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Salvaging a Beautiful Royal Danish from Sixten Ivarsson

by Kenneth Lieblich

I picked this pipe up recently and was immediately charmed by it. This is a really good-looking Royal Danish 990, designed in 1951 by Sixten Ivarsson. It’s got that lovely tomato shape, with a lovely sandblast, and a lovely smooth panel on each side of the bowl. The combination of smooth and sandblasted briar is very attractive. When I got my hands on it, it was one dirty, dirty pipe. But I was sure this one was going to shine once I worked my magic on it. This is a Royal Danish ball-shaped freehand with a saddle mouthpiece –that’s what the description of Stanwell pipes calls it, though I’ve called it a tomato. I learned from previous research that “Royal Danish” is a Stanwell sub-brand. As is typical of Stanwell sub-brands, the quality is immaculate and it’s not at all obvious why this wasn’t a full-blown Stanwell. This ball is a very attractive shape and it really makes an impression. The underside of the shank reads 990 Royal Danish [over] Made in Denmark and, on the stem, a lovely crown.Both Pipedia and Pipephil list Royal Danish as being a Stanwell sub-brand (and not much else), as per the photo below.The Royal Danish line uses the same shape numbers as Stanwell, but adds a 9 in front. That’s why this pipe corresponds to Stanwell 90. Meanwhile, Pipedia has a good amount of nformation on the Stanwell brand and its history. I certainly recommend looking it over: https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell.

Anyway, this really is a good-looking pipe. No major issues to resolve – just a few minor ones. The stem was very dirty, and had some small dents. There was also some oxidation on the vulcanite. The stummel was sooooo dirty. Inside and outside the bowl were pretty gross. The stummel would need some considerable work to clean. The stem was first on my list. I wiped down the outside of the stem with oil soap on some cotton pads. I also took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the bite marks and dents. This worked reasonably well, but I would still need to sort out the dents. The stem was clogged enough that I actually needed to scoop out gunk from inside with a dental tool. Then, I cleaned out the insides of the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. Once this process was done, I used some cleanser and cotton pads to wipe down the stem before throwing it in the oxidation remover overnight. The following day, I cleaned all of the de-oxidizing mess and again scrubbed with the cleanser on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation. This worked well. I used some silver Rub’n’Buff to restore the crown logo on the stem. I painted the area carefully and let it fully set before proceeding. Before I moved on to the Micromesh pads, I built up the dents on the stem with black, carbon-and-rubber-infused cyanoacrylate adhesive and let them fully cure.At this point, I turned my attention to the bend in the stem – or, rather, the lack of bend. Over time, the stem had gradually uncurled and straightened, so that it now no longer looked quite right. To correct this, I gradually heated the stem with my heat gun and then carefully bent it bank into shape, using a large wooden dowel as my guide. Worked perfectly!I sanded the adhesive down with my needle files to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. I also used pipe stem oil in between each pad scrubbing (from 3600 on up). On to the stummel, and the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I used both the PipNet reamer and some 220-grit sandpaper (taped to a dowel) to remove the enormous amounts of cake and take the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no significant flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none.I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was considerable filth inside this stummel.I decided to de-ghost the pipe, so I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some dish soap and tube brushes. The bowl was nice and clean after this. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with oil soap, some cotton pads, and a toothbrush. That removed any latent dirt hidden in the lovely recesses of the sandblast.There were a few nicks on the smooth section of briar on either side of the bowl. In order to try and improve this, I took a wet piece of cotton cloth, draped over the affected area, and used a hot iron to produce steam. This steam can sometimes cause the dents to swell back into place. Since this was a partial sandblast, I only needed to use the Micromesh pads on the smooth sections near the rim and shank. I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm to the wood and let it sit for 20 minutes or so. I then used a horsehair brush to ensure the balm got into those lovely sandblast grooves. The balm does wonderful things to the wood and really emphasizes how beautiful this pipe is. I’m going to be sorry to see it go. I took the pipe to my bench polisher and gave it a thorough going-over with my buffing compound and conservator’s wax. This pipe was a delight from the start and its beauty only increased through the restoration process. This Royal Danish 990 freehand ball is elegant, light, and incredibly comfortable to hold. Finally, I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Danish’ pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5 in. (127 mm); height 1½ in. (37 mm); bowl diameter 1¾ in. (44 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1½ oz. (46 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restemming and Reclaiming a Stanwell Design Choice 886

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is nice looking Stanwell Danish style Pot that I decided to restem. I cleaned up the bowl and matched a stem with briar bowl and vulcanite shank extension. It is a cleanup and restore and gives me a break from the routine of my other work on pipes. This bowl has a classic Stanwell look from the 1960s and 1970s. The finish was a bit dull and lifeless. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read 866 [over] Stanwell [over] Design Choice [over] Made in Denmark. The bowl had a thick cake and some lava overflow on the crowned rim top. The bowl also had some dust and oils ground into the finish of the bowl. The vulcanite shank extension is lightly oxidized. It is a pretty pipe with some great grain and I am hoping to match a nice stem to it. I took some photos of the bowl before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to give more of a sense of what I see and noted above. It is a dirty pipe but seems to have no damage on the rim top or edges.I tried to capture the stamping in a photo. It is clear and readable as noted above. There are some faint spots on them but they are still readable.I found a stem in my cans of stems that would work well with the pipe. I would need to clean up the tenon end a bit and smooth it out for a clean fit but I think it would look good!I did some hunting on both Pipephil’s site and also on Pipedia for both the shape number and also the Design Choice series. While both sites were very helpful neither one gave information specific to the Design Choice.

