Tag Archives: removing oxidation

Giving a Smokemaster Bard Billiard a Facelift

I am down to the bottom of my box of pipes to be refurbished. I have three left. In the bottom of my box was a pipe bowl stamped Smokemaster Bard on the left side of the shank and on the right side of the shank stamped Imported Briar. I found a stem in my can of stems that fit the shank after I adjusted the tenon. The diameter of the stem was slightly larger than the shank but that would be an easy adjustment. The bend would need to be straightened but that would be a simple process. The bowl was lightly smoked and the finish was a very shiny Varathane coating that made the bowl look like plastic. The shank was clean and took very little work to remove the dust that had built up in it.

I knew nothing about Smokemaster pipes and had no idea who made them. The finish and shape reminded me a lot of Dr. Grabow pipes that I have reworked but that was not enough for me. As has become my habit with pipes I don’t know about, I did a bit of research on the web and found out that the pipe was made by the Briarcraft Pipe Company. The Company was very prosperous between 1920 and 1940. They produced both Briarcraft pipes and a line of seconds under the following names: Airo, Arcadian, Briarmeer, Smokemaster, Cavalcade, Hallmark, Sterling Hall, Filter Kleen and Wimbledon. They closed their doors in 1950. The pipe that I had was definitely not made pre-1950 and the stamping was wrong for it to be made by them. The original Briarcraft stamping was more stylized and had a Germanic script for the stamp. This one was italicized.

Further digging uncovered the fact that around 1967 Dr. Grabow acquired the name and system rights to the Smokemaster line, and was produced until the mid 1990’s. Thus my initial thought of it being a Grabow was correct. It turned out that Dr. Grabow made three series of Smokemaster pipes – the 100, 200, and 300. I have restored and restemmed several of these over the years but never found one that had the original stem intact. Dr. Grabow also made a line of Smokemaster pipes for L.L. Bean. Below are two photos – one of the stem logo which is a shield and the other is the stamping that is on the pipe that I refurbished.

I found out that the Smokemaster had a very unique filter system and was distinct from other filter systems in that it did not include a stinger apparatus. Rather it used a slotted tube that had two special holes in it. A folded pipe cleaner was inserted into the two holes and extended the length of the shank. It collected the tars and moisture of the smoke and could be easily changed and replaced by the pipe smoker. The diagram below shows the design from the end of the tenon.

I did a patent search and it gave me the following information. This includes both the original description by the inventor and also a diagram submitted at the time of the patent application. I found it at this site: https://www.google.com/patents/US2166537?dq=2166537&hl=en&sa=X&ei=r2u4UtPOHI_ZoAT9moHYCg&ved=0CEAQ6AEwAQ

Description
1939 – B. M. SHOEMAKER 2,166,537
TOBACCO PIPE Filed Oct. 12, 1934 crnar B.M. Shoemaker INVENTOR v ATTORNEY Patented July 18, 1939 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1 Claim.
My invention relates to tobacco pipes and more particularly to the type in which the bit and bowl portions are separately united to each other.
The principal object of my invention is to maintain the smoke passage in the pipe substantially free of solid deposits, making for general cleanliness in the interior of the pipe and sweet, cool smoking qualities.
I accomplish this object by arranging within the pipe a readily replaceable absorptive member which is designed to receive condensate and solid matter from the smoke as it passes through the pipe. The preferred form of such absorptive member is an ordinary pipe cleaner which, as is well known in the art, comprises a highly flexible metallic core portion carrying a large number of bristles extending there from.
One embodiment of the invention is illustratively exemplified in the accompanying drawing in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a pipe; Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional view on the line 22 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a broken elevation view of a metallic tube or liner constituting one of the pipe elements; Fig. 5 is an elevation view broken intermediate its ends, of the form of absorptive member used in the present construction.
Referring to the drawing, and more specifically to Figs. 1 to 3, denotes the pipe bowl, 1 the bowl stem, 2 the bit and 3 the tenon by which the bit and bowl stem are separately united. The bowl stem has the usual well l4 and the bit the usual smoke or draft passage 15. The bit 12 is further provided with three bores, 15b, c, d, and forming a continuation of the smoke passage 16. A metal tube 16 is provided which is longitudinally slotted at its lower portion and through the slot l8 the products of well be omitted. The tube l6 lies in the bore 15b. The pipe cleaner is doubled upon itself and the two legs or branches of the pipe cleaner enter the bores 15c and l5d and rest there during use of the pipe. The bores 15c and l5d parallel the bore 15b at opposite sides of its longitudinal centre. The embodiment of the invention described is a very desirable construction inasmuch as it receives a standard length pipe cleaner, which in its folded position in the passage 14 is offset from the axis thereof, and which when rotated or twisted with the tenon to seat the same the folded strands of the cleaner engage and brush or clean the wall of the bore.
The operation of the device is very simple. The pipe is sold complete with the pipe cleaner in position. After the pipe has been used for a length of time it will be found that the pipe cleaner is practically saturated with deposited matter. Thereupon the pipe cleaner is simply removed from the pipe and a new one inserted in its place. If desired, the cleaner may also be used in the ordinary manner, naturally before it has become fouled, by moving it back and forth once or twice through the draft passage l5 and/or tube.
What I claim is: In a tobacco pipe, a bowl portion having a stem provided with a central bore, and a bit portion for said stem, the bit having a centrally disposed smoke passage and grooves arranged in the bottom of said passage, a tubular liner mounted in the smoke passage and adapted to project into the bore of the stem, said liner having its underside provided with a longitudinal slot opening into the grooves and bottom of the central bore of the stem beyond the bit, and an absorptive member mounted in said grooves and arranged under the liner throughout its length to receive condensate from the liner and to wipe the wall of said bore when the bit is turned.
BERNARD M. SHOEMAKER.
Classifications

