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Breathing New Life into a Wally Frank Wine Root Bruyere De Luxe Selected Grain Squat Bulldog

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was purchased on 05/08/19 from an online auction in Cedar Springs, Michigan, USA. Jeff picked it up because we both like Cumberland stems and this little Bulldog had that and some great grain. The pipe is stamped Wine Root [over] Bruyere on the top left side of the shank and Wally Frank [over] Limited on the bottom left side. On the top right side it read De Luxe [over] Selected Grain and on the bottom right side it was stamped ITALY. The bowl was heavily caked with a heavy overflow of lava on the beveled rim top. There was some darkening on the outer edge of the rim down the side of the cap toward the back of the bowl. The finish was dirty and oily from the heavy use it had seen. It had a Cumberland push stem and an interesting/odd stinger apparatus in the tenon. The stem was oxidized to the point that the Cumberland was almost hidden. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. The a photo of the rim top show the thick lava coat that flows out of the bowl and over the edge of the bowl. It is hard to know what the edges of the bowl – inner and outer – look like because of the lava and cake. The photos of the stem show the heavy oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides. Jeff took a photo of the stinger apparatus that shows how packed full of debris and tars that the fins around the stinger really are.The next three photos show the grain around the sides of the bowl and heel as well as the placement of the fills on the sides of the bowl. It is a pretty neat looking pipe. The next photo shows the stamping on the top left side of the shank. It was clear and readable. Jeff did not take photos of the other sides of the shank.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Frank) to refresh my sense of the history of the brand. I quote below the history that is noted there.

Wally Frank, Ltd. was one of America’s oldest and most respected names in pipes and tobaccos, beginning in the early 1930’s. Wally Frank operated a chain of tobacco stores in New York City (the flagship store was in Lexington Avenue) and had a vast catalog business for pipes and pipe tobaccos. Their numerous private-label pipes were made by many makers, including Charatan, Sasieni, Weber, and many others. Wally Frank, Ltd. also owned the Pioneer brand of meerschaum pipes, made from both Turkish and African meerschaum. In addition to importing pipes, he had many pipes made in his own name and also employed pipemakers like Peter Stokkebye, Svend Bang, and Ed Burak (who later became the owner of Connoisseur). As a result, each Wally Frank pipe must be individually evaluated on its own merit.

Members of Wally Frank’s “The Pipe of the Month Club” received a new pipe in the mail once a month.

In 1952, Wally Frank was on a buying trip in Italy and “discovered” pipe maker Carlo Scotti. Frank liked Scotti’s pipes, but there was the small problem of Scotti’s pipes bearing the same trademark or logo as one of Wally Frank’s pipe lines, the White Bar. The two men decided on creating a new logo for pipes sold in the U.S.: a hole drilled in the stem and with a piece of silver foil inserted in the hole and covered with clear Lucite.

There was no specific information on the line I was working on but the history of the brand was good to be reminded of. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

It may seem that I praise Jeff’s work in cleaning up the pipes I work on a lot! I know I do but he is an indispensable part of the restoration work for me. He has developed a system of cleaning that is quite remarkable and leaves the pipes very clean. It saves me a lot of time so I have no issues saying that! Jeff did a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up but also to show the damage. The rim top photo looks good but there are some nicks and damage on the top and the beveled inner rim edge. The outer edge is also nicked. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and chatter on the surface near the button on both sides. The next series of photos show the stamping on the shank sides. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above.I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has some great grain on the side of the bowl. The stinger is very unique and is stained red from the stain on the bowl that has permeated the aluminum.I decided to address the rim top damage first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to the beveled inner edge to minimize the damage to the rim. I think that it is definitely better once I finished. I would polish the flat top of the rim with micromesh and try to minimize the scratching there. The angle of the stem makes topping the bowl seem impractical. I polished the briar rim top and edges along with the rest of the briar with micromesh sanding pads –dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and using a damp cloth after each pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter with 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove them from the surface. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil.I decided to try and clean up the stinger next. I used a brass bristle brush to try to clean off the stain on the aluminum. It did very little so I put it in a small alcohol bath for about an hour to see if it works. I worked on it with a cotton pads and alcohol to remove more of the stain. It did not do too much. I then scrubbed the stinger with acetone and removed some more. It did not remove any more so there is a pink tinge that remove. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Afterwards I rubbed it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I am excited to finish restoration of this Wally Frank Wine Root Bruyere De Luxe Selected Grain Squat Bulldog. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished Cumberland saddle stem. This squat Wally Frank Wine Root Bruyere Bulldog feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/ 1.09 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the American Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Breathing New Life into a Patented KBB Yello-Bole 2198L President

