Tag Archives: Polishing briar with micromesh sanding pads

Getting Creative with this Weber Golden Walnut Imported Briar Apple

by Steve Laug

The next bowl on the table is a classic shaped Apple. It has been sitting here and I have looked at it over and over again and today I decided to restem it. I wanted to try something a little different with this restem and see if I could come up with an interesting restem. I think when you see it you will either love it or hate it! But there you go. Here is what I did! I cleaned up the bowl and matched a stem with briar bowl. It is a cleanup and restore and is a break from my work on the Freehand pipes. The bowl is dirty and somewhere in its life before it came to us the stem was lost. The finish was coated with varnish that left it shiny even under the grime. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Weber in an oval [over] Golden Walnut. The right side of the shank it is stamped Imported Briar. The bowl had a thick cake and a thick lava overflow on the rim top. There was some lava and tars coming down the bowl sides from the top. It is a pretty pipe with some great grain under the grime. I am hoping to match a nice stem to it. I took some photos of the bowl before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to give more of a sense of what I see and noted above. It is a dirty pipe but seems to have no damage on the rim top or edges.I took a photo of the snapped tenon in the shank end. The end of the tenon is quite smooth so it was a clean snap. I will need to pull it before I can fit a new stem to it.I took a photo of the stamping on the left and right side of the shank. The stamping looks blurry and double stamped in the photos but in person it is clear and readable. Recently I picked up some unused acrylic stems. There was an acrylic amber/orange variegated saddle stem in the lot. It was drilled for a new tenon and was clean. This stem had a close diameter to the shank end of the Weber and would work well I think.I put the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes then used a drywall screw to pull out the broken tenon. I screwed it into the tenon and wiggled it free from the shank. I used the tenon piece to fit a new tenon in the shank end.I fit the new tenon in the shank end and it was a little tight. I used a Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter just enough for a snug fit. I painted the threaded tenon with black CA glue and turned it into the end of the new stem. The fit was good. I set it aside and let the glue cure. I put it in the shank and the fit against the shank end was slightly off. I used a file to make the transition between the shank and the saddle portion of the stem very smooth. I liked the look of the variegated orange acrylic stem with the browns of the briar bowl. I cleaned up the file marks on the shank and avoided the stamping on both sides with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished the transition and both the briar and the acrylic were smooth. I set aside the stem and turned my attention to reaming the pipe. I used a PipNet Reamer with the first and second cutting heads to take back the heavy cake to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I like to remove all the cake to examine the walls for damage and checking. Great news is that this one is free of any damage. With the bowl reamed it was time to work on the rim top. The lava was hard and thick. I started the process with a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had smoothed off the top outer edges it was clear that the inner edge of the rim top was slightly bevelled inward. I used a wooden half sphere and 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the bevel and remove the damage to that portion of the rim top and edges. I cleaned up a few spots with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. To remove the shiny varnish coat on the bowl and to use the stain on the bowl to colour the rim top and sanded shank end I wiped the bowl and shank down with acetone. I used cotton pads with the acetone and was able to easily remove the varnish and move some of the stain to the sanded portions of the shank and rim. I would need to restain but it definitely looked much better. I matched the stain on the bowl and shank with a Maple Stain Pen. I put it on the smooth sanded rim top and shank end. I wanted it to start matched before I started sanding the bowl and shank with sanding pads. I was very happy with the match. I worked on polishing out the sanding marks with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I worked particularly on the transition between the shank and the stem surface. I also worked over the briar of the bowl and rim top at the same time. The bowl and stem looked very good once I finished. I took the stem off the shank and turned to the bowl first. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. After each sanding pad I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust. It began to take on a deep shine. I rubbed down the briar Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads to remove them. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This is another pipe that I am really happy about the finished restoration. This reborn Weber Golden Walnut with a newly fitted golden acrylic variegated stem turned out really well to my eye. After restemming I think that it is unique and beautiful looking classic apple with a twist. The bowl is a classic Bent Billiard and the “new” horn stem is a great match. The polished horn stem works well with the briar and the nickel ferrule. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich reddish brown stains of the finish make the grain really pop with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Weber Golden Walnut Apple really has a unique beauty and feels great in the hand. It looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 45 grams/1.62 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the American Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Breathing New Life into a Kriswill Handmade Count 370

