Tag Archives: Polishing meerschaum pipes

Replacing a Broken Tenon & Restoring a Family Heirloom Pioneer Meerschaum

Blog by Steve Laug

While I was travelling in Nepal I was contacted by a fellow here in Vancouver about restoring a pipe that had originally belonged to his grandfather. We planned on getting together once I was home. I called and within a few hours he was at the door with the pipe. We are dog sitting my daughter’s dog Frank and he rang the alarm to let us know someone was at the door. I met him on the porch and looked over the pipe. He lovingly took it out of his pocket and showed me the hard case in his hands. It was a good looking black hard case that was in good condition with a few wear marks on the surface. Little did I know what I was getting into with this restoration.He handed it to me and I opened the case. This is what I saw. The case bore a Pioneer Genuine Block Meerschaum label on the inside of the cover. It had the classic Pioneer covered wagon logo below the words. The bowl had some colour/patina on the shank and bowl. The rim top was dirty with tars. There were some small cracks in the shank ahead of the Sterling Silver band on it. The band was oxidized and dirty with black tarnish. The stem was acrylic. The bone tenon was snapped off in the shank but the stem end was clean and open threads. The bowl was dirty as was the inside of the stem.I took the pipe in to work on. I would call the owner once I had finished it. I had a few pipes in the queue ahead of it so I was slow getting started. Between that and the shortened attention span due to the jet lag of many time changes on the journey home I did not start working on it until Friday, March 1. I took it out of the case and brought it to the table. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition at this point. You can see the grime and dirt ground into the bowls sides and heel. Looking carefully at the left side where the shank joins the bowl there appears to be some signs of small cracks. The bowl also had some carved flowers on the bowl side on the right side of the bowl.I took photos of the rim top and bowl to show the build up of tars and oils on the top and edges. You can also see the snapped tenon in the photos below.I took a photo of the heel of the bowl to show the developing patina on the curves of the bowl bottom. It is a pretty pipe.I tried to loosen the broken bone tenon with a little alcohol around the edge of the tenon and the mortise. I put the alcohol in with an ear syringe. I examined it and found that the tenon had been glued in place. There was a thick coat of glue on the tenon and oozing out at the top of the mortise. I examined it and saw a lot of small hairline cracks in the shank coming from under the band. I think that when the shank cracked many years ago someone had glued the tenon in the shank to strengthen the shank. The fact that the tenon was glued made the next steps tricky. I was worried that if I drilled it out I might crack the shank worse. I put a bit in the drill and carefully turned the bowl onto several different drill bits by hand. I was able to remove some of the tenon but I stopped after the 11/64^th drill bit. My concern was that if I went any further I would break the shank.I stopped the drilling and worked on the rest of the tenon with hand files. It was slow and tedious work to remove the glued remnants of the bit from the shank. I used round, oval and half circle files to open the mortise and thin down the tenon pieces. I spent over eight hours slowly and carefully filing out the broken tenon and opening the shank for the new tenon. I polished the meerschaum bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads to minimize the scratches. I was able to polish out many of them. There was no way to remove all of them without damaging the shape of the bowl. I opted to leave them as they are a part of the pipe’s story. I used 1500-12000 grit sanding pads to smooth it out and polish the meerschaum and the silver band. Each sanding pad brought more shine to the surface of the bowl and shank. I waxed the bowl with Clapham’s Beeswax/Carnauba mix. I covered the bowl and the shank with the wax and once it dried I buffed it off with a soft cloth to raise a shine. I changed my original plan to use another bone tenon when I could not completely, safely remove the old tenon. I smooth out the mortise sides with the files so that I could use a different push tenon instead of a threaded one. I had a Delrin tenon that would work with some slight adjustments. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem.I used a Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the threaded portion slightly, knocking off the highspots on the threads. The fit was perfect in the stem. I put a drop of clear CA glue on the tenon and pressed it into place. I shortened the tenon on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess length for a good fit in the shank. Once I finished shortening it I polished the tenon with micromesh pads to make a smooth fit in the shank.This Pioneer Bent Billiard Meerschaum is finally finished. There were points in the process that I really wondered if I had bit off more than I could chew. It was a painful process to see the bone tenon that had been glued in slowly – and I mean very s l o w l y take shape and open the mortise to receive a the new tenon. The pipe has a rich patina on the shank and developing up the bowl sides. The polished acrylic taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and hand buffed the pipe with polish on a soft cloth. I did not want to chance damaging it on the wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of Clapham’s Beeswax and buffed it with a clean microfiber cloth to raise the shine. The finished Pioneer Meerschaum Bent Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .99 ounces/28 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this challenging meerschaum pipe. I am going to call the pipeman who owns it later today as I know he is excited to see it. Thanks for your time.

