Tag Archives: repairing bite marks

Breathing new life in to a Beautiful “Malaga” Imported Briar Canadian

by Steve Laug

The “Malaga” Canadian is next pipe on the table. The carver did a great job of shaping the pipe to follow the grain on the briar. The bowl, oval shank and straight tapered stem look very good. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed with thick lava onto the rim so that it was impossible to see if there was damage on the inner edges. The sides of the bowl and shank are very dirty with grime and oils from prolonged use. The grain around the bowl and shank is very nice straight grain. The stamping on the top of the shank read “MALAGA”. On the underside it is stamped IMPORTED BRIAR. The stem had tooth dents and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem. There was some thick calcification and also some oxidation deep in the vulcanite of the stem surface. Jeff took these photos before he started the cleanup work on the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The rim top had thick lava overflow and darkening. The outer edge looked to be in decent condition. He also took a photo of the side and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. The photos show the general condition of the bowl and dirt and wear on the rich oil finish. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. Jeff took a photo to capture the stamping on the top and underside of the shank. The photos show the stamping “MALAGA” on the top and IMPORTED BRIAR on the underside. The stamping is very readable on the topside and fainter on the underside.I am also 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/tag/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 reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils and tars on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the flat surface of the rim top and the inner edge had some burn damage on the front and back side. The outer edge was rough and nicked. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. The stem also looked better. I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top as well as the stem. You can see the condition of the rim top and bowl in the first photo. Jeff was able to remove all of the tar and oils but you can now see the damage on the top and the edges of the bowl. The top of the rim is rough and the outer edges are chipped and rough. There is some darkening on the inner edge but the bowl is still round. The stem had tooth marks and chatter on both sides near and on the button surface on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank to show the condition. The “MALAGA” stamp is clear and readable but the IMPORTED BRIAR stamp is faint but still readable.I decided to address the rim top first. To remove the damage on the rim top and edges of the bowl I topped it on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. That removed a lot of the damage on the rim top and outer edge. I used a wooden sphere and 220 grit sandpaper to work on the inner bevel of the rim and remove the darkening and clean up the damage. I sanded the bowl and rim with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to begin the process of removing the scratches and blending the restored rim top into the rest of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris. The photos tell the story. I polished the rim top and the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded the bowl with 1500-12000 grit sanding 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 surface of the briar with my fingertips 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 following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I turned to the stem to address the issues on the surface of both sides at the button. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the indentations. Since vulcanite has “memory” it often will return to its original condition when heated. It worked pretty well leaving behind light chatter and some tooth mark that will need to be repaired. Once the repairs cured I flattened them with a small file. I cleaned up the repairs and blended them into the surface of the vulcanite with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. I think I finally beat the oxidation.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil. I finished by polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both fine and extra Fine and then wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This is a beautiful Malaga Canadian with a vulcanite tapered stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the beveled rim top and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich oil cured colour works well with the polished vulcanite 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 ½ 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 1.62 ounces/46 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the American Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

New Life for a Republic Era 1994 Peterson’s “Dublin” Lovat with Sterling Silver band

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Dublin” Lovat pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It had a tarnished Sterling Silver band on the shank. It came to us from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 14/11/2024. This Lovat was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Dublin”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines). The Sterling Silver Band is stamped on the top with three shields K & P over Sterling Silver. On the right side of the band it has three hallmarks – Hibernia seated arm on a harp (signifies country of manufacture), a crowned harp designating Sterling quality and finally a Date Letter mark – in this case it is an italic “I” (1994). On the left side it is stamped 1997. The pipe was in filthy condition when we brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. The bowl had a cake and there was some lava on the rim top and edges. The inner edge of the bowl appeared to be okay and a burn mark on the outer edge on the front. The stem was dirty and moderately oxidized. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was a white “P” stamp logo on the left side of the saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl and was heavily caked and the rim top had a spotty lava overflow. The inner edge of the bowl looks good and you can see a burn mark on the front outer edge of the bowl. The photos of the stem show the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that was around this bowl underneath the grime and grease coat on the surface. It is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. He also captured some of the stamping on the Sterling Silver band on the shank. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s London Made England line. On page 298 it had the following information.