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that has been around here for quite a while and today was its day to be cleaned up. It is a Kriswill Handmade pipe. It is a pretty pipe with a nice looking shape. The condition is a bit rough. The left side of the shank is scratched and there is a significant road rash toward the bottom of the bowl. There was a think cake in the bowl and there was a thick lava overflow on the rim top. The pipe was dirty and grimy feeling. The pipe is stamped on the left and underside of the shank and reads Kriswill Count over Handmade in Denmark on the left side and on the underside it has the shape number 370 at the shank/stem junction. The vulcanite taper stem is not too bad – there is light oxidation and tooth marks and chatter near the button on both sides. It has the Kriswill Snowflake Logo on the left side of the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my clean up work. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of the bowl, rim top and edges and stem. The bowl has a thin cake and a thick overflow of lava on the rim top. The inner edge is dirty and caked so it is hard to know what the condition was like. I was hopeful that the edges were in good condition! The next photos show the condition of the stem. It is also clean and has light oxidation. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. You can see that it is clear and readable. I forgot to take a photo of the shape number 370 stamp on the underside. There is also the snowflake logo on the left side of the taper stem. I took a quick photo of the damaged area on the lower left side of the bowl – the road rash!I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe.I turned to the Pipephil website to do a quick review of the brand and try to see if there was any information on the Count line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html). I have included a screen capture of the section on the site:I quote from the side bar on the above screen capture:

Kriswill is a brand of Kriswork Briar Trading, in Kolding (Denmark) established about 1955.

Some of Kriswill pipes were designed by Sigvard Bernadotte, Swedish prince and brother to the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark. He collaborated with his Danish partner Acton Bjørn.

When the company went bankrupt in the late 1970s it was on a level with Stanwell. Dan Pipe Cigar & Company (Hafenstrasse 30 D-21481 Lauenburg/Elbe, Ge) bought the rights to use the name and it is Holmer Knudsen and/or Poul Winsløw who make the Kriswill line. Nørding, on its side, bought the plant and introduced a Kriswell line.

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kriswill) and sure enough I found catalogue page Circa 1970, courtesy Doug Valitchka. Unfortunately it did not have the 370 shape on the page.

I also have included a large part of the history from the article.

Founded in the late 1950s, Kriswill was one of two large pipe manufacturers in Denmark during the 1960s and 1970s, on par with Stanwell as measured by number of employees, pipes produced, and quality. The Kriswill catalog cover reads “By Appointment to the Royal Danish Court, KRISWILL, Kriswork Briar Trading, Briar Pipes Hand Made in Denmark.”

…Kriswell began immediately after World War II. Karl Robert Kris, an engineer for the shipping company AP Møller at the time, was in port (undoubtedly in the Mediterranean) when he encountered a shipment of briar. The briar blocks awakened his curiosity and he took some home. About this time the the shipping trade become difficult due to the war, causing Kris to consider other business opportunities. In 1947, Kris (then 47 years old) established himself as a pipe maker in his hometown of Kolding.

Kris started his pipe making operation in a house located at Haderslevvej 115 in Kolding, and was soon joined by 3-4 employees. The pipes were sold under the name Rocky and supplied the domestic market. Within 6 months the company had grown, more employees hired, and their sales expanded to markets abroad.

Due to increasing production and marketing, Karl Robert Kris decided in the mid-1950s to expand. An entirely new factory was built at Sdr. Ring road on the outskirts of Kolding. At that time the pipes were branded Kriswell. That name did not last long, however, as Stanwell believed that name was too close to theirs. The compromise was to change the name to Kriswill. Krisill soon grew to become a serious competitor to Stanwell, especially in the export markets. The Kriswill factory logo, stamped on the stem, became the stylized compass rose – as a reference to the manufacturer’s maritime background.

Kriswill pipes excelled in design and craftsmanship. Karl Robert Kris was not afraid of new designs and had a good eye on the US market, where larger and more innovative designs were increasingly popular. Craftsmanship was given top priority throughout Kriswell’s production. A local designer / architect had designed the first models. Later, the famous architects Sigvard Bernadotte (Swedish prince and brother of Queen Ingrid) and Acton Bjørn designed their own series, which were known as Bernadotte designed.

