Tag Archives: Petersons Pipes

A New Beginning For An Inherited Peterson’s # 3 System Pocket Pipe…

Blog by Paresh Deshpande

Over the last month and a half, I have worked on five Peterson’s pipes to be added to my personal collection; two from my inherited lot (DONEGAL ROCKY # 999 and KAPMEER # 120S) and three that I had purchased on eBay, a Peterson’s SYSTEM # 31 just so that I could include it in my rotation, a Peterson’s BARREL and a Peterson’s OLD ENGLISH COLLECTION. Continuing with my work on Peterson’s in my collection, the next and sixth pipe that is now on my work table is one from my inheritance; a unique small system pipe with oval shaped chamber/ stummel. The stem folds itself over the rim top, further making it compact enough in size to be carried in one’s vest pocket.

The smooth stummel of this pipe has a beautiful mix of Bird’s eye on the foot of the stummel and cross grain on the front, back, sides and the upturned shank of the stummel. An oval shaped stummel, short upturned shank with a nickel plated ferrule at the shank end and a proportionate vulcanite stem with an orifice for a slot, makes it a visually appealing pipe. It is stamped on the left side of the shank as “K & P” over “3”. The shank end is adorned with a nickel ferrule that is stamped in three shields as “K” “&” “P” over three faux hallmarks a Shamrock, a Prone Fox, and a Stone Tower. The stummel is devoid of any COM stamp that would help in dating this pipe. Even the stem is unstamped. Since I have been recently working on Peterson’s pipes in my collection and reading about it as much as I could, I knew that K & P pipes did not have any COM stamp during the early part of the Patent Era. Furthermore, this pipe has a reservoir/ sump in the mortise making it a System pipe!! The stem slot is a round orifice which points to this pipe being an old one. Thus from these facts, I can safely presume this pipe to be from the Patent Era, that is from 1875 to 1922.

However, in spite of my extensive research on Peterson’s pipes for shapes and models from this era, I came a cropper!!!! In case any of the esteemed readers has some additional information on this pipe, I would request you to share it on Reborn pipes for the benefit of our community.

Initial Visual Inspection
The smooth stummel on this pipe is covered in a thick layer of dust and sticky grime giving it a dull and lackluster appearance. Through all the grime, bird’s eye and cross grains can be still seen at the foot and on sides, front and back of the stummel respectively. The rim top surface appears uneven and is covered in dust, heavy lava overflow, grime and will need to be cleaned and polished. There are a few scratches on the left side of the stummel which will need to be addressed. A few fills seen on either side of the stummel need to be refreshed. The stummel has developed a nice patina which I shall endeavor to preserve. The chamber has a thick layer of uneven cake with lava overflow over the rim top surface. Remnants of half burnt tobacco can be seen at the bottom half of the stummel. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber will be ascertained once the existing cake has been taken down to the bare briar. The draught hole is completely blocked with absolutely no draw. This needs to be addressed. The thin and delicate rim edge appears to be severely damaged with dents and dings all around; however, the extent of this damage will be ascertained once the cake and lava overflow from the chamber and rim top is entirely removed. There is a very strong smell to the chamber which, perhaps, may reduce appreciably after the chamber has been cleaned. The mortise and sump are clogged with dried oils and tars. The nickel ferrule at the shank end, though heavily oxidized, is undamaged. It is cut at an angle to accommodate the stem when it is turned over the stummel. The ferrule, once cleaned should polish up nicely. The vulcanite stem is heavily and deeply oxidized with tooth indentations on the button edge and chatter on either surfaces of the stem in the bite zone. The tenon end shows heavy traces of dried oils and tars. It’s going to take some elbow grease to clean up this stem to a nice deep and shining black. The perpendicular tenon end will make the internal cleaning a bit challenging. The orific slot shows deposition of dried oils and tars. The stink from the stem and clogged airway will take a lot of effort and time to clean up. The Process
I began the process of refurbishing this pipe by using my fabricated knife to remove the unburnt tobacco and thick layer of cake. I further took the cake down to the bare briar with a folded piece of 150 grit sand paper. Once the walls of the chamber were rid of all the remnants of the cake, the chamber walls were found to be smooth and without any damage. With my modified and straightened cloth hanger used as a poker, I cleaned the grime and cake that covered the draught hole at the heel of the stummel. I further wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with isopropyl alcohol to completely remove the sanding dust. While handling the stummel for internal cleaning of the chamber, the nickel ferrule came off, revealing a crack on the left side. This crack extends from the shank end rim surface (indicated with a yellow arrow) and along the shank on the left side (indicated with blue arrows). The extent of the crack will be determined once the dirt, grime and dried glue are removed from the surface. The edges of the ferrule are slightly uneven while the insides of it have traces of deeper oxidation. I scraped the shank internals with a fabricated tool to remove all the crud that had accumulated along the shank walls and further cleaned it with bristled and regular pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl alcohol. A huge pile of q-tips, pipe cleaners and lots of elbow grease later, the sump and mortise still appear dirty. I shall further draw out all the residual oils, tars and gunk by subjecting the chamber and the shank to a salt and alcohol bath. I gently scraped the shank end rim surface to remove all the accumulated oils and grime. Now that the shank end rim was cleaned, a second crack on the right side came to the fore (indicated in yellow arrows). This project is turning out to be more time consuming than I had anticipated. I shall deal with these cracks after I am done with internal and external cleaning of the stummel. I cleared the draught hole using a fabricated poker and further cleaned it using pipe cleaners and alcohol. I continued with the cleaning of the chamber and shank internals with a salt and alcohol bath. I use cotton balls which is an at par substitute to Kosher salt as I have realized over the years. I draw out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; insert it in to the mortise and through the draught hole into the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim’s inner edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By the next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils and tars from the chamber and mortise, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosened gunk from the sump and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. The chamber now smells clean and fresh. I set the stummel to dry out naturally. Now that the internals of the stummel were cleaned, I scrubbed the external surface of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and hard bristled tooth brush. I deliberately cleaned the thin delicate rim top and the surface just below the rim edge with Scotch Brite and a soft bristled brass wire brush to remove the entire lava overflow and dried it using paper towels and a soft cotton cloth. The shank end rim surface and the shank were deliberately cleaned to remove the grime and dirt so that the exact extent of the two cracks could be fathomed. The thin rim top is generously peppered with nicks, dings and dents. The fills and cracks that are visible on the stummel surface are marked in yellow circles and blue arrows respectively. I removed the old fills and prepared the stummel for a fresh fill. Using my dental tools, I progressed to removing the fills. I know these pictures do not present a very encouraging scenario at this stage, but I shall prevail… I wiped the surface from where the old fill was gouged out, with isopropyl alcohol to clean the area. I let the stummel dry out completely and after all the alcohol had evaporated, proceeded to fill the gouges with CA superglue and briar dust using the layering technique where I put down a thin layer of superglue in to the fill and press briar dust over the glue. I continue with this process till the fill rises above the rest of the stummel surface. Once all the gouges were filled up, I set the stummel aside to cure for the next 24 hours.While the stummel fills were curing, I worked the stem. The stem air way was filthy to say the least. Using a shank brush and dish washing soap, I cleaned the stem air way. I further cleaned the stem internals with hard and regular pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. A lot of elbow grease and a pile of pipe cleaners later, the pipe cleaners did not emerge as white as I wanted. The perpendicular positioning of the tenon to the rest of the stem made cleaning of the air way all the more difficult. In my exuberance, I chipped the very end of the tenon… Some additional unwarranted work and time penalty!! With the stem internals now somewhat clean, I moved to external cleaning of the stem surface by sanding the surface with a piece of 220 grit sand paper and thereafter dunking the stem in to “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface making its further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. I usually dunk stems of 5-7 pipes that are in-line for restoration and the K & P # 3 pipe is marked in pastel pink arrow. I generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight for the solution to do its work.Next day, I remove the stems from the deoxidizer solution and clean them under warm running tap water to remove all the solution. I scrubbed the stem surface first with scotch brite pad followed by a piece of 0000 grade steel wool. This helps in removing all the raised oxidation from the stem surface. I rubbed a little Extra Virgin Olive oil in to the stem and wiped the excess with a paper napkin. This was followed by inserting a petroleum jelly smeared folded pipe cleaner in to the tenon for reconstruction of the tenon end. Using a mix of CA superglue and food grade activated charcoal, I began the arduous process of rebuilding the chipped tenon end and also the bite marks on the button edges on both sides in the bite zone. I set the stem aside for the fill to cure and harden completely. I took a stock of the progress made till now on this pipe; stummel internals/ externals cleaned, old stummel fills have been refreshed and cured, stem internals cleaned, stem oxidation removed to a great extent, stem repairs set aside for curing. Addressing the stummel cracks, sanding of the stummel and stem fills, refurbishing the nickel band and final polishing is all that remains to be completed.