U.S. Classification 131/184.1, 131/203

International Classification A24F1/00

Cooperative Classification A24F1/00, A24F2700/03

European Classification A24F1/00

I find that kind of information fascinating and am always intrigued by the designers urge to provide a cooler and cleaner smoke for the pipeman who uses his invention. I was not able to find out if Dr. Grabow continued to use the patented design when it took over the line from Briarcraft but I am assuming so until it is shown otherwise by information from those who read this or by a pristine stem that still has the apparatus intact on one of the Grabow Smokemaster pipes.

So armed with that information I went to work on the pipe. I began with the newly fitted stem and heated it with a heat gun to straighten the bend. Vulcanite has memory so with heat the stem returns to its original shape. I held the stem about 6 inches above the heat source, ran the gun on high and watched as the stem began to return to normal. It is important not to hold the vulcanite too close to the heat as it burns and to not rush the bend by helping it as it can snap if not properly heated.

The straightened stem is pictured below. It can also be seen in the next three photos that the diameter of the stem is slightly larger than the diameter of the shank. I also left a slight bend to the stem as I liked the look of it on this pipe.

I used a Dremel with a sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the stem to match the shank. This has to be done slowly and with a steady hand so as not to nick the shank of the pipe. I move the Dremel slowly along the diameter of the stem and also backward toward the button to keep the lines accurate and not bulge after the sanded area. I sand it as close as possible to the correct diameter and then hand sand it to fit.

I took it back to the work table and sanded the stem with medium grit emery cloth to smooth out the finish and fit of the stem. I then used 220 grit sandpaper and continued to sand until the stem fit was smooth. At this point I also began to use a sanding block to make the transition between the new stem and the shank smooth. I did not worry about sanding the stem as I intended to remove the plastic finish and rework the entire pipe with a new finish. I also sanded the top of the bowl to remove the two burn marks that were present on the inner edge of the rim. This is visible in the last of the series of photos below.

I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to try to remove the plastic like finish that was on the pipe. The acetone succeeded in dulling the finish but not in removing it from the briar. I continued to wipe it down until I was through the finish coat. I sanded the bowl with a medium grit sanding sponge between the acetone washes. (I had previously tried the alcohol bath on pipes with this type of finish and found that they did not penetrate the finish.)

Once the finish was removed I sanded the pipe with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches as much as possible. I was not overly worried at this point in removing them all as I intended to do a two part stain and sand between the stain coats. I stained the pipe with a black aniline stain, flamed and stained and flamed again. I also heated the bowl to drive the black stain deep into the grain of the pipe so that when I sanded it the grain would show well.

I wiped the bowl down with Everclear on a cotton pad to remove the topcoat of the stain. I knew that the stain would have penetrated deep enough into the grain to leave the parts present that I wanted highlighted.

I buffed the pipe with red Tripoli to further remove the black stain. The next four photos show the bowl after buffing. I still wanted to remove more of the stain from the pipe to get the desired effect and differentiate the grain for the finished look of the pipe.

I wet sanded the bowl and the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to further remove the black stain from the surface of the bowl. The sanding also served to remove the scratches left behind by the fine grit sanding sponge before staining. The first four photos below show the finish after I had sanded the bowl with these grits of micromesh. I then dry sanded the bowl and stem with the remaining grits of micromesh pads from 3200-12,000. The state of the bowl and stem can be seen in the last two photos below.

Once I had removed as much of the black as I wanted I stained the pipe with the second stain – an oxblood aniline stain. I heated the bowl, applied the stain, flamed it and reapplied and reflamed it until the coverage was even around the bowl. Once it was dry I buffed the bowl and stem with White Diamond to polish the finish and the stem. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil to protect the vulcanite and when dry gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax to polish and protect the pipe. The finished pipe is pictured below. I really like the contrast stain and the matte like finish on the pipe. The two step stain process highlighted the grain on the pipe and gives it a far more polished and finished look than the previous plastic coat had down. This piece of briar, though not stellar, did not have fills or flaws that are visible. It should make someone a great addition for their pipe rack.

NOTE: I was just reading on PSU and saw a post there that had this photo of the filtration system on these pipes. http://pipesmokerunlimited.com/showthread.php?4015-Smokemaster-Filter-Pipe Thanks to the poster, Hammerhead (Terry Swope???maybe) for posting the photo for us to see.

