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Restoring an Old NEBPC Bent Billiard with an old-style vulcanite stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is one that we picked up 04/16/2024 from a seller on Facebook Marketplace in Tacoma, Washington, USA. The pipe is an older style bent billiard with narrow vulcanite stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank with NEBPC in a pie shaped circle with a letter in each section. That is followed by Flagship in script [over] Algerian Bruyere. On the right side it is stamped with the shape number 14 at the bowl shank junction. The brand and stamping are the mystery to me. It is one I had not heard of before and had no idea of what the initials stand for. The smooth finish had some very nice grain but there was a lot of grime and oils ground into the finish around the bowl and the shank. The pipe was dirty but the rich stain highlighted the grain. There was a thick cake in the bowl overflowing in thick lava on the rim top. The inner edge looked quite good though the lava covered it. The outer edge was in good condition other than a nick on the left backside of the bowl. The stem is vulcanite and the shape and cut of the button leads me to think it is an older pipe. It has a stamp on the topside of the taper that is very hard to decipher with the oxidation and grime on the surface. It was oxidized and had tooth chatter and tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The marks on the stem next to the button lead me to wonder if the stem had been cut off and a new button cut. I am uncertain but probably will never know. The pipe showed a lot of promise but it was a mess. I took pictures of the pipe before I did my clean up work. I took photos of the rim top and bowl as well as the stem surfaces to show the condition of the well smoked pipe. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the lava on the inner edge and rim top. There is also some roughening on the inner edge but the out edge looked good. There was a small nick in the outer edge on the left backside. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had scratches, tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and stem. On the left side it reads as noted above. On the right side it is stamped with the shape number 14. There is also some mark on the top of the tapered stem that I cannot decipher. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show its flow. I looked on Pipephil for both the circular pie shaped logo and the NEBPC Flagship stamping and found nothing. I also looked on Pipedia and again came up emptyhanded. I just felt like I was missing something in the search. I tried various interpretations of the NEBPC letters – Nebraska Pipe Club, New England Briar Pipe Club for two attempts and came up empty. I wrote to John Young who also does restoration and asked if knew of a Nebraska Pipe Club and he knew of nothing like that in his state. That left me still mystified.

I decided to do a search for the NEBPC on Google to see if I could interpret the meaning of the letters. I wondered what they stood for so I searched and came up with a thread on the brand on the pipesmagazine forums (https://pipesmagazine.com/forums/threads/i-love-this-pipe-but-who-made-it.48662/). There was quite a long discussion that gave some good information. Like the quote below by samcoffeeman on Apr 6, 2015

I got a hit! Was thinking it was NEBPC because of the order and PC meant pipe club perhaps. It actually means New England Briar Pipe Company. Another example here with some great info: LINK (link is disconnected)  Kaywoodie also has a Canadian pipe shape #71 so there you go!

buroak replied the following:

The NEBPC made the Yello Bole line for KBB. That “Algerian Bruyere” stamp looks like the same one used on Yello Boles, too. What is strange is the two-digit code. Nice find!

misterlowercase added some more information regarding the brand. He included links to the old factory where that pipe was made in Penacook New Hampshire, is still in use today,

http://pipedia.org/wiki/Yello-Bole

I turned to the second link first to have a look at the large photo first. It showed the large older building. Here is the link (https://debralavalley.files.wordpress.com/2009/11/dsc_0024sm.jpg).

I then turned to the pipedia article (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Yello-Bole) and found a great article on the history of the KBB/Yello-Bole pipe company.

History

In 1932 Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy (KB&B), est. 1851, expanded their program consisting of KB&B pipes, Reiss-Premier and Kaywoodie as the mainstay brand by introducing the Yello-Bole line. Yello-Bole was designed as an outlet for lower grade briar not used in Kaywoodie production.

At that time KB&B produced their brands in Union City and in West New York, both New Jersey. Deviating from that, Yello-Boles were manufactured by The New England Briar Pipe Company in Penacook, New Hampshire to use this KB&B subsidiary to capacity.

As briar was hardly had during World War II, the KB&B Company embarked on a project of domestically grown briar wood, called Mission Briar or manzanita early in 1941. The Pacific Briarwood Company, a subsidiary founded for this purpose, began harvesting the burls growing on the slopes of the Santa Cruz Mountains of California. Though this wood is botanically the same as briar form the Mediterranean countries, the smoking characteristics were not quite as good and the project was abandoned after the war.

Was it for that reason? Advertising from the 1940’s pictures the Yello-Bole “Honey Girl”, who gently urges the pipe smoker to smoke the pipe with “a little honey in every bowl.” In fact, honey was an ingredient of the material used to coat the inside of the bowl. It was said to provide a faster, sweeter break-in of the pipe.

In 1952, 101 years after the Kaufmann brothers had opened a small pipe shop in the Bowery section of New York City, Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy Company with all subsidiaries was purchased by an unknown company strange to pipe industry. (At least, the new owner was economical because the KB&B managers had to leave their luxurious bureaus on 630 Fifth Avenue, New York – the Rockefeller Center – for new rooms in the factory on 6400 Broadway, West New York.) This interlude ended after only 3 years in March of 1955, when S. M. Frank & Co. bought Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy, The Kaywoodie Company, Reiss-Premier Corp., The New England Briar Pipe Co. and – of course – Yello-Bole.

From the time of S.M. Frank’s purchase in 1955 until 1972 Yello-Bole was run as a separate company, as division of the parent. Through this period, Yello-Bole, same as Kaywoodie, had its own officers, sales force and maintained the production facilities in West New York. These 17 years were probably the most glorious years in Yello-Bole’s history.

I also found a listing in the business directory for the New England Briar Pipe Co. I have included that information below.I used the hints above to check on the shape number 14 in the Pipedia listing of Kaywoodie shape numbers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie_Shape_Numbers). That gave me the information that the number 14 was a Full Bent Medium Billiard with a Taper Stem that was made between 1927-1972.

That information gave a range that the shape was made for Kaywoodie pipes. However, since the pipe made by the New England Briar Pipe Co., a company that ceased to exist in 1955, the pipe in hand was made prior to that time period. The pipe was made by the company in Penacook, New Hampshire. Now it was time to work on this old pipe that was no longer a mystery.