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Blog by Steve Laug

This pipe was purchased from an antique mall on 04/28/19 in Ogden, Utah, USA. Jeff picked it up because it was such a unique shape. It seems to somehow combine parts of the Skater shape and the Bullmoose’s protruding chin. The grain was nice and it had some fills on the sides of the bowl but not too obvious or obnoxious. The pipe is stamped President on the left side of the shank and KBB in a cloverleaf followed by Yello-Bole [over] Patent – 90232 on the right side of the shank. On the underside at the heel it is stamped with the shape number 2198L and mid shank reads Algerian Bruyere. The bowl had a moderate cake but you could see the yellow Honey Coating that Yello-Bole draw their name from. The finish was dirty and had a lot of nicks and scratches on the rim top and around the bowl sides. The base of the bowl and shank had been flattened to make the pipe a sitter. It had a vulcanite push stem and no stinger apparatus in the tenon or shank and there was no evidence that their ever had been one. The stem was lightly oxidized. There are a burn mark on the top side near the yellow O logo. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. The photos of the rim top show the nicks and scratch on the top and the darkening on the inner edge of the bowl. You can also see the yellow bowl coating on the back side near the top of the bowl above and surrounded by the cake. The photos of the stem show the oxidation and tooth marks and chatter on both sides. They do not show the damage on the top of the stem near the O stamp. The next three photos show the grain around the sides of the bowl and heel as well as the placement of the fills on the sides of the bowl. It is a pretty neat looking pipe. The next series of photos show the stamping on the shank sides and the O logo stamp on the stem top. You can also see the burn mark on the stem top in the photo of the logo. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. Before I started my work on the pipe I decided to do a bit of work on the Patent Number and the shape number on the heel of the bowl. I remembered that Troy Wilburn, one of our blog writers and good friend of rebornpipes sent me a shape number list for old Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole pipes that is on the blog. I found it very useful and typed it into a chart format. Troy said that he got the data for this from the Kaywoodie Forums. If you have not visited the forums here is the link: http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/ . I decided to post the chart on the blog for easy access. Thank you to the KW forum for the information. Here is the link to the full shape chart information that I have on the site (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/05/07/kaywoodie-yello-bole-shape-numbers/).

I also have included the pertinent sections of the chart on this particular 2193 shape. I remembered that the last two numbers and letter on heel of the bowl were the shape of the pipe. In this case the 93L referred to a shape that KBB called a Large President. I have drawn a box around that stamp number. The 93 is thus the President shape and the L identifies it as a large version of the pipe. Note also that the pipe was only made between 1936-1937 so it is an old timer.Troy also included the following information on the first two digits of the shape number. I quote in full regarding that below.

2-digit prefixes for 4-digit pipes – you might find an odd ball or a rare one that is not on the list.
From the time of the first Kaywoodie until 1938 for Kaywoodie and for Yello-Bole, Kaufmann Brothers & Bondy used a 4-digit number system (plus a letter sometimes) to identify the line and shape number. The 4-digits were not used after 1938. The first two, which we’ll call the prefix, referred to the finish and the second two, the suffix numbers referred to the shape number.

I have identified the section on the chart where this pipe stands. Note that the 21 prefix is missing but the description of the 20 and 22 is identical to the information on this pipe. From that I know that the pipe I am working on should have a push tenon, vulcanite stem. The good news is that I have the original stem.Now it was time to see if I could find anything out about the Patent number. I am assuming it is a US Patent as the pipe is an American brand. The number on the right side of the bowl reads as follows: Patent – 90232. I turned to the US Patent search site to see what I could find out there. Here is the link to the site: https://patft.uspto.gov/netahtml/PTO/patimg.htm . Unfortunately that patent number takes me to a series of drawings of a new plowshare. At this point the Patent information is a dead end.

It may seem that I praise Jeff’s work in cleaning up the pipes I work on a lot! I know I do but he is an indispensable part of the restoration work for me. He has developed a system of cleaning that is quite remarkable and leaves the pipes very clean. It saves me a lot of time so I have no issues saying that! Jeff did a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top photo looks good but there are some nicks and scratches on the top and the beveled inner rim edge. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and chatter on the surface near the button and the burn mark on the top near the O logo. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable.I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has some great grain on the side of the bowl.I decided to address the rim top damage first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to the beveled inner edge to minimize the damage to the rim. I think that it is definitely better once I finished. I would polish the flat top of the rim with micromesh and try to minimize the scratching there. The angle of the stem makes topping the bowl seem impractical.I polished the briar rim top and edges along with the rest of the briar with micromesh sanding pads –dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and using a damp cloth after each pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the burn mark on the top and the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem with clear super glue. I let the repairs cure. Once they had cured I sanded the repairs on the underside and the chatter on the topside with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Afterwards I rubbed it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I am excited to finish restoration of this older KBB Yello-Bole President 2193L pipe. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black vulcanite stem. This unique looking KBB Yello-Bole President actually feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 32 grams/ 1.16 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the American Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Replacing a Broken Tenon on a L’Anatra dalle Uova d’ Oro 2 Egg Bent Egg

