Tag Archives: polishing stems

New Life for a Kaywoodie Rustica 76BL Billiard from Bob Kerr’s Estate

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen from Bob Kerr’s Estate is a Kaywoodie Rustica Medium English Billiard. (Bob’s photo is to the left). If you have not “met” the man and would like to read a bit of the history of the pipeman, his daughter has written a great tribute that is worth a read. Because I have included it in most of the restorations of the estate to date I thought that I would leave it out this time. Check out some of the recent Dunhill restoration blogs (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/01/restoring-the-last-of-bob-kerrs-dunhills-a-1962-dunhill-bruyere-656-f-t-bent-billiard/).

The Kaywoodie Rustica had a rusticated finish and a smooth rim top. It was stamped on the underside of the heel and shank. It read Kaywoodie Rustica over Made in England on the heel followed by the shape number on the shank end – 76BL. The rusticated finish was dirty with dust and grime ground into the finish. There is a thick cake and lava overflow on the rim top. The vulcanite stem was oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter near the button on both sides. There was also a three-hole Kaywoodie stinger/tenon set up that was a little dirty. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show its general condition before he did his cleanup. The exterior of the pipe was very dirty – grime and grit ground in from years of use and sitting. The rim top was covered with a coat of thick lava that overflowed the bowl. There was also some darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The bowl itself had a thick cake with flecks of tobacco stuck in the cake on the sides. Jeff took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to give a better feel for the condition of the bark around the bowl.The next photo show the stamping on the underside of the shank and it is very readable. It reads as noted above. The second photo shows the inlaid cloverleaf logo on the top of the stem.The stem was dirty and oxidized with light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside of the stem at the button. This one at least did not have the chew marks that were a norm on Bob’s pipes.Before doing cleanup work on the pipe I decided to do some research on the pipe. I looked first on the Pipephil website and found some information on the white club inlay on the left side of the tapered stem. I did a screen capture of the pertinent information on the logo itself (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-kaywoodie.html). From there I learned that the logo was used until the 1980s. After the early 50s the logo was on the side of the stem.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie) and read the section on the rough outline on the history of the brand that links the brand with the English section of the company. I quote:

Again, demand for KBB pipes and especially Kaywoodie prompted another move for both the manufacturing facilities and the corporate offices. In 1930 the corporate office moved into the Empire State Building on Fifth Avenue in New York. By 1935, the manufacturing operations moved from Union City to 6400 Broadway in West New York, New Jersey which, at the time, was touted as the largest pipe making facility in the world. At the height of production, there were 500 employees producing up to 10,000 pipes per day.

The corporate offices were relocated in 1936 to the International Building, Rockefeller Center, 630 Fifth Avenue, New York. The invitation to visit the new office reads, “Kaywoodie is now on display at the world’s most famous address – Rockefeller Center. Here Kaywoodie takes its place among the leaders of industry and commerce.” The move to Rockefeller Center coincided with The Kaywoodie Company’s emergence as a subsidiary of KBB. All of the pipes manufactured by KBB including the Yello-Bole line were also on display here. By 1938 Kaywoodie had opened an office in London to meet worldwide demand. Kaywoodie of London was jointly owned with another famous pipemaker, Comoy’s of London.

From there I turned to a link on the article to a section called Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Collector%27s_Guide_to_Kaywoodie_Pipes#NOTES_ON_.22OTHER.E2.80.9D_KAYWOODIE_PIPES).

English Kaywoodies. All of the catalogs reviewed in this research contained the following copyright notification: Printed in U.S.A., Kaufmann Bros. and Bondy, Inc., New York and London. Kaywoodie Pipe cases and smoker’s accessories were also marked with “New York and London”. The catalogs, however, do not present any information concerning Kaywoodie’s London operations, or how the English Kaywoodies might have differed from those manufactured and marketed in the U.S. Lowndes notes that he has several English Kaywoodies acquired in Vaduz and Zurich. English Kaywoodies are now made by Oppenheimer pipes. Lowndes notes that English Kaywoodies with the “screw-in bit” come in Ruby Grain, Custom Grain, Standard, and Relief Grain grades. The traditional push-bit models come in Continental Plain and Relief, London Made, Minaret, Air-way Polished No. 707, and Lightweight grades. Prices in 1985 ranged from 9.50 (pounds) to 26.00 (pounds). Lowndes notes that the Super Star was a special edition English Kaywoodie made of finest briar with a handmade silver band. Lowndes has two: one from Zurich with a large white-outlined logo, and beautifully cased; and one in walnut finish with the black-in-white logo. A recent catalog shows the Super Star without a band and the ordinary small white logo. A 1985 letter from Oppenheimer states that the black-in-white logo has been discontinued and only the regular white logo is now used.

I turned to Pipedia’s Kaywoodie Shape Number chart to check out the number 76BL that is stamped on the underside of the shank (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie_Shape_Numbers). The chart gives the shape information and the time frame in which the shape was made. I did a screen capture of the shape number information and have included it below.From the above information I now knew that the pipe in hand was a Medium English Billiard made between 1938-1972 in London by Oppenheimer. It had screw-in bit.

With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top shows some damage on the inner edge of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the remaining oxidation on the stem surface. I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and it is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. I unscrewed the stem for the shank and took a photo of the bowl and stem to give a picture of what it looked like. You can see the stinger apparatus is intact and you can see the oxidation on the stem surface.Now, on to my part of the restoration of this KBB English Made Medium Billiard. I decided to start by polishing the top of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar on the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth dents in the top and underside of the stem at the button. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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 Kaywoodie Rustica 76BL Medium English Billiard, an English made pipe from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The rusticated medium brown finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and works 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 Kaywoodie Rustica Medium Billiard 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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 Heavily Smoked Falcon with a Dublin Bowl

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen from Bob Kerr’s collection is the first of four metal pipes in the estate. Bob was an artist from the Vancouver area and a real character (Bob’s photo is to the left). If you have not “met” the man and would like to read a bit of the history of the pipeman, his daughter has written a great tribute that is worth a read. Because I have included it in most of the restorations of the estate to date I thought that I would leave it out this time. To read it you can check out some of the recent Dunhill restoration blogs such as the one linked below (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/01/restoring-the-last-of-bob-kerrs-dunhills-a-1962-dunhill-bruyere-656-f-t-bent-billiard/).

