Tag Archives: Oxidation

A Resurrection of a 1920 Dunhill Patent Ao Bruyere 52 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Eric Fleming

Eric and I have chatted about pipe restoration for some time now and when he picked up this Dunhill I asked him to keep me posted on his work on it. I have to say, he went far beyond anything I have done and really, what I expected when I saw the pipe. It is a very creative and innovative restoration that I thought you might all enjoy! Without further introduction or discussion, Eric will walk us through his process in the following pages. Thanks Eric for allowing me to post it on rebornpipes!

As a student of history and all things of antiquity I am a sucker for an old Tobacco Pipe. And as a result, when I ran into this poor old and somewhat disabled Patent era Dunhill I couldn’t resist the temptation to “try” to rehabilitate it. Configuring a plan of attack based solely on pictures is usually riddled with surprises and this plan was the usual. The damage was as adequately represented as an image can be but holding a thing in one’s own hands and soaking in the magnitude of it is another thing entirely. Upon unboxing, it was obvious that my plan was slightly premature.

The moment I concluded my purchase I moved straight on to Pipedia to confirm some of what I already knew (Dunhill Bruyere – Pipedia.html). This old boy was a Dunhill (shape 52) Inner Tube patent# 1130806/15 (1924-1926) Ao Bruyere. The history of the early Bruyere is interesting. By 1920 Dunhill was making all of their stummels in house and the Bruyere of this time was “usually” made of Calabrian briar due to its physical traits and ability to take on a deep red stain (Pipedia Dunhill Dating Guide – Pipedia.html).

Here are the Before pics. The Dunhill had some things going for it. The original Vulcanite stem had already been polished and exhibited very little external wear. There are a few indentations near the tenon that a previous owner decided, rightly, to leave alone rather than reduce the diameter where it matches up to the stummel. This pipe is almost 100 years old. A little original wear is, in my opinion, a mark of character. Proof of a past existence if you will. The tenon to mortice fit was surprisingly tight. Extreme care was taken to remove it. This will have to be remedied before it is re-inserted. The stem’s draft hole was heavily caked in tar. The stummel was in reasonably good shape everywhere but the rim. This poor old boy survived many violent blows over the years, Severe mushrooming and on one side it chipped out at some point. A crude epoxy fill was employed to fill the damage. The rest of the stummel had almost no original finish and was clean internally and sooty externally. The factory stampings were difficult to read, rather thin but enough to make out. I was hopeful that cleaning would bring them back some. The bottom of the bowl was hard to make out since a very thick bowl coating had been applied. Shining a light into the bowl revealed that the bottom of the bowl was eroded below the draft hole. This pipe might have been someone’s favorite. It has been smoked heavily. It was now time for deep cleaning. Aiming towards the low hanging fruit, I decided to deal with the stem first. The draft hole had an impressive build up. The first alcohol soaked bristle cleaner was tough to push through and many were employed to finish the job. Toward the end I couldn’t help but wonder if I was removing the end result of a fine smoke that took place nearly 100 years ago.Now on to the stummel. Because it was quite clean already I decided to skip the soapy water scrub and just scrub the outside with Murphy’s oil soap concentrate and a toothbrush. This action effectively revealed the briar under the grime and I was quite happy to see that the stampings were clearer and more visible. Still light but legible.

Next was the issues with the inside of the bowl. The coating was hiding much of the real condition of the pipe. Cotton balls were inserted into the bowl and wadded up tissue pressed into the mortice. 99% alcohol then poured in to perform its overnight magic. The next morning the coating had been dissolved, easily removed with a wipe. Now the real condition is revealed and it wasn’t all that good. The epoxy fill was deep and the side of the bowl had light erosion from the many smokes this pipe had delivered. The erosion at the bottom of the bowl was deeper than originally perceived. Not near burnout, but about 1/8” below the draft hole. At this point a decision had to be made as to how to proceed. The epoxy fill was poorly done and would likely cause future problems if left alone. The mushrooming of the rim was unlikely to be steamed out and the height of the rim was obviously below it’s original state. After a day of rolling it around in my mind I decided that there was no other acceptable option but to remove the offending rim and replace it. The erosion would also need to addressed.

For me the easiest way to remove the top of the rim is with my old manual knee mill. Using the disc sander an even flat is ground on the top of the rim. The stummel is then placed in the machine vise with protective strips of leather. The leather not only protects the briar from indentation but it also adds some traction for the jaws to grip. A dial indicator is then used to indicate the flat on the top of the rim. This operation could have been done with the disc sander alone but I am partial to the control allowed by the mill. After the mill the refreshed rim is lightly sanded by hand to 400 grit on a sanding block. To fabricate a new rim a small piece is cut from a chunk of briar left over from another build and sanded flat on one side then milled flat and parallel on the knee mill. The only references I had to estimate the correct height of the bowl were the measurements taken before the rim removal and an image found online of a 52 shape Dunhill.