“Dublin” (1992-2003) An orange-brown smooth line with a brass-nickel-brass sandwich band, vulcanite fishtail mouthpiece, consisting mostly of D shapes released for the Danish market. Stamped PETERSON’S in script over “DUBLIN”. A tenth anniversary pipe for the line was produced with a sterling band stamped 2001. Market demand fell shortly thereafter and several pipes stamped “DUBLIN” were released in ’03 for the Fourth of July commemoratives for the US market.

I knew a date range for the pipe I was working on from the stamping on the silver– 1994-1997. My guess is that it was made in 94 and purchased in 97 by the pipe man or woman who held it in trust. Since the one I was working on did not have a D shape it is not provable that it was made for the Danish market. However, other than the shape number, the colour, the silver band and the fishtail stem is the same on the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and the darkened spots 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 Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe had some dark spots on the briar but it looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top had some looked good but there was darkening on the rim top and inner edge and some burn spots on the front and back outer edge of the bowl. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. The P logo stamp on the stem side is clear but will need to be touched up. I took photos of the stamping on the silver band to try and capture what was on the band. It is readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I moved on to address the damage on the rim top and the front inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and bring the bowl back to round. It looked much better at this point in the process. I wiped down the dark spots on the edges of the rim and the heel of the bowl with some oxalic acid on a cotton pad. While it greatly lightened the spots it did not remove them.I sanded the bowl and rim with 320-3500 sanding pads to minimize the dark spots further on the rim edges and the heel of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth between pads to remove the sanding dust. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth and raised the shine. The bowl looks great at this point. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to continue to blend the repairs into the surface of the vulcanite. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding dust and preserve the vulcanite.I touched up the P stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it dried I scraped off the excess and sanded the surface with 1500 grit micromesh pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat and set it aside to dry. I polished silver band with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and protect the finish from further tarnishing. It took on a rich shine. I am excited to finish this Peterson’s “Dublin” silver banded Lovat. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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 beautiful mixed grain all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl and sandwich brass/nickel/brass band on the shank and made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Peterson’s “Dublin” banded Lovat is great looking and the 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 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 32 grams/1.13 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

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.

New Life for a Peterson’s “Dublin” Made in the Republic of Ireland 264 Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Dublin” Canadian pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It came to us from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 14/11/2024. This Canadian was stamped on the topside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Dublin”. It was stamped on the underside and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines). On the right side of the shank near the bowl it is stamped with the shape number 264. The pipe was in filthy condition when we brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. The bowl had a thick cake and there was an overflow of lava on the rim top and edges. The inner edge of the bowl appeared to be okay but the heavy lava coat prohibited knowing with certainty. There was a thin three layered band on the shank end with a piece of silver sandwiched by gold on each side. The stem was dirty and moderately oxidized. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was a white “P” stamp logo on the top of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl and the rim top were heavily caked and had a thick lava overflow. The inner edge of the bowl is hard to assess until cleaned. The photos of the stem show the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. He also captured the white stamped P logo on the stem top. I am including the link to the Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson).

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s London Made England line. On page 298 it had the following information.

Now I knew a date range for the pipe I was working on – 1992-2003. Since the one I was working on did not have a D shape it is not clear that it was made for the Danish market. However, other than the shape number, the colour, the brass, nickel, brass band and the fishtail stem is the same on the pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and the darkened spots 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 Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top had some looked quite good and the inner edge had some darkening and damage on the front. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. (The three part band was loose from the clean up and you can see it has turned in the fourth photo below.) I glued the triple band back on the shank carefully aligning it before the glue cured. I used a white all-purpose glue as I find that it works very well.I moved on to address the damage on the rim top and the front inner edge of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and bring the bowl back to round. It looked much better at this point in the process.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth and raised the shine. The bowl looks great at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them. I was able to lift them all significantly but a few remained on each side. I filled them in with black, rubberized CA glue. Once the glue cured I flattened the repairs with a small flat file. I sanded the repaired areas with 220 grit sandpaper to further flatten them. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth when I finished. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to continue to blend the repairs into the surface of the vulcanite. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth to remove the sanding dust and preserve the vulcanite.I touched up the P stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it dried I scraped off the excess and sanded the surface with 1500 grit micromesh pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat and set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Peterson’s “Dublin” 264 Canadian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl 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 beautiful mixed grain all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl and sandwich brass/nickel/brass band on the shank and made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Peterson’s “Dublin” 264 Canadian is great looking and the 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: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 31 grams/1.09 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Straight Grain Wally Frank Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we were given by a friend in Naples, Florida, USA on 07/17/2024. The smooth finish, the grain around the bowl sides and rim top along with the stamping on the shank is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the topside of the shank and reads Straight Grain. On the underside it is stamped Wally Frank in block letters. It is a beautifully shaped Canadian with beautiful straight grain around the bowl and the shank. The bowl had been reamed and was quite clean. There was light debris in the bottom of the bowl. The stem is lightly oxidized and there are some light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the button surface. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the clean bowl and the rim top and edges. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above.I remembered a a lot about the brand in that I knew it was an old US pipe and tobacco store in and around New York City. I also knew that they did not make their own pipes but had others carve them from a variety of well known pipe making companies. I wanted to double check and seek more information on the brand before I went to work on this one. To me it certainly looked very British but other than that I had no idea.