This first metal pipe from Bob’s Collection – a Falcon and this one is worn and dirty. It has a Dublin bowl and a medium brown finish. The metal and the briar bowl are very dirty with dust and debris ground into the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl with tobacco debris. There was a heavy lava overflow on 2/3rds of the rim making it impossible to know if there is any damage on the inner edge of the bowl. It is stamped FALCON on the metal base of the pipe. There was also a number 1 in the hollow on the bowl bottom. The vulcanite stem is tapered and is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show its general condition before he did his cleanup. Jeff captured the filthy bowl and rim top in the next photos. You can see the thick the coat of lava on the edges and top. The thick cake in the bowl is also visible in the photos. The pipe was obviously one of Bob’s favourites and must have been an amazing smoker even this clogged with debris. The next two photos show the grime ground into the smooth finish around the sides of the briar bowl. This old pipe was truly a mess. The aluminum base and shank are oxidized and dirty. The brand is stamped on the underside of the shank and in the indentation there is a number 1 stamped.Jeff unscrewed the bowl from the base to show the tars and oils in the base. It hardens to a lacquer.The stem is calcified and oxidized with light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-f1.html) to see what I could learn about the brand. I have included a screen capture of the information on the site below.I also include the brief sidebar history from the site below:

The Falcon Pipe is an American invention, patented by Kenley Bugg of Fort Wayne, Indiana in 1936.

1948: George L. Hunt of Diversey Machine Works (D.M.W) signed a contract with Falcon Industries as exclusive Falcon pipe distributor for U.S. and Canada.

1956: D.M.W purchased the patents and trademarks from Falcon Industries Inc. and took over the Falcon pipes manufacture.

1968: Falcon pipe production moved from the U.S to the U.K in its entirety. Falcon Pipes Ltd. (also known as Falcon House Group) was owned by David E. Morris.

Falcon Pipes Ltd later became Merton and Falcon Co.

1974: Falcon London had sold about 14 million pipes around the world outside the U.S.A.

The Falcon logo on the mouthpiece was discontinued in 1994.

There was also interesting information the particular stamping on the base of this pipe. It has the stamping that identifies it as an American made Falcon. Now I had the basic background information on the pipe. I also knew that the pipe was made after 1948 and prior to the move of production to the UK in 1968.

With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to show how clean both were. The rim top showed some wear on the front edge and top. I also took photos of the stem top and underside. You can see the remaining oxidation and the light tooth marks. I took photos of the stamping on the heel of the base and the shank. You can see the FALCON stamp and the number 1.I took the bowl off the base and took photos of the pipe. It is a very clean looking pipe. The base is sparkling now rather than darkened with tobacco lacquer. With a little work the stem oxidation will be gone and it will look very good. I decided to start working on the pipe by dealing with damaged inner edge of the bowl. I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I then repaired the filled areas with clear super glue. Once the repairs had cured I sanded them smooth to blend them into the surrounding briar. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – sanding and polishing the briar with 1500-12000 grit pads. Each sanding pad brought more shine to the bowl. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm into the rusticated surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. The pipe looks very good after the Balm has done its magic. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in great condition with light tooth marks and some remaining oxidation. I sanded the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation, tooth marks and chatter. I started polishing the vulcanite with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. 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 American made Falcon with a Dublin bowl from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The grain on the bowl is quite beautiful and really came alive with the cleaning and buffing. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and works well with the polished base and vulcanite saddle stem. I put the bowl back on the base and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the metal. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it on the buffing wheel. I buffed entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine on the bowl and stem. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Falcon with a Dublin bowl 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this Falcon metal pipe send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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 Heavily Smoked BELT Meerschaum Peterson Like Pipe

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen from Bob Kerr’s collection is the second of three Block Meerschaum pipes in the estate. Bob was an artist from the Vancouver area and a real character (Bob’s photo is to the left). If you have not “met” the man and would like to read a bit of the history of the pipeman, his daughter has written a great tribute that is worth a read. Because I have included it in most of the restorations of the estate to date I thought that I would leave it out this time. To read it you can check out some of the recent Dunhill restoration blogs such as the one linked below (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/01/restoring-the-last-of-bob-kerrs-dunhills-a-1962-dunhill-bruyere-656-f-t-bent-billiard/).

This second Genuine Block Meerschaum from Bob’s Collection and this one is more worn and dirty than the previous one. It has a flumed top and a very rugged rustication on the bowl and top. There a smooth patches for the stamping on the pipe. There is a golden coloured ferrule on the shank end of the pipe that is oxidized. The meerschaum is very dirty with dust and debris caught in the grooves and crevices of the rustication. There is a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy lava overflow on the rim top filling in the rustication. It is stamped BELT on the left side of the shank. On the underside it is stamped with Genuine Block Meerschaum. There is also an arched stamp at the shank band junction. The vulcanite stem is tapered and has a design similar to a P-Lip from Peterson. The difference is in the shape of the button and the airway exiting on the end rather than the top. It stem is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show its general condition before he did his cleanup.Jeff captured the filthy rim top in the next photos. You can see how the rustication is almost smooth with the thick coat of lava. The thick cake in the bowl is also visible in the photos. The pipe was obviously one of Bob’s favourites and must have been an amazing smoker even this clogged with debris. The next two photos show the debris ground into the rusticated finish around the sides and heel of the bowl. This old pipe was truly a mess. The black fumed areas around the top of the bowl look grey. The next three photos show the stamping on the pipe. It reads as noted above. The fit of the stem in shank appears to be loose and the shank looks to be very dirty. The stem is calcified and oxidized the length but is in worse condition for the first inch from the button forward. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. The BELT brand is not one that I am familiar with. I have never heard of the brand in my years of doing this work. I decided to pause before I started my part of the work on the pipe and see what I could learn on the web. I looked on Pipephil’s site and could find nothing listed. I did the same on Pipedia and initially found nothing either. I did a google search for the brand and low and behold the brand came up under Danish Pipe Making Companies under the heading London Meerschaum (https://pipedia.org/wiki/London_Meerschaum). I quote the brief article below as taken from Jose Manuel Lopes book.

