Tag Archives: removing oxidation

Reworking a Badly Damaged Nording Made in Denmark 4 Freehand

by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that Jeff picked up from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on February 16, 2023or so it has been sitting here almost a year. It is a Bent Freehand with a mix of rusticated and smooth finishes. The smooth portions are spot carved like water or flames coming down from the rim top and up from the underside of the shank and shank end. The stem is a fancy saddle that looks very good. The stamping on the underside of the shank is in a circle read Nording Made in Denmark with the number 4 in the center of the circle. The stem has a Nording “N” stamped on the top side that is faint. There was some dust in the rusticated portions of the finish and general dullness on the smooth portions of the bowl. He rim top and inner edge of the bowl are severely burn damaged with deep char. There is a thick coat of cake in the bowl and spilling onto the inner edge and the burned rim top. The fit of the stem in the shank was smooth and flawless. The stem was vulcanite and it was lightly oxidized but there were tooth marks or chatter on both sides of the stem. Jeff took the following photos of the pipe before he did a clean up. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl and the heavy lava and burn damage on the smooth rim top and inner edge of the bowl. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the light oxidation and the light tooth marks or chatter. It is a pretty clean looking stem. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the well done shape and the interesting combination of finishes on the bowl and shank. It looked very good. The damaged rim top and edge of the bowl is not visible in the photos below. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. The honey coloured finish and black rustication looks good.I turned first to Pipephil to get a quick review of the brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-n2.html). The pipe was carved by Erik Nording. Nording is a prolific carver who continues to make pipes and sell them globally. The screen capture below shows a Nording with stamping like the one I am working on. The one here is lacking the shape number in the middle of the circle but otherwise it is the same.I then turned to Pipedia to have a look at the history of the Nording brand and see if there were any pipes like the one in hand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%B8rding). The history was worth a read, though there were no photos of the pipe that I had.

With the information I learned in the above articles I had the background on the pipe. Now it was time to work on it.

I am really happy to have Jeff’s help on cleaning up the pipes that we pick up along the way. He reamed the bowl 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 on the shank and bowl sides was quite coated with varnish and was shiny. The rim top was heavily burned and the inner edge was badly burned. The lightly rusticated portion on the right side was almost smooth from the burn damage. It was a huge mess. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove the majority of the grime. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver it looked very good. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. The rim top was a disaster in progress to me. It was burned and badly damaged. The rim top was burned down into the bowl and as badly damaged on the inner edge of the bowl. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the surface and button. The stem was very clean on both sides with some light oxidation.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe and has an interesting finish on the bowl and shank.I decided to address the serious burn damage on the rim top and inner edges of the bowl. I began by topping the bowl to flatten out the damage on the top. I used a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I used a brass bristle wire brush to clean up the slight spot of rustication on the rim top to knock off the grit in the grooves. I used some 220 grit sandpaper and a half sphere to clean up the bevelled inner edge and smooth and reduce the damage. I wiped down the bowl with acetone and cotton pads to remove the shiny coat. I repeatedly worked it over. The varnish coat was quite thick but with repeated wiped downs started looking much better. I sanded the smooth portions of the bowl and the cleaned up rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the grit and debris from the sanding process. It began to look much better. I restained the reworked rim top and edges of the bowl – inner and outer. I used an Oak and a Maple stain pen to match the colour of the rest of the bowl.I polished the smooth portions of the bowl with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the debris. The restored rim top looked much better with the clean up and removal of burn damage. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I touched up the faint “N” stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. I let it cure and then scraped off the excess and then move on to sand it with a worn 320 grit sanding pad.I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The stem started looking much better by the final pad.I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another wipe down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. It is fun to come to end of the restoration of the Nording Mixed Finish Danish Freehand. It turned out to be a nice-looking pipe. The reworked rim top and the finish came alive with the work I had done on it. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the shiny black vulcanite saddle stem. It really was beautiful. This Nording Freehand is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ¾ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches wide x 2 ¼ inches long, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 54 grams/1.90 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon put on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe trustees who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.