Next, I address the two cracks at the shank end. Using a magnifying glass and a white correction pen, I marked the points for the counter holes at the end points along the extent of the cracks seen on the stummel. I drilled counter holes with a 1mm drill bit mounted on to my hand held rotary tool, deep enough to serve as a counter hole while taking care that I did not drill a through and through hole. These counter holes arrest and prevent the spread of the cracks further. I filled these cracks and counter holes with a mix of briar dust and CA superglue using the layering method (layer of superglue followed by sprinkling of briar dust and repeated it till desired thickness of fill was achieved) and set it aside for the fills to cure. I ensured that I filled the thin outer edge of rim top surface that I will subsequently sand down to match with the rest of the rim surface. I set the stummel aside for the fills to harden. I cleaned the nickel shank band with Colgate Toothpowder, which Abha, my wife, uses to polish her silver and gold cutlery and jewelry. This compound is a very fine powder and is least abrasive with fantastic results. The band is now a nice shining piece of nickel and should provide a nice contrast to the shining black stem and the dark brown stummel. The patches of deep oxidation that were observed were also completely eliminated. With the stummel fills nicely cured, it was time again to work on it. Using a flat head needle file, I sanded the fills and followed it by sanding with worn out folded piece of 150 grit sand paper. I sand the thin rim top surface with the same sand paper to minimize the numerous chips, dents and dings. I did not resort to topping since the oval shape with a slight saddle dip in the centre makes it difficult to top without compromising the shape of the rim top. A couple of dents and chips are still visible, but I shall let them be as a part of this pipe’s journey from my grandfather then to with me now!!! The fills have blended in quite well. However, I shall strive to further achieve a near perfect blend during further sanding and polishing with micromesh pads. The shank end crack repairs are now solid and have blended in really well. Yeah, I am pleased with this progress. Thereafter, I polished the entire stummel with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 pads. I wiped the surface with a soft moist cloth at the end of the micromesh cycle. The stummel looks amazing with a deep shine and beautiful grains over the stummel surface. Another issue that was addressed to a great extent was that of the minor scratches and nicks that were observed on the stummel. The rim top surface looks good with the few nicks and chips still visible, if observed closely. The refreshed fills distinctly stand out because of their dark coloration, and I shall let it be as a testimony of the journey of this beautiful pipe. I am very happy with the appearance of the rim top and stummel at this stage. I rubbed a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to briar and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the dark hues of the grain contrasting with the rest of the stummel surface. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. I set the stummel aside and took up the stem repairs. The tenon tip rebuild had cured nicely. With a flat head needle file, I sand the rebuilt portion of the tenon and the button edges to achieve a rough match. Using a round needle file, I shaped the opening of the tenon to a perfect round. I resorted to topping the tenon end on a piece of 220 grit sand paper to achieve the correct tenon size, which is just below the opening of the draught hole in the mortise. This ensures that the Pete’s famed “System” functions as effectively. I further sand the entire stem surface with a folded piece of a 220 grit sand paper to achieve a perfect blend of the fill with the stem surface. With the same piece of sand paper, I sharpened the button edges on both the upper and lower surface. I wiped the stem with a cotton swab and Murphy’s oil soap to further remove the oxidation and sanding dust. I rubbed some extra virgin olive oil into the stem and set it aside to be absorbed into stem. I polished the stem with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I rubbed a little extra virgin olive oil in to the stem at the end of all the micromesh pads. Next I rubbed a small quantity of extra fine stem polish that I had got from Mark Hoover and set it aside to let the polish work its magic. After about 10 minutes, I hand buffed the stem with a microfiber cloth to a nice shine. The stem is now nice, smooth and shiny. Now with the stummel nicely polished, the nickel band polished and shining and stem repairs and polishing completed, all that remained to be done was to get these parts together for a final polishing with carnauba wax. I glued the nickel ferrule to the shank end with CA superglue.To apply the finishing touches, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and apply a coat of Blue Diamond to the entire pipe to polish out the minor scratches. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I apply a coat of carnauba wax to the stummel and stem and continue to work on it till the complete coat of wax is polished out. I mount a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and gave the entire pipe a once over buff. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe is shown below. P.S. – This is another unique and vintage pipe of my grandfather that has been passed on to me. I feel singularly fortunate and honored to carry forward his legacy while at the same time preserving a part of history of these pipe brands. Thanks for your patience and looking forward to inputs about the write up.

I had decided to let the fills be seen and not mask it under a darker stain; I am still open to suggestions from esteemed readers!!

Cheers…

Final Pipe from the 19 Pipe Eastern Canada Lot – a Republic Era Peterson 1312 System

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am finishing the last of the 19 pipes for the fellow in Kitchener, Ontario I decided to work on the last one of them. He had been referred to me by my local pipe and cigar shop. While I am not currently adding more pipes to my queue of repairs I have made a commitment to the shop to work on pipes for their customers. Generally they have one or two pipes that need a bit of work. This fellow sent me the following email:

I just came across my smoking pipes that I’ve had in storage for about 40 years. I’m wondering what you’d charge to have them refurbished. There are 17 in total (11 are Brighams and 6 are various).

It turns out he said he had 17 pipes. That was certainly more than I expected but I communicated that there was a large queue ahead of him and I would have to fit them in as I could. He was fine with whatever time it took. He sent me the following photos of his collection that he wanted restored. The first photo shows his eleven Brigham pipes – all very interesting shapes. The second photo shows the six various pipes in the collection – A Republic Era Peterson’s System 1312 (Canadian Import), A Bjarne Hand Carved Freehand, a Comoy’s Everyman London smooth billiard, a GBD Popular Dublin 12, an English made Kaywoodie Rustica 72B, a Kriswill Bernadotte 60 with a broken tenon. When the box arrived there were two additional pipes included for a total of 19 – a Ropp 803 Deluxe Cherrywood Poker and a Comoy’s Sandblast Everyman Canadian 296. It was a lot of pipes! I have been randomly choosing the next pipe to work on and chose the Bjarne Hand Carved Freehand that is shown in the second photo below. I have drawn a red box around the Peterson’s System Standard 1312 in the photo below. I have also put and X through all of the pipes that I have finished. I am making progress on the lot – I have finished all the pipes now.The 19^th and last pipe that I took out of the box was a Peterson’s System Standard pipe. It had a smooth finish. It was stamped on both sides of the shank. On the left side it read Peterson’s System Standard. On the right side it was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland and under that was the shape number 1312. The nickel ferrule was in great condition and was stamped K&P Peterson. There were faux hallmarks under that. The finish was probably the cleanest of the 19 pipes so I am glad it is the last one. The rim top had some lava on the flat surface and the inner rim is damaged and slightly out of round. The bowl appeared to have been recently reamed and not smoked since the reaming. The vulcanite stem was lightly oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter near the button on both sides. There was also some calcification around the button. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the bowl and the darkening and damage to the inner edge as well. You can also see the light lava on the rim and clean bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show its condition as mentioned above. I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank to show what I was speaking about above. It is very readable. On the left side it reads Peterson’s System Standard. On the right side it read Made in the Republic of Ireland over the shape number 1312. The nickel ferrule stamping is very readable and undamaged. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the other pipes. It is a Peterson’s System Standard pipe with a 1312 shape number. The 312 is identical in shape, size and marking. I started my hunt for information by turning to a Peterson Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes and looked up the System Standard pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 312 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. But there was nothing to give me any information on what the first number 1 meant in the shape number 1312 that I am working on.Since this is stamped with the same “1” as previous Peterson pipes that I have worked on I turned to the blog and had a look. I am including the information on the unique numbering. Mark pointed me in the direction that I needed. I quote the pertinent part of his email. The underlined portion was the clue I was looking for on this pipe. I have already cleaned up several of Bob’s pipes that were sold through GT&C (Genin, Trudeau and Company, Montreal, Quebec).