“London Meerschaum made some pipes under the name of BELT or THE BELT, I had this confirmed by Bonds of Oxford St. who have 5 smooth bowl versions in stock at the time of writing, these look very similar to standard system full bent Peterson Meerschaums, the smooth versions have silverware stamped L&JS {Les & Dolly Wood, Ferndown} and has Belt and Genuine Block Meerschaum stamped on the bowl. I have seen 1 rusticated version with the same silverware and 2 of which I own 1, have gold plated ware with no hallmarks and are also stamped Belt and Genuine Block Meerschaum. Both smooth and rusticated have P-Lip type stems though the air hole is not on top but at the end as with most non Peterson P-Lips that I have come across. I do not know when London Meerschaum ceased trading but I can say from the one Belt that I own, it’s a very fine pipe and not cheap, well over the £100 mark when new.”

These pipes were evidently sold at least as early as the 1950’s. These may have been made by, or are affiliated with Pomeroy & Cooke Ltd., (Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes).

I have to say that what I read was not what I expected at all. In my mind it was a Manx Made African Meer and now I knew that it was a Danish Made London Meer… strange provenance for this old meer.

With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to show how clean both were. The rim top showed some wear on the front edge and top. I also took photos of the stem top and underside. It looked very good. The stamping was very clean and readable. It reads as noted above. I decided to start working on the pipe by dealing with the misfit/loose stem. As looked it over this morning before I worked on it I realized that there was a sleeve on the tenon. That sleeve was actually the Delrin liner for the shank/mortise on the pipe. I cleaned out the end of the tenon and sleeve with alcohol and pipe cleaners to try to loosen the tight bind that held it in place. I repeated that then clamped a pair of Vise-Grip pliers on the sleeve and carefully wiggled the stem to loosen the connection of the tenon in the sleeve. It took a bit of fussing but it finally came off without damage. I cleaned out the sleeve and removed all of the tars and oils on it with alcohol. It was quite dirty and caked on both the inside and outside. Once it was clean I debated between all-purpose glue and clear super glue to set it in the shank. I tried the all-purpose glue and it did not connect but rather the glue was absorbed into the meerschaum… sooo I coated the lining with clear superglue and set it in the shank by pressing it in with the stem in place. I removed the stem and set the bowl aside to let the glue cure. I restained the black flumed rim top and down the sides of the bowl with a black stain pen. I was happy with the look of the newly stained flumed portion of the meerschaum bowl. I have been using Before & After Restoration Balm on Meerschaum pipes experimentally. I have been happy with the results. I worked it into the rusticated surface of the meerschaum with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. The pipe looks very good after the Balm has done its magic. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in great condition with light tooth marks and oxidation. 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 Danish Made London Meerschaum BELT Bent Billiard from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The flumed top and the nice looking patina around the bowl sides, top and bottom give the pipe interestingly dimensional texture. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and works well with the polished vulcanite saddle 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 meerschaum. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of Clapham’s Beeswax polish and buffed it on the buffing wheel. I buffed entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine on the bowl and stem. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished rusticated Meerschaum Bent Billiard 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this London Meerschaum BELT Bent Billiard send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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 Tired Irwin’s London England 1 Billiard from Bob Kerr’s Estate

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen from Bob Kerr’s Estate is the second Irwin billiard in Bob’s Collection. Bob was an artist from the Vancouver area and a real character (Bob’s photo is to the left). If you have not “met” the man and would like to read a bit of the history of the pipeman, his daughter has written a great tribute that is worth a read. Because I have included it in most of the restorations of the estate to date I thought that I would leave it out this time. Check out some of the recent Dunhill restoration blogs (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/01/restoring-the-last-of-bob-kerrs-dunhills-a-1962-dunhill-bruyere-656-f-t-bent-billiard/).

This is the second Irwin’s billiard from Bob’s Collection and this one is in far worse condition than the previous one. It is worn and tired looking. It has a thin, almost pencil shank and stem. The briar is dirty and the finish is worn off. There are some deep scratches in the left side of the bowl and the rim top looked like it had been used as a hammer. There is a thick cake and lava overflow on the rim top. It is stamped Irwin’s over London England the left side of the shank. On the right side it is stamped with the number 1. The thin tapered stem has a faint IR stamp on the top side. It stem is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show its general condition before he did his cleanup. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the edges of the bowl. It was thick and hard but hopefully it had protected the rim top and edges from damage. It was hard to know for sure from the photos. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see some beautiful grain under the grime and grit ground into the finish. You can also see the damaged areas on the briar in the photos. He took a photo of the left side to show the deep scratches in the briar. Next these there were also vertical scratches and a fill that had fallen out. It was going to take a bit of work but it must have been a fine smoking pipe if the condition is any indication.He took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos and read as noted above. You can also see the Circle IR stamp on the topside of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button.The shape number 1 on the right side of the shank mystifies me a bit but I knew that Irwin’s was a second line for GBD. I am including what I found when I worked on the previous Irwin’s billiard in this collection.

I turned to the Pipephil website (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-i.html). The site had very little information but it linked the brand to GBD as I had remembered. Here is a screen capture of the section.I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find more information on Irwins and there was nothing listed in the article on GBD pipes. I did find a note on the Brands and Makers page connection the brand to GBD (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Brands_/_Makers). On that page under Irwin’s I found the following information.

