Tag Archives: pipe restemming

Trying to Breathe Life into a House of Robertson Drinking Horn

Blog by Steve Laug

This very beat up, large, long House of Robertson Horn Shape Pipe is the next pipe I chose to work on. We purchased it on EBay on 10/31/22 from a seller in Abita Springs, Louisiana, USA. It is quite different from the other pipes from this Boise based store that I have worked on. It is a Horn that is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads House of Robertson (two lines). On the right side it is stamped Duello. On the underside of the shank it is carved with what looks like a helmet or a cup. There is carved branch with grapes on the back top of the bowl. There was a carved object on the underside of the shank that allows the pipe to be a sitter. It seems to look like a twisted vine carved into the bottom of the bowl. I am including photos below that were included by the seller in his EBay listing. The first two show the sides of the bowl.The next series of photos show the grain around the bowl and the stamping on the shank sides.He included photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and the carving on the underside of the shank.The stem had tooth marks and wear on both sides ahead of the button and on the surface of the button itself.He included a photo of the bowl with the stem removed. It is a pipe with a lot of potential.The pipe has the name House of Robertson roughly hand-etched on the left side of the shank with an engraving tool. I am including the information that I found when I received my first of the House of Robertson Pipes. I found a link on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Robertson) that gave me the only information I could find on the brand. I include that in total as it is interesting to read.

“House of Robertson” was in business for many years, but alas, closed their doors in 1999. They were located in Boise, Idaho. They are noted for making rather large and interesting pipes. Thayne Robertson was a Master Mason, AF & AM, and started the shop about 1947 and his son Jon started working there in 1970 when he finished college, along with Thayne’s daughter. Thayne and his son started making the big pipes at that time, and made them together until 1987 when Thayne passed away. Jon kept the store and his sister moved on to other things. The House of Robertson appears to have closed around 1999.

When Jeff received the pipe he took photos of it to capture what it looked like when he removed it from the box. The pipe was dirty but underneath all of the grime it seemed like it has some nice grain around the bowl and shank. The rim top and edges of the bowl had been badly abused and beat up and showed chips and wear. There was a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow on the top and edges. There were a lot of scratches and cuts in the briar around the bowl sides and shank. The carving of the vine and grapes at the back top of the bowl is quite damaged as is the “carved vine” on the bottom of the bowl. The pipe has seen a lot of rough travel since the day it left Robertson’s pipe shop in Boise, Idaho. The fit of the stem to the shank is snug and looks good. There were casting marks on the left and right sides of the stem at the shank union that make me think it is a replacement stem. There is also a chipped area on the underside of the shank where it appears the stem had been pried away at some point. The tenon on the stem was incredibly short given the depth of the mortise. There were tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. Jeff took the following photos of the pipe to show its condition when he received it.The next close-up photos show the condition of the bowl and the rim top. They show the cake in the bowl and the lava overflowing onto the rim top. You can also see how beat up the rim top is. It is in rough condition. The edges are also chipped and damaged. The photos of the stem show the tooth mark and tooth marks on both sides of the stem. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the grain and the nicks and scratches around the bowl and shank. The brown stain adds depth finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a unique piece.He also took photos of the carving on the underside of the shank. You can see the damage on the front side of the carving.The next photo shows the etched name on the left side of shank. It reads House of Robertson. On the back top of the bowl you can see the condition of what appears to be a grape vine. The more I looked at it the combination of grape vines, grapes and the thick branch on the underside of the shank make me think that the pipe is a drinking or wine horn. The shape is very reminiscent of the shape of the horn. It would really help if the stem had a bend in it. The carved vine on the rim edge, the carved chunk of fine on the underside seem to point in this direction.Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and calcification. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the bowl and the rim top and inner edges of the bowl. I took photos of the stem surface to show the condition and tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. You can see the chip or dented area where the stem meets the shank in the third photo below.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides (left, right and underside). It is readable as noted above and though faint is clear.I removed the stem (note the short tenon) from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts. It is a unique piece. The bowl needed a lot of work. I would need to rework the rim top and the inner and outer edge of the bowl and the also sand out the deep gouges, scratches and file marks in the briar on the sides of the bowl. It really was a refinishing nightmare. I decided to start my work on the bowl by addressing the damaged rim top and edges. I topped the bowl to get a flat surface to start on. I used a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I then used a wooden ball and 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a bevel inward. Doing that hid the damage on the inner edge of the bowl and blended it into the surface. I sanded the bowl sides and shank with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and minimize the scratches and marks on the briar of the bowl and shank. It was beginning to look much better. I wiped the bowl and rim top down with alcohol and cotton pads to remove the debris and the heavy stain coat that hid the grain. Once I had wiped it down the grain really stood out. I used a medium and fine grit sanding pad to sand the bowl and rim top further. Once finished the pipe really started to show promise that I was hoping for in an other other wise mess of a pipe. The grain stood out better and the carving on top back of the bowl was clearly a vine and grapes. It looked much better.I needed a break from sanding the bowl so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. To start my work on it I decided to heat it and give it a slight bend in keeping with the look of the horn. When it was flexible I bent it and it snapped off in my hand – utter frustration!! That set me back a bit but in the long haul it was much better as I could use a stem with a longer tenon and a better fit to the shank. I went through my can of stems and found a stem with the right bend, the right tenon sized and length for the shank and that would only need a little adjustment to the diameter to make it fit.I put the stem on the shank and took photos of the new look of the pipe. You can see that the diameter of the stem is slightly larger than the diameter of the shank. But I liked the look of the new stem and the angles of the bend it really is looking like a drinking/wine horn. I sanded the diameter of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to reduce it to the same diameter as the shank. Once the stem was adjusted in diameter it looked very good. I sanded the entire stem including the light tooth chatter at the button with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the stem.I removed the stem from the shank and continued sanding out the tooth marks and chatter at the button and smoothing out and shaping the shank end of the stem. Once I was happy with the fit and look of the stem I started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I took photos of the underside of the shank stem junction to show the damage that I noted above – the chip out of the underside of the shank. It made the fit against the underside of the shank a challenge that gave me two options to address. I could either use the topping board to flatten it or I could put a thin band on the shank.I tried to top the shank end a bit on the topping board with 220 grit sandpaper but it did not solve the problem as the chip went quite deep into the underside. I decided to go with a thin brass band on the shank end to repair the damage on the end of the shank. I heated the band and pressed in place on the shank. It gave the shank a flat face for the stem to sit against. I liked the look of the bling and the fit of the stem against it. (A passing comment. Can you see the wine cup in the stamp on the shank in the first photo. I put the fitted stem in place on the shank and took photos of the look of the pipe at this point in the process. It looks far better than when I started. Now it was time to polish the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I used a Black stain pen to darken the vine and the grapes on the back side of the bowl and the stamping on the shank sides to highlight the House of Robertson and the Duello stamp. Once they were stained I used the remainder of the micromesh pads to clean up the excess black. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the nooks and crannies of the carvings to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and worked it into the finish with a horsehair shoe brush. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I put the House of Robertson Drinking Horn back together and worked the pipe over on the buffing wheel using Blue Diamond to lightly polish the stem. I buffed the bowl with a light touch so as not to get any of the buffing compounds in the grooves of the rustication. I buffed the stem to raise the gloss on the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished HOR Drinking Horn is shown in the photos below. The medium brown stains on the well grained briar worked well with the brass band and the bent black of the vulcanite stem. The polishing and the reworking of the stem material left this a beautiful and interesting looking pipe. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 ¼ inches, Diameter of the chamber: 7/8 inches. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/ 48 grams. This would be a great addition to the collection of a House of Robertson collector. If you are interested in adding it to your collection it will be on the rebornpipes store in the American (US) Pipemakers Section shortly. Thanks for looking.

