish is dull but not terribly dirty. The stamping on the left side of the shank has a shape number 932 next to the bowl shank union. That is followed by dunhill in an oval. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Bruyere [over] Made in England with the date stamp – a superscript 35 after the D of England. Next to the bowl shank junction there is a circle with perhaps a 4 in the center [over] 9MM. The stem is a 9MM filter stem with an adapter making it a regular tenon. It has the Dunhill White Spot on the topside. I turned to a silver hallmark chart for Birmingham to unpack the stamping on the band (https://www.silvermakersmarks.co.uk/Dates/Birmingham/Cycle%201975-1999.html).

The silver band is stamped AD in a Diamond [over] three hallmarks – an Anchor meaning Birmingham, a rampant Lion meaning it is Sterling Silver and a date stamp of an italic V dating it to 1995. Underneath that is an assay beam followed by .925 for the quality of Sterling Silver.

Jack included these photos of the pipe for me to have a look at. You can see what I noted in the paragraphs above. It is a nice looking pipe to be sure. The next two photos affirm my evaluation of the lack of cake in the bowl and the clean rim top. The bowl looks to be lightly smoked. I unpacked the pipes when they arrived on Thursday and went over each one. As I examined this one my observations based on the photos were confirmed. The one thing that was better was that the finish actually looked better in person than in the photos. There was some nice grain around the bowl that was a bit dull looking. The bowl was very clean as I had expected. The stamping on the shank was faint but readable. The stem looked as noted above. It had a few small scratched in the surface but was very clean. The classic white spot on the top of the stem was in excellent condition. Have a look at the photos below. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both. The bowl and rim top look very good. There is no damage to the edges – either inner or outer. The stem is in great condition with just a few scratches on the underside. It does not have any tooth marks or chatter on either side. I tried to capture the stamping on the shank to show their condition before my work. They are but readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the band to capture the stamping on the silver. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the symmetry of the pipe. It is a beauty. I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Root Briar Pipes to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Bruyere

The original finish produced (usually made using Calabrian briar), and a big part of developing and marketing the brand. It was the only finish from 1910 until 1917. A dark reddish-brown stain. Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red.

There was a link on the above site to a section specifically written regarding the Bruyere finish (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Bruyere). I turned there and have included the information from that short article below.

Initially, made from over century-old briar burls, classified by a “B” (denoted highest quality pipe); “DR” (denoted straight-grained) and an “A” (denoted first quality), until early 1915. After that, they became a high-end subset to the Dunhill ‘Bruyere’. The DR and B pipes, a limited production, they should be distinguished as hand-cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that “no French briar was employed”.

Bruyere pipes were usually made using Calabrian briar, a very dense and hardy briar that has a modest grain but does very well with the deep red stain.

“Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red. The Shell finish was the original sandblast with a near-black stain (though the degree to which it is truly black has varied over the years). Lastly, the Root finish was smooth also but with a light brown finish. Early Dunhill used different briars with different stains, resulting in more distinct and identifiable creations… Over the years, to these traditional styles were added four new finishes: Cumberland, Dress, Chestnut and Amber Root, plus some now-defunct finishes, such as County, Russet and Red Bark.”

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png). I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a suffix 35 I followed it to the 1960 line on the chart below. I chose the column suffic [1…4] or [11…39]. It also gave me the formula for dating the pipe – 1960 + suffix 35 = 1995.I now knew that I was working on a Bruyere that came out in 1995. The shape of the pipe was one of many Bent Billiards that Dunhill put out and that the shape #932 was a bit of an oddity. It seems that there are several different shapes that bear that number.

I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. I removed the adapter from the 9MM tenon and cleaned inside of it and underneath it.I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. Once I finshed the polishing I examined the briar with a light and a lens. I was shocked to see the many fine scratches an marks in the briar. It looked like the bowl had been carried in a pocket and bumped against coins and such. I could not leave it that way. I used an iron and a damp cloth to steam the dents out on the briar. I put a damp cloth on each side of the bowl and applied the hot iron to the surface. I was able to lift the majority of them. Only a few of them remained but it looked much better when I was finished. I would need to buff it to raise a shine once again. I would also need to rub it down with Before & After Balm to lift and protect the grain.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I polished the silver band with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and polish and protect the silver. It looks very good at this point in the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. This Dunhill Bruyere 932 Group 4 Bent Billiard from 1995 is a beautiful looking piece of briar that has a shape that follows grain. It is a great looking pipe that came out looking even better after the cleanup. The Bruyere is an early finish that Dunhill specialized in making. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition. The red and brown stain on the bowl works well to highlight the grain. The polished silver band and the black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. With the scratches and dust gone from the finish of the bowl it is an eye catching beauty. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Dunhill Bruyere 932 Bent Billiard with a 9MM filter stem is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 54 grams/1.90 ounces. It is the third pipe from the lot that Jack sent me to work on. I have one left to finish and then I will pack the up and send them back to him. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. 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.

