Tag Archives: removing tooth marks

Refurbishing a Third Pipe From a Lot Of Six Pipes: a Barling That Has Had It’s Shank Repaired

Leave a reply

Blog by Paresh

I had picked up a job lot of six pipes from a Curio Store on eBay. This lot contained brands like Barling’s, Parker and Orlik and other English make pipes. These are some of my favorite brands and I couldn’t pass them over even though they were in a hopelessly beat up condition. Here are pictures of the pipe lot that the seller had posted. This lot contained a variety of nicely shaped and grained pipes which I had been looking forward to work on. The two pipes from this pipe lot that I have completed are indicated in red and indigo arrow. The third pipe that I had selected to work on is shown in brown arrow. The third pipe that I decided to work on from this lot is a small sized classic Dublin shaped pipe. This pipe sometime during its period of existence has had its shank repaired, thus obliterating any stampings that would have been stamped on it when it came out of the factory. However, the quality of the briar, shape and the stem style all scream BARLING!! A couple of years ago I had restored a quaint little Billiard pipe from my inherited pipe lot and this pipe does remind me of it. I visited rebornpipes.com and went through the write up (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/12/10/decking-out-my-grandfathers-battered-pre-transition-barling-1354/) to compare these two pipes. The more I saw the pre-transition Barling, the more I was convinced that this pipe had to be a Barling. The partially visible stamping on the left side of the shank shows the start of the letter B in cursive hand over LO in block letters. Having just recently worked on an Early Corporate Era Barling pipe and the shape of the stem that tapers from the broader slot end in to a narrow saddle portion is typical of Barling. The tapered vulcanite stem too has its stampings completely buffed out!With no clues whatsoever to pursue and me being convinced about this pipe being a Barling, I proceed with my initial visual inspection.

Initial Visual Inspection
This pipe has a quaint little bowl size with a chamber depth of about 1 inch. The stummel boasts of some beautiful cross grains to the sides and back of the bowl and all around the shank and tight Bird’s Eye to the front of the stummel. The stummel is covered in dirt and grime of the overflowed lava and dirt accumulated over the years of heavy smoking and uncared attention to cleaning. The stummel has a dull and lifeless appearance to it. The stem repair, though clearly visible, the repairs are solid and seem to have been done by a professional. There is a thick layer of cake in the chamber and some damage is likely to the front of the rim top surface. The stem is heavily oxidized with a few deep bite marks to the button edge in the bite zone. The pipe’s appearance, as it sits on my work table, does not present an encouraging picture. The condition and state of this pipe including the damages are identical to the last two pipes that I had worked on. I think all these pipes are from the same estate and the previous piper was set in his ways of smoking and handling his pipes.Detailed Inspection Of The Pipe And Observations
This is a small sized pipe with a chamber depth of about I inch. The bowl rim slightly tapers down towards the heel giving it a classic Dublin shape. The draught hole dead center and at the bottom of the heel. The chamber has an even layer of very thick hard cake with remnants of un-burnt tobacco seen at the heel of the chamber. The rim top surface is covered with thick lava overflow and has max accumulation in the 6 o’ clock direction. The layer of lava overflow is so thick that the rim top surface is just not visible. The inner rim edge is charred and damaged in the 10 o’ clock direction (encircled in yellow) which makes the chamber appear out of round. The outer rim edge has dents and dings all around but is most severely damaged in the 6 o’clock direction (encircled in green), a damage that can result only due to repeated strikes against a hard edged surface. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber can be commented upon after the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. There is a strong ghost smell in the chamber which is all pervading. The stummel appears solid to the touch all around and hence I do not foresee any serious damage to the walls in the form of burnout/ deep heat fissures/ lines or pits. The dark inner rim edge, in the 10 o’clock direction, may be charred further than anticipated and the same will be confirmed after the surface has been thoroughly cleaned. I need to resort to topping the rim top in order to address the damage to the surface. The ghost smells should reduce once the cake from the chamber is removed and the shank has been cleaned.  The smooth stummel surface is covered in dust, lava overflow and grime through which one can make out the beautiful cross grains to the sides and back of the bowl and all around the shank and tight Bird’s Eye to the front of the stummel. There are no fills in the stummel signifying the use of a very high quality piece of briar.  The briar is looking lifeless and bone dry. For a pipe that has been so heavily smoked, there are surprisingly no dents and dings over the stummel surface save for the outer rim edge. Once the stummel has been thoroughly cleaned, dents and dings to the stummel surface, if any, will be apparent. Thorough cleaning and rising of the stummel under warm water will highlight the grain patterns. Micromesh polishing will help in imparting a nice shine to the briar. The shank was spliced but the joint is one that is seamless and smooth transition between the old shank and the spliced shank piece (indicated by pastel blue arrows). The repairman had even ensured that the seating of the stem in to the mortise is factory perfect. The repairs are solid and speak highly of the competence of the repairman and his skill sets. I shall not be tinkering with the shank repairs as it is professionally well executed and in excellent solid shape.The mortise shows accumulation of oils, tars and gunk and the air flow is not full and smooth. The shank end face is a perfect round pointing to excellent craftsmanship and attention to quality. The seating of the stem is flush and aligned perfectly and precisely. The air flow will smooth and the draw full once the mortise is cleaned out. The ghost smells should further reduce after the mortise and shank walls are thoroughly cleaned. The high quality vulcanite tapered saddle stem is typical Barling with a narrow saddle at the end of a proportionately broad stem. The stem is so heavily oxidized that it appears brownish green in color! Deep calcification is seen in the bite zone probably from prolonged use of rubber bit. Some heavy tooth chatter and deep bite marks in the bite zone are seen on both the upper and lower surfaces of the stem. The button edges on either surface have been completely flattened with the lip edges seen as mere straight thin edges with no shape and sharpness at all. The tenon air opening is completely blocked with accumulated ash and oils/ tars that have dried out on the inside as well as on the outside. The horizontal slot end is completely deformed and the slot itself is chock-a-block with gunk. The bite marks will be raised to the surface by heating to the extent possible and further will be filled using charcoal and CA superglue mix. The button end, including the button itself on either surface will have to be completely rebuilt and reshaped. The tooth chatter and the calcified deposits will be removed by sanding with a piece of 220 grit sand paper.I am convinced that all the pipes in this lot is from one estate as the damage to the rim, damage to the stem and general condition of each is exactly the same.

