Tag Archives: Petersons Pipes

Refreshing a Pair of NOS Peterson’s Silver Caps from 2000

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Not too long ago I went for coffee with a friend of mine who used to own a pipe shop. He had some pipes to sell and wanted me to have a look. The first of the pipes was a pair of Peterson’s Silver Caps from 2000. These were brand new pipes – unsmoked and really never put out in his store. They were still in their original boxes. One of the boxes had the $600 price tag still intact on the end. The pipes included a 106 Billiard and a 150 Bulldog. Each pipe was boxed and included the original Peterson’s of Dublin Established 1865 Pipe Sock in the box. These pipes are both clean and unsmoked. The only issue with them was that the silver rim cap, band and P on the stem were tarnished and blackened from sitting. The Bulldog had a P-lip style stem while the Billiard had a fishtail stem with a removable adapter in place in the tenon so that it could be smoked with the Peterson’s 9mm filters that were included in the box.I took each pipe out of the box and took pictures of it to show its general condition. The Bulldog was first. You can see the finish is flawless with some nice grain around the bowl. The silver cap and band are tarnished but undamaged. Both have hallmark stamps on them so I should be able to identify the year of manufacture of the pipe. The silver P on the left side of the saddle stem is also tarnished but undamaged. When I opened the cap the bowl inside was polished and smooth. It was indeed unused. The stem was flawless and there was no oxidation or discolouration to be detected. There were no marks on the stem also showing that it was unused. The airway in the shank and the stem were clean and polished. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Peterson’s with the old forked P arched over Dublin. On the right side it has the shape number 150 and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland. The pipe is a beauty and the silver will really stand out once it is polished and cleaned. I took some close up photos of the rim cap and the stem to show the condition. You can see the tarnish on the rim cap and the deep shine on the stem. The cap also bore hallmarks that I would be better able to read when I had cleaned up the silver. The band also bore hallmarks that would be readable as well.The Billiard was second. You can see the finish is flawless with some nice grain around the bowl. The silver cap and band are tarnished but undamaged. Both have hallmark stamps on them so I should be able to identify the year of manufacture of the pipe. The silver P on the left side of the tapered fishtail stem is also tarnished but undamaged. When I opened the cap the bowl inside was polished and smooth. It was unused as well. The stem was flawless and there was no oxidation or discolouration to be detected. There were no marks on the stem also showing that it was unused. The airway in the shank and the stem were clean and polished. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Peterson’s with the old forked P arched over Dublin. On the right side it has the shape number 106 and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland. This pipe is a beauty as well and the silver will really stand out once it is polished and cleaned.  I took some close up photos of the rim cap and the stem on the billiard to show the condition. You can see the tarnish on the rim cap and the deep shine on the stem. The cap also bore hallmarks that I would be better able to read when I had cleaned up the silver. The band also bore hallmarks that would be readable as well.The Billiard came with an adapter in the tenon that was removable allowing the pipe to be smoked with or without the 9MM Absorba Filters. The pictures below show the adaptor in and out of the tenon. I polished the silver on both pipes with a jeweler’s polishing cloth that removes tarnish and protects silver. I worked over the bands and caps on both pipes as well as the silver P on the stems.I did some hunting for information on the pipes in a Peterson’s Catalogue I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/05/15/a-beautiful-peterson-of-dublin-pipe-catalogue/). I have copied several pages from the catalogue for use here. The first page shows the Silver Cap series. The two pipes in this blog are Natural Finished pipes – shape number 150 and number 106. I have circled both of them in the picture below.The second page I have included is a hallmark chart below that helps date the pipes. Both pipes have the standard Peterson’s Hallmarks. On both pipes each hallmark is the same. The first mark is the Hibernia which identifies the country of origin as Ireland. The second mark is the Crowned Harp mark is the fineness mark which denotes the quality of the silver as 925. The third mark is the date mark which in this case is the cursive Q identifying the year of manufacture as 2000.Here are photos of the finished pipes. The first is the Dublin Silver Cap 150 Bulldog. The first picture shows the box end with the shape number and the pipe shop price of the pipe new. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 2 inches (including the cap) Diameter of the Bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the Chamber: 3/4 inches. This is a beautiful pipe and will be going on the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your collection have a look there. The second pipe is the Dublin Silver Cap 106 Billiard. The first picture shows the box end with the shape number and the pipe shop price of the pipe new. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 1/8 inches (including the cap) Diameter of the Bowl: 1 1/2 inches, Diameter of the Chamber: 3/4 inches. This is another beautiful pipe and it will also be going on the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your collection have a look there. Both of these are beautiful pipes and will be worthy additions to a Peterson’s Collector’s rack. They have stunning grain and polished silver. The combination looks really good with the black of the stem and silver inset P on the left side of the stems. They are new old stock (NOS) and have never been smoked or even handled much since 2000. If you would like to add one of both to your collection let me know via email to slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.

Paresh’s Grandfather’s Pipe #5 – A Tiny Peterson Bent Calabash Pipe

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I have completed the repair of four of the pipes of the seven left to Paresh by his Grandfather. It is an interesting assortment of older pipes that come from the period of 1937-1950s. I am really enjoying not only working on them but doing some research on them as well. His Grandfather worked for the Indian Railroad and was a pipeman. Paresh is also a pipeman and only recently learned that his Grandfather smoked a pipe. The fifth pipe is a petite Peterson’s Calabash pipe with a delicate stem and a rusticated finish around the bowl and rim. It is petite but not small in terms of length – 5 inches long and 1 ½ inches tall. I took the following photos of the pipe before I stated to work on it. It was in excellent condition, very clean with just a thin bit of lava and tar on the top of the rim. The inner and outer edge of the bowl was in excellent condition. I took some photos below show the pipe as it arrived. The rim top was clean and the bowl reamed. Abha had once again done a great job cleaning the finish and the interior of the pipe. She had scrubbed it with Murphy’s Oil Soap and removed all of the debris and dust from the deep crevices of the rustication. There was some darkening to the rim top but it was undamaged. The inner and outer edge of the bowl looks pretty good. The bowl was very clean and smooth on the inside. I also took a close up photos of both sides of the stem. You can see that there is light tooth chatter on the top and underside of the stem just in front of the button. There is a deep grove from teeth on the underside of the stem and a small split and divot in the button on the underside as well. The surface of the stem is lightly oxidized. The stylized P on the left side of the saddle stem is faint but readable.I wanted to know more about the shape and to help pin down the date of the pipe for Paresh so I sent an email to my go to Peterson’s guy Mark Irwin and asked him about identifying the shape and some history. He wrote back quite quickly and gave me the following information.