Cleaning up a Dull and Dirty Bertram 80 Straight Apple

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by Steve Laug

I have been working lately replacing tenons on bowls in my own work box. After 6 of them I am ready for something different. While I was in Florence, Italy I had received and email from Jack regarding some pipes that he had that needed some work. Here is his email.

I have a Dunhill from unknown era, a Hardcastle, and possibly a third pipe that could use your workmanship. If you’d like, I can send you pictures of the pipes so you know what condition they’re in. Please let me know the necessary details! — Jack

We chatted about that and I suggested he email me when I returned to Canada. He wrote back and asked me to work on not three but four pipes. He listed what he had and I thought these would be an interesting diversion from tenon replacement work.

Are you still willing to entertain restoring/refurbishing a few pipes? I have four in various stages of need, and I’ve attached pictures of each for your evaluation. I would be very grateful for anything that you could and would be willing to do.

  • 1992 (?) Dunhill
  • Bertram 80
  • Hardcastle – This pipe looks very clean except for some pitting? fissures? in the chamber.
  • Dr. Grabow Supreme – This poor pipe… well, it’s a doozy.

Thank you very much! – Jack

I agreed and asked that he send them to me. Interestingly they arrived the day I finished the last of the tenon replacements. I unpacked them and they were indeed as interesting as his email had led me to believe. I decided to work on the second pipe listed in the foursome next – the Bertram 80. Here are the photos he sent to me of that pipe. I will give my evaluation of the work that will need to be done on the pipe as I walk through the photos with you.

The first two photos that Jack sent show the overall condition of the pipe. You can see from these photos that the rim top had a thick coat of lava on the rim and inner edge of the bowl. There is a thick cake that is rock hard and fills the bowl. The finish is very dirty but does not look to damaged with scratches or nicks in the photos. It is thoroughly dull under the grime.The stem is oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks on the top and the underside. The stamping on the left side of the shank is clear and readable. It reads Bertram over Washington, D.C. in a banner. Next to the bowl/shank junction is the grade number 80 stamp.The next two photos affirm my evaluation of the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. Fortunately there do not appear to be any cracks on the rim top or sides of the bowl. I unpacked the pipes when they arrived on Thursday and went over each one. As I examined this one my observations based on the photos were confirmed. The one thing that was better was that the finish actually looked better in person than in the photos. There was some nice grain around the bowl that was a bit obscured by the oils and grime. The cake and the lava were as expected. They were both thick and hard as I had guessed from the photos. The stamping on the shank was clear and readable. The stamp read Bertram [over] Washington, D.C. in an unfurled banner. To the left of the stamping next to the bowl was the number 80 which was the grade stamp of the pipe. Just a note, I have yet to quite understand the grade stamps as I have worked on grade 20 pipes with absolutely stunning grain and higher grades with fills. It really is inexplicable. The stem looked as noted above. It was oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. There was no stamp or logo on the stem as is normal for Bertram pipes. Have a look at the photos below. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both the bowl and the rim top. The bowl has a thick cake that lining the walls and overflowing into lava. You can see the lava and build up on the rim top and the lava flowing over the inner edge of the bowl. It is hard to know if there is damage or if the lava protected it. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I tried to capture the stamping on the shank to show their condition before my work. They are clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the symmetry of the pipe. It is a beauty beneath all grime.As always, I like to go back and read about the brand. In this case the Bertram name is one that I am very familiar with. Instead of going to Pipephil or to Pipedia I went to my own blog. I am including the information that I read below along with the links to further blog articles for you to have a look at.

As I have worked on Bertrams I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

I have included the following link to give a bit of historical information on the pipe company. It is a well written article that gives a glimpse of the heart of the company. http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/01/bertrams-pipe-shop-on-14th-street.html#

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Straight Apple with stunning grain has one fill on the shank. This pipe has a 80 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar.

I decided to ream the bowl and do some internal clean up work before further polishing the briar. The cake was very hard so I proceeded with care so as not to either break my reamer or damage the rim edges. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 1st and 2nd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. The walls appeared to be in good condition. I scraped the lava on the rim top with the Savinelli Fitsall knife and a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the majority of it. There was some light damage to the inner edge that would need to be addressed.I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. It was quite dirty.I scrubbed the bowl and rim top with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime. I rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a cotton towel. The grain really began to stand out. Polishing would only make it more prominent. I worked over the damaged inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and smoothed out the nicks in the briar. I gently topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. While it was better, there was still some darkening and light damage to the back left side of the inner edge. I used a wooden sphere and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work in the top and the inner edge of the rim to minimize the damage on the edge. It looked very good once it was finished. I sanded the bowl, rim top and shank with sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove grime and check the progress. It was looking very good by the time I finished with the final pad. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.   I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. This Bertram Washington, DC 80 Apple (some might call it a Prince but the bowl is not shaped right and the stem is not bent correctly for one) with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. 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 Bertram 80 Straight Apple 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: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/33 grams. This older American Made Apple is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will set it aside and once I finish the other two pipes that Jack sent to me, I will send the lot back to him. Thanks for your time.