The Process
Abha, my wife, first cleaned the internals of the stem with stem brush, bristled/ regular pipe cleaners and 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol. She scraped out the dried oils and tars from the tenon end with my fabricated knife and also removed the dried oils and tars from the slot end. She followed it up by sanding the entire stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper to remove the surface oxidation. The amount of gunk that has been scraped out of the stem surface just to get to the black vulcanite shows that the oxidation was very deep and heavy over the stem surface. It has been our experience that sanding a stem before dunking it in to the deoxidizer solution helps in bringing the deep seated oxidation to the surface which in turn make further cleaning a breeze with fantastic result. She, thereafter, dropped the stem in to “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface, making its further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. The initial sanding helps to draw out the complete oxidation as the sanding opens up the stem surface that has been initially covered with oxidation. We usually dunk stems of 4-5 pipes that are in-line for restoration and this pipe is marked in green arrow. We generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight to do its work.While the stem was soaking in the deoxidizer solution, I worked on the stummel by first reaming the chamber with size 1 followed by size 2 Castleford reamer head. I further scraped the chamber walls with my fabricated knife to remove the remaining carbon deposits where the reamer head could not reach. I scraped out the lava overflow from the rim top surface, especially from the area in the 6 o’clock direction. Once the cake was reamed back to the bare briar, I used a 150 grit sand paper followed by 220 grit sand paper to remove all the traces of remaining cake and also to smooth out the inner walls of the chamber surface. Finally, to remove the residual carbon dust, I wiped the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol. The inner rim edge was charred in 10 ‘O’ clock and 2 o’clock direction which have been encircled in red. I scrapped off the charred briar from these areas and now the chamber is seriously out of round. The outer rim edge damage is significantly deeper than I had anticipated (marked in green circle). The chamber walls are pristine without any damage. The inner rim charring in the 10 o’clock is very deep and creating a bevel to mask it will result in a very thin rim top surface. I may consider rebuilding both the damaged inner and outer rim edge with superglue and briar dust after I have topped the rim surface. The ghost smells are still very strong and may reduce after the shank/ mortise are thoroughly cleaned. The rim top surface is still considerably darkened and would need to be thoroughly cleaned to know the exact damage to the surface. I followed up the reaming with cleaning the mortise using cue tips, pipe cleaners and shank brush dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I scraped the walls of the mortise with my fabricated knife to remove the dried oils and tars. The end of the mortise now shows the shiny end of a metal tubing which has been inserted to strengthen the spiced joint, another pointer to an excellent and solid repair job. The ghost smells are still very strong and would require a salt and alcohol treatment.I continued the internal cleaning of the chamber and shank with a salt and alcohol bath. I use cotton balls which is an at par substitute as I have realized over the years. I draw out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; insert it in to the mortise and through the draught hole in to the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the inner rim edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils and tars from the chamber and mortise, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. The chamber now smells clean and fresh. I set the stummel aside to dry out naturally.With the bowl internals clean, I move to clean the exterior of the stummel. I used a hard bristled tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil soap to scrub the stummel and rim top. I set the stummel aside for 10 minutes for the oil soap to draw out all the grime from the briar surface. After 10 minutes, I washed the stummel under running warm water with anti oil dish washing detergent till the stummel surface was clean and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. I simultaneously cleaned the shank internals with the detergent and hard bristled shank brush and set the stummel aside to dry out naturally. The stummel surface has cleaned up nicely and the beautiful grain patterns are now on full display. The charring to the inner rim edge in 10 o’clock direction is significantly deeper than anticipated. The outer rim edge chipping too is significant. I shall have to resort to topping to address this damage and also the issue of chipped outer rim edge to some extent. To completely address these issues, I shall have to resort to a rebuild the damaged portion of outer and inner rim edge using briar dust and superglue. Continuing with the stummel repairs, I topped the rim top over a piece of 220 grit sand paper till I had a smooth even surface and the charred surface in the 2 o’clock direction was completely eliminated. However the out of round chamber in the 10 o’clock direction and the chipped outer rim edge damage is still significant and would necessitate a rebuild. These damages are highlighted in the last two pictures below. Further repairs to the stummel is being put on hold as I did not have briar dust in required quantity and neither did I have any superglue at home. I shall complete these repairs once I rejoin my place of work once the lockdown due to COVID-19 pandemic is lifted.

While the stummel repairs were being put on hold, the next morning Abha removed the stem that had been soaking in the deoxidizer solution overnight. She cleaned the stem under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using a Scotch Brite pad and cleaned the airway with a thin shank brush. She further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little EVO to rehydrate the stem. This now gives a clearer picture of the extent of depth of the bite marks as can be seen in the pictures below. These will definitely require a fill even after I have heated and raised the vulcanite. The buttons on either surface will have to be reconstructed and reshaped. I need to further sand the stem to completely remove the oxidation. The deep tooth indentations are now clearly visible and I decided to address these issues at this stage. Since I did not have a lighter (I generally prefer to use it for this purpose), I used a lit candle instead. The result is equally good; however, one has to be doubly careful as the heat from a candle flame is more intense as compared to a lighter. These tooth indentations were raised to the surface to some extent due to the heating; however, it would require a fill to complete the repairs.I prepared a mix of CA superglue and activated charcoal and carefully applied it over the damaged bite zone on both surfaces and lip and set it aside for curing over night. I applied this mix in sufficient thickness as it would help during the filing and sanding to match the fills with the stem surface and reshaping the button.Using a flat head needle file, I reshaped the button and followed it up by sanding the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sand papers. I followed it up by further sanding the stem with 320, 600 and 800 grit sand papers. Once I was satisfied that the fills had perfectly matched with the rest of the stem surface, using micromesh pads, I completed the polishing cycle by wet sanding the surface with 1500 and 2000 grit sand papers and further dry sanding with 3200 to 12000 grit pads. The stem looks great with the fills nicely matched with the rest of the surface. I rub a little quantity of Extra Virgin Olive oil into the stem surface. I have since rejoined back at my place of work and necessary tools, equipment and materials are now available to me to complete my pending projects that I have carried back from home to my work place. I had noted the issues that needed to be addressed on each pipe that I had carried and this pipe needed the rim inner as well as outer rim edge rebuilt, micromesh polishing of the stummel and final carnauba wax polish.

Starting with the rebuild of the rim edges, I reconstructed the inner and outer rim edge with briar dust and CA superglue using the layering technique. I ensured that the fill was slightly above the rest of the rim top surface as this would enable me to get a correct perspective of the match with rest of the stummel surface when I file and sand these reconstructed parts with the rest of the rim top. I set the stummel aside for the mix to cure. Once the fills had sufficiently hardened, with a flat head needle file, I sand the top portion of the fill to achieve a rough match with the rim top surface. I used a flat head needle file to match reconstructed portion of the outer rim edge with the rest of the stummel surface. For matching the inner rim edge fill with the chamber walls, I resorted to a 180 grit sand paper as the needle file did not afford me the flexibility that was required to shape this portion of the fill. I am quite pleased with the progress being made so far. For a perfect match of the reconstructed portion of the rim edges and also to further reduce the darkened rim top in 2 o’ clock direction, I again topped the rim surface on a piece of 180 grit sand paper. With a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper, I created a slight bevel to both the outer and inner rim edges to blend in the fills and also to address the minor dings and charring to the outer and inner rim edges respectively. The fills are now perfectly matched and rim top now looks pristine. To protect the briar dust and superglue fill on the inner edge of the rim from coming in to direct contact with the burning tobacco and also to prevent the heat from reaching the external surface of the stummel and causing a burnout, I plan, firstly, to fill only the small reconstructed inner rim edge of the chamber with J B Weld followed by a second coat of activated charcoal and yogurt to the entire chamber which would assist in faster cake formation. J B Weld is a two-part epoxy Cold Weld that consists of two parts; hardener and steel which are mixed in equal parts in a ratio of 1:1 with hardening time of 5-6 minutes and complete curing time of 6-8 hours. I poured the contents of the two tubes and mixed it well. With a flat bamboo frond, I applied this mix and filled the intended rebuilt inner rim edge. I worked fast to ensure a complete and even filling of the inner rim edge and set the stummel aside for the J B Weld to harden.Once the J B Weld had sufficiently cured, I sand it down with a semi circular needle file to remove excess weld from the area. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper to further sand the fill and achieve a perfect blend and smooth coat of J B Weld over the reconstructed inner rim edge.At this stage, I observed a couple of air pockets over the outer rim edge rebuilt surface. I applied a coat of clear CA superglue and set the stummel aside for the coat of superglue to cure. Once the superglue had hardened, I sand the portion with a piece of 220 grit sand paper to match the rest of the rim edge. I followed it by wet sanding the stummel with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads, wiping frequently with a moist cloth to check the progress. The outer rim edge is now smooth and completely filled with no air pockets. However, the light colored patches are still visible. I shall stain the rebuilt patch with a dark brown stain pen to mask these pockets. The spliced shank with the joint is now clearly visible. With the spliced part of the shank having such beautiful Bird’s eye and cross grains over the surface, I really don’t have the heart to stain it just to mask the repairs!! Next, I rubbed a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” deep in to the briar with my finger tips and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful grain patterns displayed in their complete splendor. I further buffed it with a horse hair brush and gave a vigorous buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The dark browns of the bird’s eye and cross grains spread across the stummel makes for a visual treat. It really is a nice piece of briar. I shared the pictures of the pipe and sought his opinion if I should stain the pipe to mask the shank repairs on leave it be? His characteristic reply was that “he would not stain it”!! With this aspect decided, I move ahead with the final polishing of the pipe. I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and polished the stummel and stem with Blue Diamond compound. This compound helps to remove the minor scratch marks that remain from the sanding. This pipe is starting to look really beautiful with the glossy dark brown through which the beautiful grains pop out over the stummel surface. I mount another cotton buffing wheel that I have earmarked for carnauba wax and applied several coats of the wax. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks amazingly beautiful and coupled with the quaint size and ultra light weight makes it an ideal pipe for a quick smoke while you continue working with your hands. If you feel that this pipe calls out your name, please let Steve know and we shall make arrangements for it to reach you. P.S. To avoid the J B Weld coated minor spot, though high nearer to the rim top from coming in to direct contact with the burning tobacco and also to aid in faster cake formation, I gave the bowl a coat of yogurt and activated charcoal. Unfortunately, I missed out on taking pictures of the process.

