Tag Archives: polishing

Renewed Life for a Savinelli Capri Root Briar 115 Pot

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a nice rusticated looking pot shaped pipe. We purchased it from a seller in Downey, California, USA on 08/12/205. On the heel of the bowl it is stamped Savinelli Capri over Root Briar. That is followed by The Savinelli “S” shield and the shape number 115 [over] Italy. The pipe has a Sea Rock or coral style rustication that I really like. The finish was very dirty with dust in all of the rustication, making it hard to see beyond that to the finish underneath that. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy overflow of lava filling in the rusticated rim top. It was hard to know at this point the condition of the rim edges. The stem was oxidized, calcified and there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides just ahead of the button. The stem did not have the Savinelli S shield logo on the top of the stem and it is not clear if it wore off with buffing or it was not present. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. I include those below. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the rim top and dust and grime in the rustication. It was thick and hard but hopefully it had protected the rim and edges from damage. The lava is deep in the rustication and there is a buildup on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem shows oxidation, calcification and marks as noted above. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish – the grime and grit all over the sides and bottom of the bowl. The rustication is deep and dirty but it is interesting. This is a very tactile finish and one that I enjoy. Jeff took two photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank to capture all of it. It is very clear and readable other than the shape number 115.This pipe was a real mess like many of the pipes we work on. I was curious to see what it would look like when I unpacked it. I was surprised at how good it looked. Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top looked much better and the inner and outer edges were looking good. There was some debris in the grooves of the rim top that still needed to be picked out. He had cleaned the internals and scrubbed the exterior of the stem and soaked them in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked very good other than the very light tooth marks and chatter in the surface. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks very good. The crevices and valleys of the rustication are clean and look great. The bowl is spotless. The stem is lightly oxidized and has some tooth marks and tooth chatter. The Savinelli S shield on the top of the stem is not present. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the heel and the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by working over the rim top with a dental pick and a brass bristle wire brush to remove the debris deep in the grooves of the rim top. I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol and a folded pipe cleaner to remove the debris loosened by the pick and the brush. It was looking much better. I touched up the cleaned rim top with a Walnut stain pen to match the stain around the rest of the bowl. It looks quite good. It was ready for the next step. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl and the rim top and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain and the separate finishes really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I sanded the stem to smooth out the tooth marks and chatter. I used 320-3500 grit 2 inch square sanding pads. I wiped down the stem with an Obsidian Oil Cloth after each sanding pad. At this point the stem is looking better and the tooth marks are gone. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each pad. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I gave it another wipe down with the Obsidian Oil cloth and buffed it to a shine. Once again, I am at the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are back together. I put the Savinelli Capri Root Briar 115 Pot back together and lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a heavier touch with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like in contrast with the black vulcanite stem. This dark stained Savinelli Capri Pot 115 must have been a fine smoking pipe judging from the condition it was in when I started. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ 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 1.52 ounces/44 grams. This is one that will go on the Italian Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

New Life for a 1982 GBD Virgin L Made in London Bent Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is an English made oval shank bent Apple with a classic brown finish. It is a combination reddish brown stains. The pipe came to us from a seller in Downey, California, USA on 08/12/2025. The pipe is very dirty with a thick cake in the bowl and lava on the rim top. The rim edge looks good but it was hard to know what was under the lava coat on the top and edges. It is stamped on the underside of the shank. It is stamped GBD in an oval, [over] Virgin L [over] Made in London in a circle [over] England [followed by] 1982. The shape is a classic GBD shape number 788 though the this pipe is unnumbered. The finish was dusty and there were oils and grime ground into the finish around the sides of the bowl. The stem had a GBD brass oval logo on the top of the saddle. It is a variegated brown acrylic saddle stem with grime on the surface and light tooth chatter and marks on both sides. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the pipe. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a build up of lava on the smooth rim top. It is also built up on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem photos show the grime and the tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. He took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to show the finish on the pipe. It is a unique stain on it that really shows the grain around the bowl sides. He took two photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank and one of the medallion on the top of the saddle stem. It is clear and readable as noted above. I turned to PipePhil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-gbd.html) to see what I could find. The site had nothing particular on the GBD Virgin line of pipes.

I then turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/GBD) to see if there was info the brand. It is a great read in terms of history.

The claims after the 1st World War demanded further distinctions. First of all was the London Made, which became the Standard London Made, followed by the New Era– in 1931 the top model asking 12½ Shilling. The Pedigree, although sketched around 1926, was not produced until the later 1930s. The New Standard was introduced in order to give the popular Standard of the 20s a higher rank in value. The Prehistoric, a deeply sandblasted black pipe, that still carried the small GBD Xtra stamp, was entirely new and unusual.

There was a photo of the GBD Virgin but no other information on the line. I am including the photo that was present as well as a photo of the stamping on the pipe.There was also some information on the line in a section entitled, Circa 1973 chart of lines. I am including the information in that section. The first item in the list is the line I am working on. It gives a good description of the Virgin line.

