Tag Archives: repairing tooth marks

New Life for an interesting “Malaga” Wire Rusticated saddle stem Billiard

by Steve Laug

This interesting Wire Rusticated Bent Billiard was purchased on 09/18/2024 on eBay where a seller from Cadiz, Kentucky, USA was selling it. It is a rich brown rusticated briar with a thin band around the shank end. The stem is an acrylic saddle stem. The rusticated finish was quite clean though there was dust in the grooves of the finish. The bowl was quite clean and recently reamed. The bottom of the bowl was raw briar showing that it had not been smoked to the bottom of the bowl. There faint aroma of tobacco in the bowl and shank. The rusticated rim top was quite clean and the inner edge looked very good. The pipe is stamped on the smooth band around the shank and reads “MALAGA”. The vulcanite, saddle stem had no stamping on the sides. It had scratches, tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. It was really an interesting rustication and stain that showed depth and variations of colour around the bowl. I took photos of it before I started the cleanup process. The bowl itself was quite clean with just a minimal cake on the walls of the bowl. I took photos of the rim top to show how clean it looked and the condition of the top and edges of the bowl. The vulcanite saddle stem surface had some scratches and tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.The stamping on the smooth band around the shank read “MALAGA” on the underside. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the look of the pipe. I would need to bend the stem slightly to match the flow of the bowl.Before I started working on the pipe itself I went back and reread what I had found when I had worked on many of the Malaga pipes that had come across my work table. I am including a few pieces of information that I have gathered in the process.

For those of you reading this blog who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am including the link to a previous blog that I wrote. It gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/.

I have also included a link to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more, then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

George Khoubesser (picture to the left) started Malaga Briar Pipe Company and located it in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA in 1939. It closed its doors for the last time in 1999 after 60 years in business. I have an old Malaga Catalogue that I scanned and put on the blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/). The catalogue describes the manufacture of the pipes as follows:

Painstaking caution is exercised in selecting flawless, perfect briar wood for the purpose of making and Curing of the “Malaga.” You can be certain of this fact, because none other than the choicest and finest select briarwood will withstand the “Malaga” Curing process. Other than the choicest quality and grain, will split wide open in the Curing vats… The Curing method renders all “Malaga” pipes, light in weight… Most all “Malaga” Senior pipes are left in their natural state; except for a skillful waxing which brings out the rich beauty of the virgin grain. No artificial polishing stain, shellac or varnishes are added. Malaga closed in 1999 after 60 years in business.

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.

Fitting a stem on an UNSMOKED Freehand bowl from the estate of Byron Harwood

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on was one that we purchased on 12/28/2024 from as part of an estate that belonged to a pipeman and carver, Byron Harwood from Missoula, Montana, USA. This Freehand was one of Byron’s own handmade pipes. It is a lovely piece of plateau briar (rim top and shank end) that was shaped with an apple bowl that highlighted the grain. The bowl and shank were smooth and highlighted some beautiful grain. The airway in the mortise and shank are well executed and the draught is very good. The bowl was unsmoked and other than dusty when we received it, the pipe was in excellent condition. The stem that came with it really did not fit – more of a Lovat style saddle stem on a midsized freehand. It looked like it had just been put in the shank before shipping. Everything about the stem said “restem me” to this repair guy. The pipe fit well in the hand and had a small bowl but there was a charm to it! Here is what it looked like when I brought it home from Jeff’s place. I took some photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. You can see the drilling and the plateau. It is an unusual pipe. I also took photos of the stem to show its condition also the general look of it and why I don’t think it is a good fit.I sanded the briar bowl with 320-3500 sanding pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The grain of the briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface 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 wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I went through my stems and found an acceptable acrylic saddle stem. It had been used for a short time and the airway was stained with dark tobacco stains. I would be able to remove some of the stain but not all. I took a photo of the two stems together. I put it in the shank of the bowl at hand and took a photo of the look with a new stem. The combination works very well.I cleaned the airway in the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners – smooth and bristle. I followed up on that by cleaning it again with Soft Scrub cleanser. I gave it a quick rinse of alcohol to remove the residue of the cleanser and the swirls of tans, creams, ivory, browns and black look very good. There is some heavy darkening stain that I cannot remove but the stem is very clean.I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I filled in the tooth marks in the acrylic with clear CA glue. Once they cured I flattened the repairs with a small file and then sanded the repairs smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded out the light tooth marks and chatter with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The stem looked better at this point.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to add shine to the acrylic. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it does indeed look better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Byron Harwood Freehand Apple and new stem 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 buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like along with the polished clear acrylic stem. This Byron Harwood Freehand Apple is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions 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 2.26 ounces/64 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by American Pipe Makers. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring a second unique Astley’s Root Briar Specialty Sitter Freehand