The index at the back of the book is pretty good, and points you to all the GT&C goodies, but 155 has a photo from the catalog with your 1307, while 318 and 323 explain the rationale for the “1” prefix. In a nutshell, just drop the “1” and you’ve got the shape. My theory is that GT&C added this to aid them in warranty work, so they’d know the pipe was bought on Canadian soil.

I turned then to a previous blog I had written on a Kapruf 54 that had an odd shape number stamp and referred to the Canadian numbering system used by GT&C. Here it the link to that blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/08/09/back-to-bob-kerrs-estate-another-canadian-import-petersons-kapruf-a-54/). In the blog I included a link to a blog I did on the GT&C Catalogue that came to me in some paperwork the family gave me. I have included the cover of the catalogue and the page on the system pipes showing the 1312 shape. I have put a red box around the shape for ease of reference (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/13/petersons-pipes-brochure-from-genin-trudeau-co-montreal-quebec/). Be sure to check out the rest of the document on the link.

The GT&C Catalogue combined with the earlier Peterson Pipe Catalogue page make the link definitive. I am also 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 sytems 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).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. Most of the pipes in this lot seemed to come from the 60s so my guess is that this is also a 60’s era pipe. I also knew that the pipe was brought into Canada by the Canadian Importer, Genin, Trudeau & Co. in Montreal, Quebec. Noting above that the catalogue postal code puts it in the late 60s early 70s which also fits the story. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I cleaned up the thin cake in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and sanded the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the top of the rim and to lightly bevel the inner edge to clean up the out of round bowl. I was able to make it look better. I cleaned the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. They were dirty but the pipe is clean now. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim down after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris from the sanding. The rim top was looking very good after the final polishing pad. I rubbed the bowl and shank 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 a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I rubbed the stem down with Soft Scrub on with a cotton pad and it removed the oxidation. It was looking better. I sanded out the remaining tooth marks, chatter and oxidation with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rubbed down the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish, a red gritty paste and a cotton pad to remove the remnants of oxidation and to blend in the sanding. The stem is starting to show promise at this point in the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cotton pad to remove the sanding debris. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I finished by wiping it down with Briarville’s No Oxy Oil and buffing it to a shine. It feels good to be finishing the restoration of this 19 pipe lot from Eastern Canada. With the completion of this one I have finished the entire of the pipes. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I 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 grain is quite stunning and really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Peterson’s System Standard 1312 Bent Billiard was a great pipe to end the restoration work on. The polished nickel Ferrule works as a contrast between the stem and the briar and binds it all together. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This beautiful pipe will be going in the box with the others and be sent back to Eastern Canada. I look forward to hearing what the pipeman there thinks when he sees his collection now that it has been restored. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This was an interesting estate to bring back to life.

A Simple Refurbishing Of Peterson’s Barrel Pipe

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

In the last couple of weeks, I have worked on three Peterson’s pipe, two from my inherited lot (DONEGAL ROCKY # 999 and KAPMEER # 120S) and one that I had purchased on eBay (PETERSON’S SYSTEM # 31) just so that I could include it in my rotation. Continuing with my work on Peterson’s in my collection, the next pipe that is now on my work table is a rusticated Peterson’s “BARREL” with a thin delicate and long P-lip stem.

The rusticated stummel of this pipe has beautiful texture and feels tactile in the hand. A short shank with a nickel ferrule at the end and a long, tapered delicate P-lip stem makes it a visually stunning pipe. It is stamped on the bottom flat smooth surface at the foot of the stummel as “Peterson’s” in a cursive hand over “BARREL” in capital letters over “MADE IN THE” over “REPUBLIC” over “OF IRELAND” in capital letters. The shank end is adorned with a nickel ferule that is stamped as “K & P” over three faux hallmarks a Shamrock, a Prone Fox, and a Stone Tower. Further to the right, it is stamped as “PETERSON’S”. The stampings are crisp and easily readable less the Shamrock hallmark which has been slightly rubbed off. Having researched and worked on a few early Peterson’s pipes, I knew that the stampings identified this pipe as being from Republic era i.e. 1949 to until the present, making it a newer generation pipe. Also during my search on Donegal Rocky # 999 pipe that I had researched earlier, I knew that BARREL belonged to the Group 4 basic entry level pipes from Peterson’s. Given below are snippets of relevant information that I had learned from pipedia.org:

Group 4, Basic Entry Level Pipes

In this group you will ﬁnd the basic entry level pipes which many smokers desire and are most comfortable with for every day and rotation use. The two most famous and popular issues probably being the System and the Classic shape pipes. All of the pipes in this group can be purchased for relatively little cost and probably accounts for the majority of Petersons worldwide pipe sales

Tankard & Barrel: Two attractively shaped pipes ﬁnished in red polish or rustic. A quality briar ﬁtted with a nickel mount. Available with Peterson lip or ﬁshtail mouthpiece. Prices start from $45.With this information, I now know that this pipe is a pipe from the newer generation that is most comfortable and desired and I move ahead with my initial visual inspection.

