Tag Archives: repairing tooth marks

Churchill’s Bent Pot

Blog by Steve Laug

I saw this pipe come up on Ebay and love the shape. Some have called it a bent pot but I am not sure that the name captures the shape but I will call it that nonetheless. Churchill’s was not a brand I was familiar with but it looked very good. The stamping on the pipe is very simple on the left side of the shank it is stamped Churchill’s and on the right side it is stamped Matt Grain. The bowl had been reamed back by the seller before shipping and was well done. No damage to the roundness of the bowl. The inside of the shank was filled with chips of carbon from the reaming and they were stuck in the tar in the shank. The buildup was enough that the stem did not seat in the mortise and there was a gap in the fit of the stem and shank. The rim had some tarry buildup. The stem sat at an angle to the shank as if the tenon was bent slightly. There were three deep tooth marks on the top and the bottom of the stem near the button. The oxidation was present but not heavy at this point. The stem was also plugged with tars and the airflow was very constricted. There was an old English style C stamped on the stem. The first nine photos below were provided by the Ebay seller.

I am fairly certain that the pipe came from Churchill’s Tobacco Shop in Norwich, England. I found the following information on the Pipes and Logos website http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c4.html On the site there is a small paragraph which I have copied as follows: “Churchill’s Tobacco shop is situated in St Andrew’s Street at the corner of Bridewell Alley in Norwich, England. The shop was next to a church and at the bottom of two hills, and that’s how it became “Churchill’s”. Former manager: John Elvin (retired on May, 31 2008). Current owner (2008): Keith Garrard.” I have included these pictures from that website as they show the stamping on both the shank and stem that is identical to the pipe that I have just refurbished.

According to the Churchill’s website it is the last remaining specialist tobacconist in Norwich, originally standing at 32 St Andrews Street for over 23 years. http://www.churchillsofnorwich.com/index.php?_a=viewDoc&docId=1 The site also notifies the shop’s clients that Keith Garrard, who had a wealth of knowledge and was an avid pipe and cigar smoker himself, passed away on 23rd March 2012. His wife Coral continues to maintain the business in his honor.

I decided to try to remedy the bent tenon on the pipe to begin with. I heated it in a cup of boiling water to try to adjust it and tighten the fit in the mortise. I was able to adjust the fit and get a good tight seat with no gap between the shank and the stem. However, in the process the water oxidized the stem badly. The four photos below show the adjusted fit of the stem and also clearly show the bite marks on the stem – top and bottom near the button.

I scrubbed the inside of the shank with Everclear and cotton swabs. I cleaned the airway with bristle pipe cleaners and then fluffy pipe cleaners. I continued to scrub it until the pipe cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean. I cleaned the rim of the bowl with saliva and a cotton pad until the grime was gone. It took a bit more than a cotton pad and saliva so I also used a very fine grit sanding block to knock off the remaining tar, being careful to not break the finish.

The stem took a bit of work as it was plugged with grit and tar. I used a dental pick to clean out the slot. To the right of the stem in the photo is some of tar and grit I picked out of the slot. I used a straightened end of the pick to clean deeply in the slot. I then used pipe cleaners soaked in Everclear and pushed them through the blockage. I also opened the slot with needle files to facilitate easy access with pipe cleaners. The slot was very narrow which also made the blockage hard to get at.

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the surface around the bite marks. In the next three photos the bite marks are visible. I heated them to lift them as much as possible. The bite marks on the top were less troublesome than the ones on the underside. Fortunately the stem was quite thick so that the tooth marks did not go all the way through the vulcanite.

I picked the tooth marks clean with a dental pick and then used black super glue to patch the deep marks that remained. Once the glue had cured and was hard I sanded the patches with 220 grit sandpaper and then a medium grit sanding sponge to smooth out the surface and blend in the patch. The next three photos show the patch after it had been applied and after sanding.

I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to finish removing the oxidation and the scratches left behind by the various sandpapers I used. The next series of photos show the progress of the shine after each group of sanding pads.

I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil and rubbed it into the surface of the stem. Once it had dried I rubbed it and polished it with a shoe brush before taking the pipe to the buffer. I buffed it with White Diamond and then carnauba wax. I gave it a polish with a clean flannel buffing wheel. The next four photos show the finished pipe. I really like the way the matte finish came alive. The grain really pops. This was an easy refurbish as the finish was in very good shape under the top layer of grime.

Stem Repair Failure – by Mark Domingues

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This is an interesting piece that Mark wrote on a stem repair that not even I would have undertaken. To me this stem was a goner. The hole and missing vulcanite would make a patch virtually impossible in my opinion. But my hat’s off to Mark for giving it a go. He writes up the repair and the failure of the repair in a clear and concise way. Thanks Mark for blazing the trail on this and letting know about one that did not work.