I then did a general Google search for a Stanwell Design Choice 886 six pipe and came up with several pipes with info. Two were on Worthpoint auction site and gave me little that I did not have by just looking at the pipe. However, Smokingpipes.com had a listing for an 886 that gave a little more data to me. Here is the link and a quote from the description on the site for this shape (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/denmark/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=302469). I quote:

Spanning a length of time between the 1960s and 1970s, Stanwell’s “Design Choice” series of variations on the marque’s shapes all predominantly featured the presence of a typically flared ferrule (which this “886” has). Likely based on a shape designed by Sixten Ivarsson himself, this Danish bent Pot also sports a pretty sweet cross-cut grain pattern. There are some dings on the bowl, and a touch of rim darkening, but otherwise condition is good. – Daniel Bumgardner

From the information I learned that the line featured a lot of Stanwell’s classic shape with the addition of a flared ferrule made of vulcanite. The pipe came out between the 1960 and 1970s and was probably based on a design by Sixten Ivarrson. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

I began by reaming the pipe. I used a PipNet Reamer with the first and second cutting heads to take back the heavy cake to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I like to remove all the cake to examine the walls for damage and checking. Great news is that this one is free of any damage! I scraped off the rim top and edge of the bowl with the Savinelli Fitsall knife aand started the clean up of the debris with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The inner edge and the top looked to be undamaged.I moved on to using the folded sandpaper to clean up the rim darkening on the pipe as well as further addressing the build up on the rim top. I was definitely looking better when I finished.I polished the briar bowl and vulcanite shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl took on a rich glow. I was enjoying the beauty of the bowl when it suddenly dawned on me that I had not cleaned the shank or the airway in the bowl or stem. I went back and did so now. I had to be careful with the alcohol so as not to drip on the shank extension of the briar. I used alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to clean out the internals and it is now clean on both the inside and outside.Now I could go back to my normal process. I rubbed down the briar and the vulcanite shank extension with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I paused the process to put the stem in the shank and take a photo of the new look of the pipe with a stem in place. I still need to polish the stem but the look is very nice! I like it. I removed the stem and started my polishing process. I sanded out the scratches in the vulcanite with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. It started to take on a deep shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads to remove them. I wiped the stem 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 rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This is another pipe that I am really happy about the finished restoration. This reborn Stanwell Design Choice 886 Danish Pot turned out really well. I used a vulcanite stem I had here to fit the pipe with a new stem. After restemming I think that it really is a great looking pipe with a great shape and grain. The bowl is Danish Style Pot shape and the vulcanite shank extension goes well with it. The new vulcanite stem is close to the original stem, though missing the saddle portion. The polished black of the stem works well with the briar. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish make the grain really pop with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell Design Choice 886 Pot really has a unique beauty and feels great in the hand. It looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 43 grams/1.45 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the section on Danish Pipe Makers if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Having Fun Restoring Four Charming Pipes

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by Kenneth Lieblich

A great customer of mine recently sent me some pipes for repair and restoration. I was happy to help out and the pipes were sent to me post-haste. There were some surprises to be discovered and challenges to be overcome. On this occasion, I did something different than I usually do: I restored all four at once, rather than one at a time. This blog is more of a show-and-tell than my usual restoration stories. This blog post is going to give a good overview of the restorations but doesn’t need to provide detail on each individual pipe. Let’s jump right in and see what we’ve got.First is a Comoy’s Castleton 126 large straight pot. Second is a Savinelli Oscar 622KS Lucite king size bent pot. Third is a GBD London Made 1978 bent Dublin. Fourth is a Peterson Sherlock Holmes Watson P-lip. All four are very attractive and I’m sure will be good smokers. A first glace at them all suggests that everything is fine, but things are not always what they seem… As I was inspecting the Comoy, I noticed, to my chagrin, that the shank was completely snapped. Someone had glued it back together, but it wasn’t well done and I was going to have to redo it. Similarly, when I dug deeper into the Savinelli, I noticed that there was a lot of damage to the inside of the bowl. That’s a problem! But I’ve got a solution. Fortunately, the GBD and Peterson didn’t have any major issues. That was good news. With all four stems, I wiped down the outside with some oil soap on some cotton rounds. Naturally, the insides needed to be cleaned too, and I did that with some pipe cleaners and 99% isopropyl alcohol. Two of the stems were vulcanite and two were acrylic, so I only needed to soak the vulcanite stems in the deoxidizing liquid. When they were done, I wiped them down with some cleanser on cotton rounds. After that, I sanded all four stems with my Micromesh pads – and I used the pipe stem oil towards the end of the sanding. They all looked so much better when I was done. Next step, of course, was removing all the cake from inside the bowls. I took out my PipNet reamer and my KleenReem and went to work. There was plenty of filth inside and it took a little while to get it all out of four bowls. I followed that up by sanding the insides with a piece of 220-grit sandpaper on a wooden dowel. I also gently scaped down the bowl rims in order to remove any lava there. Working through these pipes reminded me that most of my cleaning techniques for these pipes came from Steve and his brother, Jeff. They personify the standard for which all pipe restorers should strive. Thanks again Jeff and Steve for all your help to me.Before I moved on to cleaning the inside of the stummels, I decided that it made sense, at this point, to take apart the broken shank. This would make it easier to clean. I used my heat gun, softened the glue, and it came apart easily. I wiped down the ends with acetone to ensure that no glue remained.Now, it was time to clean the insides. As usual, I used a truck load of pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, and isopropyl alcohol to get everything spick and span.Following that, I set all four stummels up for a de-ghosting session. The bowls were stuffed with cotton balls and then socked with alcohol. This works to draw out any remaining filth. It really makes things look and smell better. When that was done, I used some soap and tube brushes and scoured the insides. They looked fabulous. I also cleaned the outsides with some oil soap on some cotton rounds.Next, I needed to repair the broken shank on the Comoy and the gouges in the Savinelli. The location of the break on the shank was awkward and wouldn’t allow for a strengthening tube to be installed. So, I simply had to glue it with great care. I used wood glue, as it has the best strength for what was needed. I also coated a couple of cotton swabs with petroleum jelly and shoved them down the shank to prevent any glue from dripping into the shank. I clamped the two parts together and left them overnight. I was quite pleased with the results.Meanwhile, I needed to mix up some heat-resistant epoxy for the Savinelli. I stuck a petroleum-jelly-coated pipe cleaner into the draught hole of the pipe and applied a thin layer of epoxy. I also let this cure overnight. I then sanded down the excess and made the bowl a new coating – a mixture of yoghurt and activated charcoal. This also sat for some hours to try and it makes a wonderful coating for a new cake to build on. I then moved on to sanding down the wood on all four stummels. I used all of my Micromesh pads and endured that everything was smooth and lovely. There was, however, considerable burn damage on the Comoy. After topping the pipe and reshaping it, I decided that this one needed a new stain on the wood. With the broken shank, burns on the rim, and topping, it needed a beauty treatment. I ended up staining this one with Fiebing’s mahogany stain – it turned out absolutely beautifully, but, for whatever reason, the photos here show it as being much darker than it is in person. Trust me: in person, it looks great. All four pipes got a nice coating of the restoration balm and were left to sit for 20 minutes or so. I then buffed them by hand with a microfibre cloth. I took the pipes to my bench buffer and spiffed them all up with some White Diamond and carnauba wax. My last step was to polish the sterling silver band on the Peterson with my jewellery cloth. And voilà! These beauties are already on their way back to their owner. I trust that he will enjoy their new and improved status. I hope you enjoyed reading this quick write-up of this lovely bunch of pipes. If you are interested in my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a unique Astley’s Root Briar Specialty Sitter Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a rugged almost primitive looking sitter with unique rustication and carving around the bowl. We picked up from a friend in Santa Cruz, California, USA on 05/28/2024. It is stamped on the flat underside of the bowl and shank and read Astleys [over] 109 Jermyn St [over] London. The rim top was smooth as was the bottom of the bowl and shank. The shank was also smooth. It is a pretty pipe. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was some darkening on the inner edge but no real damage. The rusticated grooves that ran vertically on the bowl were mixed with carved lines and swirls. It was very unique and almost primitive looking. The briar was dirty from use and the bowl looked dull. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem. It was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and lava, darkening and grime on the rim edge. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the finish around the bowl sides to show carving and rustication around the bowl and the smooth shank. It is very unique looking. You can see the dust and debris in the finish. Jeff took some photos of the stamping on the heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition. It is faint but still readable with a light. It reads as noted above.I had never seen an Astley’s like this one before. It was a first for me and I took some time to examine it carefully then spent time online seeing what I could find out about the pipe. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a8.html) and found a picture of a similar pipe. It is labelled the “Rock Briar” line. To be honest that did not help me much. I think it was not quite right in its labelling so I saved the screen capture below and kept digging.I turned next to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Astley’s) and found a great historic article about the shop and the brand. There was nothing specifically listed about what Pipephil call the Rock Briar line.

