Tag Archives: refurbishing

Restoring A Len Payne Twin Bore System Bulldog

Blog by Steve Laug

When I saw the rusticated bulldog shaped pipe in the display case at the Alberta antique mall I could not help but want to have a look at it. I asked the clerk to open the display case for me to have a closer look at it. The aluminum shank end look too substantial to be just an end cap or ferrule like Peterson’s and other older pipes have used for years. In fact it reminded me of some of the South African Keyser Hygienic pipes that I have in my collection. It had that kind of weight to the aluminum. The stem also had the same kind of look. It was a large diameter military mount stem that pushed into the shank end opening.

Once the clerk took it out of the case I looked at the underside of the diamond shank to see if it was a Keyser pipe – it wasn’t! It was stamped Len Payne. Now I was wondering. In the past I had written about pipes by Len Payne on the blog https://rebornpipes.com/2013/11/16/a-pipe-maker-i-had-never-heard-of-leonard-payne-pipes/. But I had not seen one with this kind of apparatus on the shank. I am including the quote below from Mike Glukler of Briar Blues that gives a quick summary of the brand. Not the bold italicized sentence in the paragraph below that applies to this pipe.

Leonard Payne was based in B.C. for many years. He came to Canada from England. He had shops in Surrey, B.C. and Kelowna, B.C. Interesting fellow. Gruff as the day is long. When you bought a pipe it was handed to you in a paper bag. No sock, no box. Most of his pipes carried a “carburetor” system at the shank/stem junction. Another Payne idea was his shanks. Almost all his pipes were two pieces. He’d turn the bowl and shank, then cut off the shank and reattach with glue (not always with the same piece of briar, so many did not match grains). His thinking was that the shank being the weakest link, if cut and glued would never break and thus “correcting” the weakest link. You may find his pipes on E-Bay on occasion listed as an L. Cayne. The P in his stamping looks more like a fancy upper case C…- Michael J. Glukler

I removed the stem from the shank to look inside and found the carburetor system that Mike refers to in the above quote. The inside of the shank was aluminum so the end cap fit over the outside of the shank and was inset into the interior and formed a collection chamber for moisture. It was dirty with oils and tars. In the centre of the chamber was a tube that extended half the distance up the shank to the end. In the stem was an aluminum tube that was smaller in diameter than the shank tube and when the stem was inserted the stem tube fit in the shank tube. The tube thus formed a straight line from the bottom of the bowl to the end of the stem. The Payne inner tube system differed from the Keyser system in that the two tubes interlocked and formed a seamless tube from bowl to button. In the Keyser system the tube in the stem had a downward angle and the one in the shank was shorter. The tubes did not meet or join. Rather the air was swirled around the aluminum chamber and then drawn upward into the downward point tip of the stem tube. In the cutaway drawing below you can visualize the Payne stem with the shank tube extended further into the shank and the stem tube inserted into the shank tube when the stem was in place. The stem itself in this case was a twin bore stem where the airway split into a Y and ended in the button with two holes – one on either side of the button. The theory was it made a more bite proof stem. So while the externals and stem appeared to be the same the internals were markedly different in their execution.

The bowl itself was clean but the rim was dirty and damaged with small dents and places that could not be steamed out. The bowl would need to be lightly topped. The finish on the rusticated bowl was in great shape with little wear. The grooves had been stained with a dark brown and the high smooth parts were stained with a lighter brown stain to make a contrast. The aluminum shank cap was scratched and dull. The interior of the pipe was very dirty. The stem was high-grade vulcanite and was lightly oxidized and coated with a sticky substance like price sticker glue. There were no bite marks in the surface and under the grime it was clean. The button had the twin bore system and was also clean and undamaged. I took the pipe apart so that I could clean the internals and work on the top of the rim. The beauty of this old pipe was that it did not need to be reamed as it was clean inside the bowl. The next two photos show the diameter of the military stem and the overall look of the stem. I set up the topping board and the 220 grit sandpaper in order to lightly top the rim of the Payne. I pressed the rim against the board and moved it in a circular motion to remove the damage to the rim and the hard buildup. I cleaned out the inside of the end cap insert to remove the tars and oils with alcohol, folded pipe cleaners, and cotton swabs. I cleaned out the airway with pipe cleaners and alcohol.I used the Guardsman stain pens to stain the rim. I started with the lightest stain and moved to the darkest stain. I wanted to match the stain on the rim to the stain of the bowl. Once it was dry I buffed it with White Diamond and then lightly wiped it off with alcohol on cotton pads to lighten it slightly to get a more correct match. The stem was in good shape and did not have any bite marks or tooth chatter. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. In between each set of three pads I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I waxed the stem with carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buffing pad to raise the shine. I sanded the aluminum end cap with the micromesh pads to polish the metal and remove the scratches. Once the aluminum shone I waxed the bowl and stem with carnauba and buffed it with a soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is shown below. It is ready to load up and smoke with its inaugural bowl of tobacco. I am wondering how the tube system works in delivering a cool smoker and how the smoke compares to the Keyser Hygienic pipes. Time will tell.