By the way, The shape 52 is listed as a Bent Low Pot. My measured estimation is that once the rim was removed there needed to be .200 added back. This is not an exact science. The .200 thick block of briar then has two diameters marked with a compass for outside diameter and inside diameter, leaving a little extra on each of course, and taken to the scroll saw to be roughed out. Glue up comes next. All briar surfaces to be bonded are wiped with alcohol to remove dust and or oil residue. The epoxy I have grown fond of is West Systems G Flex 2 part epoxy. It is incredibly durable, neutral when cured and easy to work with. Since it is undesirable to have an epoxy filled bowl, I have found it advantageous to mix the epoxy, wait 45 minutes (the listed pot life) and then apply to both briar surfaces. At this point the epoxy is gel like and will not run. The stummel is clamped in a vise and remains for 24 hours. Once the rim replacement has cured the tedious hand work begins. Extra material is removed with aggressive hand files. Then small needle files are used to bring the profile close to finished. To match and blend the two surfaces at the end a ¾” wood dowel wrapped in 150 grit sandpaper is used to mate the inside diameters while a small thin sanding block with 150 grit is used to mate the outside diameter. The entire stummel (except for the stampings) are at this point sanded from 250 grit thru 2400 grit micro mesh. The stamped parts of the stummel sanded 1500 thru 2400 grit micro mesh only. The erosion damage to the bottom of the bowl is the next focus. I have used “pipe Mud” with success in the past but it can be precarious and doesn’t always stay put long term. I wanted a more permanent fix and didn’t feel the need to bore a hole through the bottom of the stummel for a plug. So, I shot a call to my pipe making and repair mentor Mark Tinsky of American Smoking Pipe Co. Mark has been making Artisan Pipes longer than I have been alive, tolerates my frequent calls and emails, and is an all around great guy and wealth of knowledge. Upon presenting my Dunhill issue he shared with me one of his bowl bottom repair tricks. A mixture of Elmer’s multi purpose glue, Briar dust and Charcoal dust mixed into a black paste. This was a new one to me. When I asked Mark “why not Pipe Mud”? He replied… “I don’t smoke Cigars”. Apparently, Elmer’s glue is an organic material and when mixed with both briar and charcoal holds up to the temperature and general abuse well. The Briar dust was left over from the rim removal and the charcoal dust was made from Willow Charcoal sticks easily found at an art store. The mixture is easy to adjust for texture and also easy to apply. The draft hole of the stummel was plugged with a pipe cleaner and the mixture slowly scooped in to the desired level which was almost to the top of the cleaner. The stummel was then set aside to cure for 24 hrs.  The next day I had a high and flat surface at the bottom of the bowl. A ¾” wood dowel was taken to the disc sander and slowly profiled to my desired radiused bowl bottom. This took several attempts. Then a small diameter was cut from a sheet of 80grit sandpaper and glued to the radius of the dowel. I used super glue for it’s fast adhesion. The bottom of the bowl was then sanded with the abrasive dowel until the desired depth was achieved. The result was surprisingly good. The shiny dark color was noticeable but very uniform to the bowl.  All that was then necessary to complete the repairs to the inside of the bowl was to address the light erosion to the sides. Since they were shallow It was decided that Pipe Mud would be a good solution. A nice Maduro was sacrificed to fulfill my pipe repair needs. You owe it to yourself to employ a “good” cigar for this purpose. Not only is it a nice change of pace but a fine cigar actually produces a higher quality ash. Using a dropper, I slowly added water to the ash. This can easily be overdone. If the mixture becomes shiny, you have added too much water and need to add more ash. If the mixture is too dry it wont stay put. I experimented before using it the first time. I am glad I did. The Pipe Mud was then scooped into the bowl, not allowing it to settle in the bottom and then worked into the erosion with a finger. The Dunhill was again set aside for the day. With the Dunhill repaired, sanded and ready for dye I had reached a point of concern. How do I blend this light colored briar to the rest of the stummel without it looking like a repair? I had previously researched the old Bruyere finish used in this era Dunhill. Apparently, it consisted of a light brown dye under a dark red dye. A few examples were found online and saved for comparison. The light briar of the repair then received 6 coats of dark brown dye lightly polishing each back until it was darker than the original briar color. The rest of the original stummel received one coat of light brown dye and polished back. At this point I tried to blend the light into the dark for a seamless look. Then the dark red was lightly received and polished back. The result was not great. The original part of the stummel looked nearly identical to the sample images I had found but the repair was still obvious. With no other option I gave the repair many coats of dark red overlapping onto the original briar to try to create a pure dark red blending into the lighter dark red. This took several tries and applications. In the end, I was not able to perfectly match my sample images due to the very dark rim, but I think it’s better than having a obvious mismatch that would surely stand out. Indoors the repair is almost invisible. Outside in sunlight it can be faintly seen. Because I was a little hesitant to mess with this time consuming and difficult dye job, it was decided to take the light-handed approach to waxing the stummel. Crystal Clear Paste Wax was lightly rubbed on with a soft clean cloth and polished off. Letting it sit for 30 minutes, polished again and re-applied 3 times. This approach is probably not as durable as pure carnuba wax applied with a buffer but I was not willing to risk spoiling the hard won appearance. Normally I would call this repair complete but there had been so much work done to the inner bowl I was uneasy to leave it as is. There are many versions of Bowl Coatings but from what I have read and heard they all server the same purpose. To protect the inner bowl from heat damage. At this point I had a glue concoction for a bottom and pipe mud lightly coating the sides and epoxy joint. That is worth protecting. I decided to go with another of Mark Tinsky’s suggestions and use the honey/charcoal version of the bowl coating. A couple drops of honey were placed in a small bowl. Water was mixed in with it 1 part honey to 3 parts water to create a very thin yet sticky liquid. I still had charcoal dust laying around from earlier. Using a pipe cleaner bent in half It was dipped into the honey water and lightly swabbed on the entire inside of the bowl. The charcoal then dumped into the bowl, a piece of cardboard held over the rim and a good blow into the draft hole to scatter the charcoal and clear the draft hole. It was then let sit for a few hours and the charcoal dumped and blown out. This Old Dunhill has been rehabilitated and is ready for a few more years of service.I learned a lot from this project. It is the most involved pipe repair I have attempted to date and has opened my eyes to the possibilities from this point on.  Because I know this project could not have been a success without the incredible depth of knowledge that was shared with me I would like to thank those individuals for their giving nature.