Initial Visual Inspection
The pipe, as it sits on my work table, is dirty with a thick layer of cake in the chamber, a stummel that is covered in dust and grime and a military mount tapered vulcanite stem that is lightly oxidized. Here are a few pictures of the pipe before I proceed with a detailed visual inspection of each part of the pipe. The chamber has a thick cake with lava overflow over the rim top surface. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber will be ascertained once the existing cake has been taken down to the bare briar. The inner and outer rim edges appear to be in good condition, however, the same will be ascertained once the cake and lava overflow from the chamber and rim top respectively, is entirely removed. There is a very strong smell to the cake which, perhaps, may reduce appreciably after the chamber and the shank has been cleaned. The draught hole is right at the bottom and center of the wide and rounded heel of the stummel, making it an excellent smoker. The mortise is filled with oils and tars and specks of dried ash are seen on the walls of the mortise. The mortise is filled with dried oils, tars and gunk. The walls, however, are intact and well protected under the nickel ferule. The rusticated stummel on this pipe is covered in a thick layer of dust and grime giving it a dull and lackluster appearance. The rim top surface is also covered in dust, lava overflow, grime and will need to be cleaned and polished. The nickel ferule at the shank end appears dull due to oxidation. The bottom of the ferrule has a patch that is heavily oxidized. The saving grace is that it is intact and undamaged.The tapered, thin and long slightly bent vulcanite P-lip stem is lightly oxidized with negligible, but visible on close inspection, scratches on either surfaces of the stem in the bite zone and over the P-lip. The shank end opening on the stem is constricted with dried oils and gunk. This should be a relatively simple cleaning up job of the stem.The Process
I began the process of refurbishing this pipe by reaming the chamber with a Castleford reamer tool, using size 2 followed by size 3 head. Using my fabricated knife; I further took the cake down to the bare briar. With a 150 grit sand paper, the walls of the chamber were rid of all the remnants of the cake, revealing smooth chamber walls. I further wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with isopropyl alcohol to completely remove the sanding dust. I gently scraped the lava overflow from the rim top with a brass bristled brush. The inner and outer rim edge is in good condition. I scraped the shank internals with a fabricated tool to remove all the crud that had accumulated along the shank walls and further cleaned it with bristled and regular pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I shall further draw out all the residual oils, tars and gunk by subjecting the chamber and the shank to a salt and alcohol bath. I continued the cleaning of the chamber and the short shank internals with a salt and alcohol bath. I use cotton balls which is an at par substitute as I have realized over the years. I draw out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; insert it in to the mortise and through the draught hole in to the chamber. Thereafter, I pack the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the rim inner edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils and tars from the chamber and mortise, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk. Using my fabricated tool, I scraped out the entire loosed gunk from the shank walls and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. The chamber now smells clean and fresh. I set the stummel to dry out naturally. Now that the internals of the stummel were cleaned, I scrubbed the external surface of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and hard bristled tooth brush. I deliberately cleaned the rim top surface with a soft bristled brass wire brush to remove the entire lava overflow and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. I rubbed a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to briar and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the reddish brown hues of the raised rustications contrasting with the dark stummel surface. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. With the stummel refurbishing completed, I turned my attention to the stem. The stem air way was filthy to say the least. Using a shank brush and dish washing soap, I cleaned the stem air way. I further cleaned the stem internals with hard and regular pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. A lot of elbow grease and a pile of pipe cleaners later, when the pipe cleaners emerged white I knew that the stem internals were clean and fresh.With the stem internals now clean, I moved to external cleaning of the stem surface by dunking the stem in to “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface making its further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. I usually dunk stems of 5-7 pipes that are in-line for restoration and the BARREL is marked in yellow arrow. I generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight for the solution to do its work.I sand the entire stem surface with a folded piece of a 220 grit sand paper to remove the tooth chatter and minor oxidation from the stem surface. With the same piece of sand paper, I sharpened the button edges on both the upper and lower surface. I wiped the stem with a cotton swab and Murphy’s oil soap to further remove the oxidation. I rubbed some extra virgin olive oil in to the stem and set it aside to be absorbed in to stem. I polished the stem with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I rubbed a little extra virgin olive oil in to the stem at the end of all the micromesh pads. I finished the polishing of the stem by rubbing a small quantity of Paragon wax and giving it a final polish with a soft cotton cloth. The stem is now nice, smooth and shiny.I cleaned the nickel ferrule at the shank end with a local compound that Abha, my wife, uses to polish her silver and gold jewelry and cutlery. This compound is a very fine powder and is least abrasive with fantastic results. The results were appreciated by Steve during his visit to India. The band is now a nice shining piece of nickle and provides a nice contrast to the shining black stem and the dark brown stummel. Unfortunately, I missed out on taking pictures as I was keen to finish this pipe!

To apply the finishing touches, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and apply a coat of Blue Diamond to the stem to polish out the minor scratches. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I apply a coat of carnauba wax to the stummel and stem and continued to work on it till the complete coat of wax had been polished out. I mount a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and gave the entire pipe a once over buff. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe is shown below. P.S. – This was one of the easiest and most straight forward refurbishing works that I have undertaken till date. It was also a nice change from restoring pipes only from my inheritance. I am really privileged to have had an opportunity to carry forward the trust that the previous owner had posed in his pipes. Thanks for your patience and looking forward to inputs about the write up. Cheers…

Readying An Inherited Pete Kapmeer #120 S, Great Britain, For Its Second Inning…

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

While going through the pile of my inherited pipes searching for my next project, I selected the DONEGAL ROCKY # 999 and this pipe, PETERSON’S KAPMEER # 120 S for restoration. Since I wanted to add Rhodesian shape to my rotation, I first restored the Donegal # 999. Thereafter other interesting pipes caught my fancy and this pipe was relegated to backseat. A few pipes later, as I was contemplating my next project, this pipe again came in to focus along with a few other Peterson’s which were languishing in the box and I decided to complete a few Peterson’s pipes during the next few days.

The shape of this pipe is a nice classic Dublin with a P-lip saddle stem. The deeply rusticated stummel feels tactile in one’s hand and the deep burgundy stain makes for a visual treat. It is stamped on the smooth underside as “120 S” towards the heel of the stummel followed by “PETERSON’S” over “KAPMEER” followed by the COM stamp “GREAT” over “BRITAIN” towards the shank end. The stampings are crisp and clear. The vulcanite P-lip saddle stem bears the trademark decorative letter “P”.During my research on Donegal Rocky # 999 (my first and only Donegal in my collection!!), I had read that KAPMEER belongs to the Classic Range of pipes offered by Peterson’s. These are basic entry level pipes and most of this line up is no longer in production. The COM stamp “GREAT BRITAIN” also points to this being an older pipe, that is, pre-1959.

Initial Visual Inspection
The pipe, as it sits on my work table, is dirty with thick layer of even cake, covered in dust and grime with a heavily oxidized stem. Here are a few pictures of the pipe before I proceed with a detailed visual inspection of each part of the pipe. The stummel has beautiful rustic patterns on this classic shaped pipe and is covered in a thick layer of dust and grime. The stummel appears dull and lackluster. However, the rich dark burgundy hues of the raised portions of the rustications contrast beautifully with the lighter hues of the stummel and would look more appealing once the stummel has been cleaned and polished. The end of the long and rusticated shank has a nice thin band of smooth briar. Once polished, this briar band should further enhance the beauty of this pipe. The meerschaum lined rim top is surrounded by briar wood and is covered in a thick coat of dust, lava overflow, grime and will need to be cleaned and polished. This lava overflow is chipped at places revealing an intact white meerschaum layer. The chamber has an even layer of thick cake that is sticky and hard. The condition of the meerschaum lined walls of the chamber will be ascertained once the existing cake has been completely removed. The inner meerschaum layered rim edge appears intact, however, the same will be ascertained once the cake and lava overflow from the chamber and rim top is removed. There is a distinct perfectly round ring above the draught hole which could be seen even through the cake and grime. Is it a crack? It is unlikely that a crack should be such a perfect round. It would require a closer inspection once the chamber has been cleaned. The mortise has a thick layer of black dried oils and tars on the walls which would need to be cleaned. The straight tapered vulcanite P-lip saddle stem is heavily oxidized and is peppered with light tooth chatter/ indentations on either surface of the stem in the bite zone and on the top surface of the P-lip. Heavy calcification is seen at the base of the edges of the P-lip. The button edges of the P-lip are deformed due to tooth marks and would need to be sharpened. The tenon end is covered in dried oils and tars. This should be a relatively simple repair and cleaning up job of the stem.The Process
I began the process of refurbishing this pipe with scraping out the calcification from the base of the button edges, cleaning the internals of the stem using pipe cleaners with isopropyl alcohol (99.9% pure) and dunking the stem in to “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface making its further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. I usually dunk stems of 5-7 pipes that are in-line for restoration and this Kapmeer is marked in blue arrow. I generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight for the solution to do its work.Now that the stem is soaking in the deoxidizer solution, I worked the stummel, starting with reaming the chamber with a Castleford reamer tool, using only the second head. I was very gentle and careful while using the reamer head, applying minimum force for fear of cracking the meerschaum lining. Using my fabricated knife; I took the cake down to the meerschaum layer. With a 150 grit sand paper, the walls of the chamber were rid of all the remnants of the cake. My worst fears while working on meerschaum lined pipes were unraveled in front of my eyes!! There are two distinct cracks on either sides on the chamber walls, one each in 3 o’clock and 9 o’clock direction. These cracks are marked in yellow and orange arrows respectively. These cracks do not go all the way through the meerschaum layer, but are only superficial. The perfectly rounded crack that I had mentioned (marked in green arrow) earlier, is not a crack but just a circular line formed most likely by a reamer head. I further wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with isopropyl alcohol to completely remove the sanding dust. I gently scraped off the entire lava overflow from the rim top with a sharp knife blade. The inner rim edge has no damage save for uneven surface. This issue will be easily addressed by a little sanding and polishing with micromesh pads. Just to allay my fears, I shared these pictures with Steve and Facetimed with him. I suggested that I coat the cracks with a mix of egg whites and chalk for repairs. However, Steve opined that these cracks are just superficial and that he would let them be. His closing remark was “that meer lining is going nowhere…”! At peace with my inner being, I move to the next stage.