I turned first to the Pipephil website (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-w1.html). There was some information on the various stampings and lines of the brand and one matched this one. I also found out though the site that … the brand started in 1930. The pipes came from English, French, Danish, Italian and even US companies. That was a good start I continued by turning to Pipedia for more information and found some helpful clues regarding the pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Wally_Frank). I quote:

Wally Frank, Ltd. was one of America’s oldest and most respected names in pipes and tobaccos, beginning in the early 1930’s. Wally Frank operated a chain of tobacco stores in New York City (the flagship store was in Lexington Avenue) and had a vast catalog business for pipes and pipe tobaccos. Their numerous private-label pipes were made by many makers, including Charatan, Sasieni, Weber, and many others. Wally Frank, Ltd. also owned the Pioneer brand of meerschaum pipes, made from both Turkish and African meerschaum. In addition to importing pipes, he had many pipes made in his own name and also employed pipemakers like Peter Stokkebye, Svend Bang, and Ed Burak (who later became the owner of Connoisseur). As a result, each Wally Frank pipe must be individually evaluated on its own merit.

In 1952, Wally Frank was on a buying trip in Italy and “discovered” pipe maker Carlo Scotti. Frank liked Scotti’s pipes, but there was the small problem of Scotti’s pipes bearing the same trademark or logo as one of Wally Frank’s pipe lines, the White Bar. The two men decided on creating a new logo for pipes sold in the U.S.: a hole drilled in the stem and with a piece of silver foil inserted in the hole and covered with clear Lucite.

Wally Frank (the person) wrote the forward to Georges Herment’s 1954 book “The Pipe.”

There was also a great catalog page on the Straight Grain on the site that I thought was helpful so I have included it below (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:WallyFrankImmortal11.jpg).There was also a catalogue page of what are called Wally Frank Straigh Grain “Seconds” that also has helpful information(https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:WallyFrank16.jpg). I have included a copy of that below.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 a close up photo of the rim top and stem surface to show the condition after the clean up. The bowl was in good condition though the rim top and edges showed some darkening. The stem surface showed some oxidation and some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides.The stamping on the shank was readable as noted above. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the pipe in proportion. It is a beautiful pipe. The bowl and shank had a topcoat of varnish on the surface. From my examination of it was spotty and did not fully or evenly cover the briar surface. I decided to remove that topcoat finish with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad. It easily removed the varnish coat and the smooth briar surface was much better. I polished the bowl sides, bevelled rim top and the inner edge of the rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The pipe looked much improved at this point. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm working it into the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 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. Looking at the stem in bright light I could see some oxidation starting mid stem going to the button. While the chatter and tooth marks were light the oxidation was quite deep and only visible in bright lights. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. I think I finally beat the oxidation.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to finish this step. I put the stem back on the Wally Frank Straight Grain 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 Wally Frank Straight Grain 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: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/48 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!

