Tag Archives: removing bite marks

A Playful Restoration of a Stanwell Flame Grain 63 Dublin

by Steve Laug

I took a break from working on repairs for customers and my own pipes to have some fun with an unstemmed bowl I had in my box. I went through my stems and did not have a normal or original stem for the bowl. I tried a variety of stems and none of them fit well of even close. I know this one will certainly irritate some purists but I have to tell you it was a fun pipe to work on.The shank had a bit of an odd shape as it was round on the top and the right and left sides. The unique part was that the bottom of the shank was flat. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Stanwell [over] Regd. No. 969-48 [over] Flame Grain. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Selected Briar [over] shape number 63. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Made in Denmark [over] Modele Depose. The shape was a classic Dublin with a plateau rim top. I only took one photo of the bowl before I started working on it. The bowl had some amazing grain around the sides and shank. Definitely the pipe lived up to its name FLAME GRAIN. I went to my can of stems and found both an interesting stem and a horn acrylic shank extension. With a bit of adjusting they would make an interesting looking freehand.The tenon end on the shank extension took only a little adjusting to fit the mortise in the shank. I used a file and a Dremel and a sanding drum to adjust the fit. I fit it in the shank end to get a sense of what it looked like with the extension.I coated the tenon end of the extension with some clear super glue and pressed it into the shank end. I held it in place until the glue set and the extension was solid in the shank.I used a flat file/rasp to shape the shank extension the shank end. I used a Dremel and sanding drum as well. It took a lot of sanding and filing to shape the extension but it gradually began to take on shape. I took some photos of the pipe after the heavy file work was finished. It is looking much better in terms of the fit. Lots of heavy sanding to do to further shape it. I took some photos of the stamping on the shank sides. The photos are far blurrier than the stamping is in person. It is very readable.More filing and more sanding with 220 grit sandpaper really gave the shank extension a defined shape and look. Polishing the shank extension would bring the horn shank back to life. I paused in the polishing of the acrylic horn extension to clean up the bowl. I worked over the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to clean out the debris in the plateau. It polished up nicely with the brush. It looked much better. I began my work on this pipe by reaming the pipe. I used a PipNet Reamer with the first and second cutting heads to take back the heavy cake to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I like to remove all the cake to examine the walls for damage and checking. Great news is that this one is free of any damage! I sanded the bowl to smooth out the finish on the bowl and take care of nicks and scratches in the bowl sides and shank. I also sanded the acrylic horn shank extension. I also sanded the areas where the file and the 220 grit sandpaper had been used on the briar shank. I used 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to check on the progress. It came out looking much better. I touched up the sanded areas on the shank end ahead of the extension with a Cherry stain pen. It matched surrounding briar very well. The acrylic horn shank extension looked very good. I polished the briar bowl and the acrylic horn shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl and the band took on a rich glow. I cleaned out the shank and the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It was surprisingly clean and the pipe smelled fresh. I rubbed down the briar Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips. I used a shoe brush to work the balm into the plateau. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I used the sanding pads I purchased recently – 320-3500 grit regular pads to smooth out the finish and remove the light tooth and chatter marks in the stem. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to finish the preliminary work after the 3500 grit pad.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 polished 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 to protect the stem. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the reborn/re-imagined Stanwell Flame Grain Made in Denmark 63 Dublin Freehand and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. 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 a beautiful Stanwell Flame Grain Dublin 63 – the acrylic horn shank extension, black acrylic stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.55 ounces/45 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe 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.

Fresh Life for a Mastercraft Standard Calabash with a Bakelite Bowl

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By Steve Laug

I don’t know what it is but there is something about these Campaign style pipes that captures my eye and my imagination. They are really quite ugly in terms of aesthetics so it can’t be that so I am not sure. It is basically a briar calabash pipe with a Bakelite bowl. I have had a few over the years so I know that they smoke very cool much like a gourd calabash. The bowl is screwed into the briar base with threads on both. The entrance of the airway is at the top of the bowl so the entire briar bowl is a cooling chamber to allow the settling of tars, oil and debris from the smoke before it rises to be drawn into the stem and your mouth. This pipe came to us on 12/07/2023 from a seller in Milwaukee, Oregon, USA. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Mastercraft [over] Standard in the Mastercraft logo shield. On the right side it reads IMPORTED BRIAR with the letter I missing on the shank end. There is no other stamping on the bowl, the insert or the vulcanite stem. The externals of the bowl and stem are quite dirty with oils and tars ground into the briar and light oxidation and chatter on the stem surface. The Bakelite bowl insert has a heavy cake in it with some lava on the rim top. The pipe was obviously someone’s favourite. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started to clean it up. I have included them below. Jeff took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top to show its condition. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls of the Bakelite and some lava overflow on the rim top. The edges looked very good at this point under the lava. The stem was lightly oxidized and showed some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the condition of the bowl at this point. It was dirty as can be seen. There appear to also be a few small fills on the right side of the bowl near the top. It will be interesting to see how well this cleans up.He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. You can see that it is clear and readable as noted bove. You can also see the letter “I” is missing on the right side of the shank. It probably was stamped in the gap between the stem and the shank.Jeff unscrewed the Bakelite bowl from the briar bowl and took photos. You can see the rubber gasket at the top of the inside of the Bakelite cap. You can also see the three holes in the bottom of the Bakelite cup. This kind of Briar Calabash has been made by many companies – WDC, Kaywoodie, Mastercraft, Dunhill and others. They have come out with different names. They have been branded as Campaign pipes, Captain Warren pipes, Lyon Pipes, the General Dawes pipes and other names. Obviously, the concept of the inserted bowl is quite popular and has been around for a long time. The bowl insert has been made of different things in various pipes – the bowls could be meerschaum, briar or as in this case Bakelite. It really is a true calabash that acts to filter out tars, oils and debris and deliver a smooth smoke.