I scraped the dried gunk from the walls of the mortise with my dental tool and further cleaned the shank internals with q-tips, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. I continued the cleaning till the pipe cleaners and q-tips came out clean.I scrubbed the external surface of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s oil soap and hard bristled tooth brush and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. The burgundy hues of the raised rustications contrast beautifully with the rest of the stummel. I set the stummel aside to dry out naturally. I packed the chamber with paper towels to absorb any water and moisture that may have inadvertently seeped in to the meerschaum. To even out the rim top, I dry sand the top with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. I also polished the raised rustications and the thin briar band at the shank end, dry sanding with the micromesh pads to further enhance the contrast. I am really happy with the appearance of the entire stummel at this stage. I massaged a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to briar. I rubbed this balm deep in to the nooks and crannies formed between the rustications with my fingers and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the dark hues of the raised carvings contrasting with the rest of the stummel surface. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. I worked on all the stems that had been soaking in the deoxidizer solution overnight. I fished out all the stems and cleaned them under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using Scotch Brite pad. I further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stems with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little olive oil to rehydrate the stems and set them aside for the oil to be absorbed. Unfortunately, I did not click any pictures of these stems at this stage.

I painted both surfaces of the stem with the flame of a lighter to raise the tooth indentations to the surface. This also helps in loosening minor oxidation from the stem surface. I sand the entire stem surface with a folded piece of a 220 grit sand paper to remove the loosened oxidation. I wiped the stem with a cotton swab and Murphy’s oil soap to further remove the oxidation. I filled the tooth indentation in the button edge on both lower and upper stem surfaces with a mix of activated charcoal and CA superglue and set it aside for the fill to cure. Once the fill had cured sufficiently, I sanded down the fill with a needle file to match with rest of the stem surface. With the same file, I sharpened the button edge on both the upper and lower surface. I fine tuned the blending of the fill with the rest of the stem surface using a 220 grit sand paper and also sanded down the entire stem to remove the stubborn residual oxidation. I further sand the stem with 600 and 800 grit sand paper and wiped the stem with cotton pad dipped in alcohol to remove the resultant dust. I rubbed some extra virgin olive oil in to the stem and set it aside to be absorbed in to stem. However, I completely missed taking pictures of this stage.

I polished the stem with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I rubbed a little extra virgin olive oil in to the stem at the end of the micromesh pads polishing cycle. I finish the polishing of the stem by rubbing a small quantity of Paragon wax and giving it a final polish with a soft cotton cloth. The stem is now nice, smooth and shiny.I refreshed the stem logo by masking the logo with a whitener correction pen. Once the whitener had dried, I gently wiped the excess whitener away. The stem logo now looks prominent.To apply the finishing touches, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and applied a coat of Blue Diamond to the stem to polish out the minor scratches. With a cotton buffing wheel that I use for carnauba wax, I apply a coat of carnauba wax to the stummel and stem and continued to work on it till the complete coat of wax had been polished out. I mount a clean cotton cloth buffing wheel and gave the entire pipe a once over buff. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe is shown below. P.S. – This was an easy restoration and the pipe turned out fabulously refreshed. I did enjoy working on it. Steve, with his practical and sound advice has been a great help. I cannot imagine this fun filled journey of mine without his help, guidance and encouragement. Thanks Steve for being such a big support and also for introducing some great friends in piper community.

I have three more Peterson’s pipes lined up and each one is interesting in its own way. I surely am looking forward to work on each one of them in the coming days!!

Thanks for your patience and looking forward to input about the write up. Cheers…

Breathing Life into a Peterson’s Churchwarden

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Blog by Steve Laug

My local pipe shop gave my name and number to a pipewoman here in town that had a pipe she needed cleaned up. She called me at work a few weeks ago and made an appointment for her to come by the house and have a chat about her pipe. At this point I had not seen the pipe only what she had spoken about it. The pipe was what she called a ceremonial pipe that she used in some of the ceremonies that she was involved in. She said it was a part of the meditative process that she led groups through on retreats. When she came I was not sure what to expect of either her or the pipe. She came to the door yesterday afternoon and dropped the pipe by. She was a woman about my age, blonde and blue eyed (totally not what I expected) and the pipe was a Peterson’s Churchwarden (again not what I had expected). We chatted for a bit and she left the pipe with me to clean up. I took the lid off the box this morning to work on the pipe. Here is what it looked like before I started. The pipe was dirty with the stink of ceremonial tobacco. There was a thin cake in the bowl and overflowing onto the rim top. There was some darkening to the rim top and some damage to the inner edge of the bowl. There was some gummy tar on the sides of the bowl and shank. I took photos of the rim top to show the damage and the cake in the bowl. I also took photos of both sides of the stem to show the light tooth marks and chatter.I took photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It read Peterson’s Churchwarden.I reamed the bowl of the pipe with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I took the cake back to bare briar so that I could check the walls for damage. I sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the interior walls.I scraped off the buildup on the rim top with the sharp edge of the Fitsall knife. That removed most of the damage. I would finish removing it through the rest of the process.I scraped out the mortise with a pen knife to remove the tarry build up in that area. I cleaned the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the remaining oils and tars. I scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and the dirt that was left behind. I cleaned up the rim top and inner edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening and the damage to the inner edge.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the finish off with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The pipe began to take on a real shine. I rubbed the bowl and shank 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 a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The light tooth chatter and bite marks had been easily removed with a little heat from a lighter flame. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to remove the last of the scratches. I gave it a coat of Briarville’s No Oxy Oil to protect the stem and enliven the rubber. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain popping through on the rim top and the rustication coming to life. Added to that the long polished black churchwarden stem with the stamped P was beautiful. This smooth finish Peterson’s Churchwarden is nice looking and feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 10 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I made a call to pipewoman who owns the pipe and she will pick it up this evening. I hope she enjoys the fresh pipe and gets a lot of use out of it. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

1979 Peterson 998 Challenge

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By Al Jones

This one appeared to be another simple restoration, but it turned out to be quite challenging in one respect, and I almost gave up hope that I could solve the issue. The sellers picture didn’t offer many details about the pipe, and I assumed it was a Donegal Rocky 999. The pipe looked in decent shape and the seller accepted my offer. I also assumed it wouldn’t have a hallmark, typically lacking on Rodgers US import 999’s.

I was surprised to discover that the pipe was not a 999, but a 998, the first on my workbench. And, with a little silver polish, the lower case “n” was revealed for a production year of 1979 – the year I graduated from high school, so that put a smile on my face.

From Mark Irwins blog entry on the John Bull, we know that the 998 shape was introduced in the 1970’s. Below, a picture from a 1977 catalog. Marks blog describes the 998 as:

Around 1977, as seen in the Associated Imports Distributor’s Catalog illustrations above, the John Bull 999 became the XL999, and Peterson introduced shape 998, a stream-lined version of the 999 The two shapes ran alongside one another for several years, which happens when shapes are in transition. The XL999 / 999 Large John Bull was still in the 1987 catalog, but by the 1992 Handmade Brochure it had morphed into the slimmer 998 shape, which number was henceforth deleted from the catalog. I might add it was still called the “John Bull,” and Pete Nuts worthy of the name should educate all comers that while others may call the shape a bent Rhodesian, we know better.

Most 999’s weigh in the mid-50 gram range, while this 998 weighs 40 grams.

Here is the pipe as it was received:

The stem was not inserted fully into the shank, and it was a very tight fit. I assumed there was build-up in the shank and once cleaned, the stem would be able to be inserted fully into the shank. I filled the bowl with sea salt and alcohol and let it soak for several hours. Following the soak, the shank was cleaned with bristle brushes dipped in alcohol and scrunched in paper towels. They all came out very clean. I attempted to insert the stem, but still oddly found it very tight. I put some graphite dust on the tenon and that allowed it be inserted fully, and it didn’t feel too tight.