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last week I received a call from a local Vancouver realtor who had gotten my phone number from the pipe shop here. He had a pipe that he said needed a stem replacement and wanted to know if I could do that for him. I have learned to ask what he meant about needing a stem replacement. I had him send me photos of the pipe so I could see what it needed. It was a L’anatra bent egg shape with a silver ferrule. In the first photo you can see the tenon snapped off in the shank. I talked with the fellow a bit and we decided to do a tenon replacement. He was keen to keep the Duck head on the stem so this seemed the best solution for him. I told him to drop the pipe off at the house so I could work on it. I have included the photos that he sent me so you could see what I was going to deal with. With the oval shank L’Anatra tenon replaced I turned my attention to the original one that he had called me about. It too had the tenon snapped off in the shank. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read L’Anatra [over] dalle Uova d’ Oro [over] 2 Eggs for the Grade of smooth pipe that it was. Underneath that it was stamped Hand Made in Italy. It had some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank. It was a little dirty with some debris and darkening on the beveled inner edge of the bowl. It had been smoked significantly more than the previous pipe. It had a screen in the bowl to help with what I assume was wet smoking but I did not know for sure. I left it in the bowl. It looked like he had dropped it as well but there were no dents in the finish. The stem was in good condition with some chatter on both side ahead of the button but nothing to deep. Once the tenon was replaced it would be a quick clean up and polish before I gave it back to him. I took some photos of the bowl and stem when I received it to show what a great looking pipe it was. I took photos of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and the darkening on the back inner edge of the rim. I also took photos of the stem to show the tooth chatter on both sides at the button. I rotated the bowl and took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above.I decided to start my work on the pipes by pulling the tenon on both pipes. That way I could proceed on them both from the same starting place. The broken tenon was firmly stuck in the shank so I put the bowl in the freezer while I had a coffee. When I finished the coffee I tried to pull the tenon again with the screw and it came out very easily. I went through my tenons and found a threaded one that would fit the shank with a few minor adjustments. I used a Dremel and sanding drum to remove the should ahead of the threads and to reduce the diameter slightly to fit the shank. I also used the Dremel and sanding drum to remove the fragments of the broken tenon on the stem face. I put the tenon in the shank and took some photos of the fit. It was looking very good. Now it was time to work on replacing the broken tenon. I drilled out the face of the stem with a cordless drill and a bit roughly the size of the airway in the stem. I find that this helps to center the drilling. I worked my way through drill bits up to 15/64s which is approximately the size of the threaded portion of the tenon.I flattened out the threads with the Dremel and sanding drum until the fit in the new opening on the stem was snug. I fit a pipe cleaner in the stem and then coated the threaded tenon end with black CA glue and turned it into the stem. I set it aside to let the glue harden. Once it had I removed the pipe cleaner and took some photos of the pipe with the stem. While the glue cured on the new tenon I turned my attention to the bowl. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I worked over the darkening on the rim top at the same time. It looked much better. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was in such great condition that I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I finished it with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This L’Anatra dalle Uova d’ Oro 2 Egg Grade Bent Egg turned out to be a more beautiful pipe than I had expected once I had replaced the tenon. The finish on the briar is beautiful and the grain is quite stunning around the bowl and shank. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the acrylic stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black vulcanite stem. This classic looking L’Anatra dalle Uova d’ Oro Bent Egg feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 54 grams/1.90 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and another one that will be heading back to the Vancouver Realtor now that I have replaced a broken tenon on each of the pipes. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Replacing a Broken Tenon on a L’Anatra dalle Uova d’ Oro Sandblast Squashed Tomato