Restoring a Peterson Sterling Silver Deluxe System 11S Pipe

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Ah, the Peterson Deluxe System – such a lovely pipe. Good fortune has provided two such pipes for me. First is the one you’re about to see restored and the second in a few days time. The two pipes didn’t come into my possession together, but they are being restored together. Despite both being Deluxe Systems, they have different finishes, come from different eras, and had different challenges in restoration. This 11S is really a fantastic pipe with wonderful grain. I am delighted with the way it cleaned up and I hope you are too! Our first Pete is this handsome fellow. It’s an 11S shape, has a smooth-finish, comes from the Republic era, and has the classic Peterson P-lip. Let’s have a look at the markings on this pipe. The left side of the stummel reads, Peterson’s [over] DeLuxe. The right side of the stummel reads, Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland [over] 11S. The band has markings too. It has a set of faux hallmarks which read K&P. Over that are the words Sterling [over] Silver. To the right, are the words Peterson [over] Dublin. Finally, the stem reads Hand [over] Cut. In order to find out a bit more about the Deluxe System, I looked at Peterson’s own website and they furnished this information:

While the Deluxe stamp first appeared on our System pipes in 1940, the design itself dates to our 1896 and 1906 catalogues and, with the exception of the Supreme, has always marked our highest tier of System pipe. Like the System Standard and System Spigot lines, the Deluxe System pipe incorporates Charles Peterson’s patented System design, including a deep reservoir to collect excess moisture from the smoke; a graduated-bore mouthpiece that funnels the smoke and allows moisture to collect within the reservoir; a sturdy sterling silver military mount, which allows the pipe to be broken down and cleaned without damage or warping; and our patented P-Lip bit, which draws the smoke upward, thus reducing tongue bite. The Deluxe differs from those aforementioned lines, comprised of bowls with only the finest grain patterns and featuring a sterling silver mount and a push-gap stem, which was never designed to be flush-fitting, the space between the mount and stem base gradually decreasing with prolonged use. The Deluxe also elevates the System pipe by fixing each stem with a traditional chimney, an aluminum fitment that extends the tenon past the chamber’s airway for optimal System performance. Created for Peterson enthusiasts interested in acquiring the finest System pipe on the market, the Deluxe System will serve as the crown of any collection.

Then, over at Pipedia, there is the following commentary:

The handsome and very distinctive Deluxe system pipes, include the Darwin, Mark Twain and the Charles Peterson 140 year anniversary Pipe. These pipes are at the top of the ‘system’ series in terms of quality and finish. Each Peterson Deluxe is made from carefully selected, age mellowed root briar. In matt finish with hallmarked sterling silver mounts and a unique space fitting mouthpiece to allow for years of wear. They are available in a wide range of shapes numbered, as follows: 1s, 2s, 3s, 4s, 5s, 8s, 9s, 11s, 12.5s, 20s, XL5s, 20FB and 11FB. The pipes are well carved and construction, engineering and workmanship, is outstanding. The stems are well drilled and aligned. Silver work is excellent, finish very good, and the often maligned briar is of outstanding quality. The design is a very typically Peterson classic shape. Apart from the Darwin, the balance can be stem heavy, the bit is thick and chunky, especially in the larger versions. I also enjoy the sense of presence they give to the pipe, particularly if smoking in company with friends or strangers. They have a sophistication about them. The smoking qualities are excellent, dry and cool. The draw is good, and the flavour is particularly great in new pipes. The Mark Twains are outstanding in this department. As for the aesthetics and ergonomics, I find some shapes much more attractive than others. Favourites for me are the 1s, 2s, 3s, the Mark Twains and the Darwin deluxe. As a clencher most are very good to hang, except the beautiful Darwin which is more of a ‘hand holder.’ The one weakness I find is the modern orange/golden colour, (the so called natural) it is, in my opinion, less attractive than that found in the older Walnut finish of the eighties. As far as value and cost is concerned, for the excellent quality finish, these are competitively priced at around $135 to $250 depending on size and briar grade. For what it is worth, I reckon the Deluxes are probably the best value range of pipes that Peterson produce, both in terms of functionality and value. There is not a thing wrong with these pipes. Those who malign the brand because they’re made by the hundreds using machines, are very wrong, in my opinion. I like them a lot and the bang for the buck is the best I’ve ever seen for new pipes of this quality.The Deluxes are all excellent smokers. The Darwin, of course, is a truly outstanding pipe, its only “flaw” being that it’s not a clencher. One particular aspect of this pipe that appeals to me most is its physical beauty and presence. They are a pipe like no other. For me, they also offer a bowl capacity that I like and a balance in the hand that I appreciate. They are well named Deluxe s for giving that special experience.

