Tag Archives: polishing a stem

Restoring a Natural Liverpool

The pipe was in good shape. The finish was covered with a coat of varnish and under that there were soiled marks on the sides of the bowl. The rim had burn marks on the outer front edge. And there was slight darkening on the surface of the rim. The stem was clean with some slight tooth marks on the top and bottom of the stem that had been sanded previously. The stem also had some scratches and gouges in the surfaces in the middle of the top taper. The pipe is stamped NATURAL over London Made on the left side of the shank and there are no shape stamp numbers on the right side or underneath. I believe that the original finish was unstained, hence the natural stamping.

I have included the close-up photo of the rim below to show the burn damage on the front edge and the other damage on the surface and inner edge of the bowl.

I topped the bowl with sandpaper on a flat board to remove the damage and the burn marks. Once that was finished the top looked like new with good sharp edges on the inside and outside of the rim.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare wood. I wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the varnish and the grime underneath. It took a few pads to clean off the finish, but once it was done the pipe looked good.

I used my usual array of micromesh sanding pads to clean up the stem – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads.

Once I had finished sanding the stem I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and then buffed the whole pipe with White Diamond. I gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean flannel buff. The finished pipe is pictured below. The grain stands out nicely on this old pipe and the natural finish highlights that.

Kaywoodie Super Grain 07C Restored (Unsmoked)

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I found this unsmoked Kaywoodie Super Grain 07C on Ebay. It has a four-hole, “Drinkless” stamped stinger. That and the three digit shape number help identify the timer period when it was made. Hacker sais the 07C bulldog was made from 1947 and that style stinger was discontinued by Kaywoodie in 1954.

The bowl top had some dings from handling or bouncing around someones drawer for 50 plus years.

Using a propane torch, old butter knife, and a small piece of wet cloth, I was able to steam out all of the dents on the bowl top. I heat the knife tip until it is glowing orange, than place the wet cloth (folded over twice) on the dent, then press the hot tip into the cloth. This causes the damp cloth to steam, which usually makes the dents spring back nicely.

The stem was oxidized but mint. The “Drinkless” engraving on the four-hole stinger was also like new. I removed the oxidation with 800 grit paper. I use a Popsicle stick to maintain the angles on the bulldog stem. Working around the logo was a little tricky. Then, I finished the stem with 2000 grit paper, followed by the 8000 and 12000 grade micromesh sheets. I then lightly buffed the stem with white diamond rouge and an automotive plastic polish.

The briar only needed a light buff with white diamond and then a few coats of carnuba wax. The bowl has several visible fills. Removing the oxidation revealed some “freckles” in the vulcanite, which I’ve learned is not uncommon on Kaywoodie or Doctor Grabow stems of that era.

Reworked Comoy’s The Guildhall London Pipe Stack – Shape 345

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Blog by Steve Laug

The pipe is stamped The in script over Guildhall over London Pipe on the left side of the shank and number 345 near the bowl on the right side of the shank and Made in London in a circle over England. This is the third of the pipes from the box my daughters found for me. The first two were the Orlik’s that I wrote about earlier. This one was in better condition than the other two. The top was beat up with outer and inner rim damage and also the same varnish coat over the uncleaned rim and the bowl and shank. The stem was original and has the three silver bars on the left side as expected in the Guildhall series. There were tooth dents that had been buffed out and left the stem with waves around the remaining marks. The grain was quite nice on this one – lots of cross grain and birdseye but it was obscured by the finish coat. The interior was filthy as were the others. In the side photos below the finish looks pretty good but the grain could stand out more clearly.

I took the next photo to show the damage on the rim. The inner edge was rough and the outer edge was also rough. There was tar build up under the varnish coat that had not been cleaned off before varnishing. The bowl was also coated with a black bowl coating.

I sanded the top and bottom side of the stem with 20 grit sandpaper to smooth out the ripples in the vulcanite and remove the remainder of the tooth marks. Once I had them removed I worked on the bowl.

I topped the bowl on the sandpaper and flat board as is my usual method. I took off enough briar to make the top smooth and the outer edge sharp as well. I sanded the inner edge with a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth out the damage there as well. The next two photos show the topping process and the sanding of the inner edge.

The interior of the shank and stem were filthy and needed a lot of work with Everclear, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. The photo below shows the first lot that was used but by the time I was finished cleaning the shank I had used about twice that number.

I wiped down the surface of the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the varnish coat and the finish. I wanted to remove as much of it as possible so that when I restained the rim it would be easier to match.

I sanded the stem with a medium grit sanding sponge and then with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I buffed the stem in between the wet sanding and the dry sanding with red Tripoli because I wanted to see what I had to work with and if I had removed the rippling on the vulcanite. I had so I went on to the dry sanding. When I had finished I buffed the stem with White Diamond and then rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and put it aside to dry.

I stained the bowl with MinWax Medium Walnut stain. I applied it with a cotton pad and rubbed it off with a cotton cloth. I repeated the process until I had the coverage that I wanted and the rim and bowl matched.

