Tag Archives: polishing an acrylic stem

Restoring and Cleaning a Clogged Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian yet again

by Steve Laug

Last week I received a phone call from Brian in Victoria about a few more clogged pipes. He sent them by courier and I received them on Wednesday this week. The first pipe I worked on was a Lorenzo that I restemmed and blogged on (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/10/24/restoring-and-restemming-a-clogged-and-filthy-italian-lorenzetti-billiard/). The second one was a Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian that was clogged and had no airflow once again. I had restored and cleaned it for him and written a blog on July 29, 2025 (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/07/29/restoring-and-cleaning-a-clogged-savinelli-tundra-802-canadian/). The third one is a Savinelli Tortuga that I had also restored at the same time and written a blog on (https://rebornpipes.com/2025/07/30/restoring-and-cleaning-a-clogged-savinelli-tortuga-128-billiard/). He asked if I would clean and open them up for him once again.

I chose to work on was Savinelli Tundra. It looked very familiar to I checked out the blog and sure enough as noted above I had restored it once already. It was stamped on the topside of the shank and read Tundra. On the underside it has a Savinelli S shield on the underside followed by the shape number 802. The finish was still pretty clean. The bowl already had a thick cake and some wet sticky dottle that completely covered the airway at the bottom of the bowl as it had before. The rim top had was covered by light coat of lava that was sticky. The taper stem was multi-coloured acrylic. The bite through I had repaired had held up quite well. The shank and airways in both the mortise and stem were very dirty. I blew through the stem and it was clear and unclogged. I tried to blow through the shank and it was constricted with tars. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. It amazed me how quickly the pipe had clogged again. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake and dottle in the bowl and the clean rim top. The photos of the stem show that the repairs on the tooth marks and chatter on the top looks to be in great condition.I took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank to capture it. The Tundra stamp and the stamping on the underside was faint but readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by cleaning out the dottle in the bottom of the bowl. It was thick and wet. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I used the drill bit in a Kleen Reem pipe reamer and twisted it into the shank in the shank until it went to the bowl. It cleaned out more of the debris and opened the airway. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise as well as the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that Brian really enjoyed it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. With the shank clear and the airway open it was time to work on the stem. It was clear once again just dirty and I needed to clean up my repairs on the stem. Though I did not take photos of the process as this point I used my normal process. I used small files to recut the button edge, reshape the surface and flatten the repair on the stem surface on both sides. The filled in bite through on the underside was visible but the beauty was it was underneath! I would continue to sand and work it to minimize the visibility but the repair was solid.I sanded the surface of the acrylic taper stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine. The repairs are visible but they are smooth. It is hard to patch Cumberland style stems.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 set it aside to dry. I finished cleaning and opening up the airway once again on this Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian with an acrylic taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth bowl and shank. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the repaired acrylic stem. This Savinelli Tundra Canadian looks better and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 41 grams/1.45 ounces. This second of three pipes that Brian me to open up again. I will send the pipes back to him once I have cleaned up the final pipe he sent. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this resurrected beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

Restoring an SMS Meerschaum Flumed Bowl Billiard with a variegated Rose Acrylic Stem

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by Steve Laug

This afternoon I decided to work on another pipe that I no longer know where or when we purchase it. I have a large box of Meerschaum pipes that is sitting in my storage that I need to clean up and restore. I have honestly avoided them for years but now was the time to start my work on some of them. Today I chose another cased one. It is a black cased pipe and when opened it held a Billiard shaped meerschaum. The case is lined with golden soft fabric that protected the bowl. The case bears an SMS logo and there is no logo on the taper stem. It is a beautifully shaped Billiard shaped meer with a dark flumed top on the bowl and some scratches from its journey and some nice patina around the shank and sides. The meer is dirty from use with a thick cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the inner edge and rim top, heavier on the back side. There is some chips or nicks on the back outer edge of the bowl. The variegated rose acrylic threaded tenon stem fit well against the shank end and was slightly dirty and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the case and the pipe before I started my clean up work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable. You can see the cake in the bowl and the build up of lava and debris on the edge and top of the rim. It is another dirty pipe but still a charmer. The variegated rose acrylic stem has chatter and deep tooth marks on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the logo stamp on the inside of the case. It is clear and readable. The label in the case reads SMS in the centre and around the outside of the circle it read Handcarved Block Meerschaum Turkey. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. I had some faint recall of the make but could not remember his name so I turned to pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s9.html) for some help. I found a quick note on the founding of the SMS brand which was the USA import brand for pipes made by Samil Sermet and his wife Beth. There was also a link there to the company website.I clicked on the site link (http://www.smspipes.com/) to get a bigger picture of the brand and the makers. I quote the section of the site marked “About Us” and quote the following:

Welcome to SMS Pipes!!

We are proud to present a wide selection of premium smoking pipes. SMS Pipes features Turkish Block Meerschaum, supplied exclusively by SMS Meerschaums, and Italian Briar, supplied by Lorenzo of Italy. All the pipes offered by SMS Pipes meet or surpass our exacting “Standard of Excellence.”