New Life and New Look for a Neerup Made in Denmark Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last week I received a call from Curtis, a gentleman who had been referred to me by City Cigar. He called to inquire if I could repair a broken tenon on a Savinelli Hand Made Estella that was gift from his son and he had dropped it and snapped the tenon off. We chatted and he sent photos and eventually agreed on the repair. He sent the pipe to me through Canada Post and when the box arrived on Monday it also included a second pipe. I talked with Curtis about the second pipe and we decided to restem it as the chip on the top button edge and stem were too big for a repair. The pipe is a sandblast Freehand style Bulldog with a smooth briar band, a black acrylic band and a white acrylic band. It is stamped on the smooth underside of the briar band and reads Neerup followed by Made in Denmark. The stem was vulcanite and had a fitted brass cap above the tenon. It was a slight saddle stem with a gentle bend. It was seriously damaged. There was a large wedge missing from the topside and just ahead of that there was a carved line like a dental bit to facilitate holding it in the teeth. There was a very thick cake in the bowl that took up over half of the diameter of the bowl and the shank was filled with gummy tars and oils. There was an overflow of lava on the rim top and some damage on the back right outer edge from knocking out the pipe. It was a pretty little pipe that looked great. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the condition of the stem when I received the pipe. It was a bit of a mess. The stem was in rough condition as noted above. You can see the damage on both sides of the stem – the chipped and broken top of the stem and button as well as the tooth damage on the underside of the stem. Looking at it you can see why we chose to restem it.The next two photos showed the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint but readable as noted above.I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of perspective to the parts.I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer to remove the cake from the bowl – using the #1 and #2 cutting heads to take out the majority of the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and a piece of dowel wrapped with some 220 grit sandpaper. I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush on the sandblast and the a brass bristle brush on the rim top. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to rinse off the soap and the grime left behind. It looked better. I touched up the nicks and marks on the sandblast bowl and rim top with a black stain pen to blend them into the rest of the bowl. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get it deep in the grooves of the sandblast. I let it sit for 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cloth. I went through my stem and found this slightly longer taper stem that would need very little adjustment to fit in the shank. I also found a metal ferrule cap in my collection that would fit on the end of the stem and approximate the one that was on the original stem. I took pictures of the old stem with the replacement stem in the photo to show the difference.I glued the polished aluminum ferrule onto the end of the stem – sliding it over the tenon to give a metal end decoration and create a metal look to the stem. I cleaned up the excess glue and took a photo of the finished look of the stem. I liked it.Then I remembered that I had not cleaned out the shank and the internals of the pipe or the new stem. I did it now. I cleaned out the shank and the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I also cleaned out the airway in the stem I had chosen to use as well.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The oil both preserves the rubber and also provides some needed friction for the micromesh pads. I polished it with Before & After Fine & Extra Fine Polish. I rubbed it down a final time with the oil and set it aside. This Neerup Made in Denmark Freehand Bulldog carved by Peder Jeppesen combines a great looking piece of sandblast briar with a multi-banded shank extension and a vulcanite stem to make a beautiful pipe. The removal of the thick shiny coat allows the grain to come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Neerup Made in Denmark Bulldog really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. Once I finish the second pipe this one will be going back to Curtis to enjoy. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Restoring an Impressive Meerschaum Figural

