Tag Archives: removing tooth marks

JPL Tomato restored and given a new look

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

When I first saw the pipe lot on craigslist Vancouver the pipe that caught my eye was the squashed tomato that is shown in the photo below on the top right. I had no idea who the make was but it was obviously a large pipe and a unique shape that made me want to know more. It is actually the pipe that pushed me to make the phone call to the seller. I have a Rad Davis that is similarly shaped but nowhere near as large.craig5 When I got to the seller’s home and looked at the pipe I could see that it was stamped JPL over Bruyere over St. Claude France on the shank. The pipe was well smoked. The finish was pretty well dried out – I think originally it had been an oil finish over the natural briar and that was gone and in its place was a lot of grime. The top of the bowl was in the roughest shape. It had a thick coat of tar/oil that I call lava flowing over the rim. The bowl had a cake that was hard and there were remnants of tobacco stuck in the walls and bottom of the bowl. The top also had what looked like road rash on the front. There were many pin prick nicks and dents that made me think that the pipe had been dropped on concrete. The redeeming feature was that the briar had some stunning flame grain around the sides and top portion of the bowl and featured great birdseye grain on the bottom. The stem was oxidized and there were two deep tooth marks on the top and bottom sides of the stem near the button. There was also a lot of tooth chatter and it looked as if the stem had been covered at one time with a softie bit.JPL1

JPL2

JPL3

JPL4 I took the next series of three photos to show the damage to the top of the bowl and the tooth marks in the stem.JPL5

JPL6

JPL7 I was unfamiliar with the stamping on the pipe as I had not seen it before. Once Googled it on the web I found that JPL stood for Jean Pierre Lacroix. That was a name I was familiar with in previous reading on St. Claude pipe making families. I looked on Pipedia and found the following information:

“Lacroix Pipes have a rich history of pipe making tradition and the brand was started in 1962. Eugine Lacroix began making pipes for the Delacour factory in the 19th century; his sons founded their own factory in 1921. Two of the grandsons (including Jean) continued on in the business, but parted ways and struck out on their own in 1962. At that time, Jean set up Jean Lacroix pipes, coincidentally in the old Delacour building his grandfather started in 85 years prior. Today, Jean Lacroix, Chacom, Jeantet, and Vuillard are all pieces of the larger Cuty-Fort Enterprises, and Jean is actively involved with the prestigious Confrerie des Maitres-Pipiers de Saint-Claude. Jean still makes pipes; his spectacular freehands are known throughout the world. The model named “Nizza” De Luxe is made by him with scripted stamp showing his name (hard to read!). Jean Pierre Lacroix sometimes marked Maitre Pipier a Saint-Claude.” Quoted from Pipedia http://pipedia.org/wiki/Lacroix

More information is available on PipePhil’s website. http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/lacroix-en.html#split

I began cleaning up the pipe by scrubbing the rim with acetone on a cotton pad. Since the pipe was unfinished and was so dirty I used acetone rather than alcohol. I scrubbed the bowl top until I had removed all of the tars and oils. I also wiped down the remainder of the bowl to remove the oils and dirt from the years of being held in the hand.JPL8 Once I had the bowl top cleaned I removed the stem to see what I was dealing with. I found that the stem and the shank was drilled for a 9MM filter but that somewhere along the way someone had inserted an ill fitting stinger apparatus in the tenon. It was pressed in place deep in the tenon and there was a lot of wiggle room around it. It did not extend very far into the shank and as such the shank was filthy. The first photo below shows the stinger in place. The second shows the length of the stinger once I removed it from the tenon.JPL9

JPL10

JPL11 I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage on the top of the bowl. I sanded until I had removed the road rash on the front edge and the damage to the back of the bowl. I sanded it further with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to minimize the scratches left behind by the sandpaper.JPL12

JPL13 While I had the sandpaper out I also sanded the tooth chatter and tooth marks on the stem. You can see that after sanding I still had a fairly large tooth dent on the underside of the stem and a small one on the top near the left edge.JPL14

JPL15 I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer starting with the largest cutting head that would fit and working my way up to the largest head in the set. I took the cake back completely to leave the bare briar exposed and ready to build a new cake of my liking.JPL16

JPL17 I did some more sanding on the stem and was able to remove the damage from the top side near the button completely. The mark on the underside was still deep. I cleaned the surface of the stem with alcohol and picked the tooth mark clean with a dental pick. I filled it with black super glue and set it aside to dry.JPL18 I sanded the bowl with a medium and a fine grit sanding block and worked over the damaged area on the top front and some of the more minor damage on the sides and back of the bowl. I sanded it and then wiped it clean with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad. After wiping it down the grain really began to show. The final photo in this series shows the birdseye on the bottom of the bowl.JPL19

JPL20

JPL21

JPL22

JPL23 I scrubbed out the shank of the pipe with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol until it was clean and the swabs came back white. I may well use a retort on it later but at this point I stopped with the swabs.JPL24 I sanded the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads in preparation for staining the bowl.JPL25 Though the pipe was originally unstained when it was made I decided to use a contrast stain to highlight the beautiful grain on the bowl. I heated the briar and then applied several coats of black aniline stain. I flamed the stain to set it in the grain. I wiped the briar down with alcohol on cotton pads to remove the topcoat of black stain.JPL26

JPL27

JPL28 I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed it with red Tripoli to further remove the topcoat of stain. I sanded it with a medium grit sanding sponge and the fine grit sanding block.JPL29

JPL30

JPL31

JPL32 Once I had the surface stain removed and the remaining black stain highlighted the grain I wiped the bowl down a final time with alcohol and prepared to stain it with the contrast stain. I decided to use a rich mahogany aniline stain for the contrast coat. I applied the stain and then flamed it to set it in the briar.JPL33