Samil & Beth Sermet – SMS Pipes is family owned and operated extension of SMS Meerschaums, founded in 1980 by Samil Sermet and his wife, Beth. SMS Meerschaums is recognized nationwide as a trusted supplier by nearly 500 retail tobacconists. SMS Pipes promises to continue the philosophy embraced by SMS Meerschaums and provide premium smoking pipes that are:

Distinctive… each pipe is carefully selected for its uniqueness, quality and reliability.

Affordable… a wide range of prices makes owning a fine pipe possible for everyone.

Collectible… the timeless beauty of each pipe will be treasured for generations.

Key to the success of SMS Pipes is our dedicated staff. Based in the USA and Turkey, they maintain contact with our exceptionally talented pipe carvers and case makers and perform all the daily business activities described below:

Samil Sermet, a native of Turkey, is the buyer for SMS Meerschaums. His hometown is Eskisehir, Turkey, where a majority of the meerschaum pipe carvers live and have their shops. Samil makes a buying trip to Turkey each year and has a close working relationship with all the carvers. He is responsible for sales analysis and placing the orders necessary to maintain adequate stock in the warehouse. (samil@smspipes.com)

Beth Sermet, office manager of SMS Meerschaums, processes all orders. Even though Beth was born in Iowa, she is fluent in Turkish after living in Turkey for several years and knows all the carvers. The owners of Lorenzo Briars work closely with Beth to assure ample supply of their premium pipes. Beth also personally selects and photographs all the pipes shown on SMS Pipes. (beth@smspipes.com)

Mert Sermet, son of Samil and Beth, manages the daily operations of SMS Pipes. He is in charge of processing and shipping all orders. Mert has in-depth knowledge of every aspect of pipe manufacturing both in Turkey and Italy. He will personally respond to any comments, questions or concerns you may have about SMS Pipes by e-mail. (mert@smspipes.com)

Emel Sagtekin, Samil’s sister, is responsible for quality control and shipments of pipes to SMS Meerschaums from Turkey. Since 1988, Emel has personally checked thousands of pipes. She evaluates each pipe based on strict criteria set by SMS Meerschaums and selects only the pipes that meet or surpass our high standards.

SMS Pipes provides a wide variety of services for our customers. Although the inventory on SMS Pipes is reserved for Internet sale only, it is possible to have a selection of similar pipes sent “On Approval” to any tobacconist listed on the site. Membership in the SMS Collectors Society provides additional amenities for those interested in collecting our pipes. Our Master Carvers can be commissioned to carve custom pipe designs by special arrangement. We also offer repair and re-waxing services for all SMS Pipes.”

We are happy to have the opportunity to serve you. We hope your time spent with SMS Pipes is enjoyable and worthwhile.

Now I had a clearer picture of the brand and the makers. I knew that pipe was made after 1980 when the company began. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

I started my work on the bowl by reaming the thick cake out of the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer and the 2^nd and 3^rd cutting heads to take back the cake to the walls of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished it looked very good. I scraped off some of the lava coat on the rim top. I used a 320 grit sanding pad to remove the build up on the rim top. It looked much better once I finished. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as in the new stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular). It was much better.I scrubbed the bowl surface with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to wash off the dirt and the soap. It looked much better at this point. The surface of the bowl was clean and the meerschaum was very shiny with the exception of the rough edge on the back of the bowl which was chipped and lost its colour. I used a black stain pen to touch up the chip on the rim top and the inner and outer edges of the bowl.I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’s Beeswax/Carnuba Wax Polish which is a soft wax. I rubbed the wax on the bowl sides and the shank end with my finger tips and set it aside to dry. Once the wax cured I buffed the bowl with a microfibre cloth. The bowl has a rich glow. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. There was a deep tooth mark on the underside of the stem ahead of the button. I filled it in with some clear CA glue and when it cured I flattened the repair with a small file. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the chatter on topside and the repair on the underside of the stem surface. It looked much better when I finished sanding. I continued sanding the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to protect it and preserve it. it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I polished the stem on the buffer with Blue Diamond. I put the pipe back together and gave it a buff on the wheel with Blue Diamond polish. I use a light touch on the acrylic as too heavy a touch can cause the heat to damage to acrylic. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a soft cloth to deepen the shine. I put it back in the case and took a photo of the pipe in case.I took photos of the finished SMS Billiard with a variegated rose acrylic stem to show the shine and the patina around the bowl. The acrylic stem looks very good with the warm glow on the shank and the bowl. With time the contrast will grow richer and deeper to a thing of beauty. The finished SMS Billiard fits nicely in the hand and I think it will feel great as it heats up with a good tobacco. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 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. If you are interested in carrying on the legacy of this pipe it will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. It is listed in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Section. You can send me a message or an email to let know you are interested. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring a SMS Meerschaum Skater with a Variegated Orange Acrylic Stem