A Few Words on Pipe Care, Whether for Your Eight-Dot Saseini or a No-Name – Robert M. Boughton

The Wily Nature of a WDC 14K Full Bent Billiard Restore – Robert M. Boughton

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.roadrunnerpipes.com
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

O, what a tangled web we weave,
When first we practise to deceive!
— Sir Walter Scott, Scottish historical novelist, playwright and poet, in “Marmion” (1808), Canto VI, stanza xvii.

INTRODUCTION
I mention poet last among the great Scot’s endeavors because, if any of them were much good, the poetry was most lacking. However, there are forever those two lines that people remember, even if they often misattribute it to Shakespeare, who would have made a much better and shorter sonnet of the one theme had he thought of it. Scott’s epic in length tragic poem (in more senses than intended) – with its jumbled use of rhymed couplets in iambic tetrameter, alternating rhyme in iambic pentameter and alternating or nested rhyme in hymn meter – just tends to bore. I admit that my writing skills do not include poetry, which I consider the highest form of the literary art form, but I also do not pretend to have the mind for it.

Many of the quotes I include before my blogs are no doubt somewhat enigmatic, but this one hits the mark much closer. A quick look at the WDC Full Bent Billiard with 14K gold band reveals much ado about nothing as far as the need for serious restoration is concerned.In fact, when it came in the mail with six others I bought in a pipe lot, I was happy to see they were nowhere near as thrashed as many others I received before. Most, in particular the WDC, seemed at a glance to need only a simple refurbishing. Only upon close examination did I see the problems that appeared little but might indeed create bigger problems when the actual work began. Still I chose this one both because of its seeming almost pristine condition but because I might have a buyer lined up already.

As a note, WDC is short for the William Demuth Co., a U.S. crafter of fine pipes from 1862-c. 1973, after the venture had changed hands several times and was at last liquidated. The Full Bent Billiard described in this blog appears to be quite old, perhaps dating to the 1930s or ’40s, based on a WDC Master List by Kaywoodie [http://kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org/viewtopic.php?t=191&start=0].

Photo © WDC Master List

RESTORATION
The problems I encountered, despite being almost invisible in the following photos, by the hidden nature of their presence convinced me to take on this supposed easy project. As a result, I was led, step by step, into a web of blemishes, some of which were simple to fix and others proving more difficult.

In general, I start with the chamber, which in my recent blogs has involved the removal of massive cake buildup. Here it is apparent that is not a problem, but that fact ends up concealing a more significant flaw, which I will get to in short order. This time, I chose to begin with the rim and shank opening Even in the photo above, the blackening, scratches and jagged inner rim show. Closer photos display the rim and shank hole better.

Steel wool was perfect for the shank opening. But 1500 and even 800 micromesh proved ineffective on the rim. I jumped to 400 micromesh, which removed the blackening. As I intended only to sand the bowl this time instead of using my reamer that has been mandatory with so many other recent restores, I switched to 150-grit paper for the chamber, starting with the rim to eliminate the craggy inside.

After continuing with multiple turns of the paper until I reached the bottom, I tapped and blew out most of the accumulated carbon dust and used a small piece of cotton cloth to wipe off enough of the residue to insert a finger and feel the sides. They were smooth, but what I found at the bottom was troubling: a big hole with another ridge of cake around it.

And so I decided to go with the reamer after all. Besides, I thought, I like to leave the chamber wall as close as possible to the wood, and the reamer would accomplish that and even out the hole in the bottom – I thought.

However, while I indeed removed more carbon from the sides and bottom, the latter proved much more stubborn. Returning to the 150-grit paper, I took the walls down to where the wood almost showed all the way. With awkward, slow turns of the paper, during which I heard an awful scraping wail rising from the base of the chamber, I succeeded in sanding the hole as far as it would go. In the end, a small hole remained. For the first time, I understood that I needed some sort of tool I do not yet possess, but the result was satisfactory.

Meanwhile, I used a record 15 bristly pipe cleaners to remove the long-accreted mess of tar and other fantastic buildup of nastiness from the shank. I concluded a serious alcohol flush was in order. I stuck a piece of cotton in the bottom and for the first time plugged the shank with some cork I had on hand.About a half-hour later, seeing the cotton was dark, I removed it with a cheap tobacco pick and pulled the cork, letting the brown alcohol drain through the shank. I had given the outer wood a good bath with purified water, which removed considerable filth, but being quick to wipe up the overflow of alcohol, I used it to wipe away more tenacious hangers-on, so to speak. The next strands of the web were the many tiny scratches and pits on the bowl and shank, all of which were so small I was (I have to admit) tempted to let them slide. That being a sin of restoration I have yet to commit with malice aforethought, my senses returned. I considered how to accomplish their elimination.

The 1500 micromesh worked on a few superficial scratches. Given that I could see them myself, I used the 320 micromesh for the deeper flaws that were small but still clear to serious scrutiny. That was the magic number but left the treated areas lightened. One of my goals with this restore was to avoid re-staining anywhere, and I had succeeded so far so I was determined not to resort to the last measure at the point. I tried the 1500 again on these spots and found it shined up the wood almost as it had been.