These Petes with the faux-marks are a bit tricky to nail down in date. Mark Irwin, who runs the great Peterson Pipe Notes blog, has a whole page here on this topic. He writes:

Pipe smokers new to Peterson sometimes wonder what the “K&P” stamp is all about, not realizing the company was known as “Kapp & Peterson” until the 1970s and is still referred to as “Kapps” by the old hands who work in the shop. Most Peterson pipes with metal mounts (and all nickel-mount Systems) have a “K & P” Maker’s Mark, also called a Sponsor’s Hallmark, which is used by The Company of Goldsmiths of Dublin (est. 1637) to identify the silversmith or goldsmith responsible for making the article. The “K & P” maker’s mark was registered at the assay office shortly after Kapp & Peterson’s incorporation and appears either in capital letters (on early sterling and later nickel mounts) or capital letters in shields (on sterling). The maker’s mark was later placed in shields, which may be flat or pointed at the top. After 1938, the K&P maker’s mark became a stand-in for the Company of Goldsmiths (aka Dublin Assay Office) date letter and was usually accompanied nearby by the STERLING over SILVER stamp. The practice of stamping sterling with the date letter wasn’t resumed at Peterson until 1969, for rather humorous reasons explained in the Peterson book.

Sadly, I don’t have the Peterson book, so I cannot enlighten you on the humorous reasons. It would seem from Mark’s words that this pipe falls into the period between 1938 and 1968. However, we can refine that a bit, as the pipe’s markings clearly indicate that it’s a republic-era pipe. Ireland became a republic in 1949, so a date range of 1950-1968 seems suitable for this pipe.

Time to get on with it! The stem was pretty dirty. It had some calcification on it and I used a sharp edge to carefully scrape that off. Once done, I scrubbed the stem with oil soap on some cotton pads. I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the few bite marks and dents. Then I cleaned out the inside with pipe cleaners and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. You can see just how filthy it was inside. Also, it’s worth noting that the aluminum chimney that often goes with these pipes is missing – but a replacement could be sought from Peterson’s. I wiped down the stem with cleanser to remove surface oxidation. Then the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The next day, I used the cleanser again with some cotton rounds. I built up the small tooth marks on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure. I put a tiny piece of hockey tape over the “Hand Cut” words, so I wouldn’t accidentally sand them. I then used my needle files, Micromesh pads and Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil to make it look great. Onto the stummel, and the first thing I did was to clean up the rim a bit. I took a piece of machine metal and meticulously scraped away the cake without affecting the finish of the wood.Then I reamed out the stummel and removed all the cake. I used a bit of everything to get it all out: PipNet, KleenReem, knife, sandpaper, etc. Fortunately, there was no damage to the interior walls. I used cotton rounds and some oil soap to scrub the outside of the stummel and a toothbrush with oil soap for the lava on the rim of the pipe. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I followed that up by de-ghosting the pipe and the bowl was nice and clean after this. I then cleaned the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. I then worked on cleaning up the sterling silver band. I taped it off, as I didn’t want to damage the wood. This worked well and I was pleased. There were a couple of very small knocks in the wood and I opted to use a damp cotton cloth and an iron to help. By laying the wet cloth over the affected area of wood and applying the hot iron, steam is generated in a way that can often swell the wood back into place.Next, I sanded all of the wood down with my Micromesh pads and made it lovely and smooth. I followed that up with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I let it sit on the wood for 20 minutes or so, then buffed it off with a microfibre cloth. I took the pipe to the buffer. I gave it a good application of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax. This made all the difference. It really sparkled after that. I also polished the silver with my jewellery cloth.

This Peterson Deluxe System 11S pipe looks amazing now. It’s really a beautiful pipe and it is ready to be enjoyed by the next owner! I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Irish’ Pipemakers Section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6 in. (152 mm); height 3⅔ in. (93 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ⅔ in. (17 mm). The weight of the pipe is 2¼ oz. (67 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Replacing a snapped tenon on Fischer “Presi—-” Zulu

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a smooth, classic Zulu shape that looks very European. It is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads “PRESI—-” with the rest of the stamp covered by the silver repair band. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Fischer in script but also some of the letters are covered by the band. On the right side of the shank it reads IMPORTED BRIAR. There were no other identifying marks or stamps on the shank or the band. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Another one of those days I guess! It is Zulu shaped bowl with a slight bend and canted bowl and a vulcanite taper stem. It has a mix of grain around the sides and shank. The bowl had a heavy cake in the bowl and thick lava on the rim top. The finish was in worn and very dirty so it was hard to know with certainty what lay underneath. The internals were also very dirty and the shank/mortise was filled with tars and a white residue of what looked like tape. The nickel band has some deep nicks in it and the shank end of the band bent and flattened on the shank end. The vulcanite taper stem had no logo stamped on the topside. It has oxidation, calcification, tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly and was missing when it came to us. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and stem sides to show the condition of the both. It was a dirty bowl with debris and a heavy cake on the walls. The rim top had a thick lava covering the bowl and the edges. It was hard to know what the condition of the inner edge was underneath. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing condition and the tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos to capture the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. What is visible ahead of the band is clear and readable as noted above. I could not capture the faint Imported Briar stamp on the right side.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-f2.html) and looked up the Fischer brand. I found the listing below and have included both a screen capture and the side bar notes. The stamping is the same as the one on the pipe I am working on.Store closed in 1978. Former address: House of Fischer, 1722 Boston Ridge Road, Orchard Park, NY.

I then turned to the listed for US pipe makers/manufacturers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Fischer) to see if I could find out more information. I have included the article below.