I started my work on the pipe reaming the bowl. I started by doing the work with a Pipnet Pipe Reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants around the bowl sides with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife and then sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The walls were smooth and showed no burn damage.  I scraped the lava build up on the rim surface with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I was able to remove all of the thick lava. It still needed some thorough cleaning but it was looking better.I scraped out the mortise with a small pen knife to remove the thick tars and oils. I cleaned out the interior of the shank, mortise and airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It was a dirty pipe.I scrubbed the externals of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked over the inside of the bowl at the same time. I rinsed it with warm water to remove the grime and debris. I dried it off with a soft cotton cloth and lightly buffed it with the cloth. It smelled very clean. I used a 320 grit sanding pad to remove the remaining tars and oils on the rim top. I worked it over to clean up the top and prepare it for polishing with micromesh sanding pads. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cotton pad after each sanding pad. The briar really took on a patina that began to look better with the polishing. I paused the polishing and used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the inner edge of the rim. It looked much better. Then I stained the rim top with a Cherry Stain pen. It matched the rest of the briar very well. With polishing it would be unrecognizable. I went back to the polishing process with the remaining micromesh sanding pads from 3200-12000 grit pads. The briar began to take on a rich shine. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I work it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covers every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point in the restoration. You see the shine that the briar has taken on and the way grain pops with the light buffing. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. There was some damage on the stem top next to the button on both sides. I was not sure if it was tooth marks or file marks. The were deep cuts but the stem is quite thick at this point on both sides. I filled the spots in with black CA rubberized glue. I set the stem aside for the repairs to cure.While it cured I touched up the blurry stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. Then I scraped away the excess white acrylic with a 320 grit sanding pad. It was fascinating to see that underneath the white acrylic the stamp was a train engine. It was very well stamped but faint in spots.Once the repairs on the stem cured I used a file to flatten them and reshape the button on both sides. It was showing promise. I sanded the surface of the repair smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I also sanded the oxidation on the stem surface at the same time. By the time I finished wit the reshaping and sanding the stem looked much better. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look 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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.  I am glad to be on the homestretch on what was a mystery pipe when I started. I really am looking forward to the final look when I put a pipe back together, polished and waxed. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and shank. This NEBPC – New England Briar Pipe Company Flagship Algerian Bruyere Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 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 1.45 ounces/41 grams. This NEBPC pipe was a fun one to work on with a great piece of history and connection with KB&B Yello-Bole. I will be adding it to the American (US) Pipe Making Companies Section on the rebornpipes store shortly. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I working on it.

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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Cleaning up a Lightweight Gourd Calabash Pipe

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a small older style meerschaum lined Gourd Calabash without the top. It is one we picked up from and estate in Oregon City, Oregon, USA on 03/21/2024. The surface of the gourd is smooth and unadorned. It has an acrylic shank extension. The gourd had obviously been waxed and the surface was smooth and shiny. The meerschaum was unique in that it was almost like a meerschaum lining in a briar pipe than the typical cup liner that I was familiar with in Calabash pipes. The meer bowl had a light cake in it but the rim top looked good and had taken on a nice patina. The inner edge had some slight damage on the right side and was a little rough to the touch. The acrylic shank extension was in excellent condition and fit with a slight waist at the gourd end. The fancy turned stem was quite heavily oxidized and there were light tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The stem had also straightened out over time and would need to be re-bent to fit the flow of the bowl. I took a few photos of the pipe in the car on the way home and have included them below. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of both of them. The bowl shows that is clear of caking on the walls. The rim top showed some darkening. The inner edge of the bowl has some damage that will need to be taken care of. The photos of the stem show the heavy oxidation and light tooth marks/chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe. It is a nicely shaped gourd and the meerlining looks great. The stem length works very well with the pipe.I started my work by cleaning up the inner edge of the meerschaum lining. I gave the inner edge a slight bevel with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I cleaned up the cake in the meerschaum bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife and then sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The walls were smooth and showed no burn damage.I cleaned out the interior of the shank, mortise and airway in the gourd and in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. The pipe was surprisingly clean. I polished the rim top (meer and gourd) and the gourd body itself with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. At the same time I polished the acrylic shank extension. I wiped it down with a cotton pad and a cloth impregnated with Obsidian oil after each sanding pad. The briar really took on a patina that began to look better with the polishing. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the gourd. I work it into the gourd with my finger tips to make sure that it covers every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The calabash really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. You see the shine that the gourd has taken on and the way grain pops on the smooth portions and the rusticated parts have depth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I decided to rebend the stem to fit the flow of the bowl. I heated it with a lighter flame and put it in the shank. I bent it so that when it was held in my mouth the bend of the stem was straight and even with the top of the bowl. I sanded the re-bent stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth damage and chatter as well as the oxidation. It began to look much better.I worked on the oxidation on the stem with Soft Scrub. I worked it into the surface of the vulcanite with cotton pads and was able remove the majority of the oxidation on the stem surface. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look 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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. More than usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I really am looking forward to the final look when I put a pipe back together, polished and waxed. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish gourd bowl and the vulcanite. I gave the gourd 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 shiny black acrylic shank extension and the vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and shank. This Meerschaum Lined Gourd Calabash was another fun pipe to work on. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ¾ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.27 ounces/36 grams. I will be adding it the Ceramic and Meerschaum Pipes section of the rebornpipes store. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I working on it.