Breathing Fresh Life into a Sasieni Four-Dot Rustic “Buckingham” England Rusticated Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on was purchased on 08/24/2024 from a seller in Wheeler, Oregon, USA. It is a nice looking rusticated Billiard with 4 light blue or white dots on the left side of the taper stem. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Sasieni in script with the tail of the “i” short and tight. Underneath that it was stamped FOUR DOT RUSTIC in block letters [over] “Buckingham”. Next to the bowl shank junction it was stamped Made in England shaped like a football vertically. The rusticated finish was very dirty with dust and debris in the grooves of the rustication. The bowl had a thick cake in it with lava overflow into the rustication on the rim top. It was an incredibly dirty pipe. The stem was oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button The 4 light blue/white dots on the left side of the taper stem were in good condition and very light in colour. Jeff took these photos of the pipe before he started the clean up work on it. Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl and rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is quite thick and the rim top has a coat of lava and debris on it that will need to come off. You can also see the lava on the inner edge of the rim. You can also see the condition of the inner and outer edges of the rim and down the outside of the bowl. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. The bowl appears to be still round. His photos of the stem surface confirmed and heightened my assessment of the condition. You can see the oxidation, calcification and tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. From the photos you can see the light blue four dot diamond the top of the taper stem they are in good condition. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the rustication patterns in the briar. It is a unique finish and in places the grain can be seen through the finish. He took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panel on the underside of the shank to capture what was stamped there. It is faint in spots but readable as noted above. I decided to do some work on the stamping of this pipe to get an idea of the time period it was carved. I turned first to Pipephil’s site to see what I could learn (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-sasieni.html). I found a pipe that was stamped the same way as the one I am working on. I is stamped on the underside of the shank like the one in the screen capture photo below. Mine is stamped the same way Sasieni in script without the fish tail. Underneath it is stamped FOUR DOT [over] “Buckingham”. To the left it is stamped with a football shaped Made in England stamp. I included the side bar notes below the picture. Pre-transition, 1946 – 1979. Four Dot Rustic: Name for a rusticated finish. One star near “Four”.

I then turned to Pipedia for more detailed information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Sasieni). I quote a section of that article below. The underlined portion below is particular pertinent to this pipe.

To begin with, there are three main elements to dating the Sasieni pipe, the patent number, the style of the name “Sasieni” as it appears on the shank, and the Dots themselves. Naturally, there are exceptions to these rules (this hobby would be boring without them), but for the most part these guidelines apply better than 95% of the time. All Sasieni One, Four, and Eight Dot pipes made before W.W.II and destined for the U. S. market carried a patent number on the shank which usually started with the numbers “15″, with 150221/20 and 1513428 being representative of the group. Also, the name “Sasieni” was stamped on the shank in a very florid manner, with the tail of the last “i” sweeping underneath the name forming a shape which has been compared to a fish by more than one collector. This script was discontinued by Alfred almost immediately after he took over the company, so this alone tells you your pipe is pre W.W.II. Underneath in block lettering are the words “London Made”, with the patent number making the third line.

The dots will help you narrow this down further. As we mentioned, the short lived U. S. market One Dot was introduced around 1920, and was replaced by the early to mid 1920’s by the Four Dot. The 1920’s Four Dot is distinguishable by the florid Sasieni script, a patent number, and four blue dots, which are quite small compared to the pipes of post war years. Furthermore, by 1935 Sasieni began stamping pipes, based on the shape, with their own names, which were usually, but not always, English towns. For example, apples were stamped “Hurlingham”, bulldogs were “Grosvenor” or “Danzey”, and panels were “Lincoln”. One rare and interesting variation of this was the large bent, dubbed “Viscount Lascelles”. Even in this soft Sasieni market, these pipes regularly sell for $150 in their rare appearances in mailers…

In reading the history of the brand on the page I also read through the various photos and brochures that were included in the article. I found a photo of a page from a catalogue describing the rustic briar that I have included below. The rustication pattern is very similar to that on the pipe one that I have here. It is interesting to read the descriptions on the page both of the rustication and the patent. The pipe on the table has the stinger apparatus, or Patented Extension, shown in the second paragraph and photo in the flyer belowNow that I knew the approximate dating of the pipe that I had in hand it was time to work on it.