I got a Peterson Shamrock off Ebay with a chunk missing from the stem near the bit. I figured I would try to shape a repair using black super glue and vulcanite dust from an old stem. Instead of using the Oxyclean soak, I “painted” the stem with a bic lighter to remove the oxidation. I put a piece of cardboard wrapped with scotch tape and smeared with Vaseline in the bit end. Then put some glue on the cardboard, sprinkled dust and dripped more glue to make a patch. Since it was a curved stem, I placed it in my bowl of sand I use to do the alcohol and cotton ball treatment. I used to do the alcohol/salt but this is far easier and has the same effectiveness IMHO.

After drying, I used files and wet/dry paper moving from 320 up to 2000 to get the stem shaped. I used a needle file to reshape the bit, and then took it to my buffer wheels to really shine it. I think it came out great. The camera has some white spots that aren’t on the stem. It looks like a new stem!

Well, the repair LOOKED beautiful but didn’t hold!! Running a pipe cleaner through it a week later, it cracked and just crumbled away back to the original picture. I’m wondering about the ratio of glue to vulcanite dust, or like someone said on a pipe forum, the 2 different materials will not hold due to expansion and contraction when heated. Maybe I will try again with more glue, less dust.

Peterson Pre-Republic Shamrock – by Mark Domingues

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Mark has been following the blog for awhile now and posting his work on Pipe Smokers Unleashed pipe forum. I have been reading about his work for awhile now and invited him to write about his refurbs for the blog. I am hoping this is the first of many posts that he will do for us on his restorations.

This is my first full writeup on a pipe. I got this Pre-Republic Shamrock shape 106 billiard on eBay. It has the circle COM dating it between 1947-49. The pics from eBay were enough to scare away the casual smoker. The bowl was heavily caked and had severe lava flow on the rim. The calcified stem didn’t fit all the way into the shank, in fact it was stuck. But the nomenclature was crisp and when I saw the “Made in Ireland” circle format, I knew I had to have it!

When I got the pipe in, it was just as shown. The cake was so thick I couldn’t get my pinkie into the bowl very far. The stem had a tooth mark divot on the p-lip opening and was frozen into the shank upside down.

First thing I did was use a cotton pad to wipe the outside of the bowl to get rid of 65+ years of grime. The bowl stain was still in excellent condition. Put the pipe in the freezer for 30 minutes then was able to free the stem. I soaked the bowl with the alcohol/cotton ball routine overnight. The next day I reamed the bowl, worked an alcohol soaked shank brush into the shank until the buildup was gone. When dry, the stem fit perfectly!
Here is the stem after “painting” it with a bic lighter to remove oxidation and raise up tooth depressions. Note the large divot in the airhole.

I put a Vaseline coated toothpick in the opening and used the StewMac black superglue to close up the opening to a more normal size, filling in the divot over several days.

Using 320 grit wet/dry sandpaper on up to 1200 grit, I reshaped the stem where the glue was built up. Then moving to the Beall 3 wheel buffing system I hit the pipe with Tripoli, white diamond and carnauba wax. Each wheel is dedicated to each compound and is attached to a ½ hp motor on an old barstool in my garage (mancave). I put an old quilt under the buffer because occasionally the pipe or stem I am working on will jump out and hit the concrete. This gives it a soft cushion should it happen. Here is the finished pipe, one of my new favorites!

Charatan’s Make 109 Rhodesian Restoration

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Blog by Al Jones

I have been a fan of the Charatan Shape 109, but rarely see them become available. This one was recently posted on Ebay. It is a Lane era pipe, with the L stamp, but it has a tapered stem versus the more common Double Comfort. I think the Double Comfort stem on Chartan Bulldog or Rhodesian stems look a little ungainly, so this one was very appealing. The pipes small size was a definite appeal. It is similar to a Group 4 Dunhill or XX Ashton. The pipe weighs approximately 45 grams, which is my right in my sweet spot.

The Ebay pictures for the pipe weren’t very detailed and there were some pretty deep teeth marks on the bottom of the stem. The pips is stamped:
Charatan’s Make
London England
109 and the L stamp

I’ve learned that Charatan pipes stamped in this manner were known as having the “Rough” grade. From a somewhat controversial web article by Ivy Ryan, I’ve learned that:
“Sandblasted pipes stamped Charatan’s Make over London England and a number are one version of the famous “Rough” grade. These were apprentice pipes that didn’t come out well
enough to be graded but were still eminently smokable. To save the wood and give the
less-well-off a quality smoke, Charatan would first hand rusticate the pipe gently, then sandblast
it. (Due to Dunhill’s patent, they couldn’t simply blast the pipe, and the rustication made for a very
different blast.)”

The “L” in circle stamp denotes a pipe imported into USA by Lane Ltd between 1955 and 1988. If anyone has information to narrow down that range, please chime in.