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a rugged almost primitive looking sitter with unique rustication and carving around the bowl. We purchased the pipe on 11/10/20 from a seller in Noberly, Maryland, USA. It is stamped on the flat underside of the bowl and shank and read Astleys [over] 109 Jermyn St [over] London. The rim top was smooth as was the bottom of the bowl and shank. The shank itself was also smooth and there was a smooth nose on the front of the bowl. It is a pretty pipe. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was some darkening on the inner edge but no real damage. The rusticated grooves that ran vertically on the bowl were mixed with carved lines and swirls. It was very unique and almost primitive looking. The briar was dirty from use and the bowl looked dull. The stem is a vulcanite saddle stem. It was oxidized, calcified and had tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. He took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and lava, darkening and grime on the rim edge. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the finish around the bowl sides to show carving and rustication around the bowl and the smooth shank. It is very unique looking. You can see the dust and debris in the finish. Jeff took some photos of the stamping on the heel of the bowl to give a sense of the condition. It is faint but still readable with a light. It reads as noted above. I had previously worked on a similar Astley’s Root Briar. I took some time to examine it carefully then spent time online seeing what I could find out about the pipe. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a8.html) and found a picture of a similar pipe. It is labelled the “Rock Briar” line. To be honest that did not help me much. I think it was not quite right in its labelling so I saved the screen capture below and kept digging.I turned next to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Astley’s) and found a great historic article about the shop and the brand. There was nothing specifically listed about what Pipephil call the Rock Briar line.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked, rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took photos of the bowl and the rim top as well as both sides of the stem to show the condition of the pipe before I started my work. The rim top was very clean and the inner edge and top look much better. The stem showed light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I took the stem off the bowl and took a photo of the parts. It is an interesting pipe.I sanded the smooth portions of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads carefully avoiding the stamping on the heel. I dry sanded with each pad and wiped it down with a damp cloth afterwards. I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl took on a rich glow. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the plateau rim top surface with my fingertips and a shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a Bic lighter. I was able to lift the majority of them. One remained on both sides ahead of the button. Once the repairs cured I used a small file to smooth them out and recut the button. I sanded repair further with 220 grit sandpaper and blended them into the stem surface. I smoothed out the repaired surface and the rest of the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This unusual Astley’s Root Briar Specialty Sitter with a saddle vulcanite stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The briar is clean and the carving and rustication on the sides and the grain on the rim top and heel really came alive. The rich stains gave the finish a sense of depth on the rustication with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Astley’s Root Briar Sitter really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches x 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 67 grams/ 2.36 ounces. This beautiful Freehand pipe will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. It should make a great smoker for the next trustee. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on.