Now that I was reminded of the history and background of the Sasieni Four Dot “Rustic” it was time to work on the pipe on my end. When I received it, Jeff had once again done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Before & After Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took photos of the rim top and the top and underside of the stem. You can see the clean bowl and rim top. The stem has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button. It is dirty but otherwise great. It is a nice looking pipe.The next photo shows the stamping on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank. It is faint in places but is still readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the four dots on the side of the stem. They appear white in the photo but may have a faint tinge of blue. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the overall look of the pipe. It is really a nicely looking pipe that will look great once it is cleaned up.I used a brass bristle wire brush to clean up the rim top. The rustication patterns on the surface came back to life with the brushing. The bevelled inner edge looked surprisingly good. I touched up the nicks and light spots on the top and the edges of the bowl with a walnut stain pen. The match was perfect and looked great with the other parts of the rusticated finish.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish, enliven and protect the briar. I hand rubbed it with my fingers and worked it into the deep rustication with a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit for 15 minutes to let it do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface ahead of the button with 220 grit sandpaper to remove all of the tooth marks and chatter and smooth out the surface.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. After each pad I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the debris. It was looking very good.To polish the stem and repairs I use micromesh sanding pads and water to dry sand the stem with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pad as I find it does two things – first it protects the vulcanite and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the extra fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection from oxidizing quickly. This is another pipe I am excited to finish. It is a Sasieni Four Dot Rustic “Buckingham” Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished vulcanite stem. It really was a beautiful pipe. The rusticated surface is quite unique and there is grain shining through the rich browns/black stain on the finish of this Sasieni Four Dot Rustic Billiard. It is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.73 ounces/49 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be going on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

What a Great Looking Ben Wade Majestic Designer Series B Danish Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a pipe that came to us from a seller in Santa Cruz, California, USA on 05/28/2024. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read Majestic [over] Designer Series B. On the right side it read Ben Wade [over] Hand Made In Denmark. The finish on the pipe was a smooth Ben Wade style finish with brown stains highlighting the grain around the sides and shank. The bottom of the bowl was flat from the heel to the shank end so that it acts as a sitter. The rim top was also smooth and crowned and was dirty with grime and also lava overflowing from the thick cake in the bowl. The fancy saddle stem was brown/gold variegated acrylic and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It has a gold Ben Wade crown with a BW underneath stamped on the top of the saddle. It was a pretty stem but was dull and dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. It should clean up very well. Jeff took some close-up photos of the rim top and bowl to show the overall condition. There is dust and lava on the crowned top. The edges have a lava overflow but underneath it appears to be in good condition. The acrylic saddle stem is dirty and has some light tooth chatter and some tooth marks. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos show the beautiful grain around the bowl. Under the dust and grime, it was a nice looking bowl. I think it will be a beautiful Freehand pipe once it is restored. He took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. There was also a Crown with a BW stamped below it on the topside of the saddle portion of the stem. I have worked on quite a few Ben Wade pipes over the years and one Majestic Designer Series that had the stamping on the shank side XXX’d out but was still very readable without looking to hard (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/02/21/restoring-an-interesting-older-xxxxd-out-sitter/).

I knew from the previous work that I should take time and check out my common sites for information. I turned first to Pipephil’s site in the Ben Wade Section and found an entry there on the brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-benwade.html#majestic). There was a section in the list stamped Danish Made Majestic. I did a screen capture of the section and have included it below.From there I turned to the section the reference above directed me to under the heading Majestic with a link to the Ben Wade stamp. I have also included that link and the screen captures of the site below (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-m1.html#majestic).From there I turned to Pipedia to see what I could find (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ben_Wade). I found some photos of a pipe that is stamped the same as the one that I have. I have included them below showing the shape of the pipe and the stamping on the pipe. Now that I was reminded about the Ben Wade Majestic Line it was time to work on the pipe on my end. When I received it, Jeff had once again done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Before & After Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the plateau rim top to show how clean it was. The inner edge of the rim and the ridges and valleys of the plateau looked good. The stem looked good just some light tooth chatter and tooth marks ahead of the button. One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. Be careful in your work to preserve this critical part of restoration! I took the stem off and took a photo of the pipe. The pipe was in decent condition so I started with the bowl. I sanded the bowl sides with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the debris left behind by the sanding process. I polished the smooth portions of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the briar after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth briar with my fingertips. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. I appreciate Mark Hoover’s work in developing this product. I buffed the pipe with a micro fiber cloth to raise the shine and took photos of it at this point it the process. It is a beautiful looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was interesting to note that the stem had a white Delrin tenon. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. The stem looked very good.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 Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem surface. I am on the homestretch with this Ben Wade Majestic Design Series B Made in Denmark Freehand. As always, I am excited to finish a pipe that I am working on. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a gentle touch on the sandblast portion of the bowl. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished bronze acrylic stem. This Ben Made Majestic Design Series Freehand is a nice looking pipe. It is quite comfortable in hand and should be so when smoking. It is quite light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.52 ounces/43 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know.