I started removing the light oxidation on the stem and decided to tape off the silver collar. That is when the trouble started – the stem could not be budged. I put the pipe in the freezer for several hours, which usually expands the wood and loosens the stem. That practice did not work, despite exerting a lot of pressure on the stem. I then started trying everything I could think of to loosen the stem – soaked the bowl with alcohol, put an alcohol soaked cleaner in the stem (which goes nicely into the bowl). I put the pipe back in the freezer several times, with no success. I tried heating the stem and even smoked it (smoked great, but did nothing to loosen the stem!). I let it sit for a day and decided to heat the strummel again with a heat gun. I was afraid of exposing the silver collar to too much heat. But, this time it worked and I was able to remove the stem. I checked inside the shank again and found it just as clean and build-up free as before. I then wet sanded the tenon with 1500 grit paper and that allowed the stem to be inserted fully and only snugly, not over tight.

Now that that problem was solved, I shined the stem with 800, 1,500 and 2,000 wet paper. This was followed by 8,000 and 12,000 micromesh. I used a Magic Eraser sponge around the stamped P stem logo. The stem was then polished with White Diamond and Meguiars Plastic Polish. I hand polished the briar with Halycon wax.

Below is the finished pipe, which I’m happy to add to my collection and my only 1979 hallmarked pipe.

The Second of Two Republic Era Peterson’s 307 System Standards from Bob Kerr’s Estate

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am working on the last Peterson’s System Standard pipe from Bob Kerr’s collection of 9 Peterson’s System pipes. I have restored quite a few of his Petersons already so this is kind of subset of the Peterson Collection. You can read about those restorations in previous blogs. To be honest with you I have been dreading working on these 9 because when they arrived they were absolutely filthy and the reservoir in the shank was filled with tars and oils. It looked to me that they had never been cleaned. Jeff cleaned them for me and because of that I have been enjoying working on these Peterson’s particularly because Jeff has done such a thorough cleanup of them before I receive them. When I took it out of the box of the pipes that Jeff had cleaned up and sent back to me, I could see that it was stamped Peterson’s System Standard vertically on the left side of the shank next to the band. The right side of the shank was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland over the shape number 307. It has some stunning grain around the bowl and shank like the first one that I worked on that can be seen under the thick grime.

There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim. The top and edges of the rim appear to have some damage all the way around the bowl. I think that there was a beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P Petersons. It is not dented or damaged. The stem was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the “P-lip’. 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 but it appeared that there was damage all around the inner edge. The outer edges of the rim had some damage on the back side where it appeared to have been hit against a hard surface and left behind a rough edge. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the swirling grain 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 left side of the bowl and shank. The vertical stamping on the left side was readable as you can see from the photos. It read Peterson’s System Standard. He did not take a photo of the stamp on the right side of the shank but it read Made in the Republic of Ireland with the shape number 307 underneath. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. There were two deep dents on the top of the stem just ahead of the P-lip. 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 Standard pipes in Bob’s collection marked with the 307 shape number. 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 box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe.I am also 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.

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.

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 am really happy to have Jeff’s help on cleaning these Peterson’s System Standard pipes as they are a real pain to get clean. He cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem 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 I was amazed it looked so good. 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 darkened with nicks and notches around the top and inner edge. The inner edge was very rough – but not as bad as the other System pipes in the estate. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface. The majority of the marks were on the underside. 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 it but it is clearer than shown in the earlier photos. 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!Since this is another pipe Bob’s estate I am sure that some of you have read at least some of the other restoration work that has been done on the previous pipes. You have also read what I have included about Bob Kerr, the pipeman who held these pipes in trust before I came to work on them (see photo to the left). Also, if you have followed the blog for long you will already know that I like to include background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring. For me, when I am working on an estate I really like to have a sense of the person who held the pipes in trust before I worked on them. It gives me another dimension of the restoration work. I asked Brian if he or his wife would like to write a brief biographical tribute to her father, Bob. His daughter worked on it and I received the following short write up on him and some pictures to go along with the words including one of Bob’s carvings. Once again I thank you Brian and tell your wife thank you as well.

I am delighted to pass on these beloved pipes of my father’s. I hope each user gets many hours of contemplative pleasure as he did. I remember the aroma of tobacco in the rec room, as he put up his feet on his lazy boy. He’d be first at the paper then, no one could touch it before him. Maybe there would be a movie on with an actor smoking a pipe. He would have very definite opinions on whether the performer was a ‘real’ smoker or not, a distinction which I could never see but it would be very clear to him. He worked by day as a sales manager of a paper products company, a job he hated. What he longed for was the life of an artist, so on the weekends and sometimes mid-week evenings he would journey to his workshop and come out with wood sculptures, all of which he declared as crap but every one of them treasured by my sister and myself. Enjoy the pipes, and maybe a little of his creative spirit will enter you!

Now with all of the background on the line and the background on Bob Kerr it was time to get on with the restoration of this next mixed grain Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiard. I am really coming to appreciate the hard cleanup work that Jeff did on these pipes. They were a real mess when I sent them to Jeff and I have to tell you it was great that I did not need to clean this pipe. I decided to start the process by dealing with the damage to the rim top and edges of the bowl. I topped it on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked on the inner edge and gave it a very light bevel so that it took care of the damage on the inner edge. The photos show the progress. There were two deep chips on the right side of the bowl. I wiped the chip out with alcohol on a cotton swab and then filled it in with clear Krazy Glue. I let it cure and then sanded the repair smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the rest of the surrounding area.I restained the rim top with a Walnut stain pen to match the colour of the bowl and shank. There was still a little darkening on the right side but the top looked really good. Once I polish it the blend will be perfect.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads and I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a finished shine. 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 a little while 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 sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation that remained in the vulcanite and also the tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I polished it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish. I have a few tins of this laying around so I am trying to use them up. It does a pretty good job polishing the stem. 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. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it a coat of a new product I am experimenting with from Briarville Pipe Repair. It is called “No Oxy Oil” and it is made 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. This is the second of the two 307’s from Bob’s pipes so I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I 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 grain is quite stunning and really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This is the second of Bob’s Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiards and it was another fun pipe to work on thanks to Jeff’s cleanup work. The polished nickel Ferrule works as a contrast between the stem and the briar and binds it all together. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This beautiful pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store if you would like to add it to your collection and carry on Bob’s legacy. If not, I have a lot more of Bob’s estate to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.

The First of Two Republic Era Peterson’s 307 System Standards from Bob Kerr’s Estate

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am working on the last two Peterson’s System Standard pipes from Bob Kerr’s collection of 9 Peterson’s System pipes. I have restored quite a few of his Petersons already so this is kind of subset of the Peterson Collection. You can read about those restorations in previous blogs. To be honest with you I have been dreading working on these 9 because when they arrived they were absolutely filthy and the reservoir in the shank was filled with tars and oils. It looked to me that they had never been cleaned. Jeff cleaned them for me and because of that I have been enjoying working on these Peterson’s particularly because Jeff has done such a thorough cleanup of them before I receive them. When I took it out of the box of the pipes that Jeff had cleaned up and sent back to me, I could see that it was stamped Peterson’s System Standard vertically on the left side of the shank next to the band. The right side of the shank was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland over the shape number 307. It has some stunning grain around the bowl and shank like the first one that I worked on that can be seen under the thick grime.