GBD sub-brand / second. Also known “Irwin`s Handmade in Denmark”

Other than that there was no other information.

With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. The stem still had a lot of deep oxidation. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top good but there was some darkening on the beveled inner edge of the rim. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the remaining oxidation on the stem surface. Now on to my part of the restoration of this Irwin’s London England 1 GBD made Billiard. I decided to start by dealing with the damage to the rim top and the inner edge of the rim. I started by topping the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to start removing the damage to the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edge and clean up the edge to minimize the darkening. I retopped the bowl on the topping board to further work on the outer and inner edge. Once I finished the topping I was happy with the look of the rim top and edges. I sanded out the scratches in the left side of the bowl as shown above. I was able to remove them with the 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The pipe looks very good. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in great condition with light tooth marks and oxidation. The circle IR stamp on the top of the stem is very faint. There was not enough depth to the stamp to put white paint into and restore. 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. I left a little oxidation around the Circle IR stamp on the top of the stem to preserve what remained. This Irwin’s London England 1 Billiard made by GBD from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The mix of brown stains highlights the 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 saddle 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 Irwin’s Billiard 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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 KB&B Kaywoodie Drinkless Rhodesian from Bob Kerr’s Estate

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen from Bob Kerr’s Estate is a KB&B Drinkless Kaywoodie Rhodesian with a chunky shank and stem. (Bob’s photo is to the left). If you have not “met” the man and would like to read a bit of the history of the pipeman, his daughter has written a great tribute that is worth a read. Because I have included it in most of the restorations of the estate to date I thought that I would leave it out this time. Check out some of the recent Dunhill restoration blogs (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/01/restoring-the-last-of-bob-kerrs-dunhills-a-1962-dunhill-bruyere-656-f-t-bent-billiard/).

This chunky Rhodesian is stamped KB&B in a cloverleaf followed by Drinkless [over] Kaywoodie [over] Made in England on the left side of the bowl. On the right side it is stamped with the number 83B. The thick tapered stem has the typical white inlaid Kaywoodie Cloverleaf logo. The tenon is threaded and has a stinger that is stamped Drinkless [over] Reg No 213598. The ball on the end of the stinger has been clipped off. The stem is oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The exterior of the bowl is grimy and dirty. There is a thick cake and lava overflow on the rim top. It is thick enough that it is hard to know if there is any damage on top and edges. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show its general condition before he did his cleanup. The exterior of the pipe was very dirty – grime and grit ground in from years of use and sitting. The rim top was covered with a coat of thick lava that overflowed the bowl. There was also some darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The bowl itself had a thick cake with flecks of tobacco stuck in the cake on the sides. Jeff took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to give a better feel for the condition of the bark around the bowl. The next photos show the stamping on the sides of the shank and it is very readable. It reads as noted above. The stem was dirty and extremely oxidized. Once again the stem appeared to be a replacement as I have learned Bob was a chewer and his stems seemed to have been replaced often. This one at least fit well to the shank and did not yet have the chew marks that were a norm on Bob’s pipes.Before doing cleanup work on the pipe I decided to do some research on the pipe. I looked first on the Pipephil website and found some information on the white club inlay on the left side of the tapered stem. I did a screen capture of the pertinent information on the logo itself (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-kaywoodie.html). From there I learned that the logo was used until the 1980s. After the early 50s the logo was on the side of the stem.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie) and read the section on the rough outline on the history of the brand that links the brand with the English section of the company. I quote:

From there I turned to a link on the article to a section called Guide to Kaywoodie Pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Collector%27s_Guide_to_Kaywoodie_Pipes#NOTES_ON_.22OTHER.E2.80.9D_KAYWOODIE_PIPES).

I turned to Pipedia’s Kaywoodie Shape Number chart to check out the number 83B that is stamped on the shank side (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie_Shape_Numbers). The chart gives the shape information and the time frame in which the shape was made. I did a screen capture of the shape number information and have included it below.From the above information I now knew that the pipe in hand was a Half Bent Heavy Round Shank Bulldog made between 1938-1955 in London by Oppenheimer. It had screw-in bit.

With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top shows damage and charring on the inner edge of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the remaining oxidation on the stem surface.I took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank and it is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. I unscrewed the stem for the shank and took a photo of the bowl and stem to give a picture of what it looked like. You can see the ball clipped off the end of the stinger.Now, on to my part of the restoration of this KBB English Made Rhodesian. I decided to start by dealing with the gouges in the bowl front and heel and on the back of the rim cap. I fill them in with clear super glue. When the repairs had cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage to the inner edge of the rim. I worked on the inner bevel to clean up the damage and the darkening. I sanded to the top of the rim at the same time to minimize the darkening.I stained the repaired and sanded areas with a Walnut stain pen to blend it into the surrounding briar. Once the stain cured I polished the briar to further blend it into the bowl.I polished the top of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth dents in the top and underside of the stem at the button. There were a few deep tooth marks on the underside next to the button. I filled them in with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured I sanded them out with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing them with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.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 KB&B Kaywoodie Drinkless 83B Rhodesian, English made pipe from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The Walnut finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and works 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 KB&B Kaywoodie Rhodesian 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 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This particular pipe is staying with me for a while as it is a lot like the GBD 9242 Bent Rhodesian that is on my bucket list of pipe. The fact that it is English Made and made by Oppenheimer makes me wonder about a GBD connection. Who knows for sure though! I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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 Ropp Standard Cherrywood Poker from Bob Kerr’s Estate

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen from Bob Kerr’s Estate is a Ropp Cherrywood Poker.Apple with a slender stem. (his photo is to the left). If you have not “met” the man and would like to read a bit of the history of the pipeman, his daughter has written a great tribute that is worth a read. Because I have included it in most of the restorations of the estate to date I thought that I would leave it out this time. Be sure to check out some of the recent Dunhill restoration blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/01/restoring-the-last-of-bob-kerrs-dunhills-a-1962-dunhill-bruyere-656-f-t-bent-billiard/).