New Life for a Fischer Buffalo NY Supreme Short Snorter with a Vulcanite Saddle Stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up from a seller in Harrison Township, Michigan, USA on 08/22/2024. The smooth finish, the grain around the bowl sides and rim top along with the stamping on the shank is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Fischer [over] Buffalo, N. Y. On the right side it is stamped Supreme. It is a short stubby Pot shaped pipe that I have called a short snorter or nose warmer. The bowl a thick cake and the inner edge and the top show some thick lava overflow. The stem is lightly oxidized and there are some light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the button surface. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the lava on the rim top and edges as well as the cake in the bowl. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was 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 Pipedia to the section that was 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 Supreme stamp at number 1. The Short-shanked Pot has some great grain on the bowl and shank. I do know that is was made before 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 a close up photo of the rim top and stem surface to show the condition after the clean up. The bowl was in good condition though the rim top and edges showed some darkening. The stem surface showed the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. The stamping on the shank was readable as noted above. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the pipe in proportion. It is a beautiful pipe. I sanded the inner edge and the darkening remaining on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked significantly better once finished.I sanded the bowl and rim with 320-3500 grit 2 inch sanding pads to clean up the scratching and darkening around the bowl sides and top. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. I polished the smooth portion of the bowl sides and the inner edge of the rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The smooth portions and bevelled inner edge looked much better at this point. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm working it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 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 to the stem. I “painted” the surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks on the stem and button surface. I was able to lift many of them. I filled in the remaining marks on the button and stem with rubberized black CA glue. Once it cured I use a small file to flatten the repairs. I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.It was ready for the next step. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to finish this step. I put the stem back on the Fischer Supreme Nosewarmer Pot 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 Fischer Supreme Pot is a beautiful and unique take on a classic shape. The polished vulcanite saddle stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 4 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.01 ounces/57 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 an Unusual Meerschaum with a Bamboo Shank

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by Kenneth Lieblich

I was pleasantly surprised to find this pipe recently at a local thrift shop. The thrift shops around here don’t usually carry tobacco pipes and, those that do, normally offer nothing but the dregs of the pipe world. In this case, I found a charming, simple, and beautiful billiard pipe. The bowl is made of block meerschaum, the shank is made of bamboo, and the tapered stem is made of vulcanite. Its seemingly conventional design belies a slightly enigmatic history. I must admit, I am tempted to keep this one in my own collection, but maybe one of you will talk me into selling it. The only marks on this pipe are underneath the bowl, and read Genuine Block [over] Meerschaum. Annoyingly, there were no marks on the stem, shank, or anywhere else. Having said that, however, it did lead me to think that this pipe was manufactured on the Isle of Man. I have restored a few pipes from the Isle of Man and Steve has restored countless pipes from there. In a recent blog post, Steve wrote the following:

My research on the origins of [this pipe] can be summarized like this: It was made with African Meerschaum from the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation and produced by Laxey Pipe Ltd. on the Isle of Man.Here is some information from Pipedia about meerschaum production on the Isle of Man:

Laxey Pipes Ltd. resided in a historical 19th century four-storey Man stone building at The Quay, Old Laxey, Isle of Man, which thankfully has been preserved.

The company specialised in the production of meerschaum pipes using the Meerschaum mined by the Tanganyika Meerschaum Corporation in the Amboseli basin in Tanganyika (since 1964 part of the United Republic of Tanzania).

Please note: you may often find names like “Manx Pipes Ltd.”, “Man Pipe Co.” and others more, but there is no indication of another Isle of Man pipe producer other than Laxey Pipe Ltd. at any time!

Laxey Pipes Ltd. marketed own brands like “Manxpipe”, “Manxman”, “Manxland” e.c. Names like “John Bull”, “White Knight” (unwaxed), “Domino” (black, or lined) indicated some shapes / colours of Laxey’s own series. The stems either showed the astronomical sign for “male” or “man” (circle + arrow), or the crest of the Isle of Man, the 3-legged X in a circle. Manxpipes and Laxey’s other brands were available through pipe retailers in general, but also were sold (mainly) to tourists through their own shop in Laxey.

Furthermore Laxey Pipes Ltd. manufactured the meer bowls for Peterson, Barling, Nørding and others from the later 1960’s until 2001. Man Pipe e.g. was a brand distributed by Comoy’s. The bowls usually showed no nomenclature indicating the orderer. “Genuine Block Meerschaum” was engraved frequently. Often, just the stems were different, while bowls were the same.