Virgin: “Only the finest of closely grained briar is utilized for this exceptional pipe. Natural finish”

Century: “A golden finish created to celebrate over a century of manufacturing the finest briar pipes.”

New Era: “The beauty of this pipe’s perfect briar is accentuated by the richness of the ‘take-off’ dual finish.”

Prestige: “This pipe features a black handcut perspex mouthpiece which precludes discoloration and ‘bad taste’ after continual smoking. Only the finest of the fine-grained bowls are selected for this handsome matt virgin finished briar.”

Prehistoric Perspex: “The deep sandblasting sillhouettes the grain in bold relief. The crystal clear mouthpiece creates an attractive contrast to the deep dark finish.”

Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top and edges looked very good. He soaked the twin bore stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better and the deep tooth marks and chatter on the surface were also visible. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks good and the bowl is clean. The stem is much better but still shows some light tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. I sanded the bowl and rim top with 320-3500 grit 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the debris. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to blend in the tooth chatter and marks. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. I wiped it down again with some Obsidian Oil and let it sit and dry. I always look forward to the moment when all the pieces are put back together. The GBD Virgin Bent Apple makes a final trip to the buffing wheel and is met first with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. That is followed by multiple coats of carnauba wax over the whole pipe. Then I do a step that not everyone does but I learned from one of the old pipe men who no longer with us, I buff the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. Finish my buffing by hand with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with black vulcanite stem. This richly stained 1982 GBD Virgin L Bent Apple is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.69 ounces. This is one that will go on the British Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next generation.

Restoring an Ascorti New Dear Hand Made Italy 0.1 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is an interesting Ascorti New Dear Bent Billiard that we picked up from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA on 03/08/25. I had passed over this one a few times in the past weeks but this morning I decided it would join the days queue. It is a great looking and obviously well-loved pipe from the previous pipeman.  It was filthy with oils and grime ground into the bowl sides. It is stamped on the left side and reads Ascorti [over] New Dear. On the right side it is stamped Hand Made [over] Italy. On the underside it is stamped 0.1. The bowl was rusticated in the typical Ascorti New Dear style rustication. The unique almost melting looking finish was filled in with debris and dust. The smooth portions on the rim top, heel and shank had some nice grain on them under the grime and the finish appeared to be in good condition. The bowl had a thick cake and the lava overflow on the rim made it impossible to see in the inner edge of the bowl. A lot would be revealed once Jeff had worked his magic on it. The stem had the classic Ascorti A logo on the left side of the taper. It was dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. The button surface appeared to be unharmed. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff tried to capture the condition of the bowl, rim top and stem with the next series of photos. You can see the work that is ahead of us in the photos. It was obviously a well-loved and oft enjoyed pipe! Jeff took some great photos of the sides of the bowl and heel showing the unique New Dear finish and what is underneath the grime and debris of time and use. He captured the stamping on the sides of the shank and the left side of the tapered stem. They are clear and readable. It reads as noted above and is clear and undamaged. I have worked on a few Ascorti pipes over the past few months and I have always enjoyed the craftmanship of the brand. Before I started my part of the repair and restoration I wanted to have a clear picture of what the stem logo looked like on the Ascorti Business pipe. I turned to Pipephil as he often has some photos that give me the information that I am looking for (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a8.html). There was plenty of information on the brand but nothing on the New Dear finish or line. I found that a bit surprising but still recommend that you have a look at the site for the history.

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 from the section above that the pipe came out after 1980 when the company started. I could not get the date more focused so it was time to work on the pipe.

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ascorti) to see what I could learn there as general it gives more detail. I found the description of the work really interesting so I quote that next.

Briar is personally selected by Roberto who controls the quality, dimensions, weight and the first seasoning, which is very important and done in the area where it is collected and cut. After the first scrupulous control, the briar is then aged for two years, to reach the seasoning that he thinks is perfect to create a pipe. Each pipe is designed by Roberto and it is initially crafted with small machines, made by hand by his father Peppino, with the help of his son, back in the 70’s. They are perfect to allow different processes as the artisanal tradition requires.

After the drilling of the bowl and shank, the pipe passes through an interminable series of handmade steps done only by Roberto and the irreplaceable Cesare (already aside of Peppino in 1968).

The mouthpiece, made in methacrylate (acrylic) is also completely handmade, obtained in sheets which are cut into bars, then drilled and shaped with files and sandpaper. There are 90 steps to the procedure, small or large, but everyone important, that Roberto requires before he considers his creations finished and ready to be shown to the customer.

I think that the love that Roberto flows into his pipes, absorbed by the workers and relatives, is perfectly understood by smokers all around the world, who never fail to give us satisfaction with praise and public or private lauds. Our philosophy? The love and the passion in what you do, with the help of who is around you.