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block, we have a unique and large, carved, meerschaum figural pipe. As I’m sure you know, meerschaum is a German word which literally means “sea foam” (meer = sea and schaum = foam). Incidentally, schaum is also where we get the English word scum from. But where did the Germans get the meerschaum word from? Obviously, meerschaum is so called because it is white and light, but the Oxford Dictionary of Etymology further explains that the term is itself a translation of the Persian word kef-i-daryā – literally meaning “foam of sea”. Now you can impress friends at your next cocktail party. I acquired this pipe in a large lot in the summertime. This meerschaum pipe was notable as its stem had been lost in the mists of time, on its way from Asia Minor. I searched through the lot of pipes that it came in, but there was no sign of it. Fortunately, Steve kindly supplied me with a suitable stem which worked perfectly. The pipe is a large piece of block meerschaum, presumably from Turkey, although it has no markings of any sort. However, it has all the hallmarks of Eskişehir, so I feel confident in saying it’s Turkish. As for the carving, I’m not totally sure what it is meant to be. I can’t tell if it’s intended to be an image of the Virgin and Child, people from an ancient Anatolian myth, or some historical characters with which I am unfamiliar. Steve didn’t recognize them either, so if you have some idea who these people are, please feel free to clear up the mystery with a comment below.

The pipe was in very nice condition, though a bit dirty. There was dust and debris in the grooves and even on the smooth surfaces. It had been smoked, though not heavily. The main part of the pipe was in good condition, without any notable damage. There was a tenon left in the shank that was broken and would need replacement. There was also a meerschaum shank extension which was dirty, but otherwise in good shape too. To work! I began by removing the tenon in the shank with a pair of needle-nose pliers. Meerschaum is too fragile for a proper reamer, so I used 220-grit sandpaper on the end of a wooden dowel to clean out the bowl and it turned out very nicely. I then cleaned the shank with lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and Q-tips. One of the frustrations of cleaning meerschaum is that once smoked, the stains never go away. However, I did what I could and cleaned the shank extension in a similar manner. There were some unusual purple stains on parts of the meerschaum. I don’t know what they were, but I took a good-quality eraser and they came off with ease, fortunately. Then I took Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton rounds (and Q-tips) and cleaned the meerschaum. It’s important to be cautious in one’s use of fluids around meerschaum. Allowing it to soak in a liquid causes it to soften. I also used a soft bristle toothbrush with the Murphy’s in some of the nooks and crannies. Now that the figural was all clean, I set about using my MicroMesh sanding pads to polish up the meerschaum. I didn’t use the coarser grits over the entire pipe – only in the areas that required it – as I didn’t want to risk any damage. I neglected to take pictures, but I also rubbed some Clapham’s Beeswax into the meerschaum. In fact, I used Q-tips as well to get it into the nooks and crannies. Then I let it sit for 15-20 minutes, buffed it with a microfiber cloth and then repeated the beeswax process. Worked like a charm! As I mentioned, Steve was kind enough to give me an acrylic stem which came with its own push-tenon. He also gave me a handful of other plastic, bone and metal tenons so I could find the right fit for the pipe in question. The stem was terrific, but it had been used and was plenty dirty.First, I removed the push-tenon by heating it lightly with my heat gun. That allowed it to unscrew without much trouble. I then cleaned out the stem and tenon with the usual lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol, cotton pads, Q-tips etc. Just like meerschaum, acrylic tends to stain after smoking, no matter how dutiful you are with your cleaning. However, I put in a lot of elbow grease to sterilize the stem and tenon as much as I could. I even used some Castile soap and tube brushes. There were a couple of very small nicks on the stem, which I repaired with cyanoacrylate adhesive. However, I forgot to take pictures of that. I then used all nine MicroMesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) and some Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. Once that was done, I fitted a new bone tenon for the shank extension and a new mortise for the push-tenon. Finally, as meerschaum pipes don’t do well on a bench-polisher, I buffed the pipe by hand with a microfibre cloth. And that’s that! This big meerschaum looks fantastic and is ready to be enjoyed again by the next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the “Meerschaum” section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 7½ in. (190 mm); height 3½ in. (89 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (38 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (20 mm). The weight of the pipe is 4 oz. (114 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring and Restemming a Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 307