JPL34

JPL35 When it had dried I buffed it with White Diamond and took the following photos to show where it stood at this point in the process.JPL36

JPL37 The grain really stood out on the pipe at this point. I still needed to sand it with micromesh to develop a richer sheen.JPL38

JPL39

JPL40

JPL41

JPL42

JPL43

JPL44 I wet sanded the bowl with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads.JPL45

JPL46 I dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit micromesh sanding pads.JPL47

JPL48

JPL49

JPL50 After sanding with the 12,000 grit micromesh pad I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave it a coat of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a soft flannel buffing pad to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and went to work on the stem. I cleaned out the 9MM tenon with alcohol and cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I worked until the stem was clean.JPL51

JPL52 I sanded the stem with a medium grit sanding sponge and then rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I had a box of 9MM filters so I took one out of the box to try in the stem. It fit well and made the draw less open.JPL53

JPL54 I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and then buffed the stem with red Tripoli to remove the stubborn oxidation. I resanded it with the micromesh before moving on and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit sanding pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. After sanding with the 12,000 grit pad I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond and polished until the stem shone. I then gave it a coat of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff.JPL55

JPL56

JPL57 I put the stem back on the pipe and buffed the whole pipe with carnauba wax. I gave it multiple coats of wax and then a final buff with a soft flannel buffing pad.JPL58

JPL59

JPL60 The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I really like the new look that the contrast stain gives the pipe. The colour makes the grain pop and stand out very well.JPL61

JPL62

JPL63

JPL64

JPL65

JPL66

JPL67

JPL68

A Rebirth for a pair of Duncan Hill Aerosphere Pipes

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The last pair of pipes needing refurbishing from my gift box was a pair of Duncan Hill Aerosphere pipes – one a smooth pot and the other a rusticated billiard. I have had quite a few Duncan Hill pipes over the years and sold some, restemmed others without the reverse tenon system and really never paid much attention to them. The pot was a nice piece of briar and actually quite clean. The finish was in good shape though dirty. The inserted reverse tenon was loose and would need to be repaired. The bowl was dirty and had some pieces of tobacco attached to the walls of the bowl. The rim was in great shape. The stem was oxidized and the round brass carburetor hole was plugged. There was minimal tooth chatter on the stem and no bite marks that would need to be repaired. The stamping was slightly worn in the middle but it still clearly read Aerosphere over Duncan Hill over Ltd.Aero1 The rusticated billiard was also fairly clean though there was dried wax stuck in the grooves of the rustication. The rim top was quite dirty with tars and oils built up and filling in the rustication. The bowl had a light cake and tobacco leaf stuck on the bowl sides. The finish was workable but dirty. The stem was in better shape than the one on the pot. It was dirty and had sticky tape remnants on the top but there was little oxidation and no tooth chatter. The carburetor on this one was also clogged and the stem was loose on the reverse tenon. It was stamped with the same stamping as the smooth pot but on a smooth band on the bottom of the shank.Aero2

Aero3

Aero4

Aero5

Aero6

Aero7

Aero8 I removed the stems and put the bowls in my alcohol bath to soak for a while. While they were soaking I wanted to do a bit of research on the brand and see what I could discover about it. I was curious to look for patent information and old advertisements to see if I could discover the marketing schemes that made this quite a prolific seller over the years.Aero9 I Googled Duncan Hill Aerosphere and the first bit I found was from a Google group for ASP. There I found the following quote. I have the reference link placed at the end of the quote if you want to follow up on the information: “The Duncan Hill Aerosphere smoking system (U.S. patent #4,275,747) utilizes the same principle of physics as the manometer. The Aerosphere, visible as the brass pin on the side of the mouthpiece, brings a scientifically measured amount of air into the stem with each puff. The control of the amount of air and the velocity of the air produces two effects that result in superior smoking pipe performance.” https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/alt.smokers.pipes/GUxdN5Dus4Q

I also found a link to an advertisement for the brand featuring the designer in Popular Mechanics Magazine, February 1980, pg. 31 on Google books. Here is the link:
https://books.google.ca/books?id=m9UDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=Duncan+Hill+Aerosphere+Pipes&source=bl&ots=tR4egGI0ig&sig=XeACE0-Vh19-1JNcA0kAgS87kRI&hl=en&sa=X&ei=p1QbVbPTEpLvoATEpoLoCQ&ved=0CBwQ6AEwADgU#v=onepage&q=Duncan%20Hill%20Aerosphere%20Pipes&f=false Aero10 Next is an advertisement from Popular Mechanics Magazine, September 1982, pg. 216 on google books. Here is the link. https://books.google.ca/books?id=f9kDAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA216&lpg=PA216&dq=Duncan+Hill+Aerosphere+Pipes&source=bl&ots=fsZtVqD0z9&sig=Kl3wI-76NJqpFxAg8SPndnnWyqM&hl=en&sa=X&ei=owEcVdGGKdj9oQSD_4L4Bw&ved=0CCgQ6AEwAjgo#v=onepage&q=Duncan%20Hill%20Aerosphere%20Pipes&f=false Aero11 Finally using the patent number in the ASP quote I was able to find the patent documents for the pipe on the US Patent Office site. I have included the documents from the US Patent Office here. There are four pages – 2 of drawings and two of description.Aero12

Aero13

Aero14

Aero15 I love finding this old information and reading about the persistent search for the dryer cooler smoking pipe that has led to many creative solutions. It lends some colour to the work of my refurbishing to be able to read about the design ideas and the inventors themselves as I work on the pipes. Armed with new information I worked on the stems while the bowls were soaking in the alcohol bath. I cleaned the inside and outside of the stems with 99% isopropyl alcohol on cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. It took some scrubbing to clean out the grime built up around the interior of the carburetor insert in the stem and in the second chamber below the airway in the stem. The tars and oils were built up in there but far less so than I would have expected on these pipes from the 1980s.Aero16

