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A Pair of Rainy Day Pipes – More Adventures in Oddities

Blog by Steve Laug

Have you ever heard of Bartlett Pipes? They are rather strange upside down looking pipes in my opinion. My brother sent me this link to a youtube video on the Bartlett pipes. We were both searching for information on the brand as neither of us had heard of them or seen them close up before. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dyFfLidMmws&feature=youtu.be

What made the hunt for information regarding this oddity necessary was that my brother had bid on two of these and won both of them on eBay. One of them was NOS (new old stock) and one of them was smoked and well used. In the past I had seen photos and read on the online forums about these pipes but had never really done any research to figure out what they were. They were always a bit of an oddity to me. Either way the stem sat they did not look right and when you removed the cap at the top the airway was almost at the top of the bowl (if the screw on lid was to be considered the top). The angles of the shank and the curve of the stem leads me to think that the capped surface was the top of the bowl. The bottom side of the bowl was a screen that allowed for airflow through the bowl. I am still trying to figure out if you light the pipe from the bottom or the top of the bowl. From what I read on the various online forums and in the articles that I could find I was able to piece together how the pipe functioned. The pipe bowl was open at the top and the bottom. The airway into the shank was near the top opening and led directly to the pipe stem. A polished aluminum cover is screwed onto the threaded briar bowl top and is left in place when the pipe is smoked. At the other end of the bowl there is a screen that covers the bottom opening that keeps the tobacco in the bowl while permitting access to the tobacco to light it. The screen is supposedly fine enough that the ash does not fall out of the bowl into the lap of the smoker. With the cover in place on the top opening, the tobacco is ignited via the screen on the bottom, causing the tobacco to burn from the bottom up. New tobacco may be added at any time by removing the cap from the top of the pipe. It is said that the burning the tobacco from the bottom reduces the moisture that usually collects and thus makes it unnecessary to dry out the bowl between pipes. The bottom lighting also makes lighting the pipe in the wind or rain much simpler.

The next photos show the screened bottom of the two pipes that I was going to work on. The smooth pipe is new and unsmoked the sandblasted pipe is used and you can see some charring around the inner edges on the bottom of the bowl. The bowl bottom on the unsmoked pipe was stained black to minimize the darkening that occurs when the pipe is lit.Both pipes were stamped with the name Bartlett over a Patent Number – 4235252. The stamping on the sandblast version was on the right side of the shank and the one on the smooth was on the left side of the shank. Both stampings were very sharp and legible. The smooth briar pipe was also stamped on the right side of the shank with the work Imported Briar.At this point I wanted to know more about the pipe. It was a brand that I was unfamiliar with. In usual unhelpful fashion I found that the Bartlett Pipe was made by the Bartlett Pipe Company Inc. of Bartlett, NH (which I assume is New Hampshire).

On the Pipesmokers Forum I found some interesting information from a friend of the inventor of the pipe. Here is the link to the conversation on that website. http://pipesmokersforum.com/community/threads/an-interesting-surprise.46690/

Adam Hirshan comments: “A friend of mine invented and patented a revolutionary smoking pipe that lights from the bottom. A major manufacturer saw the promise and bought the idea 15 years ago, but it never took off. My friend got the patent back a few years ago and we’ve developed a new rock maple version that we call The Freedom Smoking Pipe.”

“It smokes cool and easy. A stainless steel screen holds the tobacco and ash in place – nothing falls out. No moisture or resin accumulate in the bowl. A cork and leather top makes it wind and rain proof.”

“We had initial success wholesaling through a well-known distributor. We were in about 100 tobacco shops nationwide, and appeared in the Levin catalog. Response from our early customers was strong – most loved it, some hated it. Then interest dropped off and left us wondering what happened.”

I did some more digging and found some information on the Dr. Grabow Collectors Forum. Here is the link: http://drgrabows.myfreeforum.org/viewcardtopic.php?t=1236

I quote: “I was asked what I thought about my Bartlett pipe and figured I’d start a new topic. If you don’t know what it is, it’s the ‘Upside down pipe’. The history as I know it is there have been 3 variations. It was invented in the 70’s. Sparta picked up the rights and produced them in the 80’s for 8-10yrs. Didn’t take off. Rights were returned to the inventor. Seems they are no longer produced. (ed. This seems to go along with the information from Adam Hirshan in the above comment).”

The quote goes on with an interesting reference to the Sparta example of the pipe: “Mine has a red stain, and the chain to hold the cap. My stem is from a junk pipe I had. The weirdest thing is not seeing the baccy burn. First smoke required a tamp halfway through and the bowl got dang hot! Second time out, the pack was perfect. One light, no tamp. Just weird not tending the bowl like normal…….Guess this is why the never went anywhere.”

