Tag Archives: polishing

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff picked up this interesting looking freehand pipe on one of his adventures pipe hunting. It had really nice grain and plateau on the top of the rim and a mix of plateau and carving on the end of the shank. There was something familiar about the style of carving that reminded me of other Danish Freehand pipes I have worked on. The finish was dirty with dust and lava on the plateau top. The bowl was lined with a thick cake that was flaking and soft. There was thick dust in the shank end. The smooth finish was also dirty and dull looking. The stem is a turned chairleg style stem. The fit of the stem to the shank was very snug. There were no tooth marks on either side of the stem at the button. It was a very clean stem. The next two photos that Jeff took of the pipe show the overall condition of the bowl and stem. Jeff took close up photos of the rim top and the grain on the bottom and sides of the bowl. It is a beautiful piece of briar.The next photo shows the stamping on the underside of the shank – Jobey Dansk over Handmade in Denmark with the shape number 2SM underneath. The second photo shows the debris and dust in the carving and plateau on the shank end.The last two photos Jeff took before cleaning up the pipe show the condition of the stem. There are no bite marks or damages to the stem surface on either side.I wanted to look at who had carved the Jobey Dansk line to confirm some suspicions I had about it. I had a feeling that the pipes were carved by a Danish carver known as Karl Erik. I looked up the Jobey listing on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Jobey) and found the following information. I quote a portion of the article that is pertinent as follows.

English – American – Danish – French… Information about the brand Jobey are only to be found in form of smithereens…

Probably established in England around 1920(?) the brand hiked into the USA later. In the course of time owner, distributor and manufacturer changed repeatedly. As far as known:
George Yale Pipes & Tobacco, New York (1942)
Norwalk Pipe Co., New York (1949)
Arlington Briar Pipes Corp., Brooklyn (when?)
Hollco International, New York (1969).
Weber Pipe Co., Jersey City, NJ (1970’s)
The Tinder Box, (1970’s – 80’s).

Throughout decades Jobey pipes were mainly sold in the USA, Canada and England but remained almost unknown in continental Europe. The bulk of Jobeys was predominantly made according to classical patterns and mainly in the lower to middle price range. The predominant judgment of the pipe smokers reads: “A well-made pipe for the price.” So there is hardly anything very special or exciting about Jobey pipes although a flyer from ca. 1970 assures: “The briar root Jobey insists upon for its peer of pipes is left untouched to grow, harden and sweeten for 100 years. […]Jobey uses only the heart of this century old briar and only one out of 500 bowls turned measures up to the rigid Jobey specifications.” 99.80% of cull… that makes the layman marveling!

That gave some background information followed by a group of photos of these classically shaped pipes. There was not any mention of the Dansk line in the early paragraphs of the article. However, following the photos there a short paragraph that gave me the details that I was looking for on the line. I quote it in full.

Yet then there are…really exciting Freehands mainly in the seventies, that Jobey – Weber owned back then – bought from Danish pipe genius Karl Erik (Ottendahl). These pipes were offered as Jobey Dansk – ’70’s pure! (BTW waning sales caused Ottendahl to discontinue exports to the United States in 1987.)

From that information, my suspicions were confirmed. The pipe that I was working on was carved by Karl Erik Ottendahl. The shape was similar to the Karl Erik pipes that I have worked on in the past. The dating of the pipe line in the article fits well with the pipe I have in hand. The stamping on the underside of the shank that is shown in the photos following the paragraph is identical to the ones on my pipe. Here is that photo.Armed with that information I turned back to the pipe in hand. Before he sent it to me, Jeff had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the remnants of the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the bowl, rim and shank. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. The lava mess on the rim was thoroughly removed without harming the finish underneath it. Without the grime the finish looked really good. The stem was in great condition and would only need to be polished. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition it was in after the cleanup. Jeff was able to remove all of the lava on the rim top and edges. You can see the contrast the heights and ridges of the plateau top on both the top of the bowl and the end of the shank. The inner edge of the bowl is in great condition with no damage to the inside edge. It is a nice looking finish. The briar is dry and in need of polishing. The stem was clean with no tooth chatter or marks on either the top or underside of the stem near the button.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the briar and particularly plateau areas. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and worked it into the plateau areas on the rim top and shank end. I buffed it in with a horsehair shoe brush and wiped it off with a soft cloth. I used the brush to buff the bowl and polish it. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. When I finished with the final sanding pad I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. It really shone now that it was polished. I polished the stem and the smooth portions of the bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 inches. I will be posting this one on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email to slaug@uniserve.com or a message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Restoring a Unique Comoy’s Pebble Grain 603 Modern Bent Poker

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Blog by Dal Stanton

When I saw this pipe on the eBay auction block, I wanted it! I was drawn initially by two factors – first, it was a Comoy’s Pebble Grain. Secondly, I had never seen a Comoy’s with this shape – a very nice Bent Poker and classy to boot! Or was it a Poker? The seller’s tagline said: Details about Comoy’s Pre-Cadogan Pebble Grain Lightweight OOM Paul 609 Made In England. Uh, Oom Paul? Here is what I saw: Despite the confusing information which I decided I would sort out later, I was able to dodge last second bidders and land this beautiful, blasted Comoy’s Pebble Grain Bent Poker. This Comoy’s has been in my ‘Help Me! Basket’ here in Bulgaria for some time waiting to unravel the confusion. Now, fast forward to a recent visit to Bulgaria of my wife’s sister and her husband, Sarah and Greg. It was great having family visit! As is often the case, when people visit, they know about my sideline activity of restoring pipes for the Daughters of Bulgaria and often, people visiting our home are interested in the process of restoring, etc. And VERY OFTEN, people desire to help the Daughters, too, and go through the MANY pipes I have in the ‘Help Me!’ basket and pick out a special pipe for them that will also benefit the Daughters. Well, Greg caught the bug and wanted to choose ‘a’ pipe for himself which became two pipes because he couldn’t decide between the two! He chose this Comoy’s as well as a K&P Peterson’s Republic of Ireland – both now in the queue for restoration to benefit the Daughters. Thanks, Greg!