There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim. The top and edges of the rim appear to have some damage all the way around the bowl. I think that there was a beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s over three hallmarks. It is not dented or damaged. The stem was actually one from the Deluxe System Pipe so I swapped the two stems earlier in the restoration process once it arrived in Vancouver. Both stems were oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the “P-lip’. 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 but it appeared that there was damage all around the inner edge. The outer edges of the rim appeared to be in good condition. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the swirling grain 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 left side of the bowl and shank. The vertical stamping on the left side was readable as you can see from the photos. It read Peterson’s System Standard. He did not take a photo of the stamp on the right side of the shank but it read Made in the Republic of Ireland with the shape number 307 underneath. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s over three hallmarks – a Shamrock, a shape that looks like a reclining lion and a tower. Typically these hallmarks are not like those in silver that help to date a pipe but are rather marks that make it clear that the pipe was made in Ireland. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. There were two deep dents on the top of the stem just ahead of the P-lip. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. It is one of two Peterson’s System Standard pipes in Bob’s collection marked with the 307 shape number. I started my hunt for information by turning to a Peterson Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes and looked up the System Standard pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe.I am also 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.

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.

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 am really happy to have Jeff’s help on cleaning these 9 Peterson’s System Standard pipes as they are a real pain to get clean. He cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem 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 I was amazed it looked so good. 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 darkened with nicks and notches around the top and inner edge. The inner edge was very rough – but not as bad as the other System pipes in the estate. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface. The majority of the marks were on the underside. 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 it but it is clearer than shown in the earlier photos. 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! Since this is another pipe Bob’s estate I am sure that some of you have read at least some of the other restoration work that has been done on the previous pipes. You have also read what I have included about Bob Kerr, the pipeman who held these pipes in trust before I came to work on them (see photo to the left). Also, if you have followed the blog for long you will already know that I like to include background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring. For me, when I am working on an estate I really like to have a sense of the person who held the pipes in trust before I worked on them. It gives me another dimension of the restoration work. I asked Brian if he or his wife would like to write a brief biographical tribute to her father, Bob. His daughter worked on it and I received the following short write up on him and some pictures to go along with the words including one of Bob’s carvings. Once again I thank you Brian and tell your wife thank you as well.

Now with all of the background on the line and the background on Bob Kerr it was time to get on with the restoration of this next mixed grain Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiard. I am really coming to appreciate the hard cleanup work that Jeff did on these pipes. They were a real mess when I sent them to Jeff and I have to tell you it was great that I did not need to clean this pipe. I decided to start the process by dealing with the damage to the inner edge and top of the rim. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and worked on the flat surface as well as the inner edge. I gave it a very light bevel so that it took care of the damage on the inner edge. The second photo shows the rim top after the shaping. There was a deep chip in the shank near the bowl/shank junction on the left side of the shank. It was probably a fill that had fallen out. I wiped the chip out with alcohol on a cotton swab and then filled it in with clear Krazy Glue. I let it cure and then sanded the repair smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the rest of the surrounding area. I filled in the deeper nicks on the rim top with Krazy Glue as well and sanded them smooth. I stained the area with a Maple stain pen to match the bowl. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads and I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a finished shine. 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 a little while 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 sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation that remained in the vulcanite and also the tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I polished it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish. I have a few tins of this laying around so I am trying to use them up. It does a pretty good job polishing the stem. 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. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it a coat of a new product I am experimenting with from Briarville Pipe Repair. It is called “No Oxy Oil” and it is made 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. This is the first of two 307’s from Bob’s pipes so I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I 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 grain is quite stunning and really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This is the first of two of Bob’s Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiards and it was another fun pipe to work on thanks to Jeff’s cleanup work. The polished nickel Ferrule works as a contrast between the stem and the briar and binds it all together. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This beautiful pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store if you would like to add it to your collection and carry on Bob’s legacy. If not, I have a lot more of Bob’s estate to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.

A Republic Era Peterson’s 1312 System Standard from Bob Kerr’s Estate

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am continuing to work on Bob Kerr’s collection of 9 Peterson’s System pipes that are ready to be restored. This pipe is another System Standard pipe that I have in his estate. I have restored quite a few of his Petersons already so this is kind of subset of the Peterson Collection. You can read about those restorations in previous blogs. To be honest with you I have been dreading working on these 9 because when they arrived they were absolutely filthy and the reservoir in the shank was filled with tars and oils. It looked to me that they had never been cleaned. Jeff cleaned them for me and because of that I have been enjoying working on these Peterson’s particularly because Jeff has done such a thorough cleanup of them before I receive them. When I took it out of the box of the pipes that Jeff had cleaned up and sent back to me, I could see that it was stamped Peterson’s System Standard vertically on the left side of the shank next to the band. The right side of the shank was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland over the shape number 1312. It has some stunning grain around the bowl and shank like the first one that I worked on that can be seen under the thick grime.

There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a thick lava overflow coating the rim. The top and edges of the rim appear to have some damage all the way around the bowl but it is really hard to know for certain until the bowl is cleaned and the rim scrubbed. I think that there was a beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P over three hallmarks. That is followed by Petersons. It is not dented or damaged. The stem was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the “P-lip”. 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 and the 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 but it appeared that there was damage all around the inner edge. The outer edges of the rim appeared to be in good condition.Jeff took a photo of the side and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the interesting birdseye grain on 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 left side of the bowl and shank. The vertical stamping on the left side was readable as you can see from the photos. It read Peterson’s System Standard. He did not take a photo of the stamp on the right side of the shank but it read Made in the Republic of Ireland with the shape number 1312 underneath. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P over three hallmarks – a Shamrock, a shape that looks like a reclining lion and a tower. Typically these hallmarks are not like those in silver that help to date a pipe but are rather marks that make it clear that the pipe was made in Ireland. Following the hallmarks it is stamped Petersons. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. There were two deep dents on the top of the stem just ahead of the P-lip. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the other pipes. It is another of the Peterson’s System Standard pipes from Bob’s collection – with a 1312 shape. There was a 312 that is virtually identical in shape, size and marking. I started my hunt for information by turning to a Peterson Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes and looked up the System Standard pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 312 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. But there was nothing to give me any information on what the first number 1 meant in the shape number 1312 that I am working on.Since this is stamped with the same “1” as the previous 1307 pipes, I am including the information on the unique numbering. Mark pointed me in the direction that I needed. I quote the pertinent part of his email. The highlighted portion was the clue I was looking for on this pipe. I have already cleaned up several of Bob’s pipes that were sold through GT&C (Genin, Trudeau and Company, Montreal, Quebec).

The index at the back of the book is pretty good, and points you to all the GT&C goodies, but 155 has a photo from the catalog with your 1307, while 318 and 323 explain the rationale for the “1” prefix. In a nutshell, just drop the “1” and you’ve got the shape. My theory is that GT&C added this to aid them in warranty work, so they’d know the pipe was bought on Canadian soil.

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.

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).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. Most of Bob’s pipes were purchased in the 60s so my guess is that this is also a 60’s era pipe. I also knew that the pipe was brought into Canada by the Canadian importer, Genin, Trudeau & Co. in Montreal, Quebec. Noting above that the catalogue postal code puts it in the late 60s early 70s which also fits the story. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I am really happy to have Jeff’s help on cleaning these 9 Peterson’s System Standard pipes as they are a real pain to get clean. He cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem 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 I was amazed it looked so good. 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 darkened with nicks and notches around the top and inner edge. The inner edge was very rough – almost looked like a knife had been used on it. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface. The majority of the marks were on the underside. 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 on the left side to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was able to preserve it. 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! Since this is another pipe Bob’s estate I am sure that some of you have read at least some of the other restoration work that has been done on the previous pipes. You have also read what I have included about Bob Kerr, the pipeman who held these pipes in trust before I came to work on them (see photo to the left). Also, if you have followed the blog for long you will already know that I like to include background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring. For me, when I am working on an estate I really like to have a sense of the person who held the pipes in trust before I worked on them. It gives me another dimension of the restoration work. I asked Brian if he or his wife would like to write a brief biographical tribute to her father, Bob. His daughter worked on it and I received the following short write up on him and some pictures to go along with the words including one of Bob’s carvings. Once again I thank you Brian and tell your wife thank you as well.