I have restored several of them over the years and always enjoyed working on them. They are also some good smoking pipes. Here are some links to a few of the pipes I have worked on over the years.

https://rebornpipes.com/2017/07/02/loving-the-old-wdc-campaign-pipe/

https://rebornpipes.com/2018/02/03/61583/

https://rebornpipes.com/2021/04/04/resurrecting-a-briar-wdc-campaign-pipe/

I found an excellent article on Pipedia on the Campaign style of pipes and two particular brands that were issued. It has some great history on the General Dawes and the Captain Warren pipes and the men behind them both. Give the article a read and take time to take a trip back in time. (https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_General_and_the_Captain:_Two_Period_Pipes_of_the_Early_Twentieth_Century).

The pipe I am working on is a little different than these because of the Bakelite Bowl that screws into the briar bowl. The others above were typically briar bowls and even a meerschaum bowl occasionally but I had not seen one of these with a Bakelite cup. It was now time to do my part of the work on the pipe.

Jeff reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish on the bowl looked really good when I got it. The rim top and edges looked very good. He soaked the twin bore stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer bath to remove the oxidation. The stem looked better and the deep tooth marks and chatter on the surface were also visible. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked much better than when he found it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the condition of the rim top and stem before I started working. The rim top looks very good and the bowl is spotless. The stem is much better but still shows some oxidation and tooth chatter and deep marks on both sides near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above.I took the bowl and stem apart and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe. The first one shows the bowl unscrewed and the threads on both. The other photos show the parts with the stem removed.Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. The bowl was in very good condition so I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I polished the Bakelite cup top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the rim top down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. It really took on a shine. I wiped the threads down on both the cup insert and the briar bowl with Vaseline. I rubbed it deep into the threads of the briar and on the threads of the insert. I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This Mastercraft Standard Calabash with a Bakelite Bowl Cup and a vulcanite taper stem has a beautiful, uniquely grained outer bowl that houses the threaded Bakelite cup. The polished vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Mastercraft Standard Calabash is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for your time.

A Nice Break after a few complicated ones – a Comoy’s Classic 184 Bent Globe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is an English made Bent Globe with a classic brown finish. It is a combination dark and medium brown stains. The pipe came to us from a lot that we bought from an estate in Spring Branch, Texas, USA on 02/29/2024. The pipe is very dirty with a thick cake in the bowl and lava on the rim top. The rim edge looks good but it was hard to know what was under the lava coat on the top and edges. It is stamped on the sides of the shank. On the left side it reads Comoy’s [over] Classic. On the right side it is stamped with the shape number 184. Next to the shank/stem junction it has a circular COM stamp that reads Made London in a circle around “In” in the centre [over] England. The finish was dusty and there were oils and grime ground into the finish around the sides of the bowl. The stem is acrylic with grime on the surface and tooth chatter and marks ahead of the button on both sides. The is a single stamped C on the left side of the taper stem. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of the pipe. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a build up of lava on the smooth rim top. It is also built up on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem photos show the grime and light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. He took photos of the sides and the heel of the bowl to show the finish on the pipe. It is a unique stain on it that really shows the grain around the bowl sides. He took two photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I looked on both Pipedia and Pipephil’s sites for information on the Comoy’s Classic Line. Neither site had any information about that particular stamping. The name stamp obviously remains a bit of a mystery. The COM stamp on the shank was a Comoy’s style stamp as noted above. I would need to move ahead and do some work on the shape number to see if what I could learn of that.

I turned to Pipedia’s Comoy’s shape chart and sure enough the 184 shape was a Comoy’s shape. I have included the link (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s_Shape_Number_Chart). I did a screen capture of the section on the 184 shape. The shape is a Medium sized half bent pipe that was called a GLOBE.I now knew that the pipe I was working on was made by Comoy’s (thanks to the shape number and the COM stamp on the shank). It was a beauty for sure and one that would only become more beautiful as it was restored.

