Tag Archives: polishing a wooden stem

Breathing new life into a Unique Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with the Wooden Stem

by Steve Laug

It is another rainy day in Vancouver and a day off so I decided to go to the basement and work on a pipe that was purchased on 12/03/2025 from a seller in Houston, Texas, USA. It is a no name rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian shape pipe that is quite beautiful. The rusticated bowl and shank of this large Rhodesian that has a very tactile feel that I am sure is even better when it heats up. The shank has some patina developing around the shank and end. The rim top has some patina under the lava. There was no stamping on the shank or bowl. The pipe was dirty when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. The bowl was heavily caked and there was some thick lava on the rim top and inner edge. The hand carved wooden taper stem was dirty and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There no stamping or logo on the stem top or sides. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it.

The photo to the right is a great photo of the general appearance of the bent Rhodesian and the rugged rustication on the bowl sides and heel. You can also see the lava and darkening to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. It has a great looking hand carved stem – it is hardwood and I wonder if it is Walnut or possibly Paduak. I am uncertain of the kind of wood that the stem is made of but it certainly a reddish coloured hardwood.

He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. The inside of the bowl is heavily caked with a heavy lava build up on the inner edge and rim top. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. The photos show the lack of defined edge on the button and the wear ahead of the button. The condition of the stem is as I described above.
The tenon is fit for a Medico style paper filter. The tenon is too small for a 9MM filter and too big for a 6MM filter.Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the finish and the developing patina on the shank and bowl. Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top looks very good. There is a little darkening on the back topside of the rim but otherwise it is excellent. The stem came out looking quite good. It only needed to be polished. I took the stem off and took a photo of the overall look of the pipe. It really is a beauty. I carefully sanded the smooth surface of the rim top and shank end of the shank with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the darkening and small scratches in the surface of the meerschaum. The bowl and shank began to look very good. I polished the meerschaum rim cap, top and shank end with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding the briar and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. It really began to take on a rich shine and the grain stood out beautifully. I rubbed the meerschaum down with Claphams Beeswax/Carnauba wax. I worked it into the meerschaum with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The meerschaum takes on a deep patina that really comes alive with the wax. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stems. I recut the button edge and reshaped it with small needle files. I sanded the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to finish reshaping the button edges. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. The shape and look of the stem looked better and better. It really began to shine.I polished the wooden stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped them 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 Rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with a Wooden Filter Stem has a beautiful, reddish brown finish that highlights some beautiful grain. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stems 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 Rusticated Meerschaum Bent Rhodesian with Wooden Stem 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.12 ounces/61 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I am not sure where this will end up. I may keep it here for awhile to make sure the draught is correct. Then I will see. Thanks for your time.

Restoring and Hand Carved All Wood Rusticated Bent Egg

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a bit of an oddity. When Jeff picked it up it was heavy and cool and we thought it might be stone. When I was in Idaho visiting my dad for his 95^th I spent some time with Jeff and had some time to examine the pipe. It was heavy and definitely seemed odd. In many ways it was not like stone but the weight and the coloration of the pipe made us question it. I removed the stem and there was grain in the shank end that confirmed it was wood. I am not sure what kind of wood it was but it was wood. It was hand made and there were no stamps or marks on the shank identifying who made it. The rusticated finish was dirty and there was grime ground into the sides and the rim top of the pipe. The right side of the bowl had a whitened spot on it that followed the flow of the egg shape on that side. It was not paint. There was a thick cake in the bowl and the airway in the shank and stem were dirty. The stem was also wood – probably ebony or other dark, hard wood. There were tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. It obviously had been someone’s favourite pipe and was well used. Here are some photos of the pipe before I started to work on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem. The photos give a clear photo of the condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top actually looks quite good. There is some debris in the rustication and some darkening to the top and edges. The stem is in good condition other than the tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the well designed look it has. The proportions are very well done and the pipe is quite beautiful.I started my work on this pipe by reaming the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer to clean out the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the remnants of the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I removed all of the cake and checked the walls. They were solid and there was no checking or damage on the walls. I wiped the bowl down with acetone to remove the spotty finish on the wood. It removed the shininess of the finish and some of the stain and the pipe looked better. It also showed some grain patterns in the wood similar to the stem wood. I cleaned out the internals of the bowl, shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they were clean. It smelled significantly better once finished.I wiped down the bowl and stem with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil to enliven the bowl and the stem. I rubbed it on and let it soak into the wood. I buffed it with a paper towel. When Jeff looked over the shank he noted a crack in the shank. I took a photo of the side of the and the shank end to show the crack. It is hard to see in the photos. It did not go too deep in the shank end and extended about ½ inch along the top left side.I waited until I returned to Vancouver and then banded the shank with a thin brass band. I heated the ring with a lighter flame and pressed it onto the shank end against my hard desk top. I tapped the flat surface of the shank end with a small tap hammer to make sure the fit was flat against the shank. I took photos of the shank with the band in place. It looks very good with the new bling. I rubbed down the bowl and shank with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar or other woods. The product works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the wood with my finger tips and a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes then wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The pipe really began to have a deep shine in the rustication and the grain shines through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is an unusual looking and pretty handmade pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I sanded the tooth chatter and marks on the surface of the stem with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. It looked much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pad. Obsidian Oil does two things when sanding with micromesh – first it gives some protection to the stem from buildup and second to give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. I use Before & After Fine and Extra Fine Stem Polish as it seems to remove the fine scratches in the wooden stem. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the wood of the bowl and the stem. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The light rusticated finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great. The wooden carved, fancy, saddle stem works well with the pipe. The No Name Handcarved Hardwood (Ebony??) Egg with a carved wooden stem feels great in my hand. It is a well-balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 3.07 ounces/87 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section. It is available if you want to add it to your collection. It was a great smoker and it will give many more years of service.

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