I have been reading rebornpipes for years and have structured much of my method after Steve Laug’s style of pipe repair. I don’t think I would have started refurbishing pipes if it were not for this Blog and am honored to be a part of it.

A shout out to Mark Tinsky as well. I doubt there is any aspect of pipe repair or pipe making that this man has not experienced. His patience with me has been instrumental and is greatly appreciated.

Eric Fleming

Boise Idaho

Peterson’s “Kildare” Special HG Republic of Ireland 10 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s Large Canadian pipe that we purchased from and our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”[over] Special on the topside of the shank. On the right it is stamped with the shape number 10. On the underside it is stamped with a large interlocked HG [followed by] Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines). It is a large Canadian that has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style Fishtail stem. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some deep tooth marks and chatter. There was wear on the edge of the button that would need to be dealt with. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. I turned first to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 306 it says:

Kildare (1965-) First issue of the line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes. P-lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue c.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on the pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte brown, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to Smokingpipes.com.

I wrote to Mark Irwin and asked where I could find information on the GH stamp on this particular pipe. I quote his response below.

Hi Steve, the answer is on p. 300 of your Peterson book: “GH Retailer’s Monogram.” The SPECIAL stamp indicates that this pipe was made specially for George Huber of Munich, who had other Peterson pipes made expressly for their shop. Best, Mark

I turned to page 300 of  “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg as noted by him and found a great paragraph on the stamping. I quote in full.

GH Retailer’s Monogram (c. 1960s) George Huber of Munich, Germany, a Peterson distributor and retailer for decades, stamped their monogram on pipes sold in their store, G overlaid on H. Peterson shared in the 1988 commemoration of Huber’s 125th year in business by producing a special pipe with a sterling rim cap, stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION.

The pipe I have is one that bears that monogram but does not appear to have ever had the sterling rim cap and was not stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION. With that information I turned my attention to working on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the front and back of the bowl. The rim top is clean but in rough condition. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the large and deep tooth marks on the button and on the stem ahead of the button were very visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I started by working over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I then topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I finished the work with a wooden ball and sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel. Using these methods, I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I touched up the stain on the rim top with a Cherry stain pen. It matched the stain on the rest of the bowl perfectly and once buffed it would blend in very well.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a Bic lighter to try and lift the marks. I was able to lift them slightly. I filled in the deep marks on the stem with Black Rubberized CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I polished it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the leg and tail of the “P” stamp.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.  Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Kildare” Special 10 Canadian with a taper stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 10 Canadian was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Savinelli Punto Oro 316KS

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is an interesting Diplomat shaped pipe that we obtained in a trade from a fellow in Japan 01/12/2023. It was stamped on the top side of the shank and read Savinelli [over] Punto Oro. On the underside of the shank it was stamped with a Savinelli S shield followed by the shape number 316KS [over] Italy. It has a smooth finish with beautiful grain patterns around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. The bowl was quite clean and appeared to have been recently reamed and cleaned. The top and edges of the rim looked very good with some light darkening on the back inner edge of the crowned rim top. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was an acrylic replacement that was not a perfect fit to the shank with a slightly smaller diameter crosswise to the shank so it would not be changed in the restoration. As it was acrylic there was no issue with oxidization or calcification on the stem. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the bowl and the rim top. It looked very good and there was some darkening on the back inner edge of the crowned rim top. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. I turned to Pipephil’s site to get a feel for the Punto Oro line. All of the previous Punto Oro pipes that I have worked on were smooth finish with great grain. This was a sandblast one and I do not recall working on one before. Here is the link (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-savinelli3.html). I have included a screen capture of the pertinent information on the line below. It appears the line came out in both smooth and sandblast finishes.I turned to Pipedia to look at what information they had on the brand. I found a catalogue page on the Punto Oro which confirmed what I had surmised about the line having both smooth and sandblast finished pipe (https://pipedia.org/images/d/db/Sav_Punto_Oro.jpg). I have included a screen capture of the page below. It says that the line was available in 2 distinct finishes – a rich Mahogany smooth finish and a genuine sandblast.The Savinelli shape number was 310KS so I turned to the Savinelli Shape Chart on Pipedia and included a screen capture (https://pipedia.org/images/4/41/Sav_Shape_Chart_2017.jpg). I have drawn a red box around the 316KS shape in the photo below. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. You can see the darkening on the inner edge of the rim and the top.  The stem looks clean of oxidation and the tooth marks and chatter are very clear in the photos.I took photos of the stamping on the top and the underside of the shank. The stamping is faint in spots but it is still readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I removed the darkening and nicks on the inner edge. It looked significantly better.  I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. There are still small nicks in the briar but I have decided to leave them as part the pipe’s story. I built up the rounded edge of the button on the top side with black, rubberized CA glue. I filled in the deep marks on the stem with clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once it cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Savinelli Punto Oro 316KS Oval Shank Dublin and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I polished the briar and the vulcanite of the stem until there was a rich shine. This classic Savinelli shape and finish really highlights a proportionally well carved pipe. Once I buffed the pipe the briar came alive as the grain just popped with polishing. The black acrylic saddle stem has a rich glow. This Punto Oro 316KS fits well in the hand and sits right in the mouth. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of and inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. This beauty will be going on the rebornpipes online store in the Italian Pipemakers Section. If you are interested let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as it was a pleasure to work on.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