I wish to thank each one for sparing their valuable time to read through this write up and each one is my prayers. Stay home…stay safe!!

Adding a Bit Of Dazzle While Restoring An Italian “Empire State” Pickaxe Pipe.

Leave a reply

Blog by Paresh

The next pipe selected for refurbishing is a beautifully shaped pickaxe pipe. The stummel has a slender tall chamber with a subtle flare about ½ inch below the outer rim edge. It’s a shape that I have, generally speaking, come to associate predominantly with Danish carvers; however, this one has its links with either USA or Italy!! This pipe has a smooth surface with a nice hand feel as it comfortably fills my entire palm. For a pipe with a length of 5 ½ inches and bowl height of 3 ½ inches, it’s pretty much ultra light weight, making it a perfect to clench. The vulcanite tapered stem is thin and delicate with a slight bend that matches the curve from the foot of the stummel to the shank end. The pipe as it sits on my work table is shown below. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank as “EMPIRE STATE” in caps over “BRIAR ITALY”, also in capital letters. The thin vulcanite tapered stem is stamped on the left side with an equilateral triangle as stem logo.This brand of pipe was completely new to me and had not even heard about this brand. It was, thus, natural that I had to first know about the pipe that I was working on. I turned to pipephil.eu to know more of this brand. I referred to the stem logos “triangle” to narrow down my search parameters to save on time. True enough, there on the screen staring at me was an exact same pipe with exact same shape and stampings!! The only difference being that the site says that “Italy” is stamped on the stem’s underside whereas the pipe on my table has “BRIAR ITALY” stamped on the shank itself. Also there is a band at the shank end which was conspicuous by its absence on my pipe. Given below is the link to the site and a screen shot of the relevant portion with the pipe. http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/motifs/mo-triangle.htmlSadly, there was no information about the brand on this site. Next I visited rebornpipes.com and pipedia.org to seek information on this brand. However, my search was futile as neither site had any information on this pipe.Home

Has this brand got to do anything or related in any which way to the famous EMPIRE STATE BUILDING of New York which housed many famous pipe companies like S M Frank & Co, KBB etc? I am not aware and would request readers to shed some light and share their knowledge with our fraternity.

With the provenance of the pipe a mystery, I proceeded to carry out a visual inspection of the condition of the pipe in my hand. This helps me map the road to restoring the pipe by identifying the issues involved and identifying methods/ options to address the same beforehand.

Initial Visual Inspection
The chamber has a decent build up of cake. The build-up of the cake is heavier on the middle half of the bowl, but overall well maintained. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber can be commented upon after the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. The draught hole is right at the bottom of the chamber with a nice wide opening. The rim top is clean and a couple of minor dings are visible over the rim top surface. The chamber odors are not very strong and should be completely eliminated once the cake has been removed and the shank has been thoroughly cleaned. The pipe does not seem to have seen much use or possibly it has been used but nicely taken care of as is apparent from the condition of the pipe. The chamber has a nice thickness to it and should provide a nice cool smoke. The stummel surface appears dull and lackluster due to the accumulated dirt, dust and grime. I could identify a couple of fills over the stummel surface and the same are indicated with pastel blue arrows. There are few scratch marks over the bottom surface of the shank. The mortise is relatively clean with small amount of oils and tars accumulated on the walls of the mortise. Thorough cleaning and rising under warm water of the stummel surface will confirm if these fills are required to be refreshed or otherwise and should also highlight the grain patterns. I shall need to sand the stummel surface with sand papers to remove and minimize the scratches, dents and dings. Micromesh polishing will further help minimize these dents and scratches to some extent. The delicate vulcanite tapered stem is heavily oxidized and has taken on a dirty brown coloration. The lip has some minor bite marks on both surfaces and will need to be rebuilt and reshaped. There is some minor tooth chatter seen in the bite zone on both the surfaces. The stem airway appears to be relatively clean. Further internal cleaning of the stem should make the draw full and open. The tenon and horizontal slot is nice and clean. The removal of deep and heavy oxidation from the stem surface is going to be the most tedious and time consuming part of this restoration. The Process
The process of refurbishing this pipe started with the cleaning of the stem. Abha cleaned the stem air way with regular and bristled pipe cleaners dipped in 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol. She further cleaned the stem internals with thin shank brushes and dish soap to remove the stubborn and thick gunk from within the airway. The heap of pipe cleaners and their appearance tells a sordid story. With a sharp fabricated knife, she scraped off the little gunk and dried tars from the tenon and slot end. Since this stem did not have any issues to address and I wanted Abha, my wife, to progress beyond just initial cleaning to stem polishing, I requested her to complete this stem. She agreed though with great reluctance!!The stem surface was sanded down with a worn out piece of 180 grit sand paper by Abha. We have realized that following this step prior to immersion into the “Before and After Stem Deoxidizer” solution has two advantages, firstly, the stem surface oxidation gets loosened and the solution works deeper and more efficiently in pulling the deep seated oxidation from the stem surface. Secondly, the minor tooth chatter and calcium depositions are taken care of prior to the immersion. She immersed it in “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution along with the stem of other pipes in line for restoration. This solution has been developed by Mark Hoover and works to draw out all the deep seated oxidation from the surface making its subsequent cleaning and polishing a breeze. I would definitely recommend this product as it saves on to time and efforts. The pipe has been marked with a yellow arrow for easy identification.  With the stem in the deoxidizer solution, Abha, my wife, dealt with the cake by reaming the chamber with a fabricated knife as the narrow chamber opening was small even for size 1 head of the reamer. She further scraped the cake from the bottom of the bowl and also the walls of the chamber. She was especially very careful while reaming with the knife so as not to damage the inner edge of the rim. Once the solid briar was exposed, she further smoothed the walls and removed remaining cake by sanding with a 180 followed by 220 grit sand paper. Another advantage of this process is the elimination of traces of ghosting to a great extent. She wiped the chamber with a cotton swab wetted with 99.9% isopropyl alcohol. The chamber walls are pristine and solid with no heat fissures or pits. Simultaneously she cleaned out the internals of the shank/ mortise and airway using q- tips, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. She scraped the walls of the mortise with a fabricated knife till the accumulated gunk was removed. Further cleaning of the shank internals will be carried during the external cleaning of the stummel.Thereafter, she generously rubbed “Briar Cleaner”, a product that has been developed by my friend Mark Hoover, into the external surface of the bowl and the rim top surface. It works similar to Murphy’s oil soap and needs to be applied to the stummel surface and set aside for 5- 10 minutes. The product pulls out all the dirt and grime to the surface making further cleaning easy. We are quite happy with this product. She used a hard bristled tooth brush to scrub the stummel and rim top with the solution. After the scrub with Briar cleaner solution, she washed the stummel under running warm water with anti oil dish washing detergent till clean and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. She simultaneously cleaned the shank internals with the detergent and hard bristled shank brush. The stummel surface has cleaned up nicely with the mixed grains on full display. The stummel now looks and smells fresh and the old smells are all gone. She set the stummel aside to dry out naturally. I checked the fills for solidity and realized that all the fills had gone soft and would need to be refreshed. Otherwise the stummel had cleaned up nicely and the rim top surface was in pristine condition. The next morning, Abha removed the stems that had been soaking in the deoxidizer solution overnight. She cleaned the stem and the stem airway under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using a Scotch Brite pad and the airway with thin shank brush. She further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little olive oil to rehydrate the stem.While Abha was busy with the stem cleaning and sanding, I removed the old fills from the stummel surface with a thin edged sharp knife. I cleaned the gouged out spots with cotton swab and alcohol in preparation for a fresh fill. Using the layering method, I filled the gouged out spots with CA superglue and briar dust. I always ensure that the fill is above the rest of the stummel surface. This helps in subsequent sanding and blending in of the fills with rest of the surrounding surface. I set the stummel aside for the fills to cure. I had run out of medium CA superglue and had only the thin superglue. This glue is not ideal for a fill as it spread all over the stummel surface. It sure does look messed up, however, since I was to sand the entire stummel to achieve a perfect blending of the fill with the rest of the surface, I was not very perturbed with the spreading of the superglue. With me working on the stummel repairs, Abha had continued her work of polishing the stem. She further sanded the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 and 320 grit sand papers to completely remove the remaining traces of oxidation and reduce the sanding marks and followed it with wet sanding the entire stem with 1500 to 12000 grade micromesh pads (1500 to 2400 grit micromesh pads had completely worn out and we were unable to order a set due to lockdown. The use 1500 and 2000 grit wet or dry sand paper is the nearest option that we had). She wiped the stem with a moist cloth to remove the dust and monitored the progress being made after every three grit pads. The stem polished up nicely and had a rich deep black shine to it. She applied a little Extra Virgin Olive oil to rehydrate the vulcanite and set the stem aside.Once the fills had sufficiently cured, with a flat head needle file she sanded the fills and achieved a rough match with the rest of the stummel surface. To achieve a perfect blending in of the fills and to remove the excess spread of the thin superglue, She sanded the entire stummel surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. The minor scratches that were observed at the bottom surface of the shank were also addressed by this sanding. The fills have blended in nicely and further polishing with micromesh pads should further mask these fills and sanding marks left behind by the abrasive 220 grit sand paper. Abha polished the stummel by wet sanding with 1500 to 2000 grit wet or dry sand paper and followed it up with further wet sanding with 3200 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. The stummel has taken on a nice deep and dark brown color, nicely masking the refreshed fills to naked eyes. I was prepared to satin the stummel if need be to mask the fills, however, that does not seem necessary at this stage. We are very happy with the appearance of the stummel at this point in restoration. Next, I rubbed a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to the briar with my finger tips, working it deep in to the briar and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful grain patterns displayed in their complete splendor. The contrast of the dark brown of the stummel interspersed with darker cross grains and Bird’s eye, adds an interesting dimension to the appearance of the stummel. I further buffed it with a horse hair brush. On to the home stretch!! I attach the stem to the stummel to first polish it with Blue Diamond. This helps in addressing the minor scratches that are left behind. It was at this point in restoration that I noticed that the stem was inadvertently rounded at the shoulder, causing what is called “shouldering” (indicated with yellow arrows). Abha felt very guilty for having caused it, however, I showed her the picture of the pipe on pipephil.eu and suggested that when I reach back at my place of work I shall band it and that it will look very nice and original.Now that I have reached my place of work, I rummaged through the various bands that I have and found one that matched perfectly with the size of the shank end. It was an ornately designed brass band with embossed floral design. I tried a rough fit and realized that the stamping was being covered when the brass band was completely seated on the shank face. The letter “E” of the word “STATE” was getting masked under the band. I shall address this issue by sanding down the band to a size that would not cover the stamping at all. I have had a terrible experience of using a sanding drum on my hand held rotary tool once and since then I have been doing such band modifications by manually sanding it on a piece of 150 grit sand paper. The aesthetics of the pipe has been transformed completely by this addition of the band. Abha, my wife, too liked the appearance of this pipe with this addition of the brass band. I attach the stem to the stummel to first polish it with Blue Diamond. This helps in addressing the minor scratches that are left behind. The fills that were refreshed have merged beautifully with surrounding briar. I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and applied several coats of carnauba wax. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further and remove any residual wax from in between the sandblasts. The finished pipe looks amazingly beautiful and is now ready for its long second innings with me. I tweaked the seating of the stem in to the mortise a bit and now it seats flush with the shank band. P.S. This pipe shall always remain special to me and will find a place of pride in my modest collection…reason? Well, this is the first pipe that was worked on by Abha and it has turned out to be the most beautiful pipe, just like her!!