This Cherrywood Poker is stamped Ropp in an oval [over] Standard [over] Made in France on the heel of the bowl. The tapered stem does not have the typical Ropp brass logo so I am not sure if it is an original. It is oxidized and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There is some calcification on the stem with damage to the button. The bark on the exterior of the bowl is grimy and dirty. There is a thick cake and lava overflow on the rim top. There is some damage on top & edges. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show its general condition before he did his cleanup. The bark on the pipe was very dirty – grime and grit from years of use and sitting. The rim top was covered with a coat of thick lava that overflowed the bowl. There was also some darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The bowl itself had a thick cake with flecks of tobacco stuck in the cake on the sides.Jeff took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to give a better feel for the condition of the bark around the bowl.The next photo shows the stamping on the heel of the bowl and it is very readable. It reads as noted above. The stem was dirty and extremely oxidized. Once again the stem appeared to be a replacement as I have learned Bob was a chewer and his stems seemed to have been replaced often. This one at least fit well to the shank and did not yet have the chew marks that were a norm on Bob’s pipes.I wanted to refresh my memory on the brand so I turned for a short, quick summary to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-ropp.html). I have included the pertinent information from that site below:

Brand created by Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830 – 1907) and continued throughout 3 generations. “GBA Synergie” run by Bernard Amiel (†2008) bought back Ropp in 1988 and owned it until 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises (Chacom, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix…) in 1994.

I also turned to Pipedia to see if there was any additional information that would be helpful (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ropp). I quote the portion of the article on the Cherrywood pipes.

Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830 – 1907) had acquired a patent for a cherrywood pipe (wild cherry, lat.: Prunus avium) in 1869. In 1870 he established a workshop to manufacture such pipes in Büssingen (Bussang, Vosges mountains). Around 1893 the business moved into the former mill of Sicard (part of the community of Baume-les-Dames – Département Doubs, Upper Burgundy – from 1895 on)… Even though cherrywood pipes were the mainstay of Ropp until the company finally closed down in September 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises (Chacom, Jeantet, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix…) in 1994.

The pipe thus was made in France sometime prior to the closure in 1991. It is made from wild cherry and was a specialty of Ropp. I have worked on quite a few over the years but I had forgotten all the dates and information. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top shows damage and charring on the inner edge of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the remaining oxidation on the stem surface.I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl and it is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. Now, on to my part of the restoration of this Ropp Standard Cherrywood. I decided to start by dealing with the damage to the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edge and give it a slight bevel to remove the damaged area and bring the bowl back into round.I polished the top of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bark on the bowl sides and shank as well as the smooth heel and rim top with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. 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 rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after the last sanding pad. The shine was perfect. This Ropp Standard Cherrywood French made pipe from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The natural bark finish and the polished smooth Cherry top and heel of the bowl look very good. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and works 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 cherrywood. 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 Ropp Standard Cherrywood 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 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.

Back to Briar from Bob Kerr’s Estate – a Charatan’s Make Belvedere 2502 Prince

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I am continuing to work on the pipes in Bob Kerr’s estate for a while. I am getting closer to finishing restoring this large estate with only about 29 more pipes to do. This is the second of his two Charatan pipes that I am working on. I am cleaning them for the family and moving them out into the hands of pipemen and women who will carry on the trust that began with Bob and in some pipes was carried on by Bob. In the collection there were 19 Peterson’s pipes along with a bevy of Dunhills, some Comoy’s and Barlings as well as a lot of other pipes – a total of 125 pipes along with a box of parts. This is the largest estate that I have had the opportunity to work on. I put together a spread sheet of the pipes and stampings to create an invoice. I was taking on what would take me a fair amount of time to clean up. I could not pass up the opportunity to work on these pipes though. They were just too tempting. This beautiful Charatan’s Make Prince is a great pipe to work on. It is a classic shaped pipe with a Charatan spin on the prince shape. It will go on the rebornpipes store.

This Charatan’s Make London England Belvedere smooth finish with lots variation in the grain around the briar is a beauty! The pipe is stamped on the left of the shank and reads Charatan’s Make [over] London England [over] Belvedere. On the right side it has the shape number 2502. The grain grime and dirt ground into the mixture of grain around the bowl. It had rich dark and medium contrasting brown stains that do not look too bad. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a thick lava overflow sitting on the total rim top. The inner edge of the rim is dirty and may have some damage under the grime. It was a beautiful pipe that was dirty and tired looking. The replacement taper stem was oxidized and calcified toward the end. It had the characteristic tooth marks that I have come to expect from Bob’s pipes. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the edges of the bowl. It was thick and hard but hopefully it had protected the rim top and edges from damage. It was hard to know for sure from the photos.Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the beautiful grain under the grime and grit ground into the finish. He took photos of the stamping on both side of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos and read as noted above. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button.To try to figure out the era of the Charatan’s pipe I was working on I turned to the Pipephil website, Logos and Stampings. There is some really helpful information on each of the lines of Charatan’s Make pipes that entered the market. Here is the link to the section of the site that I turned to (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html). There is an alphabetical listing of the lines but the Belvedere they showed had a stem made for a 9mm filter while the one I have is a nonfiltered pipe. The site did give a short history of the brand. I quote the portion that is most pertinent.

The brand was founded in 1863 by Frederik Charatan. When his father retired in 1910, Reuben Charatan took over the family business. All the pipes were handmade until 1973. The brand name has been overtaken by Dunhill in 1978 and sold in 1988 to James B. Russell Inc.(NJ, USA). During the period 1988-2002 Charatans were crafted by Butz Choquin in St Claude (France). Dunhill re-purchased Charatan brand name in 2002 and Colin Fromm (Invicta Briars, Castleford) followed up on freehand production.