A Piece of Tobacciana – Restoring an Old Nylon Cigarette Filter/Holder

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Somewhere along the way in one of the pipe lots I bought off EBay this old cigarette holder was included as a pipe stem. I put it in a drawer and forgot about it for several years at least. The other evening I was cleaning out a drawer of pipes that I had already refurbished getting them ready for my daughter to catalogue and came across the old holder. At first glance it appeared to be a cigarette holder. There was no filter apparatus present and the mouthpiece was short and condensed so I did not think there would be one inside the stem itself. I sanded down the casting marks on the side of the stem and also cleaned the stem of debris. There was one burn spot on the underside of the stem near the metal holder end. The metal holder was brass and quite clean with a slight nicotine and tar build up on the inside. The airway on the stem was plugged and no air could pass through it.

I twisted the end cap and it came free from the stem itself. Inside was a filter apparatus similar to the different stingers that one finds in American made pipes of days gone by. This apparatus was a single unit. There was a rubber o-ring around the top just below the holder top. This held the cap unit snugly in place in the stem.

Once I had removed the apparatus from the stem the stinger design was visible. It extended half way down the shank of the stem. Behind the o-ring was a cut/slit half way through the aluminum of the stinger. It was clogged with tars and oils. In the middle of the slit was an opening. One on the o-ring side and one on the stem side of the slit. The aluminum then funneled down to tube that at first glance appeared to be solid. At the end of the tube were two solid rings around the tube. Between the rings there were holes on two sides in the groove. When it was inserted and clear the air would be pulled through the holder and into the stinger slit. It would circulate in the stem to cool and then move through the slit and down the tube and out the two holes. These would then disperse the smoke through the remainder of the stem and out the slot in the button. In many ways it was like an inverted stinger in shape and function to those found on pipes.

The hole in the end of the stinger does not go through the stinger but rather is like a small cup on the end. It was for collecting moisture and tars if the grime buildup was any indication.

The holder cap pictured in the photo below is the depth of the filter on a modern cigarette and also the dame diameter as the end of the cigarette. I cleaned the entire apparatus and soaked it in a bath of Everclear to try to open the airway. I was able to clean out the cut in the aluminum, the holes in the end and in the cut itself using a dental pick. I scrubbed down the apparatus with a tooth brush and Everclear. I was unable to get air to pass through due to a clog in the end of the holder. In the photo below it is visible as a small hole in the bottom of the cup. It was plugged and the dental pick was too thick to go through it. I tried a thin paper clip and a needle with no success. I finally was able to open it with a tiny micro drill bit on the Dremel and pushed it through at a very slow speed. The bit came with a plastic guide that fit inside the cup perfectly and kept the drill straight as it opened the airway. Once it pushed the clog through I cleaned the inside of the airway with Everclear and was able to push air through with no effort.

I repaired the burned spot on the stem with superglue and sanded the stem until the patch blended with the rest of the stem surface. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and then with a medium grit sanding sponge to smooth out the scratches in the surface of the nylon stem.

I wet sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-2400 grit and then dry sanded with 3200 – 12,000 grit sanding pads. I used a plastic polish to further shine the stem once I was finished with the micromesh pads.

I rubbed down the stem with Obsidian Oil and gave it a very light buff with White Diamond. You have to exercise a very light touch when buffing nylon as it melts with the heat of the buffing wheel. I finished by giving the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax to give it a shine. I hand buffed the shine with a soft cotton cloth. The finish filter is pictured below in the final three photos. It is not something I will ever use but it is an interesting piece of tobacciana for the collection. I have no idea of the maker of the piece or of the age but I am fascinated by the ingenuity of the product.

Reworking A Previous Refurbishment – A Genod Rhodesian

A Dr. Grabow Special Rhodesian/Bulldog – A Makeover

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The last of the pipes from the Ebay lot below was the one in the bottom left corner of the photo. It was stamped Dr. Grabow over Special over Imported Bruyere on the left side of the shank. The finish was a varnish or polyurethane coat over the briar. It was bubbling and crackling. There was water damage on the edges of the rim. The briar itself was in good shape with no dents or roughening on the rim. The rim was slightly darkened but no dents or dings. The bowl was slightly out of round from poor reaming but very workable. The stem was a mess with chew marks on the top and the bottom for about an inch up the stem from the button. The stem was made of nylon and not vulcanite. The tenon was a push style and not a screw in stem. There was a shovel like stinger in the end of the tenon. The stem was loose in the shank and there was significant debris and buildup in the shank and in the stem. The second photo below shows the pipe as it was in the pictures from the seller.

I took it to my worktable this evening and went to work on it. I took the stem out and began to sand on the bite marks on the top and bottom of it. The next series of five photos show the progress of smoothing out the stem by sanding. I began with 220 grit sandpaper and worked up to a medium grit sanding sponge. By the fourth and fifth photo the bite marks are gone and some sanding scratches remain that will need to be worked out with micromesh sanding pads. I recut the edge of the button on the top and bottom with a needle file to clean up the angles. That is also visible in the last two photos. I also removed the stinger and cleaned it with 0000 steel wool and then polished it with micromesh sanding pads.