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.

Is this Beautifully Grained Freehand Dublin a Viggo Nielsen Made Bari Too?

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a pipe that neither Jeff or I remember purchasing it so we have no date and no history on the pipe. The stamping on the underside of the Dublin’s shank was present but not readable. It appeared to have some stamping there and from discussion with Jeff we agreed that it looked like it could read Bari. Certainly, the shape and finish certainly fit the Viggo Nielsen carved Bari pipes. It could also be a Viggo pipe like some of the previous ones I have worked on. To me the shape and the finish on the pipe look like a Bari. The bowl is smooth and has some beautiful straight grain around the bowl and shank. The plateau rim top was dirty with grime and also light lava overflowing from recently carved bowl. It was an intriguing pipe with a combination of smooth finish and plateau rim top. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem fit snug against the shank end. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It was lightly oxidized but there was not any calcification. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took some close-up photos of the rim top and bowl to show the overall condition. There is dust and lava in the grooves of the plateau. The bowl had been recently reamed though the inner edge seems to have a light lava overflow but underneath it appears to be in good condition. The fancy turned vulcanite stem is dirty and has calcification on both sides at the button. There is also some light tooth chatter and some tooth marks. Past the turning the stem is a tapered flair. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos show the beautiful grain around the bowl. Under the dust and grime it was a nice looking bowl. I think it will be a beautiful Dublin shaped Freehand pipe once it is restored. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is there but hardly readable. On the shank end using a bright light to examine it, both Jeff and I see the stamping Bari very faintly.I have worked on quite a few Bari’s in the past and did the work on the brand information so rather than rework all of that I am including the information I found while working on a Bari De Luxe Freehand. I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I am including the material that I found previously on the brand. It is good to be reminded of the fact that Viggo Nielsen was the pipe maker. I quote:

Pipedia states that Bari Piber was founded by Viggo Nielsen in Kolding, Denmark around the turn of 1950/51. His sons Kai and Jørgen both grew into their father’s business from a very young age and worked there till 1975. Both have become successful pipe makers.

Bari successfully adapted the new Danish design that had been started mainly by Stanwell for its own models. Bari was sold in 1978 to Van Eicken Tobaccos in Hamburg, Germany though the pipes were still made in Denmark. From 1978 to 1993 Åge Bogelund and Helmer Thomsen headed Bari’s pipe production.

Helmer 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 were what they turned out. The most famous series are the smooth “Classic Diamond” and the blasted “Wiking”.

Now that I was reminded about the Viggo Nielsen connection it was time to work on the pipe on my end. When I received it Jeff had once again done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Before & After Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the plateau rim top to show how clean it was. The inner edge of the rim and the ridges and valleys of the plateau looked good. The stem looked good but there was a strange bump mid stem on the topside ahead of the button and also on the underside. They were odd as they did not have cracks or holes just two bumps. The tooth marks and chatter really were minimal.The stamping on the underside of the shank was very faint. I tried to capture it a bit but even an enlarged photo is not able to capture the stamp clearly. I also took a photo of the pipe and stem separated to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe. The bowl was in decent condition so I started with polishing the sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the briar after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth briar with my fingertips and the plateau and sandblasted side with a horsehair shoe brush. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. I appreciate Mark Hoover’s work in developing this product. I buffed the pipe with a micro fiber cloth to raise the shine and took photos of it at this point it the process. It is a beautiful looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of Bic lighter to soften the surface. Once it was soft I flattened out the bumps in the stem surface with a wooden pen knife cover. Once it was flat I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem surface. I am on the homestretch with what I believe is another Viggo Nielsen made Bari Freehand. As always, I am excited to finish a pipe that I am working on. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a gentle touch on the sandblast portion of the bowl. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished vulcanite stem. This Bari Freehand is a nice looking pipe. It is quite comfortable in hand and should be so when smoking. It is quite light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches wide x 1 ¾ inches long, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.59 ounces/45 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know.