The one thing the eBay seller had right about this Comoy’s is that it is Pre-Cadogan, which means that it is pre-1981 the year of the merger. The origins of Comoy from Saint-Claude, France, started in the 1820s by Francois Comoy. His son, Henri, started the London extension of the Comoy name in 1879 with not much more than the tools of his trade – making pipes. He is cited by Pipedia as being the author of the appellation, “London Made”. In 1929 the company merged with the macro-concern, Oppenheimer Pipes. With this, albeit brief history, Pipedia’s describes the present summation:

Comoy’s remained a family owned company until it was finally taken over by Cadogan Investments during the early 1980’s. Cadogan have continued to manufacture Comoy pipes to the present day and, under Michael Adler, the Comoy brand is their flagship and efforts are being made to once more re-instate the well-known quality of the brand.

Time to sort out the confusion. I did a simple Google search for a Comoy’s pipe shapes chart which brought me PipePages.com where I found the actual shape 603 (not 609 on the eBay block), described as a ‘Modern – Bent Poker’. The page provided information associating the Comoy’s pipe chart with the corresponding 1975 Comoy’s of London Catalog which I looked at. The 603 is on the right, second down in the chart below. I remember 1975! I was in college, driving my red ‘68 VW Bug, Gerald Ford was President of the US, and it was the year Jaws hit the cinema (I think!). The catalog described the Pebble Grain line’s qualities and also provided a price list that I found interesting to see how the various Pebble Grain line shapes ranked in monetary value in 1975 – not a cheap pipe! It was tied for second in value with Comoy’s Golden Grain, behind number 1 – Comoy’s Diplomat line (See below). With the confusion dispensed, I take the 1975 Comoy’s Pebble Grain, Modern – Bent Poker, to the worktable and take additional pictures to get a closer look at this classy Comoy’s Pebble Grain Modern Poker. The heel of the Poker contains the nomenclature: ‘COMOY’S’ over ‘PEBBLE GRAIN’ over ‘MADE IN LONDON’ over ‘ENGLAND’ over ‘603’, the shape number. According to Pipedia’s article, A History Of Comoy’s and A Guide Toward Dating the Pipes, the ‘Made in London England’ was used after WW2. According to the same article, the ‘Inlaid C’ which this Poker has, was stopped with the Cadogan era in 1981. So, this Comoy’s is placed after WW2 to the 1970s – the 1975 Comoy’s catalog siting seems to be confirmed. I found this information about the inlaid C interesting:

“C” was first inlaid in the side of the mouthpiece around 1919. This was a complex inlay needing three drillings. First, a round white inlay was inserted, then the centre of the white was drilled out, and a smaller round black inlay was inserted. Finally, another drilling was made to remove the open part of the “C,” and an even smaller black inlay was inserted. This inlaid “C,” known as the “three-piece C,” was continued until the Cadogan era in the 1980s. However, the “C” in the 1920s and early 30s is much thinner and more delicate than the one post-war. Cadogan first changed the “C” to a single drilling with an inlay that had the “C” in the centre, and more recently it became a laser imprint. I have a cased pair of early 1920’ “Par Excellence” where the “C” is on top of the mouthpiece.

The picture above shows the ‘three-piece C’ detected by the drilling if you look closely. Very cool!