Aero17

Aero18

Aero19

Aero20

Aero21 With the stems cleaned and the carburetor air hole opened in both of them with a dental pick it was time to take the bowls out of the alcohol bath and begin to work on them.Aero22 I dried off the bowls and pulled the loose reverse tenon out of the shank of the pot. I cleaned the shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners then pressed the loose piece back in place. Once the alcohol evaporated the fit was tight. I cleaned the shanks on both pipes until the pipe cleaners and swabs came out white.Aero23

Aero24

Aero25 By the time I finished cleaning out the shanks the bowls had dried enough to ream them with the PipNet reamer. I cut back the cake in the billiard to the bare wood and cleaned up the light cake in the pot.Aero26 In the photo below the wall of the billiard on the left looks damaged. I used a slightly larger reaming head and took back the remaining cake until the wood was clean and solid.Aero27 Then it was time to work on the stems. I did a rough sand with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the sticky build up on the darker of the stems and to break up the oxidation on the other one. I followed that by sanding them both with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge.Aero28

Aero29 I put them on the pipes to have a look at the progress of the restoration.Aero30 I buffed the stems with red Tripoli and worked on the stubborn oxidation on the one stem. I then buffed it with White Diamond. I took them back to the work table and sanded them with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. Aero31

Aero32

Aero33 I rubbed the stems down with Obsidian Oil and when it had been absorbed I buffed the stems with Blue Diamond plastic polish. The oxidation still showed on the one stem so I started again and sanded it with the medium and fine grit stem and repeated the process through the micromesh and buffing until I had conquered the oxidation.Aero34

Aero35

Aero36

Aero37 I buffed the stems with Blue Diamond once again and gave them multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the smooth bowl with carnauba and a soft flannel buff. I stained the rusticated bowl with dark brown aniline stain diluted 1:2 with isopropyl alcohol and then buffed it with White Diamond. I finished that pipe with several coats of Halcyon II wax. The finished pipes are shown in the photos below.Aero38

Aero39

Aero40

Aero41

Aero42

Restoring a Willard Imported Briar Rhodesian

2 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I am finally finishing up the final pipes in the box of gift pipes. This one is a little long stemmed Willard Rhodesian. It is stamped Willard over Imported Briar. It was in pretty good nick. The finish was worn and peeling in some places. There were scratches in the surface of the briar on the sides of the bowl. The bowl was lightly caked with remnants of tobacco clinging to the walls of the bowl. The stem was chewed but no deep marks were in the surface. The stem is that odd nylon like material that was on pipes of this era. It had a threaded tenon and a short stinger that was pretty clean as well. The stem was clean on the inside as was the shank of the pipe. The stem was slightly over turned and had some damage to the nylon of the upper portion of the stem.Willard1

Willard2

Willard3

Willard4 The next two photos show the tooth damage to the top and underside of the stem near the button.Willard5

Willard6 I decided to remove the spotty and peeling finish first. I wiped it down with acetone on cotton pads until the varnish coat was removed. To my surprise there were no visible fills in this piece of briar. The wood actually had some nice grain under the varnish coat.Willard7

Willard8

Willard9

Willard10 I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage on the surface and the tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I heated the stinger with a lighter to soften the glue so that I could correct the over turned stem. Once it was softened I put it in the mortise and turned it clockwise until it lined up with the bowl properly. I let it cool and harden once again before removing it from the shank.Willard11 I scraped out the slight cake and remnants of tobacco with a pen knife taking it back to bare wood so that a new cake could be built up by the next pipe man.Willard12 I sanded the bowl and the stem with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches left behind by the sandpaper and then put it back on the pipe and took the next set of photos.Willard13

Willard14

Willard15

Willard16 I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain mixed with two parts alcohol to thin it down and lighten it. I applied it and then flamed it with a lighter to set the stain. I reapplied the stain and flamed it again.Willard17

Willard18 Once the stain dried I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on a cotton pad to even out the stain coat and to make it more transparent.Willard19

Willard20

Willard21

Willard22 I put the stem back on the shank and sanded it with micromesh sanding pads to polish it. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads and then again the final time. I did not buff the stem with the buffer as I find that the nylon stems do not do well with the heat of the buffer. I applied some Paragon Wax to the stem and hand buffed it with a shoe brush.Willard23

Willard24

Willard25 I buffed the bowl with White Diamond and Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is ready for a long life of delivering a decent smoke to whomever’s rack it ends up gracing. It is a pretty little Rhodesian that looks great.Willard26

Willard27

Willard28

Willard29

Willard30

For the Love of an Amadeus Half-Bent Brandy

Leave a reply

Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://www.roadrunnerpipes.com
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

“According to Diotima, Love is not a god at all, but is rather a spirit that mediates between people and the objects of their desire. Love is neither wise nor beautiful, but is rather the desire for wisdom and beauty.”
― Plato (429?–347 BCE), Athenian philosopher, in “Symposium,” 360 BCE

INTRODUCTION
Amadeus may be known best as the 1984 feature film that won eight Academy Awards and was titled after the fourth given (or in this case, chosen) name of the latter 18th century Austrian composer, more often shortened to Mozart. Christened Johannes Chrystosomus Wolfgangus Theophilis Mozart, the often inebriated genius preferred the Latin translation of Theophilis – Greek for “lover of God” – which is Amadeus, derived from amare, to love, and Deus, God. The name also happens to be a Greek pipe brand founded in 1975 by eight artisans.

