Tag Archives: repairing a cracked shank

Restoring and Restemming an Angelo Saddle Stem Bulldog

by Steve Laug

While I was travelling Rob stopped by with a bag containing a pipe that was gift from his daughter. It was a mess with a very thick cake in the bowl, burns and damage to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The finish was very worn and the shiny varnish coat was spotty and very damaged. The shank end was coated with a lot of grime and oils and had cracks on the topside of the diamond shank on both right and left sides. The tenon was stuck in the shank and the stem was wrapped in electrical tape to hold it in the shank. The button on the top side was chomped and showed a lot of tooth marks. The underside of the button was cracked and a chunk was missing. The pipe appeared to be a basket pipe from Italy and bore the stamp Angelo on the top left side under the dirt and debris. The crack ran through a portion of it and obscured it. It was a brand I was familiar with and had worked on before. Here are some photos of the pipe as it was initially fit together. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. I also removed the tenon from the shank using a pair of pliers and took a photo of the parts.I took a photo of the stamping on the left topside of the shank and captured crack on that side of the shank as well.Before I started my cleaning up the and crafting a new stem for the pipe I wanted to have a bit of information on the Angelo brand. I personally like to have the background so that when I am working on a pipe I know who carved or made it originally. Then as I work on it I can carry on a dialogue with them (at least in my mind) about my changes. I turned to PipePhil’ site for information (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a6.html#angelo). I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section and the sidebar information below the photo.Second brand used by the Rovera family (Angelo and Damiano) who produces Ardor, Roverart and Rovera.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl. You can see the spotty varnish coat of the finish on the bowl and shank in the photos. I started the reaming with a Pipnet Pipe Reamer using the second and third cutting heads to take back the cake to the bare walls. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape the remnants. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. It looked. much better. I decided to try and remove the spotty varnish coat. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads to remove as much as I could. I would need to do some sanding on it as there were still dark spots on the finish that would need to be removed. I went through my bands and found a ferrule style diamond band from the shank end. It was a good fit from the look of it. I heated it with a lighter and pressed it onto the cracked shank. It fit very well and brought the cracks together. It slight covered the “o” on the end of the Angelo stamping. I sanded the top of the bowl with a folded piece of 320 sandpaper to clean up the rim damage and the inner edge. Once it was flattened I used a wooden sphere to further clean up the rim top and to minimize the damage on the inner edge of the bowl. I sanded to remove the darkening around the rim and inner and outer edge of the bowl. It is frustrating, but I forgot to take photos at this point so I posed the bowl after my polishing to show what I had done.I stained the bowl with dark brown aniline stain (Feibings Shoe Dye) and flamed it to set it in the briar. Once the stain cured, I sanded the bowl with sanding pads – 320 -3500 to smooth out the finish and remove all the scratches and excesses. Once again, I forgot to take these photos. I think I am out of the habit of photographing the pipes as I work on them. After sanding the bowl with the 320-3500 grit sanding pads I moved on to polish the briar with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris left behind. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm and set it aside to let the product do its work. After about 10 minutes I buffed it off with a soft cloth to polish the briar. The pipe bowl and polished band looked very good. I really am rusty after a month of not restoring any pipes. I forgot to clean out the inside of the shank. I used cotton swabs, pipe cleaners – both bristle and fluffy and isopropyl alcohol to work over the inside of the shank. It is much cleaner now that I remembered to do it!I polished the nickel band on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth to give it a shine and protect it from oxidizing. It looked much better with the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the new stem I needed to fit on the pipe. The previous stem (origianal??) had many cracks in the saddle portion, the tenon was loose and the whole thing had been wrapped tightly with electrical tape. I went through my stems and found one that would work well wit the bowl. In the photo it looks longer but it is actually about the same length. The tenon will need to be reduced in diameter and the casting marks removed but the stem should look great once it is finished.The next phojto showed the bowl before I had finished it. I started fitting the stem to the shank before I worked on the bowl finish. I used two files to reshape the tenon. I shortened the tenon to match the depth of the shank with the Dremel and sanding drum. Once I had the length correct and the fit of the tenon correct I put it on the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the new look it had with the new stem. It still needed much more work to smooth out the stem surface but it looked good on the shank with the band. I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the castings on the sides of the stem and the button surface. I sanded the saddle portion and the top and underside of the blade with the 320 sandpaper. It looked better and the fit to the band on the shank end was very good.I sanded the stem further with 320-3500 sanding pads. I worked on the surface of the stem to give it a smooth finish. The finish on the stem was getting smoother with the work.I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. It began to take on a rich glow and the surface was very smooth. This reworked and restemmed Angelo Straight Bulldog has a beautiful finish now that the varnish coat has been removed and the bowl restained. It truly has a new lease on life. The medium brown/black finish gives depth to the grain around the bowl and shank. The newly fit polished black vulcanite stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Angelo Straight Bulldog is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/49 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. The fellow who dropped it off will pick up his pipe on the weekend. I am looking forward to seeing what he thinks of it.

Discovery of a Bucket List Pipe – a Mike Butera Textured Classic Billiard

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by Steve Laug

While I was in Idaho with Jeff I worked on a few pipes that caught my eye. The first one I chose to work on is made by a pipemaker I have had on my Bucket List of pipes I wanted work on and potentially own. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA on 03/08/2025. I would call the pipe a Billiard shaped pipe with a slightly bent acrylic saddle stem. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Butera [over] Textured Classic. Against the shank end it is stamped 3 Star. From the heavy cake in the bowl and the thick lava coated rim top I could tell the previous owner loved aromatic tobaccos. The top of the shank had a small ½ inch crack on the right side from the end toward to the bowl. The finish was heavily rusticated almost with a similar style rustication as a Castello Sea Rock. The finish was dirty and dusty in the valleys of the rustication. The shank was black, tarry and oily. The stem sat well against the cracked shank. It was dirty with calcification and some with thick oil and tar in the airway from the tenon to the button. There were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The top side of the saddle stem bore the M. Butera signature in faded white. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top had a thick coat of lava overflowing on top with damage around the top and inner edge. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks and calcification on the acrylic saddle stem surface.The stamping is very clear and readable in the photo below. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to show the parts of the pipe. The finish on the pipe is very worn and tired looking. The signature on the top of the saddle stem is hidden under the grime and debris on the surface.I have been keeping an eye out for a Mike Butera carved pipe for a very long time. I believe that I met Mike at the Chicago Pipe Show many years ago and was struck by the beauty of the pipes that he carved. I was not in the position to purchase one then as I had already spent my budget. It was one of those times that you go home regretting not taking the plunge. Now some 25-30 years ago we found one that caught my attention. I was glad to be visiting in Idaho with Jeff and was able to see it firsthand. The above photos really don’t capture the depth and beauty of the rustication and the shape. I decided to start working on it at Jeff’s.

Before I started my work on the pipe I looked up some details on Mike Butera’s pipes. I turned first to Pipephil’s site to get a quick summary (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b8.html). I have included a screen capture of the section on the brand as well as the sidebar information. The pipe I am working on is stamped like the first one in the photo below. The info below the first photo gives a date of carving for the pipe. The embossed signature on the stem was done in the mid 1980s.Artisan: Mike Butera started making pipes in the early 1980s and attended his first pipe show as pipemaker in 1985. But his responsibilities at the head of a large tobacco distribution company kept him more and more out of the workshop since 2005. Production 1997: ~150 pipes/year. Production 2007: a few pipes/year.

From there I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Butera) to read the article there on the brand. It is a short article and well worth the time to read. I learned much from the article regarding the pipes he made. I also remembered that I have smoked several tins of Butera pipe tobacco over the years. I quote the article below.

Mike Butera, courtesy TobaccoDays.com

Michael Butera’s pipes are very hard to find these days because of minimal current production and high collector appeal. His pipes are still Butera’s first love, but the responsibilities of owning large pipe tobacco distribution company and a very successful line of premium cigars kept him out of the workshop more than he would like during his active tobacco and cigar business years. Twenty+ years ago, at his peak pipe production, he was making 150 to 200 pipes a year and traveling to Italy regularly to select the best briar. Now, even though he has sold his pipe tobacco business and his cigar distribution, he makes only a few pipes for several repeat customers and for a couple of pipe Shows each year in his extensive garage workshop at his Houston home. You can continue to see him at the Chicago Show where he exhibits his latest pipes and some of his vast collection and where he leads the Pipemaking Seminar with Lee Von Erck before the Show. Along with Lee he is considered the Dean of American Pipemakers. Butera had a great deal to do with the training of Michael Frey, Steve Weiner, Larry Roush and Premal Chheda.