Supply of meerschaum from East Africa run out (Kenya / Tanzania exhausted, Somalia inaccessible), and thus the last Laxey meers were supplied to trade in May, 2001. Laxey Pipes Ltd. tried to survive continuing with briar pipes – mainly in the Danish style -, but to no success. It closed down business in July, 2002.Despite the paucity of maker’s marks on my pipe, the style of the marks that are there leads me to believe that this is a Manx-made pipe. One major detail that made me harrumph a bit was the bamboo shank. I wasn’t familiar with Laxey making bamboo shanked pipes. Steve commented that the pipe was not unlike pipes from the Kaywoodie Mandarin line of bamboo-shanked pipes. Again, however, as far as I know, the Mandarin line never included meerschaum. Steve asserts, however, that Kaywoodie did produce a bamboo-meerschaum pipe. Here is an example of an unbranded bamboo meer found on eBay. Not only does the pipe have no identifying marks, but the seller had no information either.The combination of meerschaum and bamboo in pipes is certainly not unprecedented in the 21st century. For example, one can find some spectacular examples from Walt Cannoy, Ryan Alden, and the famous Turkish maker, Said Altınay. Here is a beautiful example from him:As a side note, Altınay’s website includes an interesting note on the history of bamboo in pipemaking. I provide a brief quotation:

Bamboo began appearing in briar pipe construction in the early 20th century. The earliest known pioneer of this style is believed to be Sixten Ivarsson, the Danish pipe-making legend, who introduced bamboo shanks in the mid-1900s as both an aesthetic and practical innovation. The concept soon spread, embraced by artisans such as Tom Eltang, Tokutomi, and Takahiro Hibi, who elevated the use of bamboo into a form of fine art. Its appeal was twofold: the natural lightweight strength and the distinctive, organic appearance. While traditional briar offered durability and familiarity, bamboo introduced character, contrast, and subtle resilience — giving each pipe a unique signature.

Obviously, the pipe I found is not on the order of a Cannoy, Alden, or Altınay! But I also feel comfortable in saying that this pipe is a lot older than those fellows’ pipes. I would be interested in hearing from YOU if you know more about the marriage of meerschaum and bamboo in pipemaking. Thank you kindly.

The pipe was in generally good condition and didn’t seem too challenging to clean up. There was a bit of scratching, etc. on the stem, but nothing serious. The bamboo shank was aged, but perfectly sound. Finally, the meerschaum bowl was well worn, but not bad at all.I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped down the stem to provide an initial cleaning of filth before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning came next. I disinfected the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was very clean.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result was a hideous, brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface of the vulcanite. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew out the stem from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.As the stem was now clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks in the vulcanite. This was done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. I left this to cure and moved on.The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduced the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I removed the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the vulcanite. Following that, I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. Alas, I forgot to take photos of this step.

The inside of the shank needed to be cleaned thoroughly. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol.I didn’t sand the bamboo in any way, but I did rub it with some LBE Before & After Restoration Balm and let it sit for 30 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the bamboo and gives a beautiful depth to it. I then buffed the shank with a microfibre cloth.I moved on to the bowl. The first step was to ream it out – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplished a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleaned the bowl and provided a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake was removed, I could inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there was damage or not. Given the more fragile nature of meerschaum and the relative cleanliness of the smoking chamber, I only used a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel to clean things out. This was sufficient to ensure that all the debris was removed. My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim.I then cleaned the entrance to the bowl with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in lemon-infused 99% isopropyl alcohol. This was done cautiously, as too much liquid can cause softening of the meerschaum. Due to my care, no such problems were encountered. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand the outside of the bowl and finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the meerschaum and provides a beautiful smoothness to it. As the photos show, I masked the darkened portion of the bowl with tape so as not to remove it while sanding. I rubbed some Clapham’s Beeswax Polish into the meerschaum and let it dry thoroughly. Then I buffed it carefully with a microfibre cloth. Ooo – what a shine! For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench polisher and carefully buffed it – first with a blue diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.

All done! This bamboo meerschaum billiard looks fantastic again and I am delighted with the results. As I mentioned before, I might keep this for myself, but you’re welcome to reach out to me if you’re interested in acquiring it: kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅝ in. (142 mm); height 1¾ in. (44 mm); bowl diameter 1⅜ in. (36 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (18 mm). The weight of the pipe is ¾ oz. (24 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s 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.