The half-bent brandy I obtained as part of a multi-pipe estate lot last year is a mid-level example of an Achaki-Amadeus S.A. briar. The company’s products range in price new from $50 on sale to $320 at the regular rate. They are all made of high quality Mediterranean briar, and the Greek company is among the primary suppliers of that variety of wood to other makers including Stanwell, Vauen, Tsuge and the late Bjarne Nielsen of Denmark.

This Amadeus arrived in much better than usual shape except for the chamber and rim and some minor wear of the stem.AM1

Am2

AM3

Am4

Am5

Am6

AM7 THE RESTORATION
I was eager to start a OxiClean bath on the stem. Knowing the stem hole as well as the outer area would benefit from a good soak for about a half-hour, I suspected that some of the chatter I could see in line with the lower lip would require more than that and even some sanding before micro-meshing.Am8

Am9 In the meantime, I had no trouble removing the little bit of blackening of the rim with easy rubbing using super fine steel wool, and the mild buildup of carbon in the chamber with a 19mm reamer followed by 150-grit paper and finished to silky smoothness with 320-grit.

Although the top of the stem was good after the soak, rinse and a wet micromesh work-over – building a grade at a time from 1500-4000 – the bottom, after the same treatment, indeed needed more work.AM10

Am11 And so I removed a little more of the chatter with 200-grit paper and applied some Black Super Glue.Am12

Am13 My work so far was easy, but being the glass-half-empty sort I was prepared to discover serious accreted grime when I commended the stage of clearing the mortise and shank with a wire-handled cleaner dipped in Everclear. But my luck continued. After a few passes that met no resistance and resulted in minor darkness of the cleaner, I decided with a rare sense of admiration that the previous owner had enjoyed the Amadeus brandy for some time and taken appropriate care of it. Reattaching the stem, I retorted the pipe with a mere two Pyrex test tubes of boiled alcohol.

As has been the case in many of my restorations so far, I was curious with the shade of the stain that I considered to be over-dark. To my way of thinking, as long as a careful visual analysis reveals no hidden reason for the extra obscuring, the clearer the grain, the better. And so, again with the utmost gentleness, I used a small piece of steel wool to lighten the briar and worked my way up the micromesh scale.Am14

Am15

Am16

Am17

Am18

AM19 For those of you with more discerning eyes, the pieces of crud visible with enlargement of the last photo, showing the shank opening, resulted from a final impulsive sanding of the chamber. Rest assured none of it remained after I noticed and gave it a good blow.

The two pieces of the pipe were ready for buffing. I used red and white Tripoli and White Diamond on the stem (big surprise) and white Tripoli, White Diamond and three coats of carnauba on the wood.Am20

Am21

Am22

Am23

Am24

Am25

Am26 CONCLUSION
There were no big problems with this restoration; no special problems to report or whine about; no particular distinction of the Amadeus itself, except for its very fine craftsmanship and, to me, less common country of manufacture. Still, it is a real beauty, an opinion I expressed in an email to Achaki-Amadeus to date the crafting of the pipe. Excepting the general pleasure of the simple but effective restoration, in fact, the most exciting aspect of the process came after the fact, when I received a response from one of the brand’s owners:

This is a line we used to make some good ten years ago. If you are in the USA it was imported in the country four years ago.

I hope I helped.

Thank you for your kind words.

Best regards

Makis Minetos

Please visit my blog:

http://www.acutabovebriar4.blogspot.com

The French Girl with the Fuzzy Identity

Leave a reply

Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://www.roadrunnerpipes.com
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

“The problem with putting two and two together is that sometimes you get four, and sometimes you get twenty-two.”
― Dashiell Hammett (1894-1961), U.S. author who re-invented and popularized the hard-boiled private investigator genre, in “The Thin Man” (1934)

INTRODUCTION
I take great solace from life’s frequent misadventures through activities that nevertheless focus on the same causes of grief: reading a good book, realistic or fantastic; writing news articles, blogs, letters to the editor and my own versions of literature; photographing street life, landscapes, nature and the occasional spot news event; drafting, filing and arguing civil actions in courts of law when I too frequently encounter those who would do me harm through ignorance or the misperception that I lack understanding of that study of knowledge, and researching and at times investigating anything and everything. But when I need to retreat all the way into the pleasure centers of my brain, I have only my local tobacconist and pipe acquisition disorder on which to fall back, and on the great majority of my P.A.D. attacks for almost a year now I can at least blame my small but expanding online business of refurbishing or restoring estate pipes for sale. Yet even that endeavor involves research and background checks.

Other than the classic but elegant shape and crafting of the Butz-Choquin bent billiard I scored a few months ago in an estate lot with several lesser gems – including a unique red Kaywoodie lumberman that was, for the most part, sandblasted, but with two natural rings around the billiard bowl and matching sitter bottom and ferrule – the obvious challenge of restoring the shapely French pipe to her original fine condition was a definite attraction. Except for the BC logo clear on the left side of the stem and the overall haggard appearance, I had no idea what I was getting. When the lot arrived, I searched for the BC, but when I found her the nomenclature was so fuzzy I could make out little more of the brand stamp on the left shank than the distinctive cursive B. Of the name itself, I saw two lines, the top beginning with a definite F and the bottom a clear word: MAJOR.

This may sound like plenty to go by, but my browser search suggested multiple possibilities for Butz-Choquin matches starting with F. There was the Formula, Formula Noir, Fait Main and filter, all of which I ruled out. And so I added an L and found Flamme, Flamme Extra, Flamme Standard, Flash and Fleuron. Then I tried Flamme Major and, seeing no suggestions, just Major. That excavated a site with images for BC Major Pipes, among which I saw a similar although straight stem specimen.Butz1 Therefore I returned to the full Butz-Choquin Flamme Major search and completed it, confirming that indeed was what I had.