Often referred to as America’s greatest pipemaker, Butera won awards for his pipes on a regular basis. At the first pipe show he ever attended as a pipemaker, in 1985, he won the Best Standard Shape award. He won awards every year he actively presented pipes at Pipe Collectors International shows – nine straight years. His pipes have achieved legendary status, coveted by collectors and commanding impressive prices. He attained this level of respect through a simple philosophy: “I will not market anything that doesn’t represent the best, to my own taste, in its category.”

In an article, called Go West, which originally appeared in the French Pipe Mag, Erwin Van Hove has this to say about the dramatic influence Mike Butera has had on the American Pipe making scene:

“At the end of the 70s and the beginning of the 80s, a comet blazed across the heavens of the American pipe universe. Mike Butera, an American insurance broker and passionate pipe smoker, an admirer of the technical perfection and of the aesthetics of the famous Italian and Danish pipe makers, made a pilgrimage to the Mecca of pipe design. He travelled throughout Europe, visiting among others one of the most prestigious carvers of that time, Baldo Baldi. During those travels he became friends with Carlo Scotti, the owner of the most famous Italian brand, Castello. He studied their techniques as well as the refined aesthetics of their creations.”

“Mike Butera had found his vocation. After returning to the United States not only did he enter the cigar and tobacco trade, he also started to carve pipes. He did so meticulously, with the soul of a perfectionist. Straight away he won a competition for pipe makers, amazing colleagues and connoisseurs alike by the quality of his work. This had never been seen before! An American was able to produce pipes that could rival European high grades, pipes that were beautiful and presented an execution and finish that were beyond reproach. The era of the ugly and monstrous freehands was over. The genuine American high grade had been born. From then on, the American pipe makers had a role model, a point of reference. More than just an admired carver, Mike Butera became a living legend. All passionate pipe lovers knew his name and his reputation, but those who had the privilege of smoking a Butera were few. Being an overworked businessman, he produced only a few pipes a year. His creations are therefore, even to this day, prized collectable pieces that sell for exorbitant prices.”

I started my work on the pipe by reaming it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaning up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scraped the lava built up on the rim top with a small blade. It looked much better after the clean up. I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I removed the tars and oils with the cleaners and the alcohol. The first photo shows the crack on the right top side of the shank.I scrubbed the rusticated surface of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the debris and dust in the depths of the rustication. I rinsed it with warm water. I dried off the briar with a soft cloth. It looked very good at this point in the process. I wiped the bowl down with EVO (extra virgin olive oil) and a paper towel to enliven the depths and heights of the rustication. It really took on depth and contrast between the surfaces of the finish. Once I got home I would rub it down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I took a photo of the crack in the shank. It is on the right side of the shank toward the top. It is fairly wide open. I will need to band it to do the repair.I set the pipe aside until I returned to Canada. The first afternoon home, I chose a thin brass band to bind the shank together. I reduced the depth of the band on a topping board. I used a tooth pick to put some clear CA glue in the cracked then quickly pressed the band onto the shank end. It touches the 3 Star stamp on the underside of the shank but it truly brought the crack together. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I smoothed out the walls and they looked very good and smooth once finished. It looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. Now back to the stem. I cleaned it with a tooth brush and Soft Scrub cleaner. I worked over the surface to remove the debris on the surface. I rinsed it with warm water to remove the soap and debris. I took photos of the stem after the clean up. It looked very good. I filled in the tooth marks on the top and the underside of the acrylic stem with black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I used a file to flatten them into the surface. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem further with 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the stem surface. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I took photos of the stem after the sanding.I touched up the stamping on the top of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I worked it into the stamp with a tooth pick. Once it had cured I scraped off the excess and then sanded it with a 1500 grit sanding pad. It looked much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. This is a beautiful Butera Textured Classic 3 Star Billiard with an acrylic saddle stem. The thin brass band works for me and is a pleasant break between shank and the stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the heavily rusticated Sea Rock style finish and the cut of the briar work well together to give the bowl a very tactile feel in the hand. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The Mike Butera Textured Classic 3 Star Billiard polished up pretty nicely. The finish took on life with the buffing. The rich stains work well with the polished acrylic stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.12 ounces/60 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be loading it with a rich Virginia tobacco and enjoying it on my porch on the weekend. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Restoring the first of six pipes for a Vancouver Pipeman – An Amorelli ** Hand Made Bent Egg

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by Steve Laug

Earlier this week I received an email from Stephen regarding a few more pipe projects that he had for me to work on. He dropped them off here yesterday for me to work on. There were six pipes in the lot. Two were his that I had worked on a few years ago – a Mayfair 1005 rusticated tree stump and a Jost Supreme. Both were favourite pipes of his. One was a Amorelli Bent Billiard that he purchased on a trip to Italy. The final three were pipes that belonged to his father who would soon be visiting him in Vancouver – a Brigham full bent four dot 4244, a Savinelli Portofino Bent Pot and a Bent Rhodesian with no name stamped on the shank sides. Stephen texted me this photo of the pipes before he sent them.This morning I decided to work on the pipe that Stephen brought home with him from Italy. It is a unique looking Bent Egg or Billiard. It is a beautiful grained piece of briar that I can appreciate why he chose it. There is a white acrylic disc on the end of the stem that provides a separation between the bowl and the horn stem. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the and reads Amorelli ** [followed by] Hand Made [over] what looks like a clock stamp [over] Italy. The clock appears to read 7:05 or 20 minutes to 2. I have no idea what that means at this point in the process. The briar is dirty from use with a moderate cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. The top of the shank had developed a series of small cracks that ran from just behind the bowl junction to almost the shank end. The horn stem appeared to be older and had some tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. It is beautiful striated with dark and lighter strips running the length of the stem. It is narrowly tapered backward to the button. There an inset brass (gold??) bar logo in the top of the stem. It reminds me of horn stems from the past in terms of the shape of the stem and button and the slot. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I have included them below. I took a photo of the stem surfaces and the bowl and rim to give a sense of condition of the pipe. You can see the cake in bowl and the lava overflow on the edges and rim top of the bowl. The horn stem surface is very dirty and you can see the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed. It is a great looking pipe.I could not find any information on the Savinelli ** Hand Carved online so I wrote an email to Savinelli to see if I could gather any information. They responded and pointed me in the right direction. The pipe is actually an Amorelli ** Hand Carved Italy pipe. I have edited the blog to reflect that new information.

I turned first to Pipephil’s site for a short introduction to the brand and was not disappointed by what a I found (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a5.html). I have included the screen capture below as well as the side bar information on the grading of the pipes.
Artisan: Salvatore Amorelli
Grading (ascending): 1 to 5 stars. 5 stars pipes may be differentiated by some golden stars:
(* * * * * or * * * * *)

I turned to Pipedia to see what I could learn about the Amorelli brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Amorelli). There was a short article full of information. I quote from it below.

An Amorelli pipe is recognized by an unmistakable logo: an 18k Gold bar, placed in the centre of the junction of the shank and mouthpiece, and which allows a perfect positioning. Projecting and making with a scrupulous rigour, Amorelli refers to the most exigent pipe connoisseur who will be able to recognize a very high smoking quality and prize a processing of the highest level, rich in refined details. It climaxes in a delicate process of finishing, where esteemed Brazilian bee waxes are used to feed and exalt the fibre of the wood, allowing the pipe to breathe.

25 years have passed since Totò Amorelli entered the scene with his creations, inimitable still today: busbee, frac, lyra, fish-tail, nayl, unicum, interpretaions of a new point of view and to realize a pipe. The 18k Gold logo, only sicilian and selected briar, 5 years seasoned and interpreted piece by piece…

What will the near future hold? A new line of pipes for everyone: “La Siciliana”, together with Amorelli pipes, made from the best briar collected from Sicilian Mountains overlooking Taormina, cut, boiled and seasoned directly in the new workshop of Caltanissetta, everything overseen by Totò.

The pipe I was working on was an Amorelli made of Sicilian Briar! It was a 2 star grade pipe which fits the great grain on this particular pipe. Now what Stephen had told me about his visit to Sicily came together.