It’s called a calabash (no shape #, just the name), called a “lady pipe” by Europeans, introduced in 1945 as part of a quartet of “Speciality Shapes” that included the Belgique and Calabash (“lady pipes”) and the Tankard and Barrel. Often thought of by Pete Freaks as “flake pipes.” Couldn’t see any stampings on it, but 1945 seems too early for a rustic finish in this shape. Not impossible, but unlikely. Been in continuous production since ’45.

I sent that information to Paresh who was also doing a bit of research on the pipe. He went to http://thepetersonpipeproject.blogspot.ca/ and came across this piece of information that confirmed my suspicions and potentially filled in the “not impossible” comment Mark wrote above. The pipe in question has the definite P with a forked tail on the smooth patch on the underside of the shank.The stamping is faint and worn but it is there under a light and with a lens. The rest of the stamping reads Made in the Republic of Ireland and next to that is the Peterson’s stamp. Looking up that part of the stamp on Pipedia’s section on Peterson pipes I found that The Republic Era was 1950 – 1989. I was narrowing down the time period for this pipe. About the same time I received another email from Mark saying that he had looked through the 1945 and 1950 catalogues he had and as far as he could tell the rusticated finish was not offered during that time period. He suggested that the pipe was from the late 50s to early 60s.

With that I reread Paresh’s biographical write up on his Grandfather once again. There Paresh stated that his Grandfather had revisited England between 1959 and 1960 so I am pretty certain that we have a pipe that he picked up on this second trip. It is interesting that the forked P as Paresh found states it is a 30s era pipe but the Republic of Ireland stamp put it later after 1950. I am including his bio now as part of the background information on this little pipe. The way the tooth mark sits on the underside of the stem I can almost imagine him sitting at home or in his office contemplating something deeply and rubbing the stem against his teeth. Over time it wore the almost trough like mark in the underside of the stem. Here is Paresh’s tribute.

Respected Sir,

Now that the first batch of my Grandfather’s pipes has reached you, I would like to share my memories of him with you, the aim being to provide you with an insight to his personality, the era in which he lived, and a brief history associated with the pipes that I have inherited from him.

My Grandfather, Ananta (named after an exotic seasonal white flower having lovely fragrance), was born in a small coastal town of Konkan region of Maharashtra, India, in 1918. These were very turbulent times when India’s freedom struggle against British rule was gathering momentum and the atmosphere was charged with “Quit India Movement”. Having completed his graduation from Bombay, he joined Railways in 1937. This also marked the beginning of his journey into the world of pipe smoking!!!!!

Having seen his potential, in 1945, he was sponsored by the Government to visit England, for gaining further experience and expertise in his profession. This was a period when India’s Independence was round the corner and efforts were being made to train Indians for various administrative appointments in future Independent India. He returned back to India after a year, in 1946 and with him came some pipes that he had purchased in England. I believe a few of his Petes, Barlings, Charatans and GBDs are from this visit.

In 1947, when the British finally left India for good, my Grandfather was gifted pipes by his British peers, subordinates and Superior Officers as a parting gift. He stayed in touch with a few of them over all these years, even visiting them in 1959-60. Some of his later era Charatans and Barlings and Petes are from this trip. He quit smoking in early 1970s (before I was even born!!!!) and his pipes were packed up. There were a number of pipes which were used as TINDER for lighting fires (CAN’T BELIEVE IT…… I have not overcome my grief of this loss till date!!!!!) due to ignorance!!!!!!

My Grandfather was a very strict disciplinarian and temperamental (I did not know this as he was neither when dealing with me as I am the youngest of all his grandchildren!!!!!! He was always the most understanding and loving person in my life). I later learned that in his office, he was not to be disturbed when his pipe was lit, as he would be in his thinking/ contemplating mode while it was just the opposite as he lit his pipe in the evening while at home, when he would be at his relaxed best!!!!.

The interesting part is that neither of us knew that we each smoked a pipe until after his demise in Jan 2018!!!! In our culture, to this day, smoking or alcohol consumption is socially never talked about (mute acceptance!!!). It was during his last rites that absent mindedly I lighted my pipe and looking into the flickering flames of his funeral pyre, remembered and recollected all the wonderful memories and talks that we had shared. No one said a word to me about my lighting up a pipe!!!!!! Immediately thereafter, I rejoined my duty station. A few days later, my wife, Abha, received a box from my Uncle with a note that said “Grandfather would have loved Paresh to have these”. This box contained a collection of his fountain pens and 8-10 of his pipes (since then as my folks are winding up his belongings, I have received 2-3 packets and a large number of pipes, some in decent condition and some in unspeakable state). Abha immediately messaged me with pictures of these pipes and pens. I had been collecting and restoring (no major repairs, though) fountain pens since long and immediately recognized some of them as highly collectibles, however, pipes were a totally different ball game! I was inexperienced with no knowledge/ information regarding various brands/ pipe makers, shapes and materials. I knew nothing about the value of these pipes, nothing about pipe restorations, nothing about caring for them; I mean zero knowledge about collecting pipes. I smoked some real cheap Chinese pipes which were readily and unfortunately, the only ones, available in India and some inexpensive pipes from eBay India!!!!! Also regular pipe cleaning, pipe rotation, pipe cleaners and such things were unknown to me.

Thus, to know more about the REAL pipes, I embarked upon the journey of exploring finer nuances of pipe brands/ makers, their history and watching “How to videos” on packing a pipe, cleaning, repairing and caring for ones pipes. I found it extremely interesting and satisfying. It was while meandering through this confusing quagmire of pipe world that I came across rebornpipes.com website and eventually established contact with you, Mr Steve, who has since been my mentor, guide and GURU, making this journey a wonderful and satisfying experience.