Two other series were the Golden Clipper and the Chief. The Golden Clipper pipes were smaller, lighter, more reserved, and popular in Europe. The Chief series was especially designed for the Americans, who wanted larger pipes. These pipes were light for their size, however, very different from the “Danish Free Style” pipes that other Danish makers were sending to the US market. Kriswill pipes that did not meet the requirements of the main lines were sold as “seconds” under the names Danish Crown and Navigator…

…Karl Robert Kris died in 1966. The factory was well-run, and Kris’s widow wanted the family to continue the business. Karl’s son, Jens was groomed as director and remained with the company until 1975. The 1970s were difficult times for pipe-making in Denmark, as in the rest of the world. In addition to declining demand, they struggled with runaway inflation and annual wage increases of 18-20 percent. It was challenging to maintain the level of craftsmanship without raising prices, yet customers had difficulty accepting large price increases. As a result manufacturing become less profitable. Soon Jens Kris left Kriswell and new management and staff were hired at the factory.

Shortly after Jens departed Kriswill the company failed. The Kriswill name and model series were sold to the Norwegian pipe factory Lillehammer. The machines were acquired by Erik Nørding, and the property was sold.

After a few years Lillehammer also ceased production. Kriswills were made for a while in the 1980s at the Catalan factory, Iberica de Pipas. But these pipes were far from the quality of the originals, and became Kriswills in name only.

I now knew that the Count I had on the table was made between the start of the company in 1950 and the sale of the company in the late 1970s. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe. I started by reaming the cake back to bare briar with a PipNet pipe reamer so I could check out the integrity of the bowl. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife. I finished by sanding the walls of the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. The shank was very dirty and appeared to not have been cleaned. The stem was much better.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and rim top with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off under warm running water and dried it off with a soft towel. With the bowel cleaned inside and out it was time to address the remaining lava on the rim top. I scraped it off with the edge of the Savinelli Fitsall knife. I sanded off the remaining tars and cleaned up the darkening on the inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started to polish the rim top and edges with a piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. When I finished the rim top looked far better. I also sanded out the road rash on the lower left side of the bowl with 220 and 400 grit sandpaper. I was able to smooth it out and blend it into the surrounding briar. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. 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 “painted” the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks and chatter on the vulcanite. I was able to lift all of them.I sanded what remained and blended them into the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. At this point it is starting to look much better. I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Kriswill Count 370 turned out to be a great looking pipe. The mix of brown stains highlights the mix of grain around the bowl sides, top and bottom. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and the contrasting stains work well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Kriswill Count fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This pipe will be going on the rebornpipes shortly. If you are interested in adding this one to your collection let me know. Thanks for your time.

A Simple Refresh – a GBD New Standard 9438 Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

I chose a second easy pipe to work on – another of my favourite shapes, a GBD Rhodesian. It is stamped on the left side of the shank with GBD in an oval over the words New Standard in script. On the right side of the shank it is stamped London, England over 9438. The stamping is quite readable. The finish was in decent shape. There was a light cake in the bowl and overflowing onto the topside of the rim. There was a slight burn mark on the outer edge of the rim from repeated lighting in that spot. The stem has the brass roundel on the left side of the saddle. The stem was lightly oxidized and there was tooth chatter on both the top and underside near the button. The next series of photos show the pipe when my brother received it in Idaho. He sent along a few close up photos to show the rim top and cake in the bowl. It shows the thickness of the cake and the light build up on the top. The photos that follow show the stamping on the shank sides and the roundel on the stem side. The next two photos show the tooth chatter on the top and the underside of the stem at the button. There were a lot of tiny tooth marks that covered the first inch of the stem on each side.My brother did his usual exceptional job of cleaning the pipe on the inside and out before he sent it to me in Vancouver. I ran a pipe cleaner through it when it came and it was spotless. He was able to remove much of the grime from the finish and the tars from the rim top.In the next photo you can see the burn marks around inner edge of the rim and on the front left outer edge. These would take a bit of work to minimize.I took a close up photo of the rim top to focus in on the burn marks around the edges of the bowl and rim top. I also took some photos of the stem to show the oxidation and the tooth chatter. I worked on the rim top with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the burned areas. I was glad to see that they were only surface and did not go too deep. I was able to remove them for the most part. There is a small remnant of the mark on the front edge of the rim. I polished the entire bowl with the 1500-2400 grit micromesh while I worked on the rim to begin to bring a shine to the briar. I continued to polish the rim and the bowl with 3200-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to deepen the shine and polish the briar. I buffed the bowl lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and set it aside. I worked on the stem. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter on both sides. They were not too deep so it did not take too much work to remove the marks in the vulcanite. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and then buffed it with Red Tripoli on the buffing wheel to breakdown the oxidation further. I then dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads to bring life to the rubber and to also give the micromesh something to bit in during the polishing. Once I finished with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem on the pipe and buffed the entire pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish out the remaining scratches. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect it and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I took it back to the work table and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The grain is unique and a mix of grains – flame grain, cross grain and some straight grain. There is even birdseye on the bottom and on the rim. The stain that was on the bowl is a reddish-brown and it allows the grain to shine through. It is a beautiful example of the GBD 9438 shape Rhodesian and one that will grace the pipe rack. Thanks for walking through this simple refresher with me.