What a Great Looking Bari Matador hand made in Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a pipe that came to us from Long Island, New York, USA on 04/16/2024. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and read Bari [arched over] Matador. Underneath it read Handmade [over] In Denmark. The finish on the pipe was a classic Matador style finish combining smooth and sandblast. The bowl is smooth and the shank is sandblast. There is a smooth band on the underside of the shank that has the stamping on it. The plateau rim top and shank end was dirty with grime and also lava overflowing from the thick cake in the bowl. It was an intriguing pipe with a combination of sandblast and smooth finishes. The fancy saddle stem was vulcanite and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It was oxidized and had some calcification on the end. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. Jeff took some close-up photos of the rim top and bowl to show the overall condition. There is dust and lava in the grooves of the plateau. The edges have a lava overflow but underneath it appears to be in good condition. The fancy turned vulcanite stem is dirty and has calcification on both sides at the button. There is also some light tooth chatter and some tooth marks. Past the turning the stem is a tapered flair. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos show the beautiful grain around the bowl. Under the dust and grime it was a nice looking bowl. I think it will be a beautiful Freehand pipe once it is restored. He took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above.I have worked on quite a few Bari’s in the past and did the work on the brand information so rather than rework all of that I am including the information I found while working on a Bari De Luxe Freehand. I quoted a section from Pipedia on Bari pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari). I am including the material that I found previously on the brand. It is good to be reminded of the fact that Viggo Nielsen was the pipe maker. I quote:

Now that I was reminded about the Viggo Nielsen connection it was time to work on the pipe on my end. When I received it Jeff had once again done an amazing job cleaning the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Before & After Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the plateau rim top to show how clean it was. The inner edge of the rim and the ridges and valleys of the plateau looked good. The stem looked good just some light tooth chatter and tooth marks ahead of the button.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. Be careful in your work to preserve this critical part of restoration! I took the stem off and took a photo of the pipe. The pipe was in decent condition so I started with the bowl. I polished the smooth portions of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the briar after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth briar with my fingertips and the plateau and sandblasted side with a horsehair shoe brush. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. I appreciate Mark Hoover’s work in developing this product. I buffed the pipe with a micro fiber cloth to raise the shine and took photos of it at this point it the process. It is a beautiful looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem surface. I am on the homestretch with this Viggo Nielsen Made Bari Matador Freehand. As always, I am excited to finish a pipe that I am working on. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a gentle touch on the sandblast portion of the bowl. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished vulcanite stem. This Bari Matador Freehand is a nice looking pipe. It is quite comfortable in hand and should be so when smoking. It is quite light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.94 ounces/55 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by Danish Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know.

Restoring a Gorgeous Well Worn Viggo Nielsen Hand Finished

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is aa classic Danish style freehand with a smooth rim and a plateau shank end. The pipe has a mixed finish of sandblast and smooth finishes. The bowl has a sandblast patch on the left side of the bowl and the rest is smooth other than the shank end. We purchased it from the seller on 06/05/2021 in Chicago, Illinois, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this pipe makes the smooth grain and depths of the sandblast stand out. The dark stained sandblast on the sides of the bowl worked well with the stain on smooth portions. The pipe is stamped around Viggo [arched over] Nielsen high on the left side of the shank. Under that toward the bottom left side is stamped Hand [over] Finished. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in Denmark. The bowl had been reamed recently but there was light lava on the rim top and chipping damage on the inner edge. The plateau on the shank end was dusty and soiled. The black vulcanite saddle stem was heavily oxidized, calcified and had tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button edge. There was no stamping on the top or sides of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The bowl walls are clean in the photo showing that they have been reamed recently. The lava on the rim top and on the edges and the damage to the inner edge are visible. The next photos show the stem surface. There is oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and wear on the button surface and edges. He also took a photo of the bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl and shank sides and the sandblast patch on the left side. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I turned to Pipedia to learn about Viggo Nielsen. I had memory about him being somehow connected to Kai Nielsen but I was not sure of the relationship of the two. In Pipedia I learned that Viggo, now deceased, was born in 1927. I believe that during World War II he worked for Stanwell making pipes out of birch due to a shortage of briar. In 1948 he opened the Bari pipe factory and in 1951 began to make briar pipes. He carved both classic and freehand pipes.