I really enjoy working on classic shaped pipes so I was glad to be working on this one. Jeff had reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks better but there is still some darkening on the rim top and edges of the bowl. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked a lot better. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the condition of the bowl. I also took photos of the top and the underside of the stem.I took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank to show the condition after the cleanup. This stamping is clearer than the photos show. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to show the overall look of the pipe. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the bite marks on both sides ahead of the button with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper remove the damage.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. This Comoy’s Classic Made in London 184 Bent Globe is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The shape is elegant and flowing with a taper acrylic stem. I put the stem on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Comoy’s Classic 184 Bent Globe fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. I will be putting it on the British Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a Beautiful Sandblast Stanwell Pipe of the Year 2005 Liverpool

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Blog by Steve Laug

The pipes that I will be posting over the next month from this lot that Jeff and I purchased are fascinating pipes. They were quite stunning but altogether unknown to me. I did not recognize the name of the maker. All the pipes were unsmoked other than the Stanwell Pipe of the Year. We purchased them from a fellow in Kalundborg, Denmark on 02/03/2024. He said that they were all unsmoked and when they arrived they were. They were relatively clean and merely dusty with a little light debris on the stem surfaces. The shapes, sandblasts, shank extensions, and stems were all unique and very well done. The pipes were very beautiful and I could not wait for Jeff to refresh them a bit and get them up to me to do my part. Here are some of the photos of the pipes that we purchased provided by the seller.Here is a photo of the pipe that was sent to us by the seller. It is the one that I chose to work on next. It is a beautiful sandblast Stanwell Liverpool with a black taper acrylic stem. The blast is very well done. The acrylic stem is also well cut and other than dirty is in great condition. The pipe has a silver plaque with the year 2005 engraved on it. There was also silver Crown S on the left side of the stem. The pipe was lightly smoked and there was a light cake and darkening on the bowl walls. I look forward to working on it as it will take very little work and will be a fun break. I turned to the internet to find out information about the Stanwell Pipe of the Year. I came across this interesting article and shape chart on the Blue Room Briars site where they listed a collection of the POYs (https://www.blueroombriars.com/blogs/news/the-stanwell-pipe-of-the-year-collection). I have included the shape chart and part of the article below for the information that it contains..…Recently, Blue Room Briars acquired a complete Stanwell Pipe of the Year (POY) collection spanning from 1980 – 2017. Looking at these pipes in detail reveals some interesting insights into Stanwell’s production, although it should be noted that these findings are not the final say on when a particular pipe was made, but we hope you can use it as a guide when trying to determine the era of manufacture for Stanwell pipes made after 1980.

The first pipe of note is the 1980 POY. This pipe does not come with the engraved silver plaquette. The pipe also sports a traditional vulcanite mouthpiece.

Between 1981 and 1998, the Stanwell pipes from the POY collection have the addition of silver plaquettes denoting the year, a traditional vulcanite mouthpiece, and also have a Teflon lined mortise. This is an interesting feature that creates a very stable connection between the mortise and tenon, as well as allowing the mortise to be swabbed out easily for maintenance. It wouldn’t be unwarranted to believe that other Stanwell pipes with a Teflon sleeved mortise were probably made between the 1980s to late 1990s. This additional, and costly, feature demonstrates Stanwell’s commitment to quality manufacturing even into the last portion of the 20^th century.

The pipe I am working on now is later, after the company moved to Italy. It is not lined with the Teflon sleeve in the mortise. I believe the stem is acrylic.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took photos of the smooth rim top and bowl along with both sides of the vulcanite stem to show the condition of the pipe. It is clearly lightly smoked. The rim top shows some spots of varnish on the surface that gives it a spotty look.I took a photo to try to capture the silver plaque on the side of the shank giving the 2005 date. There is also a silver Crown S on the left side of the taper stem.I started working on the rim top by removing the spotty varnish coat with some acetone on a cotton pad. It was easily removed and certainly looked better afterwards.I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the rim top with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The bowl was in excellent condition so skipped ahead to applying the Balm to the briar. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I polished the short acrylic taper stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I put the stem back on the Stanwell Pipe of the Year 2005 Danish Style Liverpool and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 a beautiful Stanwell POY 2005 – the acrylic taper stem and smooth rim top and sandblast finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The polished black stem looks really good with the rich browns standing out in the sandblast. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/38 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe 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!

