Tag Archives: removing tooth marks

Restemming and Restoring a John Bessai Special Diamond Shank Bent Brandy

Blog by Steve Laug

I was gifted a box of pipe bowls that needed varying degrees of work and a few odds and ends of pipe parts that now reside in my cans of parts. The bowls have refilled my refurbishing box. The first of these that I chose to work on is a beautifully grained, flawless piece of briar made into a diamond shank brandy. It is stamped on the left underside of the shank – John Bessai over Special. There is no other stamping on the pipe at all. The rim of the bowl is rounded. The pipe bowl is in excellent condition with no problems with the finish. The bowl needed reaming as it had an uneven cake on one side and on the upper portion. The shank is dirty with tars and oils but otherwise in good shape. The drilling and finish on this pipe is perfect. It is a beauty. From a previous Bessai pipe that I had found nearly three years ago I knew a little bit of history. I had hunted to gather information at that time.

HISTORY & BACKGROUND
I started out with what I had found previously and written about on the blog. I quote the following paragraph from Pipedia http://pipedia.org/index.php?title=Bessai

1. “John Bessai was a long time pipemaker, repairman and tobacco shop owner who operated his pipe shop at the “Old Arcade” in Cleveland, Ohio. The shop was opened in approximately 1898. It was a small 2-room shop where he hand-crafted his own pipes in the back room and could work when customers were not there. Like so many other shop made brand, John Bessai’s limited production was quickly acquired by regular customers and thus his craftsmanship remained little known outside of Ohio and the Midwest. While his name is known by pipe collectors in the Midwest, his work is seldom seen elsewhere! He died before 1969. Nevertheless, John Bessai left behind a small number of classic shaped pipes; all were made on-site. They are praised worthy of collecting and reflecting skills well beyond most American pipe makers. John Bessai’s logo “JB” appeared as one letter as the “back” of the “J” and the “back” of the “B” share a single line. The logo was stamped on the stem and on the left side of the shank. His son Herb Bessai took over the business and also continued making pipes. He closed the shop in about 1978.”

I suspected that there would be more information three years later. I did some further research and came across the information found in the paragraph below on one of the pipe forums.

2. “John Bessai was located in the Colonial Arcade at least into the late 1980s. After his death, his son Herb ran the shop. It was taken over after Herb’s retirement by a male and then name was changed to “Old Erie Pipes”. This was then located in the Erieview Plaza and when that mall closed, taken over by Cousin’s Cigars which has a store on Euclid Avenue near CSU, and a store on Chagrin Boulevard in Woodmere Village.”

That small quotation gave me a bit more information of the state of the store after John’s death and Herb’s retirement. But I still wanted more information. I wanted to know about the history of the brand and if there was any information on the various grades in the brand and the stamping on the pipes. I wanted to know a bit of a timeline for the brands. Finally my digging paid off. ON one of the pipe forums I came across a link that led me to a gold mine of information gathered by a man after my own heart, Andrew Hross. He has a blog call Classic Pipe Shop on Blogspot. I have included the link below for those who want more information. Andrew has done an amazing job of gathering information on the Bessai Brand so rather than rewrite the history I am quoting portions of Andrew’s work on The John Bessai Pipe Clinic.

http://classicpipeshop.blogspot.ca/2014/04/the-john-bessai-pipe-clinic-information.html

3. The John Bessai Pipe Clinic, 35 Colonial Arcade, Cleveland, OH 44115 – by Andrew Hross
a. Owner(s):
**John Bessai 1920s until his passing in 1969
**Herb Bessai ~1962-1983
**Daniel Gottschall 1984-~1993
**Purchased by Dad’s Smoke Shop / Cousin’s Smoke Shop and rolled into the Old Erie Smoke Shop about 1993.

Cousin’s Cigars purchased the remaining stock of Bessai pipes near after Herb Bessai passed away in 2002.

b. Years of Operation:
1920s (unkown specific date at this time) – 1983. After 1983 the business was sold to Daniel Gottschall who later sold it to Cousin’s Cigar (Euclid Ave) around 1993. The name was changed to “Old Erie Tobacco Company”. They were forced to move to the Galleria when all the tenants of the Old Arcade were cleared out to make room for renovations. Their new address was The Galleria at Erieview, 1301 East 9th Street in Cleveland.

After this move the location wasn’t as busy as they had hoped and Cousin’s moved all the Old Erie Tobacco assets to their Euclid Avenue Store. The store has since moved to a St. Clair location after Cleveland State forced them out due to anti-smoking regulations on campus. Their St. Clair location offers many of John Bessai Pipe Clinic’s old tobacco blends.

Their new store opened in the Merriman Valley area in Akron, Ohio where the store manager John Coleman oversees the day to day operations. John was instrumental in helping me piece together a lot of loose ends during Bessai Pipe Clinic’s transition years.

My father visited their shop several times in the early 60s as he attended Fenn College (now Cleveland State University) as an undergrad before moving on to Ohio State University for his Masters. He’s way smarter than I am so I just go with the flow…

He mentioned meeting John at that time who quickly gave my father some pointers on smoking a pipe and how to take samples from the shop’s expansive sample jar collection. His pipes were on display in the shop although I don’t believe he had a lot of pipes on display at any given time due to production in-shop.