I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find more information on the brand and possibly a link to the Belvedere line (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan) but once again in the general article it was not listed. It did give a little more historical information. I quote the pertinent parts and have highlighted in red the sections that give information on this particular pipe.

In 1863 Frederick Charatan, a Russian/Jewish immigrant, opened a shop in Mansell Street, located in the borough of Tower Hamlets, London E1, where he began to carve Meerschaum pipes. These pipes got very popular soon, and thus Charatan moved to a bigger workshop in Prescot Street, just around the corner. Here he began to make briar pipes which should make the name famous the world over. Charatan was the first brand to make entirely hand-made briars from the rough block to the finished pipe including the stems. The nomenclature “Charatan’s Make” refers to this method of production and was meant to differ Charatan from other brands who “assembled” pipes from pre-drilled bowls and delivered mouthpieces.

Being the undisputed No. 1 in English pipemaking, Charatan was approached by Alfred Dunhill who was unsatisfied with the quality of the pipes he imported from France. During 1908 – 1910 Dunhill bought pipes from Charatan paying exorbitant prices to ensure he had some of the very best pipes for sale in England. In 1910 he lured away Joel Sasieni, one of Charatan’s best carvers, and opened his own small pipe workshop on 28 Duke Street. On the retirement of his father in 1910 Reuben Charatan took over the family business…

…The pre-Lane period (prior to 1955) and the Lane era pipes (1955 to until sometime between 1979 – 1984) are of primary interest the collector. The Lane era is often quoted as beginning about 1950… Charatan records are almost non-existent before Lane due to a factory fire, making it difficult to date pre-Lane pipes. Charatan used 4 basic grades prior to 1950: Supreme, Selected, Executive, and Belvedere. After 1950 Herman Lane’s influence began, and the grades started to expand. In 1955 Lane took over sole distributorship of Charatan in the US. In 1957 he introduced the Supreme S. Most of his other introductions were from the 60’s and early 70’s…

I continue digging further into the dating of the pipe, but what I had found was a good start for me. If some of you would like to try your hand at dating it more accurately as to the time period it came out you might want to check out the article on Pipedia on Dating Charatans (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans).

I also reread the article on Pipedia by the Italian fellow who contributed some really helpful information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan_-_Milan_2014). I quote the section on the Second period: Reuben Charatan 1910 – c. 1962

– In 1962 Herman Lane took over the business from the Charatan family, although he had already influenced production from the 1950s.

– The pipes were mostly larger than the previous ones and corresponded in size to Dunhill group 5. These are slightly less rare, but still difficult to find.

– Stem: Usually in ebonite, saddle shaped or tapered, bearing a fine “CP” stamp, underbore system (see below) used when necessary.

– Shank: The shape code is stamped on it together with the nomenclature “CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND” arranged in two lines. From 1955 onwards on the models marketed for the USA there is also a serif and circled capital “L” (but not all models bear this) which resembles the pound sterling symbol. The “L” is for Lane, the importer.

From 1958, Lane changed the nomenclature for models marketed for the US to clarify the message: “MADE BY HAND”. In this period the underbore was introduced. Its manufacturing period ranged between 1920 and c.1930. This model was equipped with a duralumin plunger trap fitted in the stem, which served to clean the residue more easily. This particular model bore a special stamp on the stem, and also had its own catalogue…

QUALITY GRADES…The stem did not only display the stamps mentioned above. Another stamp that can help dating is the one referring to the quality of the pipe. Until Herman Lane arrived on the scene there were four quality grades. Starting with the lowest: Belvedere, Executive, Selected, and Supreme. Lane went on to add higher grades from time to time: Supreme S, Supreme S100, S150, S200, S250, S300, Coronation, Royal Achievement, Crown Achievement, and Summa Cum Laude; these last three are extremely rare and almost impossible to find. He also invented other, different grades, even changing the previous pipe classification standards. We will not go into detail here, but it means that if we find an S100 or Coronation the pipe was manufactured following Herman Lane’s acquisition. In particular, the FH mark, or Freehand pipe was commissioned to the famous Danish craftsman, Preben Holm.

I am also including a shape chart from that site. I have drawn a blue box around the 2502 Prince shape.With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. The stem still had a lot of deep oxidation. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. The rim top shows damage on the inner edge with some charring on the front inner edge. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the remaining oxidation on the stem surface.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and it is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took some photos to give a clear picture of the pipe from the left side profile and the top looking down. It is a really pretty pipe.Since this is another pipe Bob’s estate I am sure that some of you have read at least some of the other restoration work that has been done on the previous pipes. You have also read what I have included about Bob Kerr, the pipeman who held these pipes in trust before I came to work on them (see photo to the left). Also, if you have followed the blog for long you will already know that I like to include background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring. For me, when I am working on an estate I really like to have a sense of the person who held the pipes in trust before I worked on them. It gives me another dimension of the restoration work. I asked Brian if he or his wife would like to write a brief biographical tribute to her father, Bob. His daughter worked on it and I received the following short write up on him and some pictures to go along with the words including one of Bob’s carvings. Once again I thank you Brian and tell your wife thank you as well.

I am delighted to pass on these beloved pipes of my father’s. I hope each user gets many hours of contemplative pleasure as he did. I remember the aroma of tobacco in the rec room, as he put up his feet on his lazy boy. He’d be first at the paper then, no one could touch it before him. Maybe there would be a movie on with an actor smoking a pipe. He would have very definite opinions on whether the performer was a ‘real’ smoker or not, a distinction which I could never see but it would be very clear to him. He worked by day as a sales manager of a paper products company, a job he hated. What he longed for was the life of an artist, so on the weekends and sometimes mid-week evenings he would journey to his workshop and come out with wood sculptures, all of which he declared as crap but every one of them treasured by my sister and myself. Enjoy the pipes, and maybe a little of his creative spirit will enter you!