Sir, there is one more thing that I need to thank you for and that is when you asked me to write a brief about my grandfather and his pipes, I realized how little I knew about him, in fact, knew nothing, as I was not even aware that he was a “pipeman” as no one in my family ever spoke about it being taboo subject and since he had quit a long time before I was even born!!!! This led me to ask the elders in my family, questions on the subject and came to know the above details. I cannot thank you enough for prodding me to get to know my grandfather and his pipes a lot better. Sir, these pipes of his, with your help and guidance, will remain with me forever in mint condition……

I began my work on the pipe by cleaning up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remnants of cake left behind. You can see from the photo that there was very little cake to remove. When I examined the walls of the pipe they looked really good.I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the rusticated finish on the bowl and shank to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips and with a horsehair shoe brush. I set it aside for a few minutes to let the balm work. I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The rusticated briar really began to have a deep shine and show the variety of colours in the contrasting brown stains. I took a photo of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. This is going to be one of those fine, delicate beauties that Peterson made that really grab my attention. I cleaned out the internals of the mortise and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. The early pipe cleaners came out dirty with tar and oil. Later ones came out with the reddish brown stain from when the bowl was dip stained. The pipe is clean now and ready for a new bowl of tobacco to be run through it.I set the bowl aside and began the work on the stem. I cleaned up the inside of the button and the surface. I opened the crack slightly and filled it in with clear super glue. I pressed together and held it tightly until the repair dried and the crack was sealed. I cleaned out the surface of the tooth groove with alcohol and cotton swabs and then filled it in with black super glue. It would take several coats but I layered it in and let it cure between coats.Once the repair on the underside had cured I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the rest of the stem. I also sanded out the tooth chatter and pitting on both sides of the stem at the same time. I added some black super glue to touch up the air bubble spots on the repair and the button and set it aside to dry. Once it had dried I smooth it out with 220 grit sandpaper and blended it into the surface of the vulcanite. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad and set it aside to dry. With the stem polished I put it back on the pipe and lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I have two more of Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes to finish and then I will pack them up and send the whole lot across the sea to India where he can carry on the legacy. I know that he is looking forward to having them in hand and enjoying a bowl of his favourite tobacco in memory of his Grandfather. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked this pipe over.

Cleaning a Peterson Aran – aka The Curse of the Tar Monster

5 Replies

Blog by Dave Weagle

I know my sub-title sounds like a Scooby Doo episode from the 70’s but when you see the condition of the pipe when it arrived in the mail, my first thought was “The Tar Monster”.  Here’s the story of the restoration.

One Saturday afternoon while waiting to go out for supper I had a few minutes to kill so I grabbed my phone and went surfing Ebay for any new pipe listings.  My common searches are Peterson, Kaywoodie & Yello Bole.  When I typed in Peterson a listing appeared for a pipe lot that included two Peterson Aran pipes and a group of pipes.  The only other pipes in the lot other that I could identify from the photos were five Carey Magic Inch (the vents in the stems gave them away).  The sellers description was “Large Lot of Vintage Pipes in Used Condition.  I’ve learned that could be anything from cracked bowls to chewed stems.

Of the eight pictures that appeared in the Ebay listing, one showed both Peterson pipes.  A Canadian (needing a quick cleaning and a stem) and a Bent Billiard that appeared to be partially rusticated.  It looked like the rustication had been nicely done and both pipes appeared to be in good shape.   When the box arrived, I found each pipe was individually wrapped with bubble wrap and taped.  It was like Christmas.  Twenty- seven little presents to unwrap.  I quickly found the five Carey Magic Inch pipes but to my delight there was a GBD, a Wally Frank, a Weber, two Edwards, a few basket pipes and ten Kaywoodie’s (most older four-hole stingers).  The Petersons were at the bottom of the box and to my shock this was not a rusticated billiard.  This was an eruption of lava.  My stomach sank.  My first thought, with this much lava covering the bowl, the pipe must have been smoked hard and the inner bowl would be destroyed.  Between the condition of the bowl and stem I figured the first step was to soak both the stem and the bowl.  I removed the nickel band and placed the bowl to soak in isopropyl alcohol.  The stem actually had so much calcium buildup on it I figured it would take an evening of sanding and rebuilding just to save the stem. While the bowl soaked I mixed up an Oxy clean bath and soaked the stem.   When I pulled the bowl out of the isopropyl alcohol I took it to the sink and using 0000 steel wool I scrubbed the bowl attempting to remove the softened lava.  Some came off. I then removed the stem from its bath and took it to the sink as well.  I used a pot scrubber to remover the buildup on the stem and then using hot water and a sank brush I managed to clean the stem to the point that a pipe cleaner could pass through it.   Not to speak ill of a fellow pipe smoker but I couldn’t smoke a pipe in this condition.Next, I decide to gently scrape the bowl using the back side of my pipe knife.  I didn’t want to gouge the bowl, so I went at it slowly and took a few breaks during the process.  Once I had removed all traces of the lava it was on to sanding.  Using micro mesh pads, I started with 1500 and progressed to 12000.

It cleaned up beautifully. The grain was gorgeous.  I was beginning to feel a bit better about my newest Peterson.  Maybe it would be salvageable.  Maybe it would actually become a nice addition to my Peterson collection and not just another old beater pipe to hangout in the garage with me when I work on my trucks.Now that there was some light at the end of the tunnel, there was still the inner bowl and the stem to deal with. As I said before. I’m not sure how someone smoked this pipe.  The stem was plugged.  The draft hole was plugged.  There was still tobacco flakes still in the bowl.