Here is the pipe as it was delivered. The nomenclature on the stem was in decent shape but it had some heavy tooth waves on top and heavy indention’s underneath.

Once again, I employed the Stew-Mac black superglue to repair the teeth marks on the bottom of stem. The first photo shows the application of the superglue and the second shows it sanded smooth with 800 grit sandpaper.

I reamed the bowl and soaked it with alcohol and sea salt. There was some tar build up on the bowl top, but that was removed with a very mild oxy-clean solution and a cloth.

I removed the oxidation on the stem with 800 grit wet sandpaper, then progressed thru the 1500 and 2000 grade paper. Most of the waves came off the top of the stem and the marks underneath blended in nicely with the superglue. The button was in good shape. I stayed away from the CP stem logo. The stem was then buffed lightly with white diamond rouge.

I finished the bowl with some Halycon wax, worked into the bowl with an old toothbrush polished by hand

Here is the finished pipe.

K&P London Made Found in a Bargain Shop

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Blog by Steve Laug

Yesterday afternoon I went with my eldest daughter to Walmart here in Vancouver. Across the street is a bargain shop that sells lot of movie set items and other things that are collectible and antique. I have found quite a few good pipes there over the years. I went to the shop while she was in Walmart and looked over the lot they had this time. There were quite a few pipes in the case and most of them while interesting just did not capture my attention. Then I moved a few of them out of the way and underneath was this little P-lip apple. I could tell it was a Pete and an older one because of the thick shank and stem. I held it up to the light and my guess was confirmed. It was a Peterson. It was marked $28 and I offered $25 for it. They accepted the offer and I paid the bill and put the pipe in my pocket. I picked up my daughter and headed home to check it out.

I wiped off the shank with a cotton pad dampened with saliva and found that it was stamped K&P LONDONMADE on the right side of the shank. On the left side it was stamped 215 and A “PETERSON’S PRODUCT” Made In London. So I had found an English made Peterson’s shape 215 pipe. The band was silver and was badly tarnished but I could see from the hallmarks that it was also stamped with English hallmarks. The first was an anchor which told me that the band was made in Birmingham. The second was a reclining lion which is the stamping for Sterling silver. The third mark was hard to see with the grime and tarnish but looked like an animal face in the cartouche. Closer examination would have to wait until I had cleaned up the tarnish.

The pipe was in fair shape. The bowl had nicks in the sides in several places as well as a very rough rim. It looked as if it had been hammered about and was damaged. It would require topping to remedy that problem. The bowl had been reamed and was slightly out of round and then smoked again for some time – long enough to build up an uneven cake with most of the cake at the top of the bowl and the bottom of the bowl was bare wood. The silver band was loose and had turned about a quarter turn clockwise. The stem was very tight in the shank – which thankfully had kept the band in place on the pipe. The stem had many bite marks and tooth dents up the shaft from the button for about an inch. It looked as if the individual who had smoked it held it far back in his teeth. Both the underside and topside of the stem were damaged with tooth marks and a series of grooves from a tool. The button itself and the ledge on the underside were in very good shape. The round opening in the button was elongated from years of pipe cleaners.

I was able to carefully remove the stem and the inside of the shank was darkened with tars but not terribly dirty. The end of the tenon is stepped down and the fit in the shank was very snug. After cleaning the stem would fit well. There was no stamping on the oxidized stem and appeared to be no remnant of stamping. The oxidation on the stem was heavy at the shank stem union and also around the button on the top and bottom.

I wrote about the stamping to Mark Irwin who is my Peterson’s go to contact for information on Peterson pipes. He is a wealth of information that I have been unable to find in other places. He was on the road but sent me the following information. “…The “Peterson Product” indicates the pipe is a lower line. They began using this stamp in the 1930 catalog for their “K” pipes, but if it was this, you should’ve seen a “K” on it. There were several “200” series shapes, but the “215” is not in a catalog I have here. The London factory was much smaller than the Dublin, but I’ll have to ask Gary about the hallmarks, as I’m unfamiliar with the Brit system. Best my guess tonight is that the pipe dates anywhere from 1920-1940. I have photos of a thick-shanked and thick-stemmed straight apple hallmarked Dublin 1920–I can send you a .gif when I get home if this sounds like the pipe. If so, the shape itself goes back to at least that year.”

That was helpful information on the dating of the pipe. I sent Mark the photos last evening and then this morning received this reply concerning the pipe. “… Gorgeous! Yup, it’s the same shape as the photo I have, which means the shape itself goes back to at least 1920.” In the mean time I had cleaned up the band with silver polish and scrubbed it with a soft cotton pad. I reset it with white glue on the shank and examined the hallmarks under a bright light with a jewelers loop. It became clear that the last of the hallmarks was not an animal but rather a letter in the cartouche. It was well worn but from the outlines on the mark it appeared to be the letter “T” which dates the pipe to 1943.