John’s son Herb took over the shop in the early 60s after he graduated from Cleveland State University / Fenn College (unclear) as he is listed as having played Basketball for CSU. Herb was also a helpful, informative and friendly individual. Articles exist from the Herald in 1962 where they interviewed Herb (with photograph) about the state of smoking in the new age of the early 60s. I visited the shop in the late 70s / early 80s with my father during a trip to Cleveland and couldn’t tell you much about the shop other than the guy working was very friendly. Back then it wasn’t unusual to be a kid and walk into a smoke shop with your father. Clearly I didn’t purchase anything but my father probably picked up some tobacco but I remember him looking at pipes displayed on a back wall. The shop was small but impressive.

If anyone has any pictures of the shop or old catalogs, I would love any additional information as it’s tough to come by 30+ years later!

c. Pipes offered by John Bessai Pipe Clinic:
Most of the pipes that were offered by the John Bessai Pipe Clinic were fairly standard in shape… I would say most of the pipes Bessai offered were smooth pipes. My assessment would be 90% smooth and 10% rusticated / sandblasted…

…The story is that John crafted pipes in the back room or off site and finished them in house while the store wasn’t busy. Very little information is available on the accuracy of this statement. Some of his pipes from the late 1960s through the 1970s (John passed away in 1969) I feel were left over stock from previous turnings and sometimes showed fills or sand pits. Some of these pipes even carry Herb’s markings (see below). These pipes still smoke very well but are not as eye-appealing as other earlier pipes from the store’s career.

d. Stampings and rough dating of John Bessai Pipe Clinic Pipes:
Which pipes did John make and which ones did Herb make/finish? All Bessai pipes carry his standard large JB stamp either on the stem or shank or both. Typically the JB on the stem is within a circle.

All pipes created by John Bessai’s hands reportedly contain the miniscule ‘jb’ stamp on the shank or body of the pipe. I have older pipes in my possession that do not contain this stamp (condenser, old stamps, etc) that were clearly shop made pipes. I feel he started using the tiny ‘jb’ stamp in the 50s to early 60s.

An interesting note about John Bessai’s stems – they always clean very nicely and aren’t prone to as much oxidation (that brownish / green color) as most dunhill and Charatan pipes tend to oxidize. His cuts to his stems were very impressive and often transitioned from diamond-shaped shanks almost architecturally. Very comfortable to smoke.

John Bessai Special Pipes:
… I have a couple Bessai Special pipes. These stand out either by large size, graining or possibly shape. Most Specials are unique pipes and are rare to find in comparison to his regular issue pipes.

John Bessai Special X pipes:
I only have one of these and it’s a beauty. This one is a larger bowl (around a group 4 dunhill) with deep colored grain and a hefty substantial shank. Special X pipes are probably the rarest of John Bessai pipes and should be sought out if possible. I’ve smoke mine roughly 4 or 5 times and it performs with the best of my pipes…

Herb Bessai Pipes:
Unfortunately none of these pipes that I’ve seen have astounded me with grain or general appearance. Having said this, these pipes smoke nicely and are a great value if you can find them. I have one that my father found at an Antique Show in the South. There’s another author shape on reborn pipe’s blog that someone refinished because of the amount of fills in the pipe. He also states it’s a wonderful smoker (Editor’s note: This is my pipe and the write up I did on the blog). These pipes are likely from the late 60s through the early 70s. I believe many pipes after this period were created en masse at a factory in the US. It is unclear what stamp was used on these later pipes…

e. Dating / Circa era Bessai Pipes:
If the pipe carries a stamp stating Cleveland, O U.S.A. it’s considered an older production pipe (pre1960s). I’ve not seen any newer pipes with that stamp.

Bullseye stamping usually indicates an earlier pipe as that stamp seems to have been abandoned pre1960 as well.

Most of the earlier Bessai pipes have an unusual ‘stinger’ or condenser at the end of the tenon which is unique to Bessai pipes. They are either a hard plastic or created out of wood. They are typically easy to remove and could have been easily lost if misplaced. These pipes I would consider pre-1960 and possibly 1940s-early 1950s production based on their stamps and patina of the pipes.

1970s 1980s and beyond: My feeling on these pipes after John’s passing is that they purchased finished pipes from a large manufacturer and stamped them with the John Bessai or Bessai stamp (on shank and/or stem). Most of these shapes are standard among many stores from that period and offer less than spectacular grain (and sometimes fills). Stamps on these pipes are probably fairly plain and don’t have the tiny ‘jb’ stamp on the shank indicating it was produced by John Bessai.

RESTORATION
I went through my can of stems and found an older diamond-shaped saddle stem that fit quite well in the shank of the Bessai. The tenon was a little big so I sanded it with the Dremel and sanding drum until it fit snugly in the shank. The stem was an estate stem so it was dirty and had tooth chatter and some small indentations from teeth on the top and bottom of the stem near the button. It was slightly larger than the shank so that it would need to be sanded until it fit the line and shape of the shank.

I sanded the stem and shank with 150 and 220 grit sandpaper to bring all sides and angles to match the shank angles and sides. I sanded the stem to remove the tooth marks and the tooth chatter in the process.