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by Steve Laug

This afternoon I decided to work on the pipe that I no longer know where or when we purchase it. I have a large box of Meerschaum pipes that is sitting in my storage that I need to clean up and restore. I have honestly avoided them for years but now was the time to start my work on some of them. Today I chose a cased one. It is a black cased pipe and when opened it held a Skater shaped meerschaum. The case is lined with golden soft fabric that protected the bowl. The case bears an SMS logo and the left side of the taper stem bears the same logo. It is a beautifully shaped Skater shaped meer with scratches from its journey and some nice patina around the shank and sides. The meer is dirty from use with a thick cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the inner edge and thin rim top, heavier on the back side. The variegated orange acrylic stem fit well against the shank end and was slightly dirty and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the case and the pipe before I started my clean up work on it. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable. You can see the cake in the bowl and the build up of lava and debris on the edge and top of the rim. It is another dirty pipe but still a charmer. The variegated orange acrylic stem has chatter and deep tooth marks on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the logo stamp on the inside of the case and on the left side of the acrylic taper stem. It I s clear and readable. The label in the case reads SMS in the centre and around the outside of the circle it read Handcarved Block Meerschaum Turkey. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. I had some faint recall of the make but could not remember his name so I turned to pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s9.html) for some help. I found a quick note on the founding of the SMS brand which was the USA import brand for pipes made by Samil Sermet and his wife Beth. There was also a link there to the company website.I clicked on the site link (http://www.smspipes.com/) to get a bigger picture of the brand and the makers. I quote the section of the site marked “About Us” and quote the following:

Welcome to SMS Pipes!!

Distinctive… each pipe is carefully selected for its uniqueness, quality and reliability.

Affordable… a wide range of prices makes owning a fine pipe possible for everyone.

Collectable… the timeless beauty of each pipe will be treasured for generations.

We are happy to have the opportunity to serve you. We hope your time spent with SMS Pipes is enjoyable and worthwhile.

Now I had a clearer picture of the brand and the makers. I knew that pipe was made after 1980 when the company began. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

I started my work on the bowl by reaming the thick cake out of the bowl. I started with a PipNet reamer and the 2^nd and 3^rd cutting heads to take back the cake to the walls of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished the walls of the bowl looked very good. I scraped off some of the lava coat on the rim top. I used a topping board and some worn 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the rim top and remove the rest of the darkening on the meer. It looked much better once I finished.I scrubbed the bowl surface with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to wash off the dirt and the soap. It looked much better at this point. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as in the new stem with pipe cleaners (both bristle and regular). It was much better.I polished the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cotton cloth. The bowl took on a shine by the last pad. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Clapham’s Beeswax Polish which is a soft wax. I rubbed the wax on the bowl sides and the shank end with my finger tips and set it aside to dry. Once the wax cured I buffed the bowl with a clean buffing pad and then with a soft microfibre cloth. The bowl has a rich glow. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface.I continued sanding the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp pad to remove the debris. By the end it was quite shiny and ready for polishing.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it 1500-12000 pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to protect it and preserve it. it with Before After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I polished the stem on the buffer with Blue Diamond. I put the pipe back together and gave it a buff on the wheel with Blue Diamond polish. I use a light touch on the acrylic as too heavy a touch can cause the heat to damage to acrylic. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a soft cloth to deepen the shine. I put it back in the case and took a photo of the pipe in case.I took photos of the finished SMS Skater with a variegated orange acrylic stem to show the shine and the patina around the bowl. The acrylic stem looks very good with the deepening colour on the shank and the bottom of the bowl. With time the contrast will grow richer and deeper to a thing of beauty. The finished SMS Skater fits nicely in the hand and I think it will feel great as it heats up with a good tobacco. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. If you are interested in carrying on the legacy of this pipe it will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. It is listed in the Ceramic and Meerschaum Section. You can send me a message or an email to let know you are interested. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring and Cleaning a Clogged Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian

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by Steve Laug

On the weekend I received a phone call from Brian, a fellow the local pipe shop referred to me. He had two Savinelli Balsa filter pipes that were clogged and had no airflow. He asked if I would clean and open them up for him. I received them in the post yesterday and opened the box that he sent them in. The first pipe I chose to work on was a Canadian shape. It was stamped Tundra on the topside of the shank and has a Savinelli S shield on the underside followed by the shape number 802. The finish was very dirty and sticky to touch. The bowl had a thick cake that completely covered the airway at the bottom of the bowl. The rim top had was covered by thick coat of lava that was sticky. The taper stem was multi-coloured acrylic. It had a bite trough in the underside ahead of the button and some deep tooth marks on the topside. The tenon was thin and was made to hold a Balsa filter. There was a clean and very damaged filter in the tenon. The shank and airways in both the mortise and stem were very dirty. I blew through the stem and it was clear and unclogged. I tried to blow through the shank and it was completely closed off with no airflow at all. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on the top and the bite through on the underside of the stem. There are also bite marks on the top and underside of the button. I took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank to capture it. The Tundra stamp and the stamping on the underside was faint but readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe.I turned to the Savinelli website to see what it had to say about the Tundra line of pipes (https://www.savinelli.it/rw_en/savinelli-tundra-802.html). Interestingly, they had the same pipe pictured on the site with the following description.