New Life for a Republic Era Rusticated System Standard 309

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from and estate in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped on the underside of the shank an read Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard followed by Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 309. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s [over] the three common hallmarks on System pipes with Nickel ferrules – a shamrock, a wolf hound, and a tower. It has a rusticated finish with unique patterns around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow filling in the rustication on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter. There was wear on the top sharp edge of the button that would need to bed dealt with. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Nickle Ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminum. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). There is no shape 309 shown in the catalogue page of rusticated shaped shown below. I wonder if it is an older or a newer shape. But I am uncertain of that. I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950-1989. It was a Rusticated Peterson’s System Standard 309 Bent Billiard with a great rustication. The bowl was stained with a combination of reddish-brown stains. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work (sadly I forgot to take photos until after I had rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. But you can see the idea. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in good condition. There was some darkening and slight damage to the inner edge. The rim top also had some nicks and marks. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the tooth marks on the button and on the stem ahead of the button were very visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by rubbing the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It was in very good shape, so I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jewellers cloth to remove the oxidation and to further protect it from further oxidation. The shine is quite nice. I built up the rounded edge of the button on the top side with black, rubberized CA glue. I filled in the deep marks on the stem with black CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once it cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I scrubbed the stem surface with Soft Scrub to remove the remaining oxidation in the surface of the vulcanite. I was able to remove most of it and the stem looked significantly better at this point. The reshaped button also looks much better.I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Rusticated Peterson System Standard 309 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 309 Rusticated Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. 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 1.80 ounces/51 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 305

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from and estate in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard on the left side of the shank vertically below the nickel ferrule. On the right it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 305. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s [over] the three common hallmarks on System pipes with Nickel ferrules – a shamrock, a wolf hound, and a tower. It has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter. There was wear on the edge of the button that would need to bed dealt with. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Nickle Ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminum. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red oval around the 305 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950-1989. It was a Smooth Peterson’s System Standard 305 Bent Dublin with great grain. The bowl was stained with a combination of reddish-brown stains. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in good condition. There was some darkening and slight damage to the inner edge. The rim top also had some nicks and marks. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the tooth marks on the button and on the stem ahead of the button were very visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe.I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I removed the damage on the inner edge and the nicks on the rim top. It looked significantly better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. With briar polished with the Restoration Balm I moved onto the metal. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jewellers cloth to raise the shine and to protect it from further oxidation. I built up the rounded edge of the button on the top side with black, rubberized CA glue. I filled in the deep marks on the stem with black CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once it cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.  Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson System Standard 305 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and Sterling Silver ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 305 Bent Dublin was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Reviving a Lovely Stanwell Pickaxe