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last week I received a call from a local Vancouver realtor who had gotten my phone number from the pipe shop here. He had a pipe that he said needed a stem replacement and wanted to know if I could do that for him. I have learned to ask what he meant about needing a stem replacement. I had him send me photos of the pipe so I could see what it needed. It was a L’Anatra bent egg shape with a silver ferrule. In the first photo you can see the tenon snapped off in the shank. I talked with the fellow a bit and we decided to do a tenon replacement. He was keen to keep the Duck head on the stem so this seemed the best solution for him. I told him to drop the pipe off at the house so I could work on it. I have included the photos that he sent me so you could see what I was going to deal with. The day that he was going to drop the pipe off he called and asked if he could put another pipe in the bag that had the same problem – a snapped tenon in the shank. I told him to go ahead and add it to the bag. When I came home from work the pipes were waiting for me. The second pipe was another L’Anatra. This one was a beautifully sandblasted bent squashed tomato shape with an oval shank. Like the first one the tenon was snapped off in the shank. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read L’Anatra [over] dalle Uova d’ Oro [over] Hand Made in Italy. The blast was very well done – deep and rugged. The sandblast on the rim top had some debris and darkening but otherwise was clean. The bowl itself was clean and still had raw briar in the bottom half of the bowl. It looked like he had dropped it not too long after he acquired it. The stem was in good condition with some chatter on both side ahead of the button but nothing to deep. I decided to deal with this one first. Once the tenon was replaced it would be a quick clean up and polish before I gave it back to him. I took some photos of the bowl and stem when I received it to show what a great looking pipe it was. I took photos of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and the darkening in the sandblast finish of the rim. I also took photos of the stem to show the tooth chatter on both sides at the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above.I decided to start my work on the pipes by pulling the tenon on both pipes. That way I could proceed on them both from the same starting place. I used a dry wall screw and twisted it into the airway. On this pipe a bit of wiggling and the tenon popped free of the shank. The other was a bit tougher but I will talk about it on the next blog.I went through my tenons and found a threaded one that would fit the shank with a few minor adjustments. I used a Dremel and sanding drum to remove the should ahead of the threads and to reduce the diameter slightly to fit the shank. I also used the Dremel and sanding drum to remove the fragments of the broken tenon on the stem face.I put the tenon in the shank and took some photos of the fit. It was looking very good.Now it was time to work on replacing the broken tenon. I drilled out the face of the stem with a a cordless drill and a bit roughly the size of the airway in the stem. I find that this helps to center the drilling. I worked my way through drill bits up to 15/64th which is approximately the size of the threaded portion of the tenon.I flattened out the threads with the Dremel and sanding drum until the fit in the new opening on the stem was snug. I fit a pipe cleaner in the stem and then coated the threaded tenon end with black CA glue and turned it into the stem. I set it aside to let the glue harden. Once it had I removed the pipe cleaner and took some photos of the pipe with the stem. While the glue cured on the new tenon I turned my attention to the bowl. I used a brass bristle wire brush to scrub off some of the darkening on the rim top. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was in such great condition that I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. This L’Anatra dalle Uova d’ Oro Sandblast Squashed Tomato turned out to be a more beautiful pipe than I had expected once I had replaced the tenon. The sandblast finish on the briar is beautiful and the nooks and crannies of the blast really show the depth of the finish. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the acrylic stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black vulcanite stem. This classic looking L’Anatra dalle Uova d’ Oro Squashed Tomato feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 63 grams/2.22 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be heading back to the Vancouver Realtor once I finish the tenon replacement on his second L’Anatra – an Egg. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

A Very Oddly Modified Chelsea Selected Briar Natural Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

To be honest I think the only reason we picked up this pipe is because the way it was when saw it on Ebay back in 2017. It came from a seller who was in La Mesa, California, USA. It came in a nice blue box with a linen coloured satiny lining. The box was in okay condition and read Chelsea Selected Briar on the cover. The pipe itself was the oddity. The previous owner had wrapped the stem end with string and built his/her own bit protector. The wrapping was quite thick so it looked utterly uncomfortable. It made me wonder if he/she did not have teeth and this was the way the made the pipe a dental bit. LOL! I suppose that we will never know for sure but it is certainly one of the strangest looking ones that we have picked up.Jeff took quite a few pictures of the pipe in the box to give an idea of what the box looked like inside and out. Each of the photos showed the odd string wrapping around the stem. It really made us wonder what was hidden under the string.He took the pipe out of the box to take photos of it to show the condition of the bowl and stem. The briar has natural finish and was stained and very dirty. There were dark spots on the sides of the bowl. The pipe was stamped on the left side of shank and read CHELSEA in an italic script. On right side it read Genuine Briar. It had a great shape to it. The stem did not fit against the shank very well probably because it was dirty inside as well. The bowl was thickly caked and there was a thick lava coat on the rim top. It looked like there was some burn damage on the inner back edge of the bowl but it would become clear once it was cleaned. The stem is dirty and you can see the thickness of the string wrap on the end. I am amazed at how thick it is and to me how uncomfortable! Jeff took some close up photos of the bowl and rim to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava overflow on the rim top. You can also see the nicks in the outer edge of the bowl in the photos below. He also took photos of the string wrap to show how rough and thick it really is. I really want to know what is underneath it! The time for the unwrapping was at hand. Jeff cut the string and untwisted it. To our surprise the stem was in perfect condition. There were no tooth marks and no chatter. The only thing on it was debris and a bit of calcification . It would clean up well. It was also obvious that the stem was on the shank upside down. He took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl. While dirty and nicked the pipe has some great grain. The stamping on the sides of the shank were clear and readable as noted above.The stamping on the pipe pointed me to either an American Made pipe of one Made for Import into the American market. I did a Google search and found other pipes with the same Chelsea stamp and several were made in Italy. Several others said Imported Briar and had what appeared to be Comoy’s shape numbers. I remembered that late in Comoy’s history there had been a link between Lorenzo pipes and them so it could be true that the pipes were made for or by Comoy’s.