I reinserted the stem in the shank and took the pipe to the buffing wheel for a buff with White Diamond. I gave both the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and polished it with a soft flannel buff. The reworked Comoy’s Guildhall Stack is shown in the photos below ready and clean for its inaugural smoke.

Reworking an Orlik De Luxe L23 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

This is the second pipe from box of English pipes that my daughters found when cleaning out our storage room under the front porch (interior room). It is stamped Orlik De Luxe over Made in England on the left side of the shank and L23 on the right side of the shank. It looked as if it had been refurbished by the same gent who did the Orlik Canadian I reworked. This one also had a varnish coat on the bowl that made it shiny. Underneath the varnish the finish was spotty. The outer and inner edge of the rim was damaged and there were deep grooves on the surface of the rim. The tarry buildup had not been totally removed before the finish coat of varnish was put in place. The inside of the bowl had been painted with a bowl coating that was black. The stem appears to be a replacement but it was better craftsmanship than the previous one. The stem itself was clean but had scratches. The interior of the pipe and stem were filthy.

I have little experience with Orlik pipes so the numbering system was a mystery to me. I did a bit of research and found out that the shape numbers remain consistent throughout the various lines of Orlik pipes. The only difference is found in the letter that precedes the number. In the case of the two pipes that I have now worked on each had the letter “L” before the shape number. The letter signifies the line of pipes within the Orlik family that is in hand. The L stands for the Orlik De Luxe line. I have included the chart below that gives the various lines of Orlik pipes. I have also included the shape chart for Large Billiards that shows the L23. The one I have is similar to the one in the picture though I am certain that mine has a replacement stem as it has a different taper to the stem.

The first three photos below show what the pipe looked like when I brought it to the work table. The issues that I noted above are clearly visible from these photos. The stamping on the pipe is faint but readable on the left side. The number stamp on the right side is in better condition.

In the photo above the tars that were left on the rim before the varnish are visible by my thumb and also my forefinger. The bowl would need to be topped. I have included the next two close-up photos of the rim to show the condition it was in when I started the rework of this pipe and to explain why I was going to top the bowl. The inner edge of the rim had significant damage and showed signs of being hit against something to empty the bowl. The outer edge had similar damage and was badly pitted on the back and the front of the bowl.

I set up the sandpaper on the flat board that I use for topping and topped the bowl until the rim and the edges were once again sharp and clean. I did not have to remove very much of the briar but what I removed took off the damaged outer edges of the rim and reduced the appearance of damage to the inner edge. I sanded around the inner edge with a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth out the inside. The newly topped bowl is visible in the second photo below.

I used a lot of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the black tars and oils that had not been cleaned out for quite a while. This is only the second pipe that I have cleaned up that came from this chap and I have to say I am not impressed at this point. These were sold in a shop as estates that had been refurbished and were ready to smoke. I wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the varnish coat before I restained the bowl. I used a black permanent marker to carry the grain lines through the two fills on the left side of the bowl. The briar was actually quite nice under the varnish coat.

I wiped the bowl down a final time with acetone and then gave it a coat of MinWax Medium Walnut stain. I rubbed it into the bowl and then wiped it off with a soft cotton towel. It really brought the grain to life on this old pipe.

The stem had scratches from the sandpaper that had been used on it previously and a slight bit of tooth chatter near the button that had been buffed over. I sanded it with a medium grit sanding sponge and then with the usual array of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with the 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I took the pipe and stem to the buffer and buffed the entirety with White Diamond, being careful around the faint stamping on the left side of the shank. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and hand buffed it when it was dry.

I buffed the finished pipe with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I finished buffing with a clean flannel buff to give the pipe a shine. The photos below show the reworked pipe, cleaned and ready for its inaugural bowl.

A Quick and Easy Cleanup on A GBD Prehistoric 9457?? Maybe Not!

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Blog by Steve Laug

This is the fifth of the six pipes that I picked up recently. It is a GBD Prehistoric that has a great sandblast. The stamping on the pipe is on the underside of the shank and reads as follows: GBD in an oval followed by Prehistoric in Germanic script. Next to that is London England over 9457. While it looked like it was originally a billiard, I have learned that initial looks can be deceiving. I checked out the shape number on the web at http://www.perardua.net/pipes/GBDshape.html and found out that the shape was not a billiard at all but that it is supposed to be a Lovat.

It truly was a quick and easy cleanup. The bowl was slightly caked and needed to be reamed. The beveled rim was dirty and had a thick tarry buildup on it. The finish was good but dusty. The stem was oxidized and had a bit of tooth chatter but was not hard to clean. The catch in this one is that the stem is a replacement. A common theme is coming through on this lot. I am pretty certain they all came from the same pipeman. The stems either have a large bite through on the underside or they have twin bore bite proof replacement stems. Two of the lot had twin bore stems and three had serious bite throughs. This one is a twin bore bite proof stem. I decided to clean it up for now while I am on the hunt for a GBD stem for it. I am also going to look through my stems and see if I can find a Lovat style stem that will work for the pipe.