I sanded the stem and shank with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratch marks left behind by the sandpapers.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer to remove the uneven build up of cake in the bowl.

I wiped down the surface of the briar with acetone on cotton pads to remove the finish on the bowl and make restaining it simpler.

I cleaned out the bowl and the shank with isopropyl alcohol (99%) on cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until the bowl and shank were clean. I cleaned out the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol as well. I also beveled the airway on the end of the tenon to make the flow more open.

I set up a heat gun and heated the stem to bend it to fit the shape of the pipe. I inserted a pipe cleaner in the stem and then bent it over a rolling pin and set the bend with cool tap water.

I wiped down the bowl and stem with isopropyl alcohol. The grain on this pipe is quite stunning so once it is restained and the stem finished it will be a beautiful pipe.

I stained the bowl with a medium brown aniline stain and flamed it, I gave it more stain and flamed it again. I then sanded the stem with medium and fine grit sanding sponges and then with my usual array of micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. Between each set of three pads I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil.

When I finished sanding with the final grits of micromesh I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil and then buffed the stem and bowl with White Diamond. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and used a soft flannel buffing pad between coats to polish it. The finished pipe is shown below. The new coat of stain and the shine on the stem give the pipe a new and clean look. It is ready for its inaugural smoke. The background history sets the stage for a deeper appreciation of the pipe once I fire it up. It should smoke very well.

Using Charcoal Powder and Black Super Glue to Repair a Bite Through on a Nylon Stem

11 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

With all of the blog posts recently on repairing stems I decided to do a little work on one I had here. I wanted to use a black superglue and carbon mixture to see what I could do with this seriously damaged stem. It was a Medico pipe stem bearing the stamping F. The F stamping is a Medico brand mark but this stem was a different diameter than the shank of the pipe that it had come attached to so I replaced the stem on that pipe. I was left with this one and almost threw it away because the hole was large and on both sides of the stem. That combined with the fact that the stem was nylon would make it less desirable to repair for me. There were also deep tooth marks all around the holes. But I figured it was a perfect stem to do experiments on so went ahead with the repairs. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to highlight the tooth marks and the holes. The button itself had dents in it as well and the crease had been flattened.

I cleaned out the debris from the hole with a dental pick (rather than the Dremel and bur that Joyal uses) and sanded around the edges of the hole with 220 grit sandpaper. I removed all of the loose or damaged material from the hole so that the edges were solid. I sanded them to roughen the edges slightly to provide a surface for the glue to bond to. I used a cotton pad and alcohol to clean out the dust from sanding and picking. I cut a piece of cardboard the same shape as the slot in the stem and greased it with Vaseline. I slipped it into the slot. I made sure that the Vaseline did not ooze out into the hole on either side.

I used Stew Mac Black super glue to build up the edges of the holes. I find that I get a much stronger patch/repair if I slowly build up the patch with multiple layers of the glue. I mixed in some carbon powder taken from a charcoal digestive capsule. I put the glue on the edges of the hole; mixed in the carbon and then more glue more carbon to build the first layer. The next series of four photos show the gradual build up of the glue and carbon. The glue was allowed to cure over night between each layer of the repair. I sanded lightly between the layers to roughen the surface of the patch and smooth out some of the pitting. I find that doing so provides a surface for the new layer to bond to.

Once the patch had thoroughly cured and hardened I sanded it. I test the hardness by pressing a fingernail into the patch. If it is not hard I let it sit longer. Once it is hard I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the patch. I used a small needle file to redefine the edge of the crease. Nylon turns white when sanded and so did the patch fortunately. The patch was slightly darker than the stem at this point but would blend in with further sanding.

I sanded the stem with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches. I further redefined the crease to sharpen it. The repairs are visible in the photos as slightly darker than the stem colour at this point.

In the process of the sanding I noticed that the dents in the button itself were not filled enough so I cleaned them out and filled them with black super glue. I also used black super glue to refill some spots on the surface of the blade that seemed to be pitted after the sanding. I sanded these after they were dry using 220 grit sandpaper followed by medium and fine grit sanding sponges. Once the surfaces were flat and smooth to my liking it was time to turn to sanding with the micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pads. I went back to the sanding sponges several times when I found that some of the scratches were not adequately removed. I then repeated the wet and dry sanding with the micromesh pads until the surface was shiny and smooth and the patches blended into the stem.

I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil and when it was dry hand buffed the s tem and then resanded with the 3200-12,000 grit micromesh sanding pads.

I polished the finished stem lightly with White Diamond. You have to have a very light touch when buffing nylon as the heat the buffing creates melts the nylon and creates a mess. In this case I just lightly touched it and then gave it a light coating of carnauba wax and then hand buffed it. I gave the stem several coats of Paragon Wax and hand buffed it. The finished stem is shown in the photos below.

Reparing a Cumberland Stem on a Kaywoodie Regent Bulldog 98B

12 Replies

Blog by Greg Wolford

I’ve been hoping to add a Kaywoodie Regent to my collection for some time now. A month or so ago we were out-of-town on vacation when I happened upon one in an antique store. There were actually several pipes in this vendor’s case, most of which I wasn’t interested in. Other than the Regent, there were also two other Kaywoodies I was interested in: a Relief Grain and an extra long Canadian. They all looked to have pretty good bones in the dark little store so I made them mine.

