by Steve Laug

In the latest box of pipes, I received from Jeff was interesting and somewhat strange Pipe to work on. The pipe on the table has a briar bowl with the shank going through it. The shank has cooling fins and the briar bowl has rustication. It is a shape that I would call a Poker with a crowned rim top and unique rustication pattern. We purchased it on 12/12/24 from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA. The grain on the smooth portions of this pipe is beautiful on the crowned rim top and the heel of the bowl. It was obviously a favourite of the previous pipeman. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read Regal. The finish was dirty and worn. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a moderate cake that flowed over the top of the rim top. There was lava flowing over the inner edge. It was hard to clearly assess the damage to the inner edge. The condition of the rim edge and top would become clear in the cleaning process. The vulcanite fancy saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and there was chatter and heavy tooth marks on the top and the underside of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up on the pipe. You can see the condition and the uniqueness of the pipe in the photos below. Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the thickness of the cake and the lava overflow on the rim top. It should clean up well as the edges do not seem damaged. The stem photos also show the tooth chatter and marks on the stem. I think it is vulcanite but I am unsure. He took photos of the rustication around the Poker shaped bowl sides. Both the rim top and heel of the bowl were smooth. The rustication is almost “Tracy Mincer” like in it patter in each groove. It is a unique finish. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the metal shank Barrel of the pipe. It is readable though the RE are a bit faint. The next two photos show the part of the pipe. It has some unique plumbing. There is a plunger tube not unlike the plunger in Kirstens. However, the end of the plunger has a fitting that serves to close off the shank and has two rubber o-rings around it. It is quite different. The plunger and o-rings are very tarry and grimy.Before I started my clean up work on the pipe I wanted to know more about the brand. I turned to my go to site on metal pipes – Smokingmetal to see if they listed it and what information they gave on it (http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=137). I have included the photos and the information below.

REGAL – Department : METAL STEM & Plug in bowls

Whilst not strictly speaking an easily replaceable bowl pipe, the principle is the same for cooling the smoke, a two cycle radiator stem of machined Dural with cooling vanes. The pipe is cleaned after the manner of the Spiral Kool, i,e, the bit is pulled out and with it comes a plunger with neoprene wedge shaped piston rings, cleaning the cylinder in one movement.

The Sportsman, in the lower image advert is a version that incorporates its own lighter. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime from around the bowl sides. It looked better but the rim top and outer edge was darkened and burned. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The stem looked better but there were a lot of tooth marks on both sides were still visible and would need work. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and edges looked very good. The stem looked better, though there were many tooth marks and much chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I removed the stem and plunger and took photos of it from various angles. It is truly unique with the rubber o-rings on the end of the plunger. It is very clean now. The barrel has some darkening and wear on the inside but is clean. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the bowl. I sanded the rim top and inner edge with 320-3500 sanding pads. I wiped the briar down after each sanding pad. By the end it looked very good and the rim top really had some great grain. I polished the bowl sides and the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down after each pad. It really began to be beautiful. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I worked it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a shoe brush to get deep in the valleys. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the stem.I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the remnants of oxidation on the vulcanite. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was able to remove the majority of the oxidation on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from further oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem and plunger back on the Regal Metal Poker with a rusticated Briar Bowl and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is beautiful smooth finished Regal Metal Poker, the metal barrel, and vulcanite saddle stem combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.55 ounces/44 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.