This pipe series take inspiration from Tundra, typical landscape of cold countries. The warm finish and the coloured stem let appreciate a wide variety of brown shades. Here we propose you a splendid Canadian, model 802. Style which has as main feature a long and elliptical shank. The shank length allows the smoke to cool down, making it fresh and pleasant.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise as well as the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top was better but it would need a little more work. Once I cleaned the bowl with the soap it looked much better. To take the pipe to the next level, I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface and the repairs blended even more as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. With the the shank clear and the airway open it was time to work on the stem. It was clear, just dirty and I needed to address the bite through in the stem. The coloured acrylic made this challenging but not undo-able. I needed to also fill in the bite marks on the topside and the marks on the button edge as well. I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it below the hole. I filled in the hole with clear CA glue, rebuilt the button edge and also filled in the tooth marks at the same time. I set it aside to cure. Once the repairs cured I used some small files to recut the button edge, reshape the surface and flatten the repair on the stem surface on both sides. I put the balsa filter back in the tenon to stiffen it and used 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edges, the button top and the surface of the stem. It was looking good. The filled in bite through on the underside was visible but the beauty was it was underneath! I would continue to sand and work it to minimize the visibility but the repair was solid. I built up the flimsy and misshaped tenon surface with some clear CA glue. It also repaired the thin hairline cracks in the surface. Once it cured I sanded it smooth with 220 sandpaper. I sanded the surface of the acrylic taper stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine.I touched up the gold shooting star stamp on the top of the stem with Antique Gold Rub’n Buff. I pressed it into the stamp with a tooth pick and buffed it off with a soft towel. It looks 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 set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Savinelli Tundra 802 Canadian with an acrylic taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth bowl and shank. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the repaired acrylic stem. This Savinelli Tundra Canadian is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 41 grams/1.45 ounces. This first Savinelli that Brian sent is a beautiful pipe that I will send to him once I have cleaned up the other pipe he sent. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this resurrected beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

Restoring an il Ceppo Billiard E3702 Grade 3 Fancy Billiard Made by Hand in Italy

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a beautifully grained and smooth finished Billiard with a slightly bent acrylic taper stem. It came to us on August 22, 2024 from a friend in Barrington, Rhode Island, USA. The contrast of the brown stains makes the grain stand out. It was stamped left side of the shank and read il ceppo. On the underside it is stamped E3702 [over] Made in Italy [arched over] In Italy (underlined). Next to the shank/stem junction it reads 3 in a triangle. The pipe was quite clean with some slight darkening inside the bowl. It had obviously been reamed recently. The bowl was clean and the smooth rim top was dirty but free of lava. The black acrylic saddle stem was in good condition other than being a bit dirty. The stem surface was free of chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. The il ceppo “C” logo on the top of the stem was in good shape. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl quite clean, perhaps freshly reamed and edges and rim top looked good. The stem was very clean and smooth. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain and around this bowl. Underneath all the light grime it is a nice looking pipe. The rustication or sandblasted portions of the bowl at the bottom really highlight the uniqueness of the finish. He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. You can see that there is some shrinkage on the spacer on the stem end and the acrylic one on the shank end. This is puzzling at the moment to me.To remind myself about the brand I turned to Pipephil’ sites to read what he had written there in the side bar (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-i.html). I quote below and also include a screen capture of the pertinent section.

Brand founded by Giorgio Imperatori in 1977 (first period) and bought by Franco Corinaldesi Rossi (second period, about 1996) when Giorgio retired. Franco and his sister Nadia are the current (2011) Il Ceppo pipe makers.From the information above I knew that the pipe was from the first period of il ceppo pipe making (1977 until the second period began in 1996 when the pipe maker Giorgio Imperatori retired). It is confirmed first period by the notes on the grading system. It had the il ceppo stamping slightly curved, an E3702 (letter and 4-5 digit number), and a Group number in a triangle – in this case a 3.

I turned to Pipedia for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Il_Ceppo). I quote below:

Il Ceppo by Giuseppe Cambioli – Courtesy of italianpipemakers.com

My passion was born casually and it moved me to consider and love the world of artisanship. Casually and overall luckily, I ran across the emblematic person of Franco Rossi, pipemaker and owner of the “Il Ceppo” factory. He gave me the useful key to opening the doors of the fascinating world of pipes.

“Il Ceppo” boasts of thirty years of history with successive and great satisfaction which helped to keep high the name of the Marchigiane factories. The most famous as Pesareses factories have always had reciprocal respect and admiration and this have and will take cooperations and sharing of their own art, to confirm the distinctive seriousness and high quality.

“Il Ceppo” factory focuses its manufacture into products which vaunt accurate processings and an excellent yield with prices kept amazingly convenient.

Process is completely handmade except for some passages made with the aid of machines to obtain perfect results. The briar used to make the pipes has been left resting and seasoning for at least two years before the sapient hands of the pipemakers could start their work. Our working politic is centred on the care for details, to obtain the best product as possible.