I turned to Pipedia and came up empty handed. There was nothing on the brand nor was there anything linking them to Comoy’s. I turned then to Pipephil (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c4.html) and the site made a link to Comoy’s on a pipe made for the 1933 Chicago World’s Fair. While it is not definitive, there is a tie it seems. However, there is still a part of me after working on this pipe that will always think that it is American made. The look and feel of it reminds of Bertrams pipes from Washington DC.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. When I finally took it out of the box four years later I was surprised at how good the pipe looked. It was a nice looking pipe now. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top photo looks good but there is some burn damage on the inner edge at the back of the bowl and all around the inner edge there is darkening. There are some rough areas on the outer edge of the rim all the way around the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show how almost pristine it was thanks to the string wrap it had worn. There were some scratches but they would clean up quite easily.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the parts. It is a good looking pipe and has some great mixed grain on the sides of the bowl. I decided to address the rim top damage first. I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to minimize the damage to the top and inner edge of the bowl. I then used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the edge a slight bevel to further minimize the damage to the rim. I think that it is definitely better once I finished. I polished the briar rim top and edges along with the rest of the briar with micromesh sanding pads –dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and using a damp cloth after each pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was in such great condition that I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. This Chelsea Selected Briar Natural Billiard turned out to be a more beautiful pipe than I had expected. The natural finish on the briar is beautiful and the grain pops. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black vulcanite stem. This classic looking Chelsea Billiard feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the American Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Another one from the ongoing “Hunt for a Cooler, Dry Smoke” – a Highlander System Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe came to us off eBay back on 02/05/17 from York Haven, Pennsylvania, USA. It came in a Trapwell pipe box with all of the accompanying papers and pipe sock. The Trapwell is a bit of a legend from WWII years. The brand was made by D & P Pipe Works, owned by D. P. Levitas and located in Sparta, Alleghany County, North Carolina close to the population of Mountain Laurel in the area. Later, this company changed its name to Sparta Pipe Works and still later to Sparta Industries. I was excited to be working on a pipe made in that era by them. Here are some photos of the box that pipe came in. When Jeff opened the box he was suspicious. The pipe was not an apple and the contraption in the shank and stem pictured on the box cover was missing. All of the paperwork was there and the pipe sock as well. But the was not a Trapwell. It had a Germanic H stamped in silver on the top of the briar. On the left side of the shank it read Highlander [over] Selected Briar. There was nothing else stamped on the pipe. It was not a Trapwell and it was briar. It also came with a pair of stems – a swirled reddish one and a black one. Neither one of them appeared to have been used. The bowl had a thin cake on the walls and some lava on the top so it had been smoked. Jeff removed it from the box and took photos of the bowl with both the reddish swirled stem and the black one. It was quite a pretty looking pipe with either stem.Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of the bowl and top. You can see the cake that is present and the light lava coat. The stems both appear to be unused. It makes me wonder how the previous pipeman smoked it. Jeff took a photo of the heel of the bowl that showed a flaw in the briar. He took photos of the stamping on the left side and top of the shank. They are clear and readable.I turned to Pipedia to see if I could get any information on this Highlander Filter Pipe. Here is the only link that was there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/American_Pipe_Brands_%26_Makers_G_-_H). The only information available was that the Highlander pipe was a brand of Altamira Company. I did a bit more searching to see if I cold find any more information. There was nothing specific to be found. With that I decided it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish and the light lava on the rim top. There appears to be a shiny varnish coat on the bowl that is spotty on the bottom of the shank and bowl. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top photo and edges look very good. I also took close up photos of the stems to show how clean they both were. There was no chatter or tooth marks on either stem.I took photos of the stamping on the left and topside of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe and the two stems. The tenon on each stem is Delrin and drilled to fit a Medico filter. It is a good looking pipe and has some great mixed grain around the sides of the bowl. I started my work on the pipe by removing the varnish coat on the briar with acetone and cotton pads. I was careful to not remove or damage the H stamp on the top of the shank. I was able to clean up the damaged area on the heel of the bowl. It was good to see the grain in the briar come alive with the wash. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads –dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and using a damp cloth after each pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. This pipe was not too bad to clean up. The stems were in excellent condition with no marks of chatter. The Highlander Selected Briar Billiard turned out to be quite a nice looking pipe. It is a filter pipe but the look is very good. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished reddish, brown bowl looks like with the polished mottled red stem and the second black one. The material is a mixture of plastic and rubber I believe but it is hard to tell. This Classic looking Highlander Selected Briar Billiard feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams/1.02 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the American Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

This one is strangely beautiful – a Smooth Bowled Brial System Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