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using the smallest cutting head and the next size as well. I removed the cake back to the wood to even out the broken cake. I cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs to remove all the tars and oils in the shank. Once I had cleaned out the shank I also cleaned the stem with pipe cleaners. I used Everclear with cotton swabs on both. When it was finished I put the stem back in the shank and the fit was snug.

I topped the bowl with my usual method – 220 grit sandpaper on a flat board and turned the bowl clockwise as I pressed the rim into the sandpaper. I sanded the top until the damaged portion of the rim was removed. One side benefit of the process was that it also removed some of the damaged inner rim as well bringing the bowl back into round.

To prepare the bowl for restaining I wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad. I wanted to remove as much of the finish as possible so that I could more easily blend the new stain on the rim with the stain on the bowl. I have found that if I thin down the original stain on the bowl I can generally make a good match with the rim when I stain the entire pipe. The rim always takes several more coats of stain than the bowl but the match comes out very well. I wanted to end up with a stain colour that matched the original stain colour as much as possible. Between each coat of stain I flamed the stain to set it in the grain of the briar. The stain I used was an aniline stain in a dark brown that I thinned 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. Once it was dry I hand buffed it with a shoe brush to blend the colours of the stain and give me a clear look at the stain to make sure it was evenly applied.

I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded the stem with medium grit emery paper to remove the oxidation and also clean up the vulcanite around the tooth dents. Once clean, I heated the dents by passing the flame of a lighter across the tooth marks. The heat of the flame lifts the dents to the surface. The key is to keep the flame moving quickly and not allow it to sit in one place too long or the stem will burn. The first photo below shows the tooth marks on the top side of the stem. There were matching tooth marks on the underside. The second photo shows the stem after the heating with the flame. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and also a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches and remnants of the dents. I filled the two remaining dents with super glue, sanded the glue down to match the surface of the stem and then finished the sanding with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit (Photos 3 – 5).

Once the stem was sanded with the 12,000 grit micromesh pad I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and when dry rubbed it into the stem. I gave the stem several coats of wax and returned it to the bowl. I polished the silver band a final time and also waxed that. I buffed the pipe lightly with White Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is pictured below. It has some beautiful grain on it. There are also some flaws in the briar that I chose to leave as I find they add character to the pipe.

Father Tom’s Briar – Reborn – by Al Jones

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Blog by Al Jones

Followers of this blog are no doubt very familiar with Steve Laug’s wonderful “Father Tom” short stories. For those not familiar with Father Tom, he is fictional well seasoned, pipe smoking minister.

On the “Brothers of Briar” pipe forum and we are fortunate to have a real life “Father Tom” as a member. Father Tom is an Episcopal priest in Northern Indiana. He taught for 32 years before leaving the classroom for full-time parish work. He has been a pipe smoker since college, and most of his college pipes are still in the rotation. The pipe is one he bought in the late 70’s in South Carolina. Tom posted a picture of this pipe earlier this summer on the forum and wondered if the finish could be restored. Tom had recently returned from a church assignment to the Honduras. The pipe was very much well-loved and the varnished finish was worn off in the handling areas. The stem was also heavily oxidized. Tom reported that it smoked Granger quite well. Here is the pipe as it was delivered.

Steve sent me some information on a Wellington brand pipe and this one appears to be a reproduction of that and the Peterson system pipe, including a p-lip military stem. The pipe is stamped “Pietro”. Steve told me that these stems had a reputation of being drilled close to the edge of the stem near the bend. As such, over time, the use of a pipe cleaner wears the stem material thin. Sure enough, after I started to remove the oxidation, there was a small hole and crack on the top of the stem bend. I wasn’t sure the stem could be saved but I thought that perhaps several layers of black superglue blended in would rebuild that area. In total, I applied four light coats of the superglue, raising the surface about 1 mm and covering the hold. The crack still shows thru the material but I think it should hold up to some use. But, I advised Father Tom to be careful clenching that one. At some point a new stem will have to be made for the pipe.

This shows the repair in progress with the black superglue (purchased from Stewart-Mac, a guitar repair supply house).

I finished the stem by removing the heavy oxidation first with 600 grit wet sandpaper, than moving to the 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grades. I used 8000 and 12000 grades of micromesh to complete that step. Than, with the stem mounted in the briar, it was buffed with white diamond rouge, than a automotive plastic polish.

I then moved my attention to the briar. I first soaked the briar in an alcohol bath in an attempt to soften the varnished finish. That had some effect, but it was necessary to sand most of the shiny varnish off by hand. I used 600 grit paper and progress up to 1500 grade wet paper. There was one large gash on the bottom of the bowl and one large fill spot, where the putty had fallen out. Not surprisingly, there were other fills on the briar under that finish. I was able to lift out the dent using a heated kitchen knife and steam. I repaired the fill hold with some of the black superglue. Sometimes I think covering the fills looks worse than leaving them and I thought the others lent some character to the pipe that Tom had given the briar (they might have also been handling dings, etc.)