Restoring a Beautiful Royal Danish 989 Made in Denmark Pot

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By Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up in an estate lot from a seller in Sacramento, California, USA on 09/03/2024. The sandblast finish with two smooth panels looking like a Stanwell style pipe is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Royal Danish [over] Made in Denmark to the right it is stamped with a shape number 989. That is followed by R. It has a classic sandblast finish and the smooth panels on the sides of the bowl are a stark contrast to vulcanite, faux military taper stem. There is Royal Danish Crown logo on the right side of the stem and looks to be in good condition. The seller sent the following photo of the pipes that we purchased. The pipe I am working on is the one on the top of the right column in the photo below.Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. The bowl appears to be lightly caked at first glance but could be thicker deeper in the bowl. The inner edge and the top show some lava overflow. The stem is oxidized and calcified which is quite normal for what I see. There are some tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the button surface. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the lava on the rim top and edges as well as part of the cake in the bowl. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the Crown logo on the left side of the saddle stem. It shows the faint stamping on the stem.Regardless of when this specific briar was made, the shape is very much a 1960s Danish one. I turned to Pipephil’s site and quickly scanned the article on Stanwell getting a great overview of the history. I went through the photos and did not find the shape of the pipe that I was working on (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r6.html). There was one that showed the mixed finish of the Royal Danish line – sandblast with smooth patches on each side of the bowl. I have included a screen capture of that section below.I then turned to Pipedia and found that the Royal Danish was also listed as a second or a sub-brand made by Stanwell (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell#Sub-brands_.2F_Seconds). I have included the list of seconds from the site below. I have highlighted the Royal Danish in blue in the text.

Sub-brands / Seconds – Bijou (discontinued), Danish Quaint, Danish Sovereign, Danske Club, Henley (discontinued), Kong Christian (discontinued), Majestic, Reddish (discontinued), Royal Danish, Royal Guard, Royal Sovereign, Sailor (discontinued), Scandia, Sorn (discontinued), Svendson.

There was also an interesting advertising page on the Danish Briars by Stanwell. The first one on the list was the Royal Danish. The description of the line is clear and concise, be sure to read it below.Now I knew that I was dealing with a Stanwell made pipe in the line called Royal Danish. That line is described as “dark walnut sandblast with smooth side panels…” That matches the pipe I am working on now and now it is time to do the work on it.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the smooth bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the rim top and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. It really looked good. I took a close up photo of the rim top and stem surface to show the condition after the clean up. The bowl was in good condition though the rim top and edges looked very good. The stem surface showed the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. The stamping on the shank was readable as noted above. I took the stem off the pipe and took a photo of the pipe in proportion. It is a beautiful pipe.I polished the smooth portion of the bowl sides and the inner edge of the rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The smooth portions and bevelled inner edge looked much better at this point. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm working it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 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 to the stem. I “painted” the surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks on the stem and button surface. I was able to lift many of them. I filled in the remaining marks on the button and stem with rubberized black CA glue. Once it cured I use a small file to flatten the repairs. I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.I touched up the stamping in the vulcanite on the top of the saddle portion of the stem. I used white acrylic fingernail polish to refresh the Crown on the top of the saddle. Once it hardened I sanded it with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil. As usual at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when it is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the Stanwell Royal Danish Made in Denmark 989 Saddle Stem Pot back together and it is a beauty. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite saddle stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl. This Royal Danish 989 Saddle Stem Pot was a great pipe to spruce up. It is a very comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 54 grams/1.87 ounces. I will be putting this pipe on the Danish Pipe Making Companies Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know by email or message. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Karl Erik Handmade in Denmark 225 Rusticated Poker

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/21/2024. It is deep and uniquely rusticated Pot with a saddle stem. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Karl Erik [over] Handmade in Denmark [over] the shape number 225. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. The pipe has some grime and oils ground into the rustication around the bowl and shank. The bowl had a thick cake and there was thick lava in the deep rustication on the rim top and edges. The inner and outer edges appeared to be undamaged. Cleaning would make that clear. The vulcanite saddle stem was oxidized and dirty with deep tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. Jeff took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl, lava overflow and the general condition of the pipe. The photos of the stem to show the condition of both sides of the stem as noted above. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the interestingly textured rustication around the bowl and shank. It really is a beautifully rusticated piece of briar. The finish is nice but it also dirty with dust ground into the deeper portions of the finish. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. If you have been following the blog for any length of time you have come to know that when I am working on interesting old pipes (even sometimes those not so interesting) I like to know a bit about the background of the brand. I like to “meet” the carver to get a feel for their work and style.