Astley’s was both a brand and name of a famous London tobacconist. The first shop was founded in 1862 and was located at 109 Jermyn Street, just down the road from the Charatan’s shop. They sold meerschaum pipes and later classic pipe shaped briar pipes. The owner of this shop was Mr. Paul Bentley whose family owned and ran the shop since the 1930’s. The shop closed some time ago, and the name of the brand was bought by Mordechai (Moty) Ezrati, who also owns the James Upshall pipe brand.

Astley’s served as an extremely exclusive and renowned shopping outlet for outstanding pipes for the British royalty and London gentry alike. Visitors to London sought out this shop as a ‘must visit’ during their stay. Although they never made their own pipes, the Astley branded pipe was made on contract by Charatan (until the 1980’s), James Upshall, Dunhill, L&JS, and Bill Taylor of Ashton pipes. Some sources (The Piperack for instance) say that Comoy’s and GBD had also made pipes for Astley’s. The shop always commanded extremely high prices for their much sought after specimens.

After Charatan had changed hands and was sold to Herman Lane Limited in the United States, Astley’s continued with their high grade pipe sales by presenting some of the best examples of British pipe manufacturing to pipe connoisseurs around the world.

Stamping: Astley’s, 109 Jermyn St, London (before, Wm Astley & Company, 109 Jermyn St S.W. London). Symbol: Styled white ‘A’.

One helpful link sent me to an Astley’s Catalogue I have on rebornpipes. I also have a hard copy here but somehow forgot about it (https://rebornpipes.com/2012/08/10/astleys-pipe-catalogue/). I flipped through the catalogue a page at a time hoping to find a listing of some sort for the “Rock Briar” line that Pipephil noted. Instead I found an almost identical pipe called an Astley’s Root Briar. It was described as follows:

These pipes are made of actual Roots of Briar and are not only unique in shape but can be relied upon to give a cool smoke. Each pipe is flattened underneath to rest upright on almost any surface. Only Astley’s can supply these.

I have included a copy of the page below showing the pipe and the Root Briar Line.Now I knew what I was working on. It is the first of these I have seen. I don’t know if they are rare but it is a first for me. I knew it was Root Briar Sitter that was uniquely carved and very individual in both its shape and look. Now it was time to work on it.

Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took photos of the bowl and the rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show the condition of the pipe before I started my work. The rim top was very clean and the inner edge and top look much better. The stem showed light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I took the stem off the bowl and took a photo of the parts. It is an interesting pipe. I sanded the smooth portions of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads carefully avoiding the stamping on the heel. I dry sanded with each pad and wiped it down with a damp cloth afterwards.I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl took on a rich glow. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the plateau rim top surface with my fingertips and a shoebrush. 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 my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a Bic lighter. I was able to lift the majority of them. One remained on the button surface on the top side and on the blade ahead of the button on the underside. Once the repairs cured I used a small file to smooth them out. I sanded repair further with 220 grit sandpaper and blended them into the stem surface. I smoothed out the repaired surface and the rest of the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil.I polished the vulcanite stem 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. This unusual Astley’s Root Briar Specialty Sitter with a saddle vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar is clean and the carving and rustication on the sides and the grain on the rim top and heel really came alive. The rich stains gave the finish a sense of depth on the rustication with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Astley’s Root Briar Sitter really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches x 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 67 grams/ 2.36 ounces. This beautiful Freehand pipe will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Secton. It should make a great smoker for the next trustee. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on.