I used a two step process to apply the stain to the briar. First I warmed the bowl with a hair dryer and then brushed on a coat of black stain. I lit the stain with flame to set it into the grain. The black stain was then sanded off with a series of sandpaper, starting again at 800 grit. I then applied a very light, almost neutral brown stain over the black. The bowl was then buffed with white diamond rouge and several coats of carnuba wax. While hand buffing the carnuba wax, I almost had a tragic accident with the pipe – it slipped out of my hands and bounced off my concrete workshop floor. I was horrified but was somewhat relieved to see no visible damage. It was only in the final hand polishing did I notice that the fall had put a dent in the metal cap. Steve shared with me a technique to heat the cap (once removed) and use a wooden dowel shaped into the half-circle to work out dents. Unfortunately, even using heat, I was unable to remove the cap. After discussion with the gracious Father Tom, it was decided to leave well enough alone. I will be picking up a padded piece of carpet to place in front of my work bench.

Below is the finished pipe. My grandfather was also a minister, but didn’t smoke a pipe. I would often watch him in his study poring over notes for his next sermon or wrestling with the day-to-day issues that a pastor faces. While working thru this restoration, I could picture Father Tom thoughtfully puffing on pipe as he completed his pastoral duties. I imagine it has been with him thru many weighty challenges faced by a modern minister. I hope this reborn pipe will be with him for many more years and help work thru the challenges of that endeavor.

Refurbed No name Dublin

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I am once again down to the remnants of the box of pipes to refurbished. This one is a no name Dublin with a large bowl and a long stem. The only stamping on the pipe is the words Imported over Briar on the left side of the shank. It is a screw mount metal tenon but the condenser attachment is missing. The stem was oxidized and had tooth dents on the top and bottom near the button. The inside of the stem was sticky black tar and smelled of sweet aromatics with goopy topping. The bowl was caked but not too badly so. There were flakes of tobacco stuck to the walls of the bowl. There was some darkening to the briar on the outside that made me wonder what I would find underneath the uneven cake. The exterior of the bowl was very dirty. There was a lot of oil ground into the finish on the smooth parts of the bowl and the carved feathers/leaves had dirt built up in the grooves. There was also a large drop of green paint on the lower left side of the bowl. The rim was caked and dirty and was slightly out of round.

I reamed the uneven cake from the bowl with the PipNet reamer set. Underneath the surface of the cake there were some fissures in the surface of thin cake I left on the wood of the inside of the bowl. The pipe may be a candidate for quick bowl coating or pipe mud to protect it from any damage or burn out. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with acetone wetted cotton pads. It took many pads before I was down to the clean surface of the briar. I topped the bowl with a medium grit sanding block to remove the buildup on the surface. I followed up on this with a fine grit sanding block to remove the scratches and then with a fine grit sanding sponge. I used a tooth brush and acetone to clean out the grooves of the carvings.

I sanded the entire bowl and shank with a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the remaining finish. I also sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and then followed up with the same sanding sponge. I heated the bite marks with a Bic lighter to lift them and then sanded the surface smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded that area of the stem with fine grit sandpaper and a sanding sponge. Once the bowl was sanded and ready to be stained I wiped it down a final time with an acetone wetted cotton pad to remove the sanding dust from the grooves and carvings.

I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 grit to bring back the shine. I rubbed down the stem with Obsidian Oil and buffed it with White Diamond. I coated the stem with carnauba wax and hand polished it with a shoe brush.

I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain that I mixed with isopropyl alcohol in a 2:1 ratio to get it to be the colour I wanted for this pipe. I applied the stain with a cotton swab and flamed it to set it in the grain. I repeated the staining until the colour was on target and even around the bowl. Each time I flamed it to set it in the briar. Once it was dry I buffed the pipe and stem on the buffer with White Diamond and then gave it repeated coats of carnauba wax and buffed in between with a soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is pictured below.

Rebirth of a No Name Bakelite Pipe with Bakelite Stem

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This pipe came to me from Chuck Richards (Desertpipe) in a box he sent me. It is the first of three old timers that he sent for me to work with. It is a common interest that we share – this love of the old timers and restoring them to some of their former glory. The first four photos below show the pipe as it was when it arrived to my work table. There is no stamping on the pipe at all. The gold band is stamped 14K Gold Filled. The stem has no logos or stampings. The underside of the bowl and the Bakelite base has no information stamped on it either. It is much like some of the WDC or William Demuth pipes that I have from the same era. The pipe itself was in pretty decent shape. The bowl was very clean. The rim was undamaged and the finish on the bowl was quite nice. The double grooves around the bowl were filled with grit and the surface had a few pits in it. The Bakelite bowl base and shank were in good shape. There seems to have been a metal decorative rim that went around the base between the bowl and base that was missing. The 14K gold filled band was in place but was on backwards so that the stamping of the gold was upside down. The stem was very oxidized and had been filed to give a steeper angle on the taper to the button. The filing had gone too deep and the airway next to the button was exposed. At first examination it appeared that the stem was too hard a material to be vulcanite and the filing marks did not look like they were on vulcanite. My initial guess was that the stem was also Bakelite.