I wish to thank each one for sparing their valuable time to read through this write up and praying for the health and safety of entire mankind. Stay home…stay safe!!

Life for an American Made Pipe – A Bertram Washington DC 60 Canadian

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to me from one of our estate purchases. Between us we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration. I try to work them into the restoration queue so that I can keep them moving. We picked up over 120 Bertram pipes from an estate that a fellow on the east coast of the US was selling. This next one is from that estate – a beautifully grained short Canadian 60 Grade Bertram with a tapered vulcanite stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side with the Grade 60 number and on the top of the shank it is stamped Bertram [over] Washington D.C. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim. The edges looked to be in good condition. The stem was oxidized, calcified, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.  He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the overflow of lava on the rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean.     Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the grime.  He took photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. As I have worked on Bertrams I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

I have included the following link to give a bit of historical information on the pipe company. It is a well written article that gives a glimpse of the heart of the company. http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/01/bertrams-pipe-shop-on-14th-street.html#

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Pot with stunning grain has no fills around the bowl or shank. This pipe has a 60 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.  The rim top cleaned up really well with the lava coat removed. The inner and outer edge of the rim looked good. There was a little darkening on the back inner edge of the rim.  The stem surface looked very good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.    I took photos of the stamping on the shank. The Bertram Washington DC is on the left side of the shank toward the top. Lower on the shank it is stamped with the Grade 60 number.   I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The stem is tapered and narrow.Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. I cleaned up the darkened inner edge on the back side of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.    I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth.    I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.     I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I “painted” the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift the majority of them. There were a few remaining tooth marks next to the button. I filled them in with clear super glue. Once the repair cured I smoothed it out with a needle file. I finished shaping it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it into the button and sharpen the edge.    I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.         This Bertram Washingto DC 60 Canadian with a vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Bertram 60 Canadian fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

 

Restoring a Sasieni Fantail Smooth 62 London Made Patent Billiard

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff and I picked up this pipe from a contact in Florida. It is a smooth finished Sasieni Billiard with a unique shape and smooth finish. It has a Fantail stem that is unique to the Sasieni Fantail line. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and the stamping reads Sasieni [over] Fantail. On the right side of the shank it is stamped London Made and the shape number 62. The stamping around the shank end near the stem reads PATD-170067. The pipe is very dirty with grime ground into the finish of the bowl. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim. The edges looked to be in good condition though I would not know for sure until the bowl and rim had been reamed and cleaned. The stem was oxidized, dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The stem had an “F” stamped on the left side of the fantail stem. The fit of the stem in the shank was tight and clean. The pipe had promise under all of the grime and dirt. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the condition of the bowl and rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks.   Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the grime. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. He also took a photo of the “F” on the left side of the stem. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section of the Sasieni section of PipePhil’s Logos and Stamping website and included the link should you want to look at on the site. (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-sasieni2.html). The second pipe in the photo below shows a pipe with the same stamping as the one that I am working on. It reads Sasieni Fantail, London Made, PAT D -170067. The difference is the location of the Patent stamp. On the one that I am working on is around the shank end.I turned to Pipedia and found a patent diagram for the Fishtail stem that Doug Valitchka posted (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Sasieni). I have included that document below. It was filed in 1953 and received the patent July 21, 1953. Which helps to date this pipe as post patent.That helps to cinch the dating of this pipe as Family Era pipe made somewhere between 1946–1979. The change of “Sasieni” script without the fish-tail initiated by Alfred Sasieni occurred after Second World War. This puts the date of the pipe between 1946 and 1979 – a large spread.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamaer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.      The bowl and the inwardly beveled rim top cleaned up really well with the lava coat removed. The inner edge of the rim was in good condition. The stem surface had some light oxidation and some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.   I took photos of the stamping are clear and read the same as noted above.  I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the pipe as a whole. You can get a clear picture of the pipe from the photo below.Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads using 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine and brings the grain alive. It is a nice looking pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand out the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.     I used a tooth pick and Liquid Paper to touch up the “F” stamp on the left side of the Fantail stem. The “F” stamp was not deep but it is visible.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.   This Sasieni Fantail 62 Billiard is a beautiful looking pipe. I put the stem back in place in the shank and buffed the bowl and stem lightly with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe and stem with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the bowl with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outer diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ inches. The contrast of the dark brown and a medium brown that shines through give the finish a rich patina. The Sasieni Fantail London Made 62 Billiard has some amazing grain around the bowl sides and shank. The bowl has been cleaned and the entire pipe is ready to smoke. The stem is in great shape with a few small nicks in the surface of the top and underside. It is a beautiful pipe, just a little big for my liking or I would hang on to it. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection email me at slaug@uniserve.com or send me a message on Facebook. Thanks for looking.