Gustave Fischer was pipe maker for “The House of Fischer’, which was located in Orchard Park, NY, near Buffalo. The Fischer family apparently made pipes for six generations, starting in Germany and continuing in the United States until the 1970s. Their literature from 1956 said that all their briars were bench made. They also made meerschaums, but some confusion is caused by the fact that there was also Gustav Fischer, who made meerschaum pipes in Boston during roughly the same period.

The article went on to give information on the Fischer from Orchard Park, NY. I quote from that below.

The following information is gleaned from a thread on PipesMagazine.com

PIPES BY THE HOUSE OF FISCHER, ORCHARD PARK NY
Fischer pipes were made in USA through the 1950’s up to late 1978 when the owner, Paul Fischer retired, sold the store and moved to Florida in 1978. Unfortunately, The House of Fischer did not use a date stamp on their pipes, and therefore it is not possible to determine the exact date of manufacture.

Lee Pattison writes the following:

The Fischer shop in Buffalo closed in the late 1950’s last run by Arthur Fischer who moved shop to his home in Orchard Park. Arthur was the last of the family and retired 1978. Early pipes made in shop in Buffalo were stamped Buffalo in loop below name. Art deleted this from the stamp in early on 1960’s which helps in partial dating. Art did only pipe repair and sales. An unconfirmed report from a pipe maker Milton Kalnitz from the same era stated that the later pipe may have been made by Weber. Paul Fisher was part of the unrelated family in Boston Mass. The Buffalo shop started about 1890’s. Source of info was personal contact with family.

FISCHER PIPE QUALITY GRADE STAMPS
This is a list of various Fischer pipe stampings from my personal collection of over sixty Fischer pipes accumulated over the past forty plus years. It is by no means meant to be all-inclusive, however, if you find more Fischer pipe stampings please email me so I can update my list.

  1. Fischer Supreme
  2. Fischer Royal
  3. Fischer Imperial
  4. Fischer Golden 15
  5. Fischer 15 Grand
  6. Fischer 25 Grand
  7. Fischer Ramsgate
  8. Fischer Deluxe
  9. Fischer Special
  10. Fischer Texan (for which they applied for a patent)
  11. Fischer Seconds

The list of Quality Grade Stamps does not show one with the “PRESI… (President) stamp so it does not help me in identifying more information about the pipe. The Zulu has some great grain on the bowl and shank. I do know that is was made after the removal of the Buffalo stamp on the shank in the early 1960s as far as I can see due to partial coverage with a silver repair band on the shank end.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I carefully smoothed out the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum.I drilled the home for the new tenon using airway in the stem as a guide. I drilled it several times with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the opening the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I reduced the diameter of the tenon with a Dremel and sanding drum for a smooth fit in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment.With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure. Once the glue cured I fit the stem on the shank and took some photos to capture the fit to the shank. It looked very good. While the glue on the tenon continued to cure I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. I scrubbed the bowl and rim top with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime. I rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a cotton towel. I worked on the inner edge of the bowl to smooth out the darkening and damage. I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the rim top. I worked over the inner edge once again and the top and edge looked good. I sanded the bowl and rim top with sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove grime and check the progress. It was looking very good by the time I finished with the final pad. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention back to the stem. I was surprised that there were not deep tooth marks to deal with and that really all I needed to do was remove the oxidation and calcification. To address that I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I put the stem back on the Fischer “President” Imported Briar Zulu and took it to the buffer. I worked it over with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and 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 really well and the rim top looked good. I was happy with the look of the finished pipe. The photos below show what the pipe looks like after the restoration. The Fischer Zulu is a beautiful and unique take on a classic shape. The polished vulcanite taper stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. The long shank and tall bowl look and feel great in the hand. This one should be a great smoker. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Replacing a snapped tenon on Old World Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a smooth Canadian that has an Italian look to it but I cannot prove that. It is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads OLD WORLD. There were no other identifying marks or stamps on the shank of the pipe. It is a bit of a mystery pipe. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Another one of those days I guess! It is long shank Canadian shaped bowl with a vulcanite taper stem. It has a tall bowl on it with some mix of grain around the sides and shank. The bowl had a moderate cake in the bowl and some lava on the rim top. The finish was in excellent condition and the stain highlights the grain. It was a dirty pipe on the inside of the shank. The vulcanite taper stem had no logo stamped on the topside. It has oxidation, calcification, tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly and was missing when it came to us. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and stem sides to show the condition of the both. It was a dirty bowl with debris and a moderated cake on the walls. The rim top had some darkening and lava on the right side toward the back of the bowl. The inner edge showed darkening and some build up in the same area. It was hard to know what the condition of the inner edge was underneath. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo to capture the stamping on the topside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.There was nothing online to identify the maker of the Old World pipe I was working on. The only thing I found was a note on “Who Made That Pipe” linking it to a brand stamped Old World Collectors made by Mastercraft. I knew from a lot of work on Mastercraft in the past that they never actually made pipes but had a wide variety of European carvers who made pipes for them to sell in the US. My early thoughts were that this was an Italian Made pipe but I will never be certain of that. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I carefully smoothed out the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum.I drilled the home for the new tenon using airway in the stem as a guide. I drilled it several times with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the opening the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I examined the end of the shank to check for cracks or chips and found that there were no cracks but there were several chips on the shank end on both sides. I knew that I would need to fit a band on the shank end to give it a sharp edge for the fit of the stem to the shank.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I reduced the diameter of the tenon with a Dremel and sanding drum for a smooth fit in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. I went through my bands and found an oval band that would fit well on the shank end. I used a folded pipe cleaner to apply all purpose glue to the briar.I pressed the band on to the shank end and squared it off for the fit of the stem against the shank. The band added a touch of bling to the shank that would look very good once the glue cured.I put the tenon in the shank and made sure that it was straight in the shank. Once it all was straight the stem would fit perfect on the shank end.With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure. While it was curing I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. I polished the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. It looked progressively better with each set of pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter and light tooth marks. I worked on the fit of the stem to the shank end so that it sat right in the edge of the band. It was looking much better at this point. I put the stem on the shank and took a photo of the pipe at this point to show the fit of the stem and the new band. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. 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 pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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 deeply rusticated finish and the black acrylic stem. This richly stained Old World Canadian is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy a fresh smoke. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 45 grams/1.59 ounces. This is one that will go on the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. 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.