THE RESTORATION
Butz2

Butz3

Butz4

Butz5

Butz6

Butz7

Butz8 I recently started making several basic changes in my pattern of restoration S.O.P. First, I now begin with an OxiClean stem wash as it can go on in the background, so to speak, while I do other tasks. I’ve also found it really works, although not with the comprehensive results sworn to in the site I found for its basic instructions, including the consistent lack of need for additional work such as sanding and on occasion using Black Super Glue for deep fills. Sometimes after washing with OxiClean and warm water, rubbing out the excess discoloration with a cloth and micro-meshing, the result is a perfect stem ready for the wheel. More often than not, however, I need to sand out scratches that are exposed. Such was the case with this stem. But the practice serves its purpose, to clean the stem inside and out and make the job of producing a shinier end product far easier.

Before
Butz9

Butz10
Ready for buffing:Butz11

Butz12 The second new habit is working on the rim and chamber and scraping out the major buildup of old tobacco and its related substances from the shank with a wire cleaner rinsed over and over in Everclear. All of these can be completed during the OxiClean wash. Third, I now retort every pipe at this stage.

All of these stages of the process completed, I turned to the bowl and shank, which showed the wear and tear of age. Tell me about it! After washing the briar with purified water, I used a piece of super fine steel wool to lighten the all-too-often over-dark original finish, shine the wood and make the grain show with more clarity. The wood was in very good condition with no pits, dings or scratches worth mentioning, and the slight appearance of discoloring in areas disappeared. I did a full micromesh workup with 1500, 1800, 2400, 3200, 3600 and 4000.

By the end of the restoration, the nomenclature somehow was much clearer.Butz13

Butz14

Butz15

Butz16

Butz17The time was right for the final buffing, and so I repaired from the comfort of the living room for the prep work to the workroom for finishing. The stem, as usual, I gave a nice shine with red Tripoli and White Diamond. The briar I buffed with white Tripoli, White Diamond, and a few coats of carnauba.Butz18

Butz19

Butz20

Butz21

Butz22

Butz23

Butz24

Butz25CONCLUSION
I think the most notable achievement of this restoration is that for the first time I was able to sand the chamber until it was baby smooth and like-new. I accomplished this by reaming and then sanding with 150-grit paper as usual but followed those steps with a second sanding using 320-grit paper.

All in all, I am happy with the outcome and will, of course, be sorry to let this one get away from me.

A Willard Dublin Renewed and Given a Facelift

7 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

This is another pipe from the box of pipes that I was gifted. It is stamped Willard over Imported Briar. I have cleaned up quite a few old Willard pipes over the years but never took the time to figure out the manufacturer or other information regarding them. I turned to Pipedia and did not find the listing so I checked on PipePhil’s site and found what I was looking for. I have included the photo below for comparison sake. The Willard I have is stamped the same as the top photo. The stem logo is also the same. On the side bar the site included the following information: “The Willard pipes were made by Sparta Industries in Sparta, N.C from 1963 to 1975 (about 60,000 pipes per week). Some were distributed by the Post and Base Exchanges that serviced the military during the Vietnam War. Others were produced for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco.” So I had time frame for this pipe – made in Sparta, North Carolina sometime between 1963-1975. That was way more than I had when I started.Willard The pipe on my work table had the same overall look as the one in the top photo above. Even the darkening of the rim was similar and the wear on the stem. The finish was the same indestructible varnish coat over a red stain. When I started the cleanup I thought the bit was nylon but as I worked on it I am sure it is not. The sanding dust is dark black and is like rubber of some sort. I am still not sure of the material but it is soft to the teeth.Willard1

Willard2 The stem material did not seem to oxidize. There was some definite tooth chatter on the stem near the button but it also looked like someone had put a softie bit on it to protect it after the initial chatter. The metal tenon had a removable stinger in place that was covered with “gunk” (technical pipe refurbisher terminology). The varnish coat was in rough shape and peeling. There was underlying dirt that had gotten in under the edges of the peeling varnish. The briar itself was in decent shape under the finish and did not have much damage other than scratching on the sides of the bowl. The rim was blackened but not charred. The varnish had disappeared on the rim almost as if the heat had peeled it back from the inner edge outward. There was also some surface scratching on the rim.Willard3

Willard4 I have included the next close-up photos of the rim and the stem to show the extent of the damage to both. The bowl had been reamed but there was some damage on the side of the bowl that I will talk about shortly.Willard5

Willard6

Willard7 I used acetone on cotton pads to scrub the finish off the bowl. It took some elbow grease and repeated applications of the acetone to the surface of the bowl to remove the varnish but I was able to remove it totally from all the stamping and the entire finish of the bowl. Underneath was some decent grain and very few fills.Willard8

Willard9

Willard10

Willard11 I scrubbed out the mortise and shank with isopropyl alcohol on cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. It was actually one of the cleanest pipes that I have worked on lately. It took very little effort to clean the stem and shank. The pipe shows some promise in the photo below.Willard12 With the exterior of the bowl clean and the shank clean it was now time to address the issue that I had found in the bowl. The photo below shows the divot out of the side of the bowl. I don’t think it was a burn out happening though it certainly could go that way. I picked at the briar in that area with a dental pick and nothing was soft or crumbly. Even the edges of the area were solid and hard. I wonder if it was a soft spot in the briar, a flaw that showed up when the pipe was smoked and then when it was reamed fell out of the side of the bowl. There was no darkening on the exterior of the bowl relative to the flaw on the inside so I figure I was safe to repair it.Willard13 I fired up a cigar and retired to the porch to smoke it and collect the ash to make up a batch of pipe mud. I collect the cigar ash in a shot glass as I can easily mix it with water when I work the ash into mud.Willard14 The next photo shows the tools (the micromesh pads just happened to be there. I don’t use them in the process, in case you were wondering.). I have the shot glass of ash, a shot glass of water, a pipe nail and a folded pipe cleaner. These are all the tools necessary to make and apply the mud.Willard15 I put a few drops of water into the ash glass and slowly mix it into the ash. It is easy to put too much water and then you either have to fire up another cigar or pour off some of the excess to get the consistency needed in the mud to stick to the wall of the pipe. To wet and it puddles in the bottom of the bowl and too thick it just sticks to the applicator.Willard16 Once I have the mix the right consistency I apply it to the side of the bowl with the “applicator” – a folded pipe cleaner and then tamp it into place with the spoon end of the pipe nail. I put it in place, tamp it down and then let it sit. As it dries I added further applications to the surface until it is level with the rest of the bowl. The next photos show the bowl side and give an idea about the consistency of the mud.Willard17