While I worked on the stem the bowl had been soaking in an alcohol bath to help loosen the varnish or urethane finish. My plan was to remove the finish totally and sand and restain the pipe once it was cleaned and sanded.

The alcohol bath softened the finish so when I dried it off the finish was cloudy. I have found that with this kind of finish I can use acetone on a cotton pad afterward to further remove the softened finish. The next two photos show the bowl with the finish removed. There is some nice looking birdseye grain coming through. Once the briar was clean I reglued the metal decorative band back on the shank and let it dry.

I sanded the bowl with the medium grit sanding sponge and then with 1500-2400 micromesh sanding pads. The next series of four photos are a little out of focus but the cleaned surface of the briar is visible and the grain that was underneath the finish is quite nice. I was also able to remove the water marks/damage that was along the outer edge of the rim and down the side of the bowl in the process of the sanding. I also cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs and Everclear. I did the stem as well and cleaned until the cleaners and swabs came out clean and white.

While the glue dried I worked on the nylon stem. I was able to remove all of the tooth damage. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 micromesh sanding pads and removed the majority of the scratches left behind by the sanding sponge. I continued to rework the stem with these sanding pads until all of the scratches were gone and the stem began to take on a shine. (Photos 1-2 below show a top and bottom view of the stem).

I dry sanded with the remaining grits of micromesh sanding pads from 3200-12,000 grit. The stem took on its original shine. The next series of four photos show the stem as it moves through each level of polishing.

I wiped the bowl down a final time with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the sanding dust and grit. I dried it carefully and then it was ready to stain. I decided to use a linseed oil and medium walnut stain on this pipe. I felt it would make the grain show well and give the bowl a good protective coat. I applied the stain and wiped it off, reapplied and wiped it until I got the coverage I wanted on the bowl. The next series of four photos show the stained bowl.

I buffed the bowl and shank on the buffing wheel lightly with Tripoli and then with White Diamond to give it a shine. I then buffed it with carnauba wax and gave it several coats to protect the wood. I did not buff the stem on the wheel as the nylon heats too quickly on the buffing wheel and melts. I have made a mess out of more than one nylon stem. It does not seem to matter how light a touch I use the wheel and the nylon stems do not work well together. I gave the stem a coating of Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the stem. I then hand applied several coats of carnauba wax and hand buffed the stem with a shoe brush and a soft cotton cloth. The finished pipe is pictured below. All in all it is not a bad looking old Grabow. It is clean and should smoke very well.

Rejuvenating A Nicely Grained Merchants Service Apple

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I bought a pair of older pipes on EBay for a good price. I have written about the refurbishment of the first – the ¾ bent Royal Falcon in an earlier blog post. This particular post is about the second pipe. It is pictured at the top of the first two photos below and on the left in the third photo. It is stamped on the left side of the shank with the words, Merchants over Service in block capital letters over London Made also in block caps though smaller stamp. There is a shape number stamped next to the above stamping and just prior to the stem – 519. The photos below were supplied by the seller in the EBay sale. The seller said that the finish on the pipe looked very good in the photos and the stem was in good shape without cracks, dents or tooth chatter. They also said that the bowl was clean but previously smoked.

While I waited for its arrival I did a bit of hunting on the web to find out what I could about the brand. There was not much information available and what was there was attached to Bing Crosby. What I found out about the brand on the internet turns out to have originally come from Jose Manuel Lopes great work called Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks. The Merchant Service Pipe was a former English brand of pipe made by Merchant Service Ltd. It was a firm created by Herbert Merchant (d.1944) and which later belonged to Holland Penny Limited. It turns out that the company was a favourite of the North American Entertainer Bing Crosby. That is not a lot of information and I would love to find some more. If anyone who reads this has more information please do not hesitate to post it in the response boxes below.

I took the pipe to my worktable this morning and worked on the stem. It was pretty clean though it had some oxidation on the left side next to the shank and some tooth chatter on the top and bottom of the stem next to the button. I sanded the stem with 1500 grit micromesh to remove the oxidation and to sand away the tooth chatter next to the button. I wet sanded with the micromesh pad until the finish was a matte black and free of oxidation and marks. The next four photos show the stem after this initial sanding.

The underside of the bowl was covered with many fills of a pinkish coloured putty that showed through the finish.

I decided to remove the largest of the putty fills and rework them with briar dust and superglue. To prepare the surface of the briar for reworking the fills I wiped down the surface of the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad. As I removed the grime and some of the dark buildup on the bowl a beautiful grain began to pop out on the briar. This one was going to be a beauty when I finished refurbishing it.

I cleaned out the inside of the pipe and stem before working on the fills. It took many pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the buildup inside the stem and shank. The shank had a reservoir area below the airway and it had collected a lot of tars and build up. The stem was also dirty on the inside.