I have included the next photo to show the state of the rim and the bowl before I cleaned it.

Next is a photo of the bite proof twin bore stem. It is a bit different from others I have seen in that it seems to have a white bar inserted between the two airholes in the button. It give the end view a striped appearance.

I scrubbed the rim with saliva and cotton pads until it was clean. It took a lot of scrubbing and scraping to remove the tarry buildup but eventually it came off without damaging the finish on the rim. I really like the inward bevel on some of these GBD Prehistoric pipes because of the nice contrast it adds to the dark finish on the blast of the rest of the pipe. Typically the rim and the underside of the shank match in terms of smoothness and colour.

The rim is clean and ready to buff. In the first photo below the rim is shown after the scrubbing. In the second photo it is shown after I took it to the buffer and buffed it with White Diamond.

The stem was oxidized but I found that the oxidation was on the surface and not very deep into the vulcanite. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and the tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides of the stem. I then gave it my usual regimen of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. It did not take too long before the stem shone. Once I had finished with the pads I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the stem.

I scrubbed the bowl down with a soft bristle tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil soap and then rinsed it with warm water. I dried it and gave the bowl a coat of Halcyon II wax as I find it works well on these sandblast finishes. I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the stem with White Diamond once again and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the bowl and stem with a soft, flannel buff to give it a shine. The finished pipe is pictured below. It was finished by I still was not happy with the stem and the look of the pipe. It just was not quite right. A true GBD stem for a Lovat would be nice but I am going to try a couple of other tricks while I am waiting to find one. I set the pipe aside over night to think it through.

Anyone have an extra GBD stem kicking around? Do you want to sell or trade it? Drop me a note.

This morning when I got up I thought about using a Lovat stem on the pipe and looked through my can of stems for one. While doing that it occurred to me that rather than turn a tenon and refit a stem to the shank that I could just as easily cut back the existing stem – it already fit the shank. The majority of the cleanup work has been done and I could rid myself of the bite proof twin bore stem. I know from past experience that the twin bore is like a Y and when cut back it will end in a single airway in the shortened stem. I can then open that into a slot and cut a new button and I will be in business. I decided to take that tact.

I trimmed the stem back until the two airways merged. I had to significantly shorten the stem to get to that point. I cut a new button and inserted it in the shank… problem – the stem was now too short for the look of the bowl. So… I have to cut a new stem for it. I have included a couple of photos of the short stem I cut so that you can see what I mean about the length being wrong.

With the stem being too short I started over. I found another stem in my can – longer than the previous one and turned the tenon to fit the shank. I stair stepped the tenon to make a good snug fit in the shank. I used the Dremel and the sanding drum to take off the excess vulcanite and fit the stem to the diameter of the shank. I purposely chose a stem that was slightly larger than the shank diameter because the shank on the pipe was slightly out of round. I fit the stem as close as possible to the shank with the sanding drum and then took it back to the worktable to shape by hand.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to bring the shape into line with the shank. It took quite a bit of hand sanding. I also shaped the stem with the sandpaper flattening the blade of the stem and smoothing and thinning the edges as well. I wanted the diameter of the stem to match from the shank to the saddle and then have straight lines back to the tip. This was all done by hand sanding with the 220 grit paper.

Once I had the lines straight from front to back I used a medium grit sanding sponge to smooth out the surface of the stem and reduce the scratches left by the sandpaper. I opened up the button with needle files to make it easier for a pipe cleaner to go in and out of the pipe.

I sanded the stem with my usual run of micromesh sanding pads – wetsanding with 1500-2400 grit and then dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I buffed the stem with red tripoli between the wet and dry sanding and then when finished I buffed it with White Diamond. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil to protect it and when it was dry hand buffed it.

When I finished with the stem I lightly buffed the whole pipe with White Diamond and then gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I used Halcyon II wax on the bowl as I had above and then hand buffed the bowl and shank with a shoe brush. The finished pipe is picture below. I think that the Lovat style stem is an improvement to the look of the pipe. The new stem is approximately ¾ of an inch shorter than the stem that came with the pipe. I also am much happier with a regular slotted stem in place of the twin bore that I pictured earlier.

This pipe is really quite symbolic of what can happen when refurbishing a pipe. In many ways it is a bit of the story of some of my pipe refurbishing. It sometimes takes two or three tries to get the pipe to where I want it to be. Thanks for hanging in there with me in the process of this refurb!

A GBD “Dublinish” Poker Brought Back to Life

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Blog by Steve Laug

The fourth pipe I have refurbished from the lot I just picked up is an oval shanked “Dublinish” Poker that has a GBD on the brass stem roundel. It is stamped on top of the shank with GBD in an oval over New Standard in script. On the underside of the shank it is stamped London England over 9558. I looked up the shape number on the GBD shape site and was unable to find a listing for a pipe of this shape. I looked other places on the web and did not find this shape either listed or pictured. It is certainly not a shape that I have seen for the years that I have been working on pipes and collecting GBD pipes.