When I got them back to where we were staying I eagerly opened them up to see what I had. I found that they were a lot dirtier and caked up than I thought. I also now got a really good look at the damage to the Regent’s stem; this was going to take some trail and error I knew.

When I got home I took some better photos, showing the damage to the stem. There were deep teeth marks on the top and bottom of the stem and the edge of the side where the clover logo is was almost gone completely. This was going to take a lot of time and some research to get it even close to decent again I now realized.

My first step was to try some experiments on a Medico VFQ. Although I ended up with a good looking and smoking pipe, the experiments were somewhat in vain: the stems on the VFQ turned out to be nylon. So I now turned to some fellow restorers on the PSU Forum for hints. tips and ideas – and they really came through with many ideas and several new articles posted by Joyal. Some of the best advice for this project come from JoeMan: the idea of using activated charcoal powder with Gorilla brand super glue.

This project took days to complete do to all the patching a rebuilding of the stem. So, I didn’t do a great job documenting it all with photos and because of the extended time frame of the project I may miss a step or two in this article; I apologize in advance for these things.

The fist thing I did (after thoroughly cleaning the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol) was try to raise the dents as much as I could with heat from a candle; there was little success here.

Now I began the filling and shaping process. This took many forms and layers: I used clear super glue, both “regular” and gel, mixing in some of the StewMac black glue at times, and also Gorilla brand super glue both with and without charcoal powder mixed into it. one of the challenges was to add strength and black-color in some places while not covering up too much of the red in the Cumberland stem. Another challenge was to build up that chewed up side so the end of the stem would have the proper shape again.

The StewMac glue was too thin and took so long to dry that it wasn’t much help to me on this project. The Gorilla glue, both “plain” and with the charcoal powder mixed in, was a big help; it is thicker and dries quite fast, especially when the powder is mixed in.

Another thing that added time was the way I went about this repair. There were multiple layers needed, as well as different thicknesses, so I would apply a patch, let it cure, and then shape it as I needed, and then start the whole process over again. I did this many times to get an acceptable result. This photo is after almost all of the layering and shaping was done:

I used needle files and a vulcrylic file for most of the shaping. I also used 220 grit sandpaper. After I had the final shape I was happy with I wet sanded with 320/400/600 and then micro mesh through 12000 grit; after 600 and every few grits thereafter I also polished the stem with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0,which helps me see if I’ve missed anything along the way. The next four images are before micro mesh and after:

As you can see, this stem came out pretty nicely and is more than useable now. Then lines came out well, to my eye, and the rebuilding and patching blended rather nicely.

I didn’t do a lot to the stummel; the nomenclature is readable but very weak. There are some small “pocket” marks but I think they give the pipe an air of character so I basically left the stummel as I found it, sans, the thick cake, mess of tars and oils in the shank, and the buildup on the rim. The rim did require a very light topping and a round or two with the medium touch up marker to give it a head start on matching the patina on this rest of the wood. I only very lightly buffed the pipe with white diamond and carnauba wax and ending with a soft clean buff and hand polish with a micro fabric cloth.

I just noticed there is a bit of wax residue that I missed in the photos. Oh well, that’s easy enough to take care of after while ….

I’m very happy with how this project came out. It will soon find its way, I think, onto my rack where I can hopefully enjoy it for many years – unless my wife learns of its collectors appeal and potential value, then I might be in trouble!

Yellow Acrylic Stem Patch – Part 2 – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)

7 Replies

Blog by Joyal Taylor

Earlier I posted a You Tube video that Joyal posted about patching this yellow acrylic stem https://rebornpipes.com/2014/07/08/stem-patch-using-amber-super-glue-joyal-taylor-aka-holymolar/ It is part of an ongoing work in progress where Joyal is experimenting with different mixture to patch a bite through in an acrylic yellow stem. This is Part 2 of the ongoing experiment. Thanks Joyal for taking us with you in this experiment.

Since the amber superglue didn’t work well on this stem, I’m trying other things.

I tried mixing yellow and orange Fiebing’s Leather Dye with clear superglue, but the dye caused the glue to set instantly, even before I could mix it.

Next, I tried StewMac 2 part clear epoxy with Fiebing’s yellow and orange dyes, which mixed well.

Before photo of only one side of the stem, but I worked on both sides:

I used a round bit in my dremel to remove the previous amber superglue patch and discoloration. Also, I roughen-up the area in front of the bit to try to re-color that area.

I tried several combinations of yellow and orange dye until I got close to the color of the stem

Close up photo looks like it may work

After shaping the bit with needle files and sanding/micromesh the epoxy.

This didn’t work out so well, either. Not only the color isn’t good but, also, the epoxy feels soft and rough to my teeth and lips.

We learn from our mistakes, so I’m going to continue experimenting with this.

Next, I’m going to remove the epoxy and try patching a third time by mixing dye powders with clear superglue.

I would appreciate it if anyone has other ideas to try for this stem repair.

Stem Patch Using Amber Super Glue, Part 1 – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)

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In a conversation with Joyal about patching a stem that had a yellow/orange tint I suggested that he try the amber super glue from Stew Mac. He replied that he had tried it and done a video on it on You Tube. He said it was too clear and not opaque enough for a good match. He sent me the link to his You Tube video on using the Stewart MacDonald Amber coloured super glue.