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I often purchase pipe bowl/stummels of brands that we like and want to restore. These have included a lot of different bowls. If you have followed us for long you know that some of these have included Peterson’s, Dunhill’s, and a wide range of Danish and English pipes. The next pipe I chose to work on is another Peterson’s System Standard. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] System [arched over] Standard. On the right side of the shank it is a Made in the Republic of Ireland (in 3 lines) [over] the shape number 307. The nickel ferrule is stamped K&P [over] three faux hallmarks. That is followed by the stamping Peterson’s. The bowl was a dirty with some light cake and an overflow of lava on the rim top. The inside edge of the bowl was in good condition but I would know more once I remove the cake and lava. It did not have a stem so I would go through my stock and find one that would fit. The nickel ferrule was lightly oxidized but otherwise looked pretty good. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl. I wanted to show how the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. You can see that somewhere recently it had been reamed and then resmoked enough to start building a new cake in the bowl. The inner edge was in good condition as was the outer edge. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is readable as noted above. I took some photos of the stem that I had chosen for the bowl. It is a properly shaped new Peterson’s Fishtail stem that looks great on the bowl.I am including the link to the 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 turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

Peterson’s over System – Pipes stamped Peterson’s System have been documented as early as 1920. A ’20 brochure is the earliest printed reference to the Peterson System. The pipe came in three quality grades (no mark, 2, or 3) until 1959, thereafter as De Luxe (no mark), Premier (the old 2) and Standard (the old 3).

Peterson’s over System over Standard (c1945-)

From this I learned that I was dealing with a late Republic Era System Standard 307 that because of the stamping was made between 1945 and the present. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I set the stem aside as it was in perfect condition and turned to work on the bowl. I decided to clean up the bowl first. I reamed it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and then sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel.I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime around the bowl sides and top. I rinsed it off with warm water and dried if off with a towel. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the lava on the rim top and smooth out the inner edge of the bowl.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. There was a dark spot on the top of the shank toward the bowl that appears to be a deep stain rather than a burn mark. It is solid and makes me wonder if the was just a spot on the briar that took the dark understain more deeply than the rest. At this point it suddenly dawned on me that I had not cleaned out the shank and sump on the bowl. Sometimes when I get captivated by the way the grain is coming alive and the pipe is coming together this can happen. Oh well! I backed up and cleaned the shank and sump with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. I worked on them until the cleaners showed no more tars or oils and the pipe smelled clean. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jeweler’s cloth to raise the shine and to protect the metal. The shine of the metal is a great contrast between the black of the stem and the rich browns of the briar.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. Since the stem was new condition the pipe was basically finished. I am excited to put the final touches on this Made in the Republic of Ireland Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiard with a Fishtail Stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl and made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Peterson’s System Standard 307 is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 55 grams/1.94 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson System Standard 317

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am finally getting close to the bottom of the drawer full of Peterson’s pipes that I have had languishing here for a long time. It is seriously crazy how many pipes I have to work on and the serious lack of time I have to do so! However, I have time for another one this evening. This Peterson rusticated System pipe was purchased from an antique mall on 08/21/2019 in Ogden, Utah, USA. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (3 lines) [over] the shape number 317. That is followed by Peterson [arched over] System [over] Standard. That is followed by. The Peterson System Standard 317 bent billiard pipe is a small and light weight bent billiard offered in the “300 editions” of Peterson pipes. The pipe was very dirty with dust and debris in the crevices of the rustication. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in thick lava, filling in the rustication of the rim top. There was some wear on the outer edge of the bowl at the front from where the pipe had been knocked out repeated. The stamping was faint but readable as noted above. The stem was badly oxidized and calcified with tooth marks on both sides and on the button. There was a short split in the underside of the stem that was a problem and would most probably require a new stem. Jeff took the following photos of the pipe before he started his clean up so you can see the difference before and after.Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the condition. You can see the cake, the lava and the outer edge damage on the front of the bowl in the rim top photos. He also captured the condition and the look of the stem. In the photo of the underside you can see the line that appears to be a short crack. He took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the rugged rustication around the bowl and also the amount of debris that was ground into the crevices of the finish. There is something ruggedly charming about this old timer that grabbed our attention. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was faint but was still readable and read as noted above. He also captured the stamping on the nickel ferrule as the P logo on the damaged stem. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