The picture below shows the state of the bowl when I brought it to the work table. It had a thick and crumbly carbon cake and carbon and tar build up on the concave surface of the rim. The front of the outer edge had burn marks from repeated lighting. The GBD roundel on the stem was badly oxidized and looked to be corroded. The stem was badly oxidized and on the bottom had a large hole where the previous owner had bitten through the stem.

The picture below shows the size of the bite through and gives a pretty clear picture why I chose not to patch the stem but rather to cut the bite through off and rework the stem and button.

I cut off the end of the stem with a Dremel and sanding drum attachment. I cut it back to the place behind the bite mark that was solid and undamaged. The next four photos show the pipe with the damaged portion of the stem removed and a straight cut made across the end of the stem.

I took it back to the work table and reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used three of the cutting heads from the smallest up to remove the cake and clear out the debris in the bowl. I wanted to remove the cake to assess the soundness of the rim and the bowl of the pipe. I scrubbed the rim down with saliva and cotton pads. It took a lot of elbow grease to finally get the rim clean of the buildup and tars. In the photo below the burn mark on the front of the bowl is visible.

I used files, a wood rasp and needle files to cut the line on the button across the top and the bottom of the stem. I trimmed the thickness of the stem tapering toward the shank with the needle files. I wanted to thin down the stem and taper is more smoothly into the new button making for an even transition from the saddle to the edge of the button.

I used the needle files to open the end of the button and shape it into and oval and a funnel into the airway. I wanted a good open airway that would easily take a pipe cleaner.

After working with the files I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and to continue to shape the stem into a smooth taper from the saddle to the button.

I sanded the end of the button to angle it back toward the slot and to smooth it out and shape it. I also used the needle files to clean up the straight edge of the button.

Once I had the taper and the angles correct I sanded the stem with a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches from the sandpaper.

When the stem was finished in terms of shaping I moved on to work on the bowl. I wanted to stain the rim and the edges of the bowl where the burn marks were. I used a red mahogany Minwax stain and rubbed it into the rim and gave the entire pipe a stain coat. Once I had wiped that off with a clean towel I gave it a second coat of medium walnut stain to blend it in even more with the rest of the bowl. I buffed it with White Diamond to polish it and give it a shine.

I sanded the stem with my regular regimen of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with the 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with the 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed in a coat of Obsidian Oil and when it had dried took the stem to the buffer and buffed it with White Diamond to give it a shine.

I buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond and then multiple coats of carnauba wax. I finished by buffing the bowl and stem with a clean buff with soft flannel to bring out a high shine. The finished pipe is shown below in the pictures. The shortened stem came out looking very good and the reduced length does not detract from the look of the pipe as a whole.

Restoring a Comoy’s Tradition Shape 225 Bent Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

The second Comoy’s I picked up on the recent hunt was a beautifully shaped 225 Tradition. It is a shape that I love for its graceful flow and bend. The stamping on it was weak but visible under a lens. The left side of the shank was stamped Comoy’s over Tradition and the right side was stamped 225. I looked up the shape on Chris Keene’s Pipe Pages and found this page on a 1960’s catalogue http://pipepages.com/64com19s.htm . It is the 225 shape at the bottom of the page.

When I picked it up the pipe the stain on the briar was slightly faded. The stamping was weak. On the side where Comoy’s Tradition was stamped it is very faint, though still visible with light. On the side of the shank where the shape number was stamped the 2 and the 5 are clear and the middle 2 is very light. The bowl was caked and the rim was caked with tars and carbon build up. The inner bevel was clean and undamaged though dirty with tars and the outer edge was also very clean. The exterior of the pipe had no dents of dings. The stem was a replacement and was missing the usual step down tenon that I have come to expect and the existing tenon was shorter than normal. The stem itself was oxidized and had a large bite through on the underside. Of the six pipes (GBD and Comoy’s) that I picked up all but the little bulldog have the same issue.

The photo below shows a closer look at the bite through on the underside of the stem. It’s size, the length of the stem and the fact that it was an obvious replacement stem made my decision of whether to try to repair the hole or to cut the stem back quite easy to make.

I used a Dremel and sanding drum to cut the stem back to solid vulcanite and remove the damaged spot and the button. This would necessitate recutting and shaping a new button on the stem as well as reshaping the slot in the button.

After cutting it off I took it back to the worktable to prepare it for the new button. I wiped the stem down to remove the dust from cutting and to clean the surface so that I could get a good clean line on the button.

I used files, a wood rasp and various needle files to cut an edge for the new button on both the top and the bottom sides of the stem. I also used the files to cut back the stem on the slope before the new button on both sides of the stem. The stem needed to be thinned down from the button forward to the shank for more comfort in the mouth and to keep the graceful lines of the shape intact. I used the needle files to carve back the stem thickness and smooth out the lines so that the button did not look choked and pinched at the line. Once I had a clean slope on the stem previous to the button I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to further highlight the angles of the button.