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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Cleaning up another Pipe Hunt Find from Idaho, an interesting looking Kaywoodie Standard Called an Embassy Pipe

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by Steve Laug

Recently when I visited my Dad and family in Idaho Falls, Idaho Jeff and I did a bit of pipe hunting. We did not find much but we picked up this Kaywoodie Standard Long shank Billiard – shape and finish that I had not seen before. The price was right ($30USD) so we brought it home to Jeff’s house. The surface of the briar was rusticated with a smooth band on the shank end, twin bands around the bowl on the top half and a smooth panel on the underside of the bowl and shank which allowed it to be a sitter. The exterior of the bowl had been coated with a very shiny coat of varnish and there was some dust underneath the shiny coat. The pipe was stamped on the underside on the smooth panel and read Kaywoodie [over] Standard. The bowl had a light cake in it but the rim top and edges looked good underneath the shiny coat. The stem had a white Kaywoodie Club/Shamrock logo on the left side that was in good shape. The stem was lightly oxidized and there were light tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The stem was also overclocked. When I removed the stem, I found that the stinger had been cut off but was well done. It was actually smooth and wide open. I took a few photos of the pipe in the car on the way home and have included them below. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of both of them. The bowl shows some light to moderate cake on the walls. The rim top showed some darkening and debris in the rustication under the shiny coat. The edges of the bowl looked good. The photos of the stem show the light oxidation and light tooth marks/chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-kaywoodie.html). I went through all of the sections on the site through the various lines of Kaywoodie pipes and did not find one similar to the one I had in hand. There were Standards but none were finished like this one. They also said made in Italy and bore a different stem logo. This pipe was not made in Italy.

From there I turned to the Kaywoodie Collectors section on Pipedia to see what I could find about the Standard (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Collector%27s_Guide_to_Kaywoodie_Pipes). The article is full or rich information on the brand. Give it a read. Disappointingly it does not include anything on the Standard with the twin rings on the bowl sides.

I googled for the Line with the twin rings around the bowl and found examples in a lot of different shapes but no information that helps establish a timeline for the pipe. I abandoned my search (at least for now) and I turned to work on the pipe.

SEE THE ADDENDUM: from that additional information I have learned that the pipe is somewhat rare and was only made in 1975 and 1976. The style is called an Embassy Style or Finish.

I started my work by trying to remove the shiny varnish coat on the bowl and shank. I went over the rusticated portions with a brass bristle wire brush to loosen the varnish coat. I went over the smooth portions with a 320 grit sanding pad to break up the shiny coat. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads repeatedly until I was able to remove the shiny coat. It looked better. I reamed the pipe with a Pipnet Pipe Reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants around the bowl sides with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife and then sanded the walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The walls were smooth and showed no burn damage. I cleaned out the interior of the shank, mortise and airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. The pipe was surprisingly clean.I scrubbed the externals of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked over the inside of the bowl at the same time. I rinsed it with warm water to remove the grime and debris. I dried it off with a soft cotton cloth and lightly buffed it with the cloth. It smelled very clean. I sanded the smooth portions of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the roughened finish. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to get a sense of the progress on the finish. It was looking better with each pad I used. I wiped the bowl and shank down with alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the sanding dust and get a sense of the grain around the bowl sides. I am very happy with how it is looking at this point. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a cotton pad and a cloth impregnated with Obsidian oil after each sanding pad. The briar really took on a patina that began to look better with the polishing. I paused the polishing of the smooth portions of the pipe to touch up the smooth portions of the pipe with an Oak Stain pen. It matched the rest of the stain around the bowl and once polished the match would be perfect. I went back to polishing the briar with the last three micromesh pads. The briar really began to take on a shine. It looked very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I work it into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to make sure that it covers every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. You see the shine that the briar has taken on and the way grain pops on the smooth portions and the rusticated parts have depth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I decided to address the overclocked stem first. I heated the metal threaded tenon with the flame of a lighter to soften the glue. Once it was softened I turned the stem back into the shank and aligned the stem and shank sides. It looked much better.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look 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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.   More than usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I really am looking forward to the final look when I put a pipe back together, polished and waxed. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain pops on the smooth sections and in the rustication with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and shank. This Kaywoodie Standard was another fun pipe to work on. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ 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 1.31 ounces/38 grams. It is the second of my Idaho Pipe Hunting finds. I will be adding it the American Pipemakers section of the rebornpipes store. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I working on it.

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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

ADDENDUM: I received an email from a reader, Mark Bialzik with information on the line that this pipe comes from. He sent me the information on a pipe that he purchased from a seller that was much the same as this one. Here is the information that the seller sent him and that Mark sent to me:

A very rare Dublin by Kaywoodie. The majority of people don’t even know what this special design is called. This is a Kaywoodie Embassy style or finish. As far as I know these were made only in 1975-76. As I said, many don’t know what these are called and you’ll see them called “ring grain” or other names. I’ve messaged a few sellers telling them the name, hoping it’ll help them sell faster. I try and buy every one that’s in very good condition I can. So far, I’ve owned 5 I think. Sold just one and the rest I’ve kept for myself. There are a couple I’ll list or when I get a duplicate.

 

Cleaning up a Vertically Challenged Dunmoor Imported Briar Squashed Tomato

3 Replies

by Steve Laug

A few weeks ago, I visited my Dad and family in Idaho Falls, Idaho. My brother Jeff and I went through quite a few of our pipes and I pulled out some unique ones that I was interested in working on. I packed them and took them home with me. The next pipe is one we purchased on 05/09/2024 from an antique store in Vernonia, Oregon, USA. The pipe has a rusticated finish with a smooth panel on the left side of the shank and around the rim top. The stamping was on the left side of the shank in a panel. It read Dunmoor [over] Imported Briar. There was no shape number or other hints to the manufacture on the pipe. The bowl had a light cake in it and the rim top had some lava built up. The stem had an inserted silver O on the topside of the taper. The insert in the centre was missing. The stem was lightly oxidized and there were tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took a few photos of the pipe in the car on the way home and have included them below. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of both of them. The bowl itself had a light cake on the walls and bowl bottom. The rim top showed some light lava and the inner edge was rough from being reamed with a knife and would need to be cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the light oxidation and tooth marks/chatter on both sides ahead of the button. You can also see the open hole in the centre of the stem logo.I took a photo of the stamping on the side of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe.There was little information on the Dunmoor brand online. I checked all the standard sites and books of brands I have available to me. There were other Dunmoor pipes for sale all listed as US made pipes but no links to a maker. I did a final check on Pipephil’s site using the logo on the top of the stem to direct my search. There I found a US Made pipe with the same silver O on the stem surface. It appeared that the center was black. Here is the link to what is known as a Medico Cavalier (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/motifs/mo-ring.html#medico). The logo seems identical. It is similar enough for me to link the two pipes. I checked my stem and found that the center of the O was missing and I could blow air through it. That would need to be fixed. I have included a screen capture of the information on the site below.Now it was time to work on the pipe. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to clean up the cake in the shallow bowl and to scrape off the lava on the rim top. I used a dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the walls of the bowl. I checked for damage on the bowl walls and it was in good condition.I scrubbed out the inside of the shank, mortise and the airway in both the stem and the shank. I used pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It cleaned up very well.I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the damage around the bowl edge and the lava build up on the rim top. I polished it with 1500-3000 sanding pads. It is looking much better at this point in the process.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to make sure that it covers every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. You see the shine that the briar has taken on and the way rustication has depth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I decided to start with the missing centre dot on the logo. The issue was that without the centre dot it was wide open and air was drawn through easily diverting the airflow from the button. I cleaned out the hole in the logo with a pipe cleaner. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it in the stem from the tenon end so that it was directly below the hole. I filled in the hole with black CA glue and used some accelerator on it to cure it quickly. I removed the pipe cleaner and sanded the repair smooth with the surface of the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look 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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. More than usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I really am looking forward to the final look when I put a pipe back together, polished and waxed. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finish pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and shank. This Dunmoor Imported Briar Squashed Tomato was another fun pipe to work on. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers Section very soon. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I working on it. 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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Cleaning up a Pipe Hunt Find from Idaho