Now on to my part of the restoration of this Charatan’s Make 2502 Prince. I decided to start by dealing with the damage to the inner edge of the rim. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage on the rim top. I followed up with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edge and give it a slight bevel to remove the damaged area and bring the bowl back into round. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I touched up the stain on the rim top with a Maple and a Cherry stain pen blended on the top. Once the bowl was polished it would blend in well with the rest of the briar around the bowl.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I worked over the rest of the remaining oxidation and the tooth marks 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 Charatan’s Make Belvedere Prince from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The mix of brown stains highlights the sandblasted 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 saddle 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 Charatan’s Make Belvedere 2502 Prince 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: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.

A Pause from Bob Kerr’s Estate – Repairing a Bite Through on a Stanwell Calabash for my Local Pipe Shop.

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

On Friday a fellow from my local pipe shop called and said that he was bringing a pipe by for repair. He had a pipe that he had bitten through on the top side of the stem. He said he would leave it for me to work on. I have been having the shop drop their repairs off in my mail box. When my daughter picked this one up she was blown away by the heavy vanilla aromatic smell that filled the mail box and wafted from the pipe wherever it was. She brought it to my basement work table for me to see. This is what I saw. It was obviously a well smoked pipe that the pipeman must have really loved. It had a thick cake in the bowl and heavy overflow of lava on the rim top that was also very thick. The inner edge of the bowl was also thickly caked. The photos I took of the stem are also very clear. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the acrylic stem and a small bit through on the topside of the stem. Fortunately it was not too big a bit through so it was repairable.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank and it read Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] Calabash in script. The brass decorative band was dull and oxidized.I took the stem off the shank and took photos of the pipe. The first photo below shows the pipe in profile and shows the bite through very clearly. The second photo shows the end of the tenon and how clogged it was with the tars and oils. My first thoughts were that it had an adapter in the tenon to fill it and convert it to a non-filter pipe. Once I cleaned it up it was clear that it was a regular tenon with a slight inset.I like working on clean pipes so I reamed the bowl with three of the four cutting heads on the PipNet Pipe Reaming set. The bowl is conical so it took all three heads to remove the cake from the bowl. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I also scraped the calabash rim top with the knife to remove the lava. I cleaned out the internals of the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I worked them over until the inside of the pipe was clean.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and rim with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the buildup on the rim top with the soap and tooth brush and was able to remove it all from the calabash top. I rinsed it off with running water and dried the pipe with a cotton cloth. I polished the smooth calabash rim top with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim top down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The rim top began to look very good as it took on its shine. I rubbed the bowl and rim top down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. The Balm does a great job in bringing life to aged briar that has been cleaned. I set the bowl aside and went to work on the stem. I cleaned off the surface of the stem with alcohol to remove greases and oils from the acrylic. I wanted it clean and dry so I could do the repair. Once it was clean I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it into the airway of the stem. The greased pipe cleaner keeps the glue from filling in the airway.Since the hole in the top of the stem was quite small I decided to use just black super glue to fill in the damaged spot. I also used it to fill in the tooth marks and the dents in the surface. I set the stem aside to let the repairs cure.Once the repair cured I used a needle file to smooth out the repaired areas. I also cut the edges of the button on both sides and smooth it out. I would need to do a lot of sanding to blend it in but it would certainly look better. I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I started the polishing with a folded piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the acrylic stem 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. The repairs and restoration of the Stanwell Calabash turned out really well. The mix of brown stains highlights the sandblasted grain around the bowl sides as well as the smooth calabash rim top. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and the contrasting stains work well with the polished acrylic saddle 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 Stanwell Calabash 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 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I am looking forward to hearing what the pipeman who dropped it off thinks of it when he picks it up. It should continue to serve him well. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting pipe to bring back to life.

Changing things up a bit and restoring a Block Meerschaum from Bob Kerr’s Estate

6 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I am continuing to work on the pipes in Bob Kerr’s estate for a while. I am getting closer to finishing restoring this large estate with only about 27 more pipes to do. This is one of three meerschaum pipes that I am working on. I decided to work on it as a change of pace. I am cleaning them for the family and moving them out into the hands of pipemen and women who will carry on the trust that began with Bob and in some pipes was carried on by Bob. In the collection there were 19 Peterson’s pipes along with a bevy of Dunhills, some Comoy’s and Barlings as well as a lot of other pipes – a total of 125 pipes along with a box of parts. This is the largest estate that I have had the opportunity to work on. I put together a spread sheet of the pipes and stampings to create an invoice. I was taking on what would take me a fair amount of time to clean up. I could not pass up the opportunity to work on these pipes though. They were just too tempting. This is a mottled and flumed bent billiard Block Meerschaum and was another fun one to work on. It is a classic shaped pipe with a medium sized bent billiard shape. It will go on the rebornpipes store.