What a Beautiful Pair of Danish Made Stanwell RM96 Oval Shank Saddle Billiards

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipes I am working on were purchased on 01/26/2023 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. There both expectedly dirty and obviously they had been someone’s favourite smokers. The pipes are both stamped on the topside of the shank and read Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] RM96. The RM96 stamp had me a bit mystified though I figured it was probably made for a smoking competition thanks to Jesper’s previous help. I would need to check that out. On the straight grain pipe (#1), the dirty smooth finish was not able to hide the beauty of the grain around the bowl and shank. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a heavy lava coat in spots around the bowl. The inner edge was so heavily coated in those spots that it was hard to assess its condition. The stem was a black vulcanite saddle stem with a brass Crown S logo stamp. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. On the mixed grain one (#2) the finish was about the same – dirty and covered with grime and oils ground into the bowl surface. There was a thick cake in the bowl and the lava coat on the rim top was heavier than on #1. The stem had matching tooth marks to #1 making me think it was probably from the same owner. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work.

PIPE #1 PIPE #2 Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl of both pipes to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim on both was so thickly caked that it was not possible to know with certainty the condition. They really were dirty pipes but still were beauties. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when they arrived.

PIPE #1 PIPE #2 The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. Pipe #1 has some great straight grain around the bowl and shank. Pipe #2 has a mix of birds eye, flame and swirled grain. The brown stain on both pipes adds depth to the finish on the pipes and makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank.

PIPE #1PIPE #2 He also took photos of the stamping on the topside of the shanks. It is clear on both pipes and reads as noted above. You can also see the inlaid brass Crown S on the top of the saddle stems in the photos.

PIPE #1 PIPE #2 I decided before I started my work on the pipe to try and unravel the stamping on the topside of the shanks on each pipe. I did a Google search of Stanwell RM 96 and got no hits. I changed the search to hunt for a Stanwell Made in Denmark RM 96 still found no information.

I wrote to Jesper Klith on Facebook and asked he could help me out with information. He has been a very willing and knowledgeable help for these special pipes and city pipes. He replied quickly with an answer and an interesting personal note that I have included below.

It’s from my club Randers Pibeklub. The year I became a member and from my 2nd contest haha. I wonder how it ended up in Canada?

So now I knew! The RM 96 stamp was on a Pipe Club pipe (both of them in this case) and meant Randers Pibeklub. The pipes were made to be used in the competition and was also a commemorative piece. Now it was time to start my work on the pipes.

Jeff did his usual clean up on the two pipes. He reamed the bowls with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned them up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim tops. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim tops. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem of both pipes with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the vulcanite stems in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove any remaining grime on the surface and inside. The fit of the stems to the shanks looked great and the brass Crown S logo shone on each. When they arrived here in Vancouver they were clean pipes and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of them before I started my part of the restoration. Please note that though they seem to show a size variation they are identical. The variation is caused by the angle of the camera. I took photos of the rim tops and the stems 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 on both looked very good but there seemed to be light damage and darkening to the top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the top of the shank on each pipe to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. The pipes looked so good that I started my work by polishing the smooth rim top and bowl on both of them with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The pipe began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. 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 used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast. 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 worked on the stem at this point in the process. I polished the light tooth marks on the surface of both stems with the new regular grit sanding pads I purchased. I used 320-3500 grit sanding pads. They looked significantly better at this point.I polished light tooth marks and chatter out of 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 polished 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 oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.I put the stems back on the beautiful pair of Stanwell RM 96 Oval Shank Saddle Billiard 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. These are beautiful Stanwell Randers Pibeklub 96 Club Pipes – the vulcanite saddle stems and smooth finish combine to give the pipes a great look. The dimensions of Pipe #1 are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/34 grams. The dimensions of Pipe #2 are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/34 grams. I will be putting these pipes on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding one or both of them to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Pipe #1 Pipe #2

From Chicago in 1920’s a Reiss-Premier System Pipe with a Clay Bowl Insert

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Blog by Steve Laug

In the fall I received an email from a reader of the blog about a pipe she had questions about. She sent me photos of the pipe and the Diamond P logo on the metal rim cap and shank band. The band and the cap were polished brass. I did some looking and could not find anything that narrowed down the maker of the pipe. I wrote her back and offered to purchase the pipe from her. She sold it to me and shipped it to my brother Jeff. The base of the bowl is made out of Redmanol or Bakelite. The liner of the bowl held in by the brass rim cap is clay. The airway is in the bottom of the bowl and there is a chamber below that that feeds the smoke into the airway in the stem. The stem is also Bakelite and has tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the stem. Here are the photos she sent me of the pipe. The next two photos show the Diamond P stamp on the band and the rim cap. Jeff took photos of the pipe when he received it in the mail. This was another dirty pipe with a lot of wear and tear. I love seeing those old uniques smoked so much. It is a good sign that it was a good smoker. The pipe has no stamping on the Bakelite shank or the bowl. The Brass rim top had a Diamond P on the front of the cap and on the right side of the brass band on the shank. I would need to check that out. The brass was oxidized is spot on both the rim and the band. The band had been bent somewhere along the way and would need to be flattened. The golden yellow Bakelite base was dirty and the you could see the grime in nicks on the surface. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a lava coat in spots around the bowl. The inner edge was also heavily coated in those spots that it was hard to assess its condition. The rim top seemed to be dented on the top surface and edges. The stem was a golden yellow Bakelite saddle stem that had oils that darkened and obscured the airway from the place where the stem hits the band through the airway in the button. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both. The tars/lava coat on the rim top is thick and needs to be removed. The cake in the bowl is quite thick and the airway in the bottom of the bowl seems to be plugged. He also captured the tooth marks in the surface of the stem on both sides ahead of the button. He took photos of the bowl sides and heel of the bowl to capture the colour and the shape. You can also see the oxidation and wear on the brass rim cap and band. Jeff sent photos of the logo on the right side of the band as well as a Patent stamp on the shank side that I had not seen in my earlier correspondence on this pipe. I did a Google search and came upon this summary of the patent along with Patent application including descriptions in detail and drawings of the bowl and the insert inside as well as how it is held in place (https://patents.google.com/patent/US1542838A/en?oq=US+Patent+1542838). It is an interesting piece that seems to come from the period of 1921-1942. It appears that the application was granted in 1925. Here is the summary in full.