I sanded the end of the new button to give it a slope toward the slot and to remove the sharp edge look of the new cut. I opened up the button to give it a funnelled shape to the airway and also made it oval. The side profile photos give a clear look at the stem and the angle of the stem previous to the new button.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to get rid of the cake and to clear away the debris from the inner edge of the bowl. I cleaned the rim with saliva on a cotton pad and scrubbed until I had removed the tars and buildup from both the top and the inner bevel of the rim.

I sanded the stem to further define the button and shape it using 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge. When I was happy with the overall shape of the stem, I sanded its entirety to remove the oxidation. I finished sanding it with my usual regimen of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads.

When I had finished sanding with the final grits of pads I put the stem in the shank and buffed it with red Tripoli to remove some of the scratches that still remained on the underside of the stem near the button and then buffed the whole stem with White Diamond. I lightly buffed the pipe as well before taking it back to the worktable to give it a top coat of red mahogany Minwax stain. I rubbed the stain on the bowl to bring back some of the reddish colour that I have found in my other Tradition pipes and used them to match the colour on this pipe.

I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve the vulcanite. And when the stain was dry I gave it a light buff with White Diamond. I finished by giving the entire pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax to preserve and give it a shine. The finished pipe is picture below. It is cleaned and ready to continue a life of service.

Refurbishing a Comoy’s Tradition Shape 4 Bulldog

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When hunting for estate pipes I always am on the lookout for certain brands that feel like a win when I find them. I have found a few of them over the years. Some of those brands are Dunhill, Comoy’s, GBD and BBB. Added to that are a few older American brands such as CPF and GFB. On a current hunt I did exceptionally well and found four GBD pipes and two Comoy’s pipes. The first one I have been working on is stamped Comoy’s Tradition and is a shape 4 bulldog. In my mind Comoy’s knew how to make the quintessential bulldog so I was glad to find this one. However, the previous owner had modified the shape dramatically and made it almost unrecognizable due to his changes. I bought it anyway and went back to the books to see what the original shape must have looked like. In the brochure photo below it is the third pipe down labeled Tradition.

Now for the modifications. The next set of four photos show the pipe’s condition when I bought it. The briar is a beautiful piece with no fills or flaws in it. The grain is very nice with a mix of flame, straight and birdseye. The stain is the typical two stage stain that is present on the Tradition pipes that I have seen – a dark understain with a walnut brown stain over that. The bowl when I received it was slightly caked with a small build up of tars and cake that overflowed on the back edge of the top of the rim. There was a slight series of marks on the bevel above the rings where the pipe must have been dropped on concrete or gravel. I don’t believe the stem is an original as the shape is a bit different from the ones I have seen and it is missing the logo. It is also missing the step down tenon that I have come to associate with these pipes. The stamping is weak on the left side though visible. It is not present at all on the right side of the shank. The bottom of the bowl, shank and stem have been sanded flat to make the pipe a sitter. It appeared that the owner merely laid the pipe on a flat sander and never bothered to smooth out the scratches or refinish the bottom of the pipe. He knew what he was doing because he left just enough briar on the bottom of the shank to not go through into the airway and on the bottom of the bowl to leave it still thick enough to protect it from burning out.

The photo below shows the flattened underside of the pipe and the scratches that are visible in the briar and the vulcanite stem.

I reamed out the bowl with a PipNet reaming set beginning with the smallest cutting head and progressing to the one that fit the bowl. I cut back the cake to the bare wood so that I could build it up again evenly. It had tended to be thick around the top of the bowl and about half way down the bowl thinned out. I cleaned out the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and Everclear

I heated the surface of the stem with a lighter to lift the bite marks on the stem surface. The ones on the topside of the stem lifted quite well and a little sanding repaired them. The ones on the underside were deeper and required more work. Several of them lifted but one in particular was very deep and the fibers of the vulcanite were broken. This required a patch with black superglue. There was also a small divot out of the button on the top side that I repaired with the black superglue. I set the stem aside to dry while I worked on the bowl.

I wiped down the bowl and rim with a cotton pad and saliva. I scrubbed the tars and carbon on the rim with the cotton pad and saliva until it was gone. It took a bit of scraping and a lot of elbow grease to remove the buildup but once it was clean the stain was still in very good shape. I also scrubbed the bevel of the inner edge of the rim to clean it and polish it as well.

Once the superglue was dry I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess and smooth out the surface of the patch. I sanded it until it was well blended into the surface of the stem. The next two photos show the patch after sanding with 220 grit sandpaper and then with a medium grit sanding pad.

I sanded and stained the flattened bottom of the pipe with a medium walnut stain to blend it in with the rest of the pipe. I sanded the stem with my usual regimen of micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit pads. I buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond and then rubbed in a coat of Obsidian Oil into the stem.