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by Steve Laug

A few weeks ago, I visited my Dad and family in Idaho Falls, Idaho. While there my Brother Jeff and I did a bit of pipe hunting. We did not find much but we did find an interesting Banker shaped pipe in an Antique Mall. The price was right ($35USD) so we picked it up and brought it home to Jeff’s house. The surface of the briar has been roughened, perhaps by steel wool or a wire brush. The finish was rough to the touch but it looked like there might be some nice grain underneath. With the use of a lens I could read the stamping on the topside. It read House of Lords [over] Made in England. There was the remnant of the shape number on the right side of the shank next to the bowl. It could be a 52S shape. The bowl had a cake in it and the rim top had a thick coat of lava built up. The stem had a crown stamp on the topside of the saddle. The stem was lightly oxidized and there were tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took a few photos of the pipe in the car on the way home and have included them below. I reamed the pipe while I was staying with Jeff. I forgot to take photos of the pipe before I reamed it. I brought it home to finish my work on it. I took photos of the pipe when I took it out of the box this afternoon. Jeff had scraped the lava off the rim top and we cleaned up the outside of the bowl. You can see the damage to the finish in the photos below. Whoever had done the work on it had made a mess of it. This was going to be a fun one to bring back to life. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of both of them. The bowl itself looked quite clean after our reaming. The rim top showed some darkening on the top and down the outside edges where it had run over the rim top. The inner edge was rough from being reamed with a knife and would need to be cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the light oxidation and tooth marks/chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the side of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe. I turned to Pipephil’s site (www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-h3.html#houseoflords). I did a screen capture of the section on the site. It shows the stamping on the left side of the shank that matches the stamping on the topside of the pipe I am working on. The crown stamp shown on the stem I have is a lot like stamping on the stem I have. I am including the information from the side bar that says that House of Lords is a brand from Samuel Gordon and possibly a Sasieni second (J.M. Lopes, op. cit.). I further followed the link to “Gordon” and learned that Samuel Gordon had founded the brand “GORDON” in 1910-20 eras. This is the link for Gordon brand of pipes; www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-g4.html#gordon

From there I turned to the Sasieni listing on Pipedia and scrolled down to the list of seconds that was given there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Sasieni#Sasieni_Seconds). From that information I learned that the pipe was definitely linked to Sasieni. The fourth listing in the screen capture Now I knew I was dealing with a Sasieni made pipe which helps explain the stamping on the pipe including the Made in England on the topside of the shank. I did a quick search of rebornpipes and found an article on a pipe I had restored that was the same shape as this one. I have included the link (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/10/25/cleaning-up-a-london-made-charleston-banker/). Have a look at the blog and you will see the shape I am referring to. I am also including some photos of the pipe that show the parallels to the one that I am working on now. I turned to work on the pipe next. Since it had been reamed and cleaned a bit I could forgo that part of the process. I used a 320 grit sanding pad to remove the darkening from the rim top. There was some burn damage on the back inside edge and the front inside and outside edge. I Then used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a wooden ball to give the top an inward bevel that took care of the damage to the inner edge and cleaned up the rim top. The pipe was beginning to look much better. I still needed to sand the rough finish but I liked the rim top at this point. I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the roughened finish. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to get a sense of the progress on the finish. It was looking better with each pad I used. I wiped the bowl and shank down with alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the sanding dust and get a sense of the grain around the bowl sides. I am very happy with how it is looking at this point. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a cotton pad and a drop of olive oil after each sanding pad. The briar really took on a patina that began to look better with the polishing. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I work it into the briar with my finger tips to make sure that it covers every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. You see the shine that the briar has taken on and the way sandblast has depth. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look 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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. More than usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I really am looking forward to the final look when I put a pipe back together, polished and waxed. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and shank. This House of Lords Banker was another fun pipe to work on. The pipe is comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 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 2.08 ounces/59 grams. The pipe will be on the rebornpipes store shortly in the British pipe makers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I working on it. 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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

The Third of Six Pipes from Salmon Arm for Restoration –A Peterson’s System Premier 309

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Blog by Steve Laug

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend, Sonny in Salmon Arm, BC. We have worked together on pipes over the past few years either ones that I have sold to him or those he has picked up on auctions or sales that I have restored. He wrote that he had some pipes that needed restoration.

I also have some of those old estates I still need to send to you for restoration. Hopefully I will be able to pack them up and get them off to you this week. Thank you again, Steve! – Sonny

He followed that up with another email regarding what he wanted done on the various pipes. I have included it below.

I would like the Vauen bent ball shape to have no band on it. It looks like it may have had a band there at one time and I’m not sure why. And if any of them needs to be stained again, I would like them to be black, especially the Peterson 309 and that ball Vauen. Let me know what you think.