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

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

I turned to Mark Irwin’s site to an article that he wrote on the System shapes from 1896-2019 (part 1) and found the shape I am working on there. I did a screen capture of the pipe shape and the details as shown in the photo below (https://petersonpipenotes.org/2019/09/03/146-a-guide-to-system-shapes-1896-2019-part-1-the-300-shape-group/).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 Late Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. Pipedia qualifies the dating as follows: From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland”. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He cleaned the nickel ferrule with Soft Scrub and buffed it off with a soft pad. Somewhere along the journey from Idaho to Vancouver I had replaced the damaged stem with the one in the photos. It is an identically shaped and sized stem and with it in place the pipe looks good. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. There is some wear on the finish around the outer edge and the rim top is roughened. The replacement stem looks clean of oxidation and there is light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem. The stamping on the underside of the shank was faint but still readable as noted above.I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. It is a great looking pipe.Since the bowl looked so good I decided to rub the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to get it into the deep briar. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The rustication came alive with the balm. Even the areas on the rim top and outer edges looked good. The new stem was in great condition so I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 317 Rusticated Bent Billiard is a nice looking pipe. The combination of reds and brown stains really gives depth to the rustication around the bowl sides and shank. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and the contrasting stains work well to give some contrast to the pipe. The polished black vulcanite P-lip taper stem and polished nickel ferrule add to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel, carefully avoiding the stamping on the shank. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s 317 System Bent Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.09 ounces/ 31 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another interesting pipe. I will soon add the pipe to the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

New Life for a Peterson’s System Standard 312 with Great Grain

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I removed from box of Peterson’s Pipes that I have to work on was a Peterson’s System Standard pipe. It was purchased from an online auction on 09/12/2019 in Front Royal, Virginia, USA. It had a smooth finish. It was stamped on both sides of the shank. On the left side it read Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (3 lines) and under that was the shape number 312. The nickel ferrule was in great condition and was stamped K&P [over] three Faux Hallmarks followed by Peterson. There was a thick coat of lava in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. The inner rim had some darkening and is damaged and slightly out of round. The vulcanite stem was lightly oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter near the button on both sides. There was also a hole in the underside of the stem so a decision would need to be made whether to replace it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. Jeff 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 thick cake in the bowl and the light lava on the rim top. He also took close up photos of the stem to show its condition as mentioned above. He took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank. On the left side it reads Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) over the shape number 312. The nickel ferrule stamping is very readable and undamaged. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the sensational grain on this pipe. It is a real beauty that has a shape that follows the grain. 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 312 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 312 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.

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 Late Republic Era between 1950 and the present day. Personally I think this is probably a 60s-70s pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the sump in the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The hole in the stem was big enough that I chose not to keep it. Fortunately last weekend I was gifted some new replacement stems for Peterson’s pipes that came from the factory. I had the perfect stem that was the same size, shape and style, a veritable twin of the damaged stem so I replaced the stem with a hole. I took photos of the pipe and the new stem before I started to work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim and the new stem. You can see the reamed bowl and the darkening, remaining lava and damage on the rim top and the inner edge. The new stem is in perfect condition and will only need to be polished. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and the nickel ferrule. All are clear and readable as noted above.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is really quite nice looking. I decided to start my work on this one by reworking the inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to try and bring it back into round and smooth out the rim top and edges.I wiped off the varnish coat with acetone and a cotton pad to remove the spotty finish and to also blend in the sanded rim top. I polished the briar and the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. You can see a few of the flaws in the sides of the bowl and shank in the photos below. The bowl looks great though. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This nice looking Peterson’s System Standard 312 and a classic Peterson’s P-lip vulcanite stem looks much better now that it has been restored and restemmed. The rim top and edges cleaned up very well. The rich brown stain on the bowl came alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. The polished nickel ferrule looked great. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s System Standard 312 is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 61grams/2.15 ounces. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Fitting a new stem on a Savinelli Made Stone Age K11 603 Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was a bowl sans stem that a reader sent to me after reading my blog on a similar pipe – a Stone Age K11 [over] shape number 609 followed by Italy. His pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Stone Age K11 [over] shape number 603. From my previous work on one of these I knew that I was dealing with a Savinelli product. The pipe had been reamed and cleaned by the sender and looked good. The rim top had some light darkening around the inner edge but otherwise was clean. The finish had been scrubbed and cleaned so it looked good just a bit lifeless. Last evening while going through my collection of stems I found one that would work on the pipe. It would need some shaping and tapering but the size and shape were perfect to start with. It has a very unique rustication that is quite different – both rugged and spun that reminds me of a honey swizzle stick. The flared shank and rim top both look like rusticated plateau – faux or real, I am unsure. Overall it is a pretty pipe. I took some photos of the bowl before I worked on it and the new stem. The next two close up photos show the condition of the bowl, rim top and shank end. You can see the darkening on the front and back inner edge of the bowl and in the rustication of the rim top and shank end.The stamping is readable but faint on the underside of the shank. It reads as noted above. I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/images/4/41/Sav_Shape_Chart_2017.jpg) and found a shape chart and the listing for the 603 shape. It shows up as a saddle stem bent billiard. The shape of this pipe is more of a Dublin shape so I do not know how to explain the shape chart. I have included the chart below.I decided to start my work on restoring the pipe by addressing the debris and darkening on the rim top. I used a brass bristle brush and scrubbed the surface of the rim top and shank end working on removing debris and darkening from the grooves of the plateau and rustication.I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to address the darkening on the inner edge of the bowl. I carefully sanded out the darkening to give it a cleaner look. It looked much better than when I started. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar and the grooves around the bowl and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. The stem had a broken tenon that I removed with a Dremel and sanding drum. I flattened the stem end. I used the Dremel to shape the stem end into a tapered cone. It was rough but the shape was getting there. I cleaned up the roughened stem end with a small flat file to further shape it. I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to shape it more. It is starting to take shape at this point. There was a gouge on the top side of the stem mid stem that almost looked like a crack but was not one. I sanded the area smooth with the 220 grit sandpaper at the same time.Now it was time to straighten the bend I the stem to match the flow of the pipe. Instead of using my heat gun I painted the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter until the vulcanite became flexible. I straightened it out to the angles I wanted for the pipe. I put the stem in the bowl and took photos of it at this point in the process to get a sense of the overall look of the pipe. It is looking pretty good to me at this point! I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This restemmed, rusticated Savinelli Made Stone Age K11 603 Italian Freehand is a beautiful looking pipe that combines a rusticated finish with a unique shaped. The brown stains on the bowl work well to highlight the finish. I put the newly finished stem on the bowl and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 54grams/1.90ounces. It will soon heading back to the pipeman who sent it to me. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restoring & Restemming the last the 8 Peterson Bowls – Republic Era System Standard 314