I buffed the pipe and stem with multiple coats of carnauba wax and finished with a clean flannel buff to bring out the shine. The next series of four photos show the finished pipe. Though the previous owner’s modification certainly changed the profile of this old pipe, I think the finished product still looks very good and should continue to provide a good smoke.

After reading Al’s comment below, I did a bit more comparison work with Tradition colours both on line and in my own collection. They tended to be slightly more red than the walnut colour of this bulldog. Armed with that information I decided to give it a coat of Minwax red mahogany stain to bring out the reds a bit more in the briar. Below are the updated pictures of the pipe. In real time the addition of red brings the colour into the same spectrum as the other Traditions in my collection. Thanks Al for the nudge.

Restoring A Craft Briar Volcano/Poker

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Finding this old pipe comes with a tale that is just too good not to tell. I have written it up here for your reading and also to help me remember the tale.

Yesterday I paid a visit to the Vancouver Flea Market to see if I could add any more pipes to my stock of pipes to refurbish. I generally have had some good luck there picking up older pipes at a good price. There is one seller at the market that has some pipes that have always caught my eye but her prices have been unreasonable. She would not negotiate on prices at all so I generally walked away from her and bought from other sellers. However, this time I decided to play a bit of her game. I looked at the various pipes and asked her prices. She walked away so I did as well. I made a loop around the market and then came back to her. She had a twinkle in her eye when I came back and she asked, “Are you serious to buy or do you just look?” I laughed and said, “That my dear lady depends solely upon you!” Again she had that same look and she responded, “Which pipe are you wanting?” I started with the one furthest away from the one I wanted and asked her price. It was a Savinelli Autograph in very nice shape. She took it from the case and waxed eloquent about its beauty. Now I knew her price was based on how beautiful the pipe was to her. She spoke of how her father had smoked a pipe in the old country and she had prepared his tobacco for him. She got a faraway look in her eye.

That did not last long and she was back to business. “You want it?” she asked. I asked her price which was far more than I was willing to pay. So I moved her on to the other pipes in her display case. These she said were less beautiful and were priced accordingly. I carefully went over each pipe talking about how I restore them to their original beauty because I was a pipeman. I loved pipes and everything about them. I enjoyed the process of restoration. She was hooked! I finally got around to the pipe that I had had my eye one for quite a while over the past trips I have made to the market. I asked her the price. She replied that it was $49 but the other one she had shown was way better. She said I should not wait and think too long as opportunities move quickly in our world and who knew if it would be there the next time I came back.

While she spoke I checked out the pipe I wanted. It was stamped on the bottom of its triangular shank, Craft in a Germanic Script and next to that Briar. Stamped above Briar was the number 386. It had an unusual rustication patter on it, a smooth rim and smooth lines on the edges of the triangular shank, the end of the shank and around the rounded bowl bottom. The bottom of the shank was smooth as well. The stem was clean and well fit, with slight oxidation around the shank. There were deep tooth marks on the top and bottom of the stem. The bowl was quite clean with a slight cake and the rim was relatively clean as well – a little tarry buildup at the back of the rim. There was no charring or burning. All of this was taken in while she waxed on about taking every opportunity to by the Savinelli.

When she paused for a breath I asked her the price on the pipe in my hands, knowing full well that there was a price tag on the underside of the stem. Without missing a beat she said, “You want that one? I will make a deal”. Ah, now I knew I could make an offer for the pipe. Too low an offer and she would be insulted but too little a variation from her price would insult her. What to do. I quickly came to a price in my mind and spoke it out, “I will pay you $40 cash right now. No tax and no more for this pipe of less beauty than the one you love so much.” She smiled and nodded her head. “We have a deal,” she said and held out her hand for the cash. I was ready and had two brand new $20’s in hand and laid them on her upturned palm. She smiled and told me to enjoy the new pipe but to not let the beautiful one pass without taking it home too.

I walked away and went to the coffee shop. I sipped a coffee while I did a bit of searching on the web regarding the Craft brand of pipes. Somewhere in the recesses of my memory it was a familiar name to me. The “o” logo on the stem looked familiar as well. I had a hunch the pipe was made by Julius Vesz, a Toronto pipemaker selling out of the York Hotel. I found a notation on the web that confirmed that the pipe was made in Toronto and sold out of a shop at the York Hotel. The address given on the site matched Vesz’ shop there. I was fairly certain that my hunch was correct. Another site stated that the Craft Briar Pipe Company’s principal was Julius Vesz. The identity of the carver was certified by the web.

I still wanted to take one further step in confirming that the pipe did indeed come from Julius Vesz. I googled his website and sent an email via the website to the webmaster. I also emailed him directly from the contact information given on the site. Here is the web address should you want to check out some of his pipes: http://www.juliusvesz.ca/

I have included our correspondence about the pipe in full below.