Now it was time to start working on the pipe itself. The bowl was moderately caked and I wanted to clean it up before I repaired the crack in the shank. I reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer using the second and third cutting head to trim the cake back. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife to clean up the remnants leaving bare briar. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl was significantly cleaner. I scraped the heavy lava coat on the rim top with the edge of the Fitsall knife. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and mortise as well as the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was dirty but it cleaned up very well. Now it was time to tackle the crack in the shank. I took a photo of it to capture the issue in the pipe before I cleaned it up. I used a Dremel and a microdrill bit to drill a pilot hole at each end of the crack in the shank. I used a tooth pick and CA glue to fill in the crack and the pilot holes in the shank. I pressed some briar dust into the glue to build them up. I flattened the repair with a small half round file and a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend them in. It is starting to look better. I sanded the repair area with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the area. I used a Maple stain pen to blend it into the surrounding briar.With the cracks repaired I moved on to pressure fit a thin brass band on the shank end. I used a tooth pick to spread glue around the inside of the band. Once it was ready I pressed the band onto the shank end. I wiped down the excess glue with a damp cloth. I took photos of the newly banded shank and it looked very good. I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with each pad and wiping it down with a damp cloth between pads. It took on a rich shine. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. It works to clean, restore and preserve the briar. I let it do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The pipe looks incredibly good at this point in the process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the horn stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter with 220 grit sandpaper.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris and dust. The stem looked very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. This Amorelli ** Hand Made Italy Bent Egg is a great looking pipe now that it has been repaired and restored. The brown stains really highlight the grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the horn stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Amorelli ** Hand Made Bent Egg fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50 grams /1.76 ounces. I have five more of Stephen’s pipes to work on. Once I have finished I will get them back to him to enjoy with his father. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Repairing and Restoring the last of the Six pipes – a Damaged Plateau Rim Top on a Knute of Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

In November I received an email from Mario about working on some of his Dad’s pipes. Here is what he wrote to me.

I am desperately seeking help restoring and repairing some of my dad’s smoking pipes. I have tried reaching out to the only two known pipe repair establishments I could find in the entire country but one is not currently taking repair orders and the other said she didn’t want to try to repair these pipes without having even seen them. Would you be willing to take on the repairs or can you recommend anyone? Thank you much!!!—Mario

I wrote him back and asked him to send me photos of the pipes. He sent some single photos of the meerschaum bowl and stem, several of the leather clad Canadian and the photo of the rack and six pipes shown below. I looked through the photos and this is what I saw. There were two leather clad pipes a Canadian and a Pot. Both of them were cracked on the shanks and had been self-repaired with wire to hold the cracked shank together. The leather cladding was torn and the stitching was rotten and broken around the bowl. To me they were both unrepairable. There was a lovely older Meerschaum figural with a horn stem that needed a good cleaning and repairs to the horn stem. There were two Knute Freehand pipes with original stems that were dirty but fixable. The plateau on the smooth one had a large chunk of briar missing. There was a Wilshire Dublin with a chewed and misfit stem. Finally, there was a billiard that had been restemmed with a fancy GBD saddle stem on it. They were a messy lot but I told him to send them on to me. They arrived yesterday and the condition of the pipes in the photos was confirmed. They were a mess and needed much work. I have included Mario’s group photo below to show the lot. This afternoon I decided to start working on the final of the six pipes from Mario – a Knute of Denmark smooth freehand. It had a plateau rim top and shank end. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls and a heavy lava coat in the plateau rim top. There was a missing chunk of briar or perhaps a fill that had come loose in the plateau finish on the right side running from the inner edge almost to the outer edge. The finish was dirty and had grime ground into the sides of the bowl. The stamping on the underside read Knute [over] of Denmark. There was a hairline crack on the underside of the shank extending from the shank end over the K in the Knute stamp. It had a fancy turned, vulcanite saddle stem that had lots of tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. There was a split on the top side of the stem and on the button. I took photos of the pipe when I unpacked it to examine it. I have included those below. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both. You can see the debris in the bowl and lava in the plateau surface of the rim top. The missing chunk on the right topside of the bowl is also very visible with debris and lava in the hole. I also took photos of the heavily oxidized and calcified stem showing the heavy tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was also a hairline crack in the topside of the stem from the button edge forward.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportion and appearance of the pipe without the stem.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to remind myself of the provenance of the pipe. I remembered that it was linked to Karl Erik as I have worked on quite a few Knute Freehands. I wanted to know where this pipe fit into the Karl Erik lines so I turned to the first of two sites that I always check to gather information on a brand. I turned to the first source of information site – Pipephil’s (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html) got a quick overview on the brand once again connecting it to Karl Erik. I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik). Pipedia had this great picture of Karl Erik Ottendahl and I decided to include it here as a reminder of the artisan who first carved and released this pipe. Reminded of the tie to Karl Erik, I knew a bit about the pipe at hand. I turned to address the pipe itself. There it is clearly identified and linked to Karl Erik Ottendahl. It is designated as a second and frequently having rustication. The interesting thing is that his pipe does not look like a second at all and I wonder if the Knute is a line of Karl Erik’s rather than a second. Who knows? This one is a beautifully grained smooth Freehand pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe and bring it back to life. The large pit in the plateau rim top and the crack in the shank needed to be repaired and the bowl brought back to life.

I started my work on the pipe by starting the process of cleaning the pipe. I carefully reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer remove from the bowl leaving bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed the remaining debris. I sanded the bowl walls smooth with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scraped the lava coat off the rim top – both the rusticated portion and the smooth ring of the meerschaum bowl top with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and removed all of it. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to clean off the lava and debris in the plateau. I rinsed it off with warm running water and dried it with a soft towel. It looked much better and the rim top looked clean. The grain stood out clearly. I cleaned out the deep pit in the rim top. It appeared that the hole was original a fill that had fallen out. I used qtips and alcohol to clean out the grime in the hole in the plateau.I rebuilt the missing fill with clear CA glue and briar dust. Once it was in place I used a brass bristle wire brush to give it patterns like the rest of the rim top.I sanded out the inner edge of the bowl with a dowel and 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair on the edge and round out the edge. I went over it again with the brass bristle brush and blew off the dust. It was looking quite good.I used a black stain pen to fill in the valleys in the plateau on the rim top and on the shank end. The black will give depth to the finish once it is sanded and polished.I repaired the hairline crack in the shank underside with clear CA glue and held it closed until the repair cured. Once it hardened it was ready to be sanded. I carefully sanded it around the stamping so as not to damage it.I sanded the smooth briar and the high spots on the plateau with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the briar down between each sanding pad. The briar took on a rich shine and the grain stood out in all its glory. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down the bowl after each sanding pad. Some of the photos of the sanding are a bit out of focus but overall the bowl took on a shine.
I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the nooks and crannies in the plateau on the rim top and the shank end with a horsehair shoe brush. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I mixed a bowl coating with activated charcoal powder and sour cream. I put a pipe cleaner in the shank and applied the mixture to the walls of the bowl with a folded pipe cleaner. I wanted to protect the bowl repair while Mario enjoyed smoking it again. I set it aside to cure overnight. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed it down with Soft Scrub to deal with the oxidation and calcification on the stem surface. It looked much better once scrubbed and on the centre of the stem it had a Crown K logo that was often on Knute of Denmark pipes.I filled in the deep bite marks on the top and underside of the stem with black CA glue. It is strengthened with charcoal powder and rubber. I let the glue cure and flattened the repairs with a small needle file. I reshaped the button and it began to take shape and look much better. I paused the process and touched up the Crown K on the stem top with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I worked it into the stamp on the stem and then rubbed it off with a soft cloth. I followed that by wiping the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth. The stem looked better and the stamping was clear and readable.I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the stem surface and also remove more of the oxidation in the stem surface.I sanded the stem to smooth it out with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. It was beginning to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it another rub down with Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I put the stem back on the Knute of Denmark Smooth Freehand Sitter pipe and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful Karl Eric Made Knute of Denmark Freehand – the fancy turned stem and plateau rim top and shank end give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches wide x 1 7/8 inches long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.22 ounces /63 grams. This is the final pipe of 6 pipes that am restoring for Mario from his Dad’s collection. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this newly restored pipe. Later this week I will pack them up and send them home to him. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it!

Repairing a Broken Tenon and Cracked shank on a Rusticated Kriswill Bernadotte Design 1210

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Blog by Steve Laug

I decided to put my hand to something different this afternoon. I have been working on a lot of pipes that Jeff and I have purchased. The one on the table this after was a pipe that I received for repair from a fellow in Toronto. We had been chatting via email and phone about a nice Kriswill Handmade Bernadotte that he had purchased. When it arrived in Toronto the stem was stuck in the shank and in trying to remove it he had managed to snap the tenon in the shank. He wanted me to repair the tenon for him so I told him to ship it my way. He did a thorough cleaning of the bowl, shank and stem so it was in good condition. It arrived this week and I brought it to the work table and looked it over and put it back in the box. Today, Sunday afternoon I was ready to tackle the task. I took some photos of the bowl and the stem to give a sense my first impression as I looked at quickly.