Since You Tube is not something I have ever done, I was intrigued with it. I thought it would be great to post the link here for you to have a look at.

The amber super glue Joyal is using is available online at:
http://www.stewmac.com/Materials_and_Supplies/Glues_and_Adhesives/Glues/StewMac_Super_Glues/StewMac_Tinted_Super_Glue.html

Part 2 is a continuation of this work and is found under the title “Yellow Acrylic Stem Patch – Part 2 – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)” can be read at this link https://rebornpipes.com/2014/07/08/yellow-acrylic-stem-patch-part-2-joyal-taylor-aka-holymolar/

Black Superglue Experiments – Joyal Taylor (aka holymolar)

6 Replies

Blog by Joyal Taylor

I have been waiting for this article since the product was mentioned on Pipe Smokers Unlimited Forums. Mark Domingues (who contributes on the blog) and Joyal both ordered the powder to try out. Both said they would experiment with it and report back. Joyal spoke with Mark and they agreed that he would post the results of his experiments. I have used Black Super Glue for a long time now in patching tooth marks and bite throughs on stems. I have dealt with the shrinkage and the long curing times and lived with them. Joyal has done all of us a service in doing this experiment and writing up the process and results of his work. Thanks Joyal for taking the time to work through this and document your process. It is well worth a read.

Experiment #1 – Black Superglue with Accelerator:

I used a round Dremel bur to cut a divot in a vulcanite stem, to simulate tooth marks.

I sprayed the area with accelerator and allowed it to dry for 5 minutes before adding superglue

I let the superglue cure for 30 minutes. As expected, the glue shrunk.

I sprayed more accelerator on the area and added another coat of superglue.

Then I sanded the patch with wet sandpaper (220 – 600 grit).

Later, I used micromesh pads (1500 – 12000 grit) and polished with white diamond and carnauba wax. It polished and shined so well that I couldn’t get a decent photo because of the camera flash.

Experiment #2 – Black Superglue with Plastex, as well as Behlen’s Furniture Powder:

I used a round dremel bur to cut three divots in a vulcanite stem, to simulate tooth marks.

Black Plastex and Behlen’s Black Furniture Powder.

Will use from left to right
Patch 1 – Black Superglue only
Patch 2 – Black Superglue w/ Black Plastex
Patch 3 – Black Superglue w/ Black Behlen Furniture Powder

Patch 1 – cured for 8 hrs, it shrunk. Added 2 additional layers and let the final layer cure for 24 hrs.
Patch 2 – cured for 8 hrs, no shrinkage but the surface was pitted
Patch 3 – cured very quickly, 5 minutes, but the surface was pitted

Sanded the patches with wet sandpaper (220 – 600 grit). Fortunately, I had overfilled Patches 2 & 3 and the sanding smoothed out the surfaces. Extra layers were not necessary.

Later, I used micromesh pads (1500 – 12000 grit) and polished with white diamond and carnauba wax. The patches polished and shined so well that I couldn’t get a decent photo because of the camera flash.

Discussion:
Adding Plastex to Superglue reduced the curing time (it didn’t shrink and one layer filled it up). Also, the Plastex adds strength to the patch and could be good for large patches and holes.

Adding Behlen Furniture Powder could be used if you’re impatient (it has something in it that causes the Superglue to cure very quickly). Too much powder will cause the glue to cure so quickly that there isn’t enough time to place it into the divot.

I haven’t tried it yet, but using the Accelerator first, then Black Superglue with Plastex could be a good way to go.

Plastex can be ordered from: http://www.plastex.net/
Behlens Furniture Powder can be ordered from: http://www.shellac.net/furniture-powder.html or http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/b…owders1oz.aspx

Medico VFQ – Save This Old Pipe Project

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Blog by Greg Wolford

I saw this old Medico V.F.Q. go through two or three eBay auctions with no bids. I have recently been admiring pipes with Cumberland stems and thought this one would make an excellent “project” pipe to see how well I could repair a Cumberland stem. (A side not here: This is not a Cumberland stem I have found out; it is nylon/plastic.) So I wrote to the seller and offered $5/shipped for the pipe, noting that I didn’t care how she shipped it, just safely and cheaply would suffice. She posted a seven-day auction with an opening bid of $5 with free shipping; I was the only bidder.

When the pipe arrived it looked as bad, maybe worse, than I had expected. The stem was really chewed up and the finish was shot. There were also several fills that I hadn’t been able to see in the (above) auction photos. I decided to work on the stem first so I broke out some tools.

The first thing I did was to try to raise the dents with the heat of a tea candle. Not being actual rubber (which I didn’t realize yet), this had little effect. Next I began with needle files to take off some of the roughness. This made some improvement and gave me a better surface to work with for patching with super glue, which I applied at this point. You can also see the shape of the pipe as a whole here when I got it.

I worked in stages over a few days on the stem: allowing the patch to cure, adding more as it shrank, touch it up a little as I went with files or sandpaper. Once it had finally cured into a patch that filled and covered all the dents on both sides I began to shape and smooth it with files and 220 grit sandpaper. The button was ragged and kept getting that way when I worked on it; it was at this point I think that I realized I was working with nylon not rubber. When this revelation struck I decided to begin working it toward the best finish I could get with micro mesh and not spend a lot more time on this stem.