Our prices keep a high balance with the quality of the offered product; they reflect totally our careful and eager work. We’ve never forgotten that what we make could only be obtained if moved by an unconditional love for this work of the good old days.

(Editor’s note: I have tried to correct most grammar & spelling, but in some instances I do not have the vaguest clue what the author is trying to say)

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He rinsed it with warm running water and dried it off with a soft cloth. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. It looked very good when I brought it to the worktable other than the briar ring around the metal dot had darkened in the process. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the work table. You can see that the spacer is gone but forget that! The briar is really very stunning! I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. The bowl itself was very smooth and clean. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. It looked very good and the C logo was clean and in good condition.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. The stem is stamped on the underside Own Made. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with incredible grain. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process they looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. This Hand Made il ceppo E3703 Grade 3 Billiard was another fun pipe to work on and I was glad to be finishing it. I put the acrylic stem back on the bowl and polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The smooth grain and the sandblast patches give the pipe a great look. The pipe polished up really well. The polished acrylic stem seemed to truly come alive with the buffing. This pipe feels great in my hand and I am sure that the sandblast portions will feel even better radiating the heat of a good smoke. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.05 ounces/58 grams. This is one beauty that is eye catching. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection email or message me.

Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.

Restoring a Stanwell Made in Denmark Colonial 191

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by Steve Laug

I moved on to work on another pipe. The next one I chose was another Stanwell. We purchased this on a Facebook auction on 05/06/2018 from a seller in Oceanside, New York, USA. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the left underside of the diamond shank it reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] Colonial. On the right underside of the shank, next to the shank was the shape number 191. The stem had a gold stamped Crowned “S” Stanwell logo on the left side of the saddle stem. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed onto the rim top and edges in thick lava. There were spots where it ran down the outer edges of the bowl. The finish was in okay condition underneath grime and oils ground into the surface of the bowl. The twin rings around the bowl cap were filled in with grime but appeared to be in good condition. The stem was dirty acrylic and had been protected from tooth marks by a Softee Bit. It showed a lot of promise through the grime. The pipe was well used and was obviously someone’s favourite pipe! Jeff took photos of the pipe as he saw it at this stage of his clean up. The next photos of the rim and the shank show the condition of the pipe at arrival in Idaho. The grain around the rim top is quite stunning to me. You can see the cake in the bowl and the grime on the top. It was a mess but the stain makes the grain even show through the grime around the bowl sides and cap. Jeff removed the softee bit from the stem to see what it hid. The stem looked good with light marks on the top and underside at the button edge. Jeff took photos of the grain on the sides and heel of the bowl. It really is a stunning piece of briar. The contrast stain really makes it stand out clearly. The next photos show the various stamping on the shank sides and bottom. It is clear and readable as noted above. He also captured the Silver Crown “S” Stanwell logo on the left side of the saddle stem. I did some looking through the catalogues on Pipedia and the information there and did not find the line listed. I did have a look at the article on Shape Numbers and Designers there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). From there I found that the shape 191 is a small Rhodesian that was designed originally by Tom Eltang.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem to show how clean they were. You can see that rim top and edges look very good. The stem is clean and the tooth and chatter on both sides ahead of the button is very light.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping is readable as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the flow and proportion of the pipe. It is a beautiful looking pipe.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the burn marks and damage on the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and shape the inner edge.I polished the briar with micromesh because it was in such good condition. I polished it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes while I worked on the stem. After the time passed I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. 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. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to put the finishing touches on this Tom Eltang Made in Denmark Stanwell Colonial 191 Rhodesian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black, fancy turned vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Stanwell Made in Denmark Colonial 191 is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 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 1.69 ounces/48 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting in the Danish Pipemakers Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

Restoring a Stanwell Danish Design Night and Day 109 Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is a nice looking Stanwell pipe that we purchased from a fellow in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/21/2024. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the underside of the shank it reads Stanwell [over] Danish Design [over] Night and Day. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 109 mid shank. The finish was in good condition though it was dirty. The grain shone through the grime and was beautiful. There was a light cake in the bowl and some light lava on the inner edge and rim top. The stem had a Crown S gold logo on the left side of the taper. It was dirty and had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It is a 9mm filter stem. It had a lot of potential. Jeff took photos of the pipe as he saw it at this stage of his examination. Jeff took close up photos of the rim top from various angles to show the general condition of the bowl and rim. The photos show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the darkening and spotty lava build up on the inner edge – heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edge looks like it might have some damage on the front left of the bowl but will probably be fine once the bowl is reamed and cleaned. The acrylic stem was dirty and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the beauty of the grain on the heel and sides of the bowl. The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. The shape number on the right side is also clear.
I did some reading to see if I could find out anything about the Danish Design Night & Day Line of Stanwell pipes. The pipe I have does not say Made in Denmark and from what I can find it seems that the line is a newer one and was made in Italy. I can’t find anything listed on the line itself on either PipePhil or Pipedia.