On Dec 29, 2013, at 6:44 PM, Steve Laug wrote:

Good evening Mr. Vesz
I came across a pipe that I believe came from your shop if my research is correct. It is stamped Craft Briar and 3B6 and has a white o on the triangular stem. I was wondering if you could confirm that it is indeed one of your pipes. I have several of yours and thoroughly enjoy them and was caught by the “o” logo on the stem and the great shape of this one. Thank you for your time.
Kind regards
Steve Laug

On Dec 30, 2013 Rob Vesz wrote:

Hello Steve
This is Rob Vesz, Julius’ son replying. I take care of my father’s email and website. Thanks for your message and kind words.

Yes, Craft is the name Julius stamped on his very early pipes. It is in fact still the name of his company, but he operates under “Julius Vesz”. That pipe would be around 50 years old. My father stopped stamping Craft around the mid 1960’s.

It would be interesting to see a photo if you don’t mind emailing one.

Thanks again.

Rob Vesz

There is was – the web confirmation was confirmed by Rob Vesz that the pipe was indeed crafted by Julius Vesz and gave a date when the stamping on the pipes changed from Craft Briar in the mid 1960’s. I wrote back to Rob and sent the requested photos of the pipe and asked for clarification on the number stamp on the shank of the pipe. I wondered if it was not a date stamp. Below is that correspondence.

On Dec 30, 2013, at 12:37 PM, Steve Laug wrote:

Hi Rob
Thank you for your prompt reply. I appreciate the information. I am in the process of restoring the pipe now. Soon I will write it up for the rebornpipes blog – a blog I run for refurbishing of pipes.

I have attached three photos of the pipe. It is in pretty good shape other than some deep bite marks on the stem, top and bottom near the button.

One more question – can you interpret the stamping for me? The number on it is 386 – does that give me date information?
Thanks
Steve

On Dec 30, 2013 Rob Vesz wrote:

Steve
The 386 should be a style # that my father used. Will speak to him to see if he has any further thoughts on that.

Rob

Below are three more photos of the pipe showing what it looked like when I brought it home to refurbish.

I took several photos of the end of the stem to show the tooth mark damage that was present. It truly was the only thing wrong with this pipe. The first photo shows the underside of the stem but does not show the size or the depth of the bite mark at the top of the photo.

I heated the stem with a heat gun to try to lift the tooth marks. The ones on the top of the stem lifted almost to the surface and a little sanding took care of the remnants there (Photos 1 and 2 below). The ones on the underside were deeper. Two of them lifted to the surface and with sanding disappeared. The one on the left side of Photo 3 was very deep and the surface of the vulcanite was broken so that it did not lift. It left a pit in the surface of the stem. I picked it clean with a dental pick.

I wiped the sanded area of the stem down with Everclear on a cotton pad to clean the surface before using black superglue to repair the deepest bite mark and to also fix a small one to the right of it. The next two photos below show the drops of superglue on the surface of the stem. I set the stem aside for the glue to cure and went on to clean the bowl and rim.

I scrubbed the tars on the rim with saliva on a cotton pad until they were gone. The photo below shows some of the buildup still remaining that took a bit more elbow grease to remove. I also wiped down the rest of the bowl with a damp cotton pad to remove grime and dust.

I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and Everclear to remove tars and oils left behind by smoking. I reinserted the stem in the shank and set the pipe down to continue to dry. There were two small marks left behind after I had sanded the top of the stem so I used the black superglue on them as well and set the pipe to rest on a dental pick while the glue on both sides of the stem dried.

Once it was dry I sanded the excess with 220 grit sandpaper, a medium grit sanding sponge and then micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. After sanding with each group of three grits I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil and went on to sand with the next group of three.

When I had completed the sanding with the micromesh pads I wiped the stem down a final time with the oil and then buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond on the buffing wheel. I completed the refurbishing with repeated coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel applied to the stem and Halcyon II wax hand applied to the bowl. I buffed the bowl and stem with a clean soft flannel buff for a final shine. It is nice to have a bit of history on an old pipe. The added story of the purchase is something that adds colour to the pipe and makes it unique in my collection.

I received an email from Rob on New Years afternoon giving some more detail on the date and stamping of the pipe. I include Rob’s note in full.

Hello Steve. Happy New Year!

I spoke to my father and have some more information for you. The “386” represents two things. The “3” is the price category. At that time Julius had 1 through 6 for pricing. Your pipe would have been in the middle. The “86” represents the style. I asked my father about the style associated with that number WITHOUT showing him the photos. He was able to describe it in detail, triangular shank/stem and all. He hasn’t made an “86” in a long time. It was his own custom shape. It looks somewhat like “poker” to me. Also, some other interesting bits of trivia- typically the “3” would would have been within a circle (ie- his pipes have been known as Circle 3’s, Circle 4’s etc., and continue to be known as such based on price). Your pipe is very old. Julius only made 200-300 “Craft” stamped pipes. Those that didn’t have circle around price number are even fewer and older. For awhile he didn’t have a circular stamp and that’s where yours fits in. So, you have a real gem and rarity! It looks great in the pictures. My father doesn’t use a computer, so next time I see him I’ll be sure to show him on my iPhone or iPad. He will enjoy seeing it and be glad that it’s in the hands of someone who appreciates it!