New Life for a Royal Demuth Mixed Finish Silver Rim Cap Patriotic 44 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

I decided work on this interesting Royal Demuth mixed finish billiard next. Jeff pick up from an auction in Blue Springs, Missouri, USA on 05/07/20. So, it has been here for a while. It had a silver rim cap and band on the shank. The bowl has some unique rustication on the sides of the bowl and a carving of an eagle standing on a shield with the stars and stripes inside. The eagle has its wings extended. The carving is well done and very tactile. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads WDC in a triangle [followed by] Royal [over] Demuth. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar [over] Briar Root [followed by] the shape number 44. On the underside of the shank it is stamped FILTER PAT’D [over] 1934. The stem has no markings or stampings. The stem is a replacement I believe as it does not have the filter tenon as noted on the shank. It is vulcanite with a fishtail taper stem. It is lightly oxidized and has some tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. The bowl had a thick cake in it and some bits and bobs of tobacco stuck to the walls. There was a thick lava coat on the rim top and edges. The silver rim cap is tarnished as is the silver band on the shank end. The finish was dirty but still winsome in some strange way. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started working on it. He took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is heavily caked and the rim top and edges have a heavy coat of lava overflowing on to them. The silver rim cap is also tarnished as is the band on the shank. The stem is oxidized and has tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button end. He took photos of the finish and carving around the sides and heel of the bowl. It is a combination of rustication carved between smooth bands on the bowl sides and the shank. It is unique and very interesting. He took photos of the carving on the bowl front and the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is clear and readable. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to show how the pipe looks. I looked on Pipephil’s site and though there were many WDC pipes there was nothing stamped Royal Demuth and nothing with any of the other stamping on the shank sides of this pipe. I turned then to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/William_Demuth_Company). As always there is a great history of this American brand. If you are interested be sure to turn there and take time to read about it.

Royal Demuth example with box and filters, courtesy of Doug Valitchka

There was an interesting example of the Royal Demuth provided by Doug Valitchka that has identical stamping to the one that I am working on. It is a different shape but it identical in terms of the stamping. It also looks like it takes a filter that is similar to the Medico filter but I will double check that once it is thoroughly cleaned. This series of photos confirm that the stem on the pipe I am working on is a replacement as it is a push stem. There was also an advertisement for the WDC Changeable Filter Pipes that included the Royal Demuth. I have included that below. There is also a great article by Ben Rapaport on the Demuth – Dunhill Connection that is an enjoyable read (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_Demuth%E2%80%94Dunhill_Connection%3F).

I now knew that the pipe was part of a line of Filter Pipes that WDC put out and that the filter system was patented in 1934. The stamping that the Filter was Pat’d 1934 tells that it came out after the patent was granted. However, I could not fine tune the date more than that. I also knew that the pipe I was working on was an older one but that it had been restemmed sometime in its life.

I did a bit more digging to see if I could find anything on the Royal Demuth pipe I was working on with the same stamping but also with a carved Eagle and Shield on the front of the bowl. I googled that and found two examples of the same type of carving on Worthpoint. I have included both descriptions given by the seller as well as photos.

Here is the first of the sale pipes listed: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/world-war-ii-wdc-royal-demuth-filter-1797860035

World War II era WDC Royal Demuth, says “Filter Patent’d 1934 on the bottom, “Imported Briar Root’ and the number 28 on the left side, has an Eagle and Shield motif carved into the bowl, this was on of the patriotic pipes they came out with during the war. In pretty good shape, some minor chatter on the stem, a little bit of wear on the rim. The Royal Demuths are generally considered some of the best WDC pipes.Here is the second of the sale pipes listed: https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/estate-royal-demuth-pipe-carved-american-eagle

I have up for auction estate Royal Demuth pipe. It is marked on both sides and the bottom. The side that has the name also has a triangle with the letters, W, C, D inside. The other side has, Imported Briar Root, # 11. The bottom has, Filter Pat’d 1931. I am unsure of the actual date mark is does have some wear. The bowl has a beautiful American Eagle standing on a shield with 4 stars and stripes. The bowl has a strip of sterling on the rim and a band on the stem. The band is marked Sterling and has a square with a sideways anchor in it, a T in a square, and a lion in rectangle. I do not know the name of this company. The pipe is a well loved pipe and has been used. Some of the pictures were taken before I cleaned the silver.

From these sale sites I learned that the pipe I was working on was a World War II era WDC Royal Demuth. The patent date gave a start date and thus I knew it was made after that. It also has an Eagle and Shield motif carved into the bowl and the first seller surmised that it was one of the patriotic pipes that came out with during the war. I also knew that the stem was replaced sometime later and did not have the filter system expected on this pipe.

When I received it from Jeff it did not look like the same pipe. It was clean and the finish had life. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. It was in good condition. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a soft cloth. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I brought it to the table. I took some photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of them both when the pipe arrived. The rim top had some damage to the inner edge of the bowl and some marks on the top surface. Overall it looked very good. The oxidation on the stem had come off very well and the tooth marks chatter in the surface of the stem were visible. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the appearance of the parts. It is a beauty. I started my work on the pipe by polishing the metal rim cap, edges and shank band. I polished it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to polish out the scratches in the metal. It looked much better at this point in the process. I polished the metal cap and band with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The metal took on a rich glow. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I had been thinking about the replacement stem and went through my cans of stem to see if I could find a WDC stem with the triangle logo on the left side. The amazing thing was I found one!!. The metal tenon (made for the WDC filters) was misshaped and was larger next to the stem than the mortise end. I used a small file and a Dremel and sanding drum to even us the diameter of the tenon all the way from the end to the stem end. It took some work but it worked well and the end result was the stem fit in the shank well. The diameter of the metal spacer was taller at the top than at the bottom. The measurements showed that from the tenon to the stem top was larger than the distance from the bottom edge. I would need to shape and work out that shape. I took off some of the metal and vulcanite on the top half of the stem with the Dremel and sanding drum. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the sanding marks from the Dremel. Once I had smooth them out I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend them in and smooth out the surface of the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished hand polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. The stem really was beginning to look very good. This is a beautiful WDC Royal Demuth Silver Capped and Banded Billiard with a fitted filter vulcanite stem. The flat bottom makes it a sitter that is well balanced. The shape fits well in the hand with the curve of the bowl makes it a great pipe to hold. I polished stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the rusticated bowl and carvings on the bowl front multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. I gave 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of black and dark brown stains gave the sandblast a sense of depth. The pipe took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar and the polished silver rim cap and shank band works well with the polished stem. 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: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 ounces. This American Made Silver Capped and Banded Filter Billiard is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Great to work on an older WDC Thorobred Broken In Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