Inventor

Robert M Prophet

Current Assignee

REISS PREMIER PIPE Co

REISS-PREMIER PIPE Co

Worldwide applications

1921 US

Application US434480A events

1921-01-03

Application filed by REISS PREMIER PIPE Co

1921-01-03

Priority to US434480A

1925-06-23

Application granted

1925-06-23

Publication of US1542838A

1942-06-23

Anticipated expiration

Status

Expired – Lifetime

There was also a note on the summary that I have included below.

A24F1/22 – Tobacco pipes with arrangements for cleaning or cooling the smoke with arrangements for cooling by air, e.g. pipes with double walls. With that new information, thanks to the patent number, I know what I am dealing with. It is an old timer – potential from the 1920s. The outer bowl is Redmanol or Bakelite and the inner bowl is clay. The rim cap has a cork gasket and is slid or pressed on to the top of the bowl. It was definitely a part of the ongoing search for a cooler and drier smoke. Now it was time to work on it.

From that information I had a couple of other things to check out. I wanted to see if there was a link for the Diamond P logo on the metal on the pipe and I wanted to learn more about Reiss-Premier Corp. I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r3.html) and looked for the logo. Interestingly it took me to a listing under the Redmanol name and a link to Reiss-Premier Corp as well. I have done a screen capture of the section on the site and have included it and the side bar information below.Redmanol is not exactly a pipe brand but the name of a synthetic material, a phenol-formaldehyde resin very close to Bakelite, first developed in 1907 by Leo Hendrik Baekeland. Redmanol and also Condensite were competitors to Bakelite. The courts found that Redmanol and Condensite both infringed on Baekeland’s patents, and in 1922 the three companies merged as the “Bakelite Company”.

I next turned to Pipedia to look up information on the Reiss-Premier Corp and see what I could learn there (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Reiss-Premier_Co.). I have included a photo of their building in New York and the brief article from Pipedia below. The interesting point for me is that the original company was in Chicago and founded in 1922 by the merger of two companies. It is in that time frame that this Redmanol pipe was made.The Reiss-Premier Corporation was founded on June 22, 1940 in New York as the successor to the Reiss-Premier Pipe Company of Chicago. That company was in turn founded in Chicago, Illinois in 1922 by Jacob D. Burger, again as a successor company to two former pipemaking concerns, Reiss Brothers of Chicago and Premier Briar Pipe Company. The company was located in the south half of the fifth floor at 32 to 40 South Clinton Street in Chicago. Four years later, in 1926 Reiss-Premier Pipe Co. was issued a trademark for the term “Drinkless”, made famous on so many Kaywoodie pipes, and for which they used the slogan “You can’t get a drink from a drinkless pipe”.

In August of 1926, Reiss-Premier Pipe Co. purchased Kaufmann Bros. & Bondy and a year later the Kaywoodie pipes began to sport the Drinkless stinger. By 1928 Reiss-Premier had moved their production to Union City, New Jersey, and in December of that year were granted a patent for a cigarette and cigar holder. The following month the company moved again, purchasing the factory building of Paul G. Mehlin & Sons, piano manufacturers and taking over a part of that four story building.

After Reiss-Premier Pipe Co. became Reiss-Premier Corporation they continued to innovate, and in 1947 trademarked the “Synchro Stem” system used on decades of Kaywoodie pipes.