Willard18

Willard19 I set the bowl aside to let the pipe mud cure and worked on the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter and reshape the button. I sanded until the surface was smooth and then sanded it with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. I wiped it down with a soft cloth and then sanded it with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with the 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads and then rubbed it down a final time once I finished sanding with the 12,000 grit pad. I buffed the stem with White Diamond using a light touch as I was still uncertain of the stem material. I have learned the hard way that soft nylon stems are quickly melted by the heat generated by a buffing pad.Willard20

Willard21

Willard22 I rubbed the bowl down with a light coat of olive oil to highlight the grain and the red stain left in the briar. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond plastic polish to raise the shine. I then gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax and finished by buffing it with a soft flannel buff to finish. The completed pipe is shown below. The pipe mud is cured and will only harden with time. Once it is good and hard it will provide a base for a cake to build up and the gouge will be invisible. It should provide a good smoking pipe for the next pipeman who takes it to his rack.Willard23

Willard24

Willard25

Willard26

Willard27

Willard28

Willard29

Willard30

Willard31

Willard32

Restoring a Wally Frank Natural Sun Cured Algerian Made Pot

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

This older Wally Frank Pot shaped pipe came in the same gift box as the little no named prince that I restored recently. In fact it was the second pipe in the photos included with the prince. It was a fairly decent piece of briar with one large fill on the top of the shank in the middle. The putty used was brown rather than pink coloured putty so it would blend fairly well. The briar was darkened from use with oils and dirt. There was a thick build up of tar and oil on the rim that was rock hard. The cake in the bowl was thick and hard. The stem was good quality vulcanite and did not have much oxidation. There were deep scratches around the stem near the stem shank junction. There were also flecks of metal in the vulcanite that makes me think that the pipe is a war years pipe as often the rubber stems were made from recycled tires. There was a slight buildup of calcium on the stem just ahead of the button. The tenon had an aluminum inner tube that sat ran the length of the shank and ended with a diagonal cut end in the bottom of the bowl.Frank1

Frank2

Frank3

Frank5 The next three photos show the stamping on the pipe. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank Natural over Sun Cured and on the right side Wally Frank Ltd. On the underside of the shank it was stamped Second and Made in Algeria. I have seen plenty of pipes that were stamped Algerian Briar but this is the first stamped Made in Algeria that I have seen.Frank6

Frank7

Frank8 The next photo is a close-up of the rim and bowl. It shows the cake and the build-up on the rim as well as the inner tube sitting in the bottom of the bowl.Frank9 I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer starting with the smallest cutting head and working up to the head that was the same diameter as the bowl. I reamed the bowl back to bare wood and wiped down the inside of the bowl with cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the dust that remained in the bowl.Frank10 I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and rim with acetone on cotton pads. I scrubbed until the oils and dirt were gone from the bowl and the rim was clean. There was some nice grain showing on the bowl – cross cut on the side and birdseye on the front and back.Frank11

Frank12

Frank13

Frank14 I sanded the stem and shank with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the scratches around the stem at the junction. I sanded both the shank and stem with medium and fine grit sanding sponges. I sanded the bowl and rim with a fine grit sanding sponge. I cleaned out the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. The shank was remarkably clean considering how caked the bowl was. I wonder if the inner tube was not responsible for that.Frank15 The next two photos show the pipe along with the no name prince that I recently restored. Both had a natural finish that probably was oiled originally.Gen13

Gen14 I decided to rub this pipe down with olive oil as I did the prince. I rubbed on the oil with a paper towel and let the wood absorb it. I wiped off the excess and hand rubbed it until the wood had a rich glow.Frank16

Frank17

Frank18

Frank19 I buffed the bowl with White Diamond to give it a shine and then gave it a coat of carnauba wax. I then worked on the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads.Frank20

Frank21

Frank22 I buffed the pipe and stem with White Diamond and worked it over the stem and bowl until the feel was smooth. I also buffed it with Blue Diamond. I gave it several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a soft flannel buff to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below.Frank23

Frank24

Frank25

Frank26

Frank27

Frank28

Frank29

Frank30

Frank31

Frank32

Frank33

A Fresh Start for a no name Imported Briar Prince

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a little prince with no stampings other than Imported Briar on the left side of the shank. It has the characteristic worm trail carvings that were used in days gone by to cover imperfections in the briar. I have never been a fan of these carvings and would much rather have had the original sand pits or rough areas exposed. This pipe had a natural finish – unstained. It looked like it had originally sported and oil finish. The rim was damaged and had a small crack that went into the surface across the top right front edge. The transition between the stem and the shank was not smooth. The vulcanite stem was higher than the briar on the underside and the sides of the shank. The stem itself was made of good quality vulcanite and was not oxidized and did not have tooth marks or chatter.Gen1