In 1978 Bari was sold to a company in Germany and he and his two sons, Jorgen and Kai started making Faaborg pipes. Now I knew the connection between the two names that I remembered. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen,_Viggo

I turned to address 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. There was still damage on the inner edge of the rim and some burn marks. 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. 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 rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the inside of the bowl and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and inner edge of the bowl in the photos above. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar. The rim top and edges looked better but there was still some damage. The stem also looked better. The oxidation and calcification was gone and the tooth marks were obvious on both sides.I took photos to try and capture the stamping on the shank sided. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe sans stem to show the proportions of this unique beauty. I decided to start with addressing the damage on the top and inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to begin. I followed that up with a half sphere and a piece of 220 sandpaper to clean up the damage on both and round out the bowl edge and remove the damage. I sanded the smooth portions of the briar with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the smooth briar 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 bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. 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 into the smooth part of the finish with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sandblast part of the finish. After it sat for a little while 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. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. The deep tooth marks on both sides were too deep for heat to work on. I filled them in with some Black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured I used the file to flatten the repair and sanded it with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem further with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil. It began to take on a rich look. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite even after the micromesh regimen. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Viggo Nielsen Hand Finished Freehand and took the pipe to the buffer. I carefully 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. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a unique Viggo Nielsen Hand Finished Freehand – the turned saddle stem gives the pipe a great look. The polished and repaired black vulcanite stem looks really good with the reds and browns of the finish. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches w x 1 ¾ inches l, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/49 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Restoring an Unusual GBD Virgin 347 Apple

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by Kenneth Lieblich

I was intrigued about this pipe as soon as I saw it. The pipe is a beautiful GBD Virgin 347 apple, with an aluminum shank extension and a tapered, Perspex stem. I hadn’t seen one quite like this and I asked Steve about it. His exact words were, “Never seen anything like it”. Hmm. We wondered if this could be someone’s aftermarket experiment, but I’m not so sure. The extension fits perfectly and seems to have been precisely designed for the stummel. Regardless, it’s a very attractive pipe, with gorgeous grain. It also has wonderful drilling and feels great in the hand. Let’s look at the marks. The left side of the shank reads, GBD [over] Virgin. The right side of the shank reads London England [over] 347. Virgin is one of the higher-end lines from GBD and the 347 is designated as a straight apple shape (no bend), with a round taper stem. Well, that’s what we’ve got here!Please take a moment to read Pipedia’s article on GBD – it’s quite thorough and provides lots of useful information. You can find that link here. Meanwhile, here are some examples of 347s from some old GBD catalogues. Let’s investigate the condition of the pipe. The stem has some serious bite marks (i.e. dents) in it, but otherwise it’s in good shape. The shank extension has only the merest hint of wear, but is a bit dirty. The stummel has some wear. It’s quite dirty, has some cake on the rim (and some minor burn marks), and has a groove in the wood. I used isopropyl alcohol on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the Perspex. This was done by filling those divots with clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. I left this to cure.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the Perspex. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the Perspex, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, clear shine to the stem when I was done. I also polished up the shank extension with some micromesh pads. This turned out beautifully. I deliberately didn’t sand the shank extension’s tenon, as it fit snuggly in the shank’s mortise.I moved on to the stummel. The first step was to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. I used a pipe knife and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensured that all the debris was removed. There actually wasn’t much in there.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I wiped down the outside, using a solution of a pH-neutral detergent and distilled water, with cotton rounds. This did a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process was to scour the inside of the stummel with some mild detergent and tube brushes. This was the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Having completed that, I was able to address the notable groove on the bowl. I dug out my iron and a damp cotton flannel cloth. By laying the cloth over the affected areas and applying the iron to it, the hot and moist steam can cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. There was considerable improvement, as you can see in the before-and-after photos. The mark still remained to some extent, but was much better. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the stummel and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. I also took a solid wooden sphere, wrapped a piece of 400-grit sandpaper around it, and sanded the inner edge of the rim. This achieved two things: first, it removed some of the burn marks; and second (and more importantly), the circular shape and motion of the sphere gradually returned the edge to a perfect circle. I rubbed some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed the stummel with a microfibre cloth. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.This GBD Virgin 347 Apple looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘British’ pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 6½ in. (165 mm); height 1¾ in. (44 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (37 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¾ oz. (52 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Badly Damaged Stem on a Danish Made Stanwell 608 Bent Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a Classic Stanwell Vario style pipe. The pipe has a mixed finish of sandblast and smooth finishes. There is a shank extension that is faux horn and golden. We purchased it from the seller on 09/04/2020 in Gonzales, Louisiana, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this pipe makes the smooth grain and depths of the sandblast stand out. The sandblast rim top matches the sandblast on the sides of the bowl and worked well with the stain on the sides. The pipe is stamped underside of the shank and reads Stanwell [over] Made in Denmark followed by the shape number 608. The bowl was heavily caked and there was lava on the sandblast rim top and inner edge. The condition of the rim and top looks good. The acrylic shank extension is chipped and has a small hairline crack on the end and topside. The black vulcanite saddle stem was in poor condition and had straightened out. It had deep tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. There is a slight bite through in the underside of the button and a crack in the button edge. There was a faint Stanwell Crown S logo on the topside of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The heavy cake in the bowl and the lava on the edges and the sandblast rim top are visible. The next photos show the stem surface. There is oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and wear on the button surface and edges. There is also some damage to the button on the underside (it was cracked and chipped) and there were deep tooth marks on both sides. The mark on the underside had a pin hole all the way through the surface. You can also see the crack in the acrylic faux horn shank extension. Upon closer examination it would also have chips on the shank end. He also took a photo of the bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain on the front and the nice sandblast around the rest of the bowl and shank. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. He took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I can find no information on the shape number or the configuration of the pipe and shank extension. It is similar to a Buffalo but not quite the same. This one shall remain a mystery.