I took a photo of the box of six pipes once I unwrapped them. There were 6 interesting pipes – a Vauen Luxus Bent Ball, a Vauen Dr. Perl Billiard, a Sand Blast Vauen Dr. Perl Pot, a Parade News Briar Shop Oom Paul, a Bari Pearl Bamboo shank Ball and Peterson’s System Premier 309 Bent Billiard. All were in need of various degrees of restoration.The third pipe I chose to work on was the Peterson’s System Premier. It is stamped on the underside and reads Peterson’s [arched over] System [over] Premier. To the right of that it is stamped with the shape number 309 [over] Made in the [over] Republic [over] of Ireland. The pipe was dirty and there were white spots of paint in the sandblast finish. There was a silver ferrule on the shank end. It is stamped Peterson’s [over] Dublin followed by Sterling [over] Silver. That is followed three silver hallmarks: Hibernia seated arm on a harp for the country of manufacture; the crowned Harp designating sterling quality and the date letter marks which in this case was the letter I. The bowl has a thick cake in it and some lava in the sandblast on the rim top. The stem is a system stem with a metal chimney. It was very dirty with heavy oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took these photos before I started my work on the pipe. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of both of them. There is a moderate cake in the bowl and some lava on the thin rim top. There is also debris in the bowl. The photos of the stem show the heavy oxidation and tooth marks/chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. It is much clearer in person but is hard to capture on the curve of the shank. I also tried to capture the stamping on the silver ferrule. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe. The first of those photos shows it with the chimney in place and the second shows it unscrewed. Before I started working on the pipe I wanted to dig into the detail on the stamping on the pipe. I knew what some of the stamping meant regarding the rough age of the pipe.

 Because the pipe was stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950-1989. It was a Sandblast Peterson’s System Premier 309 Billiard with an interesting blast finish. The stain on the bowl was a mess with fading and paint in the blast. Originally it looked like the bowl had been stained with a combination of brown stains. Now it was time to tighten down the date on the pipe from the hallmarks on the Sterling Silver ferrule.

I turned to the hallmarking chart on one of the blogs on rebornpipes to lock down the date for the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/peterson-cataloguecomp_page_27.jpg). The chart defines the meaning of each hallmark. The first one of the seated woman with a harp is known as the Hibernia stamp and identifies the pipe as made in Ireland. The second stamp is a crowned harp which is a fineness mark denoting the high quality of silver that was used. The third stamp is an italic lower case “i”. I have included a larger screen capture of the chart in the lower left of the photo below. I have drawn a RED CIRCLE around the date letter below. It is a lower case “i” as seen in the circled letter below. It identifies the date of this Peterson’s pipe to 1976. I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950 and the present. The hallmarks date the pipe to 1976. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Armed with that information I turned my attention to the pipe itself. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake. I cleaned up what remained with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls of the bowl to remove any remnants of cake with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. Once finished the inside of the bowl was smooth. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I also worked over the interior of the shank and bowl with brushes and soap at the same time. I rinsed the pipe off with warm running water and dried if off with a soft towel. The pipe is certainly cleaner. In speaking with Sonny I knew that he wanted the bowl stained black as he preferred that colour. So, this morning early I obliged him and stained the pipe with a black aniline stain. I applied it with the wool dauber and then flamed it to set the stain. I repeated the process until the coverage was even around the bowl.Once the stain dried I buffed it with a coarse cloth to remove any excess stain and to blend it into the surrounding surface smoothly. It looks good with the black stain. I sent photos to Sonny and he approves! Before I cleaned the inside of the shank and the stem I took the stem out of the Briarville’s Pipe Stem deoxidizer where it had been sitting over night and rubbed it briskly with a coarse cotton cloth to remove the oxidation on the surface and dry off the remaining deoxidizer on the stem. I am pleased with how well the product worked even after I have used this batch for over a year. Once the pipe was reamed, cleaned and stained and the stem was deoxidized I worked on the internals – the mortise, sump and airway in the shank and airway in the stem. I cleaned out the airway to the bowl, the mortise, sump and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I also worked over the aluminum chimney that screwed into the tenon on the stem.When I get the bowl to this point in the process I use Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I work it into the briar and the bamboo with my finger tips to make sure that it covers every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. Once the time has passed I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. You see the shine that the briar has taken on and the way rustication has depth. The black stain works on the pipe and it is a beauty. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped the stem down with Soft Scrub cleanser and cotton pads to further remove the remnants of oxidation in the surface of the vulcanite.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.Once finished that I screwed the aluminum chimney back into the tenon on the stem. The fit and look is 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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished the silver ferrule with a jeweller’s cloth and the silver took on a deep shine. It is a pretty pipe with the shinning silver and the black stain on the bowl. I am excited to finish restoration and reworking of this Republic Era Peterson’s System Premier 309. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly 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 beautiful mixed grain all around it. The polished sandblast on bowl along with the silver ferrule look great with the black vulcanite stem. This sandblast Peterson’s System Premier 309 Bent Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 49 grams/ 1.73 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will be sending back to Sonny once finish the remaining three pipes of the six he sent to me for restoration. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of it. 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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

The Second of Six Pipes from Salmon Arm for Restoration –A Bari Pearl Bamboo Shank Apple

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by Steve Laug

A few weeks ago, I received an email from a friend in Salmon Arm, BC. We have worked together on pipes over the past few years either ones that I have sold to him or those he has picked up on auctions or sales that I have restored. He wrote that he had some pipes that needed restoration.

I also have some of those old estates I still need to send to you for restoration. Hopefully I will be able to pack them up and get them off to you this week. Thank you again, Steve! – Sonny

He followed that up with another email regarding what he wanted done on the various pipes. I have included it below.

I would like the Vauen bent ball shape to have no band on it. It looks like it may have had a band there at one time and I’m not sure why. And if any of them needs to be stained again, I would like them to be black, especially the Peterson 309 and that ball Vauen. Let me know what you think.