I was also able to find the patent information for US Pat.4235252. Interestingly it read much like an earlier paragraph that I pieced together regarding the pipe. Here is the document in full. First the written description and then the drawings of the pipe. It read that “the patent was for a smoking pipe having improved smoking characteristics. The smoking pipe includes a bowl having top and bottom openings and a breather hole near the top opening and in communication with a pipe stem. A cover assembly is attached to the bowl adjacent to the top opening and covers the top opening when the pipe is to be smoked. A retainer having a screen cooperates with the bottom opening for retaining smoking tobacco within the bowl while permitting access to the tobacco for the ignition thereof. The retainer may also be removed from its position relative to the bottom opening for the removal of ashes. Tobacco is inserted into the bowl via either opening, but preferably via the top opening and to a level just below the breather hole. With the cover assembly covering the top opening, the tobacco is ignited via the screen of the retainer, causing combustion of the tobacco in a bottom-to-top fashion. New tobacco may be added to existing tobacco via the top opening and ashes may be removed via the bottom opening, even as the smoking process takes place. The bottom-to-top combustion minimizes puddling of tobacco juices or the requirement of drying out periods and facilitates lighting the pipe in the presence of wind, rain, etc. The lack of obstruction of the breather hole by the presence of tobacco results in a smooth draw with the generation of a substantial, satisfying volume of smoke.” (ed. On the two pipes I have the screen on the bottom is not removable and the top is a threaded aluminum cap.) My brother took some photos of the sandblast version of the pipe that shows the shape but also interestingly shows a hidden benefit. When he removed the cap from the top of the bowl the bowl was already filled with a broken flake tobacco. Unfortunately it was dry and crumbled to dust when he cleaned out the bowl. My brother cleaned and reamed the smoked sandblast pipe and cleaned out the dust from the unsmoked smooth one. He scrubbed the briar with Murphy’s Oil Soap and cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem. The stems on both pipes were lightly oxidized and on the smoked pipe there was a small tooth dent on the top of the stem near the button. I took the following photos to show what the pair looked like when I brought them to my work table. He did a great job cleaning up the aluminum caps on both the inside and the outside. He also cleaned up the thread on the top of both bowls allowing the caps to screw on easily.He cleaned the screen on the smoked pipe with cotton swabs and alcohol until it looked as good as the unsmoked pipe. The inner edge of the rim on the bottom of the bowl was charred and showed some wear and tear from lighting the pipe from the bottom. I think one of the draw backs on this pipe is not being able to see the flame hitting the tobacco. The rim on this bowl shows significant rim damage.I took close up photos of the stems to show the light oxidation – it is not deep in the vulcanite and the overall condition of the stems. The stem on the sandblast pipe had a small pinprick tooth mark on the top of the stem. I have circled it in red on the first photo below.I took some photos of each of the pipes before I cleaned them up. They really were in pretty decent shape. There were some rough spots on the bottom of the bowl around the inner edge of the rim but it looked to be original. The smooth briar is new and has a shiny varnish coat that I decided to leave as the pipe is NOS. It was interesting to me to note that the bottom of the bowl was stained with a flat black stain on the new pipe so when I restored the smoked version I would match them. The sandblast is also in really good shape other than the inner edge of the bottom rim on the bowl. On both pipes the aluminum cap was in perfect condition on both the inside and the polished outside of the cap. I took photos of the pipes with the covers removed and the bowl tilted to give some idea of what the inside of the bowl looked like. It really is no more than a tube with a cap on one end and a screen on the other end. I used the topping board on the damaged bottom of the bowl. I topped it (or maybe bottomed it is more appropriate) until the damage was removed.The small crevices that had opened around the inner edge of the bowl were not really cracks but rather areas that had burned with the heat of the flame. I filled them with briar dust and super glue to make them smooth and then retopped the bowl to smooth them out. I stained it with a black aniline stain and touched it up after sanding the repairs.I sanded the two stems with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation on the surface of both stems. I used a spot of clear super glue to fill in the tooth mark and sanded the repaired area smooth to match the surface of the stem. I polished both stems with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the last pad I gave it a final rubdown with the oil and set it aside to dry. I took a photo of the pipes and stems before I took them to the buffer to show what they looked like at this point in my restoration.Here are some photos of the bowls from a variety of angles. There is a nice blasé and some pretty grain – they are a nice pair of pipes. I buffed the pipes with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave the stems several coats of carnauba wax. I gave the sandblast bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and left the varnish coat alone on the smooth briar bowl. I buffed both pipe with a clean buffing wheel to raise a shine. I hand buffed them both with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is a unique piece of pipe and tobacco history. It certainly speaks of the inventiveness of pipesmokers who are perpetually looking for the better and drier smoke. Thanks for taking this journey through the restoration and the history of the Bartlett pipe.

Rejuvenating a Gasparini “Fatta a Mano” Camuna

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff has an eye for unusual pipes that he thinks might intrigue me. He outdid himself this time. He found an odd three-part pipe – a base, a bowl and stem that I would classify as a churchwarden. It is about 10 inches long and the bowl is 3 inches tall but at the same time it is dainty, delicate and artsy. It is not a heavy pipe and the thin pencil stem and the bowl and base make it seem smaller than it is. The first two photos below show the unique shape and you can get a sense of how the pipe is both big and delicate at the same time.The next photos give a sense of the artistry of the pipe. The base is stained a light brown and has a shallow sandblast finish. The end of the shank is rounded. The stem should sit against the shank end but the mortise needs to be cleaned and the oxidation on the tenon needs to be removed to make that happen. The bow is threaded and screws into the base. It has a contrasting dark brown and medium brown stain coat that gives contrast in the deeper blast and also with the base. The next photos are close up pictures of the bowl and base. The first shows the bowl removed from the base. You can see from the photo that the bowl is threaded to be screwed into the base. The base and the bowl are dirty. The bottom of the bowl has two air holes that go into the bowl. The one toward the bottom of the photo below shows that a chunk of briar has broken away from the side of the hole and the threaded portion.The second and third photos show the inside of the base and the cake and rim of the bowl. It is dirty but the rim and base are in excellent condition. There is some build up on the area of the base where the rim sits. It will need to be cleaned. To me it looks like it is a combination of dust and wax.The next two photos give a clear picture of the damage to the base of the threaded portion of the bowl. You can see the damage on the outer edge of the tip and to the threads. It looks like a chunk of briar has broken free and a lot of debris and tars have filled in the damaged area.The next photos show the base and the bowl from different angles. The grain and the blast is quite nice and the contrast of stains on the bowl look really good in contrast to the lighter stained base. The fourth photo shows the stamping on the bottom of the base. It reads R. Gasparini over CALUMA over script that reads “Fatta A Mano” which translates as Made by Hand. The next photos show the stem with the tooth chatter and marks on the top and bottom side near the button. They also show the oxidation and the loss of colour in the G script logo on the side of the stem.I know nothing about Gasparini brand so I looked up the website of the brand and found that the “Fatta a mano” stamped signified a particular freehand style line that Gasparini did. Here is the link to their website http://www.mgasparini.it/en/category-product/hand-made/.