Now with all of the background on the line and the background on Bob Kerr it was time to get on with the restoration of this mixed grain Peterson’s System Standard 1312 Bent Billiard. I am really coming to appreciate the hard cleanup work that Jeff did on these pipes. They were a real mess when I sent them to Jeff and I have to tell you it was great that I did not need to clean this pipe. I decided to start the process by dealing with the damage to the inner edge and top of the rim. The first photo below shows what the rim looked like when I started. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and gave it a very light bevel so that it took care of the damage on the inner edge. The third photo shows the rim top after the shaping. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads and I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a finished shine. 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 a little while 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 sanded out the oxidation and tooth chatter on the stem surface on both sides. I worked on the button top and edges. This first step in the process was with a folded piece 220 grit sandpaper. I polished it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish. I have a few tins of this laying around so I am trying to use them up. It does a pretty good job polishing the stem. 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. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it a coat of a new product I am experimenting with from Briarville Pipe Repair. It is called “No Oxy Oil” and it is made to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again I am excited to be on the homestretch with yet another one of Bob’s estate Petersons. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I 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 grain is quite stunning and really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. Bob’s Peterson’s System Standard 1312 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on thanks to Jeff’s cleanup work. The polished nickel Ferrule works as a contrast between the stem and the briar and binds it all together. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. 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. This beautiful pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store if you would like to add it to your collection and carry on Bob’s legacy. If not, I have a lot more of Bob’s estate to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.

A Republic Era Peterson’s 301 System Standard Pot from Bob Kerr’s Estate

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am continuing to work on Bob Kerr’s collection of 9 Peterson’s System pipes that are ready to be restored. The next pipe on the table is a bit different from the other Standard System pipes that I have worked on from his estate. It is a pot shaped bowl with a different style stem. I have restored quite a few of his Petersons already so this is kind of subset of the Peterson Collection. You can read about those restorations in previous blogs. To be honest with you I have been dreading working on these 9 because when they arrived they were absolutely filthy and the reservoir in the shank was filled with tars and oils. It looked to me that they had never been cleaned. Jeff cleaned them for me and because of that I have been enjoying working on these Peterson’s particularly because Jeff has done such a thorough cleanup of them before I receive them. When I took it out of the box of the pipes that Jeff had cleaned up and sent back to me, I could see that it was stamped Peterson’s System Standard vertically on the left side of the shank next to the band. The right side of the shank was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland over the shape number 301. The stamping is very faint but readable with a lens. It has some stunning grain around the bowl and shank that can be seen under the thick grime. There are also some deep nicks or flaws in the left and front sides of the bowl.

In many ways this was one of the dirtier System pipes if that is possible. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim. The top and edges of the rim appear to have some damage all the way around the bowl. There was some damage on the back outer edge of the rim that looked as if it had been dropped. I think that there was a beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. There was some interesting grain poking through. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and dented. The band was loose so it turned on the shank end. It is stamped K&P Petersons. The stem was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the “P-lip”. There was also a deep mark mid stem on the underside. 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 and the 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 but it appeared that there was damage all around the inner edge. The outer edges of the rim appeared to have some serious damage on the back of the bowl. It is rough and could have been dropped or knocked out against a hard surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the nicks and pits in the briar around the bowl. It does have some interesting mixed grain on the sides of the bowl and shank. There is also some cross grain and birdseye for those who love grain. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the bowl and shank. The vertical stamping on the left side was faint but readable as you can see from the photo. It read Peterson’s System Standard. The stamping on the right side of the shank is also faint but it read Made in the Republic of Ireland with the shape number 301 underneath. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P Petersons. The ferrule has some dents and nicks in it that will need to be addressed. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. You can see the scratch in the vulcanite mid stem in the second photo. 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.

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.

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 am really happy to have Jeff’s help on cleaning these 9 Peterson’s System Standard pipes as they are a real pain to get clean. He cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem 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 I was amazed it looked so good. Forgive the poor quality pics I took of the pipe at this point… not sure what happened. 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 darkened with nicks and dents in the top. There were notches around the inner edge almost looked like a knife had been used on it. The back outer edge was worn and rough. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth chatter on the stem surface. There was also the scratch on the underside. It was still lightly oxidized. The P stamp on the left was faint but visible. You can also see the dents around the nickel ferrule. 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 had neither worsened nor improved. Since this is another pipe Bob’s estate I am sure that some of you have read at least some of the other restoration work that has been done on the previous pipes. You have also read what I have included about Bob Kerr, the pipeman who held these pipes in trust before I came to work on them (see photo to the left). Also, if you have followed the blog for long you will already know that I like to include background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring. For me, when I am working on an estate I really like to have a sense of the person who held the pipes in trust before I worked on them. It gives me another dimension of the restoration work. I asked Brian if he or his wife would like to write a brief biographical tribute to her father, Bob. His daughter worked on it and I received the following short write up on him and some pictures to go along with the words including one of Bob’s carvings. Once again I thank you Brian and tell your wife thank you as well.

Now with all of the background on the line and the background on Bob Kerr it was time to get on with the restoration of this next mixed grain Peterson’s System Standard 301 Bent Pot. I am really coming to appreciate the hard cleanup work that Jeff did on these pipes. They were a real mess when I sent them to Jeff and I have to tell you it was great that I did not need to clean this pipe. I decided to start the process by dealing with the damage to the inner edge and top of the rim. The first photo below shows what the rim looked like when I started. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and worked on the flat surface as well as the inner edge. I gave it a very light bevel so that it took care of the damage on the inner edge.I filled in the damage on the back edge of the rim and the deep pits in briar on the front and left side with briar dust and clear Krazy Glue. Once the repair had cured I sanded the spots of the repair and topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. Unfortunately I did not document what the repairs looked like after sanding or topping but that will become clear in the photos that follow. I heated the briar with a flame of a lighter and stained it with Fiebing’s Dark Brown aniline stain. I applied it and flamed it to burn off the alcohol. I took photos of the bowl after staining. You can see the repaired areas as dark spots on the side and the top of the bowl. These will need to be sanded more but the pipe is looking pretty good at this point. I set the bowl aside to cure for the night, turned out the lights and headed to bed. In the morning I removed the nickel ferrule and buffed the bowl with red Tripoli on the buffing wheel to remove the “crust” on the stain. It was dark but otherwise it looked good. I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on cotton pads to make it more transparent. It is hard to see from the photos but the repairs actually looked good at this point. To further make the stain transparent I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads and I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a finished shine. You can see the repaired area on the rim top and left side of the bowl but they look and feel better to the touch than before. I used the head of a Robertson style screwdriver to work on the dents in the ferrule. I usually use a piece of broom stick that has the rounded head on it but did not have one here at the moment. I place the head against the inside of the dent and tapped it with a small hammer to smooth it out. I was able to remove the majority of the dents around the ferrule. There are still small spots but it is significantly better than before.I spread some WellBond all purpose glue on the inside of the ferrule with a dental spatula and pressed it in place on the shank. I aligned the K&P Petersons stamp on the left side of the shank with the stamping.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 a little while 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 wiped off the scratch in the vulcanite with alcohol and filled it in with clear Krazy Glue. Once the glue cured I smoothed out the repair on the underside of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I polished it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish. I have a few tins of this laying around so I am trying to use them up. It does a pretty good job polishing the stem. I used some Papermate Liquid Paper to touch up the stamping on the left side of the saddle stem. I pressed it into the stamped letter “P” and let it dry. I scraped it off with a tooth pick and took a photo of the re-whitened letter. 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. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it a coat of a new product I am experimenting with from Briarville Pipe Repair. It is called “No Oxy Oil” and it is made 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. This is the only Peterson’s System Standard 301 Pot from Bob’s pipes so I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I 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 grain is quite nice and really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This was another fun pipe to work on thanks to Jeff’s cleanup work. The polished nickel Ferrule works as a contrast between the stem and the briar and binds it all together. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This beautiful pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store if you would like to add it to your collection and carry on Bob’s legacy. If not, I have a lot more of Bob’s estate to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.