I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k1.html) to see what I could find. I did a screen capture of the entry there and have included the side bar information below the photo. Brand created in 1965-66 by Karl Erik Ottendahl (1942 – 2004 †). In the best years he employed up to 15 craftsmen among which Bent Nielsen (see Benner) and Peder Christian Jeppesen. Former grading (ascending): from 4 to 1, and “Ekstravagant” (entirely hand made)

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Karl_Erik) and reread the history of the brand. Give the article a read.

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, shank brushes, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted 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 look very good. There is a little darkening on the top that I will address and see if I can lessen. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There is tooth chatter on the stem surface on both sides but otherwise it looks good.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank of the pipe. The stamping is clear and readable. 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 worked over the rusticated rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to clean out the remnants of the debris. It looked much better. The bowl was very clean so I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and into the deep rustication with a shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks and had mixed success. All of the marks on the topside were lifted. The one remaining on the back I filled in with some rubberized black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I used a flat file to blend them into the surface and followed that with some 220 grit sandpaper. It looked better. Polishing would finish the work. I continued the sanding process with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. After each pad I wiped the stem down with some Obsidian Oil to clearly show me the scratches and areas that still needed work. It was really looking good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another rub down with Obsidian Oil. It looked very good. I am really happy with the way that this Heavily Rusticated Karl Erik Bent Poker/ Cherrywood with a saddle stem turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a unique shape and deep rustication completed by a vulcanite saddle stem. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I carefully 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 Karl Erik Rusticated Cherrywood 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: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 52 grams/1.83 ounces. I will be putting the pipe on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring a Camillo Rusticated 112 Italy oval shank Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up from a seller on eBay from Harrison Township, Michigan, USA. It is rusticated oval shank Billiard with a saddle stem. It is stamped on the underside of the shank. The stamp reads Camillo [over] 112. It is stamped Italy at the shank/stem junction. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. The pipe has some grime and oils ground into the rustication on the bowl and shank. The bowl had a thick cake and there was lava on the rusticated rim top or edges. The edges looked to be undamaged and possibly protected by the lava. Cleaning would make that clear. The oval saddle stem was lightly oxidized, calcified, dirty with tooth marks and chatter ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. Jeff took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl, lava overflow and the general condition of the pipe. The photos of the stem to show the condition of both sides of the stem as noted above. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the interestingly textured rustication around the bowl and shank. It really is a beautifully rusticated piece of briar. The finish is nice but it also dirty with dust ground into the finish. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I could not find any information on the Camillo Brand of pipes. I knew it was made in Italy but had no other information on Pipephil’s site of Pipedia. I googled the brand and found nothing listed. So with no info it was time to work on the pipe.

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, shank brushes, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted 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 look very good. There is a little darkening on the top that I will address and see if I can lessen. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There is light tooth chatter on the stem surface on both sides but otherwise it looks good.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank of the pipe. The stamping is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe.The bowl was very clean so I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks and had mixed success. All of the marks on the topside were lifted. The one remaining on the back I filled in with some rubberized black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I used a flat file to blend them into the surface and followed that with some 220 grit sandpaper. It looked better. Polishing would finish the work. I continued the sanding process with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. After each pad I wiped the stem down with some Obsidian Oil to clearly show me the scratches and areas that still needed work. It was really looking good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another rub down with Obsidian Oil. It looked very good. I am really happy with the way that this Rusticated Camillo 112 Oval Shank Billiard with a saddle stem turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a unique shape and combining a smooth bowl and a vulcanite saddle stem. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the 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 Camillo Rusticated 112 Billiard 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: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.59 ounces. I will be putting the pipe on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring a Badly Burned Out Peterson’s Kapmeer 407 Prince