Then I had a thought. I know, the phenomenon doesn’t occur every day, but this was like one of James Joyce’s little epiphanies. Taking a risk, I used the 1500 micromesh on the entire bowl and shank, smoothing the entire surface to a nice glow. The only part of the web before I was clear of it was the stem. Now, I have had stems discolored and bitten almost to the point of being irreparable and made them shine like new. This stem, on the other hand, which showed nothing but the slightest use by a long-time, caring pipe tobacco enjoyer, eluded several efforts to remove the minor scratches. To my surprise, the chatter came off with ease, but the scratches would disappear with micro-meshing and then new scratches and even white blotches popped up when I wiped the stem down with my cotton cloth.

Nothing was going to stop me. And so, with a barrage of micromesh grades starting with 1500 and then 800 followed by 3200 and 320 and at last 1500 again, I could find no scratches, chatter or blotches. All that remained was the buffing. I finished the stem with red Tripoli and White Diamond. The briar I used everything at my disposal, starting with white and red Tripoli, then White Diamond and at last carnauba. CONCLUSION
I had a good time restoring this excellent old pipe, despite the unexpected difficulties I seemed to encounter at every turn. In fact, I suspect the new problems added to the pleasure. I’ve always enjoyed a challenge, and while mine in this process may seem tame compared to those some of my more experienced readers have dealt with – and believe me, I’ve read enough of Steve’s and heard about plenty of my friend’s and mentor’s to know there is far worse – they nevertheless represent new obstacles I overcame. That, I understand, is what the job is all about.

I suppose I was born with the type of personality that finds it impossible to overlook even the slightest flaws I notice in any project I undertake. People – for the most part those who are satisfied with mediocre conclusions – have always called me a perfectionist, but I never use the word to describe myself because I know I am far from it. Only on rare occasions have I completed a project (whether it be a short story, screenplay, novel, blog, pipe restoration or anything else) to which I did not return later and see how I could write, edit or do it better.

By way of example, when I was writing my last blog, on The Guildhall London Pipe, I started to insert photos and noticed the stem was not up to my present snuff, so to speak. And so, although it was somewhat of a hassle to stop my blog, get the pipe, remove the stem and not just rebuff it using the White Diamond wax I recently added to my wheels but re-sand it to remove the horrible discoloration I had missed before, I could not bring myself to publish photos knowing they would show my incompetence. I think the final result was worth the extra effort.

I am beginning to realize an important part of the restoration learning process is simple rising self-expectations. By good fortune, I have several dozen estate pipes in many shapes and degrees of duress on which to practice in the near future…and I am chomping on the bit!

The One That Got Away – Robert M. Boughton

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.roadrunnerpipes.com
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

“Love bravely, live bravely, be courageous, there’s really nothing to lose.”
— Jewel (Jewel Kilcher), singer-songwriter, guitarist, actress, author and poet

INTRODUCTION
Indeed, I endeavor to live life to the fullest and take calculated risks. But be advised, the good lady, Jewel, is not altogether correct. This, therefore, is a cautionary account of a wonderful Gilpin, being the product of a maker called Salisbury.

Because of its humble background that defies my concerted attempts to trace the brand even to a country of origin, the 5-1/2″ long pipe (from the front of the small, flat, rounded base to the lip of the stem) with a 1-7/8″ bowl height, though an uneven mix of birds-eye and erratic lines, is nevertheless a fine example of engineering, briar quality and the ultimate smoking pleasure that results. I believe Salisbury is or was a small, independent pipe shop, or perhaps just the name of the town where a modest craftsman who created the Gilpin lived.

RESTORATION
For anyone who has read my other recent blogs, the beginning of this part will come as a given. More for the benefit of others, I have to say this unfortunate pipe, which came as part of a lot I purchased online because I could see through the beast to the beauty inside, was not treated well by its former owner. Exercising the utmost restraint, I will forego any judgment calls as to the personality of that ignorant individual and just get to proof of where I started. The only redeeming factor is that there was nothing wrong with the interior structural character of the Gilpin. Needless to say, the pipe was as thrashed as the others in its lot, to my benefit since, taken as a whole, the collection did not appear to be worth my overbid that succeeded in scaring off the other contenders, and I won for next to nothing.

When I finished with my reamer and 150-grit paper on the chamber, I had removed enough cake both to fill three bowls and to rest my softened case against the previous individual who had possession of this pipe.
For the rim I started with 220-grit paper and then, as the wood began to peek through, finished the removal of the serious burning with 1500 micromesh.The uniform scratches all around the rim indicated a need for slow work with 400-grit paper and 2400 micromesh to achieve smoothness.I re-stained the rim a light brown and hand-buffed it with 2400 micromesh.

The stem on the Gilpin was so roughed-up and discolored that it proved to be the most difficult part of the restoration. Beginning with vigorous sanding using more 220-grit paper, I spent close to a half-hour removing the blemishes that must have contributed to the collectors who also bid on this lot giving up after my one max offer of $40. I paid $22.50 for the four pipes. I finished my labor on the stem with 1500 micromesh, then 3200.

THE FATAL CRISIS
After cleaning and sanitizing the near-finished Gilpin, I had only to polish the stem and wood on my twin fixed-speed buffers. I know, I know! I can’t count the times my friend and mentor, Chuck Richards, and other restorers more experienced than I have admonished me to have a firm grip on the material being buffed when using this type of inexpensive tool. And I swear to all that is holy to me that I did just that. Read on, and I shall tell you the tale.