The condition of the Comoy’s Pebble Grain ¾ Bent Modern Poker is pretty good. The blasted finish is exceptional, which seems to be a hallmark of the Comoy’s name. The surface is dirty and needs to be cleaned. The rim has significant lava flow over it and the chamber is sporting some moderate cake buildup. The stem has a good bit of tooth chatter but no dents that I detect. The oxidation is deep. I want to keep my eye that – not to progress too far finishing the stem and discover oxidation! That is not fun. I begin the restoration of the Comoy’s Pebble Grain by first cleaning the internals with pipe cleaners and isopropyl 95%. I then add the stem to a Before and After Deoxidizer bath along with other stems. After some hours, I fish out the Comoy’s stem and after allowing it to drain a bit, I wipe off the raised oxidation using cotton pads and light paraffin oil, Bulgaria’s version of mineral spirits. The oxidation wipes off and then I buff the stem clean with the cotton pad. I run a pipe cleaner through the stem to rid the airway of Deoxidizer fluid. I follow the Deoxidizer bath by applying Before and After Fine Polish and then Extra Fine Polish to further remove oxidation and revitalize the vulcanite stem. I put a little of the polish on my finger and work it into the vulcanite until it has absorbed well. I do the same with the Extra Fine Polish. I wipe off each application with a cotton pad. I take a close look and I can still see the deep greenish haze of oxidation – ugh! Instead of immediately turning to sanding, I decide to utilize the method I’ve used in the past – an OxiClean bath. I cover the Comoy’s ‘C’ with petroleum jelly to protect it and I put the stem in the bath with a pipe cleaner inserted in it for easier retrieval. I leave the stem in the OxiClean bath over nite. With the stem soaking, I turn to the Comoy’s Poker stummel. I begin by reaming the chamber to remove the moderate carbon cake buildup. Uncovering fresh briar enables me to examine the chamber walls for cracks or crevices. Using the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I start with the smallest blade after putting paper towel down to ease on cleanup. I use 3 of the 4 blades available to me in the Pipnet Kit – I’m surprised how large the bowl is for a smaller sized pipe. I then scrape more carbon out of the chamber using the Savinelli Fitsall tool which is great for getting hard to reach places. Using a Sharpie Pen, around it I wrap 240 grit paper and sand the fire chamber to expose the fresh briar. I finish with cleaning the chamber of carbon dust with a cotton pad wetted with isopropyl 95%. The chamber has no cracks or crevices upon inspection. Next I attack the lava flow on the rim and cleaning the stummel surface. I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil soap with cotton pads to do the cleaning. The rim requires the use of a brass brush which doesn’t harm the briar. I then rinse the stummel using cool tab water careful to keep water out of the internals. The Murphy’s cleaned the surface well – it was grimy and the old finish was lightened at different places – especially around the rim. I take a few pictures below to show what I’m seeing. I like working on a clean pipe so I decide to do the dirty work now. Using pipe cleaners and cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 95%, I work on cleaning the mortise and draft hole. I find the internals pretty dirty but finally the pipe cleaners and buds are coming out fairly clean. I like to make sure the internals are clean so I will also use the more subtle approach – kosher salt and alcohol soak. I use kosher salt because, unlike iodized salt which leaves a taste in the wood, kosher does not. I fill the chamber with salt and cover the top and give it a shake to move the salt around. Then I use a cotton ball to create a wick by stretching and twisting it. I stuff it down the mortise and place the stummel in an egg carton for stability. Using a large eyedropper, I then fill the chamber with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt. After a few minutes, I will top the alcohol again. The night is late, I leave the stummel to soak over nite and I call it a day. The next morning before heading out for my workday, I need to tend to the kosher salt and alcohol soak. The salt was discolored and the wick was wonderfully colored – it did the job that was asked of it! I dump out the used salt in the waste basket and wipe the bowl with paper towel and a bristled brush to remove the leftover salt. I also blow through the mortise to purge any left over salt in the mortise. I finish by running a few pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95% through the airway and I’m satisfied. The bowl is clean!I also fish the Comoy’s stem out of the OxiClean bath. The bath has raised more oxidation from the vulcanite. I adjust the aperture on the iPhone camera to show better what I’m able to see with the naked eye.I attack the oxidation by wet sanding with 600 grade paper. When it’s time to head to work, I’m still not satisfied that the oxidation was conquered and will continue tonight!I continue working on the oxidation when I return in the evening. I continue sanding using 600 grade paper but change to dry sanding. I also utilize a disc I fashioned to wedge up to the shank end of the stem to avoid the sanding creating a ‘shoulder’ on the stem – a rounding of the edge. I think I’m making progress. I follow the 600 paper by buffing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool. Through out I take a very light approach to sanding on the Comoy’s 3 piece ‘C’, though since it is an inlay, it’s not fragile – at least that is my hope! At this point, I’m feeling better about the oxidation being subdued for the most part!Now, taking a close look at the bit area to determine tooth chatter needing to be taken care of, I see that the work dealing with the oxidation has almost cleared all the chatter. There is still a little that will easily sand out. I take pictures of the minor issues and then use 470 grade paper on the upper and lower bit areas removing the chatter. I then return to 600 grade paper then 0000 steel wool to erase the tracks of the coarser papers. The pictures show the progress. Next, using micromesh pads, I wet sand the stem using pads 1500 to 2400. Following this I dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 then 6000 to 12000. Following each set of 3 pads, I apply Obsidian Oil which the vulcanite drinks up. I think that stems require more time than any other part of the restoration process – they take lots of patience and this Comoy’s stem looks good – he’s really popping! Turning to the Pebble Grain Poker stummel, I’m looking forward to seeing how he will shape up! The Comoy’s Pebble Grain blasted finish is second to none in my opinion – the three-dimensional perspective of the grain revealed in the blasting process gives a different kind of enjoyment. I love to see the grain emerge in smooth briars, but a quality blasted surface, as this Comoy’s is, gives a unique grain look and touch all in one package. Earlier when I cleaned the stummel with Murphy’s Soap, I felt like it lightened the finish at places. With this classic pipe I want to keep it as close to the original as I can – only refreshing it where its tired. I reached out to Steve with all his rebornpipes experience to get his input which was helpful as expected! The working plan is to touch up areas that are worn more and exposed briar is showing. This is especially true of the outer rim lip – through wear, the finish is thin. I take a few pictures to mark the start. With a Cherry dye stick, which seems to be a good, subtle match, I touch up the rim as well as a few spots around the base of the shank and on the shank end. I then apply Before and After Restoration Balm, Steve’s suggestion, by placing Balm on my fingers and working it into the crevices of the Comoy’s Poker blasted finish. The Balm starts off more liquidy then firms up into a wax-like substance that continues to be supple. It takes a few applications to my finger to cover the surface well. I set it aside for a while to allow the Balm to do its thing! I take a picture with the Balm on the stummel. After about ten minutes, I wipe the Balm off with a cotton cloth towel until it start shining up. I’m very pleased with the results – the Balm brought the blasted briar to a rich brown hue with the light reddish flecks that give the briar surface depth and character.I reunite the stem to the Modern Poker stummel and mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel dedicated to White Diamond compound to the Dremel. With the speed set at the lowest for the Dremel, I apply the compound to the stem to bring out the gloss. I don’t press hard on the wheel but allow the speed, the wheel and the compound to do the work. After completing the application of compound to the stem, I mount a cotton cloth wheel on the Dremel to apply Carnauba wax to both the blasted stummel and stem. What I have grown to enjoy is the up close and personal approach that I have developed with the Dremel. I am able to apply the carnauba wax by changing the orientation of the wheel to correspond to the terrain of the blasted surface. This allows me to apply the wax strategically and to avoid too much or too little. After completing a couple of applications of the wax, I give the Comoy’s Poker a rigorous hand buffing with a mircromesh towel dispense any leftover wax and to raise the shine.

Oh my! What a classic presentation of this Made in London England, Comoy’s Modern ¾ Bent Poker. The blasted surface is beautiful – I love the 3 dimensional perspective of the grain. The process of blasting is different from rustification. When I started restoring pipes it took me a while to figure this out. The blasting technique, which Comoy’s has certainly perfected over the years, gently removes the soft wood and leaves the contours of the harder wood of the grain peeks. This leaves an intricate mosaic of grain pattern to enjoy by sight and by touch as one enjoys his (or her) favorite blend. This vintage Comoy’s Pebble Grain 603 Bent Modern Poker is a keeper and I’m reluctantly giving him up! A unique addition to anyone’s pipe collection. Since Greg commissioned the Poker, he has first dibs on it when I put it into The Pipe Steward Store. This Comoy’s Pebble Grain benefits the work of the Daughters of Bulgaria – helping women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks for joining me!

Refreshing a NOS 2012 Peterson’s Pipe of the Year Diplomat

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Blog by Steve Laug

Not too long ago I went for coffee with a friend of mine who used to own a pipe shop. He had some pipes to sell and wanted me to have a look. He wanted me to offer them for sale on rebornpipes. This is the third pipe of the lot that he sent home with me. It was a New Old Stock (NOS) unsmoked, Peterson’s Pipe of the Year for 2012. The 2012 Peterson Pipe of the Year continues the tradition of using the then new “B Line” shapes. It is a bit of hybrid shape that combines a stout bodied Brandy shape with a Diplomat shape. It has a flattened bottom on the bowl that enables the pipe to sit. It features a squat bowl with oval shank. This smooth finished pipe has the traditional Peterson reddish brown staining and the use of higher graded briar shows through. The vulcanite, saddle stem is matched with a (0.925 sterling) silver band embossed with the Peterson “P” on the top side and embossed hallmarks identifying the year of the pipe on the underside of the band. The smooth finish version is numbered and comes packaged in the 2012 grey box. The vulcanite stem was a fishtail style stem rather than a P-lip. The pipe is highly collectible. The photos below show the packaging and what I saw when I opened the box and removed it from the green Peterson’s of Dublin pipe sock. I took it out of the box and took photos to show the condition. You can see that the finish is flawless with some nice grain around the bowl. The silver band is tarnished but undamaged. It has a large cursive Peterson’s P on the top of the oval band and hallmark stamps on the underside that matches the 2012 year. The bowl inside was polished and smooth. It was indeed unused. The stem was flawless and there was no oxidation or discolouration to be detected. There were no marks on the stem also showing that it was unused. The airway in the shank and the stem were clean and polished. It is stamped on the topside of the shank Peterson’s with the old forked P arched over Dublin. On the underside it is stamped LIMITED EDITION over 534/1000 indicating that this is the 534 pipe out of a total of 1000 pipes that had been made for the POY 2012. The pipe is a beauty and the silver will really stand out once it is polished and cleaned.