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Blog by Steve Laug

In the photo above I show the 8 restemmed pipes. I have marked the 7 I have worked on already with a red X). This eighth one that we cleaned up before mailing them out was a bowl that we received on 06/05/21 from a friend in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] System [over] Standard. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) over the shape number 314. The ferrule is stamped K&P [over] Peterson’s. The before photos of this bowl were on a corrupted memory card and are gone. But needless to say the pipe was just as bad as the rest of this lot.

As with the others before this one I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson) and read through the article before starting on my work. I found an interesting note in the middle of the page. I quote the pertinent section below and have highlights some important information in red below.

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.

Since I found a new stem it was now it was time to work on this final bowl of the lot. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. It looked much better. I took pictures of the bowl without the new stem. It is a great looking piece of briar even with the gouges and marks on sides, top and heel of the bowl. The nickel ferrule has a few dents but otherwise looks very good. When the pipes came back to Jeff with their new stems they looked great. When the pipes arrived here I checked them out. Here is what I found. The first six pipes from the lot were flawless and quite beautiful. The last two – this 314 and a 313 I reworked previously, looked great at first glance but upon further examination it was clear that the stems were not Peterson’s style stems. The draught on the P-lip portion of the stem is on the top of the stem, but in the case of these two stems the airway came straight out the end of the stem like a Wellington pipe. I was not happy with them. I have already replaced the stem on the 313 and this 314 was the only one I still needed a stem for. Today I was gifted some Peterson’s P-lip stems and one was what I was looking for. It fit well but I would need to give it a bit more of a bend for a perfect look. With the new stem chosen, I turned to work on the damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner bevel of the rim and remove the damage on the rim top. Once I had finished I think that it looked much better. I filled in the deep gouges in the bowl on the right heel and the underside of the heel with CA glue and also briar dust. I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them in. They looked significantly better. I stained the sanded areas with a Cherry stain pen to match the surrounding area around the rest of the bowl sides, top and heel.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is going to be a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes and the Balm did its magic. It enlivens, cleans and preserves the briar. It certainly brought this bowl back to life. I buffed it off with a clean cloth and took the following photos. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. Since it was a new stem I did not need to polish it. The stem was looking very good. I heated the stem with a lighter to soften the vulcanite and bent it to the shape that it needed to be for the shape of the bowl. I held it in place to let it cool and set the shape. It looked very good. This Republic Era Ireland Peterson’s System Standard Bent 314 with a Nickel Ferrule and a vulcanite P-lip stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful grain that shines through the polished finish is stunning. As the pipe is smoked the patina should develop and look even better. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s System Standard 314 Bent Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams/1.55 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restemming and restoring a Vauen Dr. Perl 5049 Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