I removed the bowl from the base and reamed and cleaned it. I reamed it with a PipNet reamer back to a very thin cake. I cleaned out the airway at the bottom of the bowl. I used a dental pick to clean out the dual lines around the bowl top. I cleaned out the reservoir in the bottom of the base with cotton swabs and Everclear. I cleaned out the shank with bristle and fluffy pipe cleaners and Everclear as well. I removed the band from the shank by heating it gently. The glue softened and I was able to remove it and turn it around. I tapped the band with a small furniture hammer to flatten out the edges and squared the edges. I reglued it with wood glue. When this work was done I set the bowl and shank aside and went to work on the stem.
The stem took significant work. Somehow my camera failed (maybe the photographer did) and I was unable to get any good photos of the stem work. I built up the filed area against the button with clear superglue (Photos 1 -2). I layered on lightly, let it dry, relayered it and repeated until the thickness was sufficient enough for the airway to be protected. I also built up the button. It looked to me that a previous repair had been done and a new button had been cut in the stem. I repaired the shape and the thickness of the button. It was an old style bone tenon that was mounted in the shank so I cleaned that up and cleaned the inside the stem. The hole in the button was the old style orific or “o” opening. The rebuilding of the button and stem took the majority of time in working on this old stem. Once it was dry and had cured overnight I worked on the oxidation. I did not want to use anything that could possible harm the Bakelite so I kept the alcohol to a minimum and only on the inside the airway and was careful not let it touch the outside. For the outside I used 240 grit sandpaper to smooth out the newly repaired slope on the stem and to sand out the file marks that remained from the previous repair. I also sanded the corners on the stem to give it a more rounded look in keeping with the era it was made. The 240 grit sandpaper easily removed the oxidation. Photos 3 – 4, though of poor quality, give an idea of how the stem looked after patching with the superglue and sanding with the 240 grit sandpaper. The oxidation was pretty well removed. The button is shaped and the patch on the stem in front of the button is visible. There is still a lot of sanding to do at this point. From the 240 grit I went on to sand with 320 grit and also a fine grit sanding sponge to further blend the patch and to remove the oxidation.

I put the stem back on the pipe and worked on the fit against the band. When I reversed the band the stem was too large on the right side and extended beyond the width of the band. To repair that I had to take of material at the bottom edge of the top right side and the upper edge of the bottom right side of the diamond to reduce the angle of the diamond on that side. By reducing these two points on the stem I was able to bring the sharp edge to the same width as the shank and band. It balanced the look of the stem. I used the 240 and 320 grit sandpaper for doing this part of the stem work. I continued to use the sanding sponge to blend the patches on the top and bottom of the slope to the button. The next series of eight photos show the progress on the stem. The patch is clearly visible in the photos of the top side. The one on the bottom was not as big and it blended in more easily.

After removing the scratches and oxidation with the sandpaper I sanded with the fine grit sanding sponge and then progressed through the various grits of micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12,000 to smooth and polish the stem. As I worked on it my initial conjecture about the material being Bakelite was confirmed. The next four photos are a sample of the work of the micromesh sanding pads on the stem. The pad in the photos is 3600 grit. I also used the micromesh on the bowl and the Bakelite base and shank to remove some of the surface scratches.

I gave the pipe a very light buff on the buffer with White Diamond. I had learned on previous occasions that the speed of the buffing pad can produce heat that can actually damage the Bakelite and cause fibres from the pad to embed in the stem. A very light touch is necessary if you are going to buff these stems. I wanted to give them a quick light buff to remove any remaining scratches and give it a quick sheen. I buffed the base and bowl at the same time as well. The final series of four photos show the finished pipe. I applied a coating of carnauba wax to the pipe by hand. I buffed it lightly with a soft flannel cloth to bring up a shine and finished buffing with a soft shoe brush. The finished pipe speaks for itself. It is a testimony to the life that resides in these old timers. It is a life that will certainly extend beyond mine! As mentioned above, I share a love for these older pipes with Chuck that seems to extend to their restoration and re-entry into the purposes for which they were made. What do you think Chuck? How does the final pipe look to you?

Restoring a GBD 730 Toreador Volcano

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I picked this old-timer up at an antique mall in Edmonton, Alberta two weeks ago. It was part of the threesome of pipes and tobacco and pipe cleaners that I purchased at the mall that day. In the photo below it is the pipe on the bottom of the picture.