3 Replies

by Steve Laug

Several months ago, now I received an email from Jake about a Peterson’s Prince that he had that had a burnout in the bottom of the bowl. I asked him to send me photos of the pipe so that I could see what the issues were with the pipe. The photos showed the large hole in the bottom of the bowl. The hole is the same diameter as the inner walls of the bowl by the looks of the photo. I did not know what the brand mark on the pipe was as we never spoke about it. My guess about it was that the stem made me think of a Dunsmore or perhaps a Kapmeer pipe. We talked about it and what it would cost to restore it. Jake said he would send it up for work. Time passed and I really forgot about the pipe then on the weekend Jake wrote that he was mailing it. I told him I would keep an eye out for it and early this week the pipe arrived. Here are the photos that Jake sent me to show me the damage. When I unpacked the box I took the pipe out and had a look at it. The hole was quite large and the edges of the hole were thin and chipping. The stem was very oxidized and had some tooth marks on the top and the underside ahead of the button.
I took a photo of the bowl to show the size of what I was dealing with. The liner on the walls of the bowl were meerschaum. I believe that originally the Kapmeer had a Meerschaum tube on the walls that did not have a meerschaum bottom. I took photos of the stem to show its condition. The stem was oxidized and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. The pipe is stamped around the sides of the shank. I took photos of the stamping and have included them below. They are clear and readable. The stamping on the left side read Peterson’s [over] KAPMEER. On the left side of the stem there was a stamped “P” that was clear and readable. The stamping on the right side read Made In [over] Great Britain. On the underside of the shank it was stamped with the shape number 407. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to give a sense of what it looked like. I started my repair on the burnout by cleaning up the pipe. I carefully reamed the thick cake out of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scraped the cake off the walls of the bowl. I sanded the bowl out with sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to remove any residual cake and smooth out the meerschaum.I used a pen knife to clean of the edge of the hole in the bottom of the bowl. I cut out all of the burned and thin areas on the hole. I cut a piece of briar out of the heel of a sacrificial old pipe. I cut a bit bigger than the hold as I would need to shape and fit it in the hole. I used the shape of the inner edge of the bowl and rim to set the shape of the plug that I was going to use on the repair. I used a Dremel to reduce the edges and make the plug round. I scored the back edge with the Dremel where the airway entered the bowl. I would reduce the edges of the plug to fit in the hole from the outside. I used a Dremel and sanding drum as well as several files to shape of the bottom of the plug to the same size as the hole in the bottom. Once it was shaped I fit it to the hold in the bottom. I glued it in place with clear CA glue. I filled in the gaps around the plug with briar dust and super glue. When the glue cured I sanded the repair smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I took a photo of the inside of the bowl. It shows some of the glue from the plug around the edges. I mixed a batch of JB Weld and pressed it into the bottom of the bowl. I used a folded pipe cleaner and pipe nail to press it into the bottom. I raised the bottom of the bowl to the bottom of the entrance of the airway.I sanded the outside of the bowl and the rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The repair blended into the surrounding briar. There was some darkening around the outer edge of the patch. I stained the repaired burnout with a Walnut stain pen. It is a different piece of briar but the colour is a close match.I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it and then wiped it down after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. It began to take on a shine. The exterior of the bowl looks better after polishing. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation on the surface of the stem. It took some work but I was able to remove a lot of the oxidation.I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift some of them. I filled in the few that remained with a rubberized black CA glue. Once it cured I use a small flat file to smooth out the repairs on the stem surface. I followed that up by sanding it with a folded 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sand paper to smooth out the repairs. I forgot to take photos of this part of the process. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the scratching, oxidation and further polishing the stem surface.I touched up the “P” logo stamp on the left side of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it cured I scraped of the excess and sanded the surrounding area with 1500 grit sanding pads. It looked very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grits pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil Cloth after each pad. There still seems to be some oxidation around the stem. But it looks much better. I mixed a batch of sour cream and charcoal powder and painted the bottom of the bowl with a folded pipe cleaner. The mixture cures hard and flavourless and protects the repaired bottom of the bowl. With the burned out bowl repaired, the bowl cleaned and restored I put the polished stem back on the shank. The Peterson’s Kapmeer 407 Prince looked beautiful. Even the repaired burnout on the bottom of the bowl looked interesting with the dark ring around it on the bowl bottom. I buffed the pipe Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and worked over the briar and the vulcanite with it. The buffer brought out a rich shine on the bowl and stem. I gave it multiple coats of Carnauba wax and then buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I had buffed the pipe with a soft cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. The pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This smooth Peterson’s Kapmeer 407 Meerlined Prince is great looking and the 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: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams/0.99 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be sending it back to Jake soon. He is looking forward to enjoying it once again. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.