The Reiss-Premier Corporation was purchased in March of 1955 by S.M. Frank but remains an active corporation in the state of New York.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. Jeff carefully reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the brass rim cap. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He mentioned he could not remove the stem but he cleaned up the internals of the pipe as best he could with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. The inside of the stem was very clean. He scrubbed the stem surface with Soft Scrub to remove the grime and oils that were on it. The fit of the stem to the shank was very good, snug enough that Jeff was uncomfortable trying to remove it. It was hard to know if the tenon was friction fit or threaded with a pipe this old. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. 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 very clean with the oxidation and lava gone. There were a lot of dents and nicks in the surface and the outer edge of the bowl that told a story of its journey. The stem looked much better with a clean airway in the stem. The tars and oils that had been there are gone. There were tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took photos of the patent number stamp and the Diamond P logos on the metal of the band and the rim cap. They are all in good condition and readable as noted above.I carefully wiggled the stem and figured out it was not threaded. I slowly turned it free of the shank to find that the tenon was metal. The shank and the tenon were very clean so Jeff had been successful in his clean up even without removing the stem. I ran several pipe cleaners through the mortise and the tenon and they came out spotless other than removing dust from those areas. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the tenon and the look of the parts. It is a great looking little pipe.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the nicks and scratches in the brass rim cap and shank band. I polished them with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping them down after each sanding pad. While I could not remove them all I was able to smooth them out significantly. Jeff’s clean up on the bowl and base had been excellent and I gave it a quick buff with a soft cloth and it was finished. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I filled in the tooth marks on the surface with clear CA glue. Once the repairs cured I smoothed them out with 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad. I polished light tooth marks and chatter out of 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 polished 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 oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Redmanol System Pipe with a Clay insert bowl and a Redmanol stem Made for Reiss-Premier and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. 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 a beautiful Redmanol System Pipe – the Redmanol saddle stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.08 ounces/59 grams. This is a pipe that I will be hanging onto for my own collection of odd old timers. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Breathing new life into a Danish Made Stanwell Flame Grain 97 Liverpool

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 01/26/2023 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was a beautiful and a dirty pipe with a lot of wear and tear and obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The Liverpool shaped pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Stanwell [over] Flame Grain. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with a 97 shape number. On the underside of the shank it is stamped Made in Denmark. The dirty smooth finish was not able to hide the beauty of the grain around the bowl and shank. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a spotty lava coat. The inner edge was heavily coated with lava at the back of the bowl so it is hard to assess its condition. The stem was a black vulcanite taper stem with an inlaid Gold Crown S. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and the lava on the rim top. The inner edge looked good but was caked at the back of the rim so it was not possible to know with certainty the condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. He also took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. I knew that the Flame Grain line was toward the top of the Stanwell hierarchy but was not sure where. I turned to PipePhil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html) to see what I could learn. The site had a Flame Grain but it was much older than the one that I am working on. The stamping is different and mine is not stamped Hand-Made so it really did not help clarify things much.I cannot find anything definitive on any of the sites on the internet however most agree that the Flame Grain series pipes display beautiful flame grain around the bowl underneath a gorgeous, light contrast stain. I guess it does not hurt to state the obvious, eh? So now it is time to work on the pipe itself.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove any remaining grime on the surface and inside. The vulcanite taper stem had a Brass Crown S Stanwell logo on the left side. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. 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 the inner edge both looked very good. The stem had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. The pipe looked so good that I started my work by polishing the smooth rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The pipe began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. 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 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 used the sanding pads I purchased recently – 320-3500 grit regular pads to smooth out the finish and remove the light tooth and chatter marks in the stem. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to finish the preliminary work after the 3500 grit pad.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 polished 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 oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.I put the stem back on the Stanwell Flame Grain Made in Denmark 97 Liverpool 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 a beautiful Stanwell Flame Grain Liverpool 97 – the vulcanite taper stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/38 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe 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!

Is there any hope that this Made in Denmark Bari Dana 20 can be Reborn?

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 03/05/2020 from an antique store in Logan, Utah, USA. This was a wreck of a pipe with a lot of wear and tear and obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. It was one of those pipes that when I look at I wonder why we picked it up. Only when I look closely can I seen the interesting grain around the bowl and shank. The pipe is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads Bari [over] Dana. On the underside it is stamped Made in Denmark [over] the shape number 20. The dirty smooth finish was not able to hide the beauty of the grain around the bowl and shank. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. There were fills missing on the right side of the bowl near the top and also on the left side at the shank junction. There were some flaws on the underside and on the front of the bowl. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a heavy lava coat. The inner edge was so heavily coated that it to assess its condition. The stem was a black vulcanite oval, saddle stem stamped BARI on the top of the saddle. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It had a lot of oxidation and calcification on the first inch of the stem ahead of the button. The stem was in far better condition than the bowl. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work.Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim appeared to be OK under the cake and lava. It really was a dirty pipe but still had some interesting grain and features to the shape. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some interesting cross grain. The brown stain on the briar adds depth finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out on the sides. Jeff took photos of the fills and flaws on the right side of the bowl near the top as well as the nicks and scratches on the left side of the shank.He also took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above. The top of the stem is stamped on the saddle BARI and was once filled in with white paint. It is also in good condition. Before I started working on the pipe I wanted to do a bit of work on the Bari Dana line to gather some information. I started with Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) and was surprised to find that the second photo in the post was a Bari Dana and that it was stamped exactly as the one I am working on. I have included a screen capture of the section and the side bar notes below.Brand founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and sold to Van Eicken Tobaccos in 1978. At this time Age Bogelund managed Bari’s production. The company has been bought in 1993 by Helmer Thomsen. Bari’s second: Don, Proctus

I turned then to Pipedia to see there as anything on the Dana line (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). There was nothing specific there. It did have a great short overview of the history of the company. I quote below.

Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding around the turn of 1950/51. Viggo’s sons Kai Nielsen and Jørgen Nielsen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975.

Bari had very successfully adapted the new Danish Design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for it’s own models. When Viggo Nielsen sold Bari in 1978 to Joh. Wilh. von Eicken GmbH in Hamburg Bari counted 33 employees.

From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipeproduction. Thomson bought the company in 1993 re-naming it to Bari Piber Helmer Thomsen. The workshop moved to more convenient buildings in Vejen. Bogelund, who created very respectable freehands of his own during the time at Bari got lost somehow after 1993.

Bari’s basic conception fundamentally stayed the same for decades: series pipes pre-worked by machines and carefully finished by hand. Thus, no spectacular highgrades but solid, reliable every day’s companions. The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

So now I knew that I was working on an older one! The pipe was probably made between 1951-1975 when Viggo Nielsen was making pipes. Now it was time to start my work on the pipe.

I was looking forward to looking over the damages on the bowl and shank after Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. I was curious to know what was happening there. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. I examined the flaws and fills on the right side of the bowl at the top edge. Jeff’s scrubbing had lifted some of the nicks and scratches on the surface of the bowl and shank. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove any remaining grime on the surface and inside. The fit of the stem to the shank made it look like an original even though there was not a Stanwell logo on it. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. 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 the inner edge both looked very good. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the shank top and underside. It is clear and readable as noted above. You can also see the Bari stamp on the top of the saddle stem. I started my work on the pipe by addressing some of the darkening on the rim top and edge. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening on the inward bevel of the rim top and edge. It looked much better.The next step in the work was to address the fills that were shrunken and the nicks that surrounded the bowl and shank surfaces. I used a clear super glue to fill them in and repair the damaged areas. Once the repairs cured I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to start the process of blending them into the surface. I sanded the surface of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the repairs and blend them into the rest of the bowl. I also wanted to make the grain stand out more. The pipe looked so good that I started my work by polishing the smooth rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The pipe began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. 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 used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast. 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 worked on the stem at this point in the process. I touched up the BARI stamp with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry and then scraped off the excess and polished the stem with 1000 grit sanding pads. The stamping was faint but I was able to capture it to some degree.I polished light tooth marks and chatter out of 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 polished 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 oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Bari Dana Made in Denmark 20 Oval Shank Egg 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 a beautiful Bari Dana 20 Oval Shank Egg – the vulcanite saddle stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces /41 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe 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!

Someone Must Have Loved Smoking This Stanwell FM 2008 113 Conical Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 01/26/2023 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another dirty pipe with a lot of wear and tear and obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark [over] FM 2008. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with a 113 shape number near the stem/shank junction. The FM2008 stamp had me a bit mystified though I figured it was probably made for a smoking competition thanks to Jesper’s previous help. I would need to check that out. The dirty smooth finish was not able to hide the beauty of the grain around the bowl and shank. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The finish on the first ½ inch of the shank was lighter than the rest of the pipe and it is not clear why. There does not appear to be cracks or a previous band so I am uncertain why it is there. Perhaps in the clean up Jeff will figure it out. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a heavy lava coat. The inner edge was so heavily coated that it to assess its condition. The stem was a black acrylic taper stem without a logo stamp. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim was so thickly caked that it was not possible to know with certainty the condition. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth to the finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. It shows some promise. He also took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and reads as noted above.I decided before I started my work on the pipe to try and unravel the stamping on the underside of the shank. I did a Google search of Stanwell FM 2008 and got no hits. I changed the search to hunt for a Stanwell Made in Denmark FM 2008 and came up with one solid hit to a discussion the Brothers of Briar pipe forum where Bas Stevens had a pretty extensive post on the shapes of Stanwells (https://www.brothersofbriar.com/threads/basil-stevens-stanwell-shape-list.8421/). Toward the end of that discussion he had three notes on unique stamping. The final one listed was a not on the FM stamp. I quote:

Pipes stamped with FM are ones that were made for the Frederikshavn Pipe Smoking Championship.

I wrote to Jesper Klith on Facebook and asked if that information was correct. He replied quickly with confirmation and an interesting personal note that I have included below.

That is correct, the club in Frederikshavn held some large contests, I attended once and met both Anne Julie and Peter Hedegaard there.