There was no specific information on the New Dear finish but there were several close up photos of the style of rustication. I have included one of them below.Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff cleaned the pipe with his usual process and when I took it out of the box I was amazed at how good it looked it. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and it came out looking far better. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some photos of the rim top, shank end and stem to show the condition of them both when it arrived. It looked good. The stem had some light tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It was clear and readable. It read as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts in perspective. I started my work on the pipe by sanding the smooth rim top and shank with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the debris from sanding. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank. It began to look very good as I finished. I polished the bowl with and shank with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl is starting to look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. After each pad I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth. It is looking much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem and slow down the oxidation. This Ascorti New Dear Bent Billiard was a pipe I was looking forward to seeing what it looked like when I put it back together. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank and stem during the process. 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 on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is quite beautiful and is a lovely Ascorti New Dear Bent Billiard. The variegated finish on the bowl combines various stains to give it depth. It is very well done. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.01 ounces/57 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be adding it to the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

What a Great Looking Ben Wade Intermezzo Freehand Sitter with a Cumberland Stem

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by Steve Laug

This great looking Ben Wade Freehand came to us from a seller in Downey, California USA on 08/12/2025. It is another one that links the old English Company with Preben Holm in Denmark – the master freehand maker. The particular model is the epitome of a Danish Freehand coming from Preben Holm’s workshop for the American market. It is stamped Ben Wade [over] Intermezzo [over] B [over] Hand Made [over] in [over] Denmark. The bowl of the pipe is a beautiful straight grain piece of briar. The rim top and shank end are plateau. The plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl is dusty, dirty and has some light lava overflowing onto it. The bowl has a moderate cake. The red coloured finish is very dirty with oils and grime ground into the finish. The beauty is in no way compromised by the grime. The acrylic Cumberland stem is stamped with a Ben Wade Crown BW logo on the top. It has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work to capture the condition of the pipe when we acquired it. He took close up photos of the bowl and rim top from different angles to show the condition of both the smooth and plateau finish. It is truly a uniquely carved rim top maximizing the plateau and the smooth parts flowing up from the bowl sides. You can see the lava and build up on the rim top and the lava flowing on the inner edge of the bowl onto the plateau. The bowl has a moderate cake lining the walls and overflowing into lava. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the condition on both. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the lay of the grain around the pipe. It is a beautiful piece of briar. The top of the bowl and shank end are craggy and rugged looking. Unique! The grain is very beautiful. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was faint in spots but still clear and read as noted above.I am including the background history that I included on the previous blog. It includes the idea that the Preben Holm pipes were marketed under the Ben Wade label in the US and imported through Lane Ltd. I turned to Pipedia and read the listing on the brand to refresh my memory and flesh out the knowledge of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I have included a photo from that site that was taken from a Tinderbox advertisement. Ben Wade Ad in a Tinder Box catalog, courtesy Doug Valitchka

I quote the portion of the article that summarizes the history of the brand.

Young Copenhagen master pipemaker Preben Holm had made a meteoric career heading a pipe manufacture employing 45 people at the age of 22! But around the turn of 1970/71 he was in major financial difficulties. His US distributor, Snug Harbour Ltd. in New York City, left him in the lurch. Holm had three unpaid invoices on his desk and another large shipment was ready for the USA, when Snug Harbour’s manager told him on the phone that there was no money at all on the account to pay him.

So the Dane went to New York for an almost desperate search for a new distribution partner. He made contacts with Lane Ltd. and met Herman G. Lane in February 1971. Lane Ltd. had no interest in Holm’s serial pipes produced at that time but so much the more in the hand-carved freehands because the hype for Danish freehands and fancies in the States was still on its way to the climax then. The meeting resulted in an agreement to start a cooperation. Lane insisted to improve the quality considerably and in return he assured to be able to sell essentially larger quantities.

Holm went back home to work on new samples with all-new designs and altered finishes for Lane. Both, Lane and Holm, agreed that it would be unwise to sell the pipes under Preben Holm’s name as long as Snug Harbour had a considerable stock of Preben Holm pipes and might sell them pipes at very low prices just to bring in some money.

So on Mr. Lane’s proposal it was determined to use the name Ben Wade belonging to Lane Ltd. Lane spent considerable amounts of money for advertising the new brand in the big magazines– the centerpiece being whole-page ads showing a very exclusive Seven Day’s Set.

The cooperation with Lane Ltd. proved to be an eminent business success for both partners. Within a very short time Ben Wade Handmade Denmark sold in much larger quantities and at higher prices than they had ever dreamed of. And the hype these freehands and fancy pipes caused went on unbroken long after Herman G. Lane deceased. Preben Holm – obviously much more brilliant in pipe making than in pipe business – was in major troubles again in 1986 and had to sack most of his staff. The Ben Wade production was significantly lowered but continued until his untimely death in June of 1989.

Up to now Preben Holm made Ben Wade pipes are cult and highly sought for on the estate markets.