Replacing a snapped tenon on Tinderbox Verona Rustica 702 Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is an almost Sea Rock Rusticated Canadian. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Tinderbox [arched over] Verona [over] Rustica [over] 702 to the left. Along the shank end it is stamped Italy. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Today is that day I guess! It is very deeply rusticated Canadian shaped bowl with an acrylic fancy smooth saddle stem. I really like the look of the rustication. The bowl had a moderate cake in the bowl and some lava in the rustication on the rim top. The finish was in excellent condition and had a mix of stains to highlight the high points and valleys. It was a dirty pipe on the inside of the shank. The acrylic fancy taper/saddle stem had a V logo stamped on the topside. It has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped off tenon in the shank. The break is quite clean so it should clean up very well.I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cleanness of the bowl and the condition of both. It was a dirty bowl with dust and debris in the bottom and a thick cake on the walls. The rim top was filled in with lava. The inner and outer edges look good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took a photo to capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. There was also a V stamped on the top of the shank.I remembered that The Tinder Box Tobacconist had several pipe companies in Europe make pipes for them so I looked them up on Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t6.html). I found a listing with three examples shown in the screen capture below. The pipe I am working on is stamped like the first one, the Bent Billiard below. The stamping is identical other than the shape number 702 on mine.I turned to Pipedia for more information on the potential pipe makers for the company (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Tinder_Box). I quote below.

The Tinder Box was the chain of tobacco stores started by Edward Kolpin, Sr., who carved Ed’s Hand Made pipes. The store, eventually sold to a Canadian conglomerate, eventually reached 200 retail outlets by 2007, and in the 40 years it operated on a large scale a great number of pipes were made for The Tinder Box by well respected makers. A few include the Tinder Box Unique, made by Charatan, Christmas Pipes by Ascorti, and the Tinder Box Noble and Exotica, made by Shalom Pipe Factory, Mauro Armellini did make the Verona and Napoli lines.

Ed Kolpin, Jr., opened a small tobacco, pipe, and cigar store in Santa Monica, the Tinder Box, in 1928. Later it moved to its current location in 1948 where it began serving the many Hollywood celebrities living nearby. Part of the attraction were the famous pipes handmade by Kolpin himself. In 1959 Kolpin began a tobacco-store franchise, at first locally and then by the mid-1960s there were Tinder Box stores in malls across America. The franchise business was sold in the 1970s, but Kolpin still owns and operates the original store as of 2003.[1]

The stamping Italy that made me wonder if it was made by Lorenzo but it was not! It was carved by Mauro Armellini as noted in the quote in blue above. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started by pulling the broken tenon from the shank. I used a dry wall screw and turned it into the airway and wiggled the tenon free from the shank. It came out with no problem.In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I carefully smoothed out the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum.I drilled the home for the new tenon using airway in the stem as a guide. I drilled it several times with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the opening the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I reduced the diameter of the tenon with a Dremel and sanding drum for a smooth fit in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure.While it was curing I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. I did the stem cleaning before I drilled the airway for the new tenon.I cleaned up the lava in the rustication on the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush. I worked over the surface until the grooves were clean and debris free.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the debris from the deep rusticated grooves. I rinsed off the soap and grime with warm water. It looked much better at this point. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips and a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really depth and colour to the rustication. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter and light tooth marks. It was looking much better at this point.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem. I interrupted the sanding after the 1500 grit pad to touch up the V stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I continued polishing the stem with the 2000-3500 grit pads. I worked over the stamped area to remove excess acrylic white. The logo looked very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. 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 pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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 deeply rusticated finish and the black acrylic stem. This richly stained Tinderbox Verona Rustica 702 Canadian is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy a fresh smoke. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 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 43 grams/1.48 ounces. This is one that will go on the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. 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.