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a beautiful Danish pipe from the fine pipemaking firm, Stanwell. The shape of this pipe is a freehand pickaxe. I acquired it locally from the estate of an old fellow who kept a lovely collection of pipes. This is a Stanwell de Luxe 482 freehand pickaxe. It has lovely (albeit dirty) briar from the bowl all the way down the shank. I think this is going to be a beauty when I’m done. My cousin in Montréal asked me to clean this up for him and I was only too happy to do so. The left side of the shank reads Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 [over] de Luxe. The right side of the shank reads Fine Briar [over] 482. Finally, the stem’s left side also has the trademark S of the Stanwell company.Of course, 482 refers to the model number, and I went to check the list of Stanwell shapes here on rebornpipes. Hmm – no shape number 482. Fair enough, so I looked up shape number 48, but that was a egg-shaped bowl – definitely not this pipe. I figured it was worth looking up shape number 82 and that was blank. Drat.I went searching through some old Stanwell catalogues and, ultimately, found an image for my pipe – and with the number 82. This catalogue is from 1970 and I have included the image below: I know from information at Pipephil that the pipe I have is certainly more than 50 years old – and this corresponds to the catalogue above. Pipephil says, “The “Regd. No.” stamping discontinued in late 1960s to very early 1970s”. My pipe has both the “Regd. No.” and the S logo without a crown. The screen capture below explains that clearly. Meanwhile, Pipedia has a good amount of information on the Stanwell brand and its history. I certainly recommend looking it over: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell.Anyway, this is a great-looking pipe. No major issues to resolve – just a few minor ones. The stem was dirty, though not too beat up. There were some scratch/tooth marks on the stem, and some oxidation and calcification on the vulcanite. The rim on the stummel had some very light charring. The insides were a bit dirty and would need a little work to clean out. The stem was first on my list. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. Then, I cleaned out the inside with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It wasn’t too dirty and only required a few pipe cleaners. I then wiped down the stem with SoftScrub cleaner to remove surface oxidation. Once this process was done, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. This allows me to clean the oxidation off in a couple of ways: by applying a mild cleaner to the surface and sanding the stem. The next day, I used SoftScrub again with some cotton rounds. Some of the more pronounced dents had to be dealt with, so I whipped out my black cyanoacrylate adhesive to fill those in and let them fully cure. After curing, I used some paint to restore the letter S on the stem. I painted the area carefully and let it fully set before proceeding. For sanding the adhesive, I used 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. Then I used a set of nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) which gradually erased the ravages of time and brought out the stem’s lovely black lustre. For the last five pads, I also lightly coated the stem with Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each scrubbing. The restored logo came out very nicely. At last, I set the finished stem aside. Off to work on the stummel! The bowl needed a bit of reaming, so I used the Kleen Reem to scrape off the built-up cake, and I followed that with 220-grit sandpaper taped to a dowel to eliminate as much as possible. Generally, I prefer to sand the chamber down to bare briar. When restoring, it is important to ensure that there is no damage to the briar in the bowl under the cake. Fortunately, there were no hidden flaws in the briar on this pipe.I gently removed the lava on the rim with a piece of machine metal. When the rim of a pipe isn’t damaged, I prefer to use this technique rather than my topping board. The machine metal preserves the rim and doesn’t remove stain and/or patina. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I also used some more Murphy’s here. There wasn’t too much filth in this one, fortunately. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. I decided to de-ghost the pipe in order to remove any lingering smells of the past. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this.I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stummel to make it lovely and smooth.At this point, I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and left it to sit for 15 minutes or so. I brushed it with a microfibre cloth. The B&ARB does wonderful things to the wood, and I really like the walnut colour of the briar. Finally, it was off for a trip to the bench polisher. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax perfectly complemented the briar. The lovely shine made the wood look absolutely beautiful. This pipe is elegant, light, and incredibly comfortable to hold.I thoroughly enjoyed bringing this Stanwell de Luxe 482 freehand pickaxe back to life. It is a gorgeous pipe. I know that my cousin will enjoy it for many years to come. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅞ in. (150 mm); height 2 in. (50 mm); bowl diameter 1¼ in. (31 mm); chamber diameter ⅝ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is ⅞ oz. (29 g). If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

New Life for a Kirsten Companion K with a Rusticated Bowl

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on is a nice looking was purchased from an antique store in Bozeman, Montana, USA on 07/22/17. Kirsten pipes have always been a bit of an enigma to me. The combination of briar and aluminum is unique. It is a pipe that is not really fish or fowl in terms of briar or metal. It is a pipe with an aluminum radiator with a bowl attached to it. The vulcanite stem is attached to an aluminum metal pin that extends the length of the radiator. On the end is a valve that controls the flow of air to bowl and is adjustable. In this case it is not frozen which is a blessing. On the left side of the radiator it is stamped with Companion in script. On the underside of the polished aluminum barrel it is stamped Made in U.S.A. followed by K. It is a straight pipe with large rusticated Dublin bowl. The metal base is actually in good condition. The pipe has gaskets on the valve on the front and on the stem insert. Stem is oxidized, tooth marks, chatter near the button. There was a thick cake in the bowl and heavy lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The rusticated bowl is filthy with grime and dusty ground into the bowl sides. The bowl has a metal cup on the base and a screw runs through the bowl and screws into the top of the radiator. The knurled valve has some light damage from what looks like marks left behind by pliers. The pipe is very dirty.  Jeff took photos of the pipe to show its general condition before he did his cleanup. The exterior of the pipe was very dirty – grime and grit ground in from years of use and sitting. The rim top was covered with a coat of thick lava that overflowed the thickly caked bowl. It was hard to know the condition of the rim top or edges due to the thick lava and cake. Only a clean up would make that known. The stem was dirty, oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took a photo of the sides of the bowl to give a better feel for the condition of the bowl. You can see the heavy grime ground into the rusticated finish in the photos. It is a mess.He took a photo of the knurled valve on the radiator end. You can see the light pliers marks on the knurled edges.The next photos show the stamping on the sides of the aluminum radiator and it is very readable. It reads as noted above.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Pipe_Company) to do a bit of research on the history of this particular pipe. I have included pertinent portions of the article below.

The first and only Kirsten I had, had to be an old Companion model that came from one of the Kirsten cards you found in those days in some smoke shops. It might even have been in some small-town drugstore. If I recall correctly, it did not even have the Kirsten name on it – just “Companion”.