Putting Grandfather’s Genuine Amber Stemmed Meerschaum Bulldog back together again

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Blog by Steve Laug

I decided I needed a change of pace in my restoration/clean up work. I went through my pipes waiting in the queue and chose the last one from a group of four pipes that were given to us by a woman in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It had belonged to her Grandfather who lived from 1882 to 1977. There were four pipes that she sent us from his estate – the metal bowled apple, a cased meerschaum Bulldog with a broken amber stem, a Whitehall rusticated apple and a BBB Glokar Fraternity Pipe.The cased Meerschaum Bulldog is the last of the lot and one that should be fixable and clean up well. I could see that it was an old timer and that it had been one of her Grandfather’s favourites like the other three. The pipe was dirty and well used. The finish had deep grime ground into the smooth meerschaum rim cap and the sides of the bowl. The rings around the cap are dirty with grime in the grooves. It had a moderate cake in the bowl that flowed onto the rim edges and rim top as a thick cake. It hard to assess the inner and outer edge of the rim there were thick spots of grime on the cap and bowl sides that should come off with work. The stem was amber and had been cleanly broken in half about mid stem. It was screwed on to a metal threaded tenon in the shank. It had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He started with the black leather case which was in good condition though missing the pin in one of the hinges. He opened the case and took photos of the pipe sitting in the case. He took a photo of the label on the inside of the case. It read Genuine Meerschaum around the outside of the black and gold octagonal label. On the inside of the label it reads Real Amber.He took photos of the condition of the bowl and rim top. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. There are also nicks and scratches around the top and outer edge particular o the front right side of the bowl.He took photos of the broken stem. You can see the break is about halfway down the stem and is clean with no rough edges on the pieces. When the two parts are put together the fit is very clean and smooth. The fit against the shank end is smooth and undamaged. It should clean up well. Jeff also took photos of the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. They are not deep but are very visible in both photos. Even these marks are not flaking or showing too much depth in the damage.He took photos of the bowl sides and heel to give a sense of the condition of the pipe before clean up. I think it will clean up well. Jeff cleaned up the pipe with his usual regimen and when I received it the bowl had been reamed and washed with Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed clean. He was able to remove the lava on the rim and the grime around the bowl. It looked much better. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He carefully cleaned the pieces of the broken stem and the fit together was still smooth. The pipe was ready for the next step in the process. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the work table. I decided to start my work on this pipe by rejoining the two parts of the stem. I looked at putting a metal tube inside but the amber is brittle and the airway was not big enough to accommodate even the smallest tube I had. I chose inside to glue the parts together with clear rubberized CA glue. I carefully painted the ends of each piece and then pressed them together. They aligned well and I held them until the glue set. I set the stem aside and let the repair cure.I took the family to breakfast and when I returned I put the stem on the shank and took photos of the repaired stem in place. I still needed to sand and smooth out the repairs but you can see the overall look of the pipe.I removed the stem and set it aside. I turned my attention to the bowl. I polished it with micromesh – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove sanding debris. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. You can see the patina around the bow and the shank. Now it was time to wax the bowl. I melted some beeswax on the stove top and painted it onto the meerschaum bowl. I apply the wax quite heavily as I plan on heating the bowl and wiping it off. I worked it into the twin rings around the bowl cap with the pipe cleaner. I took a few photos of the heavily waxed bowl. I set it aside and called it a night. I would heat and polish it in the morning. This morning I used the heat gun to melt the wax on the bowl. I held it by the metal tenon and carefully moved it over the heat gun. The wax dripped back in the bowl and I also wiped it down with a paper towel. The patina really came alive. You can see it nicely developed on the shank and moving up the bowl sides to the cap. It looks very good at this point and will only look better with buffing and with use. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into the surrounding amber. I wanted it smooth and with no lumps of glue on the crack or tooth mark areas. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I was happy with how the shine was developing.I polished the amber with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil to further polish and give some teeth to the pads. It came out looking very nice. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine an Extra Fine. I rubbed them on with my finger tips and polished them off with soft paper towel. I finished by rubbing the stem down with some Obsidian Oil on a soft impregnated cloth. It looked better.I don’t know how many times I have said this but I love it when I come to the end of a restoration and all of the parts come together and the pipe looks better than when we started the cleanup process. I put the stem back on the Genuine Meerschaum Real Amber Cased Bulldog and carefully buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of beeswax as shown above and the stem multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax by hand and buffed it by hand with a soft cloth. I also buffed it again with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is a real stunning example of a classic Meerschaum Bulldog with an Amber Stem. It is beautiful and comfortable in hand. There was developing patina around the bowl and shank and was darker on the shank and the rim top. Give the finish pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is .95 ounces/27 grams. This meerschaum pipe is a great piece of pipe history that is in great condition. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be keeping this one in my collection and enjoying it. Thanks for your time.