I turned to address 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 heavy overflow of lava 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. 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 rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the incredibly thick cake and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar. The rim top and edges looked very good. The acrylic shank extension was chipped and had a small hairline crack. The stem was a real problem/ There were several deep tooth marks on the topside. The underside had a small bite through and there was a crack in the top of the button into the slot. There were also a few deep tooth marks as well cleaning cleanser in the crack.I took a photo to try and capture the stamping on the underside of the shank side. It was faint in spots but very readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe sans stem to show the proportions of this unique beauty. I decided to start with examining the shank extension and seeing the nature of the chips and hairline crack. It was not as bad as I was expecting. There were chips on the top right side of the end of the extension and a very thin crack from the chips on the top that did not extend far into the extension. I rebuilt the chipped end of the extension and the thin cracks with CA glue carefully applied with a tooth pick. When it cured I flattened it with a small flat file to smooth it out. I followed that by sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the repaired extension with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the shank extension 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 bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I used 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to dry sand the smooth front of the bowl. Each progressive sanding pad brought a richer shine. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding grime. It began to look very good. 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 into the smooth part of the finish with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sandblast part of the finish. After it sat for a little while 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. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. The deep tooth marks on both sides were too deep for heat to work on. The underside of the stem had a small bite through and the button had a crack that went through to the slot. I cleaned the areas around both damaged areas and slipped a Vaseline greased pipe cleaner in the airway to keep the glue from going in to the airway. I filled them in with some clear Black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured I used the file to flatten the repair and sanded it with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem further with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil. It began to take on a rich look. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite even after the micromesh regimen. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Stanwell 608 Bent Apple and took the pipe to the buffer. I carefully 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. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a unique Stanwell 608 Bent Apple – the turned saddle stem gives the pipe a great look. The polished and repaired black vulcanite stem looks really good with the reds and browns of the finish. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.48 ounces/42 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Restoring a Beautiful Nording F Danmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a medium sized Freehand. The pipe has a fancy, turned vulcanite saddle stem. We purchased it from the seller on 04/1/2020 in Columbus, Missouri, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this pipe makes the grain stand out. The plateau briar on the rim top is natural and worked well with the stain on the sides. The pipe is stamped underside of the shank and reads F [over] Nording [over] Danmark. The bowl was heavily caked and there was lava on the plateau rim top and inner edge. The condition of the rim and top looks good. The black vulcanite saddle stem was in good condition other than being dirty and having light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. There were no stampings or logo on the stem itself though it is certainly the original. It was well fit but never bore any identifying marks on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The moderate/heavy cake in the bowl and the lava on the edges and plateau rim top are visible. The next photos show the stem surface. There is oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and wear on the button surface and edges. He also took a photo of the bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl and the ruggedness of the plateau edges. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. He took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. It appears there is a flaw on the shank end ending between the N and M of Danmark. I will need to check it out further.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to learn more about where this pipe fit into the Nording lines so I turned to the first of two sites that I always check to gather information on a brand. I turned first to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%B8rding). Nording’s were exclusively freehand shapes, graded from A, B, C, D, up to its highest grade, extra. Later an “F” grade was added—less expensive than the “A.”