I did find several listed on the web for sale so they are available. I found the line offered online on cigarsunlimited.co.uk site (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/stanwell-night-day-9mm-filter-pipe-480014213). The description was helpful so I have included that below.

Stanwell Night & Day 9mm Filter Pipe Shape No.109. The Stanwell Night/Day pipe series is a stunning line of pipes. Each pipe features contrasting woods in the shank, providing an appearance that resembles night and day.

I also did some looking through the catalogues on Pipedia and the information there and did not find the line listed. I did have a look at the article on Shape Numbers and Designers there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). From there I found that 109 was a Quarter-bent apple with a tapered stem, sometimes with an army mount. Reminiscent of the English ‘banker’ shape, or Savinelli’s shape 320.

Jeff had done his usual thorough clean up of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and finished with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and the interior with isopropyl alcohol, shank brushes, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He worked on the acrylic stem with Soft Scrub then let it soak in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. It has a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took some close up photos of the bowl/rim top and the stem to show the condition they were in at this point. The rim top and edges looked good and the bowl was clean. The stem had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also captured the shape number on the right side of the shank. I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of the pipe.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The finished bowl and shank look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the briar come alive and look quite rich. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the gold Crown S stamp on the left side o the taper stem with some Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick and buffed it off with a soft cloth.The chatter and marks were light enough that I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth and Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I fitted the 9mm filter stem with a Dr. Perl Junior 9mm Filter. It sat well in the tenon and would slip into the shank perfectly.I am excited to put the finishing touches on this Stanwell Danish Design Night & Day 109 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 buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black, fancy turned vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Stanwell Danish Design Night & Day 109 is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.15 ounces/61 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting in the Danish Pipemaker Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

Restoring a Beautifully Grained Tom Spanu Scoop 1999 F2

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a beautifully grained and smooth finished Scoop with an acrylic shank band and a thin space of some softer material. Perhaps it is cork but we would know once we cleaned it. The stem is an acrylic saddle. It came to us on August 22, 2024 from a friend in Barrington, Rhode Island, USA. The contrast of the brown stains makes the grain stand out. It was stamped underside of the shank and read Tom Spanu [over] 1999 F2. The pipe was very used but had been reamed recently. The bowl was clean and the smooth rim top was dirty but free of lava. The black acrylic saddle stem was in good condition other than being dirty and having light chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. The Spanu logo was in good shape. It was a silver dot on the top of the saddle stem and it looked like it was in a circle of briar. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked with a thick overflow of lava on the top and edges fills in the plateau finish. The stem has deep tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain and around this bowl. Underneath all the grime it is a nice looking pipe. He took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. You can see that there is some shrinkage on the spacer on the stem end and the acrylic one on the shank end. This is puzzling at the moment to me. To remind myself about the brand I turned to Pipephil’ sites to read what he had written there in the side bar (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-t7.html#tomspanu). I quote below and also include a screen capture of the pertinent section.

Artisan: Tommaso Spanu (born 1944 in Chiaramonti Sardinia) is an independant pipe maker since 1979. He was established in Laerru (Sardinia) from 1979 to 1999 where he used to harvest, cut and condition his own ebauchons. During this period he often worked for Paronelli. The workshop moved to Sassari (Sardinia) in 1999. He crafts Briar but also Lemonwood, Olivewood, Boxwood, Juniper, Oak and even Cork Oak.I turned to Pipedia for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Spanu). I quote below:

Novarte S.N.C. di Spanu Tommaso

Update: We are sad to report that it has come to our attention that Tommaso Spanu passed from this World in the Fall of 2015 to join the many great Italian pipe makers that came before him. Our hope is that Tommoso’s sons and brother will continue the Spanu pipe making tradition. We can also enjoy the legacy he leaves in the many pipes he has made over the years.

In 1963 Tommaso Spanu left his home in Sardinia and wandered to Northern Italy to become a pipemaker. His uncle had managed an apprenticeship for him in Gavirate, in the province of Varese, with it’s many pipe manufactures. His exceptional talent soon attracted the attention of Alberto Paronelli (→ Paronelli), the grand seigneur of Italian pipe business. Paronelli, a famed pipe designer himself, arranged that the best pipe craftsmen schooled his young fosterling and personally taught him in pipe design and styles. Soon Spanu reached a remarkable level of skills and began to work on the Clairmont pipes, a high-grade brand produced for and distributed by Paronelli. A little later the bulk of the Clairmonts was made by Spanu who was even allowed to stamp them with his own name additionally.

All in all Tom Spanu spent 16 years in the North where he worked with many other famous pipemakers like Guiseppe Ascorti and Luige Radice e.g. In 1979 he finally felt it was time now to continue on his own. So he returned to Sardinia where he established his own workshop with some help from his brothers. A firm was founded to market the pipes, the Novarte S.N.C. di Spanu Tommaso. Furthermore he purchased a licence from the local government and following Spanu is the only pipemaker worldwide who grows, harvests, mills and conditions his own briar!