It would be another four decades before I ran into the Kirstens again as I began buying and restoring old pipes. I had accumulated about a half dozen Kirstens from several lots I acquired and they lay around in my work area for several months before I decided to see what I could do with them.

Old Kirstens are a problem. When bought in lots of other pipes, and many times when bought used individually, they are a mess. By the very nature of the pipe, which is made up of five basic components – mouthpiece, radiator body, valve, bowl and bowl screw (a sixth component, the bowl ring, is found in many Kirstens) – there is a lot of room for problems. For the most part, used Kirstens have set for some time, usually in an uncleaned state, and the old tobacco juices have created a sort of binder that holds them tightly together.

My experience has been that only about three or four out of every five used Kirstens I buy are completely restorable. The remainder furnish parts for those that are restored.

By the time I had completely restored my first half dozen Kirstens I came to realize there are many variations in the pipe, designed in 1936 by Professor Frederick Kirsten – the man who invented Boeing’s first wind tunnel – after he has been advised by his physician to stop smoking. Kirsten was looking for a way to trap the tars and moisture from tobacco and the Kirsten pipe was his solution.

Some Kirstens had “O” rings on the valve and mouthpiece and others had none. Some had an “O” ring on the valve and not on the stem. Some had bowl rings and others not. Some came with shiny finishes, others were a rough Parkerized-like finish called “Heritage.” Some were silver, some were gold, some were black, and yet another was a gold-tone finish with an overlay of what looked like tarnish made from “Eternalum” and referred to as Kirsten’s “Traditional” finish.

There were straight Kirstens, quarter bents and full bents. Some sat flat on their radiator body, others stood tall on a special valve with a flat plate on the bottom.

From collector’s standpoint, there were more variations than one could hope to acquire.

It dawned on me that there had to be some way to classify Kirstens. An e-mail or two to the Kirsten factory in Seattle, Wash., showed the company had not kept exacting records as to their years and types of production. So I borrowed from the Colt Peacemaker collectors and decided to try to classify Kirstens by generations, including some transitional models and some non-traditional Kirstens.

Since the pipe was invented in 1936 and some of the early pipes were stamped “PAT APPLIED FOR” it was easy to establish these as the Generation 1 pipes. But, although the basic pipe models offered in that generation – S for Standard, M for Medium and L for Large – continued to be produced after the stamping was changed to “PATS & PATS PENDING” it appeared there would be some divisions even within the generations.

It was determined that the ‘PAT APPLIED FOR” stamp was only used for a couple of years so I concluded that those pipes were probably produced in 1936 and were produced until 1938 and the ones stamped “PATS & PATS PENDING” were most probably made from around 1938 until about 1958 – a somewhat hypothetical date albeit maybe more accurate than we think when it comes to dividing the Kirstens into generations.

Lynn Kirsten, granddaughter of the founder and daughter of Gene Kirsten who ran the factory for many years, said the biggest change in models and pipemaking techniques took place around 1958 when the company was incorporated. She confirmed that clear records of year of manufacture, model types and styles, and other basic information about the Kirsten pipes had not been kept by the company.

However, she made one statement to the effect that during the transition period between what I have classified as Generation 1 anf Generation 2, Kirsten used up a lot of miscellaneous parts. Therefore, I have found many pipes that do not clearly fit the generation classifications I have developed but are clearly what I call “transition” pipes or Generation 1.5.

Altogether, there are three distinct Kirsten generations, 1, 2 and 3 by numerical order. Generation 1 runs from 1936 to roughly 1958. Generation 2 runs from 1958 to about 1985. Generation 3 runs from 1985 to the present with possibly some backward overlap. And, the pipes from the transitional period, or Generation 1.5, can be grouped in the mid-to-late ’50s.

The biggest thing that separates the Generation 1 from the Generation 2 pipes are the “O” rings, actually rubber rings on both the valve and mouthpiece that help provide a tighter seal as they are inserted into the radiator stem. Instead of “O” rings, the machining of the Generation 1 pipes was so precise the fit was exact. Hence the difficulty in dismanteling many of the older pipes because residue left in them for years has bonded the two metals.

There are, of course, exceptions to every rule. Take for instance what is referred to as the Kirsten “Thrifty,” the only pipe I have run across that actually bears the Kirsten shield logo. Most Kirstens, with the exception of some of the Companions – as noted above – bear the Kirsten stamped script logo. The “Thrifty” has not just an “O” on only the valve but a black offset valve that works in reverse of all other Kirsten valves I have run across. Traditionally the valve on a Kirsten has a flat spot on one wide of its outer rim. When the flat spot is lined up with the bowl, an opening in the inner valve tube is aligned with the air hole in the bottom of the bowl and the pipe is ready to smoke. Adversely, when the flat spot is in any other position about the pipe, the hole is closed and no trapped liquids can run back into the bowl. But the “Thrifty’s” flat spot, when lined up with the bowl, indicates the valve is closed so no trapped liquids can run back into the bowl and when it is in any other position the passageway to the bowl is open and the pipe can be smoked.