Starting with the stem, using red Tripoli and White Diamond, the result was perfect. I moved on to the bowl and shank, buffing them to a beautiful sheen with white Tripoli, White Diamond and the last touch of carnauba. I was, in fact, in the act of removing the beautiful briar from the carnauba wheel.

And that was when…

Well, that was when the unthinkable happened. You know by now where this is going. The precious piece of wood got away from me and, thanks to my not having set up a soft net for such contingencies, flew at warp speed straight into the wall a mere few inches behind the buffer.

I actually heard the sound of the snap, although I could not see where the consequence of my mistake came to rest. As a nauseating, heartbroken sickness spread from my stomach to the rest of my body and mind in one breathless heartbeat, I switched off the second buffer and leaned over the edge of the stand and spotted the bowl on the carpet – with a jagged break in the shank near the draught hole.

Of all the accursed luck! Right before the frigging draught hole! (That, for your information, was not the adjective I in fact shouted out loud in a maelstrom of horror and self-flagellation.) Even through the mental fog that swirled inside my addled head and made my sight blur, I had a good idea of the significance of that location, more or less the hottest place on a pipe, as opposed to the stem end, where I might have had a fighting chance to Super Glue it back together and band the sorry, mortally wounded Gilpin.

But where was the other piece? I grew frantic in a way I had not experienced in years. Standing there where I had frozen, without moving my feet, I searched everywhere around the stand until at last, turning only my head, I found the missing piece of the shank. It was behind me by a box near the middle of the room.And so it came to pass, the next day at my tobacconist, that I took the all but ruined pipe, in its three clean and sparkling pieces that seemed to mock me, and at least having calmed down enough to smile for Chuck as I handed him the violated parts said:

“The one that got away.”

“What’s this?” Chuck said with his grin of curious amusement.

“The one that got away,” I said again. “You know how often you’ve told me to be extra careful holding pipes on the buffers I have. Well, one finally got away.”

Recounting my story to him, I saw his big, warm smile emerge and felt so much better, even though I knew in my heart that he would confirm that the hapless Gilpin was beyond repair for purposes of selling.

Chuck and Chad

As luck would have it, though, if such a phrase could even be conceived to apply to this calamity, the fractured pipe was not beyond repair for what Chuck called a shop pipe, or one to be enjoyed by myself while restoring others. All I needed to do was find some sort of short rod to anchor the two parts of the shank in place and Super Glue them together without letting any of the glue seep inside.

I can do that, I thought, and a local hardware store where I could find such a thing came to mind. The next day I visited the store and searched through the limited possibilities. I spotted a 315-piece box of assorted sizes of spring steel, black oxidized roll pins, and after much thought decided what the heck. One of the two smallest pins, I concluded, would fit the bill.Choosing the smallest, which was 1/16×3/16″ in size, I inserted one end of the roll pin into the bowl end of the shank, as is obvious in the photo above. With great care, I applied Super Glue around the exposed wood of the same end and fitted the other piece of the shank, without the stem, over the pin and into place, lined up in a perfect match.The next step I chose, after letting the glue set, was to use 400-grit paper to smooth the dried scab of glue as well as I could. In the process, of course, some of the finish came with it, but that was easy to fix with a small amount of brown boot stain around the lighter area.

I flamed it and used 2400 micromesh to remove the char. At that point, the dreaded time to return to the buffers had arrived, and so there I went. Taking a deep breath and telling myself whatever happened was okay, I felt a calmness come over me. I turned on the two buffers and re-did the entire bowl and shank with red and white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba Only the knowledge that I would be smoking the finished pipe alone in my little shop and thinking of this black experience every time consoled me.

CONCLUSION
I have been smoking a bowl of Cornell & Diehl Sunday Picnic in my new shop pipe as I finish up this most excellent example of how not to restore a pipe. The Gilpin is every bit as good as I expected, but of course I remain unhappy with the end. I would much rather have concluded on a happy note with the Salisbury whole and rejuvenated and ready to sell, but life sometimes takes cruel turns.

Then again, maybe the beautiful, aptly named Jewel had it right.

Bringing an acorn shaped bowl back to life – wondering if there was a point to this exercise.