So now I knew! The FM 2008 stamp was referring to a large smoking contest in Frederikshavn in 2008. The pipe was made to be used in the competition and was also a commemorative piece. Now it was time to start my work on the pipe.

I was looking forward to looking over the lighter coloured shank end after Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. I was curious to know what was happening there. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. I examined the first half inch where the lightening had been and there were no cracks or marks left behind by a band so it was a bit of a mystery. Jeff’s scrubbing had evened up the stain a bit and I would do a bit more in my work on it. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove any remaining grime on the surface and inside. The fit of the stem to the shank made it look like an original even though there was not a Stanwell logo on it. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. 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 looked very good but there seemed to be light damage and darkening to the top and inner edge of the bowl. There is a small fill visible in the first photo on the top of the shank near the bowl. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the silver plate on the left side of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. The pipe looked so good that I started my work by polishing the smooth rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The pipe began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. 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 used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast. 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 worked on the stem at this point in the process. I polished light tooth marks and chatter out of 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 polished 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 oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Stanwell Frederikshavn in 2008 Danish Style 113 Canadian and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the acrylic. 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 a beautiful Stanwell Frederikshavn in 2008 Canadian – the acrylic taper stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/41 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe 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!

Someone Must Have Loved Smoking This Stanwell POY 1997 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I am working on was purchased on 12/13/2022 as part of a group of pipes from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark. This was another dirty pipe with a lot of wear and tear and obviously it had been someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe has an identifying plate on the left side of the shank that reads Stanwell [over] 1997. There was no other stamping on the shank and the silver plate confirmed for me that it was a Stanwell Pipe of the Year. The dirty sandblast finish was not able to hide the beauty in the grime. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a heavy lava coat. The inner edge was so heavily coated that it to assess its condition. The stem was a black vulcanite taper stem with a silver Crown S on the left side. It had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was oxidation and calcification on both sides but it had a lot of potential. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and heavy lava coat covering the rim top. The inner edge of the rim was so thickly caked that it was not possible to know what the condition was. It really was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. He also took photos of the stem surfaces to show its overall condition when it arrived. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowls show a deep blast and some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides. The brown stain on the briar adds depth finish on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out on the smooth parts. It shows some promise. He also took a photo of the stamped silver plate on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above.I turned to the internet to find out information about the Stanwell Pipe of the Year. I came across this interesting article and shape chart on the Blue Room Briars site where they listed a collection of the POYs (https://www.blueroombriars.com/blogs/news/the-stanwell-pipe-of-the-year-collection). I have included the shape chart and part of the article below for the information that it contains..…Recently, Blue Room Briars acquired a complete Stanwell Pipe of the Year (POY) collection spanning from 1980 – 2017. Looking at these pipes in detail reveals some interesting insights into Stanwell’s production, although it should be noted that these findings are not the final say on when a particular pipe was made, but we hope you can use it as a guide when trying to determine the era of manufacture for Stanwell pipes made after 1980.

The first pipe of note is the 1980 POY. This pipe does not come with the engraved silver plaquette. The pipe also sports a traditional vulcanite mouthpiece.

Between 1981 and 1998, the Stanwell pipes from the POY collection have the addition of silver plaquettes denoting the year, a traditional vulcanite mouthpiece, and also have a Teflon lined mortise. This is an interesting feature that creates a very stable connection between the mortise and tenon, as well as allowing the mortise to be swabbed out easily for maintenance. It wouldn’t be unwarranted to believe that other Stanwell pipes with a Teflon sleeved mortise were probably made between the 1980s to late 1990s. This additional, and costly, feature demonstrates Stanwell’s commitment to quality manufacturing even into the last portion of the 20^th century.

Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed the grime on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Briarvilles Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation, calcification. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a photo of the lightly crowned rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. 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 looked very good but there seemed to be light damage and darkening to the top and inner edge of the bowl. The stem looked better, though there were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the silver plate on the left side of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.I started my work on the inner edge and rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It took some work but I was able to remove the damage and the darkening. It looked much better.I started polishing the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The smooth rim top began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I sanded with all of the pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a soft cloth. 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 used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast. 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 polished the silver plaque on the left side of the shank with a jewellers cloth to remove the slight remaining oxidation and to protect and preserve it.I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I sanded out the chatter and marks on the stem surface with a set of 2 inch sanding pads for 320-3500 grit sanding pads. They work amazingly well and are easy to manage and sand close to the sharp edge of the button. I polished light tooth marks and chatter out of 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 polished 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 oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Stanwell Pipe of the Year 1997 Danish Style Billiard 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 multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 a beautiful Stanwell POY 1997 – the vulcanite taper stem and smooth rim top and sandblast finish combine to give the pipe a great look. The polished black, vulcanite stem looks really good with the rich browns standing out in the sandblast. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inch, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.27 ounces/36 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe 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!