From beginning to final end.

I had been doing a running post on Pipe Smokers Unlimited forum with this project. Steve, our humble leader and blog owner, contacted me with the welcome news that he had a very nice VFQ stem that he would send to me for this pipe. I excitedly accepted his gracious offer and sent him my address. When the stem shows up, if it fits, I will add photos of the end product; thank you again, Steve.

It was now time to get the bowl going, starting with a good leaning, inside and out. The pipe needed reaming and the shank was clogged with gunk, too. So I reamed it back to bare wood, pretty much, and cleaned the shank with many pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and a set of shank brushes until the final cleaners can out white; I also cleaned the stem at this point.

The finish was terrible so I took some cotton balls and acetone to the stummel, scrubbing off the years of grime and broken layer of what I assume is/was lacquer. With the old finish gone there were a few things now obvious: there were a couple of large fills to address and the bowl needed to be sanded to remove some scratches, and it needed topped.

I started with the topping process, using 220 grit sandpaper. I realized that the rim char was too deep to get all of it out without getting into the large fill near the top of the bowl’s front so I rounded the edges of the bowl to remove the edge char and see how deep that was; it wasn’t bad. I decided to leave the top for now and work on the fills; after the fills were done I came back and sanded the top smooth.

I wanted to use this pipe to experiment on, not just the stem but also the fills. In the past when I have used super glue and briar dust to patch a fill it is usually much darker than the rest of the pipe; sometimes I can blend it in well and other times not so much, so I wanted to try something different here, with an eye toward a future project. A few months ago I bought some black and amber super glues from Stewart McDonald; they offer black, amber, clear, and white. The black I plan to use on stems but the amber I thought might work well on patching fills and this was the project to try it on.

I removed one fill to start, just in case the experiment didn’t go well; the dry time on this stuff is very long so I suggest you try the accelerator if you order from them (I forgot it).

I used my dental pick, a beading awl, and a file to pick out the old putty. After the putty was out I dripped a bit of the amber glue into the hole, leaving extra to feather when I sanded it. I also used the end of the awl to make sure the glue went all the way into the hole. Then I waited until it cured a few hours, tapped it down with a tamper, in case there was any air pockets, and let it finish curing. When it was set through, several hours, I began to sand with 220 grit paper. And I was really pleased with the initial results: an almost perfect match to my eyes!I then decided to take out all the fills and patch them the same way, with amber glue and nothing else.The waiting game began again. Some hours later I noticed that the large fill at the top needed more glue so I dripped in another layer and waited more. This morning I finally got to start sanding the new fills down, and the entire bowl as I went. The results on these fills were a bit varied from the first one I soon saw. Even when sanded smooth a couple of the fills weren’t as nice and I have a few ideas why: I didn’t use the awl to make sure the glue went in all the way, I didn’t go back and tamp it part way through the curing process, and I may not have gotten all the pink-filler out. The next time I do this I will be sure to remember these items!

Next I prepared the bowl for staining. I finished sanding with 220, then 320, and finally 400 grit paper and wiped the bowl down with alcohol to remove any dust left behind. Then I began staining the bowl with a medium brown stain marker. I applied one coat as evenly as I could and let it dry about 10 minutes. Then, the secret I think to using these, I applied a second coat in small segments, wiping it with a paper towel to even out the color as I went. The rim got 3 coats of stain. Next I gave the stummel a light buff with Tripoli, and the entire pipe a buff with white diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax, then a buff on a clean wheel before a final hand buffing with a microfiber cloth. I’m very happy with the end results of this multi day project. I think the fills look and blend much better, especially the first one. And I believe with a little more tweaking and experimenting this is a very good option for patching fills. From a $5 eBay catch to, well, it’s probably still not worth much – but I’m glad in the end that I took the time to Save This Old Pipe.

EDIT

The new stem that Steve sent me arrived in the mail. I have written about and post the story, along with new photos, here.

Black Superglue Patches (ring around the collar) – by Joyal Taylor aka holymolar

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Blog by Joyal Taylor

This is the third article by Joyal (known online as holymolar). Again it is with pleasure that I put this on the blog. Joyal had emailed me that he was working on this piece for the blog. I was looking forward to reading his thoughts on this. Others have mentioned the problem to me when they used the black super glue. Joyal has done some good experimenting and I am pretty certain he has gotten to the root of the problem. Thanks Joyal for taking time to write-up your experience and tips on this patching process. This is a what rebornpipes is all about – taking ideas and experimenting and improving them. Without further introduction have a read on what Joyal has learned.

The first few times that I patched stem holes and deep tooth marks with black superglue, I ended up with white margins like these: (very evident when a flashlight is shined on the patch at an angle).

At first, I thought that I must have contaminated it by sanding before the glue had totally set. But now, I’m convinced it was because I didn’t remove all of the oxidation beforehand. I’ve learned a few tricks with black superglue patching.

Here’s the before photos of a Dr Grabow stem that I recently patched. It’s not a high quality vulcanite but a relatively soft rubber.