Here are my thoughts as I turned it over in my hands. The pipe has a conical shaped bowl that is pretty clean. There was little or no cake on the walls. The rim top was rusticated and quite clean. There was an inward bevel on the rim edge that was also clean and excellent condition. The shank was triangular with a smooth band on the shank end. There was a smooth panel on the underside of the shank that was stamped Kriswill [over] Handmade [over] in Denmark. That is followed by Bernadotte in script [over] Design in block letters. There is the shape number 1210 stamped on the end of the shank right along the edge. The tenon was snapped evenly in the shank leaving just a little bit of debris on the stem end. The tenon was stuck and I would need to do the freezer trick to remove it. The stem was lightly oxidized and there was debris and sticky marks from price tags on the stem surface. There were light tooth marks on both sides just ahead of the button. It really is a beautiful little pipe. I took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panel on the underside of the shank. It is clear and really readable as noted above.To start my work on the pipe I decided to pull the broken tenon from the shank. I used a screw and tuned it into the airway and it was very tight. I put the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes and when I took it out the screw easily removed the broken tenon from the shank. I took photos of the process. Before I went any further in the process I decided to do a bit of background work on the pipe. I turned to Pipephil’s site first (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html). I did a screen capture of the section on the Kriswill Bernadotte Handmade in Denmark pipe. I have included it below and the pertinent sidebar information below that.Kriswill is a brand of Kriswork Briar Trading, in Kolding (Denmark) established about 1955.

Some of Kriswill pipes were designed by Sigvard Bernadotte, Swedish prince and brother to the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark. He collaborated with his Danish partner Acton Bjørn.

At the end of the quote above there was a link to the photo below. It is a series of portraits of Sigvard Bernadotte the designer of the pipe that I am working on.

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kriswill) for more detailed information. There is a great writeup there on the history of the brand that is fascinating. I have quoted the pertinent section below. I have also highlighted the connection to Sigvard Bernadotte in red in the last paragraph. He is one who designed his own series of pipes for Kriswill.

Kriswill began immediately after World War II. Karl Robert Kris, an engineer for the shipping company AP Møller at the time, was in port (undoubtedly in the Mediterranean) when he encountered a shipment of briar. The briar blocks awakened his curiosity and he took some home. About this time the the shipping trade become difficult due to the war, causing Kris to consider other business opportunities. In 1947, Kris (then 47 years old) established himself as a pipe maker in his hometown of Kolding.

Kriss started his pipe making operation in a house located at Haderslevvej 115 in Kolding, and was soon joined by 3-4 employees. The pipes were sold under the name Rocky and supplied the domestic market. Within 6 months the company had grown, more employees hired, and their sales expanded to markets abroad.

Due to increasing production and marketing, Karl Robert Kris decided in the mid-1950s to expand. An entirely new factory was built at Sdr. Ring road on the outskirts of Kolding. At that time the pipes were branded Kriswell. That name did not last long, however, as Stanwell believed that name was too close to theirs. The compromise was to change the name to Kriswill. Kriswill soon grew to become a serious competitor to Stanwell, especially in the export markets. The Kriswill factory logo, stamped on the stem, became the stylized compass rose – as a reference to the manufacturer’s maritime background.

Kriswill pipes excelled in design and craftsmanship. Karl Robert Kris was not afraid of new designs and had a good eye on the US market, where larger and more innovative designs were increasingly popular. Craftsmanship was given top priority throughout Kriswill’s production. A local designer / architect had designed the first models. Later, the famous architects Sigvard Bernadotte (Swedish prince and brother of Queen Ingrid) and Acton Bjørn designed their own series, which were known as Bernadotte designed.

There was also a catalogue page on the Bernadotte Design line that shows the various pipes in the line. The second pipe down is the Hand carved 1210 which was made in black and in brown.I repaired chip and crack in the underside of the triangle shape stem with black CA glue. I wanted to do this prior to drilling the airway and opening it up for the new tenon end. I set the stem aside to let the repair cure.While I waited for the stem repair to cure I went through my tenons and found one that was very close in diameter to the shank. I reduced the diameter of the portion that would go into the stem with a Dremel and sanding drum. I repeated the process on the end of the tenon that would go in the shank. It was ready for the fit once the repair on the stem had cured and I was able to drill out the airway.I was a bit nervous drilling out the thin walled stem with the repair on the underside. I envisioned it splitting and ruining everything. I used a thin pen knife to begin the process of opening up the airway. I opened it to be large enough to take the first of the drill bits. I put the drill bit in my cordless drill and slowly turned it into the airway. I opened it up with several drill bit until the new tenon end fit in the stem. I cleaned up the airway with a set of needle files to make the airway the same diameter the depth of the drill. The fit in the stem was perfect. I painted the end of the tenon with black CA glue and pushed it in place in the airway. I set it aside to let the glue cure.I set the stem aside to allow the glue to cure. I wanted the tenon to be set in the stem so that once I put it in the shank it would not come out of the stem. I turned my attention to the bowl and shank. The shank had two small hairline cracks in in on the right side of the triangle. It would need to be glued and banded to accomplish a tight repair. I shaped a round brass band into a triangle and sanded it against a sanding board to thin the depth of the repair band. I fitted on the shank and put the stem in place to get a sense of what it would look like. I sent a few picks to the trustee in Toronto to show him what was going on. He approved of the repair.
I glued the band on the shank with some all purpose white glue. I painted the surface of the shank with the glue making sure to get into the cracks. I pressed the band on the shank and wiped off the excess glue with a damp cloth.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned to finish the stem. To address the scratches and marks in the surface of the vulcanite I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. By the final 3500 grit sanding pad the rim top had a shine.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I always look forward to this part of the restoration when all the pieces are put back together. I put the Kriswill Bernadotte 1210 pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the new brass band on the shank end. The combination of grain and the thin band add some elegance to the pipe when combined with the polished black vulcanite stem. This royalty designed Kriswill Bernadotte 1210 Skater is nice looking and feels great in my hand. The pipe is another light weight that could be clenched and smoked while doing other things as it is very well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.06 ounces/30 grams. This one will be heading back to Toronto soon. I am looking forward to what the pipeman who sent it thinks of this restoration. Lots more to do in this lot! Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.

This Amazing Magnum “Malaga” Rusticated Billiard cleaned up extremely well

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is an interesting Rusticated Malaga Magnum Billiard. Jeff saw it on eBay and purchased it on 12/22/2023 from a seller in Greensboro, North Carolina, USA. It was a large and dirty pipe with grit and grime in the grooves of the rustication. It was obviously someone’s favourite smoker. The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the left side of the shank and reads “Malaga”. The rusticated bowl surface had a smooth rim edge and rim top and down about 1/8 inch down the outside of the bowl. There were smooth panels on all sides of the bowl and on the left and right side of the shank. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a very thick cake that flowed over the top of the smooth rim in a spotty lava coat. The cake in the bowl was thick right up to the top of the rim. It was hard to fully assess the condition of the inner edge. There was a fill on the front of the rim top from the inner edge half way into the rim top. There were also burn marks on the left side of the top edge band on the rim and onto the edge of the smooth panel on the left side. There was a crack in the shank on the right side toward the bottom of the shank. The taper stem appeared to be either vulcanite or hard rubber. There were tooth marks on the top and the underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the heavy cake and lava spots on the rim top. The inner edge of the rim had some cake on it. There was also a flaw in the briar on the rim top at the front of the bowl extending from the inner edge to the middle of the rim top. It was a dirty pipe but still a beauty. The hard rubber stem had tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show a unique rusticated finish with smooth panels on the pipe and makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. This bowl shows real promise. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank centred on the smooth panel. It read “Malaga” as noted above. It was clear and readable.He took a photo of the crack on right side lower on the shank. It is about an inch long and extended from the shank end inward to the rustication.I am including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. I have written an earlier blog to give a little history of the Malaga Brand and the pipemaker, George Khoubesser. Here is the link (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/). That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The shank had an inset to take in the tenon and the end of the stem so I would need to fit a stem to sit in the shank. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top looked very good but there was fill visible on the front of the bowl from the inner edge toward the middle of the rim top. It is visible in the first photo below. The stem looked better, though there were tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank to show that it was readable and undamaged by the cleanup work. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like.I decided to start working on the pipe by dealing with the crack in the shank. I ran a thin bead of CA glue on the crack and pressed it together. I went through my bands and found a silver band that fit well on the shank. I heated the band with the flame of a lighter and pressed it onto the shank against the padded surface of my desk top. I took photos of the newly banded shank from a variety of angles to give a sense of what the pipe looked like with the bling. The crack in the shank was no longer visible. The band brought the crack back together and it was tight. The only issue once I repair a crack with a band is that the original tenon no longer fits in the shank. I sanded the tenon with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper until it fit snug in the shank. I put the stem in place and took photos of the stem in place. The pipe is looking good.I set the stem aside and worked on the bowl top. I repaired the fill and flaw with clear CA glue and briar dust. I worked it into flaw with a dental spatula. Once it had cured I sanded the inner edge to clean up the repair with 220 grit sandpaper. I used a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper to flatten the repair and blend it into the surrounding briar. Once it was flat I used a 600 grit sanding pad to smooth out the surface. I stained the rim top with a Maple stain pen to match the surrounding bowl and shank. I polished the smooth panels on the bowl sides and the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the rustication. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the tooth marks on both sides with black CA glue. I set it aside to cure. Once the repairs hardened I smoothed out the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the rest of the surrounding vulcanite. I set the finished bowl aside and we back to the stem. I started the polishing of the stem with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I did a final hand polish of the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the “Malaga” Magnum Rusticated Billiard and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful “Malaga” Magnum Billiard and the hard rubber taper stem and smooth finish combine to give the pipe a great look. I honestly have no idea why it is labeled a second as there are no fills or flaws in the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 8 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.93 ounces/83 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Repairing a cracked shank and Restoring a Kriswill Danish Clipper 628 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