I also looked up the brand on Pipedia. There is a lot of the history of the brand there for those who want to read the article in full. Here is the link: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Gasparini. I quote from that article in part.

“In 1938 Mario Gasparini, with his wife Ida, took his first steps into the world of the pipe. Today his daughter, Marisa Gasparini, sits at his desk. Since 1977 Marisa and her husband, and now her daughter, carry on the tradition of her family…”

“At the beginning of 1950’s, the building, that still today hosts the production department, was enlarged. In 1971 the offices and the warehouse were moved from Milan (where they were situated for marketing purposes) to Luvinate.”

“During those years the skilled workers and our direct partners have always followed the history of the Gasparini factory, becoming very fond of it and devoting themselves, with care and love, to the making of each pipe, with the personal fantasy and skills of the artist…”

“…The cycle of manufacture is basically divided into two separate branches. Pipes from the first branch (my addition, ed.) the “Fatta a Mano” and “da Collezione” are completely hand made, rigorously produced from the best selected briar; the estrus(?) and fantasy of our masters is surely more evident in these series of pipes.”

“The other branch is (my addition, ed.) …Serial pipes are partially machine made (the bowl, shank and drilling) and they are divided into various categories based on the quality and finish.”
“…during the years we have always made the creation of unique pieces for the series “Fatta a Mano” (Hand Made) and “per Collezionisti” (for collectors).”

At the bottom of the Pipedia article there was an email address for contacting the Gasparini Company with any questions that need to be addressed to them. I took the opportunity last evening to write an email to them regarding the age and provenance of the pipe I had in hand. I also included a photo of the pipe’s condition and look when I got it from my brother. This morning I received a reply from none other than Marisa Gasparini herself. Here is her email in full:

Dear Steve,
The pipe you have is a very old pipe that we produced 35 years ago about, and we made only few pieces.

It’s very different from the normal pipes and we have made in the time other interesting pipes, quite original that we keep in our warehouse.
If you are interested I can send you some photos for next week so you can understand what I mean for original.

I would like to know where you bought that pipe, thanks a lot and best regards,

Marisa Gasparini

That gave me some incredibly helpful information. The pipe in my hand is approximately 35 years old and there were only a few of them made at that time. She is going to send me some photos of some of the original pipes next week. I will post them as an addendum to this blog when I receive them. I wrote Marisa back immediately thanking her and answering her question as to where I found the pipe.

Now I had a feel for the age and provenance of the pipe and I was ready to work on it. I took some photos of it before I worked on it. My brother had done the majority of the clean up work on the bowl, base and shank before he sent it to me. He had reamed it and cleaned out the airways in the bowl, base, shank and stem. He scrubbed the externals and remove a lot of the waxy grime that had collected on the bowl over the years. It looked pretty good when I received it. I took the stem out of the pipe and unscrewed the bowl from the base and took some photos of the pipe before I worked on it. I took a photo of the stamping on the bottom of the base to give an idea of how that look – it is the only smooth portion on the base other than the rounded shank end.I took some photos of the damage to the bottom of the bowl on the threaded portion to show what it looked like with the oils and tars removed. I took a top down photo to show the cleaned bowl and also the twin airways in the bottom of the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Pipe Knife and scraped out the bits of cake that still were on the walls and at the bottom of the bowl.I wiped down the bottom of the bowl and the damaged area with alcohol on a cotton swab and cotton pad in preparation for repairing the damage. I used clear super glue and briar dust to build up the area of the missing chunk of briar. I was careful to keep the airway open. I layered the glue and the dust until it was smooth.I used the sanding board to lightly “top” the bottom of the bowl and smooth out the repaired area. After I took the second photo below I used needle files to retrace the threads on the damaged area of the bowl.I gave the bowl and base several coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed them with a shoe brush. The photos below show the bowl and base at this point in the restoration. I turned my attention to the oxidation on the stem. I lightly sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the surface oxidation and remove the tooth marks and chatter from the area around the button. I ran a long pipe cleaner through the stem just to check for debris and oils but my brother had done a great job with the airways. I scrubbed the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and the with the Fine and Extra Fine Pipe Stem Polish. I was able to get the majority of the oxidation off the stem.I did a touch up on the “G” logo on the stem with white model paint and a fine bristle artist’s brush. When it dried to touch I used a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to remove the excess paint and polish the end of the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After the final set I buffed it with Blue Diamond on the wheel and gave it a last rub down with Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to let the oil dry. I buffed the stem with carnauba wax and with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I lightly buffed the bowl and base with Blue Diamond and then gave it a light coat of carnauba, being careful to not let it build up in the grooves and crevices of the sandblast. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I put the pipe back together and gave it a final buff with a clean buffing pad to shine it. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I took photos of the pipe as a whole and also taken apart in the various configurations. I am really pleased with the finished pipe and look forward to giving it a smoke. To me it is a very “Gandalfian” looking pipe and feels great in the hand and the mouth. Thanks for walking with me through the history and the process of bringing the pipe back to life.