Starting with my Hedge Hog I opened the bowl enough to move on to my Castleford reamer.  After reaming the bowl, I used a piece of 220 grit sand paper to level out the bowl (I lost the pics of this process).  To my surprise the inner bowl had no scars, no burns or cracks.  It was in excellent shape.  It smelled like an outhouse but was in excellent shape.  Using a 4mm drill bit, I opened up the draft hole. Next using cotton swabs, a shank brush, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol I scrub the bowl and the shank.  After cleaning the bowl, it still stank.  My wife, actually came downstairs to ask me what I was working on.  She could smell the pipe all the way upstairs.  In the 300+ estate pipes I have worked on this is the first that could be smelled on another floor.  I guess reaming the bowl unleashed the funk.  It was off to the retort to remove the smell.  It took four test tubes of alcohol before it came out clear.After finishing with the retort, I flamed the bowl to remove any excess alcohol.The next step was to fix the damage to the stem.  The top of the P-lip was dented and the underside ridge was chewed.  Mixture of rubberized CA glue and charcoal powder was applied to stem and left to dry overnight.   The next evening after a long day it was nice to sit down by the woodstove with a coarse file and set about getting the rough shape of the stem back.  To remove the file marks I sanded the stem starting with 220 grit paper finishing with 800 grit.  I then switched to wet sanding finishing at 3000 grit.  Micro mesh pads were used prior to buffing the stem. Blue diamond was used on the buffing wheel.  Before waxing the stem the P stamped on the side was highlighted with Rub n Buff silver paste.  The bowl was also polished with blue diamond compound on the buffer.  Before waxing the bowl the band was fastened with white glue.  The band was polished with Autosol and the bowl was sweetened.And this is the finished pipe after a few coats of Carnauba Wax. Still blows me away how nice this pipe cleaned up.  Keep on pipe’n.

Breathing Life into a Republic Era Peterson’s System 313 Pipe

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I have been corresponding with Paresh for some time now and have repaired and restored two of his pipes and sent him others as well. We carry on conversation via WhatsApp on the internet and discuss the various pipes he is purchasing as well as ones that he has inherited from his grandfather. This Peterson 313 System pipe came to me direct from the eBay seller in England. It took so long to get here (almost 2 months) that we both had pretty well given up on it. It arrived in a crushed package that I had to pick up at the post office. I was worried that the pipe inside had been damaged as well. This was one of those times that the seller had done a very thorough wrapping of the pipe in bubble wrap so it was unscathed by the crushing of the box. The pipe was stamped Peterson’s arched over System over Standard on the left side of the shank and Made in the Republic of Ireland on the right of the shank with the shape number 313 under that. The nickel ferrule was stamped K&P over Peterson.

The finish on the pipe was very dirty with a lot of dents on the bottom side of the bowl and shank. There was a long deep dent on the front of the bowl. The bowl had a very thick, hard cake that had overflowed onto the rim top. The bowl was out of round and the inner bevel was burned and damaged. It looked as if some had tried to ream the bowl with a knife sometime in its life. There were two fills – one on the back left and one on the back right. In the angle of where the shank and bowl connected there was a heavy oily grime build up. The inside of the shank and sump were filled with tars and oils. The nickel ferrule was in great condition with light scratching but no real oxidation. The stem was a mess. The top side of the stem had deep tooth grooves extending forward from the p-lip button about 1 inch. On the underside there were also tooth marks. Both sides had a lot of serious chatter and some calcification build up. The stem was oxidized and very dirty. I took some photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition it was in when it arrived in Vancouver. You can see the heavy lava buildup on the rim top. You can also see the damage on the inner edge, particularly heavy on the right front side. The cake was quite thick and very hard leaving barely enough room for my little finger to fit in the bowl. You can see the condition of the stem and the tooth marks in the oxidation on both sides. The tooth marks and chatter on both sides are deep and worn looking.The stem was stuck in the shank and would not move. I tried to twist it and turn it but nothing moved. I put the pipe in the freezer for half an hour let it do its magic. At the end of the half hour I was able to easily remove the stem from the shank.I decided to soak the stem in a bath of Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer so I dropped it in the airtight container and set it aside overnight to let it do its work.I turned my attention to the bowl. I started by reaming the hard cake back with a PipNet pipe reamer. I started with the smallest cutting head and worked my way up to the second head. I took the cake all the way back to bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The knife allowed me to get all the way to the bottom of the bowl and remove the cake that still remained around the airway.I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked on it until I had removed the damage on the top of the rim and was able to minimize the damage to the inner and outer edges of the bowl. I used a folded piece of sandpaper to rework the inner edge of the bowl and give it a slight bevel to hide the burn marks and the damage from the knife reaming. With a little work I was able to remove the damage on the inner edge of the bowl. I also ran the folded sandpaper around the outer edge to smooth out the nicks and marks.The briar on the bowl had some dents around the sides, front and back of the bowl. The underside of the shank was also dented. Before I dealt with the dents in the surface I decided to polish the briar and raise a shine. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove any sanding dust. The grain in the briar really began to stand out. There was some really nice birdseye on the sides of the bowl and cross grain on the front and back sides. I used a cherry stain pen to restain the rim top to match the colour of the rest of the bowl. I have found that this particular cherry stain perfectly matches the colour of the Peterson’s System Standard pipe.I cleaned out the inside of the shank, the sump and the airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It took a few of each but after while the cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean and the pipe smelled fresh.With the internals clean and the externals clean I decided to address all of the dents in the briar on the bottom and front of the bowl. I took photos of the dents to give an idea of the sheer number of them all around the shank, bowl bottom and up the front. They were all quite rounded dents rather than cuts so I figured that I could steam most of them out. I use a wet cloth (not dripping but enough to make steam when heated) and a hot butter knife to steam the dents. I heated the knife over a flame on my gas stove, put the wet cloth over the dents and touched the surface of the briar with the hot knife. The heated blade on the wet cloth created steam and began to lift the dents. I repeated the process until the majority of the dents had been lifted. I took photos of the pipe, knife and wet cloth.I dried off the bowl and took photos of the briar to show how well the steam had lifted the dents in the wood. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar to lift out the dust in the grain, enliven and protect the clean and steamed bowl. I let it sit for a little while then buffed it off with a soft cloth. I like the way the grain stands out now. Some of the dents are still visible on the bottom left side of the shank but they are far better than they were. I took the bowl to my buffer and buffed it with Blue Diamond to polish it and raise a shine. I was careful around the stamping so as not to damage it or reduce its readability. The bowl looks really good at this point. All that remains for the bowl is to wax it and buff it. I set it aside and began my work on the stem. I took the stem out of the Before & After Stem Deoxidizer bath and rinsed it under warm water. I blew air through the stem to remove the deoxidizer from the inside of the airway. I dried it off with a paper towel to remove the residual oxidation that was on the surface. I took photos of the stem at this point in the process. You can see some of the calcification on the stem around the button and the tooth marks on both sides. The tooth marks on the underside are by far the deepest.I cleaned the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the residual deoxidizer in the airway.I painted the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to left as much of the tooth denting as possible. Once I had repeated that and the stem would no longer rise I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage. I finished by sanding it with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to remove more of the scratches in the vulcanite. I sanded the entire stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification and remaining oxidation. I used a needle files to sharpen and reshape the sharp edge of the p-lip button on the top side and the shelf on the underside. I need to clean up those areas before I could repair the deep tooth marks. I cleaned out the deeper tooth marks with alcohol and cotton swabs to remove the debris and dust from the divots. I dried them off with a cotton pads. I filled in the tooth dents with black super glue. I spread the glue and smoothed it out with a dental spatula. I set it aside to let the glue cure.I sanded the repairs smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. I blended them into the surface or the stem and reshaped the button and shelf. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it into the stem and polished it with a cotton pad. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With the stem reshaped and polished I put it back on the pipe and buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. I used a light touch on the stem to polish out any remaining scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is the fifth pipe I have worked over for Paresh. Once I finish the other two pipes that he has in the queue I will pack them up and send them to India. I look forward to hearing what he thinks one he has them in hand. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as this one provided a few different challenges to the restoration craft. Cheers.