I had never seen the stamping on a GBD nor had I seen the shape number. It is not listed on any of the GBD name or shape charts that I have on my computer. I wrote to a friend who works with a lot of GBDs and he replied as follows: “I have not heard of a “Toreador” line, but nothing surprises me on GBD lines. They had a seemingly endless array of model lines. The 730 shape isn’t listed on my shape charts, but they are full of holes and I constantly see shape new shape numbers pop up. The pre-Cadogan key is the “London, England” stamp coupled with a metal rondel. “Made in London England” in a circle is Cadogan era, even with a metal rondell”. From my research and his I looked at the stampings on this pipe. It is stamped GBD in an oval over Toreador on the top of the shank. On the underside it is stamped London, England over 730. This would seem to put the date of this pipe in the pre-Cadogan era.

The next series of six photos show the pipe as it was when I found it. The first picture was taken at the antique mall with my iPhone. The remaining five photos were taken at my work bench before beginning to work on the pipe. The bowl was thickly caked with a hard buildup of carbon. The rim was coated with tars and buildup as well. The stem was upside down when I picked it up and very tight. I was able to turn it and straighten it out for the picture. It was oxidized and there was a line across the stem that showed where it had a rubber bite guard in place on it. There were two tooth marks on the top of the stem visible below and also two on the underside of the stem near the button. The slot in the end of the button was closed off with tar and the shank and inside of the stem were filthy.

I decided to use my PipNet reaming set on the bowl. I started with the smallest bit and worked it around. Once I dumped out the cuttings I used the next size up to take the cake back to the briar. I like to start over and build my own cake in the bowl. I find that I can develop a hard cake when I work at it slowly.

Once I reamed the bowl out to the way I like it I worked on the rim of the bowl. I used some fine grit emery cloth to start breaking up the hard tars and then a fine grit sanding sponge to remove what remained. I work to keep the sharp inner and outer edge of the rim. I do not like it when it is rounded. This rim was also chamfered in toward the bowl and I wanted to keep the angles on that even when I was finished working it over. The next two photos show the cleaned rim. It has been sanded and the buildup is removed. There is a bit of rim darkening that will come off with a bit more work.

The next four photos show the bowl after I have wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad. The darkening on the rim is growing fainter with each wipe. The pads are coloured from the dirt and grime as well as the stain from the pipe. I have found that the dark and medium brown wipe off and leave a yellow colour on the pads. I repeated the wipe down several times until the surfaces were clean.

After wiping the bowl down I cleaned out the stem and the shank. I used pipe cleaners and Everclear to scrub out the insides of the stem and shank. I scrubbed until they came out clean. I worked on the area of the button slot to clean out the tar buildup in that area. Then I decided to work on the stem. I sanded out the calcification on the stem from the rubber stem bite protector. It leaves a white sediment buildup that is rock hard so I sand it with medium grit emery paper. Removing this buildup also reveals the depth and nature of the tooth marks in the stem. The first picture below shows the topside of the stem and the tooth marks. The second picture shows the underside of the stem and the two tooth marks next to the button.

I then sanded the stem with 240 grit sandpaper and the medium grit sanding sponge to further remove the scratches and clean up around the tooth marks. Once I had the stem cleaned up of the white buildup and the scratches reduced I wiped down the stem with Everclear. I heated the surface of the stem with a lighter to lift the tooth marks as much as possible and then I picked out the grit and grime in the tooth marks with a dental pick to provide a clean surface for the superglue repair. The first two photos show the sanded stem and cleaned surface. The third and fourth photos below show the superglue patch. On this stem I chose to use clear superglue rather than the black glue. I often use them interchangeably.

I set the stem aside to dry and worked on the bowl again. I wiped it down a final time with acetone on a cotton pad. I chose to stain it with a dark brown aniline stain, thinned 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol. I did not want to darken the colour of the pipe but merely bring it back to its original colour as determined from several other smooth GBD pipes of this era. I gave it a coat of stain and flamed it with a lighter. I reapplied the stain and also flamed it a second time. The next series of four photos show the pipe after it has been stain. I wiped it down with a soft cloth. It had not been buffed at this point.

After the initial staining the colour was a bit dark and opaque to my liking so I use a cotton pad and wiped the bowl down with Everclear to lighten it and make the grain stand out a bit more. The next four photos show the bowl after wiping it down.

With the bowl finished it was time to work on the stem once again. The superglue was dry and it was time to do some sanding. The next two photos below show the stem after sanding on the patches. The topside and the underside tooth marks are repaired and even with the surface of the stem at this point. Now the stem needed to be worked on with further sandpapers and the micromesh sanding pads.

I wet sanded the stem with 1500 and 1800 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratches left by the other sandpapers. I wet the sanding pads and then sanded the stem, wiped off the grime and water and resanded it until the majority of the scratches were removed from the surface of the stem. I worked the pads around the GBD rondel so as not to sand it and remove surface or stain in the metal. The next two photos show the stem after sanding with these two grits.