Today his brother and two sons carry on the family tradition, making more than a thousand pipes a year. Mostly more classic models for Italy, but also a good amount of more stylish designs for the foreign markets. Now, if it comes to talking about “entirely handmade pipes” … Just as when Tommaso started carving pipes, only hand tools are used. Not a lathe or drill is to be found in his workshop!

Around 1997 Spanu was approached by Mercedes-Benz and asked to design briar-burl dashboards for their most luxurious sedans. And he replied “Maybe tomorrow!” We can assume that the envoys looked quite dumbfounded to be turned down that way, and so Spanu explained that while the project would be fun, his first love was pipes, and only once he was not making as many pipes he would consider it. Mercedes-Benz is said to have taken the rebuff in good nature, and even this automobile manufacturing giant is still waiting on Mr. Spanu to finish some pipes.

Beside the all-briar pipes Spanu loves to work with a wide variety of others woods ranging from the traditional olivewood to beech, oak, boxwood and juniper. He often produces hybrids composing different woods.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. In the process of cleaning, the thin spacer on the stem shrivelled and fell to pieces. Fortunately it did not change the fit of the stem in the shank. It looked good without that spacer. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. It looked very good when I brought it to the worktable other than the briar ring around the metal dot had darkened in the process. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the work table. You can see that the spacer is gone but forget that! The briar is really very stunning! I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were light tooth marks against the button edge and some darkening on the briar insert of the logo.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with incredible grain.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process they looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I used some bleach and a qtip to try and lighten the ring around the silver dot on the stem top. It did some good but did not remove all of the darkening.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge and sand the logo. It worked well on the tooth marks but did little on the logo on the stem top.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am excited to finish this Tom Spanu Scoop 1922 F2 with an acrylic stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It looked excellent without the damaged spacer on the stem. The fit was excellent. I gave the bowl multiple coats of and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain just popping on all sides. Added to that the acrylic shank spacer and the black acrylic saddle stem was beautiful. This Spanu 1999 F2 Scoop is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches wide x 1 ¾ inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 61 grams/2.15 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Italian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

New Life for a Caminetto Business KS Hand Made Rusticated Cutty

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up in the lot from an Antique Mall in Hillsboro, Oregon, USA on 08/31/2024. The heavily rusticated finish on this Italian made pipe and the Caminetto stamping are what caught our eye. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads KS followed by Caminetto [over] Business. On the right side it is stamped Hand Made In Italy [over] Cucciago (CO). It has a classic Walnut Brown stain on the very rustic finish that is a stark contrast to the golden variegated acrylic stem. The bowl was heavily caked with a thick overflow of lava on the rusticated inner edge and the top. The finish is dirty and there is some oil darkening on the heel of the bowl and up the first third of the bowl. The stem looks very good and has light tooth marks and light chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. The Caminetto moustache logo was stamped on the topside of the stem and looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. 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. You can see that the pipe has been heavily smoked and that the cake and lava were very heavy. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great rustication around the bowl and shank even with the grime in the finish. You can see the darkening in the heel of the bowl. It is a great looking pipe. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the moustache stamp on the top of the stem. I have worked on several Caminetto in the past so I turned to one of the restorations on the rebornpipes blog and reread the background information on the brand. I am including that info here with this restoration (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/04/19/pretty-tired-and-dirty-messy-restoration-of-a-caminetto-business-tomahawk-182/).

When the pipe arrived I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html) to see if he included not only information on this Caminetto Business 182. He gave some interesting information about the brand. It was created in 1986 by Guiseppe Ascorti, Luigi Radice and Gianni Davoli as the distributor. It states that in 1979 the first Caminetto period ended with Luigi Radice leaving the company. Guiseppe Ascorti continued making the pipe with his son Roberto. In 1986 the New Caminetto period began by Roberto Ascorti.I turned to Pipedia for more information on the Caminetto and how to date the pipe I had in hand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Caminetto_(shapes,_stamping,_articles,_etc.). I quote a pertinent paragraph:

Stampings and dating: First off, dating earlier Caminetto’s is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, there were three phases, some in which were much earlier, of development that occurred in the stamping process of Caminetto. Before that though, every pipe had the stamp of Caminetto in one of two ways: Caminetto in script or Caminetto within quotation marks in block letters (I do not know how it was decided which pipe got which stamp, as I have had EARLY Caminetto’s with both)…

…Now, the question is which stamps are earlier and more likely to have been made by Ascorti and/or Radice. The answer is #1. The differences in #2 and #3 seem to be minute, as Cucciago is simply a suburb of Cantu. Pipes stamped like #1 are the most valuable Caminetto’s as they are the earliest production of the brand, as well as what some would claim the most perfect of Ascorti and Radice’s work. The last tidbit is, of course, debatable…

… There is also another factor in stamping, that is, which series the pipe falls in. The majority of Caminetto’s one sees are those of the “Business” series, which are stamped such with their collective shape (see photo of shapes below). Another stamp that sometimes follows the “Business” one is “KS,” which from what I know means “King-size” (this could be wrong, as there are pipes stamped with KS1, KS2, and KS3).