Not long ago I worked a trade with a fellow for these five pipes in exchange for one that I had here. He sent me photos of the pipes and the deal was struck. The pipes he sent are as follows from bottom to top. There is a W.O. Larsen sandblast oval shank Brandy with a hairline crack in the shank and with tooth marks on the button on both sides, a Bertram Cutty that I had traded with him earlier, a Kriswill sandblast Canadian with a cracked shank, a Viby pencil shank Billiard and a Stanwell Royal Briar wide oval shank Dublinesque Freehand with burn damage on the rim edges and top around the bowl and deep tooth marks on the stem.The next of these I chose to work on today is the last of the group a sandblast Kriswill Danish Clipper Canadian. It is the middle pipe shown in the photo above. It is a great looking sandblast piece with a thin oval shank and normal sized bowl. The blast reveals some interesting grain patterns around the bowl and the shank. The rim top was in good condition and there was some darkening and burn damage on the front inner edge. The outer edge of the rim is in good condition. The bowl had a light cake in the bowl and smells of good Virginia tobacco. There was some grime and grit ground into the surface of the finish. The stamping on the underside of the shank reads Kriswill [over] Danish Clipper [over] Handmade in Denmark. That is followed by the shape number 628. There was a small hairline crack in the underside of the shank level with the shape number and ending just below the 2 in the shape stamp. The stain is dark brown and oxblood and goes well with the thin taper stem. Once it is cleaned up and polished the grain around the bowl and shank will shine. The stem is in good condition with some light oxidation on both sides ending mid-stem which seems to point to having been smoked with a Softee Bit. The surface just ahead of the button looks good and shows no tooth damage. The button edge looks good on both sides. I took photos of the pipe before I did my clean up work on it to show its condition. The photos confirm what I noted above regarding the condition of the bowl and the stem. It a nice looking pipe that will look better when it is finished. I took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above and show that it is in excellent condition. The cake in the bowl is quite moderate and smooth. You can also see the condition of the outer and the inner edge. They appear to be in great condition. I circled the crack on the underside of the shank in red. The stem is in excellent condition with a bit of oxidation ahead of the button mid stem. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is a readable as noted above.I took the stem off the bowl and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of proportion of the pipe. You can also see shape of the pipe and some interesting grain around the bowl and shank. There is an aluminum inner tube in the end of the tenon.I decided to do some work on the stamping of this pipe to get an idea of the time period it was carved. I turned to Pipephil’s site for a quick overview of the brand (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html). I have included a screen capture of the brand below. From that I knew that the pipe I was working on was post 1970 because of the stamping and the star on the stem.There was also a side bar that gave further information on the brand. It established an end date for the pipe I was working on. It was made before the late 1970s when the company went bankrupt. I knew that it was made between 1970-1978/79. I quote below

Kriswill is a brand of Kriswork Briar Trading, in Kolding (Denmark) established about 1955. Some of Kriswill pipes were designed by Sigvard Bernadotte, Swedish prince and brother to the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark. He collaborated with his Danish partner Acton Bjørn. When the company went bankrupt in the late 1970s it was on a level with Stanwell. Dan Pipe Cigar & Company (Hafenstrasse 30 D-21481 Lauenburg/Elbe, Ge) bought the rights to use the name and it is Holmer Knudsen and/or Poul Winsløw who make the Kriswill line.

Pipedia has a great history write up on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kriswill). It gives a great summary of the history. There was also a shape chart included on the site and the shape number 28 Canadian is shown below which is the same shape as the 628 I am working on. It is the third one down on the Kriswill Golden Clipper chart on the far right of the screen capture below.From the background information on the brand I knew that it was made between 1970-1978/79 prior to the bankruptcy of the company in the late 70s. With that out of the way it was time to work on the pipe.

Sometimes I alter my pattern in restoration to deal with an immediate issue that calls out to me. I decided in this case to deal with the crack in the shank before cleaning up the pipe. I went through my bands and found this band that would work well on the oval shank. It was a round band that I shaped to fit well. The crack in the shank had been repaired prior with super glue and pressed together. I did not need to deal with that again. I sanded the end of the shank with 220 grit sandpaper and removed some of the diameter of the shank to make for a snug fit with the band. The band was just the right depth to not cover any of the stamping on the shank. I heated the band and pressed it onto the shank end. It worked well and covered the sanded portion and bound the repaired crack together. I took photos of the band in place on the shank end. It looks very good and you can see the scratches in the band that I will need to deal with.After the banding I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I followed that up by sanding the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I cleaned the internals of the shank and the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I scrubbed it until the shank was clean and the smell was much cleaner smelling.I scrubbed the external surface of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed it until the finish was clean and then rinsed it off with warm running water to rinse off the soap and the grime from the finish. I dried it off with a soft cloth and took photos of the pipe. I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm to the briar. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar. The product works to deep clean finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine and the grain shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the issues with the vulcanite stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. I polished the aluminum inner tube with micromesh sanding pads and then put it in place in the tenon. It is shiny and looks new.After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection.The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I put the Kriswill Danish Clipper 628 Canadian back together and lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the finish. I polished the vulcanite stem at the same time to polish out the scratches. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservative Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich combination of brown stains. The Kriswill Danish Clipper Canadian feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.09 ounces/31 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that functions as a sitter due to the wide heel on the bowl. I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe. As always I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Refreshing a Handmade in Denmark W.O. Larsen Sandblast Brandy

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By Steve Laug

Not long ago I worked a trade with a fellow for these five pipes in exchange for one that I had here. He sent me photos of the pipes and the deal was struck. The pipes he sent are as follows from bottom to top. There is a W.O. Larsen sandblast oval shank Brandy with a hairline crack in the shank and with tooth marks on the button on both sides, a Bertram Cutty that I had traded with him earlier, a Kriswill sandblast Canadian with a cracked shank, a Viby pencil shank Billiard and a Stanwell Royal Briar wide oval shank Dublinesque Canadian with burn damage on the rim edges and top around the bowl and deep tooth marks on the stem.The first of these I chose to work on today is the Hand Made W.O. Larsen Sandblast Brandy at the bottom of the photo above. It is a classic Larsen Brandy shape with a beautiful, deep and tactile sandblast around the bowl and the shank. The rim top were in good condition and the blast had some darkening but no lava in the blast. The bowl has a light cake in the bowl and smells of good Virginia tobacco. The inner edge of the rim is in good condition. The blast is quite clean with no grime and little dust ground into the surface of the finish. The stamping on the underside of the shank reads W.O. Larsen [over] Handmade [over] Made in Denmark. The stain is a mix of dark and medium browns and goes well with the oval vulcanite stem. Once it is cleaned up and polished the blast will highlight the grain around the bowl and shank. The stem is in good condition with some tooth marks on it. The button area and the surface just ahead is damaged. There are bite marks on the button surface on both sides. The button edge has been flattened and worn with tooth marks on the underside. I am including two of the photos that were sent to me for viewing. The first shows the right side of pipe and the second shows the marks on the stem surface that I spoke of above. I took photos of the pipe before I did my clean up work on it to show its condition. The photos confirm what I noted above regarding the condition of the bowl and the stem. It a nice looking pipe that will look better with a bit of work on the stem, the cracked shank and bowl. I have circled a short crack in the top of the shank with red in the top photo below. It is hairline and fine but it is very present.I took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above and show that while there is some darkening. However, I missed the tars and lava build up on the sandblast rim top. The cake in the bowl is quite moderate and was very smooth. You can also see the condition of the outer and the inner edge. They appear to be in great condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. There is no visible burn damage at this point. The bowl is still round and other than being in a used condition it is in great shape. The small crack in the shank is circled in red below. The issues with the stem are visible in the photos on both sides ahead of the button and on the button itself.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I took the stem off the bowl and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of proportion of the pipe. You can also see shape of the pipe and some interesting grain in the blast on the briar.I have worked on quite a few W.O. Larsen pipes that are well made Danish takes on classic shapes. Several of them have been Brandy shaped pipes. This sandblast Canadian has a bowl that is almost a Brandy shape. Here is a link to the blog describing the background and history of the brand (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/10/25/restoring-a-sandblast-canadian-hand-made-designed-by-w-o-larsen-super-tan-65/). I quote from that blog in information that follows.