I had read much about using the Barkeepers Friend cleaner to remove oxidation so I mixed up a paste of the powder and scoured the stem with a tooth-brush. The paste worked very well to remove the oxidation around the rondel and around the sharp edges of the button. It really took care of the remaining oxidation. I applied the paste, wiped it off, rinsed, reapplied and repeated the process until I was satisfied with the results. The next two photos show the stem after polishing with the paste.

I then sanded the stem with 2400 and 3200 grit micromesh sanding pads to begin to bring out the shine. I also applied a coat of Obsidian Oil to the stem, rubbed it in and let it dry. The first two photos below show the stem after this treatment. Photos three and four show the stem after I had dry sanded it 3600 grit micromesh sanding pads. Photos five and six show the stem after I had finished sanding it with the remaining 4000 – 12,000 grits of micromesh sanding pads. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil before I took the pipe to the buffer and gave it a final buff with White Diamond.

The final series of four photos show the finished pipe. There are some dents remaining in the surface of the rim that show up under the light of the flash. They are not nearly as visible in normal light. The pipe is ready to be put to use. It came a long way from the shelf of the Edmonton Antique Mall to the finished pipe it is now.

Restoring an L.J. Perretti Deluxe Prince

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I learned from the last Perretti pipe that I worked on and subsequent replies that the Straight Grain was the top of the line of Perretti pipes. I have no idea where in the hierarchy this one sits but it is stamped L.J. PERRETTI over Imported Briar on the left side and DELUXE on the right side of the shank. It has a factory installed band that is stamped Sterling Silver in an arch. This pipe was a bit of a mess. Like some of the others I have had this one was marked with a swatch of paint – this time red paint. In the first photo below you can see it on the left side of the bowl near the shank bowl junction. The finish was rough but underneath was some great grain. Again there were no fills visible in this piece of briar. The bowl was caked and the lava had erupted over the edges of the rim leaving a thick hard cake on the rim of the bowl. The silver was badly tarnished and the stamping on the silver was not readable. The L.J. Perretti stamping on the left side of the shank ends with the “I” stamped on the silver band. The stem was oxidized and also had a buildup of calcification from the button up the stem about ½ inches. The stem was about a ¼ inch out of the shank and could not be pushed in from the buildup on tars in the shank. The first three photos show the state of the pipe when I brought it to the work table.

I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton cloth. I find that the acetone quickly dispenses with paint spots and splashes on the briar. It seems to go beneath the paint and it easily is scrubbed off. It also removes grime and buildup on the finish and removes the remaining stain on the briar. I wiped down the caked rim to soften the hard surface before I moved on to top the bowl. The next four photos show the pipe after I had scrubbed it with acetone.

I set up my sanding board and placed the medium grit emery paper on the board. I rotated the bowl on the sandpaper in a circular motion to remove the grime on the rim. I also had seen that there was some burn damage on the rim that needed to be removed. I place the pipe with the rim firmly against the sandpaper and work it until the rim is clean and the damage is minimized. Photos 1 & 2 show the process of sanding on the emery paper. Once I had finished the rough work I moved on to use a medium grit sanding sponge in the same way. I place the sponge flat on the board and work the bowl in a circular motion on the flat surface of the sponge (Photo 3). I then used a fine grit sanding sponge to do the same (Photo 4). Each progressive sanding grit smoothed the scratches and marks left by the previous grit.

When I had finished topping the bowl I reamed the bowl and cleaned out the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and Everclear. I also polished the silver band with some tarnish remover applied with a cloth and rubbed into the band. I finished by wiping down the pipe again using Everclear on a cotton pad. This removed the sanding dust and also the overrun of the silver polish on the briar. I reinserted the stem to make sure the fit was correct. The next two photos show the pipe at this point in the process.

The next series of six photos show the progressive work on the stem using 1500-12,000 grit micromesh sanding pads. Each degree of grit gave the stem a deeper shine and removed any remaining oxidation. Once I had finished with the micromesh pads I wiped down the stem with Obsidian Oil and then when dry I put the stem on the pipe and buffed it with White Diamond.

I stained the bowl with two different stains – dark brown aniline thinned 2:1 with isopropyl alcohol (Photos 1 – 3 below) and then followed up with an oxblood aniline stain. I flamed the stain, restained, reflamed and then gave the rim a third coat of the brown stain.

The final four photos show the finished pipe. I buffed the entirety a final time with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I finished by buffing it with a clean flannel buff to bring out the shine.

rebornpipes

reclaiming old and worn estate pipes

Tag Archives: repairing tooth marks

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Rebirth of a No Name Bakelite Pipe with Bakelite Stem

Restoring a GBD 730 Toreador Volcano

Restoring an L.J. Perretti Deluxe Prince

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