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.

A Change of Pace Restoration – an Unsmoked Turkish Made Hayim Pinhas Figural

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have worked on a lot of fine old briars over the past weeks and I decided this evening that I needed a change of pace. A good meerschaum would be the perfect change. I looked through the various cased figurals that I have to work and on and rejected each one as just not what I was looking for at this moment. I went back to some older pipes I have boxed here in the queue and found this unsmoked carved face of a nobleman or a Sultan – you decide when you see it. It was not in a case but it had the original documentation from Hayim Pinhas the Turkish carver who had crafted pipe. It was exactly what I was looking for to work on next. It is a Hayim Pinhas Figural Meerschaum with an amber coloured acrylic stem. Overall the pipe looked to be in excellent NOS condition. Since it was unsmoked any patina around the bowl sides and shank were age related rather than smoke related. The meer was well carved with some piercing eyes that seem to follow you as you turn the pipe. It is very well made. The stem was and undamaged and was stamped on the left side of the taper. It read Made in Turkey. It had a threaded metal stinger tenon that held in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the unsmoked condition. The bowl is spotless and the drilling is centered in the bottom. The stem is in excellent condition and will only need to be polished and waxed. I took some photos of the heel and sides of the bowl to show carver’s handiwork. It is a well carved figural meer that has some real character captured in the facial expressions. I took the stem off the bowl and took photos of the pipe and stem side by side. I had some faint recall of the make but could not remember much about the maker other than his name so I turned to a previous blog I have written on the brand that was included in a paper that came with the pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/05/14/papers-included-in-a-hayim-pinhas-meerschaum/). The post included some of the items in the booklet with the pipe. I quote it in part.

Meerschaum Pipes Chain of Good Luck. Gratitude is man’s noblest sentiment. If you are satisfied with this Pipe, do not interrupt this Chain of Good Luck, pass on our address to five of your acquaintances. It will bring also Good Luck to them. Thank you. Hayim Pinhas – P.O.B. 500 – Istanbul – Turkey

I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and dust in the carving. I rinsed it off with running warm water to remove the soap and the grime. The carving looks very good and the dust and debris is gone from the grooves and the curls of the beard. It is a great looking pipe. I took photos of the cleaned pipe. I polished the all of the smooth portions of the meerschaum with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each grit of sanding pad. It is starting to really have a shine by the last sanding pads. I rubbed the meerschaum down with Before & After Restoration Balm using my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to work it into the grooves of the carving to clean, enliven and protect the meer. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth to raise the shine. The meerschaum came alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was dull but otherwise in great condition. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratching in the acrylic stem. I wet sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and then gave it a buff with Before & After Pipe Stem polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed that off with a cotton pad. After each sanding pad and each polish I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. I put the pipe back together and gave it a buff by hand with a shoe brush and a cotton cloth. I did not want to risk damaging the meerschaum or the Bakelite stem. 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 took photos of the finished pipe to show the shine and the patina around the bowl. The amber acrylic stem looks very good with the light patina on the beard and the shank. With time the contrast will grow richer and deeper to a thing of beauty. The finished Hayim Pinhas Figural 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 ½ inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in being the one to start the legacy of this pipe it will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly. 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.