I did find a great collage of photos of Erik Nording.I turned to the second information site – Pipephil’s (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-n2.html) did not find any more helpful information on the Nording Danmark stamp.

Armed with the information on the F stamp being added at a later time I knew a bit about the pipe at hand though there were no solid dates. I turned to address 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 heavy overflow of lava 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. 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 rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the incredibly thick cake and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar. The inner edge of the bowl was in very good condition and was smooth to the touch. The rim top and edges looked very good. The stem looked very good and was much cleaner. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.I took a photo to try and capture the stamping on the shank side. It was faint but readable. I also removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe sans stem to show the proportions of this unique beauty. There also appears to be a small flaw/crack just below the NM of Danmark. I will need to check that out.I decided to start with examining the pipe for any issues in the briar. I found a small flaw in the shank come from the plateau end up to the N and M in Danmark. I filled it in with CA glue carefully applied with a tooth pick I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and then with 1500-2400 grit micromesh. I restained the area with a Cherry stain pen to match the surrounding area. It looked much better.I polished the briar 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 bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. 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 plateau top. After it sat for a little while 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. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. The tooth chatter had a couple of deeper marks on the underside that would not lift with heat. I cleaned the areas and filled in the spots with some clear CA glue. Once it cured I used the file to flatten the repair and sanded it with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem further with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil. It began to take on a rich look. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite even after the micromesh regimen. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Nording F Danmark Freehand and took the pipe to the buffer. I carefully 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. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a unique Nording F Freehand – the turned saddle stem gives the pipe a great look. The polished black vulcanite stem looks really good with the reds and blacks standing out in the grain. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.90 ounces/55 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Restoring a nice looking “Malaga” Saddle Stem Billiard Sitter

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a medium sized Billiard. The pipe has a vulcanite saddle stem. We purchased it from and eBay seller on 08/18/2024 in Royal Oak, Michigan, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this oil cured pipe makes the grain stand out. It was stamped left side of the shank and read “Malaga”. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar. The pipe was lightly smoked. The bowl was heavily caked and there was a coat of lava on the rim top and inner edge. The condition of the rim and top looks good. The black vulcanite saddle stem was in good condition other than being dirty and having light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. There were no stampings or logo on the stem itself though it is certainly the original. It was well fit but never bore any identifying marks on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The moderate cake in the bowl and the light lava on the edges and rim top are visible. The next photos show the stem surface. There is light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and wear on the button surface and edges. He also took a photo of the bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. The photo is a little out of focus but it does show the general condition of the bowl and wear on the finish. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. They are clear and readable on both sides of the shank.I am including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand, the pipemaker, George Khoubesser and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. The information ther is a great read to garner understanding on Malaga pipes. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the links to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also including a flyer “The Pipe of True Smoking Enjoyment” that Malaga sent with each pipe they made. The language of the brochure is well written and gives a clear picture of how Malaga sees the process of breaking in their pipes. Take time to read it as it is very much written in the language of the times.Now it is time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils, tars and lava on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the flat surface of the rim looked very good. The inner edge of the rim looked very good. The outer edge looked very good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it with hot water. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable on the left side but the stamping on the right is faint on the left side of the stamp. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with great grain. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the inner edge of the bowl and rim top with 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the edge and the top damage until it looked much better.I sanded the rim top, edges and sides of the bowl with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. It began to take on a rich shine. 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. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge. I wiped the stem down between pads with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding debris from the stem.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 Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine.

I put the stem back on the “Malaga” Imported Briar Saddle Stem 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. This is a beautiful “Malaga” Saddle Stem Billiard with a smooth finish and the vulcanite saddle stem has a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/33 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!