Breathing new life into a Unique PHM System Pipe with a Horn Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother first sent me the picture below of this old pipe to see what I thought of it. There was something intriguing about it from my first look. I looked at the eBay ad and all of the pictures included and told him we should go for it. I don’t recall ever seeing a pip this shape with the horn stem and the matching horn button on the bottom of the bowl. It certainly looked like it was a nice piece of briar underneath the grime of age. The horn stem looked to be in good shape overall with no splits or cracks. The horn button on the bottom of the bowl also appeared to be in good shape. The briar had no burns or serious damage to the rim or the edges of the bowl. The band was in decent shape with no dents of dings. The chunky look of the stem and the shank attracted me to the pipe. The striations of colour on the stem showed promise of looking great once buffed and polished. He bid on it and won.When Jeff received the pipe he took the following photos before he started cleaning it up. You can see some of the issues that I will need to address in the cleanup and restoration. The overall condition of the pipe is fine. The briar was very dirty and the rim and bowl had a thick, dark and oily cake that overflowed onto the top of the bowl. If you look closely at the photos of the entire pipe you will also see some damage to the horn stem. There are tooth marks on the top and underside near the button and there are some divots out of the left side of the stem.He took some close up photos of the rim and bowl. You can see the cake in the bowl and the overflow of lava on the rim top. It is hard to tell if there is damage to the inner edge of the rim at this point due to the buildup but there could be. There is some wear on the outer edges at the front of the bowl.The close up photos of the stem shows the tooth marks and the divots out of the left side. Both of these will need to be addressed in the restoration.The brass coloured band has a small diamond shaped stamp on it that is aligned on the right side. It has some kind of stamping inside the diamond but even with a light and a magnifier I am unable to read it.The PHM stamp in the oval on the left side of the shank is the only stamping on the pipe. I have hunted high and low for information on the brand and can find nothing. The shape and design of the pipe and stem make me think it is quite old and probably British made but I cannot be certain. Can any of you help identify the maker for me?It is hard to see in the photos but the airway in the bowl is at the bottom of the bowl. The horn cap on the bottom of the bowl is removable and it was hollowed into a bowl to catch the moisture from the burning tobacco. The airway into the shank is in the area where the cap screws into the bowl. The area acts as a bit of a cooling chamber for the smoke that is drawn into the airway allowing the moisture to collect in the horn bowl before wending its way into the airway in the shank of the pipe. When my brother unscrewed the cap the chamber inside was extremely dirty with tars and oils. The buildup was quite thick on both the inside of the hollowed out cap and the inside of the chamber/trap it screwed into.He removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the shank end. The brass band turned out to be more of a ferrule that wrapped the shank end. The drilling on the airway in the mortise was at a steep angle into the shank so you can see a small divot at the bottom edge of the shank. The tenon/stinger was bone and was shaped like a nipple that sat against the entrance of the airway in the bottom of the mortise.My brother scrubbed the externals of the bowl, reamed and cleaned out the internals. He said that the insides would take more work once I got it as they were very dirty. I took photos of the pipe when it arrived in Vancouver and I brought it to the work table. He had cleaned up the stem inside and out and the tooth marks and divots were ready to repair.He had been able to remove all of the cake in the bowl and it revealed the airway at the bottom of the bowl. He also cleaned the rim of the entire lava overflow. It would need to be lightly topped to remove the damage to the inner edge of the rim. He had scrubbed the reservoir under the horn plug on the bottom of the bowl but it would need a lot more work to rid it of all of the thick oils and tars accumulated there.I took a photo of the dismantled pipe to give an idea of the components and the size of the pipe. It is not a big pipe but the bowl is large for the overall size.I wiped down the tooth marks and divots on the side of the stem with a cotton pad dampened with alcohol to remove any remaining debris. I filled them in with clear super glue – slightly overfilling them to ensure that once the glue cured there would be enough for a smooth finish once sanded.While the stem glue cured I worked on cleaning out the reservoir/trap at the bottom of the bowl and inside of the cap. I used cotton swabs and alcohol to clean the area out and it took a lot of finicky cleaning to get all of the nooks and crannies clean. I also cleaned out the airway from the trap into the shank with bristle and regular pipe cleaners.I lightly topped the bowl on the topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damaged rim surface but not to change the overall shape or flow of the bowl. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads -1500-4000 grit to remove the scratches left behind by the sandpaper on the topping board. I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean and the pipe smelled fresh.I wiped down the exterior of the bowl with acetone to remove any grit and dirt that I had transferred during the interior cleanup.I used European Gold Rub’n Buff to restore the stamping on the shank. I applied it with a cotton swab and let it sit for a moment before rubbing off the excess with a clean swab. The restored stamping can be seen in the second photo below. The bottom edge of the stamp was not as deep as the rest of the stamp so I was not sure if that area would retain the gold.By this time the glue repairs on the stem had cured. I sanded them smooth with the surface of the stem using 220 grit sandpaper. For some reason the clear glue brings out a white spot in each repaired area – it may be a reaction of the horn to the glue. I will minimize those as I polish the stem but they will remain.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rub horn stems down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads to give life to the horn. I gave it a final coat of oil after sanding with the 12000 grit pad. I set the stem aside to dry. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. I would also buff it on the buffer but I wanted to see where things were at this point. Were there any areas on the bowl sides or top that I needed to do more work on to ensure that it would have a smooth finish. I worked a little more on the horn cap on the bottom of the bowl and on a few of the nicks on the sides of the bowl using 1500-4000 grit micromesh sanding pads. Once I was satisfied with the look and feel of the pipe I buffed it with Blue Diamond on the wheel being careful around the stamping. I buffed the stem with the polish as well to raise a shine and further blend in the repairs. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed them with a clean buffing pad. I finished by hand buffing the pipe with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. You will note that I did not stain the bowl at all. The rich patina is merely the wax working with the natural colour of the briar. This pipe is an oddity and a beauty. It was well worth the effort in my opinion. Thanks for walking with me through this process.