Rejuvenating the second Peterson’s 1312 System Pipe

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I have written about four pipes that I have restored from an estate lot that I was tasked to clean up and sell in previous blogs at https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/25/this-favourite-gbd-marquis-752-was-a-mess-not-any-more/; https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/26/rescuing-a-petersons-english-made-203-billiard/; https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/27/rejuvenating-a-petersons-system-pipe-1314/; https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/28/rejuvenating-the-first-of-two-petersons-system-pipe-1312/. These included a GBD Marquis Author, a Peterson’s English Made 203 billiard, a Peterson’s 1314 System Pipe and the larger Peterson’s 1312 System pipe. I received these from my friend Richard who owns a pipe shop that is closing. He had some pipes that had belonged to an elderly gentleman who had died. His wife had given him the fellow’s pipes. She wanted to get them cleaned up and sold to folks who would appreciate them. Richard thought I would be interested in the story and have fun cleaning these up and selling them. There some really nice pipes in the lot – GBD’s, Comoy’s, Stanwells, Petersons, two ceramic Goudewaagen pipes, and others. There are just over 50 pipes that I will be cleaning and listing on rebornpipes.

The fifth pipe I chose to work on was another Peterson’s System Pipe. It is the second 1312 pipe and is stamped Peterson’s System Standard pipe on the left side of the shank. On the right is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland 1312. The stamping is clear and sharp. The nickel ferrule is stamped K&P Peterson’s and has the three faux hallmarks that are for looks. It is larger and chunkier than the first one. The bowl is thickly caked and the rim has an overflow of the cake in the bowl. It is a very dirty pipe. The finish is in decent shape but has a lighter brown stain over flame and straight vertical grain. The stem is oxidized with some calcification around the P-lip button. Light tooth chatter covers both the top and underside of the stem. There is no P stamping on the P-lip stem but it appears to be an original not a replacement.

Here are some photos of the pipe when I started cleaning it. The pipe has good lines and some interesting grain underneath the grime. The first photo shows the pair of 1312 System pipes. The one circled in red is this pipe. I took the next four photos to show the condition of the pipe before I started cleaning it.pete1pete2pete3 I took some close up photos of the pipe. The first photo below shows the thick cake in the bowl, the remnant of tobacco in the bottom of the bowl and the overflow of lava on the rim of the bowl. The next two photos show the condition of the stem.pete4pete5 I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake. I started with the smallest cutting head and worked up to the third cutting head. I cleaned up the bowl with a Savinelli Pipe Knife to cut back the remaining cake to bare briar.pete6 I used a sharp pen knife to carefully scrape off the cake on the rim. I scrubbed the rim with saliva and cotton pads to remove the tars and oils on the surface. I was able to remove all of the tars and build up on the rim top.pete7 I scrubbed nickel ferrule with tarnish polishing scrub and cotton pads. The polish removed all of the tarnish and left the ferrule shining.pete8pete9 I gave the bowl a light coat of Conservator’s Wax and polished the bowl with a microfibre cloth.pete10pete11 I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification, oxidation and tooth chatter and marks.pete12 I cleaned out the internals of the mortise, sump, shank airway and stem airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners.pete13 I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding the stem with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After sanding with the last three grits I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to dry.pete14pete15pete16 I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It is a plastic polish that removes the minute scratches left behind after sanding the stem with micromesh sanding pads. It worked the same way on the briar. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished by hand buffing it with a microfibre cloth. I have found that deepens the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is a beautiful pipe that has some stellar grain. Thanks for looking.pete17pete18pete19pete20pete21pete22pete23pete24

Rejuvenating the first of two Peterson’s System Pipe 1312

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I have written about the first three pipes from an estate lot that I was tasked to clean up and sell in three previous blogs at https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/25/this-favourite-gbd-marquis-752-was-a-mess-not-any-more/; https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/26/rescuing-a-petersons-english-made-203-billiard/;  https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/27/rejuvenating-a-petersons-system-pipe-1314/. These included a GBD Marquis Author, a Peterson’s English Made 203 billiard and a Peterson’s 312 System Pipe. I am including a short version of the acquisition for those who have not read it. My friend has a pipe shop that is closing and he had some pipes that had belonged to an elderly gentleman who had died. His wife had given him the fellow’s pipes. She wanted to get them cleaned up and sold to folks who would appreciate them. Richard thought I would be interested in the story and have fun cleaning these up and selling them. There some really nice pipes in the lot – GBD’s, Comoy’s, Stanwells, Petersons, two ceramic Goudewaagen pipes, and others. There are just over 50 pipes that I will be cleaning and listing on rebornpipes.