When I had finished cleaning it I removed the stem and turned the bowl over on the worktable to begin to pick out the putty in the fills. Once I had the putty picked out I wiped the surface down with acetone once again to remove the debris that might be left behind in the flaws. I packed briar dust into the cleaned areas and tamped it down into the grooves. Once it was tightly packed I dripped clear superglue into the repaired area and pushed some more briar dust into the superglue surface. When it was dry, which takes very little time, I would sand down the surface to make it match the bowl surface.

I sanded the superglue/briar dust fill with 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the excess of the patch (I always overfill them as they tend to shrink as the glue dries). The third photo below shows the patch after the sanding has blended it into the surface of the bowl. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads 1500-3200 grit to prepare the surface for the restaining. I wiped it down a final time with acetone on a cotton pad to remove all grit from the sanding. It was ready for a restaining.

I applied a dark brown aniline stain mixed with two parts isopropyl alcohol to one part dark brown stain. I used a cotton swab to apply it to the newly sanded area of the repair and flamed it and restained until it matched the rest of the bowl. When that was finished I gave a light coat of stain and flamed it to the entire bowl to blend in the restain on the bottom even more. The next five photos show the restained bowl bottom and then the retouched remainder of the bowl.

With the bowl finished and ready to go it was time to tackle the stem. I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit and dry sanded with the remaining grits. The next three photos below show the progressive shine building on the stem. Once it was finished I buffed it with White Diamond and then rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil to protect it. When it had dried I put it back on the pipe and took it to the buffer.

I buffed the entirety (carefully around the stamping) with White Diamond a final time and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean flannel buffing pad. Once it was finished I loaded up a bowl of Balkan Sobranie Virginian No. 10 and went for a long walk on a cool and dry fall day in Vancouver. It is a great smoking pipe and one that is one of my favourite shapes.

A Canadian Pipe Maker I had never heard of: Leonard Payne Pipes

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Blog by Steve Laug

On a Saturday not too long ago I went on a pipe hunt in Vancouver. I began at the Vancouver Flea Market and worked my way back toward my home. I stopped a quite a few antique shops and “malls” in my hunt for old pipes. I found a few at the flea market and several old timers at the shops that I left behind. However, one pipe caught my eye. It was not a brand that I had seen before or heard of.It was a nicely shaped thick shanked apple that needed very little work. It had a bit of tarry build up on the rim, some tooth chatter on the stem and minor oxidation. It grabbed my attention. The stamping was Leonard Payne on the left side of the shank and Made in Canada on the right side. The stem bears a green dot in the centre of a white circle on the left side of the stem. I decided to do a bit of research on the web and found the following advertisement that highlighted the pipes.

Further digging with Google came up with this short note from alt.smokers.pipes forum. It was written by Mike Glukler of Briar Blues. I quote it below in full. (https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.smokers.pipes/RrICLiVgE2o) “Leonard Payne was based in B.C. for many years. He came to Canada from England. He had shops in Surrey, B.C. and Kelowna, B.C.Interesting fellow. Gruff as the day is long. When you bought a pipe it was handed to you in a paper bag. No sock, no box. Most of his pipes carried a “carburetor” system at the shank / stem junction.Another Payne idea was his shanks. Almost all his pipes were two pieces. He’d turn the bowl and shank, then cut off the shank and reattach with glue (not always with the same piece of briar, so many did not match grains). His thinking was that the shank being the weakest link, if cut and glued would never break and thus “correcting”the weakest link.You may find his pipes on E-Bay on occasion listed as a Len Cayne. The P in his stamping looks more like a fancy upper case C.”

That is the extent of information that I could find on the pipe. It was a Canadian made pipe carved by an eccentric BC pipe carver. The one example I purchase was a single piece of briar without the broken and reglued shank that Mike mentions above. It is a light weight piece of briar and the fit of the stem and shank is very well done. The gap between the end of the tenon and the end of the mortise is very small – just enough to allow for expansion. The finish was very good and the stain well done.

My clean up on the pipe was very simple. I sanded out the tooth chatter on the stem near the button and polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit. I then took it to the buffer and used red Tripoli and White Diamond on the buffing wheels to further polish the stem. I reamed the bowl and cleaned the tars off the rim and polished it as well with White Diamond. I am careful when buffing the shank area where the stamping is so that I do not harm the stamping. Once I was finished with the polishing I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I polished the pipe with a soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is pictured below.

Fast forward several months to a conversation had with a friend in Ontario via email. She had come across several Leonard Payne pipes and done the same research I did. She found the same information I did and sent me photos of the three pipes she found. We talked for a while and I offered to restem a pipe of hers. She sent me the pipe for work and then also the nice little Leonard Payne Zulu/Dublin pictured below.

She said that it needed some TLC but it was really in quite good shape. The finish was clean, though somewhat spotty. There were very few scratches or dings. There was a scuff mark on the bottom of the shank next to the stem and the stem was slightly scuffed in the same area. The rim was also clean. The bowl was already reamed and relatively clean. The bowl and shank smelled of Latakia but the pipe really seemed to be hardly smoked and certainly not broken in to the bottom of the bowl. The stem had some ripples in the surface near the button and in those were the remnants of tooth marks. The shoulders of the stem at the stem/shank junction were slightly rounded from sanding or buffing with the stem off the pipe. There were two small spots of oxidation around the logo.