A Butz-Choquin Millesime Limited Edition 1986 Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

One of the pipes that my brother sent me was a Butz-Choquin that was in a large presentation box. It was stamped Butz-Choquin on the bottom of the shank and had a silver disk on the left side of the shank with 1986 engraved on it. On the right side of the shank it was stamped MILLESIME with C in a circle and 215 underneath. The box was satin lined and the pipe was held in place by an elasticized band. The stem bore the acrylic inset BC logo. In the lid of the box was a Butz-Choquin pipe sock and a certificate stating that this pipe was a limited edition and bore the number 215 of 1200 pipes made.On the satin lining of the box it was stamped BC and the Butz-Choquin logo. Underneath was Millesime. Underneath that to the left it read Limited Edition, central it read Maitre Pipier a Saint Claude – France, and to the right it read edition numerotee. A little research on Google told me that Millesime translated Year and the Millesimei line was composed of the BC pipes of the year. Thus I had in my hands a 1986 Pipe of the Year.I took the pipe out of the box and laid it on the pipe sock and took a photo of it. It is a beautifully grained piece of briar with a shiny Lucite stem.The certificate has the BC Butz-Choquin logo and Millesime. Then it reads:

This year we have carefully selected this model B.C. Millesime 1986. This year is engraved on a silver plate inlaid in the briar and the edition is limited to 1200 pieces.

We have created the B.C. Millesime for the special and individual taste of pipe lovers. Those who appreciate their pipe will be able to savour this new B.C. shape and start a new collection.

The distribution has been intentionally limited and great attention has been given to it production.

This has made this B.C. Millesime 1986, with the No. 215, a pipe that caters to the pipe smoker’s enjoyment.

This certificate which accompanies this pipe guarantees its authentic and unique character and justifies its prestige.

Jacques et Jean-Paul Berrod, Maitres Pipiers a Saint-Claude. The certificate bears his signature below the name and title.I took the pipe to the work table and took some photos of it before I started to clean it up. The first four photos show the various views of the pipe. The grain on the pipe is quite a stunning mixture of flame, cross grain and birdseye. The pipe had obviously been lightly smoked as the tobacco chamber still the bowl coating on the bottom two-thirds of the bowl. I think that the most disturbing feature of this pipe to me was that the sanding marks were still visible on the rim and bowl. I am not sure if those were original or if the entire pipe had been brushed with a coat of varnish. In the close up photos you can see the marks that I am talking about. Each of the photos shows a different portion of the pipe from the rim to the stamping on the sides and bottom of the shank. I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they were clean.The Lucite stem had scratches and small nicks in the surface so wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cotton pad between each set of three grits. I sanded the briar with the same sequence of micromesh pads to remove the scratches. The more I worked with them the more convinced I became that the surface had a brushed on coat of varnish or shellac. I don’t think it came that way originally but had probably been done by the eBay seller to make the pipe look shiny.When I finished sanding it with the micromesh sanding pads I buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. The sanding pads and the buffing wheel took out the scratches and polished the finish. The grain really stands out after the buffing. I gave the pipe and stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The Lucite stem looks great with the newly polished bowl and shank. The silver inlaid disk engraved 1986 also shined up nicely with some silver polish.