The measurements of the pipe are as follows – Length: 5.47 in./138.94 mm, Weight: 1.90 oz./53.86 g, Bowl Height: 1.56 in./39.62 mm, Chamber Depth: 1.25 in./31.75 mm, Chamber Diameter: 0.78 in./19.81 mm, Outside Diameter: 1.79 in./45.47 mm. I took some close up photos of the rim, bowl and underside of the bowl to show the condition of the pipe. You can see the tarnish on the band but you can also see the P on the topside and the hallmarks on the underside. I would be better able to read the hallmarks once I had removed the tarnish on the silver. The fishtail stem was in perfect condition and had a rich shine to vulcanite. I polished the silver band using a jeweler’s cloth and rubbed the band until the silver shone and the tarnish was gone.I took some close up photos of the shank and band to show the stamping on both. I did some hunting for information on the 2012 POY and could not find any hallmark charts that went beyond 2010. I am working with the assumption that the markings on the silver band match the stamping on the pipe and the mark on the box. The pipe has the standard Peterson’s Hallmarks. The first mark is the Hibernia which identifies the country of origin as Ireland. The second mark is .925 which is the fineness mark denoting the quality of the silver used. The third mark is the date mark which in this case is the cursive A which I am assuming identifies the year of manufacture as 2012 to match the date on the box and the POY 2012 designation.This beautiful pipe is a worthy addition to a Peterson’s Collector’s rack. It has stunning grain and polished silver. The combination looks really good with the black of the stem. The pipe is new old stock (NOS) and has never been smoked or even handled much since 2012. The measurements of the pipe are as follows – Length: 5.47 in./138.94 mm, Weight: 1.90 oz./53.86 g, Bowl Height: 1.56 in./39.62 mm, Chamber Depth: 1.25 in./31.75 mm, Chamber Diameter: 0.78 in./19.81 mm, Outside Diameter: 1.79 in./45.47 mm. I am adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know via email to slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.

Breathing New Life into a B.P. Jum War Club

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Blog by Steve Laug

In one of the boxes of pipes that my brother Jeff sent me was a large, hefty carved pipe that was stamped BP Jum. It had a carved finish very similar to the carving on Custombilt pipes made by Tracy Mincer. The shape is also similar to the CB pipes. It is a large pipe – 5 ½ inches long, 1 ½ inches tall, outside wall diameter 2 inches and the chamber diameter 1 inch. The shank diameter is 7/8 inches. The stem is 2 ¼ inches long. The briar was very dirty with grit and grime in the depths of the carvings. The rim top was also dirty with lava and tars in the carving of the rim. There was cake built up on the walls of the bowl. The briar has a log of putty fills underneath the rustication with a large one on the left side of the shank. The stem was oxidized and dirty and there were tooth marks and chatter on both the top and underside of the stem near the button. The internals of the both the airway in the stem and shank and the mortise were very dirty with tars and oils. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and inside of the bowl to show the condition. You can see the cake – not terribly thick but still visible and flaking nonetheless. It was not hard but was flaky and soft. He also took photos of the sides and underside of the bowl and shank. I have included those here. There was a smooth portion of briar on the underside of the shank that was stamped BP JUM over IMPORTED BRIAR. There were fills in the shank that are visible in the photo below.He took photos of the stem to show the tooth marks and the oxidation on the stem.I did some research to try to find out information on the BP Jum brand. There was a lot of conjecture as to whether the brand was made by Tracy Mincer of Custombilt fame. There is no definitive proof other than the common shapes, sizes and look of the pipes. Bill Unger, of Custombilt fame and author of a history of the brand, mentions BP Jum but cannot definitively connect the two. So the maker remains a mystery that is still unsolved. Do any of you reading this have information on the brand? Send me a message or an email if you can help. Thanks ahead of time.

Jeff had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the bowl, rim and shank. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. The lava mess on the rim was thoroughly removed without harming the finish underneath it. Without the grime the finish looked good. The stem would need to be worked on. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the rim top that shows the clean bowl and the small nicks and dents in the smooth portion of the finish. The stem was clean and Jeff had used Before & After Deoxidizer to soak and remove much of the oxidation. He rinsed out the inside of the stem and rinsed off the exterior as well. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on both sides.The BP JUM stamp is very clean. You can see the putty fills on the left side of the photo as well as on the shank sides and the bowl itself. I used a Mahogany stain pen to touch up all of the fill areas on the pipe and blend them into the texture of the briar.I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand out the nicks and damage on the smooth parts of the rim. I polished them with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the briar and particularly the sanded areas. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a horsehair shoe brush to polish it. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I used clear super glue to fill in the large fill on the left side of the shank. I scored it with a knife to match the marks in the rustication. I stained the fill with a mahogany stain pen to match the briar and rubbed the area down with the balm to blend it.I waxed the cleaned and polished bowl with Conservator’s Wax and worked it into the rusticated finish. I buffed it with a shoe brush and a soft cloth. The bowl is finished other than the final buffing that I will do once the stem is finished. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I used a Bic lighter to paint the tooth marks with the flame and try to lift them. I was able to remove the lighter tooth chatter and lift the deep tooth marks partially. I sanded the stem and the surface of the button with 220 grit sand paper to remove the remaining tooth marks and reshape the surface and edges of the button. There were two tooth marks that were too deep and did not lift when heated. I filled them in with clear super glue. Once it had cured I sanded it down with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the vulcanite. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I polished the stem and bowl with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is an interesting looking pipe that may have been carved by Tracy Mincer. It certainly bears a lot of resemblance to Custombilt/Custom-Bilt pipes.The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 1/2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding it to your collection email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this BP Jum.