The fourth pipe I chose to work on was another Peterson’s System Pipe. It is stamped Peterson’s System Standard pipe on the left side of the shank. On the right is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland 1312. The stamping is clear and sharp. The nickel ferrule is stamped K&P Peterson’s and has the three faux hallmarks that are for looks.  The bowl is thickly caked and the rim is dirty. The finish is in decent shape with a medium brown stain over flame and straight vertical grain. The stem is oxidized with some calcification around the P-lip button. Light tooth chatter covers both the top and underside of the stem. There is no P stamping on the P-lip stem but it appears to be an original not a replacement.

Here are some photos of the pipe when I started cleaning it. The pipe has good lines and some interesting grain underneath the grime.pete1 pete2 pete3I took some close up photos of the bowl, rim, stamping and the stem to give and idea of the issues I had noted above. The first photo shows the thick cake in the bowl and the overflow onto the rim top. The next photos show the oxidized nickel ferrule on the end of the shank and the clear stamping on both sides. The last two photos in this set show the chatter and detail of the stem.pete4 pete5 pete6I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer starting with the smallest cutting head and working up to the third cutting head. I took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the inside of the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife. I rolled a piece of 220 grit sandpaper around my finger and sanded out the inside of the bowl and smooth out the inner rim edge.pete7 pete8I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads to remove the grime, waxes and oils. It has some beautiful grain shining through on the cleaned briar.pete9 pete10I cleaned the interior of the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they were clean. I spent extra time in the trap in the bottom of the shank.pete11I polished the ferrule with tarnish remover and silver polish on cotton pads to remove the oxidation. The nickel really shone once the tarnish was removed.pete12I worked on the tooth chatter, oxidation and calcification on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper until I had removed the damage and build up.pete13I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-1200 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After sanding with the final set I rubbed it down once again and set it aside to dry.pete14 pete15 pete16I buffed the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to raise the shine and polish it further. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to shine it. I finished by hand buffing the pipe with a microfibre cloth. This adds some depth to the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This pipe is for sale along with the others that I have cleaned up from the estate. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email to slaug@uniserve.com or a message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through the process with me.pete17 pete18 pete19 pete20 pete21 pete22 pete23 pete24 pete25 pete26 pete27

 

Rescuing a Peterson’s English Made 203 Billiard

11 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I wrote about the estate lot that I was tasked to clean up and sell on a previous blog at https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/25/this-favourite-gbd-marquis-752-was-a-mess-not-any-more/. About a month ago a friend of mine, Richard who has a tobacco shop here in Vancouver gave me a call and asked me to stop by for a visit. I went on a Sunday afternoon and we visited for a while. At the end of the visit he took me to another counter in his shop and brought out some display cases of pipes – four of them and a small bag. He told the story to me. An elderly gentleman who was a customer of his had died and his wife had stopped by and gave him the fellow’s pipes. She wanted nothing for them she just wanted him to get them cleaned up and sold to folks who would appreciate them. Richard is a reader of the blog and he thought that I would have fun cleaning these up and selling them. As we went through the display cases and bag I was pretty pumped about the collection. There were some really nice GBD pipes, Comoy’s, Stanwells, Peterson’s as well as some brands I was not familiar with.

The second pipe I chose to work on was a Peterson’s Dublin oval shank billiard shaped pipe.The old gentleman seemed to favour Peterson’s as there were quite a few in the estate lot. It was very dirty. It was stamped on the topside of the shank with K&P over DUBLIN. There is also a silver band on the shank that bears three hallmarks over Sterling Silver. On the right side of the shank is the shape number 203. On the underside of the shank it is stamped with a COM (Country of Manufacture) circle that reads Made in England with the “in” stamped in the centre of the circle. The stamping is clear and sharp. The finish is in decent shape with a medium brown stain over mixed grain. There is an uneven cake in the bowl that spilled thickly over the beveled rim. It is hard to tell if there is rim damage as it is so dirty. There were sandpits on the left side of the bowl and on the back side above the shank. There is no P stamping on the P-lip stem but it appears to be an original not a replacement. There is calcification from a softee bit on the stem and button. There are light tooth marks and chatter on the top and bottom side of the stem ahead of the P-lip. The button itself was in good shape.

Here are some photos of the pipe when I started cleaning it. The pipe has good lines and some interesting grain underneath the grime.pete1 pete2I took some close up photos of the bowl, stamping, band and stem to give a good picture of what I needed to work on. The first photo shows the cake in the bowl and the overflow of hard carbon buildup on the rim. The photo of the silver band shows the Sterling Silver stamp and three hallmark symbols. It is hard to read them but with a magnifying lens they read K&P. I was hoping to be able to date the pipe by the hallmarks but no such luck. The photos of the stamping show that they are faint but still readable. The stem photos show the tooth chatter and wear on the button itself.pete3 pete4 pete5When I removed the stem I could see some divots in the end of the shank. There were cutouts that as far as I could see served no purpose. Someone had tried to repair them but left a bit of a mess so the stem did not fit snugly. I cleaned out the divots and smoothed them out with needle files until they matched the inside of the mortise. I filled in the end with some super glue and briar dust to even out the shank end.pete6The lava buildup on the rim top was rock hard. I scrubbed at it but it would not come off. The outer edges of the rim were also damaged from knocking out the pipe on hard surfaces. I lightly topped the bowl to remove the hard tars and clean up the outer edges.pete7I reamed the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and took the cake back to bare briar.pete8There were some drops of a clear hard substance on the back of the bowl and on the right side that I could not take off without damaging the bowl. I scrubbed them down with some alcohol on a cotton pad and was able to soften them enough to remove them.pete9 pete10I restained the rim to match the bowl using a combination of a medium and a dark stain pen. I also touched up the light areas around the silver band on the shank end.pete11I polished the silver with some tarnish remover applied with cotton pads. I finished polishing it with a jeweler’s cloth. Once I had finished I could see the hallmarks more clearly and they read K&P – each letter in its own cartouche.pete12 pete13 pete16I gave the bowl a quick coat of Conservators Wax and hand buffed it to see where I stood. I chose to leave the sandpits on the left side and back of the bowl as they add character.pete14 pete15I sanded the tooth chatter, reshaped the button and removed the calcification and oxidation on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper.pete17I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with a coat of Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry.pete18 pete19 pete20With all the parts finished individually I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. The Blue Diamond is a plastic polish and gives the finish a glass like polish. I really like the way it works. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to finish the polishing process. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This second pipe from the older gentleman’s estate is a beauty. The fit and finish give it a look of elegance. This pipe is also available for sale. If you are interested in the pipe let me know via email at slaug@uniserve.com or through a message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through the process of restoration with me.pete21 pete22 pete23 pete24 pete25 pete26 pete27 pete28