With that information my initial thoughts were confirmed. This pipe was another Preben Holm made Freehand Sitter distributed in the US by Lane Ltd under the name Ben Wade. The freehand rage occurred in the late 70s and the pipes were made until Preben’s death in 1989. My guess would be that this pipe was made sometime during that time period and potentially in the late 70s.

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, pipe cleaners and shank brushes. 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 with warm water. I took some photos of the rim top, shank end and stem to show the condition of them both when it arrived. It looked good. The stem had some light tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button and on the button surface on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was clear and readable. It read as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts in perspective.I started my work on the pipe by sanding the bowl and shank with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the debris from sanding. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank. It began to look very good as I finished. I polished the bowl with and shank with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl is starting to look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and into the plateau rim top with a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. After each pad I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth. It is looking much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem and slow down the oxidation. This is a beautiful Preben Holm made Ben Wade Intermezzo Freehand Sitter with a fancy, turned, Cumberland acrylic stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape fits well in the hand with the curve of the bowl and shank junction a perfect fit for the thumb around the bowl when held. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the plateau on the rim top and shank end multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. 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 rich combination of reds, browns and black in the smooth finishes and the plateau areas took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished Cumberland acrylic stem. I like the grain and finished look of this Preben Holm Ben Wade Intermezzo Freehand. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 wide x 2 inches long, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 80 grams/2.82 ounces. This pipe will be going on the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This was a fun estate to bring back to life.

The Loewe & Co. Derby Billiard: an Archangel a Little Damaged

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Charles Lamb famously described his friend, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, as ‘an archangel a little damaged’ – and that is how I feel about this extraordinary, sterling-silver banded Loewe & Co. billiard. Just by looking at the pipe, you can tell that it comes from a bygone era. There is an elegance and subtlety to this pipe which makes it somewhat angelic – but it is more than a century old and bears the damage of a life well-lived. This is something of a grail pipe for me and, despite the wounds, I am delighted to have found it. Before we refresh our memories about the quasi-mythical Loewe & Co., let’s have a look at the marks on the pipe itself. On the left side of the shank is engraved the encircled logo of the company: L&Co. On the right side of the shank is engraved the words Loewe [over] London.W. On the underside of the shank is engraved the word Derby – the model name of this pipe, indicating it to be a billiard. We move on to the sterling-silver band. It also shows the encircled logo of the company: L&Co. In addition, it shows the letters A·D inside a rectangle. Finally, it also has a set of hallmarks which were nigh-on impossible to decipher at the start – but I did decipher some of them later in the restoration. But no need to jump ahead – I will tell you now that the hallmarks are a gothic letter ‘D’, then a somewhat-obscured lion passant, and the third is too faint to make out – but it is likely to be a leopard’s head. Naturally, L&Co. is an abbreviation of Loewe & Co. of London. The letters A·D on the silver refer to Auguste Dreyfus, whose company, Dreyfus & Co., had assay offices in London and Chester in England. The gothic letter ‘D’ corresponds to the year 1919 (as you can see in the chart below). The lion passant indicates that this is sterling silver (id est, 92.5% silver). And, assuming that the final mark is, actually, a leopard’s head, it would indicate that the object is from London. Let us examine some of the details of Loewe’s history. Pipedia provides a surprisingly long entry on Loewe’s and I heartily encourage you to read it here. However, it is worth quoting a few lines (emphasis mine):

Loewe is one of the haunting old names of British pipe-making, characteristic of an almost vanished “upper middle class” of the trade, which also incorporated makes such as BBB, Orlik, Comoy’s and GBD. Along with these brands, Loewe has long dwindled into pseudo-existence, becoming little more than a logo occasionally used by the Cadogan factory in Southend-on-Sea. But owners of older Loewes treasure them as superb, featherweight smokers, excellently crafted and with grain characteristics superior to those of many contemporary Dunhills. The Frenchman Emil Loewe founded the company, both shop and workshop, in 1856 at the Haymarket 62, London. He is said to have been the first to make briar pipes in England. Richard Hacker maintains that theatre people from the West End were among the shop’s heyday aficionados. Loewe’s spigots are especially well regarded by lovers of elegance today – they were originally introduced for practical reasons, to facilitate the production of replacement stems for customers abroad.                  Furthermore, there is an excellent article on Loewe pipes (and especially their dating) by Martin Farrent, which Steve reposted on this blog. You can read it here. It would appear that much of his article was used to make the Pipedia post. In any case, it is well worth reading.Let’s examine this marvellous pipe. The condition of the pipe is not ideal, but only in the same sense that a hero wounded in battle is not ideal. The stem is beautifully shaped, but heavily oxidized. There are some scratches on the stem, around the bit, suggesting that someone may have tried to sand down some ancient tooth marks. This is an orific stem – not surprising, given its age – and it’s worth reading Steve’s old blog about such stems here. Meanwhile, the stummel has some issues. There is plenty of cake in the bowl, a mound of lava on the rim, a few small nicks here-and-there, and – most notably – a crack in the bowl and a crack in the shank. Finally, the sterling silver band is heavily worn and thoroughly tarnished.Before I go on, I want to make something clear: because of the age of the pipe, I will not be making some of the repairs that I might on a younger pipe. There is something special about this Loewe – and its wounds are part of its history, part of its story.