Restoring and Cleaning a Clogged Savinelli Tortuga 128 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

On the weekend I received a phone call from Brian, a fellow the local pipe shop referred to me. He had two Savinelli Balsa filter pipes that were clogged and had no airflow. He asked if I would clean and open them up for him. I received them in the post yesterday and opened the box that he sent them in. The second pipe was a Billiard shape. It came with a bowl cap made of the same acrylic as the stem and a Savinelli bag. It was stamped Savinelli [arched over] Tortuga on the left side of the shank and had a Savinelli S shield on the right side followed by the shape number 128 [over] Italy. The finish was dirty and sticky to touch. There was a thick cake that completely covered the airway at the bottom of the bowl. The rim top was covered by a coat of lava that was sticky. The taper stem was tortoise shell acrylic. It had tooth marks and chatter on both the top and underside ahead of the button. The white Delrin tenon was in good condition and was made to hold a Balsa filter. There was a clean specially trimmed filter in the tenon. The shank and airways in both the mortise and stem were very dirty. I blew through the stem and it was clear and open. I tried to blow through the shank and it was closed off with no airflow at all. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake in the bowl and light overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and chatter on the top and the underside of the stem. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank to capture it. The left side read Savinelli arched over Tortuga and the right side read as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe. I turned to a previous blog I had written on a restoration of a Tortuga Billiard to see what I had found out about the Tortuga line of pipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/28/i-love-the-tortoise-shell-lucite-stem-on-the-savinelli-tortuga-pipes/). Interestingly, they had a similar pipe pictured on the site with the following description.

The Savinelli Tortuga line is an interesting looking line of pipes. It comes with a tortoise shell Lucite stem that has an amber look to it. The mottled browns, golds and yellows of the stem shimmer in the light when they are polished. The pipes are aptly named for the look of an animal they convey. Tortuga is the Spanish or Catalan word for Tortoise and it shows in the design of these striking pipes. Each briar of this series sported not only a tortoiseshell-patterned stem, but also a domed, shell-like cap with a foam-rubber stopper. The purpose of the stopper was to preserve an unfinished smoke which one wishes to pick up again to finish later. I found a picture on the web that showed the pipe with a lid on the bowl.I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise as well as the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. Once I cleaned the bowl with the soap it looked much better. To take the pipe to the next level, I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface and the repairs blended even more as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. With the the shank clear and the airway open it was time to work on the stem. It was clear, just dirty and I needed to address the tooth marks in the stem. The coloured acrylic made this challenging but not undoable. I filled in the tooth marks on both sides with clear CA glue and I set it aside to cure. Once the repairs cured I used some small files to recut the button edge, reshape the surface and flatten the repairs on the stem surface on both sides. I used 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the edges, the button top and the surface of the stem. It was looking good. I sanded the surface of the acrylic taper stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine.I trimmed the edge off of one of the Balsa filters with a knife and fit it in the shank. It fit well and with the edge trimmed off it did no constrict airflow.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I gave the stem a final polish with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed the stem with them and then gave them a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Savinelli Tortuga 128 Billiard with an acrylic taper tortoise shell stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth bowl and shank. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the repaired acrylic stem. I put the acrylic matching stopper in the top of the bowl to show the final beauty. This Savinelli Tortuga 128 Billiard 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 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.45 ounces. This second Savinelli that Brian sent is another beautiful pipe. I have sent it and the other pipe back to him. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of both of these resurrected beauties. Both should be great smoking pipes.

Restoring the last of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 30 Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes (actually as mentioned on the last pipe I can’t count) but going over it again I found I was right the first count. There were six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite, Citation in need of a stem and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.The last pipe I had to work on was a Bertram Bent Billiard that needed to be cleaned up and restored. This last one is from Jack’s 11 pipes – a dirty, dull Bertram with an oxidized tapered vulcanite stem that I swapped with a straight billiard. The pipe is stamped on the left side and reads Bertram [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. There is a shape number 30 on the underside of the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the bowl and some nicks and flaws where the fills were shrunken or broken around the sides. The bowl was moderately caked with a light lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The new stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. The photos show the condition of the stem surface. There were no markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the calcification, tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem and the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. The Bertram stamp was clear and readable as noted above. Once restored again it will have a long life ahead of it. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe.As I have worked on a lot of Bertram pipes in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