This richly stained Bent Billiard is a beautiful pipe. The grain around the bowl is highlighted by the stain and really stands out. Jeff picked the pipe up on 08/06/22 from an online auction in Manorville, New York, USA. He purchased it along with its brother, another Thorobred that was sandblast. I have restored it already and there are many similarities. Here is the link to the blog on the restoration (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/08/14/restoring-an-old-wdc-sandblast-thorobred-kerly-briar-broken-in/). It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads WDC in a triangle followed by Thorobred [over] Broken In. The grain follows the flow of the carved briar. The finish is stained with rich colours – a mix of browns that give depth to its finish. It was filthy with dust and debris ground into the sides of the bowl. The rim top has a heavy lava overflow on the top and edges coming from a thick cake in the bowl. The tapered hard rubber stem has a red triangle WDC logo inset on the topside. It was lightly oxidized and calcified with tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started working on it. It really is a beauty. He took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the hard rubber on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the finish around the bowl sides to show flow of the grain around the bowl. You can also see the dust and debris in the finish. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the left side of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. He also captured the red triangle WDC logo on the top of the stem.I turned to the blog, mentioned above on the restoration of the sandblast partner of this pipe and reread the history of the brand that I had gathered when working on it. I have included that information below for ease of reference.

I have included a quick history of the brand from Pipedia that is interesting and is helpful (https://pipedia.org/wiki/William_Demuth_Company).

William Demuth. (Wilhelm C. Demuth, 1835-1911), a native of Germany, entered the United States at the age of 16 as a penniless immigrant. After a series of odd jobs he found work as a clerk in the import business of a tobacco tradesman in New York City. In 1862 William established his own company. The William Demuth Company specialized in pipes, smoker’s requisites, cigar-store figures, canes and other carved objects.

The Demuth Company is probably well known for the famous trademark, WDC in an inverted equilateral triangle. William commissioned the figurative meerschaum Presidential series, 29 precision-carved likenesses of John Adams, the second president of the United States (1797-1801) to Herbert Hoover, the 30th president (1929-1933), and “Columbus Landing in America,” a 32-inch-long centennial meerschaum masterpiece that took two years to complete and was exhibited at the World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893…

…In 1897 Ferdinand Feuerbach joined the Demuth company and by 1903 had become the production manager. Feuerbach is credited with developing Demuth’s popular Royal Demuth and Hesson Guard Milano pipelines. He left in 1919, when Sam Frank Sr. needed an experienced pipe man to run his pipe factory, located at 168 Southern Blvd., in the Bronx. Feuerbach and Frank had been close friends since Frank started his own business in 1900 and was closely associated with the sales staff of WDC, selling their line of pipes…

In early 1937, the City of New York notified S.M. Frank & Co. of their intent to take by eminent domain, part of the land on which the companies pipe factory was located. This was being done to widen two of the adjacent streets. As a result of this, Frank entered into negotiations to purchase the Wm. Demuth Co.’s pipe factory in the Richmond Hill section of Queens. It was agreed upon that Demuth would become a subsidiary of S.M. Frank and all pipe production of the two companies would be moved to DeMuth factory. New Corporate offices were located at 133 Fifth Avenue, NYC.

Demuth pipes continued to be made at the Richmond Hill plant till December 31. 1972. Then the Wm. Demuth Company met its official end as a subsidiary company by liquidation. Demuth’s mainstay pipe, the Wellington continued to be offered in the S.M. Frank catalog until 1976. In the mid-80’s, the Wellington even made a brief return as a direct to the consumer offer.

I also have included a photo of a Billiard with the same stamping as the pipe I working on though on a sandblast or Kerly Briar. The rest of the stamping on the pipe is the same as what is on mine.When I received it from Jeff it did not look like the same pipe. It was clean and the finish had life. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. It was in good condition. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a soft cloth. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I brought it to the table. I took some photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of them both when the pipe arrived. The rim top had some damage to the inner edge of the bowl and some marks on the top surface. Overall it looked very good. The oxidation on the stem had come off very well and the tooth marks chatter in the surface of the stem were visible. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the appearance of the parts. It is a beauty.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the issues on the top and the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the roughness. It looked much better at this point in the process.I sanded the briar rim top and the sides of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. By the time I finished with the 3500 grit pad the briar had taken on a rich glow. I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl took on a rich glow. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks and scratches. The heat did little to raise the marks at all. I wonder if hard rubber is unlike vulcanite in terms of memory. I used black super glue to fill in the deep tooth marks in the surface. I flattened out the repairs with small files. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs and begin to blend them into the surface. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend them in and smooth out the surface of the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished hand polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it down with another coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. The stem really was beginning to look very good. This is a beautiful WDC Thorobred Broken In Bent Billiard with a thick hard rubber, black stem. It has a great look and feel. The flat bottom makes it a sitter that is well balanced. The shape fits well in the hand with the curve of the bowl and bend of the shank making a great pipe to hold. I polished stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the sandblast bowl and plateau on the rim top and shank end multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. I gave 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of black and dark brown stains gave the sandblast a sense of depth. The pipe took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished stem. 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: 5 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 42 grams/ 1.55 ounces. This American Made Bent Billiard is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Restoring a Fischer Long Shank Deluxe Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a smooth, classic tall Canadian shape that looks very European. It is stamped on the top side of the shank and reads Fischer in script. On the underside of the shank it reads Deluxe. There were no other identifying marks or stamps on the shank or the stem. It came to us form a seller in Princeton, New Jersey, USA on 08/20/2021. It has a mix of grain around the sides and shank. The bowl had a heavy cake in the bowl and thick lava on the rim top. It was thick so it was hard to be certain what the inner edge looked like. The finish was very dirty so it was hard to know with certainty what lay underneath. The bowl is a tall, stack like bowl on a Canadian shape. The vulcanite taper stem had no logo stamped on the topside. It has oxidation, calcification, tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl, rim top and stem sides to show the condition of the both. It was a dirty bowl with debris and a heavy cake on the walls. The rim top had a thick lava covering the bowl and the edges. It was hard to know what the condition of the inner edge was underneath. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing condition and the tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the grain around the sides and the heel of the bowl to show the briar that was used to craft this extraordinary long pipe. I took photos to capture the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-f2.html) and looked up the Fischer brand. I found the listing below and have included both a screen capture and the side bar notes. The stamping is the same as the one on the pipe I am working on.Store closed in 1978. Former address: House of Fischer, 1722 Boston Ridge Road, Orchard Park, NY.