Cleaning up a Peterson 312 System Pipe

7 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The Peterson I picked up on my trip was in great shape externally. The seller at the antique mall had cleaned up the outside of the pipe and polished the stem and bowl. The pipe was clean and shiny. The stamping was very clear on the ferrule and shank. The ferrule was stamped K&P Peterson’s and had three faux hallmarks as usual on the nickel ferrule of Peterson pipes. The shank was stamped on the left side with an arched Peterson’s over System and over Standard. On the right side of the shank the shape number has been stamped over with Made in the Republic of Ireland. The shape number is present under the over stamp and I can read the first two numbers clearly – 31_, but the third number is covered with other letters so it is not readable.Pete1 Pete2 I wanted to figure out the number stamping that lay hidden under the Made in the Republic of Ireland stamping. I went to the Peterson site and looked for the shape charts. I was able to identify the shape as a 312. Here is the link to the shape http://www.peterson.ie/p/5291/312-standard as well as a picture of the shape 312.0002552_312-standard_430 I also found this shape chart of Peterson System pipes on Pinterest and included the link to it here: http://www.pinterest.com/pin/464996730250913354/ I was particularly interested in noting the size variation between the 312 and the 314. While the shapes are very similar the 314 is significantly smaller than the 312.Pete3 The bowl had been wiped clean and had no cake inside. The rim was dirty and darkened with a thin buildup of carbon and oils. The inside rim was clean and the bowl was in round. There were no serious nicks in the bowl edges. The nickel band was polished and undented. The stem was lightly oxidized and had a light tint of brown. There were no tooth marks or bite marks on the stem. The pipe was in good shape and would be one of my easier clean ups. The inside of the shank and sump had a lot of tars built up inside. The airway was also dirty. The seller had used silver polish on the ferrule and there was a white buildup on the inside edges of the shank.Pete4 Pete5 Pete6 The next photo below shows the underside of the bowl and stem. Both the finish and the stem were in great shape with no visible dents or damage.Pete7 The tenon was wide open like it had been made for a filter. It could hold a paper Medico style filter. I have never seen a filter version of the system pipe. I am wondering if the stem is a replacement or possibly it was drilled out to open it up to receive the paper filter. Obviously the internals had not been cleaned. There was a buildup of hard carbon on the tenon end and on the inside of the tenon. It was hard and would not easily be removed.Pete8 I cleaned up the stem and the sump with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol until they came out clean. I used a lot of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs before it was clean. I softened the carbon buildup on the tenon with alcohol and then sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and scraped it away with a small blade to remove the hardened carbon.Pete9 Pete10 The bowl and shank had a heavy aromatic tobacco smell so I stuffed them both with cotton balls and used an ear syringe to put alcohol in both the bowl and shank. I set the bowl upright in an ice-cube tray and let it sit while the alcohol and cotton wicked out the oils and tars and sweetened the pipe. By doing this the pipe would be reset and could be smoked with any tobacco without picking up residual tastes.Pete11 Pete12 While the bowl sat soaking I worked on the stem to remove the oxidation. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads.Pete13 Pete14 Pete15 I buffed it with White Diamond on the buffing wheel. Then I gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it to a shine with a soft flannel buffing pad.Pete16 Pete17 Pete18 Pete19 After the bowl had been sitting for 4 hours I took the photo below and then pulled out the cotton balls. The alcohol had evaporated and left behind a brown/amber residue on the cotton balls. Once the cotton was out I ran a folded pipe cleaner through the bowl and the sump area of the shank. It came out clean. I ran a straight cleaner through the airway into the bowl. It also picked up a slight bit of residue from the soak but it was clean after a few swabs. Best of all the smell of the aromatic tobacco was gone and what was left was a clean new pipe smell.Pete20 Pete21 Pete22 When the shank was dry I put the newly polished stem back in the shank. I gave the pipe a quick buff with some carnauba and polished it with a shoe brush to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It has some slight rim darkening from the previous owner but otherwise it is like new. The bowl and shank are fresh and ready to be loaded with a bowl of fine Virginias or some Virginia/Perique. I have some aged 5100 sitting in a jar here ready to smoke and also a small jar of some blending Perique so I may have to mix a small batch just for the inaugural smoke on this pipe…The briar is beautiful and the refurbished pipe came out very nice. I am looking forward to having a bowl very soon – just have to let the bowl dry out and air for a couple of days before I load it up and smoke it. In the meantime I will just look it over and enjoy the beauty of the pipe.Pete23 Pete24 Pete25 Pete26

K&P London Made Found in a Bargain Shop

8 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

Yesterday afternoon I went with my eldest daughter to Walmart here in Vancouver. Across the street is a bargain shop that sells lot of movie set items and other things that are collectible and antique. I have found quite a few good pipes there over the years. I went to the shop while she was in Walmart and looked over the lot they had this time. There were quite a few pipes in the case and most of them while interesting just did not capture my attention. Then I moved a few of them out of the way and underneath was this little P-lip apple. I could tell it was a Pete and an older one because of the thick shank and stem. I held it up to the light and my guess was confirmed. It was a Peterson. It was marked $28 and I offered $25 for it. They accepted the offer and I paid the bill and put the pipe in my pocket. I picked up my daughter and headed home to check it out.