I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean. It was pretty darn dirty and I used quite a few pipe cleaners and cotton swabs.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, ochre-coloured mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done.As the stem was (nearly) complete, I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. I was pleased to see that, aside from the aforementioned crack, the walls of the chamber were intact and solid (albeit heavily used).My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim. This work revealed some notable wear, but nothing overly serious.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and some distilled water, with cotton rounds. I also used a toothbrush in the crevices. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with the same mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean. This also laid bare the crack inside the shank. Unfortunate, but it is what it is. I took the time to carefully clean and polish the silver band. I wanted to obviously remove the tarnish and grime, but without adding any wear to the already-heavily-worn band. I used some of the same pH-neutral detergent mentioned above and followed that by buffing it with my jewellers’ cloth. This worked very well and allowed me to finally decode the hallmarks, as discussed above. I have included a few detailed photos below. The marks are still hard to see, but they are there. I used a few micromesh pads (not all) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – just with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Loewe & Co. Derby billiard looks fantastic again and I am delighted with the results. This is one pipe that I am going to be adding to my collection. Feel free to email me directly at  kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 4⅓ in. (109 mm); height 1⅜ in. (35 mm); bowl diameter 1⅛ in. (30 mm); chamber diameter ⅔ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is ⅝ oz. (22 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I enjoyed 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.

Turns out to be an older Peterson’s Donegal Rocky Made in Ireland Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a sandblast Peterson’s Rusitcated Billiard shaped pipe that we received from a friend in Naples, Florida, USA on 07/17/2024. It was stamped on the underside of the bowl and shank and on the heel, it was stamped “Donegal” [over] Rocky. There was no shape number though it appears to be a shape 15.  Following that it read, Made in Ireland (in circle). There is a band on the shank that is stamped on the left side and reads K&P [over] three faux hallmarks, or Makers Marks. These were used before 1963. These included a Refined Shamrock, Wolf Hound and a Tower without a door. Under that it read DUBLIN. It has a deeply rusticated finish around the bowl and shank that has a lot of oils, debris and grime in the finish. The pipe had been recently reamed and there was a light cake in the bowl and a lava overflow in the rustication on the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl looks to be in good condition. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s Fishtail Taper Stem. It had light chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thin cake in the bowl and the light lava build up on the rusticated rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked good. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter on an otherwise good looking stem. More would be visible once Jeff cleaned it up. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the dust and grime around the sides of the bowl and shank in the heavily rusticated finish. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Silver ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1915 – 1949 The Pre Republic Period

This was a turbulent period for the company with the outbreak of World war 1 and the start of the Easter uprising in 1916. The K&P shop was extensively damaged during the military action at this time (see attached newspaper report).

Following quote by Kapp & Peterson.

“Kelly’s, the well known Dublin landmark at the corner of Sackville Street and Bachelor’s Walk, one of the most shot at and fully punctured premises in Dublin, was in our possession practically before the smoke ceased over the ashes of our fine shop under the Metropole Hotel. This was one of the most sensational business captures arising out of the Rebellion.”

Around 1916, Peterson began stamping their pipes “Made in Ireland” in what is referred to as a block format.

Charles Peterson died shortly after retiring and moving to Hamburg in Germany in 1919 where he is buried. The original 1890 ‘system’ pipe patent expired at around this time.

The Irish free state came into being in December 1922. The Free State Era was from 1922 through to 1937.

Peterson followed with a stamp of “Irish Free State” in either one or two lines, either parallel or perpendicular to the shanks axis and extremely close to the stem. Ireland was a republic in all but name. Eventually the Irish people voted for a new constitution in 1937 and Ireland then formally became Eire (Ireland in Irish). The Made in Eire era stamps were from 1938 through till 1941. Peterson now stamped their pipes with “Made in Eire” in a circle format with “Made” and “Eire” in a circle with the “in” located in the centre of the circle. This was used during the years of 1938 – 41. Later they stamped their pipes with “Made in Ireland” in a circle format 1945-1947 and still later with “Made in Ireland” in a block format 1947-1949. The “Made in Ireland” block format came in either one line or two lines. The Republic of Ireland was formed on 17 April 1949.