I then turned to the listed for US pipe makers/manufacturers (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Fischer) to see if I could find out more information. I have included the article below.

Gustav Fischer was pipe maker for “The House of Fischer’, which was located in Orchard Park, NY, near Buffalo. The Fischer family apparently made pipes for six generations, starting in Germany and continuing in the United States until the 1970s. Their literature from 1956 said that all their briars were bench made. They also made meerschaums, but some confusion is caused by the fact that there was also Gustav Fischer, who made meerschaum pipes in Boston during roughly the same period.

The article went on to give information on the Fischer from Orchard Park, NY. I quote from that below.

The following information is gleaned from a thread on PipesMagazine.com

PIPES BY THE HOUSE OF FISCHER, ORCHARD PARK NY
Fischer pipes were made in USA through the 1950’s up to late 1978 when the owner, Paul Fischer retired, sold the store and moved to Florida in 1978. Unfortunately, The House of Fischer did not use a date stamp on their pipes, and therefore it is not possible to determine the exact date of manufacture.

Lee Pattison writes the following:

The Fischer shop in Buffalo closed in the late 1950’s last run by Arthur Fischer who moved shop to his home in Orchard Park. Arthur was the last of the family and retired 1978. Early pipes made in shop in Buffalo were stamped Buffalo in loop below name. Art deleted this from the stamp in early on 1960’s which helps in partial dating. Art did only pipe repair and sales. An unconfirmed report from a pipe maker Milton Kalnitz from the same era stated that the later pipe may have been made by Weber. Paul Fisher was part of the unrelated family in Boston Mass. The Buffalo shop started about 1890’s. Source of info was personal contact with family.

FISCHER PIPE QUALITY GRADE STAMPS
This is a list of various Fischer pipe stampings from my personal collection of over sixty Fischer pipes accumulated over the past forty plus years. It is by no means meant to be all-inclusive, however, if you find more Fischer pipe stampings please email me so I can update my list.

Fischer Supreme
Fischer Royal
Fischer Imperial
Fischer Golden 15
Fischer 15 Grand
Fischer 25 Grand
Fischer Ramsgate
Fischer Deluxe
Fischer Special
Fischer Texan (for which they applied for a patent)
Fischer Seconds

The list of Quality Grade Stamps shows one with the Deluxe stamp at number 8. The Long Canadian has some great grain on the bowl and shank. I do know that is was made after the removal of the Buffalo stamp on the shank in the early 1960s.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim show some darkening, nicks and scratches. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides. There are also tooth marks on the underside of the stem.I took photos of the stamping on the top and undersides of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable (though fainter on the underside). I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the roughness. I then used 220 grit sandpaper and a wooden ball to give the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel. It looked much better at this point in the process.I sanded the briar rim top and the sides of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. By the time I finished with the 3500 grit pad the briar had taken on a rich glow. I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl took on a rich glow. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it 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 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth and shoe brush to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem issues. I “painted” the surface of the stem to try and lift the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. I was able to lift them to some degree but a few remained. I filled them in with black CA glue and set it aside to let the repairs cure. Once the repairs cured I used a file to flatten out the repairs and start blending them into the stem. surface. I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to begin the process of blending them into the stem surface. I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend them in and smooth out the surface of the stem.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I put the stem back on the Fischer Deluxe Long Canadian and took it to the buffer. I worked it over with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. 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 well and the bevelled rim top looked good. I was happy with the look of the finished pipe. The photos below show what the pipe looks like after the restoration. This Long Shank Tall Canadian is a beautiful and unique take on a classic shape. The polished vulcanite taper stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. The long shank and tall bowl look and feel great in the hand. This one should be a great smoker. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Restoring a Longchamp France Leather Clad Billiard

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by Steve Laug

I received two pipes for repair from Brady, who works at a Pipe and Tobacco Shop in Texas yesterday. The first is a tiny Hexagonal Dublin stamped Genuine Briar. The second one is a leather coated bowl stamped Longchamp France Billiard. Both were quite dirty and needed some special attention. It was time to work on the second pipe – a Longchamp France Leather Clad Billiard. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Longchamps [over] France. There was no other stamping on the shank sides. On the left side of the stem there was a race horse with a stylized rider. The bowl had a heavy cake in the bowl and thick lava on the rim top. It was thick so it was hard to be certain what the inner edge looked like. The leather clad bowl had a lot of scuffs on the sides of the bowl and was quite dirty. The vulcanite taper stem had oxidation, calcification, tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition of both the bowl and the rim top. The bowl has a thick cake lining the walls and overflowing into lava. You can see the lava and build up on the rim top and the lava flowing over the inner edge of the bowl. It is hard to know if there is damage or if the lava protected it. The leather looks good with the stitching still tight. The stem is oxidized and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took a photo the stamping on the shank to show its condition before my work. It is clear and readable as noted above. The stamp on the stem is faint but still visible. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the symmetry of the pipe. It is a beauty beneath all grime.I unscrewed the corkscrew stinger in the tenon and removed it. I took a photo of the stem with the stinger next to it.I turned first to Pipephil’s site to get a sense of the brand and an overview. Pipephil does an amazing job of summarizing (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-l5.html). I have included a screen capture of the brand and also the sidebar below the capture.Brand created in 1948. The pipes were crafted by Forestier-Bourgeois Cie (FBC) in St Claude and leather wrapped by Parisian workshops. Longchamp is the one and only brand which exclusively marketed leather clad pipes. They invented these pipes.

I turned to Pipedia to get some added background on the brand that I find an important part of the work on a pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Longchamp).

In 1948 Jean Cassegrain inherited a small shop near the French Theater on the Boulevard Poissonnière in Paris, called “Au Sultan”. Articles for smokers and fountain pens were offered there.

Now, the absolute bulk of the pipes Cassegrain found in the inventory was from war-time production and due to the sharp restrictions on pipe production the French government had enforced in 1940, these pipes were of very poor quality and showed large fills. Strictly speaking, they were not marketable now that the French pipe industry produced pipes of pre-war standards again. In this situation Cassegrain had the probably most enlightened moment in his life: he took some of these pipes to a leather worker who clad bowls and shanks in leather. Only the rims of the bowls and the shanks’ faces remained blank.