Tip #1 – Absolutely ALL oxidation and oils must be removed before patching. There are many ways to remove oxidation but, for this, I prefer the most aggressive method that I know – A bleach bath for an hour or more. Then a 1 hour alcohol bath to remove the bleach smell and taste. The bleach causes surface pitting but, in my mind, that means it has removed the deepest oxidation. (Sometimes I’ll follow with a Oxyclean bath as well). After the bleach and alcohol, lots and lots of sanding is necessary to smooth down the pitting. I use 220-800 grit with water.

Tip #2 – Clean out the hole with a small round burr in a Dremel. Remove all oxidation and discolorations from inside the hole. “Feather” the edge which makes for better blending of the glue/stem junction and it also removes any microscopic particles of oxidation that may be hiding in the ragged edges.

Tip #3 – Now use 1000 grit sandpaper on the edges to smooth it out some more. Remove any dust or oils with an alcohol wipe.

I sand down the overfill (220-2500 grit) until it’s even with the surface. (If necessary, I’ll freshen up the bit with needle files). Then micro mesh (4000 -12000), carnauba, and buff.

Here’s the after photos on that Dr Grabow stem before final polishing/waxing – .so it can be seen better without the glare of the camera flash on fully polished stems. No more “ring around the collar”.

Sometimes, on good quality vulcanite, I have difficulty seeing where the patches were.

Restoring a Second set of Twins – English Made Tinder Box Liverpools

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In a recent pipe hunt I picked up this second set of twin pipes. They came from the same collection as the pair of Royal Coachman bent billiards. These are stamped The Tinder Box over Meerschaum Lined on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar on the right side of the shank. I stated in the title that they are English-made and I came to that conclusion by the shape, size, staining and overall look of the pipe. Though I cannot definitively prove that, they are very similar to an older Orlik pipe of the same shape that I repaired and restored. The staining and finish were in very good shape. There were relatively few dents and dings in the bowl and shank though both were very grimy and greasy. The rims were clean other than the slight tar build up on the meer portion. The briar outer rim was in great shape with no nicks of dents. The stems were oxidized and had calcium build up all over the surface. There were also sticky places on the stem that looked like the residue from a sales label. Since they did not have a label when I bought them I am thinking this maybe the original labels on the pipe stems. Inside the bowl was slightly caked and had tobacco residue stuck to the walls. The inside of the shank and stem were very dirty with tarry buildup. The slot on both mouthpieces had narrowed with the tars.
The meerschaum lining on the two was in great shape except for the bottom of the bowl. The lining on the bowl of the top pipe above and below shows the break through on the lining. It was worn all the way through to the briar. The size of the hole was about the size and shape of a pencil. The lining on the bottom pipe was not as worn but was significantly below the airway and showed damage. It was very thin if my measurements were correct. Both of these bowls would need to be addressed in a restoration.
I cleaned out the inside of the bowl and the shank to prepare for patching the bottom of each bowl. I used cotton swabs, isopropyl alcohol and pipe cleaners to remove the tars and grime from the inside of both. I also used a fine sanding sponge to remove the tars from the top of the rim and the meer lining. All of this was done to prepare for the repairs I was planning for the inside of the bowl.
I scrubbed the outside of the bowl and shank with Murphy’s Oil Soap on cotton pads to remove the grime and sticky substances on them both. I also rubbed down the stem with the oil soap.
I mixed a small batch of Plaster of Paris in a plastic bowl that I use for mixing and cleaning pipes. I generally pour in the dry powder and then use an ear syringe to add water slowly to the mix to get the right consistency for a patch. I learned the hard way to do this. I used to pour in the powder and then pour in water. I had to keep adding back and forth to get the mix right and always ended up with excess material. This way I can actually mix it in very minute batches, and add water as needed to keep it workable.
I inserted a pipe cleaner into the airway and into the bottom of the bowl to keep the airway from clogging with the mixture. I then pressed the mixture into the bottom of each bowl with the spoon end of a pipe nail and a dental pick. The trick is to push into the bottom and use the dental pick to push it into the holes. Once it is tightly packed by the pick I use the spoon to smooth it out on the walls of the bowl and the flat head to press the bottom of the bowl. In this case the bowl was somewhat conical so I used the spoon the entire time.
I cleaned up the bowl and smoothed out the surface of the repair with my finger. I wet the end of it with water and then rubbed it against the walls and bottom. I do this to knock down the ridges left behind by the spoon. I cannot get it absolutely smooth but it is smooth enough that after a few smokes it matches the surface of the meer lining. In the photo below the top pipe shows that it took the largest amount of patching. It was the bowl that was worn through at the bottom. The crack at the airway is actually not a crack but a pipe cleaner end pushed into the bowl. The bottom bowl took far less of the mixture to patch. I set them aside to cure overnight. The last photo of the bowls shown below shows the bowls after the plaster had cured. They were hard and slightly rough to the touch. I wet my finger again and rubbed down the ridges on the sides and bottom of the bowl until the surface was smoother. I sanded the patch with 220 grit sandpaper and with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge. I wiped down the inside of the bowl with a wet cotton swab to remove the dust from the sanding.
I sanded the stems with 220 grit sandpaper and then a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. I buffed the stems with red Tripoli and then took them back to the work table. I sanded them both with my usual micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and then dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I had to stop several times and go back to the sandpaper and sponges to get the deep oxidation. I repeated the sanding with the micromesh pads. I wiped the stems down with Obsidian Oil. When it had dried I buffed the stems and bowls with White Diamond and then gave the pipes a buff with carnauba wax. I finished by buffing with a soft flannel buffing pad to polish. The photos below show the finished pipe. I will let them cure for a few days longer before loading them and giving them a first smoke. I have found that as the plaster heats when smoking it becomes harder and even more cured. It makes a durable and lasting repair.