This particular style of system pipe always reminds me of the tadpoles we used to catch when I was younger. We would get a jarful and watch them become frogs. The pipe has that same look to me. Or you might compare it to an inflated puffer fish. Either way it is an odd pipe and yet there is something strangely beautiful about it. We purchased this smooth bowled one from an antique mall on 10/28/17 in Bozeman, Montana, USA. I have worked on one other of these Brial pipes and have found them hilariously interesting. The base tube that receives the stem is made to be stuffed with wads of toilet paper or tissue to filter out the moisture in the smoke. The one I had before still had that in it. Fortunately, this did not as it is quite smelly and messy. This one had a fairly thick cake in the bowl and some dings in the rim top and light lava on the inner edge of the bowl. The briar bowl was dirty with ground in oils and the tubular shank was dusty and dirty as well. The brass coloured ends of the tube were also lightly scratched and dirty. The tube has two small bumps on the bottom that act as feet making the pipe a sitter. The stem had tooth chatter and marks on both sides. I think the stem is a plastic product rather than vulcanite. It is quite different feeling and the marks in it are much like what I have seen on Medico pipe stems. The brass end plate on the stem end of the tube read Brial [over] Pats Pend. When removed there was a nickel nut on the inside holding the stem in place and a wire to wrap the tissue paper filter around. Jeff took these photos before he started his clean up of the pipe. Jeff took some photos of the rim and bowl to give a sense of the cake and lava situation. You can also see the nicks and scratches in the briar. It is still a nice looking piece of briar. The stem is also shown. You can see the tooth marks and chatter on the surface. Even the marks look different than the ones that are in vulcanite or acrylic. Jeff took a photo of the side of the bowl to give a glimpse of the grain on the briar. It is quite nice. He also captured the etching on the brass stem end of the tube. It reads as noted above.I mentioned above about the earlier Brial pipe that I had worked on. I turned to that blog now and reread the information that I had gathered on the brand. Here is the link to the blog if you would like to have a look at it (https://rebornpipes.com/2017/07/17/a-messy-cleanup-on-a-brial-system-pipe/). I quote the section from the blog on the brand itself. It is quite interesting.

I remember when I first started looking at getting a Brial pipe I Googled and found a write up on the brand on the Smoking Metal Website. It was that brief description, the photos and printed advertisement that hooked me and set me on the hunt to acquire one of them. I have included that write up for you. If you wish to read it on the website here is the link – http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=70.

The BRIAL pipe is basically an alloy cylinder to which the briar bowl is screwed through the base of the bowl. The front end is permanently sealed with an alloy endpiece. The cylinder is filled with a tissue to act as an absorption media. This can be tamped in or extracted by means of the probe attached to the mouthpiece plate.

To enable the pipe to stay upright on a table, two dimples have been made in the underside of the cylinder to act as ‘feet’ as shown in my photos.

Brials were available in natural aluminium, brass anodized finish or black… The pipe was patented and manufactured by Salimar Oden in Jefferson Historic District, Muskegon, Michigan. It is believed he continued to market them until his move to Florida in 2000.

Smoking Metal also had a copy of this advertisement sheet on their site. Personally, I love the wording and descriptions on these older advertising flyers. The way they speak of the pipes and what they deliver always gives me cause to laugh. This one is no exception. I include it below. Make sure to give it a read.I posted a note on the Facebook Metal Pipe Smokers Group asking about information on the pipe and potential patent information. One of the members, Cody Easom posted some pictures of a new old stock, unsmoked Brial with the various inserts that came with the pipe. The first photo shows the new pipe with the box and the insert. The second photo shows the insert itself. The third and fourth photos show the inside of the new pipe. Now, the goal is in front of me – to get the old pipe on my table to look like this one. My brother did an amazing job cleaning out the inside of the pipe. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. He cleaned out the inside of the tube/cooling chamber and the airway in the screw in the bottom of the bowl and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. He scoured out the inside of the chamber with steel wool, cotton swabs and alcohol until the inside shone. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water to remove the excess Deoxidizer. When I finally brought it to my work table I took photos of the pipe. The black matter chamber is very nice with a few small nicks on the sides. The briar bowl is very nice. I took some close up photos of the bowl, rim and stem surfaces to show how well it had cleaned up and what would need to be addressed. The bowl looked very good. There was some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and some burn damage on the back side. The stem had a lot of tooth marks and chatter on both sides and looks very different from its vulcanite counterparts with tooth chatter.I took a photo of the stamping on the brass end of the barrel. It is clear and readable as noted above. The brass is in great condition. I took the pipe apart and took photos of the parts. The first one shows the stem removed from the shank and the wire that holds the tissue filter paper. The others show all the parts. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the darkening and burn damage on the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and give it a light bevel. I decided to polish out the nicks and scratches with the micromesh sanding pads and to leave behind what remained as a part of this pipe’s journey. I polished the briar bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl and rim began to take on a rich shine by the end of the cycle. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I touched up the nicks in the matte black finish of the sides of the barrel with a black Sharpie pen. It worked surprisingly well.I rubbed the finish down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish and let it sit for 10 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. It looked really good.With that finished I turned my attention to the plastic/nylon/strange material stem! I sanded out the tooth chatter with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I spent more time than usual with the wet dry sandpaper as the stem material was very porous looking and I wanted to smooth it out.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.This is one that I am excited to finish the restoration on. Metal pipes can be a bear and painted ones even more so. But, this Brial Pat Pend System Pipe was actually an exception. I put the pipe back together and gently buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished matte black shank tube and the black stem. This is truly beautiful in a very odd way. It actually feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams/1.76 oz. It is an interesting pipe and one that will be added to the American Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Rebirthing a Lovely Republic Era Peterson’s Kapet 25 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a smooth Peterson’s pipe, a straight Billiard. It was also incredibly dirty. This Billiard is a real beauty under the grime with some great grain around the bowl. The grime was ground into the finish on the bowl sides. The contrast of the brown stains gave the grain a sense of depth. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] Kapet. The right side had the shape number 25 stamped near the bowl. Centered on the right side of the shank is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines). There was a moderate cake in the bowl and a light overflow of lava on the inner edge of the rim at the back. There was also burn damage on the inner edge of the rim at the back of the bowl. The stem was lightly oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks, chatter on the top and underside near the button. There is a P stamped on the left side of the taper. It was in great condition. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is moderately caked and the rim top has some lava and you can see the burn damage on the back inner edge. The photos of the stem show that it was oxidized and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took a photo of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Kapet line. On page 305 it had the following information.