The pipe I am working on is stamped like #2 above. Hand Made in Italy [over] Cucciago (Co). It is also stamped KS which means King-size.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done an amazing job in removing all of the cake and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration. I took close up photos of both the rim top and the stem. Jeff had been able to get the grime and lava off of the rim top and it looked pretty incredible. Even the darkening and marks on the rim top on the right side look much better. The stem looked very clean. The tooth marks and chatter were minimal and predominantly on the underside near the button. They should be easy to remove.The stamping on the sides of the shank were readable as noted above. I took a picture of the moustache stamp on the top of the acrylic stem. I also took a photo with the stem removed to give an idea of the perspective and design of the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the slight darkening on the top and the edge of the bowl with a brass bristle wire brush. I worked over the darkening in the rustication around the bowl heel with a tooth brush and Before & After Briar Cleaner to remove the darkening on the heel of the bowl and the rim top. I rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a dry cloth. I rubbed the bowl down with some Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVO) to enliven the dry rusticated briar. I put it on a paper towel and worked it into the deep rustication. The pipe looks far better. To further enliven the briar I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl and shank with my fingers and a horsehair shoe brush. I want the product to go deep into the finish because it works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. Once I was confident that it was deeply worked into the finish I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The pipe really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The finish on the pipe is beautiful in the photos below. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I touched up the moustache stem logo on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. It looks much better but it is shallow on the outside edges of the stamp.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove all of the tooth marks and chatter on the surface ahead of the button on the top and underside. It was looking very good.I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad because I find that the oil provides a great surface for polishing with the micromesh pads. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. This Caminetto Business KS Cutty is a real beauty and has a lot of life left. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the rusticated bowl so as not to fill it in with the polishing product. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The rustication is very tactile and feels great in the hand. It is comfortable and light weight. The finished Caminetto Business Cutty KS is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.09 ounces. This great looking rusticated Caminetto turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipemakers Section shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection.

Stanwell Danish Design Trio 118 with an acrylic 9mm filter stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is a nice looking Stanwell pipe that we purchased from a fellow in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/21/2024. The stamping on the pipe was very clear and readable. On the left underside of the shank it reads Stanwell [over] Danish Design [over] Trio. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 118 mid shank. The finish was in good condition though it was dirty. The grain shone through the grime and was beautiful. There was a light cake in the bowl and some light lava on the inner edge and rim top. The dirty acrylic stem had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It is a 9mm filter stem. It looked very good. Jeff took photos of the pipe as he saw it at this stage of his examination. Jeff took close up photos of the rim top from various angles to show the general condition of the bowl and rim. The photos show the thickness of the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the inner edge – heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edge looks like it might have some damage on the back of the bowl but will probably be fine once the bowl is reamed and cleaned. The acrylic stem was dirty and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the beauty of the grain on the heel and sides of the bowl. The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable as noted above. The shape number on the right side is also clear. He also took a photo of the Stanwell Crown S logo on the left side of the stem. I did some reading to see if I could find out anything about the Danish Design Trio Line of Stanwell pipes. The pipe I have does not say Made in Denmark and from what I can find it seems that the line is a newer one and was made in Italy. I can’t find anything listed on the line itself so that is what I am left with.

I did find several listed on the web for sale so they are available. I found the line offered online on cigarsunlimited.co.uk site (https://www.cigarsunlimited.co.uk/product-category/pipes-pipes/pipes/stanwell-pipes/stanwell-trio-serie-pipes/). The description was helpful so I have included that below.

Dark brown polished bowl with a superior grain and a combination of metal and acrylic rings on the shank. The rings create a perfect match to the pitch-black acrylic mouthpiece displaying the Stanwell Silver S. The Trio Series is an example of a pipe that will suit any occasion.

I also did some looking through the catalogues on Pipedia and the information there and did not find the line listed. I did have a look at the article on Shape Numbers and Designers there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). From there I found that the shape 118 is Freehand, slightly bent, saddle mouthpiece designed by Sixten Ivarsson.

Jeff had done his usual thorough clean up of the pipe. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and finished with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and the interior with isopropyl alcohol, shank brushes, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He worked on the acrylic stem with Soft Scrub then let it soak in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. It has a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took some close up photos of the bowl/rim top and the stem to show the condition they were in at this point. The rim top and edges looked good and the bowl was clean. The stem had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also captured the shape number on the right side of the shank. I removed the stem from the shank to give a sense of the pipe. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The finished bowl and shank look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my finger tips. The product is amazing and works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit on the briar for 10 or more minutes and then buff it off with a soft cloth. It really makes the briar come alive and look quite rich. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The chatter and marks were light enough that I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth and Obsidian Oil. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I fitted the 9mm Filter tenon with a Dr. Perl Junior 9mm filter. The fit is perfect and it will provide the option of smoking with a filter or without.I am excited to put the finishing touches on this Sixten Ivarrson Danish Design Stanwell Trio 118 Pot. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black, fancy turned vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Stanwell Danish Design Trio 118 is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/44 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting in the Danish Pipemaker Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.