I turned to a catalogue for Kirsten pipes that I have in my files and found this pipe in the catalogue. It is shown in the photo below. The K stamp identifies it as a Companion pipe.

There is also some great history on the brand on Pipedia that is well worth a read. It gives clear information on the development of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kirsten_Pipe_Company).

Jeff hates cleaning Kirstens probably as much as I do. However, he cleaned the pipes with his usual thoroughness that I really appreciate. He had reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remaining cake in the bowl 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 very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff took the pipe apart and cleaned the radiator, the adjustable valve and the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. It has been sitting in my drawer here since 2018 so the stem has taken on some more oxidation during its rest in my bin of metal pipes. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top and edges of the bowl looked very good. The screw in the bottom of the bowl looks very good with no damage to the slots. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the remaining oxidation on the stem.I took photos of the tamping on the radiator sides. The left side is stamped Companion in script and on the underside it is stamped with the words Made in the U.S.A. followed by the letter K.I took the pipe apart and took photos of the parts of the pipe to give a picture of what it looked like. Now, on to my part of the restoration of this Kirsten Companion K pipe. The rim top was in looked quite good. The rim top was smooth with two rusticated portions on the sides of the top. I decided to begin my work by polishing the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. With the polishing finished it was time to put the bowl back together. I greased the screw threads with Vaseline and dropped it through the hole in the bowl bottom. I screwed the base plate back on the bowl and took photos. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bark on the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I screwed the bowl back onto the radiator and took photos of the pipe as it looked at this point in the process. I rubbed down the valve and o-ring with Vaseline and then inserted it in the end of the radiator. The pipe was coming together very well at this point. I set the bowl and metal barrel aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the oxidized stem with SoftScrub on cotton pads to break down the oxidation. Once finished it looked much better.I sanded out the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the remaining oxidation and the light tooth marks and chatter. I started to polish it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to keep the stem from oxidizing as quickly. I set it aside to dry. This Kirsten Companion Made in USA K Generation 2 pipe turned out to be another great looking pipe. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and works well with the polished vulcanite saddle stem. I put the pipe back together and carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and 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. Give the finished Kirsten Companion K pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. This beauty is already spoken for and it will soon be heading south to the new steward. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Republic Era Sandblast Peterson’s System Premier 312

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a sandblast Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from an estate sale from Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Premier on the underside of the shank followed by Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 312. It has a sandblast finish around the bowl and shank that is covered with a shiny coat of shellac it appears over a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a thick lava overflow in the sandblast on the rim top. The top and edges of the rim looked good under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The Sterling Silver ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side Peterson’s [over] Dublin. That is followed by Sterling [over] Silver. After that there were hallmarks – Hibernia seated, Crowned Harp for country of manufacture and a date letter in this case an upper case stylized “F”. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip. It was well polished and shiny with light tooth marks and chatter. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl and the heavy lava build up on the sandblast rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked pretty good and a proper clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface. More would be visible once Jeff cleaned it up. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank under the shiny coat on the finish. It seems to fill in the grooves in the blast. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Sterling Silver Ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. The hallmarks are light but readable. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. This is the second of two Peterson’s System pipes marked with the 312 shape number that I have worked on in the past few days. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red oval around the 312 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe.I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950-1989. It was a Sandblast Peterson’s System Standard 312 Billiard with an interesting blast finish. The bowl was stained with a combination of brown stains. Now it was time to tighten down the date on the pipe from the hallmarks on the Sterling Silver ferrule.

I turned to the hallmarking chart on one of the blogs on rebornpipes to lock down the date for the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/peterson-cataloguecomp_page_27.jpg). The chart defines the meaning of each hallmark. The first one of the seated woman with a harp is known as the Hibernia stamp and identifies the pipe as made in Ireland. The second stamp is a crowned harp which is a fineness mark denoting the high quality of silver that was used. The third stamp is an italic upper case “F”. I have included a larger screen capture of the chart in the lower left of the photo below.I have drawn a RED CIRCLE around the date letter below. It is a stylized “F” as seen in the circled letter below. It identifies the date of this Peterson’s pipe to 1973. I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950 and the present. The hallmarks date the pipe to 1973. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in excellent condition. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was in excellent condition with light tooth marks and chatter on the stem ahead of the button on both sides. One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to capture the look of the pipe as a whole.The pipe bowl was very clean and the sandblast looked great. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. With briar polished with the Restoration Balm I moved onto the metal. I polished the Sterling Silver ferrule with a jewellers cloth to raise the shine and to protect it from further oxidation. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on both sides of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter and was able to lift them all. I sanded the areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Sandblast Peterson’s Premier System 312 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the replacement stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the newly fit 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny new black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and Nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s Premier System 312 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 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 1.69 ounces/48 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Breathing Life into a Refbjerg Handmade Denmark RPK 2010 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a very Danish looking Canadian shaped pipe that we received from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/26/2023. It was stamped on the underside of the shank near the shank/stem union and read Refbjerg [over] Hand Made [over] in Denmark [over] R.P.K. [over] 2010. There is a faint cursive R logo on the top of the taper stem. It has a smooth finish around the bowl and shank that has a lot of oils, debris and grime ground into it. The bowl had a light cake and the rim top was very clean. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl looks very good though there is some light lava on the back inner edge and rim top. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath the grime of use. The stem was a short vulcanite taper as expected on a Canadian. It had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the light cake in the bowl and the light lava build up on the rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked very good. Jeff also took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the light tooth chatter and marks surface of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grain peaking through the grime on the finish.  Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It took a few to capture all the stamping on the shank. The R stamp on the stem was far lighter than it appears in the photos. I did a bit of research on the Refbjerg brand to try to gather the background on it. I knew that the maker was the same carver who had made Soren pipes. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r3.html) and did a screen capture of the information there as well as the notes that were included in the side bar.