New Birth for a Paul Fischer Lace Meerschaum Billiard

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to me from one of the estates that Jeff and I purchased back in 2017. Jeff and I pick up many together but this was one I traded for. Between us we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration. I try to work them into the restoration queue so that I can keep them moving. This next one is a cased Meerschaum. The case is stamped on the inside and reads Paul Fischer Genuine Block Meerschaum. The stamping on the satin lining was readable and clear. The exterior of the case was covered in red leather (vinyl?) and in great condition with just a few nicks in the material. The meerschaum was dirty but underneath the grime was a nicely developing patina on the lace carving. The bowl was caked with an overflowing lava coat on the back side of the rimtop. The edges looked to be in good condition. The olive green acrylic stem was dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were also scratches in the surface of the stem. It did not have any identifying stamps. The alignment and fit to the shank is very good. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the case and the pipe before he started the cleanup work. Jeff took photos of the pipe after he removed it from the case to give a clearer picture of what it looked like. It was actually in very good condition compared to many of the pipes that we work on together. He took a photo of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the condition of the bowl and rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the nicks, scratching, chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the meerschaum looked like around the pipe. The lace carving is very well done. He unscrewed the stem from the shank to show the threaded nylon tenon. I turned to Pipedia and looked up the information on the site (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Fisher). I quote from there.

From Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes’ – Paul Fisher was a well-known Austrian meerschaum pipe artisan who settled in downtown Manhattan, New York, and took American citizenship. Symbol: F. See Ed Burak who worked with Paul for 6 years in the 1960s.

On Smokingpipes.com there was a Paul Fischer meerschaum for sale and Bear Graves did the write up (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/italy/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=52153). I have included it below for the information it gives.

I know that it’s not all that often that we see a carved meerschaum in the American estate section, but there was a time when Turkey had little issue with exporting the material, nor carvers from other countries working with the same. Paul Fischer made meerschaums for Kaywoodie and (if memory serves) Ed Burak did some work for Mr. Fisher, early in his career.

Paresh Deshpande did some work on a Kaywoodie Meerschaum and included some helpful information on dating this pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/kaywoodie-meerschaum-pipes/). I include the pertinent section below.

Kaywoodie Block Meerschaums were made from 1938 to the mid 1960’s. The meerschaum pipe business by Kaywoodie was revitalized when Paul Fischer was hired and emigrated from Austria to run the meerschaum pipe department. Kaywoodie meerschaums were available in earlier years but not as prominently as when Paul Fischer came on board. He left in 1960 to make meerschaums under his own name. We continued to make them for several years after he left until we could no longer import meerschaum from Turkey”. (http://www.brothersofbriar.com/t21079-kaywoodie-block-meerschaum)

Given that information I knew that the pipe was made by Paul Fischer and Austrian immigrant to the US. When he first came he worked for Kaywoodie and then in 1960 left to make pipes under his own name. So I know that the pipe I am working on is at least post 1960 made.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with the Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed it under running water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It looked pretty good.  The bowl and rim top cleaned up really well with the lava coat removed from the back rim top. The edges looked very good and there was slight darkening on the back top side. The stem surface had some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.      I took photos of the sides of the bowl and heel to give a feel for the cleaned up lace work and carving. It is a pretty pipe.     I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the pipe as a whole. You can get a clear picture of the pipe from the photo below.  I polished the bowl and shank with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris.      I rubbed the bowl and shank down with a coat of Clapham’s Beeswax Polish. I heated the meerschaum and worked it into the surface of the bowl, shank and rim. I let the wax sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine and bring a shine to meerschaum. It is a nice looking pipe.     I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I sanded the tooth marks and scratches out of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.     I polished the olive green acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.     This Lattice or Lace carved Meerschaum, carved by Paul Fischer with a fancy turned acrylic saddle stem is a great looking pipe. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond separately. I gave the bowl several coats of Beeswax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Paul Fischer Meerschaum fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼   inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

New Life for Inderwick Founded 1797 Oom Paul 

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to me from one of my pickups. Jeff and I pick up many together but this was one I traded for. Between us we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration. I try to work them into the restoration queue so that I can keep them moving. This next one is an Inderwick’s Oom Paul. The pipe is stamped on the left side and reads Inderwick [over] Founded —-. On the right side it is stamped —-naby Street [over] London [over] Made in England. The stamping was readable and clear though on the shank end someone had sanded the shank down and removed the 1797 from the left side and the Carn… from the right side. The shank end was slightly conical and pinched looking. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. There were fills on both sides that were damaged. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim. The edges looked to be in good condition though there was some damage on the back inner edge of the bowl. The stem was oxidized, dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The stem did not have any identifying stamps. I think from the fact that the fit is not good with the stem that it is a replacement. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started the cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the condition of the bowl and rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks.     Jeff took a photo of the side and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the grime. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any information on the line that gives me the background info that I enjoy as I work on a pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). I am including a screen capture of the line that I found there.From that link I found the rest of the stamping on the left side of the shank and was able to fill in the missing information. The stamping read Inderwick [over] Founded 1797.

I turned to the listing for the Inderwick brand on Pipedia to see if I could find any further information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Inderwick_%26_Co). It confirmed the information on the brand from Pipephil. It added some information regarding some of the pipes being made by Comoy’s. I quote in full the article and include a photo of the Carnaby Street stamp.

Inderwick & Co was founded in the early 19th century by John Inderwick. He was one of the first tobacconist of London. Some pipes were made ​by ​Comoy’s. From the two sites I found information on the stamping on the right and left side of the shank. I was able to fill the gaps on both sides stamp and knew that the —-naby stamp on the right side was Carnaby.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.      The bowl and rim top cleaned up really well with the lava coat removed. The inner edge of the rim was out of round and showed a lot of damage all the way around the rim. The stem surface had some light oxidation and some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.    I took photos of the stamping (though a little faint) are clear and read the same as noted above.    I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the pipe as a whole. You can get a clear picture of the pipe from the photo below. Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. You can see the pinched and reduced diameter of the shank in the photo below. I measured the diameter and figured that a brass band on the shank end that did not go too deep on the shank could take care of that pinched look.I pressed the narrow band on the shank – it is pressure fit and it not easily removed. I pressed it in place and took some photos of the look and shape of the repaired shank. Now it was time  to work on the inner edges of the rim and the top. I used a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the internals of the bowl. I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove the damage to the rim top and prepare for the beveling of the rim edge.   I gave the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted bring the bowl back into round and clean up the edge.   I filled in the damaged fills on the left side of the bowl with clear super glue and once the repairs cured I sanded it smooth with a worn piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads using 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris.     I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine and brings the grain alive. The band serves as a good contrast. It is a nice looking pipe.       I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrubb All Purpose cleanser to remove the oxidation. It did not take as much work as others had in the past and it looks very good.     I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.      This Inderwick Founded 1797 Oom Paul with a vulcanite saddle stem and a new brass band is a great looking pipe. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Inderwick Oom Paul fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼   inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come! Inderwick

Breathing Fresh Life into a Stanwell Royal Briar 301 Pick Axe

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to me from one of my pickups. Jeff and I pick up many together but this was one I traded for. Between us we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration. I try to work them into the restoration queue so that I can keep them moving. This next one a Stanwell 301 shape that came in a red Stanwell pipe bag. The pipe is stamped on the left side with the shape number 301. On the underside it is stamped Stanwell Regd. No. 969-48 [over] Royal Briar [over] Made in Denmark. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim. The edges looked to be in good condition. The shank is lined with a Delrin insert. The stem was oxidized, dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. The stem bore the Stanwell Crown “S” on the top of the fancy saddle stem. It had promise but it was very dirty. I took some photos of the pipe before I started the cleanup work. This was one of those that I picked up and did the cleanup and restoration work.    I took photo of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the overflow of lava on the rim top. There were also nicks on the front outer edge of the bowl. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation, light chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean.     I took a photo of the left side and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the thick ground in grime.   I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.  Later photos will give a clearer picture of the stamping.I turned to Pipephil to see if there was any information on the line that gives me the background info that I enjoy as I work on a pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). I am including a screen capture of the line that I found there. The crown stamp on the stem is the normal Stanwell shaped crown that differs from the one in the photo below.From this information I knew that I was working on an older Danish model that still had the Regd. No 969-48 on the shank that means it was made post 1948. It is an interesting shape that I could not find on Pipedia’s great history article.