Restoring a Savinelli De Luxe 132EX Pot

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Blog by Flatticus

It is with pleasure that I introduce you to Flatticus. Flatticus is the designer and fabricator of the rustication tool that I wrote about a few posts back. We met via Smokers Forums and also through the blog. We exchanged quite a few messages and emails back and forth over the past months on refurbishing pipes and in building the rusticator. Flatticus has been reading the blog for quite a while now and I have asked him to feel free to write-up some of his work for us to read. Flatticus is a great communicator and does some excellent work in his refurbishing. Without further ado I will let Flatticus introduce himself and this pipe that he has restored.

Hi all, Flatticus here, an amateur to this wonderful hobby. This blog has taught me everything I know about restoration (but far from everything Steve knows, yet) and I’m excited to have a chance to share some of my recent efforts, all with methods learned right here at Reborn Pipes. I recently came across a large lot of pipes with some hidden gems, including this enormous Savinelli De Luxe 132 EX Pot. Even through the grime, it was clear at the outset that this was a beautiful piece of briar. I was a bit hesitant from the outset, though, because I’ve never meddled with a pipe this nice. Still, there’s only one way to learn!
As you can see, the oxidation was extremely heavy, enough to hide the significant tooth damage to the button and bite zone. The pipe itself was grimy in the extreme, and while a touch of murphy’s oil soap took enough grime off to assure me this wasn’t heat damage, it wouldn’t touch the majority of the blackening on the pipe. First step, then, was to put the pipe in my alcohol bath, a technique I first read about in Steve’s post here. So I reamed the excess cake, and dropped it in the bath. The stem got a quick scrub with some pipe cleaners, and was already pretty clean, so into the Oxyclean it went for 2.5 hours.
After the soak and a little scrubbing on with the Magic Eraser pads, actually bought as melamine foam on the cheap off eBay, but it’s the identical product, the stem looked great! At least unless you’ve read the recent post by Joyal Taylor here. Luckily, I had, so I knew to grab my trusty flashlight.
Oxidation was everywhere, and under an angled flashlight I could see it through the length of the stem. Ok, then I knew I had to sand. But first to address the bite marks. Step one was to try the heat gun, as I learned first here.
Unfortunately the marks were too deep to come out completely from the heat, so I filled them with black superglue, a technique I found an in-depth explanation of, among other places on the site, here. In the meantime I turned to the stummel itself while the glue was drying.
The bowl top was scratched pretty badly, and had some definite darkening to contend with. I knew I’d have to top it like Steve showed me in many posts like this one. I grabbed my topping board, actually a granite surface plate I bought from woodcraft years ago for lapping wood plane soles, and now use almost exclusively for pipes.
At 320 grit, my preferred poison for this procedure, the rim cleaned up quickly, but I soon enough decided that to eliminate all of the darkening I’d have to top the bowl lower than I liked. I came close, but left some of the color rather than lose the original shape. As you can see, the bowl was also a bit out of round (and still is, to a degree), which I went after with folder sandpaper to smooth out the curve without reshaping the bowl. The pipe had 2-3 fills, but I was confident they’d blend into the stain.
After this was done I gave the bowl one coat, applied twice with flame, of a medium brown Fiebing’s Dye, diluted to about 75/25 with isopropyl alcohol and set it to dry while I turned back to the stem.

Unfortunately after a quick bit of sanding it was clear the stem needed more glue to be built back up, so I added some and tried to be patient while it dried.
Once it had, I began sanding at 320 again, at this level with an eye towards shaping more than polishing. This is definitely a weak spot for me, so I’m glad for the practice, but I need more!
After a lot of trial and error (mostly error) I finally had the stem shaped properly and sanded through 320, 600, 800, 1000 grit in sandpaper and the full range of micromesh pads from 1500 to 12000. It was looking nice and shiny, so I gave it a thick rubbing with obsidian oil and set it out to dry for about a half hour.
At this point it was time to hit the buffing wheels. As you can see, I buff on the lathe, with a three wheel mandrel not made by Beall but suspiciously similar, and with tripoli, white diamond, and carnauba wax. One thing I’ll point out is that odd tool in the foreground, which is a wheel rake. You can get the job done with a hacksaw blade, but if you want clean buffing wheels, these are hard to beat.
After the three-part buffing, I chucked a 4” flannel wheel into my cordless drill for a final polish by hand. For a rank amateur, I must say myself, this turned out to be a very beautiful pipe.

Some pictures of the finished product:

Looking back, I still have an awful lot to learn, that much is clear. For one thing, that rim fill didn’t blend quite as well as I was confident it would. All in all, though, I’m pleased as punch at having learned how to do any of this, and I have Steve and the great contributors to this site to thank for it.

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