Hope this information had been helpful.

Sincerely,
Rob Vesz

Reworking a Couple of Pipes with my Son in Law on a Grey Vancouver Day

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On a recent pipe hunt my son in law went with me and picked up a couple of pipes of his own. The first one was an interesting little Medico VFQ apple with a red stem. The stem was not too badly damaged. It was a filter pipe and still had the old paper Medico tube in the shank. The bowl was a mess. The rim had been burned and chipped and the bowl was badly caked and it looked as if the previous owner had smoked gooey aromatics in it that left behind a heavy residue of tar in the bottom of the bowl. It had hardened into lava like material. He liked the stem colour and the shape of the old pipe so I said to go ahead and pick it up and the two of us could work on it and bring it back for him. So he shelled out the $12.50 for the pipe and it became his first estate purchase of the trip.

This old pipe took every trick I had up my sleeves to refurbish. The stem was nylon not rubber so it was fussy to clean up. Every scratch shows in nylon and it cannot be buffed except with a very gentle hand. Everything had to be done by hand. I worked on the stem while Lance worked on the bowl. I sanded the stem from the button up the stem for about an inch to remove the calcification on the end and remove the tooth chatter on the top of the stem. On the underside there were a couple of deeper tooth marks that needed attention. I heated the nylon carefully with a lighter to try to raise the dents in the stem. I moved quickly across the surface so as not to melt the nylon. All but one of them lifted nicely – it remained a stubborn part of the sanding process. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and then with a medium grit sanding sponge. I finished by sanding the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit – wet sanding with the first three grits and then dry sanding with the remaining grits. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I also sanded the aluminum tenon with the 2400 grit micromesh pad to remove the oxidation on it. I polished it with a silver polishing cloth.

In the mean I had Lance top the bowl and flatten out the rim surface. Then he beveled the outer edge to give the pipe a rounded look like it had previously. He gave the inner edge a slight bevel as well. There were three flaws in the rim surface where the fills were missing. I had him repair these with briar dust and super glue. He then topped the bowl lightly a second time to smooth out the fill repairs. He wiped the bowl down with acetone and sanded it with the sanding sponge. He gave it a quick sand with 1500-2400 grit micromesh as well and then stained it with a black undercoat making sure that the stain went into the grooves that were carved in the bowl surface. He then wiped it down with acetone and sanded it again to remove the black stain from the surface of the bowl leaving it deep in the grooves and around the rim. The black feathered out down the bowl sides and at the tenon shank union. He sanded the aluminum band with a 3200 grit micromesh sanding pad to polish it and then restained the bowl with a red mahogany Miniwax stain. We buffed the pipe with White Diamond and then gave the stem very lightly making sure to not let it heat up. We gave the entirety several coats of carnauba wax. Here is the first pipe he had ever refurbished after it was finished.

The second pipe was less of a challenge and it was found second on the hunt. It is a Kirsten SX. With a little research we found out that the X designation added to the shape and size S usually meant Brass but that during the 1960’s there was a brief period of time where the SX was an antiqued black and silver finish. That is what he had! Thus we were able to date the pipe a bit for him. The bowl was unsmoked new stock and was probably a replacement. The stem was oxidized and covered with tooth chatter. The barrel was oxidized and much of the antiquing had worn of the finish. The valve at the end was stuck in place. The ramrod was oxidized and dirty. It would be a very easy refurbishing job. Considering the pipe cost him $15 it was well worth the effort.

Lance took the pipe apart unscrewing the bowl and removing the stem and ramrod from the barrel. The valve at the end was stuck so we had to drive it out with piece of rod I have here. Once it was apart we each went to work cleaning the parts. Lance worked on the barrel and the valve cleaning the outside and the inside of the parts. I worked on the ramrod and the stem. He cleaned out the valve with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and Everclear and also cleaned out the inside of the barrel with the same. He polished the barrel with silver polish to remove the oxidation and then we washed the barrel with a wash of black aniline stain to give it a bit of an antique look. I sanded out the tooth marks on the stem and polished the ramrod. Lance then sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit. Once the stem was polished he rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and then we gave the stem a quick buff with White Diamond on the buffer. We rubbed Vaseline into the O-rings on the valve and the stem/ramrod then reassembled the pipe. We gave the entire pipe a light buff with carnauba wax and a soft flannel pad to polish it. Here is the finished pipe.

When we finished we filled a bowl with well aged Balkan Sobranie Virginian No. 10 and retired to the porch to have a bowl and a visit. It was a great way to spend a grey Vancouver day and get to know my son in law a bit better. We are already planning more hunts and pipe refurbishing sessions. It is great to have someone working with me who is interested in learning the tricks of the hobby living so close by.

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