I sanded the stems and shank with a fine grit sanding sponge and used a sanding block to reduce the rounding to the shoulders of the stem. I then sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to polish the vulcanite. I rubbed stem down with Obsidian Oil and let it soak into the surface. Once it was dry I buffed it with White Diamond and then carnauba wax. The ripples in the stem are gone and the oxidation around the logo is also gone. My Black and Tan Cocker Spaniel decided to sit and “help” me this morning. He has learned that I generally have some dog chews at the work table but he gives me the illusion that he is really interested in what I am doing!

I set the stem aside and worked on the bowl. I found that though the finish was clean it was faded and spotty in places. I decided to give it a coat of medium walnut aniline stain mixed with linseed oil to even out the finish and give it a shine. I applied the stain with a cotton pad and then buffed it by hand with a cotton cloth when it was dry.

I reinserted the stem and gave the entire pipe a buff with White Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I finished by buffing the entirety with multiple coats of carnauba wax. The finished pipe is pictured below. This nice little pipe is cleaned, restored and ready to smoke. It joins the other Leonard Payne pipe in my collection.

A Petite Egg Cup Sitter – (English Made?) Repaired

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This pipe is a total mystery to me, but the shape and form of it caught my eye and I put a bid on it. The case that came with the pipe did not appear to be a pipe case at all but rather a case for a pair of glasses. The case thus did not lend any information to the maker of the pipe. The pipe itself looked to be quite small and petite. The dimensions given by the seller were a great help in determining whether this pipe was a miniature or not. Its overall length was 5 ¼ inches (which is not a small pipe). The bowl was 1 3/8 inches tall and the inner diameter of the bowl was 5/8 inches. The outer diameter of the bowl was 15/16 inches. The stem appeared to be attached to the bowl by a metal tip that was anchored in the bowl much like the insert in a cob – though way more elegant. The stem looked delicate and pencil like.

The bowl was like an egg cup – a round, egg shaped bowl sitting on a flat pedestal. The finish looked to be in good shape. There was a chip out of the top edge of the bowl, outside edge of the rim that had been repaired with a red putty of some sort that had bubbled. The rim was clean and undamaged. The bowl was very clean and the finish was a dark oxblood/dark brown combination that looked nice. The stem seemed to be in excellent shape. There were no bite marks of consequence. It was oxidized and brown but intact. In the photos the oxidation did not look too bad. There was a mark on the right side of the stem near the metal insert into the bowl. It did not look too deep but it was visible. The seller thought it may have once held a logo/medallion or some kind of identifying mark. It does not look like it did; rather it looks like an accidental burn (the burn mark and the bowl repair are visible in the seller’s photo below).

The next five photos below are the remainder of those posted by the seller.

When it arrived it was more delicate looking than it was in the pictures. Even though the measurements were correct it gives the illusion of being much smaller. My observations above drawn from the photos provided by the seller were correct. The case was indeed made for eye glasses and not the pipe. The stem was in excellent shape in terms of dents or bite marks. The mark on the side near the front was indeed a burn mark left by a match or cigarette in the ashtray. The aluminum was scratched and oxidized. The stem itself was more oxidized than the photos showed. The bowl finish was not bad and would not need to be refinished but would need to be touched up when I repaired the divot on the side of the bowl and rim. The next four photos show the pipe when I took it from the box and put it on my worktable.

The next photo below shows the burn mark on the stem. It is slightly blurry and I apologize for that but the burn itself is very visible. I cleaned out the burn mark with a dental pick to remove any of the damaged vulcanite around the mark. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding sponge to clean up the vulcanite. I wiped it down with Everclear to remove and sanding debris and prepared it for a superglue patch.

The next series of three photos show the patching of the burn mark. I put a drop of superglue in the burn mark and let it dry. When it dried I sanded it with the medium grit sanding sponge to even out the surface and remove the excess glue. The center of the patch was still concave so once I cleaned the surface of the stem again I put another drop of black superglue on the mark and set it aside to dry.

The superglue dried over night and was hard in the morning. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper and the sanding sponge to blend it into the surface of the stem. This is done carefully so as to not change or damage the profile of the stem. The next two photos show the progress of the blending. The first one was done with 220 grit and the second with the sanding sponge.

Once the initial sanding was done with the sponge I moved on to sanding the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500, 1800 and 2400 grit micromesh and dry sanded with the remaining grits of pad from 3200-12,000. When I had finished sanding and polishing the stem with the micromesh I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. When it had dried I polished the stem with a soft cotton cloth.

With the stem finished I worked on the chip and repair on the bowl and rim. I carefully picked out the putty fill with a dental pick. It only covered half of the chip so it was necessary to clean it out enough to repair the whole chip with one solid patch. I also sanded the rim in that area as the chip also extended into the surface of the rim. I wiped down the bowl and the area of the chip with acetone on a cloth to clean up the surface for the superglue and briar dust repair.