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I took this old bowl out of the box – last of two pipes to refurbish in my box – I looked at it and wondered what the point would be to clean it up. It had three large and visible fills on the bowl back left side and bottom of the shank and bowl. The finish was shot and it did not have a stem. I sorted through my can of stem and found a threaded Kaywoodie stem that had a short stinger and some scored threads. I tried it in the metal mortis on this pipe and it actually fit perfectly with no overage. The stamping on the old bowl remains a mystery to me – it is stamped on the left side of the shank as follows: HHG over Imported Briar. There is no other stamping at all on the pipe. So far I am unable to find any information on it at all. Who Made That Pipe has the listing but says maker unknown. I do know that the Imported Briar stamping makes it likely that the pipe is an American made pipe post WWII. Other than that I am at a loss. The two fills were solid and undamaged and the putty was a light brown. The finish was shot and opaque. It was hard to see what the grain looked like underneath. The rim was darkened but undamaged. The photo below shows the three fills that were very present on the bowl. The potential grain shows through on the bottom of the shank and led me to have a little hope that underneath the opaque ruined finish would be some nice grain.I screwed the stem in place on the shank to have a look at the shape and fit with the pipe. It actually looked quite good with the long, slender stem. The stem had oxidation and calcium build ups on the top and bottom but would clean up nicely. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol (ran out of acetone) and scrubbed the surface to remove the finish. Without the acetone I would need to sand the bowl. I set up a topping board and used 220 grit sandpaper to remove the thick darkening on the rim. I lightly topped it so as not to change the profile or look of the pipe. I sanded the bowl and stem with 220 grit sandpaper and then with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove the remnants of the old finish on the bowl and the buildup of calcium on the stem. Some nice birdseye grain was underneath the finish on the right and left sides of the bowl. I cleaned the metal tenon with alcohol and then sanded the rough areas on the threads to clean up the aluminum damage. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and medium and fine grit sanding sponges to remove the tooth indentations that were underneath the calcified buildup. I used a Bic lighter to paint the surface of the stem and lift the tooth dents. Once they had lifted I redefined the crease of the button with needle files. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three sanding pads. When I finished sanding with the 12,000 grit pad I buffed it lightly with White Diamond and gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil. I set it aside while I worked on the bowl. I wiped down the bowl one final time with alcohol before staining it with a dark brown aniline stain. I applied the stain and flamed it and repeated the process until the coverage was even. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads to remove some of the dark heavy colour of the brown stain and to make it more transparent. Once I had it to the point where I could see through the stain to the grain I quit wiping it down. The trick was to make the stain transparent enough to highlight the grain but at the same time minimize the three fills. Once I had the stain at the place I wanted I put the stem back on the pipe and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl with red Tripoli to polish and buff through the dark areas that remained on the stain coat. I buffed the bowl until it met the look I was aiming for. I then buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond and gave them multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it finally with a soft flannel buff to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown below. It actually came out quite well and should provide a great yard pipe for someone down the line. I expect this will be another pipe that I gift to a pipeman I meet along the way. If anyone has some clues as to the maker of this pipe let me know. It turned out to be worth working on after all. I am pleased with what came out of an otherwise ignoble old pipe bowl without a stem that had been sitting in my box for quite awhile as I ignored it and worked on other bowls and stems.

The Original Lonchamps Pigskin Pipe and the Restoration of One – Robert M. Boughton

There was nothing redeeming about this ugly old pipe…

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am getting down to the bottom of my refurbishing box yet again. This is one of three pipes that are left to work on. It is one ugly old pipe to my tastes. Certainly it is one that I have left until there are few to choose from to work on. There truly was nothing redeeming about the look of it. The rough cut billiard with a bark like rustication pattern did nothing for me. The left side of the shank is stamped Forecaster over Imported Briar. The bottom of the bowl had been flattened to make the pipe a sitter. But even that was done poorly as it was to one side and the pipe sat with a list. The finish was worn out but appeared to have been a dark thick stain that was opaque enough to hide all the briar. The outer rim of the bowl had been badly beaten up from hitting against some hard surface and left to be a ragged rough edge around the bowl. One thing that gave this tired old pipe a unique, eye-catching touch was that the top of the shank had been stamped with an eight point star and then inlaid with gold paint. The bowl had a thick soft cake all the way down reducing the diameter of the bowl by almost half. The stem had a metal spacer that gave the appearance of a stem with a metal tenon as well. But when I removed the stem I found that it had a vulcanite tenon. The stem was badly oxidized and had some deep scratches in the surface. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using the smallest cutting head and worked my way up to the head that would take the cake back to the bare wall of the pipe.The top was so damaged that it needed to be topped. In looking it over I was not sure how much of the rim I could remove without dramatically changing the look of this pipe so I would proceed slowly. I set up a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper and slowly topped the bowl. I sanded it until I had removed as much of the damaged portion of the rim as I could without changing the shape. The rustication made the bowl look out of round but is actually still round. The right side is more rusticated at the top edge than the left so it looks unusual from the top down photo below.I wiped down the finish with acetone on cotton pads until I had removed the heavy dark finish. It took a lot of scrubbing to get through the grime and then the varnish coat. Underneath the dark top coat it appeared that there was a walnut stain that highlighted the grain on the high spots of the bowl. The grooves and valleys were dark with a black stain. The contrast had some potential. I sanded the smooth parts of the bowl and rim with medium and a fine grit sanding sponges to smooth out the scratches in the bowl and on the topped rim. I wiped it down with isopropyl alcohol and then stained it with a dark brown aniline stain. I applied it and flamed it and repeated the process until the coverage was even. The bowl was very dark brown but it was at least evenly stained. I would have to do some more work on it to get the contrast that I wanted between the rustication and the smooth parts of the briar. I cleaned out the shank and bowl with isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they came out clean. I cleaned the stem at the same time until it also was clean. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol to remove some of the heavy dark brown stain and make it more transparent. I then sanded the bowl with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove some more of the stain on the high spots and to match the colour of the stain on the rim. I sanded the stem with the sanding sponges at the same time to minimize the scratches on the vulcanite. I buffed it with White Diamond and took it back to the worktable to work on the stem and bowl some more. I wanted the stain to be a bit more transparent and the contrast between the high spots and the crevices to show clearly. I still needed to deal with the list to one side when I set the pipe down on a flat surface. I probably should have done this before I stained the bowl but forgot to do so in cleaning up the mess. I decided it was better late than never so I dealt with it next. In examining it I found that it was not centered on the bottom of the bowl and shank but was off to one side. I sanded flat portion to take down the higher side and even out the flat bottom. I used 220 grit sandpaper and then a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to flatten it out and remove the list. When I was satisfied with the way the bowl sat I refinished it with a stain pen to darken it and blend it into the stain of the rest of the bowl.I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding sponges – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. Between each set of three pads I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it soak into the vulcanite before proceeding with the next set of pads. When I finished I gave it a final coat of oil and then buffed it with White Diamond to a shine. I buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff. The finished pipe is shown below. It is still an ugly pipe in my opinion but there is something redeeming about the ugliness. I suspect it will make a great yard pipe for someone and will deliver a good smoke. It must have been a good smoking pipe in its day – otherwise why would its previous owner have smoked it to the point of near death!