Jeff and I follow the same process in our cleanup of pipes. I started my work on the pipe by reaming it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and followed up sanding the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper.  I scraped the rim top with the sharp edge of the knife to clean off the lava build up.I scrubbed the externals bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. I rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime.   I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners.      I took some photos of the stamping to show the clarity of it after the clean up. It reads as noted above.   I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth.    I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.    I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I redefined the button edges with a needle file. Once I had it finished it looked clean and well defined.  I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation on the surface of the vulcanite. It took a lot of scrubbing and you can see from the pile of pads below in the photos the amount of oxidation that came off during the scrubbing.    I touched up the gold stamp on the stem surface with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I rubbed it onto the stamping and buffed it off with a cotton pad.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.    This Stanwell Royal Briar 301 Pick Axe with a fancy vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Pickaxe fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Life for an American Made Pipe – An Ansell’s Wash. D.C. Imported Briar Billiard

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to me from one of our estate purchases. Between us we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration. I try to work them into the restoration queue so that I can keep them moving. We picked up over 120 Bertram pipes along with a few Ansell’s and A. Garfinkel pipes from an estate that a fellow on the east coast of the US was selling. This next one is from that estate – a beautifully grained Billiard with a vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side with the letter C followed by Ansell’s [over] Wash. On the right side of the shank it reads Imported Briar. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim. The edges looked to be in good condition. The stem was lightly oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.  He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the overflow of lava on the rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the chatter and tooth marks. Otherwise the stem is quite clean.  Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the grime.  He took photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.   I turned to Pipedia to see if there was any information on the brand that gives me the background info that I enjoy as I work on a pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ansell%27s). I found a brief article and I quote it below in full.

Ansell’s Pipe and Tobacco store was at 820 14th St. NW in Washington D.C. It was one of three pipe brands I know of which are marked with Wash. D.C. The others are Bertram pipes and A. Garfinkel.

There was also a photo of a label and matchbook. Thanks to Doug Valitchka for his photos.

Label and matchbook, courtesy Doug ValitchkaFrom this information I learned that Ansell’s was a Pipe and Tobacco Shop in Washington DC and along with Bertrams and Garfinkel made and sold their own pipes. Since Jeff and I picked it up in a lot of pipes that were bought at the closing auction of the Bertram’s Pipe Shop in 1970 I think that it is safe to assume that the pipe was made prior to that.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.      The rim top cleaned up really well with the lava coat removed. The inner edge of the rim had some light damage but the outer edge looked to be in excellent condition.  The stem surface looked very good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.      I took photos of the stamping on the shank. There is a C stamp next to the shank/bowl junction followed by Ansell’s Wash. D.C. on the left side of the shank and on the right side it is stamped Imported Briar.      I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The saddle stem billiard is a nice looking pipe. You can see a few fills around the bowl and shank.Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. The inner edge of the rim was slightly damaged so I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean it up and remove the damage.     I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth.    I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.    I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I “painted” the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift the majority of them. I finished smoothing out the surface of the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it into the button and sharpen the edge. I  started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.     I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.   This Ansell’s Wash.D.C. Imported Briar Billiard with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Ansell’s Saddle Stem Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

A Fresh Look for a Comoy’s Made Royal Coachman 497 Square Shank Pot

Leave a reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to me from one of our estate purchases. Between us we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration. I try to work them into the restoration queue so that I can keep them moving. This next one is from our ongoing hunt – a beautifully grained square shank Pot with a saddle vulcanite stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Royal Coachman in a Germanic Script and on the right side has the shape number 497 and the typical round Comoy’s style COM Stamp Made in London in a circle [over] England. The stamping is identical to many of the pipes that I have restored from various lines of Comoy’s pipes. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing lava coat on the rim top. The edges looked to be in good condition though there is some possible damage under the lava. The stem was oxidized, calcified, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.  He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the overflow of lava on the rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the oxidation and the chatter and tooth marks. There was also damage on the button surface itself.       Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the grime.  He took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.   I turned to Pipephil to read the article on the Royal Coachman brand to see the connections (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r6.html). I have included a screen capture of the section below.I turned to Pipedia’s article on Comoy’s Seconds and have included a list of the various pipes that they make (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Comoy%27s). I have highlighted the Royal Coachman in red in the list below.

Seconds made by Comoy’s

Ace of spades, Ancestor, Astor, Ayres, Britannia, Carlyle, Charles Cross, Claridge, Coronet?, Cromwell, Dorchester, Dunbar, Drury Lane, Emerson, Everyman, Festival of Britain, Golden Arrow, Grand Master, Gresham, Guildhall, Hamilton (according to Who Made That Pipe), Kingsway, Lion’s Head, Lord Clive, Lumberman, Hyde Park, Lloyds, Mc Gahey, Moorgate, Newcastle, Oxford, O’Gorman, Rosebery Extra, Royal Falcon, Royal Guard, Royal Lane, Scotland Yard, St James, Sunrise, Super Sports, Sussex, The Academy Award, The Golden Arrow, The Mansion House, The Exmoor Pipe, Throgmorton, Tinder Box Royal Coachman, Townhall, Trident, Trocadero, Westminster, Wilshire

From the two sites I knew that the pipe I was working on was  a Comoy’s Second. The shape number confirmed that as it was a Comoy’s Shape number. The COM stamp on the right side of the shank was also a typical Comoy’s COM stamp. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.    The bowl and rim top cleaned up really well with the lava coat removed. The inner edge of the rim was in good condition.  The plateau was clean but had some darkening. It looked very good. The stem surface had some oxidation and some tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.  There was damage to the button surface on both sides.I took photos of the stamping are clear and read the same as noted above.    Now it was time to do my work on the pipe I polished it with micromesh sanding pads using 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris.   I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The stain brings the rich reddish brown tone to life. It is a nice looking pipe.       I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I cleaned up the area around the button edges with alcohol and then filled in the damaged button edge and top with black super glue. Once the repair had cured I shaped it with a needle file. I sanded the repaired areas, the button edges and the oxidation on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. The stem is starting to look very good.   I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.   This Comoy’s Made Square Shank Royal Coachman 497 Pot with a vulcanite saddle stem turned out to be a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Royal Coachman Pot fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

Refurbishing A Second Pipe From A Lot Of Six Pipes: A Barling Garnet Grain # 5059.