Replacing a snapped tenon on an Alexander Greece AR/72 -B Rhodesian

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By Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a beautifully grained Alexander Greece Rhodesian. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Alexander [over] Greece. The A at the beginning of Alexander is a letter Z in the centre of the A. On the right side it reads AR / 72 B. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Today is that day I guess! It is very classic shaped Rhodesian shaped bowl with an ebonite taper stem. I really like the look of a Rhodesian and this one has a little twist that makes it a bit different. The bowl was very clean and had no cake. The finish was in excellent condition and had a great wax/shellac coat. I would run some pipe cleaners through it but it appeared to be very clean. The ebonite taper stem had a fancy Z logo in a silver circle inlaid on the topside. It is not oxidized but has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped off tenon in the shank. The break is quite clean so it should clean up very well.I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cleanness of the bowl and the condition of both. It was clean bowl that had been reamed. The inner and outer edges otherwise look very good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing wear and tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem surface and button.I took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the inlaid Alexander logo on the left side of the stem. Before I started working on the pipe I turned to Pipedia to remind myself of the Alexander Greece brand and gather the background that makes working on pipes a pleasure (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pipes). I quote from the article below. Of note it starts with an update regarding the death of Alexander.

Update: Today I am saddened by the news that Alexander passed away on February 10th, 2015. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. We are very thankful for his contributions to the World of pipes. –sethile (talk) 21:00, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

“I am Alexandros Zavvos, born in Molos, Thermopylae, near Lamia. Since I was a child I had an inclination for art, starting with painting. I studied Radio-electronics, and at age 23 I got involved with commerce with a capital of 150.000 drs. in 1962.

I entered the pipe business where I met, by total chance, with Mr. Libero G. Albanese, first technician and producer of briar-wood models in Kalabria, Italy. When I told him that I am Greek, he almost prayed, saying that we Greeks have the best briar in the world for pipe-making! From that moment on I understood that this fellow is in love with his work – and he transmitted that to me instantly!

From mid-1962 to 1963 I searched all over the world for a college or a school in order to be taught the art of pipe-making, but in vain – there were none. Moreover, I wasn’t able to make it through the big European pipe-makers of that time (British, Italian, Danish). I was convinced that only through experience there was a chance of me becoming what I wanted.

In 1964 I started the commercial briar-wood model production, in 1965 I constructed empirically my first pipe and in 1967 I started the vertical production (this is from the briar Greek woods to the consumer) – maybe there is no other factory in the world producing smoking pipes vertically.

In 1970 I started the research, which was accomplished in 1984, on the 1st generation hygrostatic system. In that same period we founded, my brother and I, our factory in Lamia for the production of ebony epistomes.

Today, 40 years later, I have successfully arrived at the production of the 5th generation hygrostatic pipe. I will finish by saying that this pipe, to what concerns the pleasure it provides, has nothing to do with that pipe for peace, offered by American Indians.”

The Alexander Briar Pipes website still sells briar pipes of several styles, including “Hygrocool”, “Hygrocool NT”, regular pipes, cigarette pipes and pocket pipes, along with briar blocks, acrylic and ebonite stems and accessories.

At the mention of the Hygrostatic System above I remembered a pipe that Paresh had restored for me and gifted me when I went to India. I have included the link below.

https://rebornpipes.com/2019/08/02/gifting-my-mentor-and-dear-friend-steve-an-alexander-zavvos-hygrosystem-pipe/

It is an interesting brand and a great looking classic pipe rather than his hygrosystem pipe. Given the information and background on the pipe I started my work on the pipe. I decided to start by pulling the broken tenon and beginning the process of the replacement. I used a drywall screw to pull the tenon. I screwed it into the airway and wiggled the broken piece out of the shank. The second photo of the bowl below shows the pulled tenon.In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I drilled the airway in the stem with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the bit that was the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure.I set the stem aside overnight to let it cure. I turned out the lights and called it a night. In the morning I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It had been reamed but needed to be sanded smooth. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the deep tooth marks. I filled in what remained with black CA glue and set it aside to let the glue cure. I flattened the repairs with a small file to start the process of blending them into the surrounding ebonite. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to further blend in the repairs and flatten them out. It was looking much better at this point. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. 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 pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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 smooth finish and the black ebonite stem. This richly stained Alexander Greece AR/72 -B Rhodesian is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy a fresh smoke. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 46 grams/1.66 ounces. This is one that will go on the Pipe from Various Makers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. 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.