I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-l2.html) to get a quick view of the brand once again. I did a screen capture of the site’s information and have included that below. The pipe I am working on is a W.O. Larsen as it is stamped similarly to the ones in the photos. I quote from the sidebar below:

In the 1960s Ole Larsen, owner of the Copenhagen tobacco store, retails pipes carved by Sixten Ivarsson, Poul Rasmussen, Sven Knudsen or Peter Brakner. Faced with the success and urged by Sven Bang (store manager), Sven Knudsen and Former (Hans Nielsen) are successively hired to carve pipes in the basement of the shop at the beginning and in the old Larsen cigar factory afterwards. Carver like Teddy Knudsen, Tonni Nielsen, Jess Chonowitch, Peter Hedegaard work a while in this context. When Nils, son of Ole Larsen, succeeds his father he acquires the Georg Jensen pipe factory to focus on less expensive pipes. This turns out to be an error ending with the sale of W.O. Larsen trademark to Stanwell. The famous tobacco shop at Strøget, Amagertorv 9 closed down for good on Dec 31, 2004. Do not confuse W.O. Larsen with: Jorgen Larsen

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/W.%C3%98._Larsen) for a quick read. The site is worth reading the history of the shop and the brand and its influence on Danish pipe carving. I quote a portion of the article below:

The workshop of W.Ø.Larsen

W.Ø.Larsen is Denmark’s oldest and probably most famous pipes and tobacco store, placed in the center of Copenhagen on the main pedestrian street, Stroget. If you visit Copenhagen and do a “pipe crawl” this store is a must. In the beginning of the 1960’s the store began to sell Danish hand-made pipes, especially those of Poul Rasmussen. This went very well and Poul Rasmussen could not keep up with the demand. W.Ø.Larsen, with their dynamic business manager Svend Bang (who later started his own pipe business), decided to establish their own workshop in rooms next to the store.

The first manager of the pipe workshop was Sven Knudsen, but he soon left to make pipes under his own name. The next manager was Hans Nielsen, also known as “Former” (named after the late British actor George Formby, whom he was said to resemble. Coincidentally, in Danish, “Former” means “shapes”). Under the management of Former the workshop grew and W.Ø.Larsen pipes became a prominent name abroad. Among the prominent pipemakers educated here were Else Larsen (Denmark’s first female pipemaker),Poul Ilsted, Ph. Vigen, Teddy Knudsen, Tonni Nielsen, and Peter Hedegaard.

Typical for the W.Ø.Larsen School were semi-classic shapes, meaning classic shapes, but with slight differences, often bring a little more full or round. The pipes often had lower center of gravity. A typical billard would have a bowl shaped more like a pear and the connection between the bowl and the shank would be clearly distinguished. Yellow and orange were colors more widely used for the finishes.

What I learned from the research is that the pipe is a W.O. Larsen pipe made by one of the famous carvers who worked in the shop. It is a beautiful pipe in both shape and finish.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. I started my work on this one by reaming the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I followed that up by sanding the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel.I scrubbed the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to knock of the lava and tars in the blast on the rim top. Once it was scoured with the brass it looked significantly better.I cleaned the internals of the shank and the stem with 99% isopropyl alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I scrubbed it until the shank was clean and the smell was much cleaner smelling.I scrubbed the external surface of the sandblast briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed it until the finish was clean and then rinsed it off with warm running water to rinse off the soap and the grime from the finish. I dried it off with a soft cloth and took photos of the pipe. I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm to the briar. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar – both smooth and rusticated finishes. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the grain shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I decided to repair the cracked shank next. The first photo shows the crack. I inserted the tenon partially in the shank to make the crack visible and took a photo. I have circled it in red so that it is clear. I cleaned up the crack and pushed a pinhole with an awl into the end of the crack to stop it. I pressed some CA glue into the crack held it together until the glue cured. I reduced the diameter of the shank end with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I found a nickel band and used a Dremel and sanding drum to remove the excess nickel on the band until the end was flush against the shank end. I cleaned up the sharp edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I heated it with a lighter and pressed it in place against a hard wood surface. I took photos of the band before I fit it and after it was on the shank end. It looks very good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the issues with the vulcanite stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic Lighter to lift the tooth marks in the stem surface on both sides as well as the button edges where the marks were deepest. I was able to lift the marks significantly and filled in the remaining marks with clear CA glue. I set the stem aside to allow the repairs to cure. Once the repairs cured, I used a small file to reshape the button edge and flatten them. I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. The stem surface and button looked much better. I continued polishing the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I put the W.O. Larsen Handmade Brandy back together and lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the blast without filling in the grooves in the finish. I polished the vulcanite stem at the same time to polish out the scratches. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich combination of brown stains. The W.O. Larsen Sandblast Brandy feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/40 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that functions as a sitter due to the wide heel on the bowl. I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe. As always I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Repairing a Cracked Shank and Restoring a Heritage Embassy 98S Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

Once again I want to take you through my process of working on each pipe that we purchase. Jeff has set up a spread sheet to track where the pipe came from, the date of purchase and what we paid for it so that we know what we have invested in the pipe before we even work on it. This takes a lot of the guess work out of the process. This particular pipe was purchased on 02/20/2020 from a seller in St. Leonard, Maryland, USA. I also want you to understand why we take the photos we do. If you have followed for a while then you will see the familiar pattern of the photos we include both in the before and midstream process of working on a pipe. It is not accidental or chance as the photos have been taken to help me make an assessment of the pipe Jeff sees before he starts his clean up work. We do this to record the condition that the pipe was in when received it and to assess what kind of work will need to be done on. When I look at these photos this is what I see.

The first thing I see is an interesting squat Bulldog with a mixed finish of rusticated and smooth bands and a vulcanite saddle stem. It is well proportioned and well made.
The finish is dirty and there is grime and grit ground into the rustication on the sides of the bowl and shank. The two smooth bands on the bowl are also dirty. It is dusty and dull looking but under the grime the pipe looks good. There is a crack on the left side of the underside of the diamond shank from the end in about ¼ inch. It is branched from the end and comes together at the rusticated band around the shank.
The rusticated rim top has some lava and debris filling in the rusticated grooves and ridges around surface and the edges. It is dirty looking but cleaning will reveal a real beauty.
The bowl has a thin cake and appears to have been reamed recently before it came to us. The inner and outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage to the smooth rim top or bowl edges. The bowl does not appear to having any checking and the bottom 1/3 of the bowl is raw briar.
The vulcanite stem is in good condition – dirty, oxidized and has light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of button. I am pretty certain it is a replacement stem as it is not like original Heritage pipe stems I have worked on.

Overall my impressions of this pipe is that it is a beauty that once cleaned up will be another one that will look pretty amazing. Heritage pipes have shapes and a style of rustication that are readily identifiable when you see them so I knew what the pipe was even before looking at it in person. The photos below confirm the assessment above. Jeff took close up photos so that I could have a clearer picture of the condition of the bowl, rim edges and top. The rim top photos confirm my assessment above. The cake in the bowl is quite thin and looks like it had been recently reamed. The rim top has some lava, grime and debris in the rustication filling in some of the grooves. You can also see the condition of the outer and the inner edge. They appear to be in great condition. This is what I look for when assessing a pipe. There is no visible burn damage at this point. The bowl is still round and other than being in a used condition it is in great shape. The photos of the vulcanite stem surface from various angles confirm my assessment of its condition. You can see the dirty grime and oxidation on the stem in the first photo below. There is light chatter and tooth marks. The stem is quite dirty but otherwise in good condition. The fit of the stem to the shank is off a bit due to the crack in the left underside. The rustication on this pipe is quite beautiful. Instead of telling you what I see in the next photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel I want to hear from you. Tell me what you see? What does the finish look like to you? Are there any visible problems or issues that stand out to you? Are the cracks or scratches in the valleys of the rustication or the high spots? Are there visible flaws or fissures in the briar? How random does the deep rustication look? Is there a pattern to it? Any visible issues on the heel of the bowl? These questions should help you to see what I am looking for when I see these photos. He took a photo of the stamping on the top left side of the diamond shank. It is stamped with the shape number 98S [over] Heritage [over] Embassy (faintly stamped but readable). What stands out for you in the photos of the stamping? What do you look for in the stamping? It is dirty but what do you see underneath the grime on the surface of the briar? Jeff took photos of the crack in the left underside of the shank. It is branched and ends at the carved groove in the shank separating the smooth from the rusticated. It appears to go forward to the rustication but lessens in effect and depth in the finish. It will need to be repaired and banded.I have worked on quite a few Heritage pipe that are classic lines – Heritage Antique, Heritage Heirloom and others. I reread an earlier blog I had written on a Heritage restoration that I did (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/01/14/refreshing-an-older-heritage-antique-13-dublin-pipe/) It referred me to a blog that was written on rebornpipes by Andrew Selking. I quote from the blog above with reference to Andrew’s work.