The Sentimental Journey Continued – Restoring a Second Medico, a Smooth Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

In a previous post called a Sentimental Journey I wrote of why Medico’s always get attention when they cross my desk. Last evening I reached into my box of pipes to be refurbished and pulled out the next pipe to clean up and it too was Medico – this time it was a smooth billiard. The finish was worn and the varnish was peeling off the bowl. The rim was badly knocked around so there was damage on the outer edge at the front of the bowl and the back. There was a heavy build up on top of the damage and the bowl had a thick cake at mid bowl – not much at the top or bottom. The stamping was the same as the previous pipe – MEDICO on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar Italy on the right side. A bonus for me was that the stem I had work on for the little Rhodesian fit this one and only needed adjustment in the diameter of the stem. It had the metal tenon that was generally on Medico pipes and would hold the Medico paper filter as per design. The rest of the stem was vulcanite not nylon which was a bonus. I cleaned out the shank and fit the stem in place to see how much sanding I would need to do to match the diameter of the shank. It did not look like it would take very much to bring it in line. I would need to sand the aluminum band on the stem at the same time so I would need to be careful to not create dips or valleys next to it on the softer vulcanite when sanding. I sanded the stem with 150 grit sandpaper to reduce the diameter of the stem.I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using the smallest cutting head to clean it out.To clean up the rim damage I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to take down the rim and reduce the rough pitting on the outer edge. I also sanded around the edge of the rim to smooth out the remaining roughness.I wanted to get rid of the peeling varnish on the bowl so I wiped it down with acetone on cotton pads to remove it. It took a lot of scrubbing as the varnish was very stubborn.I sanded the bowl and the rim with 220 grit sandpaper and then with medium and fine grit sanding sponges to remove more of the finish and reduce the scratching on the bowl. I sanded it with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge before wiping it down one last time with alcohol. I decided to stain it with an aniline based oxblood stain. I applied it and then flamed it to set it in the grain. I rubbed the excess stain off with an alcohol dampened cloth and then hand buffed it with a shoe brush. This old Medico had some really nice grain and was a far better piece of briar than I had expected. I sanded the bowl with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then buffed it with White Diamond to smooth out the bowl further. I gave it a coat of carnauba wax and buffed it lightly. I finished the work on the stem fit and then sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and moved through each successive set of three pads. Once I had finished sanding it I rubbed it down a final time with the oil and gave it a buff with White Diamond. I put the pipe back together and gave it a final buff with White Diamond and then multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a soft flannel buff to finish and polish the wax. The finished pipe is shown in the next series of photos. It is a small light weight billiard with fairly decent grain and a few character marks. The new stem fits well and it looks better than it did when it left the factory. It should provide a great smoke to another pipeman. This is one that I will inevitably gift to someone along the way.

A Sentimental Journey – the Restemming and Restoration of a Medico Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

For years now I have had a special spot in my heart for Medico pipes. I don’t like the paper filter system, or the cheap stems with the split aluminum tenon, or the heavy varnish on the briar, or the fills that are hidden below the thick varnish, or any endless number of complaints that come to the surface with these old US made briar pipes. But I can’t get past the fact that the first pipe I ever owned was a Medico – paper filter and all, and that the first pipe I picked up when my first daughter was born years later was a Medico as well. Because of that whenever I am given an old Medico bowl I restem it and restore it. I strip away the varnish and rework the fills, make a new stem and bring it back to life in even better condition that it was when it was first sent out.