I took a photo of the box of six pipes once I unwrapped them. There were 6 interesting pipes – a Vauen Luxus Bent Ball, a Vauen Dr. Perl Billiard, a Sand Blast Vauen Dr. Perl Pot, a Parade News Briar Shop Oom Paul, a Bari Pearl Bamboo shank Ball and Peterson’s System Premier 309 Bent Billiard. All were in need of various degrees of restoration.The second pipe I chose to work on was the Bari Pearl 7080 Bamboo Apple. It is stamped on the left side and reads Bari [over] Pearl. On the right side is stamped Made in [over] Denmark [over] the shape number 7080. The taper stem is stamped Bari on the left side of the taper. The pipe was dirty but the bamboo shank has some nice patina. The vulcanite ahead of and following the Bamboo shank is oxidized and almost brown. The finish was shiny but very dirty with lots of grime ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a moderate cake and debris in it and there was some lava on the rim top. The stem was very dirty with oxidation, calcification on the surface and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took these photos before I started my work on the pipe. I took a photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of both of them. There is a moderate cake in the bowl and some lava on the thin rim top. There is also debris in the bowl. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks/chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the left side and the right side of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. It is much clearer in person but is hard to capture on the curve of the shank. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to show the proportions of the pipe. I turned to Pipephil to see if I could find information on the Pearl model but there was nothing there on the model (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html). I quote from the sidebar below and also have included a screen capture of the information.

Brand founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and sold to Van Eicken Tobaccos in 1978. At this time Age Bogelund managed Bari’s production. The company has been bought in 1993 by Helmer Thomsen. Bari’s second: Don, Proctus.I then turned to Pipedia for some history of the brand and also to see if there as information on the Pearl model (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I have included the history below. There was also a photo that was done by Smoking Pipes.com and had a copy right so I did not include it. It did help me determine the kind of stem to use on the pipe.

Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding around the turn of 1950/51. Viggo’s sons Kai Nielsen and Jørgen Nielsen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975.

Bari had very successfully adapted the new Danish Design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for it’s own models. When Viggo Nielsen sold Bari in 1978 to Joh. Wilh. von Eicken GmbH in Hamburg Bari counted 33 employees.

From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production. Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993.

Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand. Thus no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions.

The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

I did a quick Google search for the Bari Pearl pipe and found that Smokingpipes.com had quite a few different shapes of the model. It was interesting that all of them had a single knuckle like the one that I was working on and that the bamboo had been shaped and tapered on the front toward the bowl and toward the shank end. All of them had a vulcanite space on both ends of the bamboo. They were pretty pipes.

I then turned to Pipedia for some history of the brand and also to see if there as information on the Pearl model (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I have included the history below. There was also a photo that was done by Smoking Pipes.com and had a copy right so I did not include it.

Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding around the turn of 1950/51. Viggo’s sons Kai Nielsen and Jørgen Nielsen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975.

Bari had very successfully adapted the new Danish Design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for it’s own models. When Viggo Nielsen sold Bari in 1978 to Joh. Wilh. von Eicken GmbH in Hamburg Bari counted 33 employees.

From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production. Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993.

Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand. Thus, no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions.

The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

Armed with that information I turned my attention to the pipe itself. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake. I cleaned up what remained with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls of the bowl to remove any remnants of cake with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. Once finished the inside of the bowl was smooth. I cleaned up the inner edge and top o f the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the lava coat and the darkening. It looked much better.Once the pipe was reamed and clean I took the opportunity to work on the internals – the mortise and airway in the shank and stem. I cleaned out the airway to the bowl, the mortise and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I worked on the vulcanite spacers on both ends of the bamboo shank. I scrubbed them with Soft Scrub and cotton pads. While it is still lightly oxidized it is looking better. I sanded the bowl and the vulcanite shank spacers with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads using grits 320-3500 to remove oxidation on the shank spacers and the remaining finish on the bowl. It worked well and the pipe and shank look much better at this point in the process. I sanded the bowl with the micromesh sanding pads 1500-12000 grit to smooth out the finish and to allow the grain to stand out clearly. I dry sanded the briar rather than wet sand it. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I wipe the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads. I include many photos of the bowl so you can see the change. Pay attention to the changes in the briar in these photos as you work through them.  When I get the bowl to this point in the process I use Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I work it into the briar and the bamboo with my finger tips to make sure that it covers every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. Once the time has passed I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buff it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. You see the shine that the briar has taken on and the way the grain just pops. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I pained the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks and was able to lift them all. I sanded out those that remained along with the oxidation and calcification with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I touched up the faint Bari stamp with some white acrylic fingernail polish to see if I good get it a bit more legible. Once it dried I scraped the excess off and sanded it with a worn 400 grit sanding pad. It was better, but still a little faint.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a soft cloth. It began to look 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 polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish restoration of this Bari Pearl 7080 Bamboo Shank Apple. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This smooth Bari Pearl Bamboo Shank Apple is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 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 45 grams/ 1.59 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will be sending to a friend of mine who included this pipe among the six he sent to me for restoration. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of it. 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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

The Last of the Dominik Sandblasts – A Ring Grain Sandblasted Dublin with a Pencil Shank

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Blog by Steve Laug

The pipes that I will be posting over the next few days from this lot that Jeff and I purchased are fascinating pipes. They were quite stunning but altogether unknown to me. I did not recognize the name of the maker. All the pipes were unsmoked other than the Stanwell Pipe of the Year. We purchased them from a fellow in Kalundborg, Denmark on 02/03/2024. He said that they were all unsmoked and when they arrived they were. They were relatively clean and merely dusty with a little light debris on the stem surfaces. The shapes, sandblasts, shank extensions, and stems were all unique and very well done. The pipes were very beautiful and I could not wait for Jeff to refresh them a bit and get them up to me to do my part. Here are some of the photos of the pipes that we purchased provided by the seller.Here is a photo of the pipe that was sent to us by the seller. It is the one that I chose to work on next. It is a beautiful sandblast Dublin with a smooth, crowned rim top. The blast is very well done. The stem is also well cut and other than dusty and lightly oxidized is in great condition. The bowl is unsmoked. The bowls all have a carbon bowl coating that is well done on the walls of the bowl. The pipe is stamped around the shank end with the etched name of Dominik. I am looking forward to working on it as it will take very little work and will be a fun break.I am including what I learned when I worked on the first pipe of this brand. When I started I knew nothing about the carver other than he did beautiful work so I turned to Pipedia to see what I could find (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dominik_Pipes). There was a listing for Dominik Pipes. He is a Polish Carver and I have included the short article in its entirety below.