The Heritage brand was one I had no familiarity with until Andrew wrote up this blog for us https://rebornpipes.com/2014/12/23/refurbishing-a-heritage-heirloom/ He gave background, history, line information and the classic brochure from the company. I want to give a brief summary of what he found in the next two short paragraphs to set the stage for the one that I found once he highlighted the brand for me.

Heritage pipes were Kaywoodie’s answer to Dunhill. According to one of their brochures, Heritage pipes were made from “briar burls seasoned and cured for up to 8 months,” with only “one briar bowl in over 300 selected to bear the Heritage name.” “Heritage stems are custom fitted with the finest hand finished Para Rubber stems. Mouthpieces are wafer thin and concave.”

The Heritage line began in the early 1960’s, with the trademark issued in 1964. The line was started at the request of Stephen Ogdon, (who worked for Kaywoodie in 1962). Mr. Ogdon had previous experience working for Dunhill, either running the New York store or working for Dunhill North America. Mr. Ogden was made President of Heritage Pipes, Inc., Kaywoodie Tobacco Co.,Inc. and Kaywoodie Products Inc. as well as a Vice President of S.M. Frank & Co. Heritage Pipes were produced from 1964 until 1970 (Source Kaywoodie.myfreeforum.org).

I scanned the brochure that Andrew provided and found this regarding the Antique Line: The Heritage Antique line is characterized by “Rustic Grain stands out in rugged relief.” “This pipe is so bold-looking, yet so light and smooth-smoking. A special sandblasting process exposes a greater surface area on the bowl, giving a cooler, more satisfying smoke.

I have also included the brochure below. On the second page below there is a panel that reference the Heritage Embassy pipe with a rusticated finish and the twin smooth rings around the bowl. The fourth page of the brochure below shows the 98S in the third column on the right. Andrew had written a blog on Heritage Heirloom 98S straight Bulldog previously. It is the same shape as the one I am working on now and has the original stem which confirms that this is a replacement (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/04/21/restoring-a-heritage-heirloom-98s-bulldog/). I have included a picture from the blog below for your consideration on the stem shape of the original.Now I had more information to work with. The Heritage Embassy in my hands that probably came out between 1964 and 1970.

I am sure many of you will shake your head and ask maybe even out loud, “Why is he including this again?” However, please remember that the point of these blogs is not to wow your with the work or make you shake your heads but I want you to know the details of the work we do so you can do your own. Back in 2020 Jeff wrote a blog about his cleaning process. I am including a link to that now so you can see what I mean about his process. Do not skip it! Give it a read (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/01/20/got-a-filthy-estate-pipe-that-you-need-to-clean/). Here is the introduction to that blog and it is very true even to this day.

Several have asked about Jeff’s cleaning regimen as I generally summarize it in the blogs that I post rather than give a detailed procedure. I have had the question asked enough that I asked Jeff to put together this blog so that you can get a clear picture of the process he uses. Like everything else in our hobby, people have different methods they swear by. Some may question the method and that is fine. But it works very well for us and has for many years. Some of his steps may surprise you but I know that when I get the pipes from him for my part of the restoration they are impeccably clean and sanitized. I have come to appreciate the thoroughness of the process he has developed because I really like working on clean pipe!

For the benefit of some of you who may be unfamiliar with some of the products he uses I have included photos of three of the items that Jeff mentions in his list. This will make it easier for recognition. These three are definitely North American Products so you will need to find suitable replacements or order these directly on Amazon. The makeup pads are fairly universal as we were able to pick some up in India when we were with Paresh and his family.

In the blog itself he breaks his process down into two parts – cleaning the stem and cleaning the bowl. Each one has a large number of steps that he methodically does every time. I know because I have watched him do the work and I have seen the pipes after his work on them. He followed this process step by step and when the pipe got to me it was spotlessly clean and ready for my work. The inside of the stem, shank and bowl were clean and to me that is an amazing gift as it means that my work on this end is with a clean pipe! I cannot tell you how much difference that makes for my work.

When the pipe arrives here in Vancouver I have a clean pipe and I go over it keeping in mind my assessment shared in the opening paragraph above. Now that I have it in hand I am looking for confirmation of what I saw in the photos as well as any significant structural changes in the bowl and finish as I go over it.

The first thing I see is an interesting squat Bulldog with a mixed finish of rusticated and smooth bands and a vulcanite saddle stem. It is well proportioned and well made.
The finish is clean and the grime and grit have been removed from the finish on the bowl. The rustication and the smooth finish both have come alive around the bowl sides. The crack in the diamond shank on the left underside was clean and visible.
The lava, grime and dust on the rim top has been removed and it looks to be in good condition on the top and edges of the bowl.
The walls of the bowl are clean and I do not see any checking or burn damage. The inner edge of the bowl looks good. The outer edges look good and there does not appear to be any obvious burn damage there.
The vulcanite stem is clean and has very light tooth chatter and marks on both sides. The stem is definitely a replacement.

Hopefully the steps above show you both what I look for when I go over the pipe when I bring it to the work table and also what I see when I look at the pipe in my hands. They also clearly spell out a restoration plan in short form. My work is clear and addressing it will be the next steps. I took photos of the whole pipe to give you a picture of what I see when I have it on the table. This is important to me in that it also shows that there was no damage done during the clean up work or the transit of the pipe from Idaho to here in Vancouver. I carefully went over the bowl and rim top to get a sense of what is happening there. In this case once the rim top and edges were cleaned, they looked very good. There was no damage on the edges or the top of the rim. The rim edge and top are clean and should polish up well. I also go over the stem carefully. The crack in the shank was present and visible. The stem had some faint tooth marks chatter on the surface of the stem on both sides. I took photos of the rim top and stem sides to show as best as I can what I see when I look at them. I always check to make sure that the clean up work did not damage the stamping on the shank in any way. It is in excellent condition and is very clear and readable (all except the Embassy stamping which is faint but readable). The Heritage rustication is quite unique and tight. To me it different and I like the feel of it.. I love just looking at the beauty of the lay of the pipe and the proportion of the hand made pipes. I like to remove the stem from the shank to get a sense of what was in the mind of the pipe maker when he crafted the pipe. The photo shows its beauty in flow and shape. I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the crack in the left underside of the shank. It is visible in the photo below. I have three different bands that would fit the shank. The first one on the left was too deep and covered all of the stamping. It was also not quite square. The second band had an end cap and was rather loose on the shank. The third one was a good fit and was tight on the shank. I would need to reduce the depth of the band and sand the shank end in order to make a snug fit on the shank. Used a topping board to reduce the depth of the band. I was able to remove half of the depth. I used a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper to sand the smooth band on the shank end. I took enough of the briar off that the band sat on the end. I heated the band with a lighter and pressed it onto the shank end. It bound the cracks together and the shank was solid. I put the stem on the shank and took photos of the finished repair. I polished the smooth briar on the two rings around the bowl and the surface of the nickel band with micromesh sanding pads. I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step. I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm to the briar. It is a paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar – both smooth and rusticated finishes. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush. I let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth then buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine in the briar and the grain shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turn to work on the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. But I find it does two things – first it gives some protection to the stem from oxidation and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I don’t buff a rusticated pipe with Blue Diamond as it can build up in the deep grooves of the finish. I used it on the stem and find that it works very well to polish out the light scratches in the vulcanite. I moved on to buffing the pipe – I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished vulcanite stem. It really is a nice little pipe. The rusticated finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the rich black and dark brown stains. The Heritage Embassy 98S Straight Bulldog feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.27 ounces/36 grams. It is a beautiful pocket sized pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Hopefully the style of writing of this blog is helpful to you in some way. In it I wanted to show both what I am looking for and how I move forward in addressing what I see when work on a pipe. Let me know if it is helpful to you. It is probably the most straightforward detailed description of my work process that I have written. As always I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Repairing a Cracked Shank and Banding a Jost’s Supreme Diamond Shank Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another that the Vancouver pipe man dropped off for me to work on for him. It was stamped Jost’s Supreme and had a natural finish around the bowl. It is a bent diamond shank Billiard with some interesting grain. It needed restoration on the bowl which was heavily caked and the shank had the remnants of a paper wrap that had been used to hold the stem in place due to the crack in the shank. It also needed a repair to the crack on a pipe that I had originally worked on back in 2016. When I originally had worked on it the pipe had a thick cake and was well used. Here is the link to that restoration that I did back when I first picked it up (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/11/11/restoring-the-fourth-classic-find-a-josts-supreme-diamond-shank-bent-billiard/).The stem had tooth marks, tooth chatter and a lot of oxidation and calcification on the stem. Here are some photos of the pipe when he picked it up in 2016 to give a bit for context for my work. When I took the pipe out of the bag to work on this morning this is what I saw. The finish on the briar looked very good. It was dirty and the natural finish looked dried out. There was a crack on the lower right side of the diamond shank. The stem was very loose in the shank and the tenon appeared to have been wrapped in paper to tighten it. The bowl had a very thick cake and the airway in the shank was dirty. I would need to be cleaned up before I worked on the shank repair and the fit of the stem in the shank. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the rim top and the thick cake in the bowl to show how it looked. The rim top had some darkening around the inner edge of the bowl. It will clean up pretty well. The photos of the stem show the condition of the stem. You can see the tooth marks and chatter under the calcification on the stem surface.I took a photo of the stamping on both sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and photographed the look of the pipe as a whole. It is a nice looking Diamond Shank Bent Billiard. I went back and reread the previous restoration blog that I written on the restoration the previous time I had worked on the pipe. I also was very interested to read the back story and history on the brand. I quote from the blog below.