Kapet (1925-87) Line first described in 1925 brochure and featured in occasional catalogs through ’87. Early specimens will be stamped IRISH over FREE STATE. Described in 1937 catalog as available in dark plum or natural finish. Featured an aluminum “inner tube” or stinger until ’45. Mid-century specimens may be stamped MADE IN over IRELAND. Specimens from 1970 on may have mounts with hallmarks.

I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era Kapet. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top photo looks good but there is some burn damage on the inner edge at the back of the bowl and all around the inner edge there is darkening. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks and chatter on the surface near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has some great cross grain on the sides of the bowl.I decided to address the rim top damage first. I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to minimize the damage to the top and inner edge of the bowl. I then used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the edge a slight bevel to further minimize the damage to the rim. I think that it is definitely better once I finished. I polished the briar rim top and edges along with the rest of the briar with micromesh sanding pads –dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and using a damp cloth after each pad. I combined a Mahogany and a Cherry stain pen to restain the rim top to match the rest of the bowl. It would match even better once it was buffed and polished.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the tooth marks on the underside of the stem with clear super glue. I let the repairs cure. Once they had cured I sanded the repairs on the underside and the chatter on the topside with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil.I touched up the “P” stamp on the stem with an acrylic white fingernail polish. I worked it into the stamp with a toothpick. I let it sit for a few minutes then scraped off the excess. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am always excited to finish a restoration and this Peterson’s Kapet 25 Billiard is no exception. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished black vulcanite stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Kapet Billiard feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 26 grams/.92 oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Rebirthing a Republic Era Peterson’s Kapruf 5S Saddle Stem Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

Today is rainy, chilly day in Vancouver. I know in comparison to where many of you live it is not cold but to us it is. It is also one of those kinds of day that my old friend Spencer would have been next to my work table begging for a treat and keeping company. I can’t believe that he died just over a year ago now. I miss him a lot on days like today. The next pipe I have chosen is another Peterson’s Billiard. It is a sandblast pipe that came to us from the estate of an old friend in Ontario, Canada. There was grime ground into the sandblast finish on the bowl sides. I love the way the contrast of the brown and black stains gave the blast a sense of depth. The stain is almost tiger striped. It was stamped on the flat underside in the center of the shank and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines). To the right of that it is stamped Peterson’s [over] Kapruf. To the left of the Republic stamp, on the heel was the shape number 5S. This pipe must have been another favourite of my old friend as it had been well smoked. There was a well maintained cake in the bowl and some darkening on the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl looked good. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is lightly caked and the rim top and edges look to be in good condition despite a little darkening. The photos of the stem show that it was oxidized, calcified and has light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took a photo of the bowl sides and heel to show the blast that was around this bowl. It is a great sandblast and the choice of stain adds depth to the appearance of the bowl. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above. I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Kapruf line. On page 306 it had the following information.

Kapruf and “Kapruf” (c.1922-87) Sandblast (hence the name, Kapp-rough) P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, in catalogs from 1940-87. Early documented specimens stamped IRISH over FREE STATE, no Eire specimens documented. Mid-century specimens may be stamped LONDON MADE [over] ENGLAND or MADE IN ENGLAND forming a circle or MADE IN [over] IRELAND, all dating no later than 1970. Those of recent vintage stamped MADE IN THE[over] REPUBLIC [over]OF IRELAND.