E voila – the pipes looked pretty good now and were eye-catching enough to become an instant success in sale. Above all among the thousands of Allied soldiers who populated Paris in those days. The thing worked well, and even unexperieceid pipesters liked the covered pipes very much for they did not transmit the heat to the hand. Very soon Cassegrain had sold the old stock of pipes, and the leather-clad pipes became his only product. He began to place orders with renowned firms like Ropp or Butz-Choquin.

Because the name Cassegrain was already registered as a trade name for one his relatives, Cassegrain, a big fan of horse races, named his newly created firm after his favorite race course Longchamp near Paris. Hence an outlined galopping race horse with jockey was chosen as logo. The wind mill – see the frontpage of the catalog – symbolizes the name Cassegrain.

The numerous contacts with American soldiers bestowed an official contract on Cassegrain to supply the PX shops with his leather-wrapped pipes. According to his grandson, also named Jean and now CEO of the family firm, “There wasn’t an American GI in Europe who didn’t have one of these pipes at the time. They were exported and sold in PXs worldwide. That’s how it all started.”

In the course of the following years Cassegrain enlarged and refined the Longchamp pipe program continuously. More precious kinds of leather like calf and suede came in use. The top range was clad in alligator leather and even pony fur was used. In addition, many models showed vibrant colors now, and small sized pipes, the “Royal Mini”, made that also women interested themselves in the pipes. The hype was pushed furthermore, when well-known persons of public interest, like TV moderators or pop icon Elvis Presley, began to flaunt with a Longchamp put on.

The Cassegrain family expanded their business in 1955 starting a sortiment of pipe bags, tobacco pouches, pipe stands, ashtrays, tampers, lighters – all made of or clad in leather. (Going from there Longchamp turned to other gentleman’s leather-goods around 1960 and finally established itself as a global brand at the end of the 1960’s introducing the Xtra-Bag for ladies.)

After 1970 the interest in leather-clad pipes slowly diminished. The Longchamp pipes were offered for the last time in the 1978 catalog though previously placed orders were delivered until 1980.

The splendid success inspired many other renowned producers to offer their own lines Ropp, Butz-Choquin, Gubbels, GBD, Sasieni… Maybe Savinelli was the very last producing them for the label of the famous designer Etienne Aigner.

I decided to ream the bowl and do some internal clean up work before further polishing the briar. The cake was very hard so I proceeded with care so as not to either break my reamer or damage the rim edges. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the 1^st and 2nd cutting heads to remove the cake in the bowl. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. The walls appeared to be in good condition. I cleaned out the internals of the bowl, shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It came out smelling much better. I scrubbed the aluminum corkscrew stinger with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the oils and tars along the turns. It cleaned up very well.I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. The grain stood out more with each set of pads. There were some nicks and dents but it looked good. I touched up the rim top with a Maple Stain pen to blend it into the colour of the leather on the bowl. It looked much better.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the rim top with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. Now it was time to address the scuffing on the bowl sides. I wiped the leather down with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris. It was surprisingly clean. I decided to try something new in terms of addressing the scuffing on the leather sides. I used micromesh sanding pads to work on the scuffed areas and smooth them out. It worked very well. I used a Maple stain pen to blend the smoothed-out areas of the leather into the surrounding areas of the bowl covering. It really looked much better!I waxed the leather cladding with Conservator’s Wax and buffed it on the buffer with a clean buffing wheel. It looked very good. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I touched up the racing horse stamp on the left side of the taper stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it dried I scraped off the excess. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. This Longchamp France Leather Clad Billiard with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe 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 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 Longchamp France Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Since both pipes are finished I will be sending them back to Brady this week. Thanks for your time.

Replacing a snapped tenon on an Alexander Greece AR/72 -B Rhodesian

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By Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a beautifully grained Alexander Greece Rhodesian. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Alexander [over] Greece. The A at the beginning of Alexander is a letter Z in the centre of the A. On the right side it reads AR / 72 B. It is another one that came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Today is that day I guess! It is very classic shaped Rhodesian shaped bowl with an ebonite taper stem. I really like the look of a Rhodesian and this one has a little twist that makes it a bit different. The bowl was very clean and had no cake. The finish was in excellent condition and had a great wax/shellac coat. I would run some pipe cleaners through it but it appeared to be very clean. The ebonite taper stem had a fancy Z logo in a silver circle inlaid on the topside. It is not oxidized but has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped off tenon in the shank. The break is quite clean so it should clean up very well.I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cleanness of the bowl and the condition of both. It was clean bowl that had been reamed. The inner and outer edges otherwise look very good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing wear and tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem surface and button.I took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the inlaid Alexander logo on the left side of the stem. Before I started working on the pipe I turned to Pipedia to remind myself of the Alexander Greece brand and gather the background that makes working on pipes a pleasure (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Pipes). I quote from the article below. Of note it starts with an update regarding the death of Alexander.

Update: Today I am saddened by the news that Alexander passed away on February 10th, 2015. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. We are very thankful for his contributions to the World of pipes. –sethile (talk) 21:00, 12 February 2015 (UTC)

“I am Alexandros Zavvos, born in Molos, Thermopylae, near Lamia. Since I was a child I had an inclination for art, starting with painting. I studied Radio-electronics, and at age 23 I got involved with commerce with a capital of 150.000 drs. in 1962.

I entered the pipe business where I met, by total chance, with Mr. Libero G. Albanese, first technician and producer of briar-wood models in Kalabria, Italy. When I told him that I am Greek, he almost prayed, saying that we Greeks have the best briar in the world for pipe-making! From that moment on I understood that this fellow is in love with his work – and he transmitted that to me instantly!

From mid-1962 to 1963 I searched all over the world for a college or a school in order to be taught the art of pipe-making, but in vain – there were none. Moreover, I wasn’t able to make it through the big European pipe-makers of that time (British, Italian, Danish). I was convinced that only through experience there was a chance of me becoming what I wanted.

In 1964 I started the commercial briar-wood model production, in 1965 I constructed empirically my first pipe and in 1967 I started the vertical production (this is from the briar Greek woods to the consumer) – maybe there is no other factory in the world producing smoking pipes vertically.

In 1970 I started the research, which was accomplished in 1984, on the 1st generation hygrostatic system. In that same period we founded, my brother and I, our factory in Lamia for the production of ebony epistomes.