Dominik pipes are made by Dominik Kobryń. His journey with pipes began in 1993 at a flea market, where he bought his first pipe. From that time his collection has grown a lot. He made his first pipe in December 2016. Dominik credits Wojtek Pastuch as his mentor, and is very grateful for that!

Dominik uses briar from Mimmo Romeo. He makes his stems by hand, mainly from Ebonite and Cumberland rods, but occasionally acrylic. He focuses on unique pipes that are well done technically.

From there I clicked on a link at the bottom of the page that took me to his Pipe sales website (http://www.dominikpipes.com/). Interestingly the site contained almost word for word the information that I had found on Pipedia.

My name is Dominik Kobryń. My journey with pipes began in 1993 on a flea market, where I bought my first pipe. From that time my collection has grown a lot.

I made my first pipe in December 2016. Wojtek Pastuch has taught me a lot about pipemaking and I am very grateful for that!

I use briar from Domenico Romero (Mimmo). I make stems by hand, mainly from ebonite rods and cumberland, sporadically acrylic. I pay much attention to create unique pipes, well done technically.

If you are interested in my work do not hesitate to contact me.

I have been following Wojtek Pastuch for some time now and really like what he is doing. It is fascinating that Dominik considers him his mentor. In chatting with Jeff, he sent me a link to Dominik’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dominikpipes). It is worth a look to see his current pipes.

Now it was time to “work” on the pipe. For his part, Jeff had simply rinsed the pipe off with warm water and dried it. He soaked the stem in deoxidizer to remove the grime and the light oxidation near the shank joint. This pipe is perhaps one of my favourites in the lot. It is a Canted Stack or Dublin Poker that has a stunning ring blast around bowl, a regular light blast on the heel and the shank and a smooth crowned rim top. It has a pencil shank and a flared vulcanite taper stem. There is a mix of colour in the blast that shows depth and when it arrived here it was very clean. I saved it for last because I have just left it sitting so I could enjoy the artisanry of the pipe. It is one that I believe that I will hang on to for my own collection. I finally took photos of it before I started my work. It is a beauty! I took photos of the smooth crowned top and bowl along with both sides of the vulcanite stem to show the condition of the pipe. It is clearly unsmoked and new.I took a photo to try to capture the etching of Dominik on the underside of the shank. It is very readable in person but is curved around the shank bottom and it hard to capture in a photo. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. The bowl was in excellent condition so skipped ahead to applying the Balm to the briar. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe really comes alive with the balm. I polished the vulcanite taper stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Sandblast Dominik Crowned Rim, Pencil Shank, Canted Dublin and a vulcanite taper stem has a beautiful, unique ring blast finish that is deep and craggy. The rich dark finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank. It has the same great rugged sandblast that I am enjoying looking at on the Dominik pipes I have picked up. The polished smooth, crowned rim is richly grained. The sand blast and the vulcanite taper stem add to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and lightly buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping and have a lighter touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Sandblast Dominik Crowned Rim Dublin is stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .95 ounces/27 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I am going to hold on to this one – at least for awhile and enjoying Dominik’s fine work. I hope to fire it up the first time this weekend. Thanks for your time.

A Dominik Sandblast Plateau Rim Stack with wooden shank band and taper stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The pipes that I will be posting over the next few days from this lot that Jeff and I purchased are fascinating pipes. They were quite stunning but altogether unknown to me. I did not recognize the name of the maker. All the pipes were unsmoked other than the Stanwell Pipe of the Year. We purchased them from a fellow in Kalundborg, Denmark on 02/03/2024. He said that they were all unsmoked and when they arrived they were. They were relatively clean and merely dusty with a little light debris on the stem surfaces. The shapes, sandblasts, shank extensions, and stems were all unique and very well done. The pipes were very beautiful and I could not wait for Jeff to refresh them a bit and get them up to me to do my part. Here are some of the photos of the pipes that we purchased provided by the seller.Here is a photo of the pipe that was sent to us by the seller. It is the one that I chose to work on next. It is a beautiful sandblast stack with a plateau rugged plateau rim top. It has a thin round wooden band on the shank end. It was lightweight with a vulcanite taper stem. The blast is very well done. The stem is also well cut and other than dusty and lightly oxidized is in great condition. The bowl is unsmoked. The bowls all have a carbon bowl coating that is well done on the walls of the bowl. The pipe is stamped the shank end with the etched name of Dominik. I am looking forward to working on it as it will take very little work and will be a fun break.I am including what I learned when I worked on the first pipe of this brand. When I started I knew nothing about the carver other than he did beautiful work so I turned to Pipedia to see what I could find (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dominik_Pipes). There was a listing for Dominik Pipes. He is a Polish Carver and I have included the short article in its entirety below.

Dominik pipes are made by Dominik Kobryń. His journey with pipes began in 1993 at a flea market, where he bought his first pipe. From that time his collection has grown a lot. He made his first pipe in December 2016. Dominik credits Wojtek Pastuch as his mentor, and is very grateful for that!

Dominik uses briar from Mimmo Romeo. He makes his stems by hand, mainly from Ebonite and Cumberland rods, but occasionally acrylic. He focuses on unique pipes that are well done technically.

From there I clicked on a link at the bottom of the page that took me to his Pipe sales website (http://www.dominikpipes.com/). Interestingly the site contained almost word for word the information that I had found on Pipedia.

My name is Dominik Kobryń. My journey with pipes began in 1993 on a flea market, where I bought my first pipe. From that time my collection has grown a lot.

I made my first pipe in December 2016. Wojtek Pastuch has taught me a lot about pipemaking and I am very grateful for that!

I use briar from Domenico Romero (Mimmo). I make stems by hand, mainly from ebonite rods and cumberland, sporadically acrylic. I pay much attention to create unique pipes, well done technically.

If you are interested in my work do not hesitate to contact me.

I have been following Wojtek Pastuch for some time now and really like what he is doing. It is fascinating that Dominik considers him his mentor. In chatting with Jeff, he sent me a link to Dominik’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dominikpipes). It is worth a look to see his current pipes.