A Bit of Bizarre & Interesting – Restoring a Lenox Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother found this extremely unusual looking pipe and sent it on to me. It is stamped Lenox on the top of the barrel. It appeared to be made of briar – the bowl and the barrel matched each other in terms of stain colour and possibly materials. He took the following photos of the pipe before he sent it to me. It looks a lot like a Kirsten at least externally.The stinger apparatus was made out of Bakelite and was hollow. The smoke was drawn through the bowl into the barrel and then through the stinger up the mouth piece. The stem was in excellent shape and the stinger sat in the end of the tenon.He took a close up photo of the stinger. It is an interesting looking piece of “plumbing” and I looked forward to seeing close up.He also took close up photos of the bowl. The first two photos show the damage to the side of the bowl – some dents in the briar. The third and fourth photos show the darkening of the rim top and the nicks in the outer edge of the bowl. The final photo shows the stamping on the left side of the barrel. It reads LENOX. I was not familiar with the Lenox brand so I did some research to see what I could find out. There was not much information on the brand online until I turned to one of my favourite sites for information on odd and unusual metal pipes – smokingmetal.com

I found the brand listed in three variations. The first of them was a Lenox made of Lucite (ed. By Lucite I assume that barrel is actually made of Perspex so in the information below I have edited it to read that). The link for the brand is: http://smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=82. The site has this to say about the Perspex version of the pipe. I quote: “Hard to see the purpose of this one. There would be no significant extra cooling and there is no end plug to remove for ease of cleaning. It is stamped LENOX in the perspex top of barrel. (ed. I have included two photos from the site on the Lucite version of the pipe.) Centre image shows two colour versions. The dark version does not appear to be the result of discolouration by tar etc. These pipes were certainly on sale in 1951. The overall length 5 5/8 inch (143 m/m).The site also had photos of the Lenox with a metal barrel and wooden bowl. The metal barrel is stamped LENOX on the top of the barrel and a threaded bowl was screwed onto the top. The bowl had a brass insert in the bottom and it threads onto the nipple on the barrel. The following link has photos of the pipe: http://smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=150.My brother did his usual excellent job of cleaning the barrel, bowl and stem of the old pipe. When it came to me it was very clean. He also let me know that surprisingly the wooden looking barrel was actually not wood but was Bakelite. I unscrewed the bowl from the barrel and took the stem out of the end. The next three photos below show the “exploded” view of the pipe. The rim darkening in the first photo needed to be cleaned up. I took another close up photo of the stamping. It is a clean and sharp stamp with no damage.I pulled the pressure fit stinger out of the tenon and ran a pipe cleaner through the stem. It came out very clean – yet another testimony to the great job my brother does in his clean up.I put the stinger in the tenon and took two close-up photos of the stem to show the really clean condition the stem was in. All that needed to happen was to polish it.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I set the stem aside to dry after the final rub down. I sanded the top and the sides of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 and then dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I buffed the bowl and stem on the buffer with Blue Diamond polish to bring a shine to the surface. I gave them several coats of carnauba wax. I gave the Bakelite barrel multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax by hand. I buffed the bowl, barrel and stem with a clean buffing pad to polish the wax coats. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finish unique pipe is shown in the photos below. The Bakelite barrel and the bowl really do match and look like they have come from the same piece of briar. The pipe is a beauty. It is a brand that I have never seen and one that is a collector’s piece. Thanks for looking.

Rejuvenating the second Peterson’s 1312 System Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have written about four pipes that I have restored from an estate lot that I was tasked to clean up and sell in previous blogs at https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/25/this-favourite-gbd-marquis-752-was-a-mess-not-any-more/; https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/26/rescuing-a-petersons-english-made-203-billiard/; https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/27/rejuvenating-a-petersons-system-pipe-1314/; https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/28/rejuvenating-the-first-of-two-petersons-system-pipe-1312/. These included a GBD Marquis Author, a Peterson’s English Made 203 billiard, a Peterson’s 1314 System Pipe and the larger Peterson’s 1312 System pipe. I received these from my friend Richard who owns a pipe shop that is closing. He had some pipes that had belonged to an elderly gentleman who had died. His wife had given him the fellow’s pipes. She wanted to get them cleaned up and sold to folks who would appreciate them. Richard thought I would be interested in the story and have fun cleaning these up and selling them. There some really nice pipes in the lot – GBD’s, Comoy’s, Stanwells, Petersons, two ceramic Goudewaagen pipes, and others. There are just over 50 pipes that I will be cleaning and listing on rebornpipes.

