by Kenneth Lieblich

Next on the chopping block is a beautiful Danish pipe from Scandia. This terrific pipe came to me from a lady whose husband had passed away. The price was reasonable, so I was happy to have it. The pipe is beautiful and a great example of Danish pipe-making. The pipe is a Danish pipe by Scandia, produced from the esteemed pipemaker, Stanwell. Steve called this shape a “strawberry”, which is a much more evocative name than my boring, old “freehand Dublin”. The strawberry is a very attractive shape and this one is no exception. It really makes an impression. It has beautiful, sandblasted briar from the bowl and down the shank. It also has a lovely saddle stem. The underside of the shank reads Scandia [over] Made in Denmark and, next to that, a shape number, 111. The stem also has the SC, indicating the Scandia make.Both Pipedia and Pipephil list Scandia as being a Stanwell sub-brand or second (and not much else), as per the photo below.Meanwhile, Pipedia has a good amount of information on the Stanwell brand and its history. I certainly recommend looking it over: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell.With the number 111 on the shank, I went to check the list of Stanwell shapes, here on rebornpipes, and I found a (partial) match! Shape 111 is listed as “Quarter-bent Dublin with a tapered stem.”. Now, my pipe doesn’t have a tapered stem, but this is clearly a quarter-bent Dublin. To further confirm this, here is a page from an old 70s or 80s Stanwell catalogue which clearly shows the same shape of pipe with the matching shape number. I also point out the 115, as it has the same shape (albeit, a different stem).

Anyway, this really is a good-looking pipe. No major issues to resolve – just a few minor ones. The stem was dirty, and some small scratches. There was also a lot of oxidation on the vulcanite. The rim on the stummel was a bit blackened and burnt. The insides were fairly dirty and would need some work to clean out. The stem was first on my list. I wiped down the outside of the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap on some cotton pads. I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the bite marks and dents. Unfortunately, this didn’t really work, but I have ways of sorting this out. Then, I cleaned out the insides of the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. Once this process was done, I used SoftScrub and cotton pads to wipe down the stem before throwing it in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover overnight. The following day, I cleaned all of the de-oxidizing mess and again scrubbed with SoftScrub on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation. This worked well. I used some nail polish to restore the letters SC on the stem. I painted the area carefully and let it fully set before proceeding.Before I moved on to the Micromesh pads, I built up the dents on the stem with cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure.I sanded the adhesive down with 220- and 400-grit sandpapers to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I used both the KleenReem and my pipe knife to remove the built-up cake and take the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none.I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was some filth inside this stummel, but it wasn’t too bad. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. That removed any latent dirt. I decided to de-ghost the pipe in order to remove any lingering smells of the past. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. The bowl was nice and clean after this. As I mentioned earlier, there were some small burn marks on the rim of the stummel that also needed to be addressed. Fortunately, I was able to resolve this by gently sanding the interior rim edge to remove any remnants that remained.Since this was a sandblast, I didn’t need to use the Micromesh pads. But a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s sandblast. There is some beautiful wood on this Danish pipe! A dose of White Diamond on the stem and a few coats of conservator’s wax on the stummel were just what this pipe needed. I had to be especially careful with the bench buffer, since the edges had a tendency to catch on the buffing wheels.This pipe was a delight from the start and its beauty only increased through the restoration process. Whether you call it a strawberry or a Dublin, this pipe is elegant, light, and incredibly comfortable to hold. Finally, I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Danish’ pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the Stanwell are as follows: length 5½ in. (140 mm); height 1⅝ in. (40 mm); bowl diameter 1⅝ in. (40 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1 oz. (30 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.