The Medico that I worked on in this restoration was a straight shank Rhodesian that came to me in a gift box of bowls. It was stemless and I had two potential stems that would work for it. There truly was nothing particularly redeemable that I saw in the bowl so the reason was as stated above solely sentimental. The bowl was dirty and worn with a thick cake. The rim had been battered and had deep nicks on the outer edge. There was a thick dark red varnish on the briar. It was stamped MEDICO on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar Italy on the right side. On the left side of the bowl was a large brown putty fill that stood out like a sore thumb. The first stem I tried was a split metal tenon Medico style stem. It was worn but usable. It fit the shank perfectly and looked good on the pipe. I thought for sure this would be a simple and quick restoration. I should have learned by now that whenever I think that problems would pop up on the way to the finish. I cleaned the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol.The top of the bowl was badly damaged with large dents and missing chunks on the outer edge of the rim so I decided to top the bowl. I used the topping board with 220 grit sandpaper and worked on the rim until it was smooth and clean. There were still several places on the outer front edge that would need to be worked on but the finished look of the topped bowl was far better than when I had started. I wiped down the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the thick varnish coat and clean up the finish on the bowl. I wanted to remove it back to the briar. In the process the dark red stain coat also was removed from the bowl.Once the stain coat and varnish were removed I could see several problems that I would need to address. The front edge of the bowl needed to be sanded and the slope on the cap would need to be modified by hand sanding to remove the damage on the front edge and face of the cap. There was also a fine crack that had seeped tobacco oils on the top right edge of the shank. It had been hidden by the dark stain. When I move the stem it was not visible and did not open or spread but it was definitely present. I would need to clean up the shank, band it and with the band a different stem would need to be fit to the shank. The stem I had previously chosen had a metal face that would not work against the band. I scrubbed the bowl and shank until all the red stain that I could remove was gone. I used a Dremel with a sanding drum to sand back the shank so that I could fit a band on the shank. I also wanted to smooth out the surface of the rustication pattern and clean up the crack so that I could glue and clamp it before banding.I put the band around the end of the shank and then heated the metal band with a Bic lighter until I could press it into place on the shank. It took several reheats with the lighter before I had a flush fit on the band. At that point I took the second stem I had chosen and lightly sanded the tenon to get a good tight fit in the shank and pushed it in place. I reamed the bowl with my PipNet reamer and the smallest cutting head until I had taken the cake back to bare wood. I wanted the bowl to be clean so that I could see if there was any damage to the interior of the bowl.Once I had reamed the bowl I reshaped the angle on the cap with 220 grit sandpaper and medium and fine grit sanding sponges. Once I had the angle correct around the entire rim and had removed the damage on the front of the cap I sanded the entire bowl with the sanding sponges. I also sanded the stem with the same sandpaper and sanding sponge combination to remove the oxidation and tooth chatter near the button. The newly shaped bowl and freshly sanded stem is shown in the next series of four photos below. I stained the bowl with some oxblood aniline stain and flamed it. I wanted the red colour of the stain but I did not want it to be as opaque as the original stain had been. The aniline stain seems to be more transparent. It did however, do a great job in hiding the big fill on the left side of the bowl. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper, then a medium and fine grit 3M sanding sponge. I followed that with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down between each set of three pads with Obsidian Oil before moving on to the next three pads. I finished by giving it a final rubdown with the oil before taking it to the buffer. I buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect and polish both bowl and stem. With that completed my sentimental journey with this old Medico was complete and it was ready to go back into service. I am sure I will gift this pipe to some new pipeman somewhere along the way as it should smoke very well and give many years of service. It is not a thing of beauty and never will be but it is a good serviceable pipe that will deliver a good smoke. The finished pipe is pictured in the photos below.

A Glorious Republic Era Pete Killarney Flame Grain Tall Billiard – Robert M. Boughton

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.roadrunnerpipes.com
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

“What’s this world without its pleasure? What is pleasure but a pipe?”
— W.H. Logan, author, “A Pedlar’s Pack of Ballads and Songs,” 1869

INTRODUCTION
I doubt anyone could have summed up my own thoughts on the matter better or with more conciseness than the eclectic author, W.H. Logan. My pipes are my great pleasure, my main collection, my hobby, my trade. When I found this Peterson Killarney Red Flame Grain Tall Billiard available online, for a price that seemed too good to be true, I suspected some serious flaws somewhere. But a close inspection showed only a few scratches on the shiny wax and perhaps high grade varnish surface as well as the kind of rim blackening and chamber buildup that scares away so many bidders who are not prepared to deal with these little matters.

I had to have it, and so once again I over-bid to ward away the timid masses. I never had to increase that one bid and got it for an incredible $38.01, which seemed so precise I knew one of the others watching the pipe had offered a mere penny more than the previous contestant. The day it arrived at my Post Office Box, I cut through the tape and package label of the parcel on my way to the car and then sat behind the wheel to take out the contents. I admit I was relieved to inspect the new prize and find there were no hidden damages.

Giving the seller a high rating in all areas and commenting that I got it for a steal, I received a response from the gentleman that thanked me for one more perfect grade on his spotless record and went on to add, in reply to my written comment, “Yes, you did get it for a steal.” I could hear him saying it with a touch of disappointment.

Still, I was surprised when I saw the following nomenclature on the right shank:In case the enlargement is unclear, it reads, in block letters, “A Peterson Product” (which was in fact in quotes) over “Made in the Rep.” over “of Ireland,” with the number 120 to the right of the bottom line. Looking it up on pipephil.eu, I was pleased to confirm that it was a Republic Era pipe, a fact I had not been able to determine when I bid for it, placing its date of manufacture at somewhere between 1950-1989. Given the discoloration of the stem and general appearance of long, hard use, I suspect it is from the 1970s.