This past weekend a fellow stopped by on a recommendation from a local pipe shop about my restemming a couple of pipes that he purchased on Ebay. Both of the pipes were Vauen pipes and both were sandblasted with P-lip style stems. The stems had the additional feature of being 9mm filter pipes. The second of these I chose to work on was the sandblast Dublin with a beautiful and deep blast. The stem was worn on the edge of the P-lip and had tooth marks on both sides. I believe it was a vulcanite stem as it showed oxidation on the P-lip surface itself. The rim top was quite clean and the blast and beveled inner edge looked very good. The finish was dirty but had a charm that was characteristic of older sandblast pipes. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank logo like figure that did not look like the crossed pipes I was accustomed to. That was followed by the words Vauen [over] Dr. Perl. That was followed by the shape number 5049. It was quite lightweight and would clean up quite nicely. In chatting with the fellow on Sunday he was clear that he wanted to get rid of the p-lip stem altogether and have an acrylic fishtail style stem in the same shape made for a 9mm filter tenon. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the rim top and the top and underside of the stem that came with the pipe. You can see how it fit against the shank and you can see the light cake in the bowl. It is a nice looking pipe.The next photo shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the overall look of the pipe. It is really a nicely designed looking bent Dublin that will look great once it is cleaned up.I wanted to get some background on the Dr. Perl pipe by Vauen. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-v1.html). I did a screen capture of the information on the site. There was a great sidebar that gave some history of the brand. I include both of them below. There was also a note at the bottom of the screen capture below that has a link to the Vauen Dr Perl variant on the P-Lip pipe.In 1848, Karl Ellenberger and his partner Carl August Ziener establish a pipe factory in Nuremberg. In 1901 they merge with Gebhard Ott an other factory in town and they create a firm named Vereinigten Pfeifenfabriken Nürnberg (abbreviated : VPFN*). Shortly after Ernst Eckert, a member of the Ott family became manager of the society. During the 20th century Adolf, Ernst (jr) and Alexander Eckert (CEO in 2012) followed one another at Vauen’s head.* VPFN : “V” is said VAU in German (pronounce faou) and “N” becomes EN. Hence VAUEN.

I followed that link on the bottom of the photo above (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/p-lip-en.html). I found that there was description of the Vauen Dr. Perl that had the same style stem as the pipe I was working on. I have included a screen capture of the Dr. Perl pipe below:I could not find anything in the information to help establish the date for the pipe but it is fascinating to see the look of the P-lip.

I also turned to a blog written on rebornpipes by Dal Stanton (Pipesteward.com) that I quote a section from the blog below that gives a great sense of the history of the German brand and some photos from the website (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/04/27/breathing-new-life-into-a-german-vauen-6294-p-lip-saddle-billiard-for-a-special-young-lady/).

… I turn to the question of the history of the VAUEN name? I look to the History section of the VAUEN website and again, I am impressed with the presentation. Whenever I work on a pipe, and especially when a pipe name is new to me, I enjoy looking at its history to appreciate the pipe more fully now on my worktable. From VAUEN’s website:Quality and a wealth of ideas have a long tradition at VAUEN. 160 years of VAUEN: that means 160 years of skilled workmanship and modern technology and 160 years of experience in fulfilling the individual wishes of today’s pipe lovers, and those of tomorrow.

In Nuremberg in 1848, Karl Ellenberger and his partner Carl August Ziener turned an idea into reality: Germany’s first pipe manufacturer produced tobacco pipes for connoisseurs around the world using a selection of the best wood. In an amalgamation with the Gebhard Ott pipe factory, which was founded in 1866 in Nuremberg, the Vereinigten Pfeifenfabriken Nuremberg (United Pipe Factories Nuremberg, or VPFN) was born in 1901. Under the management of Ernst Eckert, a descendent of the founding Ott family, a company was born whose products and services would shape the tobacco and smoking culture in Europe and overseas for the next 160 years and counting.

The question about the name, VAUEN, not being a name of a person and why it is capitalized throughout is explained:

In his search for a name that would be easily remembered by all pipe lovers, Ernst Eckert’s son, Adolf Eckert, coined a new name for the company in 1909: VAUEN – a composition of the first letters V (pronounced vow) of Vereinigte Pfeifenfabriken and N (pronounced en) of Nuremberg. A brand for the future was born.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. In chatting with the pipeman who brought me the pipe we decided to add a small thin brass band for decorative purposes. I went through my bands and found one that was a perfect fit and matched the one I put on the billiard. I put a thin band of glue around the inside edge of the band and pressed it into place. I took photos of the new look of the pipe. I really like the looks of the band in place. I cleaned out the thin cake on the bowl walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls smooth with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I cleaned out the mortise and airway into the bowl and the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol until they came out clean. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingers and used a shoe brush to press it deep into the crevices of the sandblast. The product works to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank and enliven and protect the briar. After it sat for 15 minutes I wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really came alive with a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I went through my collection of stem and found an acrylic stem with a fishtail end that was a perfect replacement. It would need to be cleaned up and polished but it would look good with the bowl. I sanded out the light remaining tooth marks and chatter in the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. 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 acrylic. 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 really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Sandblast Vauen Dr. Perl 5049 Bent Dublin was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the grain on 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: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.55 ounces/ 44 grams. This is the second of the Vauen Dr. Perl Pipes that were dropped off for me to clean up and restem. I will be sending the pair back to the pipeman who dropped them off. Thanks for reading my reflections on the pipe while I working on it.