I wiped off the shank with a cotton pad dampened with saliva and found that it was stamped K&P LONDONMADE on the right side of the shank. On the left side it was stamped 215 and A “PETERSON’S PRODUCT” Made In London. So I had found an English made Peterson’s shape 215 pipe. The band was silver and was badly tarnished but I could see from the hallmarks that it was also stamped with English hallmarks. The first was an anchor which told me that the band was made in Birmingham. The second was a reclining lion which is the stamping for Sterling silver. The third mark was hard to see with the grime and tarnish but looked like an animal face in the cartouche. Closer examination would have to wait until I had cleaned up the tarnish.

The pipe was in fair shape. The bowl had nicks in the sides in several places as well as a very rough rim. It looked as if it had been hammered about and was damaged. It would require topping to remedy that problem. The bowl had been reamed and was slightly out of round and then smoked again for some time – long enough to build up an uneven cake with most of the cake at the top of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl was bare wood. The silver band was loose and had turned about a quarter turn clockwise. The stem was very tight in the shank – which thankfully had kept the band in place on the pipe. The stem had many bite marks and tooth dents up the shaft from the button for about an inch. It looked as if the individual who had smoked it held it far back in his teeth. Both the underside and topside of the stem were damaged with tooth marks and a series of grooves from a tool. The button itself and the ledge on the underside were in very good shape. The round opening in the button was elongated from years of pipe cleaners.

I was able to carefully remove the stem and the inside of the shank was darkened with tars but not terribly dirty. The end of the tenon is stepped down and the fit in the shank was very snug. After cleaning the stem would fit well. There was no stamping on the oxidized stem and appeared to be no remnant of stamping. The oxidation on the stem was heavy at the shank stem union and also around the button on the top and bottom.

IMG_1664

IMG_1665

IMG_1666

IMG_1667

I wrote about the stamping to Mark Irwin who is my Peterson’s go to contact for information on Peterson pipes. He is a wealth of information that I have been unable to find in other places. He was on the road but sent me the following information. “…The “Peterson Product” indicates the pipe is a lower line. They began using this stamp in the 1930 catalog for their “K” pipes, but if it was this, you should’ve seen a “K” on it. There were several “200” series shapes, but the “215” is not in a catalog I have here. The London factory was much smaller than the Dublin, but I’ll have to ask Gary about the hallmarks, as I’m unfamiliar with the Brit system. Best my guess tonight is that the pipe dates anywhere from 1920-1940. I have photos of a thick-shanked and thick-stemmed straight apple hallmarked Dublin 1920–I can send you a .gif when I get home if this sounds like the pipe. If so, the shape itself goes back to at least that year.”

That was helpful information on the dating of the pipe. I sent Mark the photos last evening and then this morning received this reply concerning the pipe. “… Gorgeous! Yup, it’s the same shape as the photo I have, which means the shape itself goes back to at least 1920.” In the mean time I had cleaned up the band with silver polish and scrubbed it with a soft cotton pad. I reset it with white glue on the shank and examined the hallmarks under a bright light with a jewelers loop. It became clear that the last of the hallmarks was not an animal but rather a letter in the cartouche. It was well worn but from the outlines on the mark it appeared to be the letter “T” which dates the pipe to 1943.

IMG_1669

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using the smallest cutting head and the next size as well. I removed the cake back to the wood to even out the broken cake. I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs to remove all the tars and oils in the shank. Once I had cleaned out the shank I also cleaned the stem with pipe cleaners. I used Everclear with cotton swabs on both. When it was finished I put the stem back in the shank and the fit was snug.

IMG_1670

I topped the bowl with my usual method – 220 grit sandpaper on a flat board and turned the bowl clockwise as I pressed the rim into the sandpaper. I sanded the top until the damaged portion of the rim was removed. One side benefit of the process was that it also removed some of the damaged inner rim as well bringing the bowl back into round.

IMG_1671

IMG_1672

IMG_1673

To prepare the bowl for restaining I wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad. I wanted to remove as much of the finish as possible so that I could more easily blend the new stain on the rim with the stain on the bowl. I have found that if I thin down the original stain on the bowl I can generally make a good match with the rim when I stain the entire pipe. The rim always takes several more coats of stain than the bowl but the match comes out very well. I wanted to end up with a stain colour that matched the original stain colour as much as possible. Between each coat of stain I flamed the stain to set it in the grain of the briar. The stain I used was an aniline stain in a dark brown that I thinned 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. Once it was dry I hand buffed it with a shoe brush to blend the colours of the stain and give me a clear look at the stain to make sure it was evenly applied.

IMG_1674

IMG_1675

IMG_1676

IMG_1680

IMG_1681

IMG_1682

I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded the stem with medium grit emery paper to remove the oxidation and also clean up the vulcanite around the tooth dents. Once clean, I heated the dents by passing the flame of a lighter across the tooth marks. The heat of the flame lifts the dents to the surface. The key is to keep the flame moving quickly and not allow it to sit in one place too long or the stem will burn. The first photo below shows the tooth marks on the top side of the stem. There were matching tooth marks on the underside. The second photo shows the stem after the heating with the flame. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and also a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches and remnants of the dents. I filled the two remaining dents with super glue, sanded the glue down to match the surface of the stem and then finished the sanding with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit (Photos 3 – 5).

IMG_1677

IMG_1678

IMG_1679

IMG_1683

IMG_1684

Once the stem was sanded with the 12,000 grit micromesh pad I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and when dry rubbed it into the stem. I gave the stem several coats of wax and returned it to the bowl. I polished the silver band a final time and also waxed that. I buffed the pipe lightly with White Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is pictured below. It has some beautiful grain on it. There are also some flaws in the briar that I chose to leave as I find they add character to the pipe.

IMG_1685

IMG_1686

IMG_1688

IMG_1689