The above information helped me date the pipe. I knew from the Maker’s Marks on the Silver that it was made prior to 1963. The Made in Ireland circular COM stamp helps to take the date back a bit further as it was used from 1945-1947. This was another older pipe. That was a bit of a surprise for me.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the reaming with a PipNet reamer and 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 undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The silver tarnished once again and would need to be polished because it had been sitting here for awhile. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges look quite good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the band. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint but still readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good-looking pipe and has a rugged rustication around the bowl.I worked over the dull area on the rusticated rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the remnants of crud in the deep grooves. It looked better.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the Sterling Silver band on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and protect it from further tarnishing. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the light tooth chatter and marks in the acrylic. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was able to remove the marks and the stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky 15 Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rugged rustication all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This rusticated Classic Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky Billiard is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 34 grams/1.20 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

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

Breathing New Life into a Smooth Comoy’s Facet 215 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was a Bent Briar Comoy’s Bent Billiard. It came to us from a seller in Downey, California, USA on 08/12/2025. The pipe is stamped Comoy’s [over] Facet on the left side of the shank. On the right side it is stamped with a circular COM stamp that read Made in London in a circle [over] England [over] the shape number 215. The bowl had a thick cake in it that had overflowed as thick lava onto the rim top. The finish was dirty and had tars and oils ground into the finish. There was a triple layer shank brass band – two faceted bands sandwiching a smooth band. The vulcanite stem was oxidized, calcified but the stem only had light tooth chatter on both sides. The C logo was not the three part older logo that was on earlier Comoy’s pipe but rather a one part inlay with a different style font. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he began the cleanup process. He took photos of the rim top and both sides of the stem to show the condition of both. The close up of the rim top shows the cake in the bowl and the overflow of lava on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem was oxidized, calcified and both sides of the stem had light tooth chatter near the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the dirty finish on the sides of the bowl and shank. The briar is quite nice all around the pipe. The finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. Jeff took a series of photos on the sides of the shank rolling it between photos to make sure that all of the stamping was readable.Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. He reamed it with a PipNet reamer to remove the heavy cake. He cleaned up the sides of the bowl 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 from around the bowl sides. It looked better but the rim top and inner edge was darkened. The front outer edge showed damage. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The stem looked good and the light tooth marks on both sides were still visible and would need a little work. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the darkening on the rim that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and outer edge show damage. The stem looked better, though there were some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and the band. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint in spots but still readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good-looking pipe and has a rugged rustication around the bowl. I started my work on the bowl by working to minimize the damage on the front outer edge and rim top I worked on them with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to smooth out the damaged areas without changing the bowl’s profile. I think it worked well.I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the surface scratches in the finish. I carefully avoided the stamping so as not to damage it. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the sanding debris. The briar began to have a rich shine and the stain on the bowl looked very good. I polished the bowl sides and the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down after each pad. It really began to be beautiful. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have 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 sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the light tooth chatter and marks in the acrylic. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was able to remove the marks and the stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final wiped down with the cloth and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Comoy’s Facet 215 Smooth Bent Billiard and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. 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. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is beautiful smooth finished Comoy’s Facet 215 Bent Billiard with brass faceted bands and the vulcanite saddle stem combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.05 ounces/59 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the British Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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

Restoring a Unique and Beautiful Malaga Freehand

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by Steve Laug

In the latest box of pipes, I received from Jeff was a large Malaga Freehand Pipe that came in a Malaga stamped cream coloured pipe sock. It is a smooth finished horn shape with a plateau rim top and shank end. We purchased it on 05/30/2025 from an online auction in Capac/Mussey, Michigan, USA. The grain on the bowl and shank is beautiful. It was obviously another favourite of the previous pipeman. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read MALAGA that is filled in with gold. The finish was dirty and there were some fading at the bowl top and shank end. The bowl was quite clean and there was no lava on the rim top or cake in the bowl. The plateau rim top and shank end are in excellent condition with some darkening on the rim top. The variegated orange/red acrylic fancy saddle stem was in great condition with some light chatter and tooth marks on the top and the underside of the stem ahead of the button. Interestingly the tenon is white Delrin and could be a replacement but I am not sure of that. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the lack of cake and lava on the rim top and edges. It is a very clean looking bowl. The rim top shows darkening but it may actually be the original contrast stain of the plateau as the shank end plateau is the same. The finish looked good and I think it is a beauty. The fancy acrylic saddle stem had very light chatter on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the fading at the top of the bowl sides and shank end. The briar is quite nice all around the pipe. The oil curing/finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It was clear and read as noted above – MALAGA. The stamp has some gold in the stamp. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am also including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/. That blog includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am including a link to some printed material on the Malaga brand that came to me from the daughter of George Koch (we purchased George’s pipes from his daughter) to help identify the particular stamping on the pipe. The link takes you to the entire collection of materials that were sent to me (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/27/malaga-pipes-catalogue-of-pipes-and-tobaccos/).