Replacing a Broken Tenon on a Bari Select Nature Old Briar 924 Oval Shank Acorn

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a beautifully grained Bari Oval Shank Acorn. It is stamped on the topside it reads Bari [over] Select Nature [over] Old Briar. On the underside it reads Made in Denmark [over] the shape number 924. It came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Today is that day I guess! It is very nicely shaped Danish style acorn shaped bowl with a vulcanite saddle stem. I have worked on the shape previously and really like the look of it. The bowl has a thin cake and some lava overflow on the back of the crowned rim top and bevelled inner edge. It appeared to be in excellent condition under the grime. Only cleaning would make that very clear. The vulcanite saddle stem had a Bari logo stamp on the topside of the saddle. It is dirty, oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped off tenon in the shank. The break is quite clean so it should clean up very well.I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was clean bowl that had been reamed. There was a spot of lava overflow on the back inner edge and rim top. The inner and outer edges otherwise look very good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the calcification, oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button.I took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the Bari stamp on the topside of the stem.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) to see if I could find a listing for the Bari Select Nature Old Briar with this three digit number. There was nothing specifically listed for this line of Bari pipes. There was also good info on the brand as a whole and that it was founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and he ran it until 1978 when Age Bogelund managed the production for them. In 1993 it was sold to Helmer Thomsen. I have included a screen capture of the section below.Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari) that is well worth reading. There were also photos of the Bari stamping on the Select Nature Old Briar line of pipes.

Given the information and background on the pipe I started my work on the pipe. I decided to start by pulling the broken tenon and beginning the process of the replacement. I used a drywall screw to pull the tenon. I screwed it into the airway and wiggled the broken piece out of the shank. The second photo of the bowl below shows the pulled tenon.In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper.I drilled the airway in the stem with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the bit that was the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure.I needed to adjust the fit of the stem to the shank. The alignment as slightly off on the top and the bottom of the stem and shank. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to make the adjustments to the stem and the briar shank. I was careful to not damage either the stamping on the shank of the stamping on the stem. I continued smoothing out the sanded portions of the shanks and stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth after each sanding pad. Since the bowl walls were clean or cake I did not need to ream the bowl. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It had been reamed but needed to be sanded smooth. It was in great condition. I sanded the bevelled inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I stained the sanded areas on the shank and on the rim top with a Cherry stain pen. It blended in very well with the rest of the briar. It is a beauty. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I had a gold band that was the perfect size for the shank. I had a hunch that it might give the shank a bit of bling that would look good. I pressed it in place on the shank. To get a sense of the new look. I really liked the way it looked so I set it in place. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to remove the scratching and reshaping marks on the stem. It was looking much better at this point but still had a long way to go.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.The BARI stamping on the stem had some scoring marks between some of the letters that I could not polish out without damaging the stamping so I left them. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. 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 pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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 smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained Bari Select Nature Old Briar 924 Acorn is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy breaking it in. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams/1.52 ounces. This is one that will go on the Danish Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. 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.

Cleaning up a Nording Made in Denmark Mixed Finish Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that Jeff picked up from a pipe lot in Nampa, Idaho, USA in November of 2023 for so it has been sitting here almost a year. It is a Bent Billiard with a mix of rusticated and smooth finishes. The smooth portions are carved like water coming down from the rim top and up from the underside of the shank and shank end. The stem is a fancy saddle that looks very good. The stamping on the underside of the shank is in a circle read Nording Made in Denmark. The stem has a Nording “N” clearly stamped in gold on the top side. There was some dust in the rusticated portions of the finish and general dullness on the smooth portions of the bowl. I am not convinced the pipe has been smoked or if it has been it is very lightly smoked. The bowl coating is still present in a portion of the bowl and the rest is scraped off and bare briar. The fit of the stem in the shank was smooth and flawless. The stem was vulcanite and it was lightly oxidized but there were not tooth marks or chatter on either side of the stem. Jeff took the following photos of the pipe before he did a clean up. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the lack of cake in the bowl and the remnants of the bowl coating. The smooth rim top looked very good with no damage or scratching. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the light oxidation and the lack of tooth marks or chatter. It is a pretty clean looking stem. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the well done shape and the interesting combination of finishes on the bowl and shank. It looked very good. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. The honey coloured finish and black rustication looks good.I turned first to Pipephil to get a quick review of the brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-n2.html). The pipe was carved by Erik Nording. Nording is a prolific carver who continues to make pipes and sell them globally. The screen capture below shows a Nording with stamping like the one I am working on. The one here is lacking the shape number in the middle of the circle but otherwise it is the same.I then turned to Pipedia to have a look at the history of the Nording brand and see if there were any pipes like the one in hand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%B8rding). The history was worth a read, though there were no photos of the pipe that I had.

With the information I learned in the above articles I had the background on the pipe. Now it was time to work on it.

I am really happy to have Jeff’s help on cleaning up the pipes that we pick up along the way. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks much better and the rim top was actually very visible and it looked good. There were also remnants of varnish or shellac on the exterior of the bowl (more on the right than front and left side).  Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove the majority of the grime. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver it looked very good. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. The rim top looked very good and the rustication on the sides was clean. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the surface and button. The stem was very clean on both sides with some light oxidation. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable.  I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has an interesting finish on the bowl and shank.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm 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. I set the bowl aside and I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It is fun to come to end of the restoration of the Nording Mixed Finish Danish Bent Billiard. It turned out to be a nice-looking pipe. The finish came alive with the work I had done on it. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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 shiny black vulcanite saddle stem. It really was beautiful. This Nording Bent Billiard is nice 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 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 52grams/1.83ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon put on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe trustees who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.