I packed briar dust into the chipped area with a dental pick and tamped it in place. I over filled the area on the side and on the rim of the bowl. Once it was solidly packed in place I dripped clear superglue into the briar dust on the side and the rim. The glue dries very quickly so it is a good idea to pack the dust in well the first time. If it sinks you can refill it and reapply the glue. It can be done in layers to build up the chip or fill area.

As the clear superglue dries quickly, the patch can be sanded soon after the application. I sanded it first with a corner of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess of patching material. I then sanded it with the sanding sponge to clean up the scratches and remaining surface grit. I also used a sanding sponge to top the bowl. The aim was not to remove much of the rim but to blend the patch into the rest of the rim.

I sanded the rim and the side of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads to smooth out the surface and to prepare it for staining. The next two photos show the patch after sanding and cleanup. It is ready for staining at this point in the process in terms of smoothness of the bowl. The red of the original putty patch came through the briar dust and superglue fill. It is evident in the photos below but should blend fairly well into the stain of the bowl once it is finished.

Before staining the pipe I wiped it down with acetone to even out the stain and to remove any remaining dust left behind by sanding.

I applied an oxblood aniline stain to the rim and bowl of the pipe. I flamed it and reapplied it as necessary. The rim and the repair took more coats of stain than the rest of the bowl which is to be expected.

Once the stain had set, I hand buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth and a buffing brush. I then gave the bowl and stem a hand applied a coat of carnauba wax and buffed it again by hand. I then took it to the buffer and gave it a buff with White Diamond and several coats of carnauba. I buffed the pipe with a soft flannel buff to give it a shine. The finished pipe pictured below. I have also included a close shot of the area of the stem and the bowl that were repaired.

Al asked in a comment below that I post a picture of the pipe with a regular pipe to give an idea of the size. The pipe I have in the picture is the blue dot billiard that I posted earlier. It is about a group four sized pipe.

A National Bent Apple Diamond Shank Restored

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A National Bent Apple Diamond Shank Restored
It is stamped NATIONAL in italics over Washington D.C. on the bottom right side of the diamond shank.

That portion of the shank is smooth. The remainder of the pipe has a deep, craggy sandblast that is quite nice. The stem has no logo or identifying marks other than being stamped PARA on the top right side of the saddle stem.

The two photos above and the series of ten photos below were included in the listing on Ebay. The pipe looked to be in excellent condition. I am uncertain as to the brand of the pipe. The book, Who Made That Pipe identifies the brand as being made by Comoy’s and stamped England. However, this pipe is clearly stamped Washington D.C. The book identifies a brand that is stamped National Mazda as made by LH Stern in the US. The pipe may have been made by LH Stern or possibly it was made for a pipe shop in Washington D.C. and made by Comoy’s. There is also a company called National Briar Pipe Company in Jersey City, New Jersey that could possibly have made the pipe as well. There is something about the stamping that reminds me of the Bertram pipes that also came from Washington D.C. This pipe is a bit of a mystery but I like the diamond shank apple shape and the nice blast on the bowl.

Whoever made the pipe, it has a great looking sandblast as can be seen in the photos below.

The bowl was lightly caked with carbon and was quite clean in the shank and stem. It appeared to have been barely broken in.

The stem seemed to have light tooth chatter on the top and the bottom near the button. There appeared to be light oxidation on the vulcanite.

When the pipe arrived, I unpacked it and took it to the worktable. I removed the carefully stem out of the shank because it was very tight and was hard to turn. I was just about ready to put it in the freezer for a few moments to let the contraction and expansion loosen the stem when it turned. I was able to remove it from the shank without damaging either shank or stem. Looking at the tenon I could see a slight buildup of grime that was on the last ¼ inch and looking into the shank the same band of grit was present. Interestingly to me, the shank was dirty but there was not a lot of tar or oils built up inside. There was bare briar clearly visible in the shank other than the band of grit that had held the stem tightly in place. I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs dipped in Everclear and the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and the same. It did not take too much work before they both came out clean and white.

I reamed the bowl of the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer to remove the slight cake and the tobacco debris that had built up on the walls. It was quite soft and came easily away from the wall of the pipe.

I buffed the bowl with White Diamond and then gave it a coating of Halcyon II wax to give the surface a shine. The finish was actually in excellent shape and after hand buffing the Halcyon II the pipe bowl looked as good as new. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded the stem with a medium grit sanding sponge to remove the surface oxidation and the slight tooth chatter at the button. There was also some calcification around the button that I sanded off as well. After the stem was clean of oxidation and debris I sanded it with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit micromesh and the dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads.

Just after wet sanding with the 1500-2400 micromesh pads I used a white out/correction pen to whiten the stamping on the stem. I applied the white out with the tip of the pen and when it dried sanded off the excess with the 1500-2400 grit pads.