In earlier blogs I have written about restoring another Jost’s pipe that I found. When I restored that pipe it was a brand I had heard of but was unfamiliar with. I researched the web to find some information about the brand. Here is a link to the blog I wrote on the Jost’s Olde English Deluxe: https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/03/josts-olde-english-de-luxesupreme-overstamped-j214-bent-billiard/. I am quoting several of the paragraphs that summarize what I learned about the brand.

“I looked up Jost’s pipes on the Pipephil site and found a pipe that had the same stamping on the left side of the shank as the one I was working on. The right side had slightly different stamping in that it had the classic COM stamp circle where the one I had was two lines Made in over England. It also had a picture of the circle J stamp on the stem. There was a note there the tobacco shop proprietor was Mrs. Henry A. Jost. Her resident carver was Harvey Raspberry.”

I also found a blog that is called ClassicPipeShop that even had a catalogue of the pipes made by the Jost’s Shop or were imported by them for their store. I quote that blog once more as it places the new pipe that I am working on now.

“I did some more hunting online and I found a blog that did a great write up on Jost’s Pipe Shop and gave some definitive information on the brand and grades of the pipes. Here is the link if you wish to read a well written history of the brand and also some interesting details about shop blends of tobacco. http://classicpipeshop.blogspot.ca/2015/03/josts-pipe-shop-201-north-6th-street-st.html”

“I have included the section of the blog on the pipes. It covers a lot of information regarding the source of the pipes and the levels/grades of pipes. Remember that the one I am working on is a De Luxe/Supreme. I quote:”

“Jost’s Pipes are closely tied to Comoy’s. Many of Jost’s pipes have the standard Comoy’s shape number and the “Made in England” in a circle. If the Jost’s pipe doesn’t have the “Made in England” it is probably made by Harvey Raspberry.”

“If the pipe has a shape number that is preceded by a “J” that is a Comoy’s product without question. Typically these will have the words “Made in London England” on the reverse side of the shank from where the Jost stamp is made. There are always exceptions to the rule but 95% of the time, this is accurate.”

“Many different levels of pipes were offered by Jost’s Pipe Shop. From a 1950s catalog I have the following available:”

Jost Old English De Luxe: $85.00

These were typically of the highest… Grain is stunning and the briar is flawless. These are the grade you should look out for as they are great smokers.

*Jost Old English Supreme: (no pricing available)

The majority of the Old English version pipes you see are marked Supreme. These are stained in a darker color and are presumably from the same Algerian aged Briar as the De Luxe brothers. These are also of the highest quality available. *(The current pipe I am working on is stamped Jost’s Supreme on the left side of the shank with no shape number and no Made in London England stamp. If I read the information correctly it was one that was made by Harvey Raspberry, who was the shop pipe maker.)

Jost Virgin Briar Supreme: $35.00

Don’t see too many marked as Virgin Briar Supreme but you will often find “Supreme” Jost pipes on the second hand market (see above). Excellent quality briar and displays the lighter toned finish of the De Luxe above. Grain is not as flashy or desirable as the De Luxe model.

Jost Thames Briars: $25.00

I’ve seen these offered as blasted / rusticated pipes and look quite nice. Most of the smooth finish Thames pipes are riddled with fills. Good smokers but not much to look at (smooth).

Jost Sandblast Briars: $25.00

These are a great value. The shop made sand-blasted pipes are usually quite large and snapped up very quickly by collectors. The Comoy’s versions (with J shape #s) are of excellent quality and typically rather small compared to the shop-made variety.

Dukes Briars: $15.00

These come up very rarely. The two I’ve seen in recent years are rather small in size. Smooth finish with light / honey stain color. Not sure what the story is behind these.

Now I knew the background on the pipe. I knew that the Supreme pipe was one of the higher end Jost’s in the Old English line. It was time to work on the pipe!

I decided clean up the pipe before I repaired the cracked shank. I reamed the bowl back to bare briar with a Pipenet Pipe Reamer using the third cutting head. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the bowl clean up with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The walls were smooth and there was no sign of burning or checking. It looked very good. I cleaned out the internals with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I worked over the shank and the airway in the stem. It took some work but once finished it was clean and smelled fresh. With the internals clean it was time to work on the cracked shank. I drilled a small pinhole at the end of the crack on the right underside of the shank. I do this to stop the crack from further spreading. I fill in the pinhole with clear CA glue and built up the surface of the crack at the same time. I squeezed the crack together and held it until the glue set. I spread the glue with a dental spatula and pressed into the shank crack. Once the repair cured I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I went through my bands and found a shank band/ferrule in nickel that was a snug fit on the shank. It was crowned and slightly dome so that would need to be flattened. I put the band a piece of dowel and used a ball peen hammer to flatten the top of the dome for a better fit with the stem.I heated the band with a lighter and pressed it onto the shank end. The fit of the ferrule to the shank was tight and it pulled the crack together even more than my clamping. It covered much of the stamping but the crack was quite long and I wanted some strong coverage. I put the stem on the shank and took photos of the new look of the pipe. I sanded the damage on the rim top and edges with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the majority of it with the sanding. There was some remaining darkening on the back inner edge of the bowl. I polished the bowl rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It took on a real shine by the time I finished with the last sanding pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the smooth rim and the sandblast finish on the bowl and shank. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the wood. I used a horse hair shoe brush to work it into the crevices and keep from building up in the valleys and crevices of the finish. Once the bowl was covered with the balm I let it sit for about 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cotton cloth and the shoe brush. I polished it with a microfiber cloth. I took photos of the pipe at this point in the process to show what the bowl looked like at this point. I used a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to try and flatten the remaining crown on the shank band/ferrule.Now it was time to address the part of the restoration I leave until last. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the deep grooves in the tenon to build it up and make it even. Once the repair cured I sanded it smooth to make it round and even once more. Once finished it looked better and the fit in the shank was very good. I wanted to adjust the bent in the stem as it had straightened a bit over time. I heated the blade with the flame of a Bic lighter. Once the vulcanite had softened I bent it to the correct angle and set the bend with cool water. It looks much better. I took the newly bent stem off the shank and worked on the stem surface to deal with the tooth marks and chatter. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and calcification off the surface of the stem. I build up the damage to the top of the button edge with black CA rubberized glue. Once it had cured I recut the button edge and flattened the repairs. I smoothed out the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sand paper. I use micromesh sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pad as I find it does two things – first it protects the vulcanite and second it give the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the Extra Fine Polish. I finished the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection from oxidizing quickly. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I first buff the stem and the briar with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. Blue Diamond is a plastic polish but I find that it works very well to polish out the light scratches in the vulcanite and the briar. I work the pipe over on the wheel with my finger or thumb in the bowl to keep it from becoming airborne. It works well and I am able to carefully move forward with the buffing. The briar and stem just shone! I finished with the Blue Diamond and moved on to buffing with carnauba wax. Once I have a good shine in the briar and vulcanite I always give the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I following up the wax buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I follow that up with a hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished vulcanite stem. It really is a beautiful pipe. The smooth finish around the shows the grain shining through the buffed natural finish of this Jost’s Supreme Diamond Shank Bent Billiard. The finished pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.62 ounces/46 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and the third of the five pipes for repair that I have ahead of me. Once I am finished with the lot he will get them back to enjoy once more. As always I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.