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. He reamed the light debris in the pipe 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 from around the bowl sides. It looked better but the rim top and inner edge was darkened. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The stem looked good and the light tooth marks on both sides were still visible and would need a little work. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the darkening on the rim that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and edges looked very good and the plateau was very clean. The stem looked better, though there were some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank to show that the clean up had not damaged it at all. The gold colour in it was faint but still present. It will need to be touched up. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. Now to work on the pipe. I wiped the bowl down with a cotton pad and some isopropyl alcohol to try and even out the stain coat. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the surface scratches in the finish. I carefully avoided the stamping so as not to damage it. The briar began to have a rich shine and the stain on the bowl looked very good. I touched up the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a black stain pen. Now both plateau ends match.I touched up the gold stamp in the Malaga stamp on the left side with some Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the stamping with a tooth pick and then buffed off the excess with a soft cloth. It looks good! I polished the bowl sides and the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down after each pad. It really began to be beautiful. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I worked it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a shoe brush to get deep in the valleys. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have 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 sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the light tooth chatter and marks in the acrylic. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was able to remove the marks and the stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final wiped down with the cloth and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Large MALAGA Freehand Horn and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. 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. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is beautiful smooth finished MALAGA Freehand Horn and the fancy acrylic saddle stem combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.15 ounces/60 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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

Restoring a Well Smoked & Scarred Aldo Velani Ultima Dublin

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by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff picked up an Aldo Velani Ultima pipe from a seller in Puyallup, Washington, USA on 03/17/2025. The Ultima has a composite stem with briar inserts on the saddle and along the sides of the stem with Lucite forming the base of the stem. There is band of Lucite on the shank end and on the top and underside of the bite area around the button. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a lot of class and distinction. Most Aldo Velani pipes are made in Livorno, Italy, for the USA market by Cesare Barontini. They were previously imported by Lane Limited. The name “Aldo Velani” is actually fictional one and the brand was made for export (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Aldo_Velani  http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a3.html). The pipe was probably made in the 1990s. The pipe was dirty with grit and grime on the exterior of the bowl and shank. There was a thick cake in the bowl and there was a lava overflow on the rim top. There was also some burn damage on the inner edge. The stem was dirty and had light tooth marks on the Lucite around the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe. You can see the damage on the inner edge, the lava and damage on the rim and outer edge. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks, chatter and debris on the stem surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. Even under the dirt and debris of the years the grain on the smooth briar looked very good. You can see the damage on the outer edge of the bowl in the photos. The stamping is faint in spots but still is readable as noted above. I turned to Pipephil’s site to learn about the Velani brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a3.html). I did a screen capture of the section on the site regarding the Aldo Velani pipes. There is a connection to Barontini pipes. The eighth photo down in the screen capture is the Ultima. I also included the information from the side bar. Aldo Velani is the fictional name for a sub-brand mainly intended for export.

Now I knew what I was working with. I learned that most of the Aldo Velani pipes are made in Livorno, Italy, for the USA market by Cesare Barontini.

Jeff cleaned the pipe with his usual thoroughness – reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer, cleaning up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean off the dust and grime on the finish. The rim top looked better but the burn damage was very evident on the inner edge and the top. The inside of the bowl itself looked great. The stem was in great shape other than a bit of tooth chatter. He did not put this one in the Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer Bath having seen the effects on the other part briar stems. I took photos of the pipe when I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show its condition. The rim top and edges show darkening on the rim top and burn damage on the inner edge is clearly visible. I took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem and on the button itself. I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is stamped as noted above and is clear and readable even though faint in spots. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is an interesting pipe that you can see the rustic finish on in the photo below. I decided to start my restoration work on this one by dealing with the darkening on the inner edge and the burn damage on the front inner edge. I also wanted to deal with the damage on the outer edge of the bowl on the front and sides of the bowl. I started with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It took care of some of the damage. It also revealed that there was damage on the rim top. I decided to use a wooden sphere and some 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edge bevel and the rim top. When I had finished it looked much better. I sanded the scratches and marks on bowl sides and shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to shine. I polished the bowl and shank with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. The photos below show the progress in the polishing. The pipe was beginning to look really good and the grain was beginning to really pop. It was time to work some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar on the bowl and the rim top. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. I let the balm sit for about 20 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth. I took photos of the pipe at this point in the process to show what the bowl looked like at this point. I set the bowl aside at this point and turned my attention to the stem. I was really glad to see that this composite briar and Lucite stem was in decent condition. There was tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface. I filled in the deeper marks in the stem with black rubberized CA glue. The stem was also loose so I used a tooth pick to put glue in the gap between the briar and the acrylic stem. Once the repairs cured I sanded them with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the acrylic.I sanded the shank and stem piece with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem and briar shank down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. It began to look very good.I dry sanded the stem and briar extension with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil soaked cloth after each pad. When I was finished the stem looked great. The photos tell the story. I rubbed the briar part of the stem down with Before and After Resoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit for 10 minutes then buffed it off with soft cloth.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 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 contrast of colours between the briar bowl and the briar inserts on the stem really looked good with the polished black Lucite. The Aldo Velani Ultima Dublin looked really good even with some of the scars of its journey. The pipe has a unique look that catches the eye. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight is 1.83 ounces/52 grams. This one will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this while I worked on it. It was interesting and unusual piece to restore and I really enjoyed the work.