Restemming and restoring a meerschaum lined Vauen Dr. Perl 1242 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

This past weekend a fellow stopped by on a recommendation from a local pipe shop about my restemming a couple of pipes that he purchased on Ebay. Both of the pipes were Vauen pipes and both were sandblasted with P-lip style stems. The stems had the additional feature of being 9mm filter pipes. The first of these I chose to work on was the sandblast billiard that had a meerlined bowl. The tenon had snapped in the shank in the process of the shipping and the thin filter stem was stuck in the shank. The meerlined bowl was also dirty and had a light to moderate cake on the walls. The rim top was stain dark from use and was much the same colour as the stain on the bowl. The finish was dirty but had a charm that was characteristic of older sandblast pipes. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Vauen [over] Dr. Perl. That was followed by the shape number 1242 followed by the crossed pipes Vauen logo. It was quite lightweight and would clean up quite nicely. In chatting with the fellow on Sunday he was clear that he wanted to get rid of the p-lip stem altogether and have an acrylic fishtail style stem in the same shape made for a 9mm filter tenon. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the snapped tenon on the stem to show how close to the shank it had broken. The broken tenon was tight in the shank and would be difficult to remove.I took a photo of the meerschaum insert in the bowl. It looks good in the photo below. It is smooth and shows some darkening on the top of the insert where it seems to almost blur into the surround briar.The next photo shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I wanted to get some background on the Dr. Perl pipe by Vauen. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-v1.html). I did a screen capture of the information on the site. There was a great sidebar that gave some history of the brand. I include both of them below. There was also a note at the bottom of the screen capture below that has a link to the Vauen Dr Perl variant on the P-Lip pipe.In 1848, Karl Ellenberger and his partner Carl August Ziener establish a pipe factory in Nuremberg. In 1901 they merge with Gebhard Ott an other factory in town and they create a firm named Vereinigten Pfeifenfabriken Nürnberg (abbreviated : VPFN*). Shortly after Ernst Eckert, a member of the Ott family became manager of the society. During the 20th century Adolf, Ernst (jr) and Alexander Eckert (CEO in 2012) followed one another at Vauen’s head.* VPFN : “V” is said VAU in German (pronounce faou) and “N” becomes EN. Hence VAUEN.

In Nuremberg in 1848, Karl Ellenberger and his partner Carl August Ziener turned an idea into reality: Germany’s first pipe manufacturer produced tobacco pipes for connoisseurs around the world using a selection of the best wood. In an amalgamation with the Gebhard Ott pipe factory, which was founded in 1866 in Nuremberg, the Vereinigten Pfeifenfabriken Nuremberg (United Pipe Factories Nuremberg, or VPFN) was born in 1901. Under the management of Ernst Eckert, a descendant of the founding Ott family, a company was born whose products and services would shape the tobacco and smoking culture in Europe and overseas for the next 160 years and counting.

The question about the name, VAUEN, not being a name of a person and why it is capitalized throughout is explained:

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. I needed to pull the broken tenon from the shank but it was harder than I thought it would be. I tried to drill it out but it would not move. I painted it with alcohol to try to soften the grime on it but again no movement. I was nervous about putting it in the freezer because of the meerlining so I was left to other methods. I finally used a knife to scrape away as much of the tenon as possible. I finally used a small file and was able to pull out the last piece of the broken tenon. With it gone I sanded the mortise smooth with a rolled piece of 220 grit sandpaper until the fit in the shank was smooth.I examined the bowl and saw that the meerschaum insert ended just above the entrance of the airway. It is a meerschaum sleeve rather than a bowl insert. The bottom of the bowl is still briar. I carefully scraped out the cake on the meerschaum walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded it with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to make it smooth.I cleaned out the mortise and airway into the bowl and the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol until they came out clean. In chatting with the pipeman who brought me the pipe we decided to add a small thin brass band for decorative purposes. I went through my bands and found one that was a perfect fit. I put a thin band of glue around the shank edge and pressed the band into place. I took photos of the new look of the pipe. I really like the looks of the band in place. I restained the briar portion of the rim top and edges with a combination of Black and Walnut stain pens to match the colour around the bowl sides. It looked much better. I polished the meerschaum portion a bit as well but it has some great colour to it.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingers and used a shoe brush to press it deep into the crevices of the sandblast. The product works to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank and enliven and protect the briar. After it sat for 15 minutes I wiped it off with a soft cloth. The briar really came alive with a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I put it in a cup of water and boiled the water to straighten out the new stem. Heated the stem and the water in the microwave for 2 minutes until the material became flexible. I straightened it out and set the stem shape with cold running water.I sanded out the light remaining tooth marks and chatter in the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. 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 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 Meerschaum Lined Vauen Dr. Perl 1242 Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the grain on 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. The weight of the pipe is 1.48 ounces/42 grams. The first of two Vauen Dr. Perl Pipes that were dropped off for me to clean up and restem. Once the second is finished, I will be sending them back to the pipeman who dropped them off. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I working on it.