Gen2

Gen3

Gen4 The next photo shows a close-up of the rim surface and gives a clear picture of the crack on the rim. It looks far worse than it actually was. The crack did not go too deeply in to the rim surface. It certainly was there and went into the bowl on the inside and into the worm trails on the outside of the bowl. I figured I could top the bowl and remove most of the cracked portion.Gen5 I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer starting with the cutting head that was closest in diameter to the bowl. I reamed it back to bare wood so that I could examine the crack on the inside edge of the rim.Gen6 I topped the bowl on a topping board using 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted to remove as much of the damaged area as possible without altering the profile of the pipe.Gen7

Gen8 I cleaned of the rim with isopropyl alcohol to remove the sanding dust. I dripped some clear superglue into the shallow surface of the remaining crack in the rim. I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. Once the glue dried I topped the rim a final time to remove the excess glue and smooth out the rim. I also wanted to remove a bit more of the damaged area.Gen9

Gen10 Over the years when I have come on pipes with the worm trail carvings I have decided to highlight them since I cannot hide them. I have never liked them but figured why pretend that they are not present. I use a black permanent marked to trace the carving in the trails. I go over the carvings until the black has a good coverage on the surface of the carvings. At this point in the process it always looks quite stark against the lighter reddish brown of the briar but once I am finished it looks far better in my opinion.Gen11

Gen12 I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad a final time to clean off the dust and to clean up the markings from the Sharpie.Gen13

Gen14 Since this pipe originally had a natural finish – possibly oil finish I decided to return it to that state. I rubbed the bowl down with a light coat of olive oil.Gen15

Gen16

Gen17

Gen18 I have read others talk about the oil going rancid on the briar but I have never had that happen. Rather, I have found that when I rub it on to the surface of the briar and rub it in by hand the heat of my hands rubbing it quickly cause the oil to be absorbed and the result is that the grain is highlighted and the briar has a rich reddish brown hue once it is buffed and polished.Gen19

Gen20

Gen21

Gen22 I sanded the shank stem junction earlier in the process with 220 grit sandpaper and also with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge. I sanded the entire stem in the process of adjusting the fit with the shank. I now used the micromesh sanding pads to polish the stem. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit pads and also sanded the bowl and shank at the same time.Gen23 I dry sanded the stem, shank and bowl with 3200 -12,000 grit sanding pads. The bowl and the stem began to take on sheen with each successive step up in grit of micromesh pad. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads and continued to sand until the stem was finished. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and gave the bowl a final wipe down with olive oil on the towel to remove any sanding dust from the polishing.Gen24

Gen25 I buffed the stem and bowl with White Diamond on the wheel and then gave both multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe to a shine with a soft flannel buffing wheel. The finished pipe is shown below. You know, on this one after the refinish, the worm trails don’t look too bad!Gen26

Gen27

Gen28

Gen29

Gen30

Gen31 I decided to take a lesson from Andrew Selking and his pipe photos for the final pictures of the pipe. His signature is the nice piece of drift wood in the photos. I don’t have one of those but I do have an old cast iron frog that my grand dad gave me years ago. I decided to use it as a prop in the photos to hold up the pipe.Gen32

Gen33

Gen34

Stem Reconstruction on an Ehrlich Billiard

4 Replies

Blog by Andrew Selking

“He’s not dead, just mostly dead.” Miracle Max The Princes Bride

I like the way the pipe looked in the auction pictures, but when I first examined it I thought the stem was beyond help. This is not a little pipe, but the previous owner was obviously a clencher. The top and bottom of the stem had a hole, as you can see by these pictures.Andrew1

Andrew2

Andrew3

Andrew4 Before getting into the stem repair, I soaked the bowl in alcohol.Andrew5 Although I have done simple repairs on tooth marks, I had never tackled anything this complicated. The holes were far enough down that it wouldn’t be practical to cut a new button. The stem is fat enough that finding a replacement was also out of the question. The one thing the stem had going for it was the edges were still in good shape. I decided to do a complete reconstruction of the stem.

I don’t claim to be an expert on these things, so I turned to one of the how-to articles on Pipe Smoker’s Unlimited. The one gentleman used activated charcoal with super glue, so I decided to try it. I found a large container of activated carbon, which is the same thing, in the pet department of my local Walmart. It came in small pellets, which needed to be ground into a fine powder.Andrew6 This is what it looked like after grinding.Andrew7 I took some wax paper and folded it to fit inside the stem. Once I got the fit I wanted, I sprayed the wax paper with cooking spray and put it back inside the stem.Andrew8 I used a couple drops of clear super glue on the bottom of a plastic cup, mixed in some charcoal dust, and applied it to the hole. I added a couple of drops of glue accelerator and set it aside to cure.Andrew9 I did the same thing with the other side. I’ve found that even with accelerator, it’s a good idea to let the glue cure for at least 24 hours. You can work it sooner than that, but it has a tendency to come out when you’re sanding it.Andrew10 I used several applications of the glue and charcoal paste.Andrew11

Andrew12 Once the hole was filled in I sanded it down.Andrew13

Andrew14 As you can see the charcoal left a few pits. To fill them in I applied a thin layer of super glue over the pits and sprinkled charcoal dust directly on top of it.Andrew15

Andrew16 This is what it looked like after sanding.Andrew17 The stem was still far from finished, but it was good enough to start cleaning the insides.Andrew18 I went ahead and retorted the bowl first.Andrew19 The brush came out fairly clean.Andrew20 I learned a hard lesson while cleaning this shank. In spite of the large diameter, the inner hole was smaller than the q-tip I tried to stick inside it. The end came off and it took a lot of effort to get it out. The moral of the story is, if it doesn’t fit don’t try to make it fit.