4 Replies

Blog by Paresh Deshpande

I had picked up a job lot of six pipes from a Curio Store on eBay. This lot contained brands like Barling’s, Parker and Orlik and other English make pipes. These are some of my favorite brands and I couldn’t pass them over even though they were in a hopelessly beat up condition. Here are pictures of the pipe lot that the seller had posted. This lot contained a variety of nicely shaped and grained pipes which I had been looking forward to work on. The first pipe from this pipe lot that I had worked on was a classic Billiards indicated in red arrow. The second pipe that I have selected to work on is shown with an indigo arrow.The second pipe that I decided to work on from this lot is an hour glass shaped pipe with beautiful tightly packed bird’s eye grain to the sides of the stummel and cross grains to the front, back and over the shank surfaces. This pipe is stamped on the left shank surface as “Barling” in running hand over “LONDON ENGLAND” in block capital letters over the grade “GARNET GRAIN”. The right side of the shank is stamped with the shape code “5059”. The stampings are all crisp and deep. The trademark Barling styled vulcanite saddle stem bears the trademark Barling stamped in cross. The size, shape and feel of the pipe are solid in hand. Barling’s pipe brand has been well researched and chronicled on pipedia.org and by Steve when he worked on many of Barling’s pipes over decades and thus, shall not waste time in repeating the information that is available. I too have carefully read and researched this brand as I do have many pipes that I have inherited. However, to refresh my memory, I read the entire article once again and tentatively date this pipe as being an Early Corporate Era pipe, that is made between 1962/3 to prior to 1970. I have based my conclusions based on the following facts that I have read on pipedia.org (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Barling)

(a) Barling logo on the shank is stamped in script without an apostrophe and without ‘S’, as against BARLING’S MAKE that was in use during the Family Era.

(b) The revamped Early Corporate Era grade includes the GARNET GRAIN that replaced the Ye Olde Wood finish (having dark or Plum stain) from the Family Era.

(3) The presence of London England in block lettering underneath the Barling stamp in script.

(4) The absence of the T.V.F stamping since the Ye Olde Wood and TVF both were discontinued at the beginning of the Corporate Era. These were reintroduced in the mid 1960s.

I have dated this pipe tentatively as being from the Early Corporate Era when the facts are conclusive enough, is because of the stummel shape. In my reading and knowledge, early Barlings pipes have always been in classic shapes and this one is anything but a classic shape. Any insight in to this aspect is most appreciated.

Initial Visual Inspection
This pipe has a decent medium bowl size with chamber depth of about 1 7/8 inches. The stummel boasts of some beautiful cross grains to the front and back of the bowl and all around the shank and tight Bird’s Eye to the left side of the stummel. The stummel is covered in dirt and grime of the overflowed lava and dirt accumulated over the years of heavy smoking and uncared attention to cleaning. The stummel has a nice deep and dark color to it, reminiscent of the Ye Olde Wood finish. There is a thick layer of cake in the chamber and some damage is likely to the back of the rim top surface. The stem is heavily oxidized with a few deep bite marks to the button edge in the bite zone. The pipe’s appearance, as it sits on my work table, does not present an encouraging picture. Detailed Inspection Of The Pipe And Observations
The bowl has a wide rim that slightly tapers down towards the heel and has a chamber depth of about 1 7/8 inches. The draught hole is in the center and at the bottom of the chamber. The chamber has an even layer of thick hard cake with remnants of un-burnt tobacco seen at the heel of the chamber. The rim top surface is covered with thick lava overflow and has max accumulation in the 6 ‘O’ clock direction. Through this layer of lava, a few dings can be seen over the rim top surface. The inner rim edge in the 6 ‘O’ clock direction appears dark and worn out. The outer rim edge is sans any damage. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber can be commented upon after the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. There is a strong ghost smell in the chamber which is all pervading. The chamber is out of round in the 10 ‘O’ clock direction (encircled in red) due to the charred inner rim edge. There are a number of dents and chipped areas over the outer rim edge (indicated with green arrows). There are a number of dents/ dings and scratches that are visible over the rim top surface. The stummel appears solid to the touch all around and hence I do not foresee any serious damage to the walls in the form of burnout/ deep heat fissures/ lines or pits. The dark inner rim edge, in the 10 ‘O’ clock direction, may be charred further than anticipated and the same will be confirmed after the surface has been thoroughly cleaned. I need to resort to topping the rim top in order to address the damage to the surface. The ghost smells should reduce once the cake from the chamber is removed and the shank has been cleaned.   The smooth stummel has an hour glass shape (or should I call it a fancy Dublin?) that is broad at the rim, narrow in the mid region and is slightly flared at the bottom/ foot. The surface is covered in dust, lava overflow and grime through which one can make out the beautiful cross grains to the front and back of the bowl and shank. The stummel surface has two small fills, one to the right side of the stummel and the other at the front of the bowl. These fills are difficult to spot against the dark finish of the stummel and can be seen only in a bright white light. The briar is looking lifeless and bone dry. For a pipe that has been so heavily smoked, there are surprisingly no dents and ding over the stummel surface. Once the stummel has been thoroughly cleaned, these fills will be more apparent. I intend to refresh only that fill which has loosened out with a fresh fill of briar dust and superglue. Thorough cleaning and rising of the stummel under warm water will highlight the grain patterns. Micromesh polishing will help in blending these fills while imparting a nice shine to the briar. The mortise shows accumulation of oils, tars and gunk and the air flow is not full and smooth. The shank end face is not a perfect round but slightly flattened at the top. The seating of the stem is not flush with the shank face if not aligned perfectly and precisely. The out of round shank end face is another pointer that this pipe is not from the Family Era!! The ghost smells should further reduce after the mortise and shank walls are thoroughly cleaned. The high quality vulcanite tapered stem is typical Barling with a narrow saddle at the end of a proportionately broad stem. The stem is so heavily oxidized that it appears brownish green in color! Deep calcification is seen in the bite zone probably from prolonged use of rubber bit. Some heavy tooth chatter and deep bite marks in the bite zone are seen on both the upper and lower surfaces of the stem. The button edges on either surface have been completely flattened with the lip edges seen as mere straight thin edges with no shape and sharpness at all. The tenon air opening is completely blocked with accumulated ash and oils/ tars that have dried out on the inside as well as on the outside. The horizontal slot end is completely deformed and the slot itself is chock-a-block with gunk. The other fact that is noticed, if observed closely, is that the trademark stem logo of BARLING CROSS is upside down!! The bite marks will be raised to the surface by heating to the extent possible and further will be filled using charcoal and CA superglue mix. The button end, including the button itself on either surface will have to be completely rebuilt and reshaped. The tooth chatter and the calcified deposits will be removed by sanding with a piece of 220 grit sand paper. I am convinced that all the pipes in this lot is from one estate as the damage to the rim, damage to the stem and general condition of each is exactly the same.