Out of about 85 pipes I have in my collection, although the biggest part of that is comprised of meerschaums, a dozen are Peterson’s (and there is still another, a vintage Kildare, on the way). This old Killarney is not the best of them – being outdone by the tiny Gold Spigot natural grain, the Mark Twain Rusticated Bent Billiard system and the 150th Anniversary Special Edition natural bent billiard – but it is without doubt the most beautiful.

At one point believing I would never have the skill to restore a meerschaum, I did so with several and have a major project underway with one that is 115-120 years old. Among my other great wishes was to have the opportunity to restore a Peterson, and now it is a done deed, with even better results than I ever imagined.

Please don’t get the idea that I am bragging; far from it. I possess an acute awareness of my strengths and weaknesses (among the latter of which remains stem fitting, not to mention the mere idea of re-shaping one). Nevertheless, I have learned much during the past two years – most of it coming with ease due to my natural affinity for working with wood – but nothing more so than how much is left. In fact, I understand now, nobody knows everything about the craft/art of restoring pipes, not even my good friend and mentor or our host, both of whom are masters.

My greatest fear with the restoration of this Killarney was that after removing the burning of the rim I would be unable to return that thin, small but vital part of the pipe as a whole to its original, rich red color and shine. But almost by instinct, I worked out that problem when the time came.

THE RESTORATION First thing after my quick-clean inspection of the pipe’s interior integrity, I began my assault on the chamber with my Senior Reamer, the blades of which I retracted all the way and was still almost unable to insert it past the buildup of cake to the bottom. Turning the blades outward until they were stuck, I cranked in a slow, circular manner, pushing the top of the tool toward the rim as I listened to the carbon crumble. This step of the process took three adjustments of the blades to clear the cake.

After blowing through the shank to clear most of the leftover carbon dust, I wet a small square of cotton with alcohol and pushed it with a finger down the center of the chamber, then turned it a few times to soak up the rest. Using a 1-1/4×2” piece of 150-grit paper that, when curved to fit inside the chamber, just fit the diameter and left a little room above the rim with which to apply torque, I put a smaller finger inside the paper and began to twist it, first using the most pressure along the top of the chamber and working my way down. In this fashion I was able to clear the remaining carbon until briar showed most of the way through to the draught hole.

Having learned by the restoration of my third meerschaum that super fine steel wool is my favorite and, I think, the safest way to remove rim burning, I applied a pad of the 0000-grade to the blackness and watched as it disappeared with ease and left the rim clean and still shiny. However, there were some serious scratches covering the rim as well as a groove worn into it on the inner shank side.A little elbow grease and 1500 micromesh eliminated all of these blemishes, but at the same time dulled the finish. A piece of 2400 micromesh worked out the scratches on the bowl with minor effect on the original waxes.It was time to clean and sanitize the shank and stem. I dipped a cleaner into alcohol, and as I inserted it into the shank I felt the tar and other gunk resist. The cleaner came out pitch black. After seven identical runs, during which the grime inside at least lost its resistance, the cleaners were just as black. I decided to do a bowl and shank flush with alcohol, but first I ran about eight cleaners soaked in alcohol through the stem until it came out clean.

Top: Shank cleaners. Middle: chamber cake and cotton cleaner. Bottom: stem cleaners.

Following the alcohol flush, the shank was clean and the briar showed through from top to bottom of the chamber. That is the cleanest I have ever restored a chamber.

The stem was in good shape except for some tooth chatter in the lip. I used 400-grit paper on the chatter followed by 1500 micromesh again on the entire stem to remove minor scratches and discoloration. As usual, I buffed it with red and white Tripoli and White Diamond.

The end of my project being nigh so soon, it seemed, I looked over the bowl and shank. The next to last thing left to do was re-stain the rim using marine cordovan (burgundy) boot stain and flame it. I let it sit for a minute before turning to 2400 micromesh for a nice, slow, gentle rub to remove the black flakes left from the stain and get down just to the wood grain. Again, the color was lighter red than the rest of the bowl, which worried me, but there was no choice but to buff the whole thing.

I almost always use the same three waxes for this step: white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba. But this time I looked at the red Tripoli wheel and decided it could only help. Starting there and following with the rest, I was shocked to see that the finished pipe was uniform in deep red color and shine. The feeling when that kind of success occurs is indescribable. CONCLUSION
As I wrote this account, I smoked in the just restored Peterson’s Killarney a full bowl of Comoy’s Cask №. 5 Bullet Eye Select, with its tasty blend of bright orange Virginias, Burleys and Tennessee bourbon. The writing came to me with unusual ease, but still, that was one long bowl! This all just goes to point out that the beautiful, red, flame grain Killarney gives a long, excellent smoke, although the bowl does tend to get hot enough to hold the pipe as necessary by the shank.

Being a Peterson’s fan and collector, as I stated already, I’ve decided this is a keeper. There is just no way, no how, I am going to offer this pipe as the newest addition to my online store, as nice as it would be to post it for sale and take in the money.

Now the pipe is almost empty, and I am full.

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