Now it was time to “work” on the pipe. For his part, Jeff had simply rinsed the pipe off with warm water and dried it. He soaked the stem in deoxidizer to remove the grime and the light oxidation near the shank joint. When the group of pipes arrived they were beautiful. This pipe was a tall stack that shows the blast on mixed grain, while the plateau rim top is rugged. The shank end has a wooden ring/band on the end of the shank. The tapered vulcanite stem is very well done adn the fit is perfect. I tried to capture the beauty in the photos that follow. I took photos of the plateau rim top and bowl along with both sides of the vulcanite stem to show the condition of the pipe. It is clearly unsmoked and new.I took a photo to try to capture the etching of Dominik on the underside of the shank. It is very readable in person but is curved around the shank bottom and it hard to capture in a photo. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. The bowl was in excellent condition so skipped ahead to applying the Balm to the briar. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I polished the vulcanite taper stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Sandblast Dominik Stack with a Plateau Rim Top and a vulcanite taper stem has a beautiful, unique Sandblast finish that is deep and craggy. The rich dark finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and the light colour of the ring on the shank end. It has some great rugged sandblast that I am enjoying looking at on the Dominik pipes I have picked up. The rim top is rugged plateau. The sandblast and the vulcanite taper stem add to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and lightly buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping and have a lighter touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Sandblast Dominik Stack with a Plateau Rim Top is quite stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .85 ounces/24 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be adding to the rebornpipes store in a new section for Polish Pipe Makers. If you wish to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for your time.

A Dominik Sandblast Black Bamboo with a Plateau Top, Ring Grain Poker

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Blog by Steve Laug

The pipes that I will be posting over the next month from this lot that Jeff and I purchased are fascinating pipes. They were quite stunning but altogether unknown to me. I did not recognize the name of the maker. All the pipes were unsmoked other than the Stanwell Pipe of the Year. We purchased them from a fellow in Kalundborg, Denmark on 02/03/2024. He said that they were all unsmoked and when they arrived they were. They were relatively clean and merely dusty with a little light debris on the stem surfaces. The shapes, sandblasts, shank extensions, and stems were all unique and very well done. The pipes were very beautiful and I could not wait for Jeff to refresh them a bit and get them up to me to do my part. Here are some of the photos of the pipes that we purchased provided by the seller.Here is a photo of the pipe that was sent to us by the seller. It is the one that I chose to work on next. It is a beautiful sandblast plateau rim top Poker with a black bamboo shank and a taper vulcanite stem. The bamboo shank has a black acrylic spacer between the bamboo and where the shank joins the bowl as where the bamboo met the vulcanite stem. It was lightweight with a vulcanite taper stem with a stainless steel tenon. The tenon is acrylic grey. The blast is very well done. The stem is also well cut and other than dusty and lightly oxidized is in great condition. The bowl is unsmoked. The bowls all have a carbon bowl coating that is well done on the walls of the bowl. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the bamboo shank with the etched name of Dominik. It is there but because of the dark bamboo it is more visible with a lens and bright light. I look forward to working on it as it will take very little work and will be a fun break.I am including what I learned when I worked on the first pipe of this brand. When I started I knew nothing about the carver other than he did beautiful work so I turned to Pipedia to see what I could find (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dominik_Pipes). There was a listing for Dominik Pipes. He is a Polish Carver and I have included the short article in its entirety below.

Dominik pipes are made by Dominik Kobryń. His journey with pipes began in 1993 at a flea market, where he bought his first pipe. From that time his collection has grown a lot. He made his first pipe in December 2016. Dominik credits Wojtek Pastuch as his mentor, and is very grateful for that!

Dominik uses briar from Mimmo Romeo. He makes his stems by hand, mainly from Ebonite and Cumberland rods, but occasionally acrylic. He focuses on unique pipes that are well done technically.

From there I clicked on a link at the bottom of the page that took me to his Pipe sales website (http://www.dominikpipes.com/). Interestingly the site contained almost word for word the information that I had found on Pipedia.

My name is Dominik Kobryń. My journey with pipes began in 1993 on a flea market, where I bought my first pipe. From that time my collection has grown a lot.

I made my first pipe in December 2016. Wojtek Pastuch has taught me a lot about pipemaking and I am very grateful for that!

I use briar from Domenico Romero (Mimmo). I make stems by hand, mainly from ebonite rods and cumberland, sporadically acrylic. I pay much attention to create unique pipes, well done technically.

If you are interested in my work do not hesitate to contact me.

I have been following Wojtek Pastuch for some time now and really like what he is doing. It is fascinating that Dominik considers him his mentor. In chatting with Jeff, he sent me a link to Dominik’s Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/dominikpipes). It is worth a look to see his current pipes.

Now it was time to “work” on the pipe. For his part, Jeff had simply rinsed the pipe off with warm water and dried it. He soaked the stem in deoxidizer to remove the grime and the light oxidation near the shank joint. The pipe came here a few days ago and it is beautiful. The craggy plateau rim on the Poker bowl shows the blast that is really in rings around the bowl. The two-knuckle black bamboo shank looks very good. The bamboo is joined to the briar bowl with a black acrylic spacer between the bamboo and the bowl and the stem and the bamboo. The vulcanite stem has an acrylic tenon. I tried to capture the beauty in the photos that follow. I took photos of the rugged plateau rim top and bowl along with both sides of the vulcanite stem to show the condition of the pipe. It is clearly unsmoked and new.I took a photo to try to capture the etching of Dominik on the underside of the bamboo shank. It wrapped around the bamboo and is readable in person. It is hard to capture in a photo. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe.The bowl was in excellent condition so skipped ahead to applying the Balm to the briar. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I polished the short vulcanite saddle stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Dominik Ringblast Poker with a rugged Plateau rim top, black Bamboo shank and vulcanite taper stem has a beautiful, unique ringblast finish that is deep and craggy. The rich dark finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and the black colour of the bamboo shank. There is a black acrylic spacer between the bowl and the end of the bamboo. It has some great rugged sandblast that I am enjoying looking at on the Dominik pipes I have picked up. I put the stem back on the bowl and lightly buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping and have a lighter touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and bamboo shank multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Ringblast Dominik Plateau Poker with a Black Bamboo shank is quite stunning and feels great in my hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .85 ounces/24 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be adding to the rebornpipes store in a new section for Polish Pipe Makers. If you wish to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for your time.