Restoring my grandfather’s Custom-Bilt pipe

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

Now that the WDC Bulldog with Bakelite stem and gold band has been sent to Mr. Steve along with one Linkman’s with Pat Number and one Barling Ye Olde Wood, I suddenly feel relieved off the pressure of messing up with the restoration of these sentimentally valuable old pipes of my grandfather. It always pays to have someone experienced to fall back on in case something goes awry, the way it did with the WDC mentioned above. I am sure that those of who have previously read about the restoration of the Pete System # 31 will be curious to know what exactly went wrong with the WDC that I have mentioned it twice!!! Well, I definitely intend to share this story with you, but all in good time!!!!!

The next pipe from the collection which I decided to work on was a huge Custom-Bilt briar pipe. The large size of the bowl, thick shank and large saddle stem, lends this pipe a weight which I particularly enjoy holding in my hand.The pipe has deep and large vertical rustications along the entire length of the shank and height of the bowl. Within these large vertical rustications are very thin, closely stacked horizontal lines which give this pipe its unique appearance and are its trademark!!! I absolutely loved this pipe. These large rustications end half a centimeter below the outer rim of the bowl giving it the semblance of a rim cap. The rim top is covered with the same thin, closely stacked lines as seen between the vertical rustications.The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank as “Custom-Bilt” on a plane surface. There is also a five-pointed star on the right side of the shank where the shank and stem meet (this star was revealed later after cleaning the pipe!!!).I searched the internet for information in order to date this pipe. Pipedia has a lot of information about this pipe and just typing in Custom-Bilt in the search bar of the site will reveal the required information. There is an interesting review given by Richard Esserman on a book written by William E. Unger, Jr., PhD, which deals with the study of Custom-Bilt pipes. The author authoritatively states, after a lot of research and study that the stamp as seen on this particular pipe dates it from between 1938 – 1946!Initial inspection of the pipe revealed the following:

There is a thick layer of cake in the bowl. Though the cake appears thin, the sheer size of the bowl makes it appear so.The rim is covered in the overflow of lava, dirt and grime. The outer edge of the rim appears to be in good condition with no damage. The condition of the inner edge will be determined only after removing the cake.

The large vertical rustications are filled with dust, oils, dirt and grime to such an extent that the horizontal lines lying within are barely visible. Same goes for the rim top. The stem is firmly stuck to the shank and will not budge. However, there is only one light bite mark below and above the stem near the lip. This is a big surprise since all the other pipes are heavily chomped up!THE PROCESS

Before I could start the work of cleaning the pipe, I kept it in the freezer overnight so as to separate the stem from the shank. Come morning, I removed the pipe from the freezer and tried to remove the stem, but it still did not budge! I let it rest outside for an hour and after applying considerable force, the stem came free, revealing an aluminum tenon fixed permanently into the shank.My first impression was that of having broken and ruined the stem. Further examination of this protrusion confirmed two airways, a larger one above a smaller one, both with the same draught hole at the other end.There is also a gap between the end of this aluminum protrusion and the airway hole inside the stem. This gap is covered in oils, tars and gunk. My guess is that the smoke drawn is swirled and the turbulence results in a cool and dry smoke. Any confirmed inputs will be highly appreciated.Using a Kleen Reem pipe tool, Abha, my wife removed all the thick cake from the bowl. She further cleaned the bowl down to the bare briar using a knife that I have especially fabricated for cleaning pipes. It may not be as classy as a Savinelli Fitsall knife, but performs efficiently to our satisfaction.A sanding down of the insides of the bowl by a 220 grit sand paper made the inner surface of the bowl nice and smooth. Abha had sanded down the inside of the bowl down to its briar. On close scrutiny of the insides of the bowl, I saw what appeared to be cracks in the bowl and that had me in sweats!!! Immediately forwarded pictures of the same to my mentor and Guru, Mr. Steve who laid my fears to rest by assuring these were not cracks and that further sanding should take care of these things. These lines which appeared like cracks disappeared after sanding down with a 220 grit sand paper.Thereafter, using Murphy’s oil soap ( undiluted ) and a hard bristled toothbrush on the exterior of the bowl, shank and rim, the pipe was thoroughly cleaned and rinsed under running tap water. I immediately wiped it down with a soft cloth. The long vertical rustications and the horizontal lines within were now clean and the briar looked clean and solid. I then left the briar to dry out. This product, I find to be very easy to use and the results are really amazing. The briar takes on a new look and a new shine. While the briar was drying out, I turned my attention to the stem. Since there is only one small, light bite mark on both the sides of the stem near the lip, I felt that it can be addressed by holding it over a Bic lighter and during sanding down using a 220 grit paper followed by micromesh sanding pads. Since there is no stamping on the stem, the work progressed relatively faster. After a 220 grit sanding, I wet sanded it with 1500 – 3200 micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded with 3400 – 12000 grit sand paper. In between each micromesh pad, I wiped it down with extra virgin olive oil, which I find is a perfect substitute for Obsidian oil which is not available in India and olive oil also tastes great! The stem is now nice and shiny. However, the light bite marks on both upper and lower sides can still be seen even after the using the Bic lighter and the sanding down process. This should have been addressed right at the beginning by either filling it with black super glue (which I do not have) or by using activated charcoal as suggested by my Guru, Mr. Steve. Well, this was a lesson learnt during this project.

Once the briar had dried out completely, I rubbed in Before and After Restoration Balm deep into the rustications as well as the rim top. The bowl was then wiped vigorously with a soft cloth and buffed with a horse hair shoe brush. The result is very pleasing and satisfying to the eyes! I am happy with this progress. This balm is a fantastic product for infusing a new life into the briar and giving it a new lease of life.While on a FaceTime call with Mr. Steve, I had conveyed that I do not have a buffing wheel and other waxes. He advised me to use boot wax which is readily available with us, it being an inescapable requirement in my profession and believe you me, it works wonders. I can rely on his vast experience to come up with such simple, uncomplicated and practical solutions, specifically tailor-made for you. Thank you, Sir.

The finished pipe is as shown below. I enjoyed working on this large Custim-Bilt pipe belonging to my grandfather. There are still a number of pipes which I have to work on and the next one is an old Stanwell, de-Luxe # 482 with Regd number 969-48 and a KRISWILL “CHIEF” #20. I have to work really hard and fast so as to complete as many pipes as possible before my leave ends!!!!