I have included the following link to give a bit of historical information on the pipe company. It is a well written article that gives a glimpse of the heart of the company. http://www.streetsofwashington.com/2012/01/bertrams-pipe-shop-on-14th-street.html#

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Bent Billiard has some mixed grain around the bowl. This pipe has a Grade 30 stamp on it. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening. I also started to sand the shank repair at the same time. The old warrior is visible in the photos below.I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. Since I was restemming the pipe I would do the clean out on the new stem when I got to it.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top came away clean. Once I cleaned the bowl with the soap I brought it back to the work top and examined it. This was a pipe full of fills around the rim top and the right front side of the bowl. All were shrunken and need of repair. I filled in all of the damaged fills with clear CA glue. I smoothed them out with a dental spatula. Once the repairs cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the briar. Once finished it looked much better. I sanded the bowl it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further remove the stain and make a more transparent finish on the rim top, the bowl and shank. The light spots blended in better. I wiped the briar down with a drop of Olive Oil to see if I have any areas that I still needed to work on. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the repairs to the repairs blended in better with work. The photos tell the story. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface and the repairs blended even more as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I laid the bowl aside and turned my attention to fitting a new stem. I made a decision about putting the short taper stem to the bent Billiard and putting a nice saddle stem on the straight Billiard. This new stem was the right length for this smaller Bent Billiard and was very close to the diameter of the shank – slightly larger but very workable. It would take some work to clean up but it would look good once it was finished. The taper stem had a small bite through on the underside ahead of the button. I greased a pipe cleaner and inserted it in the airway below the small hole. I filled in the tooth marks in the top of the stem as well. I removed the pipe cleaner to continue working on the stem. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. It was a dirty stem. I sanded the stem surface and repairs with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to flatten the repairs and also remove some of the oxidation. It would need more sanding but I turned to the make the slot in the button. I reshaped the entrance of the airway in the stem end with needle files. I used oval and round files to reshape the entrance into an oval shape. It looked much better. I used my heat gun to soften the vulcanite. Once it was soft enough to shape I bent it at the right angle to match the flow of the curves of the bowl. I set the bend in the stem with cold running water and took a photo of the newly bent stem. I removed the stem from the shank and sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to adjust the fit to the shank. By the time I was finished sanding it the stem very well to the shank and the transition was smooth.I sanded the surface of the new vulcanite stem with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to clean up the sanding marks on the stem surface. By the final 3500 grit pad the stem started to really shine. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Bertram Washington DC Smaller Bent Billiard 30 with a newly fit taper stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Bertram Bent Billiard 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 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.69 ounces. This final pipe of Jack’s is another beautiful pipe that I will send to him later this week. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this resurrected beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring the fifth of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Bertram 95 Classic Prince

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Bertram 95 Classic Prince next. This next one is from Jack’s 11 pipes – a beautifully grained Prince Grade 95 Bertram with a tapered vulcanite stem. The pipe is stamped on the underside side near the stem with the Grade 95 number. On the left side it is stamped Bertrams [over] Washington D.C. centered on the shank. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was caked with an overflowing lava coat on the top of the rim, heavier toward the back of the bowl. The edges looked okay other than some potential damage on the back inner edge. The stem was calcified, oxidized, dirty and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the taper stem. Like the rest of the Bertrams that Jack sent, this one had promise but it was very dirty. I took photos of the pipe before I started his cleanup work. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took photos of the stamping on the left and underside of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the look of the pipe. As I have worked on a lot Bertrams in the past, I have written on the brand and have included the following information. If you have read it in past blogs, you can skip over it. If you have not, I have included the link to Bertram history and information. I would recommend that if you don’t know much about them take some time to read the background. I include a link to the write up on Pipedia (http://pipedia.org/wiki/Bertram). Bertram pipes were based out of Washington DC. They were popular among famous politicians and celebrities of the time. They made many products for them from FDR’s cigarette holders to Joseph Stalin’s favorite pipe. They were considered some of the best America had to offer till they finally closed their doors in the 70s. Bertram graded their pipes by 10s and sometimes with a 5 added (15, 25, 55 etc.), the higher the grade the better. Above 60s are uncommon and 80-90s are quite rare. I have worked on one 120 Grade billiard. I have several blogs that I have written on rebornpipes that give some history and background to Bertram pipes. (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/16/an-easy-restoration-of-a-bertram-grade-60-217-poker/).