Artisan: Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen (retired). Pipes for the European market are mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those for US are stamped “Søren“. I also followed the lead from that information to the site’s information on the Soren pipe brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html). I did a screen capture of the information on the brand as well as the side bar for this as well.

Artisan: Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes for the European market are mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those for US are stamped “Soren”.I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Refbjerg) for more information. I include the pertinent information below.

Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen founded a company in 1969, which employed an average of 8 – 12 craftsmen in the 1970’s. The semi-freehands they produced were traded under his prename Søren. Rasmussen himself finished only the very best pipes. So his way of pipemaking closely resembled the ways of Preben Holm, Karl Erik Ottendahl or Erik Nørding. Altogether more than 1,000,000 pipes were sold.

Today he works alone as Refbjerg and manufactures only a small number of pipes in his workshop in DK-2860 Søborg, which are considered to be tremendously precisely executed. The dimensions mostly range from small to medium sized, corresponding to his personal preferences. The shapes adhere to the classical models, but often he gives them a touch of Danish flair. Refbjerg accepts minor faults but never uses any fillings. “Straight Grain” is the only grading, used for his very best pieces. He likes stem decorations made of exotic woods or metal rings.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived.I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges look very good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button.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 faint but still readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good-looking Canadian.I decided to start my work on the pipe polishing the rim top and the rest of the bowl and shank as it was in such good condition. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The briar began to come alive. The bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth and raised the shine. The bowl looks great at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to working on the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad.I finished the hand polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Refbjerg Hand Made in Denmark R.P.K. 2010 Canadian. 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 beautiful straight and birdseye grain all around it. Added to that the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Refbjerg Hand Made R.P.K. 2010 Canadian is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 38 grams/1.34 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section soon. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Fresh Life for a Republic Era Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky 608S Saddle Stem Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a sandblast Peterson’s Rusitcated Pot shaped pipe that we purchased from an auction in Manorville, New York, USA on 07/28/2022. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Donegal” Rocky [over] Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) followed by the shape number 608S. There is a band on the shank that is stamped on the left side and reads K&P in shields [over] Sterling Silver. Under those stamps there are three hallmarks – Hibernia seated, Crowned Harp for country of manufacture and a date letter in this case an oddly shaped upper case “S”. It has a rusticated finish around the bowl and shank that has a lot of oils, debris and grime in the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy lava overflow in the rustication on the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl looks to have significant damage on the left front under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip Saddle Stem. It had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl and the heavy lava build up on the rusticated rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked rough but a proper clean up would tell the full story. At this point the inner edge of the left side of the bowl looked to be out of round. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. More would be visible once Jeff cleaned it up. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime and what looks to be white paint around the sides of the bowl and shank in the rusticated finish. It seems to fill in the grooves in the rustication. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Sterling Silver ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. The hallmarks are light but readable.

I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson Company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

I turned to the hallmarking chart on one of the blogs on rebornpipes to lock down the date for the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/peterson-cataloguecomp_page_27.jpg). The chart defines the meaning of each hallmark. The first one of the seated woman with a harp is known as the Hibernia stamp and identifies the pipe as made in Ireland. The second stamp is a crowned harp which is a fineness mark denoting the high quality of silver that was used. The third stamp is an oddly shaped S. I have included a larger screen capture of the chart in the lower left of the photo below.

I have drawn a RED CIRCLE around the date letter below. What appeared to be an upper-case S actually is a very stylized G as seen in the circled letter below. It identifies the date of this Peterson’s pipe to 1974.I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950 and the present. The hallmarks date the pipe to 1974. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The silver tarnished once again and would need to be polished because it had been sitting here for awhile. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges look quite good though the bowl was very out of round with damage to the left side toward the front of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the band. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint but still readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good-looking pipe and has a rugged rustication around the bowl. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edge of the rim and the top. I built up the damaged edge with clear CA glue and briar dust. The initial start looks pretty awful but follow through the photos. I used a brass bristle brush to clean up the rusticated rim top. I worked over the inner edge of the rim with both a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. The rim top and edges looked significantly better after the clean up. I touched up the inner edge and the rim top with a Walnut stain pen to match the stain on the briar around the bowl. 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 10 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 polished the Sterling Silver band on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and polish it. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the light tooth marks on both sides. I was able to lift all of them. I followed that by sanding it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding 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. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky 608S Pot. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rugged rustication all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This rusticated Classic Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky Pot 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 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams/1.06 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.