The fifth pipe I chose to work on was another Peterson’s System Pipe. It is the second 1312 pipe and is stamped Peterson’s System Standard pipe on the left side of the shank. On the right is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland 1312. The stamping is clear and sharp. The nickel ferrule is stamped K&P Peterson’s and has the three faux hallmarks that are for looks. It is larger and chunkier than the first one. The bowl is thickly caked and the rim has an overflow of the cake in the bowl. It is a very dirty pipe. The finish is in decent shape but has a lighter brown stain over flame and straight vertical grain. The stem is oxidized with some calcification around the P-lip button. Light tooth chatter covers both the top and underside of the stem. There is no P stamping on the P-lip stem but it appears to be an original not a replacement.

Here are some photos of the pipe when I started cleaning it. The pipe has good lines and some interesting grain underneath the grime. The first photo shows the pair of 1312 System pipes. The one circled in red is this pipe. I took the next four photos to show the condition of the pipe before I started cleaning it. I took some close up photos of the pipe. The first photo below shows the thick cake in the bowl, the remnant of tobacco in the bottom of the bowl and the overflow of lava on the rim of the bowl. The next two photos show the condition of the stem. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to remove the cake. I started with the smallest cutting head and worked up to the third cutting head. I cleaned up the bowl with a Savinelli Pipe Knife to cut back the remaining cake to bare briar. I used a sharp pen knife to carefully scrape off the cake on the rim. I scrubbed the rim with saliva and cotton pads to remove the tars and oils on the surface. I was able to remove all of the tars and build up on the rim top. I scrubbed nickel ferrule with tarnish polishing scrub and cotton pads. The polish removed all of the tarnish and left the ferrule shining. I gave the bowl a light coat of Conservator’s Wax and polished the bowl with a microfibre cloth. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification, oxidation and tooth chatter and marks. I cleaned out the internals of the mortise, sump, shank airway and stem airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding the stem with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After sanding with the last three grits I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to dry. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It is a plastic polish that removes the minute scratches left behind after sanding the stem with micromesh sanding pads. It worked the same way on the briar. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished by hand buffing it with a microfibre cloth. I have found that deepens the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is a beautiful pipe that has some stellar grain. Thanks for looking.

Rejuvenating a Peterson’s System Pipe 1314

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Blog by Steve Laug

I wrote about the first two pipes from an estate lot that I was tasked to clean up and sell on two previous blogs at https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/25/this-favourite-gbd-marquis-752-was-a-mess-not-any-more/ and https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/26/rescuing-a-petersons-english-made-203-billiard/ For those who have not read it yet here is the story. About a month ago a friend of mine, Richard who has a tobacco shop here in Vancouver gave me a call and asked me to stop by for a visit. I went on a Sunday afternoon and we visited for a while. At the end of the visit he took me to another counter in his shop and brought out some display cases of pipes – four of them and a small bag. He told the story to me. An elderly gentleman who was a customer of his had died and his wife had stopped by and gave him the fellow’s pipes. She wanted nothing for them she just wanted him to get them cleaned up and sold to folks who would appreciate them. Richard is a reader of the blog and he thought that I would have fun cleaning these up and selling them. As we went through the display cases and bag I was pretty pumped about the collection. There were some really nice GBD pipes, Comoy’s, Stanwells, Peterson’s as well as some brands I was not familiar with.

The third pipe I chose to work on was a Peterson’s System Pipe. It was stamped on the left side of the shank Peterson’s System Standard. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland and the shape number 1314. The stamping is clear and sharp. The finish is in decent shape with a medium brown stain over flame and straight vertical grain. There is a light, uneven cake in the bowl that had spilled over the rim. There is thin cake in the bowl and some darkening on the rim. There are tooth marks on the top and bottom side of the stem near the button. There is no P stamping on the P-lip stem but it appears to be an original not a replacement. There is calcification from a softee bit on the stem and button. There are several deeper tooth marks and chatter on the top and bottom side of the stem ahead of the P-lip. The button itself was in good shape with a small tooth mark on the top at the sharp edge.

Here are some photos of the pipe when I started cleaning it. The pipe has good lines and some interesting grain underneath the grime. I took some close up photos of the rim and the stamping to show the condition of the bowl. The rim had some darkening and it was slightly out of round. It looked as if it had been reamed with a knife and the inner edge of the bowl had nicks along the back edge. There was a light cake in the bowl and some shreds of tobacco at the bottom of the bowl. The stamping was readable though light in some places. The stem was lightly oxidized but there were some deep tooth marks on the top and the underside underneath the calcification and the oxidation on the button end. The sharp edge of the p-lip was worn and would need to be sharpened.I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Pipe Knife to clean out the light cake and the debris. I took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the bowl with a rolled piece of 220 grit sandpaper on my finger to clean up any remaining cake. I scrubbed the top of the rim with cotton pads and saliva and then lightly sanded it with 3200 grit micromesh to polish off the remaining tars.I wiped the bowl down with a light coat of alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the grime in the finish and any sanding dust. I buffed it lightly by hand and took the photos below. There is some nice grain on this old timer the mix of flame and straight grain really stands out and the birdseye on the rim and the bottom of the bowl is quite stunning. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification, oxidation and clean up the tooth chatter. I wiped out the deep tooth marks with a cotton swab and alcohol to get out the dust in them and then filled the divots with black super glue. I set the stem aside to dry while I went to work for the day.When I got home from work I sanded the repairs smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and used a needle file to redefine the sharp edge of the button and underside lip on the stem.I continued to sand the stem with the 220 grit sandpaper until the repairs blended into the surface of the vulcanite and I had removed the oxidation on the remainder of the stem.I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. After sanding with the 12000 grit pad I gave it a final rubdown with the oil and set it aside to dry. I lightly sanded the bowl and rim with 6000-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads while the stem dried. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond polish on the buffer. I gave the entire pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I finished by hand buffing it with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown below. It is the third of the old gentleman’s estate that I have finished restoring. It is available for sale to anyone who wishes to add it to their collection. The photos below show the finished pipe from a variety of angles. Contact me if you are interested by email at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through this with me.