The Process
Abha, my wife, first cleaned the internals of the stem with stem brush, bristled/ regular pipe cleaners and 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol. She scraped out the dried oils and tars from the tenon end with my fabricated knife and also removed the dried oils and tars from the slot end. She followed it up by sanding the entire stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper to remove the surface oxidation. The amount of gunk that has been scraped out of the stem surface just to get to the black vulcanite shows that the oxidation was very deep and heavy over the stem surface. It has been our experience that sanding a stem before dunking it in to the deoxidizer solution helps in bringing the deep seated oxidation to the surface which in turn makes further cleaning a breeze with fantastic results.   She, thereafter, dropped the stem into “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface, making its further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. The initial sanding helps to draw out the complete oxidation as the sanding opens up the stem surface that has been initially covered with oxidation. We usually dunk stems of 4-5 pipes that are in-line for restoration and this pipe is marked in green arrow. We generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight to do its work.While the stem was soaking in the deoxidizer solution, I worked on the stummel by first reaming the chamber with size 1 followed by size 2 Castleford reamer head. I further scraped the chamber walls with my fabricated knife to remove the remaining carbon deposits where the reamer head could not reach. I scraped out the lava overflow from the rim top surface, especially from the area in the 6 o’clock direction. Once the cake was reamed back to the bare briar, I used a 150 grit sand paper followed by 220 grit sand paper to remove all the traces of remaining cake and also to smooth out the inner walls of the chamber surface. Finally, to remove the residual carbon dust, I wiped the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol. The inner rim edge was charred in 10 o’clock and 3 o’clock direction which have been encircled in red. I scraped off the charred briar from these areas and now the chamber is out of round. The chamber walls are pristine without any damage. I shall give the inner rim edge a slight bevel to get the bowl back to a perfect round and mask the damage. The ghost smells are still very strong and may reduce after the shank/ mortise are thoroughly cleaned. The rim top surface is still considerably darkened and would need to be thoroughly cleaned to know the exact damage to the surface.    I followed up the reaming with cleaning the mortise using cue tips, pipe cleaners and shank brush dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I scraped the walls of the mortise with my fabricated knife to remove the dried oils and tars. The ghost smells are still very strong and would require a salt and alcohol treatment.   With the bowl internals clean, I move to clean the exterior of the stummel. I used a hard bristled tooth brush and Briar Cleaner, a product that has been developed by Mark Hoover, to scrub the stummel and rim top. I set the stummel aside for 10 minutes for the product to draw out all the grime from the briar surface. After 10 minutes, I washed the stummel under running warm water with anti oil dish washing detergent till the stummel surface was clean and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. I simultaneously cleaned the shank internals with the detergent and hard bristled shank brush and set the stummel aside to dry out naturally. I had anticipated that this thorough cleaning of the shank would help eliminate the strong ghost smells, but that was not to be. The stummel surface has cleaned up nicely and the beautiful grain patterns are now on full display. The fills, even the smallest ones, are now clearly discernible. I probed each of the two fills on the stummel surface with a sharp dental tool to check for solidity and thankfully, each fill was nice and solid without any give. I decided not to refresh these fills as my horrific experience while using the thin superglue that was available to me for the purpose, on my last project Bewlay “GENERAL”, still being fresh in my mind. The charring over the rim top surface in 3 o’ clock (encircled in red) is significantly deeper than anticipated. I shall have to resort to topping to address this damage and also the issue of chipped outer rim edge. The chamber and shank needs to be subjected to a salt and alcohol treatment to remove the deeply embedded ghost smells from the stummel.   I continued the cleaning of the chamber and shank internals with a salt and alcohol bath. I use cotton balls which is an at par substitute as I have realized over the years. I draw out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner; insert it in to the mortise and through the draught hole in to the chamber. Thereafter, I packed the chamber with cotton balls to about quarter of an inch below the inner rim edge and soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils and tars from the chamber and mortise, fulfilling its intended task. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk and further cleaned it with alcohol and q-tips. The chamber now smells clean and fresh. I set the stummel aside to dry out naturally.While the stummel was drying, the next morning, Abha removed the stem that had been soaking in the deoxidizer solution overnight. She cleaned the stem under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using a Scotch Brite pad and cleaned the airway with a thin shank brush. She further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little EVO to rehydrate the stem. This now gives a clearer picture of the extent of depth of the bite marks as can be seen in the pictures below. These will definitely require a fill even after I have heated and raised the vulcanite. The buttons on either surface will have to be reconstructed and reshaped. I need to further sand the stem to completely remove the oxidation. Further stem repairs would have to be kept on hold till I got back to my work place where I have a couple of superglue tubes for the purpose.With further stem repairs being on hold, I turned back to the stummel repairs. I topped the rim top over a piece of 220 grit sand paper till I had a smooth even surface and the charred surface in the 3 o’clock direction was completely eliminated.    With a folded piece of worn out 180 grit sand paper pinched between my thumb and forefinger, I carefully gave a bevel to the inner and outer rim edge and addressed the issues of out of round chamber and chipped outer rim edge. The rim top surface and the edges look very neat at this stage with the bowl in a nice round shape. I followed it by wet sanding the stummel with 1500 to 2000 wet & dry sand paper and further with 3200 to 12000 grit micromesh pads, wiping frequently with a moist cloth to check the progress. It was at this stage of restoration when I was taking pictures that I saw the numerous tiny fills at the bottom of the bowl and shank junction. I heaved a sigh of relief when I checked and found these fills to be solid and not requiring any work. I really like the looks of the stummel at this point in restoration. The grains and the clean lines of this piece of briar are worthy of appreciation. The topping has resulted in the rim top surface being lighter than the rest of the stummel surface. I shall darken the rim top surface with a dark brown stain pen once I reach back to my place of work. Next, I rubbed a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” deep in to the briar with my finger tips and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful grain patterns displayed in their complete splendor. I further buffed it with a horse hair brush and gave a vigorous buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The dark browns of the bird’s eye and cross grains spread across the stummel makes for a visual treat. It really is a nice piece of briar. The dark YOW like stain elevates the beauty of this pipe to a new level.     Now, having rejoined my place of work after a hiatus of four months I need to work real fast to complete my backlogs of write ups and complete the repairs on pipes that were worked on during the lockdown period while at home. I have completed a few and now this pipe has inched forward on to my work table. While packing these pipes for its journey with me, I had noted all the issues that had to be addressed on each pipe. This one needed stem repairs to include filling of deeper tooth indentations, rebuilding/ reshaping of the buttons, stem and stummel polishing with a carnauba wax.

With the stummel rejuvenation almost complete, save for the final wax polish, I worked the stem. Here is how the damage to the stem looks as it sits on my work table. The damage to the buttons and the deep tooth indentations are also clearly visible. Once I have repaired these damages, the entire stem needs to be polished and the stem logo needs to be refreshed. That I have to use the CA Wood Superglue gives me shudders as I still am reeling under the frustrations of using this glue while I repaired the stem of the Bewlay “GENERAL” pipe, my last project!!I carefully inserted a triangle shape index card covered in transparent tape in to the slot so as not to break the bite zone. The tape prevents the mix of superglue and charcoal from sticking to the index card. I mixed superglue and activated charcoal powder and generously applied it over the bite zone, including over the buttons, on either surfaces of the stem and set it aside to cure. Once the fill has hardened, I shall file and sand the fills to match the surface of the stem and sharpen the button edges on either surface. This glue hardens immediately and allowed me only a few seconds of application whereas the all purpose CA superglue allowed me enough time to get an even spread over the damaged surface.The fill had hardened and with a flat head needle file, I worked on the filling till I had achieved a rough match with the surrounding surface and had sufficiently sharpened the button edges. As with the stem repair of my previous project, Bewlay “GENERAL”, this too had many air pockets. I filled these air pockets with clear CA superglue and set the stem aside for the superglue to harden.

While the stem repairs were curing, I stained the rim top surface with a Dark Brown stain pen and set the stummel aside for the stain to set. The rim top now blends in nicely with the rest of the dark stained stummel surface. Once polished it should match perfectly with the rest of the stummel surface.Once the fill had cured sufficiently, I sand the fills with a flat head needle file and reshaped the button, roughly blending the fills with the surrounding stem surface. For a better blending, I further sand the entire stem with 220 followed by 400, 600, 800 and 1000 grit sand paper. This helps to reduce the scratch marks left behind by the more abrasive 220 grit paper.   To bring a deep shine to the vulcanite stem, I polished the stem by wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped the stem with moist cloth after each pad and rubbed it down with Extra Virgin Olive oil to rejuvenate the vulcanite. The finished stem is shown below. The sanding with 400 to 1000 grit sand papers followed by wet sanding with micromesh pads had miraculously eliminated most of the many air pockets that were observed earlier. A few air pockets do remain but they are few and not significant at all. I am pretty pleased with this appearance of the stem.  I polished the rim top surface with a cotton cloth buffing wheel mounted on my hand held rotary tool and Red compound. I wiped the rim top with cotton swab and alcohol to increase the transparency of the stain. I am quite pleased with the match of the rim top with the rest of the stummel surface.  I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and polished the stummel and stem with Blue Diamond compound. This compound helps to remove the minor scratch marks that remain from the sanding. This pipe is starting to look really beautiful with the glossy dark plum like stain through which the beautiful grains pop out over the stummel surface.  The only cosmetic, yet important aspect that remained was to refresh the stem logo. I applied a coat of white correction ink over the logo and once dried, I gently wiped it with a cloth. The logo is now clearly visible.   I mount another cotton buffing wheel that I have earmarked for carnauba wax and applied several coats of the wax. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks amazingly beautiful and coupled with the size, heft and the hand feel, makes it quite a desirable pipe. If you feel that this pipe calls out your name, please let Steve know and we shall make arrangements for it to reach you. I wish to thank each one for sparing their valuable time to read through this write up and each one is my prayers. Stay home…stay safe!!