Restoring My Grandfather’s Peterson’s System “31” Made in Eire Billiard

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

Over the past few months I have restored quite a few of Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes. They have been both fun and challenging with the variety of issues each one presented. Throughout the process Paresh and I have corresponded and talked about procedures and methodology of the restorations and I encouraged him to give it a try. His family had passed on a large collection of his Grandfather’s pipes to him so it seemed to be a natural thing in my mind that he does the cleanup work on as many of them as he could. It just seemed fitting that the grandson does the restoration and then enjoy the pipes. He took me up on it and asked that I walk him through the process. We have talked a few times via FaceTime, linking India and Canada, to assess and plan the restoration. I asked Paresh to write some blogs on the work he is doing. Here is the first of those blogs. Welcome to rebornpipes Paresh. It is great to have you here. We look forward to seeing more of your work. — SteveWork had come to a halt on the WDC with the gold band “Bulldog” due to an extended curing time on the repairs to the stem as well as non-availability of Steve till 28 May ’18 to further guide me on the complicated (…by my standards!!) stem restoration. I decided to tackle a relatively straight forward restoration, as it appeared to my untrained eye, of a Pete system “31”, Made in Eire.

VISUAL EXAMINATION

The “31” is a beautiful little pipe with a lovely rusticated pattern. At the shank end, it has a nickel ferrule bearing three shields with the inscriptions ‘K ‘&’ ‘P’ respectively over “PETERSON” over “DUBLIN”.The smooth surface on the underside of the shank is stamped with the words “MADE IN EIRE” within a circle; the word “IN” being in the centre. Right of the COM stamp is “PETERSON’S” over “SYSTEM” OVER “31”.The “P” in Peterson’s is the ‘old style’ lettering that used a forked tail. This pipe can easily be dated to the 1938 – 41 period when Peterson’s stamped their pipes with COM stamp “MADE IN EIRE”. Secondly to quote from thepetersonpipeproject.blogspot.in, an authority on the dating of Peterson’s pipes states, “From the beginning of the Patent Era until somewhere in the early 1930’s Peterson used the ‘old style’ lettering that used a forked tail “P” in Peterson.

The bowl was filled with cake and overflowing lava on the rim top, though not very heavily, which was a surprise, since all my grandfather’s pipes restored by Steve and I till date were heavily caked.The rustications were filled with dirt and grime coming from being uncared for and unused in storage since the late 1960’s giving it a very dull and dusty look. The ferrule was oxidized and discoloured and came off of the shank easily, giving rise to fears of hidden surprises underneath on the shank end. However, no such surprises were in store for me this time! The stem was very heavily oxidized, giving it a dirty greenish colour. The stem has a permanently fixed long, protruding rubber tube/nozzle extending well past the draught hole. The edges of the P-lip are perfect, however, there are a few light bite marks on the stem. The only issue I foresee having to deal with is the foul smell! I hope that when the cake is removed, the smell too will disappear.

THE PROCESS OF RESTORATION

As is the un-written understanding between Abha, my wife, and myself, Abha started work on the bowl (……she hates dealing with the stems!!!!) by reaming it with a Kleen Reem tool and a vintage British Buttner pipe reamer. Within no time the cake was reamed out of the bowl and Abha proceeded to sand it down using a 220 grit to bare briar wood. In spite of removing the cake, the foul smell still persisted.While sanding down the chamber with a 220 grit sand paper, the exposed briar revealed the letter ‘P’ stamped on the bottom of the bowl near the draught hole!!I searched the internet for information since I had never read of a Peterson’s to sport such a stamp. Unable to find any related information, I sent pictures of the same to Steve of rebornpipes fame. He too had not seen such stamping before. I request, if any one has any information or knowledge to share, please do so.

Thereafter, I started work on the internals of the pipe. The draught hole was blocked to the extent that a bristled pipe cleaner could not pass through. I tried to blow through the lip of the stem, but air would not pass through. The reservoir was filled with tar, grime and gunk and so was the stem. It is amply evident from this pipe and all other pipes belonging to my grandfather that he did not like to clean his pipes and hence the large collection of Barlings, Charatan’s, WDC’s, GBD’s, Kriswills and other Danish brands.I completely cleaned the reservoir and mortise using alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brush and qtips. Using a dental spatula, I scraped out all the accumulated tar, oils and gunk out of the reservoir till bare briar was visible under torchlight and all pipe cleaners/cue tips came out clean.To get rid of the foul smell, the bowl was treated with kosher salt and alcohol overnight. After cleaning it thoroughly, the pipe now smelt fresh.Thereafter, I cleaned the bowl with Murphy’s oil soap and a hard bristled toothbrush, thoroughly cleaned the bowl deep into its rustication and rinsed it under running tap water. I dried the pipe bowl completely using a soft cotton cloth and left it to dry completely overnight.Next morning, I rubbed a Before and After Restoration Balm with my fingers and worked it deep into the rustication. After a few minutes I cleaned and polished it using a soft cotton cloth. The briar really began to look good. I further buffed it using a horse hair shoe brush till the bowl began to shine a bit. Finally, I rubbed a tiny amount of HALYCON II WAX on the bowl and waited a few seconds. Thereafter, using a microfiber cloth and plenty of muscle power over a prolonged period of time, I was finally satisfied with the way the bowl looked at this stage (pics).With the bowl finally finished, I turned my attention to the stem. A stated earlier, the stem was clogged to such an extent that air did not pass through it. I cleaned it out using alcohol, bristled and regular pipe cleaners. I used a Bic lighter to raise the light bite marks. Using a 220 grit sand paper, I completely removed the oxidation from the vulcanite surface. Thereafter, I went through the micromesh sand papers, wet sanding it with 1500 to 3200 and dry sanding with 3600 to 12000 grit paper. I rubbed extra virgin olive oil in between each.The stem now has a nice shiny and smooth black surface which looked classy and beautiful with the rusticated bowl. The finished pipe is shown below. This will definitely find a place of pride in my collection and remind me of the memories of my GRAND OLDMAN. I am most grateful to Steve Sir for guiding me through this project and always suggesting alternate and practical methods since I have huge handicap of materials and equipment, being either unavailable or being un-economical as I am just pursuing this as a hobby and restoring the memories of my grandfather whilst smoking these inherited pipes!