Today, 40 years later, I have successfully arrived at the production of the 5th generation hygrostatic pipe. I will finish by saying that this pipe, to what concerns the pleasure it provides, has nothing to do with that pipe for peace, offered by American Indians.”

The Alexander Briar Pipes website still sells briar pipes of several styles, including “Hygrocool”, “Hygrocool NT”, regular pipes, cigarette pipes and pocket pipes, along with briar blocks, acrylic and ebonite stems and accessories.

At the mention of the Hygrostatic System above I remembered a pipe that Paresh had restored for me and gifted me when I went to India. I have included the link below.

https://rebornpipes.com/2019/08/02/gifting-my-mentor-and-dear-friend-steve-an-alexander-zavvos-hygrosystem-pipe/

It is an interesting brand and a great looking classic pipe rather than his hygrosystem pipe. Given the information and background on the pipe I started my work on the pipe. I decided to start by pulling the broken tenon and beginning the process of the replacement. I used a drywall screw to pull the tenon. I screwed it into the airway and wiggled the broken piece out of the shank. The second photo of the bowl below shows the pulled tenon.In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I drilled the airway in the stem with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the bit that was the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure.I set the stem aside overnight to let it cure. I turned out the lights and called it a night. In the morning I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It had been reamed but needed to be sanded smooth. It was in great condition. I cleaned out the shank and airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the deep tooth marks. I filled in what remained with black CA glue and set it aside to let the glue cure. I flattened the repairs with a small file to start the process of blending them into the surrounding ebonite. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to further blend in the repairs and flatten them out. It was looking much better at this point. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. Once again, I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond 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. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black ebonite stem. This richly stained Alexander Greece AR/72 -B Rhodesian is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy a fresh smoke. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 46 grams/1.66 ounces. This is one that will go on the Pipe from Various Makers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. 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 generation.

Replacing a Broken Tenon on a Bari Select Nature Old Briar 924 Oval Shank Acorn

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a beautifully grained Bari Oval Shank Acorn. It is stamped on the topside it reads Bari [over] Select Nature [over] Old Briar. On the underside it reads Made in Denmark [over] the shape number 924. It came from a box of pipes with broken tenons that I set aside to work on someday. Today is that day I guess! It is very nicely shaped Danish style acorn shaped bowl with a vulcanite saddle stem. I have worked on the shape previously and really like the look of it. The bowl has a thin cake and some lava overflow on the back of the crowned rim top and bevelled inner edge. It appeared to be in excellent condition under the grime. Only cleaning would make that very clear. The vulcanite saddle stem had a Bari logo stamp on the topside of the saddle. It is dirty, oxidized, calcified and has tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The tenon had snapped off cleanly in the shank. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took a photo of the shank end to show the snapped off tenon in the shank. The break is quite clean so it should clean up very well.I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the condition of both. It was clean bowl that had been reamed. There was a spot of lava overflow on the back inner edge and rim top. The inner and outer edges otherwise look very good. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the calcification, oxidation and tooth marks on the stem surface and button.I took photos to capture the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I also took a photo of the Bari stamp on the topside of the stem.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b1.html) to see if I could find a listing for the Bari Select Nature Old Briar with this three digit number. There was nothing specifically listed for this line of Bari pipes. There was also good info on the brand as a whole and that it was founded by Viggo Nielsen in 1950 and he ran it until 1978 when Age Bogelund managed the production for them. In 1993 it was sold to Helmer Thomsen. I have included a screen capture of the section below.Pipedia gives a great history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Bari) that is well worth reading. There were also photos of the Bari stamping on the Select Nature Old Briar line of pipes.

Given the information and background on the pipe I started my work on the pipe. I decided to start by pulling the broken tenon and beginning the process of the replacement. I used a drywall screw to pull the tenon. I screwed it into the airway and wiggled the broken piece out of the shank. The second photo of the bowl below shows the pulled tenon.In preparation for fitting a new tenon I flattened out the broken edges on the snapped tenon using a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper.I drilled the airway in the stem with increasingly larger drill bits until I had the bit that was the same size as the threaded portion of the new tenon.I fit the tenon in the stem to make sure the fit and alignment was correct and repeated the process in the mortise. I fit the stem on the tenon in the mortise to check the alignment. With the fit as good as it was going to get on this one I slid a pipe cleaner in the stem and tenon and painted the threads with black CA glue. I pressed it into place in the stem and set it aside to cure.I needed to adjust the fit of the stem to the shank. The alignment as slightly off on the top and the bottom of the stem and shank. I used a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to make the adjustments to the stem and the briar shank. I was careful to not damage either the stamping on the shank of the stamping on the stem. I continued smoothing out the sanded portions of the shanks and stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth after each sanding pad. Since the bowl walls were clean or cake I did not need to ream the bowl. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a piece of dowel to clean up the walls of the bowl. It had been reamed but needed to be sanded smooth. It was in great condition. I sanded the bevelled inner edge of the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I stained the sanded areas on the shank and on the rim top with a Cherry stain pen. It blended in very well with the rest of the briar. It is a beauty. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl, rim top and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I find that the balm really makes the briar come alive again. The contrasts in the layers of stain really made the grain stand out. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The bowl really looks good at this point. I had a gold band that was the perfect size for the shank. I had a hunch that it might give the shank a bit of bling that would look good. I pressed it in place on the shank. To get a sense of the new look. I really liked the way it looked so I set it in place. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with 220 sandpaper to remove the scratching and reshaping marks on the stem. It was looking much better at this point but still had a long way to go.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil saturated cloth to remove the grime and protect the stem.The BARI stamping on the stem had some scoring marks between some of the letters that I could not polish out without damaging the stamping so I left them. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both fine and extra fine. Once again, I am the part of the restoration that I always look forward to – the moment when all the pieces are put back together. I put the pipe back together and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond 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. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the smooth finish and the black vulcanite stem. This richly stained Bari Select Nature Old Briar 924 Acorn is light weight and ready for you to load up a tobacco of preference and enjoy breaking it in. Have a look at it in the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 44 grams/1.52 ounces. This is one that will go on the Danish Pipemakers Section of the rebornpipes online store shortly. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. 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 generation.