Once the stem was polished with the final grit of micromesh I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and when it was absorbed I buffed the stem with White Diamond on the wheel. I gave the bowl a light buff with White Diamond as well. I finished by buffing the stem with carnauba wax, giving it several coats and then buffing the entire pipe with a soft flannel buff to raise a shine. The finished pipe is pictured in the last four photos below.

Comoys Rhodesian Restoration

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Blog by Al Jones

I was looking for a Christmas pipe to restore for my future son-in-law and spied this neat, chubby Comoys Rhodesian on Ebay. It is a Cadogan era Comoys with a stamped C stem logo and has shape number B1057. The shape and size remind me of the GBD 9438, but without the beading on the bowl. He has a 9438 from last Christmas, so this Comoys will make a good rack mate for it.

The pipe was in pretty good shape with a little tar buildup on the bowl rim and a heavily oxidized stem. There were some teeth abrasions on the stem, but they were minimal with no heavy indention’s. Stem fitment was great. The pipe passes a cleaner nicely appears to be drilled well. The bowl showed very light use and was easy to clean.

I soaked the bowl with 91% isopropyl alcohol and the stem in a mild Oxy-Clean solution. I put a dab of grease on the stem logo.

The bowl didn’t take much, I buffed it with some white diamond and then red rouge, followed by several coats of carnuba wax. There are a few fills, but they blended in nicely and aren’t too noticeable.

I used 800 grit wet paper to remove the first layer of oxidation. That was followed by 1500 and 2000 grade wet papers. Working around a stamped C logo is always a little tricky and I don’t think you can get all the oxidation without damaging the letter. The stem was then sanded with 8000 and 12000 grade micromesh. I then buffed the stem with white diamond and red rouge. Below is the stem after the 800 grit wet paper.

Here’s the finished pipe, ready to be wrapped for Christmas morning…shhhh, don’t tell!

Restoring an Old Amphora X-tra 509 Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

This is the last of the lot I found while on a recent trip in Northern Alberta, Canada. It is stamped Amphora X-tra 509 on the left side of the shank and on the right side it is stamped Genuine Briar over Made in Holland. The stem has an AA in a circle stamped on it (not a stamping for Amphora pipes I was familiar with). The pipe was in good shape. The rim was dirty and had a slight bit of build up on the surface. The bowl had a thin cake that was crumbly. The outside of the bowl was soiled and had some white paint on the surface. The stem was dirty and very slightly oxidized. There were no teeth marks on it so it was just dirty. The insides were also dirty. The inside of the shank and the stem were caked with a tarry buildup. There was an inner tube inserted in the tenon that extended into the shank almost as far as the airway at the bottom of the bowl.

I used a PipNet reamer and started with the smallest cutting head and took back the cake. I followed that with the next size of cutting head and took the cake back to the bare wood in the bowl. The bottom of the bowl had some gouges in it and looked like someone had done a reaming with a knife.

I removed the stem and dropped the bowl into an alcohol bath to soak overnight.

I mixed a batch of Oxyclean and put the stem together with others I was working on into the bath of Oxy clean to soak at the same time.

In the morning I took out the bowl and dried it off with a soft cloth. The finish was clean and the surface of the bowl free of the paint and grime that was present when I placed them in the bath. I took the stems out of the bath of Oxyclean and dried them off as well. The oxidation on the stem was softened and the stem was dark (it is the top stem in the second photo below).

I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to clean off the remaining finish. In the photo above of the bowl it appeared to have a fill on the bowl side. As I scrubbed it the surface cleaned up and the area was not a fill. The piece of briar has some great birdseye grain and a some cross grain on the front right side and the top of the bowl and shank. I also cleaned out the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners and Everclear. I scrubbed the rim to remove the tars and buildup.

I wanted to highlight the grain on this one so I decided to stain it using some Cherry Danish Oil which is Linseed oil and stain. I rubbed on the stain, rubbed it off and rubbed it on a second time. I set it aside to dry. Once it was dry I buffed it with White Diamond.

While it was drying I used micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to work on the stem. I worked around the double AA on the stem logo. It is faint but still visible. Once I had finished sanding I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. When it was dry I rubbed it with a soft cloth to buff it by hand.

I polished the aluminum inner tube with 0000 steel wool to remove all grime that was remaining on the aluminum. I gave it a coat of wax and polished it off with a clean soft cloth.

I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and then with a soft flannel buff to give it a shine. The final photos below show the finished pipe.

rebornpipes

reclaiming old and worn estate pipes

Tag Archives: removing oxidation

Giving a Smokemaster Bard Billiard a Facelift

A Piece of Tobacciana – Restoring an Old Nylon Cigarette Filter/Holder

Reworking A Previous Refurbishment – A Genod Rhodesian

A Dr. Grabow Special Rhodesian/Bulldog – A Makeover

Rejuvenating A Nicely Grained Merchants Service Apple

A Canadian Pipe Maker I had never heard of: Leonard Payne Pipes

A Petite Egg Cup Sitter – (English Made?) Repaired

A National Bent Apple Diamond Shank Restored

Comoys Rhodesian Restoration

Restoring an Old Amphora X-tra 509 Pot

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