I shall be grateful and obliged to be made aware of my mistakes and scope for improvement in both, the write up as well as the procedures and methods adopted during the refurbishing of the pipe.DIMENSIONS OF THE PIPE
Length:                      5 ¾ inches
Bowl height:               1 ½ inches
Bowl depth:              7/8 inch
Bowl inner diameter: 7/8 inch

Recommissioning Another L. J. Peretti of Boston: An Oom Paul Sitter

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Blog by Dal Stanton

After restoring my first two Oom Pauls (see: LINK) from the L. J. Peretti Co., Tobacconist of Boston, this is the next Oom Paul that came to Bulgaria in the Peretti Lot of 10 I acquired off the eBay auction block. I posted the picture of the 10 (below) on my favorite Facebook pipe groups (The Gentlemen’s Pipe Smoking Society, Old Codgers Smoking Pipe, Pipe Smokers of America, and Tobacco Pipe Restorers) letting interested pipe men and women know that except for one, the Oom Pauls would be available for personal collections. All the Perettis restored and placed with new stewards benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria, an effort to help women and girls (and their children!) who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. This L. J. Peretti Oom Paul Sitter from the Lot of 10 has been commissioned by a pipe man in neighboring Romania, just to the north of Bulgaria. After restored, he will have first dibs on this Peretti now on my worktable!Along with the large stummel, what makes this Peretti stand out is the fact that it is a Sitter – a very nice feature when one is at the table enjoying friends and board games or a hand of cards! I wish that the L. J. Peretti Co., had put out a shape chart in the past – if they had, I haven’t been able to find it! This pipe, with another Sitter in the Lot of 10, might be just a bit shy of full bent status which is the technical norm for Oom Pauls according to Bill Burney’s description of the Oom Paul in Pipedia, but it is clear that Peretti used the same tall, long, full stummel with the Sitters, but widened the bend a bit, perhaps to allow the better balance as the Sitter is seated. My call is that it is very close and either way, will serve his new steward well! Here are pictures I took of the Peretti Oom Paul Sitter on my worktable here in Bulgaria. The left side of the shank is stamped with L. J. Peretti with no other markings on the stummel or stem. Along with his brothers and cousins in the Peretti Lot of 10, this Oom Paul Sitter shares the thick carbon cake in the chamber and the rim abuse of incessant lighting over the side of the rim. The extent of the erosion to the briar around the rim due to this scorching I’ll know after the reaming and cleaning of the stummel/rim. The bowl shows normal nicks, scratches and grime that has darkened and obscured the briar. I detect no fills on the surface, but the Sitter’s heel has a large, lightened blotch/fill to be addressed along the way. The stem has moderate oxidation, but the bit is chewed up like all his Peretti brothers and cousins. The former steward liked to chew on his Perettis! The upper/lower bit and button lip have sustained compression dents.