Breathing Life into a Brigham Made in Canada 9W2 Three Dot Freehand

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by Steve Laug

I chose to work on another Canadian Made Brigham to work on next. The pipe is a Freehand Acorn shaped bowl with a carved faux plateau rim top and shank end. We picked it up from a seller in Annapolis Valley, Nova Scotia, Canada on 01/31/2023. It is a neat looking pipe with real character. The shape of the bowl reminded me of some of the Danish Stanwell pipes that I have restored. I did the research on it. It is stamped Brigham [over] Made in Canada on the underside of the shank and has the shape number 9W2 stamped to the left of that. The stem has three brass pins on the left side of the blade of the fancy saddle. There was a heavy cake in the bowl and a lot of lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The rustication on the rim top is a faux plateau look and it has a smooth finish on the bowl and shank. I think that there was a beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was oxidized and had tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. It was a mess. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the bowl with the thick cake in the bowl and a thick overflow of lava on the rim top. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks on the top and underside as well as on the button surface. Jeff removed the stem and it had the Brigham Hard Rock Maplewood Distillator aluminum tenon. It had an old wooden Distillator in the tenon that was quite dirty. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. Even under the dirt and debris of the years the grain on the smooth briar looked very good. The stamping is very clear and reads as noted above. He included a pic of the 3 brass dots on the stem.For the needed background I am including the information from Pipedia on Brigham pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes). Charles Lemon (Dadspipes) is currently working on a book on the history of the brand. Until that is complete this article is a good summary. I have included it below.

Roy Brigham, after serving an apprenticeship under an Austrian pipesmith, started his own pipe repair shop in Toronto, in 1906. By 1918 the business had grown to include five other craftsmen and had developed a reputation across Canada for the high quality of workmanship. After repairing many different brands of pipes over the years, Roy noted certain recurring complaints by pipe smokers, the most common referred to as “tongue bite”. Tongue bite is a burning sensation on the smoker’s tongue, previously thought to be due to the heat of the smoke (i.e. a “hot smoking pipe”).

He soon began manufacturing his own pipes, which were lightweight, yet featured a more rugged construction, strengthening the weak points observed in other pipes. The problem of tongue bite intrigued him, and he decided to make overcoming it a future goal.

About 1938, Roy’s son Herb joined him to assist in the business. The business barely survived the great depression because pipes were considered to be a luxury, not a necessity, and selling pipes was difficult indeed. In approximately 1937 [1], after some experimentation, Roy and Herb discovered that tongue bite was in fact a form of mild chemical burn to the tongue, caused by tars and acids in the smoke. They found that by filtering the smoke, it was possible to retain the flavour of the tobacco and yet remove these impurities and thereby stop the tongue bite.

Just as Thomas Edison had searched far and wide for the perfect material from which to make the first electric light bulb filaments, Roy & Herb began experimenting with many materials, both common and exotic, in the quest for the perfect pipe filter. Results varied wildly. Most of the materials didn’t work at all and some actually imparted their own flavour into the smoke. They eventually found just two materials that were satisfactory in pipes: bamboo and rock maple. As bamboo was obviously not as readily available, rock maple then became the logical choice.

They were able to manufacture a replaceable hollow wooden tube made from rock maple dowelling, which when inserted into a specially made pipe, caused absolutely no restriction to the draw of the pipe, yet extracted many of the impurities which had caused tongue bite. The result was indeed a truly better smoking pipe…

With the information I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I learned that the pipe was originally carved from surplus stummels left over from the Norseman and Valhalla lines. It was made in the 1980-90s because of the stamping on the shank. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I am really happy to have Jeff’s help on cleaning up the pipes that we pick up along the way. He cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the top half of the bowl and great rustication on the rest of the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. He scrubbed it with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove the majority of the oxidation. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver it looked very good. I took some close up photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration. I took photos of the bowl and rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show its condition. The rim top and edges show a darkening on the plateau but the inner edge looks good. I took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem and on the button itself. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is stamped as noted above and is clear and readable even though faint in spots. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is an interesting pipe that you can see the grain in the photo below.I decided to start my restoration work on this one by cleaning up the plateau rim top and shank end with a brass bristle wire brush. I scrubbed it to remove more of the debris and darkening. When I had finished it looked much better.I touched up the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a black Sharpie Pen. It gives the plateau depth and great look. I sanded the scratches and marks on bowl sides and shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to shine. I polished the bowl sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. It really began to look beautiful. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I worked it into the plateau rim top and shank end with a shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have 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 finished bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the top and the underside of the stem with a black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured I shaped it with small files and then sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the vulcanite. I sanded the stem with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. I fit the aluminum tenon with a new Rock Maple Distillator tube so it would be ready to go.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Brigham 9W2 Danish Style Freehand – as I think it is an interesting looking pipe that was on the market as a means of using up extra stummels from the Norseman and Vahalla lines that Brigham made. 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 buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain popping through on the bowl and shank. Added to that the polished, rebuilt black vulcanite stem with four shining brass pins was beautiful. This Brigham 9W2 Freehand is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.66 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.