Rescuing a Peterson’s English Made 203 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I wrote about the estate lot that I was tasked to clean up and sell on a previous blog at https://rebornpipes.com/2016/10/25/this-favourite-gbd-marquis-752-was-a-mess-not-any-more/. About a month ago a friend of mine, Richard who has a tobacco shop here in Vancouver gave me a call and asked me to stop by for a visit. I went on a Sunday afternoon and we visited for a while. At the end of the visit he took me to another counter in his shop and brought out some display cases of pipes – four of them and a small bag. He told the story to me. An elderly gentleman who was a customer of his had died and his wife had stopped by and gave him the fellow’s pipes. She wanted nothing for them she just wanted him to get them cleaned up and sold to folks who would appreciate them. Richard is a reader of the blog and he thought that I would have fun cleaning these up and selling them. As we went through the display cases and bag I was pretty pumped about the collection. There were some really nice GBD pipes, Comoy’s, Stanwells, Peterson’s as well as some brands I was not familiar with.

The second pipe I chose to work on was a Peterson’s Dublin oval shank billiard shaped pipe.The old gentleman seemed to favour Peterson’s as there were quite a few in the estate lot. It was very dirty. It was stamped on the topside of the shank with K&P over DUBLIN. There is also a silver band on the shank that bears three hallmarks over Sterling Silver. On the right side of the shank is the shape number 203. On the underside of the shank it is stamped with a COM (Country of Manufacture) circle that reads Made in England with the “in” stamped in the centre of the circle. The stamping is clear and sharp. The finish is in decent shape with a medium brown stain over mixed grain. There is an uneven cake in the bowl that spilled thickly over the beveled rim. It is hard to tell if there is rim damage as it is so dirty. There were sandpits on the left side of the bowl and on the back side above the shank. There is no P stamping on the P-lip stem but it appears to be an original not a replacement. There is calcification from a softee bit on the stem and button. There are light tooth marks and chatter on the top and bottom side of the stem ahead of the P-lip. The button itself was in good shape.

Here are some photos of the pipe when I started cleaning it. The pipe has good lines and some interesting grain underneath the grime. I took some close up photos of the bowl, stamping, band and stem to give a good picture of what I needed to work on. The first photo shows the cake in the bowl and the overflow of hard carbon buildup on the rim. The photo of the silver band shows the Sterling Silver stamp and three hallmark symbols. It is hard to read them but with a magnifying lens they read K&P. I was hoping to be able to date the pipe by the hallmarks but no such luck. The photos of the stamping show that they are faint but still readable. The stem photos show the tooth chatter and wear on the button itself. When I removed the stem I could see some divots in the end of the shank. There were cutouts that as far as I could see served no purpose. Someone had tried to repair them but left a bit of a mess so the stem did not fit snugly. I cleaned out the divots and smoothed them out with needle files until they matched the inside of the mortise. I filled in the end with some super glue and briar dust to even out the shank end.The lava buildup on the rim top was rock hard. I scrubbed at it but it would not come off. The outer edges of the rim were also damaged from knocking out the pipe on hard surfaces. I lightly topped the bowl to remove the hard tars and clean up the outer edges.I reamed the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and took the cake back to bare briar.There were some drops of a clear hard substance on the back of the bowl and on the right side that I could not take off without damaging the bowl. I scrubbed them down with some alcohol on a cotton pad and was able to soften them enough to remove them. I restained the rim to match the bowl using a combination of a medium and a dark stain pen. I also touched up the light areas around the silver band on the shank end.I polished the silver with some tarnish remover applied with cotton pads. I finished polishing it with a jeweler’s cloth. Once I had finished I could see the hallmarks more clearly and they read K&P – each letter in its own cartouche. I gave the bowl a quick coat of Conservators Wax and hand buffed it to see where I stood. I chose to leave the sandpits on the left side and back of the bowl as they add character. I sanded the tooth chatter, reshaped the button and removed the calcification and oxidation on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with a coat of Obsidian Oil after each set of three pads. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. With all the parts finished individually I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. The Blue Diamond is a plastic polish and gives the finish a glass like polish. I really like the way it works. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to finish the polishing process. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This second pipe from the older gentleman’s estate is a beauty. The fit and finish give it a look of elegance. This pipe is also available for sale. If you are interested in the pipe let me know via email at slaug@uniserve.com or through a message on Facebook. Thanks for walking through the process of restoration with me.