I start the restoration process by addressing the oxidation of the stem. Previously, along with several other stems of pipes in the queue, the Sitter’s stem went into a soak using ‘Before and After Deoxidizer’ to remove the oxidation from the vulcanite stem. I first had cleaned the internals of the stem with isopropyl 95% and pipe cleaners. The stem stayed in the soak for several hours and after removing it from the Deoxidizer, I wiped it down with cotton pads and mineral spirits (in Bulgaria, light paraffin oil). The oxidation wipes off as a nasty brown on the cotton pads. I continue to wipe with cotton pads and paraffin oil until it cleans and is buffing up. The Before and After Deoxidizer does a good job. To continue the Before and After process, I now apply first the Fine Polish by putting some on my finger tips and working it into the vulcanite. The polish starts off thick and gritty, but liquifies as I work it around and absorbs into the vulcanite. After a while, I buff off the polish with a cotton pad and then, in the same manner, apply the Extra Fine Polish. I take a picture of the stem after I worked this polish in but before buffing it off. You can make out the texture of the polish on the surface. I then buff it off with a cotton pad. The stem looks clear of oxidation and has a deep black hue.I look now to the stummel. I begin by reaming the heavily caked Oom Paul chamber. I also work on the rim surface with very thick, crusted lava flow. There is no way to determine the condition of the chamber wall or the rim until the cake is removed. This is a consistent characteristic of all the L. J. Peretti Lot of 10. I use the Pipnet Reaming kit to begin the job starting with the smallest blade over a paper towel to minimize clean up! I use 3 of the 4 blades available. I then use the Savinelli Fitsall Tool to continue to remove carbon from the chamber walls by scraping the chamber wall and reaching the difficult areas. When I detect the walls are scraped smoothly – no more crunching of carbon, I sand the chamber using 240 grit paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen. Finally, after sanding I wipe the chamber with cotton pads wetted with isopropyl 95% to remove the carbon dust. Looking into the chamber, I see no cracks or crevices. It looks good! I take pictures along the way. Now, to attack the thick gunk on the rim, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil also to clean the entire stummel which is darkened by the grime. I use a cotton pad and Murphy’s and the grime is coming off. I’m pleasantly surprised to see what I thought was a fill on the heel of the stummel disappear! It too was simply gunk on the briar surface. The rim put up some resistance! I first use the cotton pad but quickly utilized a brass brush to scrub the lava over the rim. I also used my pen knife to scrape gently the rim surface. To complete the cleanup, I rinse the stummel and rim with cool tap water. The stummel surface looks good – it cleaned up well and I can see some impressive grain patterns lurking underneath. As with the other Peretti Oom Pauls I’ve restored, the plane of the rim is dropping a bit to the left of perpendicular with the shank, but I’ll leave it as is. I also note that the left side of the rim has eroded somewhat because of the practice of lighting the tobacco over the edge. The result is that there is an inconsistent rim width around the circumference. I’ll seek to correct this, or at least help it along by creating an internal rim bevel. Since I like working on clean pipes, I turn to the internal cleaning of the stummel using a shank brush, pipe cleaners and cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 95%. I also utilize a dental spatula to scrape the sides of the mortise to remove old tars and oils. After the frontal assault on the gunk, I decide to employ the stealthier approach – a kosher salt and alcohol soak. This approach helps to freshen the internals as well as remove more latent tars and oils. I fill the stummel with kosher salt, cup the chamber with my palm and give the stummel a shake to displace the salt. I then create a wick with a cotton ball by pulling and twisting it. I stuff the wick down the mortise and through the draft way. Then I place the stummel in an egg carton to stabilize it and fill the bowl with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt. I wait a few minutes and top it off again. The day is late, and I set the stummel aside to let it soak through the night.The next morning, I discover that the salt had not discolored much but the wick had been successful drawing out the oils. I clean out the stummel getting rid of the expended salt and wiping the chamber with a paper towel. I run a long shank brush through the mortise and draft hole to clear the remnants of salt. Now, a clean stummel!Now, to the rim. I take a closer look and take a couple close ups to mark the starting point. The damage is not as extensive as I’ve seen on some of his Peretti brothers. Cleaning the scorched briar on the rim and creating an internal bevel in order to remove the damaged wood is the goal – fresh, healthier briar to form the rim. Starting, I gently top the stummel with 240 sanding paper on a chopping board only removing what is necessary. Rotating the inverted stummel on the board I discover that I don’t need to take off much. I then switch to 600 grade paper and smooth the rim – lightly topping it more. The pictures show the progress. The topping went well. Now, to cut the internal bevel, I roll a piece of 120 grade paper tightly around a hard wood disk to provide a flat, firm backing to help with a crisper b. I then work the paper around the internal rim circumference edge to cut the initial bevel. In the same way, I sand with 240 grade paper and finish it off with 320 and 600 grade papers. I think the rim looks great. I’m enjoying how this Peretti in cooperating. The stummel surface has normal nicks and minor dents which this Peretti has received over the years. To remove these, using sanding sponges on the surface is my usual approach. I start by employing a rougher grade sponge, middle grade and then finish going over the surface with a light grade sanding sponge. I am careful to protect the L. J. Peretti nomenclature on the shank as I sand. After the sanding sponges I transition to using micromesh pads to sand out the briar surface more using finer sanding surfaces. I begin by wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400 then dry sanding from 32000 to 4000 and then 6000 to 12000. I enjoy watching the grain start to show through the micromesh pad cycles. The L. J. Peretti is looking good as I look at it now. The pictures show the progress. Turning now to the stem, I take another look at the bit showing tooth chatter and dents. I first use a flame from a Bic lighter to paint the area expanding the vulcanite. As the vulcanite expands as the natural result of heating it, I’m hopeful that the dents and chatter might rise and make for less sanding. I believe the process helped but did not fully remove the dents. I took before and after pictures first with the upper bit comparison, then the lower bit. To address the dents, after wiping the area with alcohol to clean the surface, I apply drops of Black Medium KE-150 CA glue to the dents. I start on the upper bit. I put CA glue on the 2 main dents and run more glue along the button to fill in the chatter there. I then wait for an hour or so for the CA glue to set, so that I can flip the stem and apply glue on the lower bit. After the Black CA glue has cured, I start the process of filing and sanding the patch down to the vulcanite surface and sanding out the chatter. Starting with the flat needle file and 240 sanding paper I do the initial sanding and refreshing the buttons of both the upper and lower bit with the file. I follow by sanding with finer grades, 470 then 600. I finish this phase by buffing the entire stem with 0000 grade steel wool. The pictures show the progress finishing out the bit repairs. With this initial stem repair and sanding completed, I now use micromesh pads to continue sanding the stem with even finer sanding grades. I begin wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 followed by pads 6000 to 12000. After each set of 3 pads I apply Obsidian oil to revitalize the vulcanite. I love to see the vulcanite’s glassy pop! The pictures show the progression. Now, I take another look at the Peretti Oom Paul Sitter seated on my worktable! I like that characteristic of this large stummel. I study the attractive grain patterns that have started to emerge through the sanding process. To enhance the grain further, I mount a felt buffing wheel on the Dremel and I apply the coarser Tripoli compound with the lowest speed setting. Before I start the sanding process, I purge the wheel with the Dremel’s metal tightening wrench. I apply the compounds by rotating the wheel over the surface of the briar. I don’t apply too much lateral pressure on the buffing wheel, but I allow the speed, wheel and compound to do the work. After asking nicely, my wife takes a picture of me applying the Tripoli compound with the Dremel. After the Tripoli compound, I apply the less coarse compound Blue Diamond. I apply it in the same manner as Tripoli but with a cotton cloth buffing wheel instead of a felt wheel. When completed, I wipe the stummel with a cotton cloth to remove residue compound dust. The next step is to apply Before and After Restoration Balm to the Peretti’s briar surface. With the other restorations I’ve done with the Peretti Lot of 10, I have been very pleased with the results of applying the Restoration Balm. I very much like the natural briar look and the original Peretti motif has the lighter, natural patina. The Balm seems to take the natural briar grain and deepen and enrich it. I take a before and after picture of the stummel to show the difference. I’m afraid the lighting of the pictures does not show the subtle deepening that I perceive with the naked eye. To apply the Balm, I squeeze a little Balm on my fingers and work it into the briar surface. As I do this, the Balm progressively thickens to almost a wax-like consistency. I take a picture of the Balm on the stummel as I allow it to sit for a few minutes to give an idea of its consistency. I then use a cotton cloth rag to wiping it off at first, and then buffing it as the surface is exposed. I then use a micromesh cloth to give the stummel a hand buffing. The pictures show to process comparing each side in succession. I remember that I forgot to apply Blue Diamond compound to the stem. So, I attach the stem to the stummel and apply Blue Diamond compound to the stem and then wipe the entire pipe with a felt cloth to remove excess compound dust. Now, applying the carnauba wax, I mount a cotton cloth wheel to the Dremel, increase the speed to about 40% full power and apply the carnauba to the stem and stummel. After applying a few coats, I use a micromesh cloth to give the pipe a rigorous hand buffing to raise the shine even more.

This Peretti Oom Paul Sitter cleaned up very well – I’m pleased with the results. After restoring several Peretti pipes and I’ve concluded that not only have I found them to be good smokers, but the briar used for the production of these pipes seems to be of a higher quality and very pleasing to the eye on the whole. The grain on this Peretti has not disappointed. The large stummel showcases well the lateral grain on the lower regions and then bird’s eye grain dominates the opposite side of the bowl. Codruț, a pipe man in neighboring Romania, saw this Peretti when I posted several Peretti Oom Pauls that were to be restored and made available. He commissioned this Peretti and he will have first dibs on it when it goes into The Pipe Steward Pipe Store. This Peretti Oom Paul Sitter benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria, our work here in Bulgaria helping women and girls (and their children) who have been trafficked and sexually exploited to find a new life. Thanks Codruț(!), and thank you for joining me in this restoration!