In spite of the minor set-back, the shank was pretty clean.Andrew21 Next I retorted the stem.Andrew22 It had a lot of tar inside it, so repeated the process an additional two times. It was easy to clean after that.Andrew23 With the inside cleaned, it was time to finish smoothing out the stem. I used 400 grit wet/dry with water, followed by 1500-2400 grit micro mesh pads with water. To prevent rounding the edges of the stem I held a rubber washer over the end of the tenon.Andrew24 While the stem dried I turned to repairing the rim damage.Andrew25 I used 150 grit sand paper on a piece of glass to remove the worst of the damage.Andrew26 Once I had the edge almost where I wanted it, I switched to 400 grit sand paper. This is what it looked like after sanding.Andrew27 I have become a big fan of natural finished pipes, especially when they have nice grain like this one does, so I used acetone and 0000 grit steel wool to clean the bowl.Andrew28 After cleaning the finish, I noticed a couple of dents on the front of the bowl.Andrew29 I used my wife’s iron and a wet cloth to steam out the dents.Andrew30 After allowing the wood to dry out overnight, I polished the bowl and stem with a progression of 3200-12,000 grit micro mesh pads.Andrew31 I know Steve uses Obsidian oil on his stems during this step and also uses olive oil to bring out the grain of the bowl. I’ve been experimenting with mineral oil for the same purpose. It doesn’t take much, just a little bit on the tip of your finger. I used one coat after the first three pads on both the bowl and the stem. After the final pad, I repeated the process. I really worked the bowl in my hand to bring out a beautiful reddish brown color.Andrew32 I used a soft cloth to buff the pipe and remove any excess oil before the final buffing stage. I buffed the bowl on my buffing wheel with white diamond and carnauba wax. I used my rotatory tool with white diamond and carnauba wax on the stem. I gave the whole pipe a final coat of Halcyon II wax and filled the E on the stem with a white out pen. This is the result.Andrew33

Andrew34

Andrew35

Andrew36

Andrew37

Breathing New Life into a Wally Frank De Luxe Saddle Billiard

6 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I am slowly working my way through the gift box of pipes I received. The one that caught my eye next was a small Wally Frank De Luxe saddle billiard. The stem was not in too bad shape – just a bit of tooth chatter on the top and bottom of the stem along with a deep tooth mark on the underside near the button. It was lightly oxidized. The metal threaded tenon had a pressure fit metal stinger in place that was stuck. The stem was slightly overturned. The bowl was dirty – the finish spotty and damaged. There were scratches but they did not go deep in the briar. The rim had a thick build up of “lava” (tars and oils) that came out of the bowl and over the rim. The bowl was thickly caked. The left side of the shank was stamped WALLY FRANK over DE LUXE. On the saddle of the stem was worn and light stamping of what appears to be WF in a circle but the right side of the stamping is missing. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Imported Briar. The bottom of the bowl and the shank are flattened making the pipe a sitter.Wally1

Wally2

Wally3

Wally4 I took two close-up photos of the rim and the stamping on the left side of the shank to show the state of the pipe when I brought it to the work table.Wally5

Wally6 I unscrewed the stem from the shank and dripped alcohol on the stinger to loosen it from the tenon. Once it soaked a few moments I was able to carefully pull it out of the tenon. One side of the stinger insert was missing but it still fit in the tenon tightly.Wally7 With the stinger removed I heated the tenon with a lighter to soften the glue and correct the over turned stem. It did not take long to heat it enough to screw it into the shank and turn the stem on the tenon until it lined up correctly.Wally8 I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer starting with the smallest cutting head and working up to the head that would take the cake back to bare wood.Wally9

Wally10 With cake cleaned I scrubbed the rim with alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the buildup of tars and oils. I was able to remove the majority of the overflow on the rim with elbow grease and persistence. There was some slight inner rim damage that would be easy to clean up with a light sanding. I also scrubbed the bowl with acetone on cotton pads and then with alcohol. It took off the grime and some of the mess but left the stain intact.Wally11 The shank was very dirty and the aluminum on the tenon, stinger and end of the mortise insert was oxidized. I scrubbed those with 0000 steel wool and then put the pipe back together in order to use the retort on it.Wally12 I set up the retort using a jar to lift the pipe up above the flame of the candle I used to heat the alcohol. I filled the test tube 2/3 of the way full with isopropyl alcohol and inserted the rubber stopper in it. I pulled the surgical tubing over the end of the stem and put a cotton ball loosely in the bowl. I heated the alcohol over the candle flame until it boiled through the shank and bowl. I changed the alcohol four times before I was able to get the shank clean and the alcohol coming out clean.Wally13

Wally14

Wally15 Finally the shank and stem was clean. I removed the retort and ran pipe cleaners through the stem and shank. I used pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the leftover tar and oil from both. Finally they were clean and came out as white as they were when I put them into the shank and stem.
I decided to stain the bowl and rim with a oxblood stain. I applied it to the pipe with a cotton pad and then flamed it to set it in the grain. I reapplied it until I had the coverage I wanted with the colour.Wally16

Wally17

Wally18

Wally19 I set the bowl aside to dry for a while and worked on the stem. I sanded the tooth chatter and oxidation with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge. They were hard to remove so I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work on the tooth chatter and tooth mark on the underside of the stem. I had to use a small drop of clear super glue to fill the tooth mark. Once it dried I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and then began the work of polishing the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down between each set of three pads with Obsidian Oil before sanding with the next set of three pads.Wally20

Wally21

Wally22 I put the stem back in the shank after sanding with the 12,000 grit pad and then buffed the pipe with White Diamond and Blue Diamond before giving the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I finished by buffing it with a soft flannel buff to raise a shine. The finished pipe is shown below. The new stain coat, the wax and the polished stem give it a new look and the cleaned interior a new life. This one should be a great smoker if the amount of cake and gunk I removed from the bowl and shank are any indication.Wally23

Wally24

Wally25

Wally26

Wally27

Wally28

Wally29

Wally30

Wally31