New Life for a Hardcastle’s London Made Reject Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

This perfectly shaped little Hardcastle’s sandblast pot was the next pipe to my worktable. It is a small almost pencil shank pot. It is stamped Hardcastle’s London Made and across that it is stamped Reject. It has a rich blast on the sides of the bowl and shank. There is a smooth portion on the bottom of the bowl and shank for the stamping and allowing it to be a sitter. My brother took the next photos to show the condition of the pipe before he cleaned it up.He took some close up photos of the bowl and stamping. The bowl had a thick cake and a large overflow of lava on the rim. The lava covered the light blast finish on the rim completely and it was hard to tell the condition of the bowl at this point. The finish was worn and dirty but there were no chips or dents marring the finish. The stem is oxidized and you can see the Hardcastle’s H stamp on the left side near the shank. You can see the stamping on the shank and clearly see the REJECT stamp across the initial stamping. I am not sure why this pipe was rejected. It appears to be a decent piece of briar. There were two small sandpits on the sides of the bowl that I suppose may have caused it to be a reject but that is not clear to me. My brother did his usual great clean up on the exterior of the pipe. He scrubbed it with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush and was able to remove the finish. He reamed the bowl and removed the lava build up on the rim and left a slightly darkened rim with no burns or damage to the edges. I took the next set of photos to show what the pipe looked like when it arrived in Vancouver. I took a close up photo of the rim to show the darkening on the back side of the top. It was clean but darkened. There were no burn marks or damaged briar on the edges of the bowl. The stamping is also shown and it remains sharp and distinct.The stem was lightly oxidized and there were tooth dents and chatter on the top and underside near the button. The button had some flattening and wear as well.I used a brass bristle tire brush to scrub the top of the rim and try to clean out some of the darkening on the rim. I was able to remove some of it and make it less pronounced.I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to clean of any remnants of the old finish and to remove the debris from the brass brush work on the rim. With the bowl cleaned I stained it with a dark brown aniline stain mixed 50/50 with isopropyl alcohol. I flamed the stain and repeated the process until the coverage was even on the bowl and in the deep pits of the sandblast finish.I took some photos of the pipe at this point in the process. The stain had covered well. The colour was a little dark for my liking and would need to be lightened a bit before I was finished. You can see the sand pits on both sides of the bowl that may have made this pipe a reject. I have circled them in red. I cleaned the mortise with a dental spatula and then cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. I also cleaned out the airway into the bowl and in the stem.To lighten the colour of the stain I washed it down with some alcohol on cotton pads until the colour was more to my liking. The finished colour is shown in the photos below. I painted the dents in the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter and was able to raise them almost smooth. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the slight dimples that remained in the surface. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads and rubbed it down with the oil after each set of three pads. After the final 12000 grit sanding I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffer and gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand waxed the bowl with Conservator’s Wax. I buffed the bowl and stem with a clean buffing pad and again by hand with a microfibre cloth to raise and deepen the shine on the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I am pretty happy with the finished pipe. Thanks for looking.

A Graceful Swan-Necked Tania Billiard

Refurbishing a Dulwich Quaint Oom Paul 64

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I took out of the refurbishing box was an Oom Paul that had a lot of character and some nice grain. It was stamped on the left side with the name Dulwich over Quaint. On the right side it was stamped with the number 64. It was also stamped on the underside, horizontally at the stem shank union with the words Made in England. I have searched for information on the internet for the brand in the past and not been able to find anything helpful. In a previous blog I wrote on a pair of Dulwich Quaint pipes the only link I could find was that the shape number was an Orlik shape number. Here is the link to the other blog: https://rebornpipes.com/2016/03/13/a-rare-find-a-pair-of-fieldcraft-dulwich-quaints/

My brother took some photos of the pipe when he received it and before he had done any cleanup work on it. He took some close up photos of the pipe. The first photo shows the top of the rim was in good shape. There was some light tars and some scratching on the surface of the rim. The second and third photos show the stamping – first the Dulwich over Quaint and then the Made in England. Both sides of the stem looked like the photo below. There was a lot of tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface on the top and bottom. The button was worn down by teeth mid button.My brother scrubbed the pipe with his usual mixture of Murphy’s Oil Soap and water. He rinsed the bowl with running water. He scrubbed out the internals of the pipe with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. When it arrived I took the following pictures to show its condition. The finish was worn and uneven all around the bowl. The shank was also unevenly finished. The finish on the rim was also worn. I took some close up photos of the rim top to show what it looked like before I started. I took some photos of the stem surface to show the condition of the stem. It shows the tooth chatter and some mild oxidation on the stem. I scrubbed the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish. I also sanded the bowl lightly with a medium grit sanding block to break up the finish that remained on the bowl. I wiped it again to remove all the finish that remained. The clean bowl is shown in the photos below. I sanded out the tooth chatter and marks on the stem from the button forward. I reshaped the surface of the button with sandpaper to smooth out the tooth marks and redefine the sharp edge of the button on the top and the bottom sides.I removed the stinger from the end of the stem and sanded the saddle portion of the stem to smooth out the scratches.I wiped down the bowl with a light coat of olive oil and hand buffed the bowl to give it a shine. The next photos show the bowl at this point. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-1400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I set it aside to dry once the final pad was used. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to smooth out the finish and the stem. I gave both multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. It raised a shine on the bowl and stem. I used a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. I hand buffed it until it shone. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It has a wide open draw and should be a delightful smoking instrument. Thanks for looking.