I knew that I was working on a KAPRUF that was made between 1970-1987 as it is stamped MADE IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND as noted above. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top looks very good. There is a little darkening on the top at the back of the bowl but is not too bad. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light chatter and marks on the surface near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint but readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has an interesting shallow sandblast on the bowl.The exterior of the bowl was in great shape. I used a brass bristle wire brush to knock of some of the darkening on the rim top. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the P stamp on the left side of the saddle stem with some acrylic fingernail polish. I worked it into the stamp with a toothpick and then scraped off the excess once it had dried. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I always am excited to finish working on a pipe. This Peterson’s Kapruf 5S Billiard, Made in the Republic of Ireland is no exception. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished smooth rim top and the sandblast bowl looks like with the black vulcanite taper stem. This Classic looking Peterson’s Kapruf Sandblast Billiard feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 34 grams/1.20 oz. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the Irish Pipe Makers section if you are interested in it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s De Luxe XL9S Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a Peterson’s De Luxe XL9S sandblast bent Billiard. It came to us from an antique store in Pocatello, Idaho, USA back in 10/20/17. The finish is deeply sandblasted and dirty but there is some great grain around the bowl sides and shank. The finish is otherwise in great shape. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] De Luxe [over] the shape number XL9S. That is followed by a three line stamp MADE IN THE [over] REPUBLIC [over] OF IRELAND. It was filthy when Jeff brought it to the table. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a thick overflow of lava on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. It was hard to know what the condition of the rim top and bowl were under that thick lava coat. The Sterling Silver band is heavily tarnished. It is stamped as well and reads Peterson’s [over] Dublin on the top left. Further down the left side of the band it is stamped Sterling Silver. On the underside and starting up the right side it has three hallmarks – Hibernia, a Harp and the lower case letter “n”. The stem had a “P” stamped on the left side of the saddle and was oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and the rim top and edges have a thick lava overflow. The stem is lightly oxidized and has tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. The blast is quite deep and attractive. He took photos of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. He also captured the stamping on the silver band. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Deluxe Line. On page 297 it had the following information.

De Luxe (1915-) Introduced in newspaper advertising in 1916, production of this high-grade smooth finish model may have been stalled by the Great War and domestic disturbance. It will not appear in Peterson catalogs until ’37. Specimens documented from 1915 to the thirties are extremely rare and confined to extra-large house pipes and occasionally medium sized pipe with unconventional shapes. Specimens from 1930-1950 appear in a wide selection of Classic Range shapes, often as Canadians. Catalogs from 1937-50 list it as the ‘the finest possible quality obtainable.’ After ’50 the Supreme would supplant the De Luxe as the top of the line model, and to this day the De Luxe is a high quality pipe but not the highest. Early models often have no COM. Models from the twenties until the sixties will be stamped IRISH over FREE STATE, EIRE, LONDON MADE over ENGLAND, MADE IN over IRELAND (forming a circle) or MADE IN THE over REPUBLIC over OF IRELAND. The last three COM stamps, used from ‘38 through ’68 when no hallmarks were stamped on Peterson mountings, can never be precisely dated. If a De Luxe was made in ’69 or later it will be hallmarked with a date designator and always have a Republic COM. See also Special De Luxe.

Judging from the description above, the pipe I am working on is stamped with the stamp noted in red above. It reads MADE IN THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND in three lines which narrows the date to between approximately 1938 and the present. It also has a silver Hallmark that make it a pipe made after 1969. Now it was time to narrow down the date further.

I turned to a blog I wrote on rebornpipes that had a Peterson’s catalogue and a hallmarking chart (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have included it below. On the chart I looked for a lower case “n” in a hexagonal cartouche. I also included a enlargement of the chart and drawn a box around the “n” in red. It dates the pipe to 1979. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up this 1979 Peterson’s De Luxe pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the work table. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and inner edges around the bowl looked very good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It reads as noted above. I also took a photo of the band and the stamp on the left side of the saddle stem. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look.I decided to address the tarnish on the silver band of the pipe first. I scrubbed it with some tarnish remover and finished with a jeweler’s cloth. The silver looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with Soft Scrub Cleanser to remove the oxidation on the surface of the vulcanite. I “painted” the tooth marks on the vulcanite with the flame of a lighter and was able to lift all of them on the topside. There was one against the edge of the button on the underside that did not lift all the way. I filled it in with a drop of clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair and then started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I painted the “P” stamp on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick. I scratched off the excess acrylic with the tooth pick and a fingernail. It looked better though the curve of the right side of the “P” was faint. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s Deluxe XL9S Bent Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with deep sandblast all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This sandblast De Luxe XL9S is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 61grams/2.15oz. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the store. If you want to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.