This Block Meerschaum 8 Bent Billiard has a smooth finish with some colour around the top half of the bowl and a flumed top with black! The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads 8 Genuine Block Meerschaum. The grime and dirt ground into the meerschaum bowl. It had rich finish that was fading from plain meer to darkening toward the rim top. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a thick lava overflow sitting on the total rim top. The inner edge of the rim is dirty and may have some damage under the grime. It was interesting looking meerschaum that was dirty and tired looking. The stem was oxidized and calcified toward the end. It had the characteristic tooth marks that I have come to expect from Bob’s pipes. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the edges of the bowl. It was thick and hard but hopefully it had protected the rim top and edges from damage. It was hard to know for sure from the photos. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the beautiful grain under the grime and grit ground into the finish. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos and read as noted above.Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button.The stamping on this pipe was not enough information to go on in terms of trying to find a pipe maker. With over 125 pipes to clean from Bob’s estate I took a batch of them to the states with me when I visited and left them with Jeff so he could help me out. Jeff cleaned the pipes with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. Once he finished he shipped them back to me. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the meerschaum and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed it with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. The stem still had a lot of deep oxidation. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what cleaned bowl and rim top looked like. There was some serious damage to the inner edge of the rim top. It was chipped and nicked on the left side and the right. It was a bit of a mess. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and the remaining oxidation on the stem surface. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and it is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took some photos to give a clear picture of the pipe from the left side profile. The metal tenon is set permanently in the shank of the meerschaum. The stem was drilled to sit over the top of the tenon.Since this is another pipe Bob’s estate I am sure that some of you have read at least some of the other restoration work that has been done on the previous pipes. You have also read what I have included about Bob Kerr, the pipeman who held these pipes in trust before I came to work on them (see photo to the left). Also, if you have followed the blog for long you will already know that I like to include background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring. For me, when I am working on an estate I really like to have a sense of the person who held the pipes in trust before I worked on them. It gives me another dimension of the restoration work. I asked Brian if he or his wife would like to write a brief biographical tribute to her father, Bob. His daughter worked on it and I received the following short write up on him and some pictures to go along with the words including one of Bob’s carvings. Once again I thank you Brian and tell your wife thank you as well.

Now on to my part of the restoration of this Genuine Block Meerschaum 8 Bent Billiard. I decided to start by dealing with the damage to the inner edge of the rim. It was in very rough condition as can be seen in the first photo below. I started the cleanup process by using a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 sandpaper to smooth out and round out the bowl edge.I used a spot of clear super glue to fill in the slight divot on the edge and rim top and blended it in with the sandpaper. Once that was finished I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper give a light bevel to the inner edge to minimize the damage.The next two photos show the rim top after my work on it. While it is far from perfect it is much better than when I started working on it.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. With the bowl polished it was time to rewax it. I have been using a product called Clapham’s Beeswax Polish – a white beeswax paste wax. I apply it to the meerschaum and then heat the meerschaum with a flame to open the pores in the meer. I let is cool then buff it with a cotton cloth. The photos below show the pipe after the buffing. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on the vulcanite with the flame of a Bic lighter and was able to lift the tooth marks to the surface. They were now small enough that sanding them would remove them.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and 400 grit wet dry sandpaper to remove the oxidation remaining on the stem and the remaining tooth marks on the surface.The stem was in great condition with light tooth marks and oxidation. 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 Genuine Block Meerschaum 8 Bent Billiard turned out to be a great looking pipe. The flumed top and the developing patina in the meer makes this a pretty pipe. The polished finish on the pipe works well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the 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 Block Meerschaum Bent Billiard 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 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.

The next pipe from Bob Kerr’s Estate – an Irwin’s London England 9132 Billiard

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

I am continuing to work on the pipes in Bob Kerr’s estate for a while. I am getting closer to finishing restoring this large estate with only about 28 more pipes to do. This is one of his two Irwin’s pipes that I am working on. I am cleaning them for the family and moving them out into the hands of pipemen and women who will carry on the trust that began with Bob and in some pipes was carried on by Bob. In the collection there were 19 Peterson’s pipes along with a bevy of Dunhills, some Comoy’s and Barlings as well as a lot of other pipes – a total of 125 pipes along with a box of parts. This is the largest estate that I have had the opportunity to work on. I put together a spread sheet of the pipes and stampings to create an invoice. I was taking on what would take me a fair amount of time to clean up. I could not pass up the opportunity to work on these pipes though. They were just too tempting. This is a nicely grained billiard and was another fun one to work on. It is a classic shaped pipe with a medium sized billiard shape. It will go on the rebornpipes store.

This Irwin’s London England 9132 Billiard has a smooth finish with lots variation in the grain around the briar is a beauty! The pipe is stamped on the left of the shank and reads Irwin’s over London England. On the right side it has the shape number 9132. The grain grime and dirt ground into the mixture of grain around the bowl. It had rich medium brown stain that does not look too bad. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a thick lava overflow sitting on the total rim top. The inner edge of the rim is dirty and may have some damage under the grime. It was a beautiful pipe that was dirty and tired looking. The stem was oxidized and calcified toward the end. It bears a circle IR stamp on the topside of the taper stem. It had the characteristic tooth marks that I have come to expect from Bob’s pipes. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up on the edges of the bowl. It was thick and hard but hopefully it had protected the rim top and edges from damage. It was hard to know for sure from the photos. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the beautiful grain under the grime and grit ground into the finish. He took photos of the stamping on both sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos and read as noted above. You can also see the Circle IR stamp on the topside of the taper stem.Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button.The shape 9132 Shape number on the right side of the shank pointed me to GBD as the maker of this pipe. I turned to the Pipephil website (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-i.html). The site had very little information but it linked the brand to GBD as I had remembered. Here is a screen capture of the section.I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find more information on Irwin’s and there was nothing listed in the article on GBD pipes. I did find a note on the Brands and Makers page connection the brand to GBD (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Pipe_Brands_/_Makers). On that page under Irwin’s I found the following information.

GBD sub-brand / second. Also known “Irwin`s Handmade in Denmark”

Other than that there was no other information.

Now on to my part of the restoration of this Irwin’s London England 9132 GBD made Billiard. I decided to start by dealing with the damage to the beveled inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edge and clean up the bevel to remove the darkening. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad.

I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I touched up the IR Circle stamp on the topside of the stem with some Paper Mate Liquid Paper. I worked it into the Circle IR stamp with a toothpick. When it cured I scraped off the excess on the topside of the stem.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in great condition with light tooth marks and oxidation. 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 Irwin’s London England 9132 Billiard made by GBD from Bob Kerr’s estate turned out to be a great looking pipe. The mix of brown stains highlights the 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 saddle 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 Irwin’s 9132 Billiard 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in carrying on Bob’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. I have more to work on of various brands. Perhaps one of those will catch your attention. 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.