From this information I learned that all of these Bertrams were made before the closure of the shop in the 1970s. This Bertram Prince has stunning straight and flame grain around the bowl. This pipe has a 95 Grade stamp on it which I am sure explains the quality of the briar. But like many of these Bertrams the Grading system is a mystery to me.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. I cleaned the bone tenon and the inside of the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top is very clear. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge and the rim with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening.I finished sanding the bowl it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish the rim top and the bowl and shank. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the darkening on the top was gone. The photos tell the story. I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the surface with Soft Scrub Cleanser to remove the oxidation. It worked quite well. I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite where the tooth marks were with the flame of a lighter. I filled in the deep tooth marks that remained with a rubberized Black CA glue. After it cured I flattened the repairs with a small flat file. I sanded the repairs further to flatten out the tooth chatter with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Progress was happening! I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 x 2-inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to remove the remaining oxidation. I dry sanded the surface until I have removed all of the oxidation and the stem started to really shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Bertram Washington DC 95 Classic Prince. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Bertram 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 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.48 ounces. It is another beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 8 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this next beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring the third of 11 pipes sent for restoration – a Texaco Billiard

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the Texaco Billiard next. This richly stained taper stem Billiard is a beautiful pipe. It is clearly stamped on the left side of the shank and reads TEXACO and on the right side it has a faint stamp and reads Imported Briar. The grain around the bowl is highlighted by the stain and really stands out. It has a rich darker, reddish brown finish that is on the bowl and shank. It was filthy with dust and debris ground into the sides of the bowl. The rim top has a heavy lava overflow on the top and edges coming from a thick cake in the bowl. The vulcanite taper stem had some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. It really is another beauty. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the vulcanite on the top and underside ahead of the button. There is also a tarry stinger in the tenon that will need to be cleaned.I took a photo of the stamping on the side of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. The Imported Briar stamp was readable but I was unable to capture it with the camera as it is quite faint. Before I started my work on the pipe itself I turned to Pipephil to get a quick overview and background information on the Texaco brand and found that the brand was not included.

I turned to Pipedia hoping for something and found some info (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Texaco). I quote that information below.

There was a brief article with photos that I am including below. At least some Texaco pipes were made by LHS Sterncraft, presumably for Texaco, Inc. The Texaco pipe usually has nomenclature with the labels “Texaco”, capitalized, and “Imported Briar” on its side. Drinkless Mechanisms, or “stingers” were introduced around 1927 and have slowly stopped being produced since around 1964. That would date the following example somewhere in that era.

That information was quite priceless as it gave me a potential maker of the pipe, LHS Sterncraft and also a potential time frame of 1927-1964 because of the singer apparatus that came out in 1927 and were removed in 1964. My guess is that this pipe is one that was made in the late 50s or early 60s. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. I cleaned the bone tenon and the inside of the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty. I heated the stinger with a lighter and pulled it out of the tenon. I used a brass bristle bristle wire brush to clean up the tarry stinger.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The darkening on the rim top is very clear. The darkening on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge with a piece of sandpaper. I sanded the top of the rim with the piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove the darkening.There was a small flaw on the top left side of the bowl. It appeared to look like a crack but did not seem to be as I examined it. I filled it in with clear CA glue and once it hardened I sanded the area with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the bowl surface. I finished that and moved on to sanding it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish the rim top and the bowl and shank. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the darkening on the top was gone. The photos tell the story. I polished the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite where the tooth marks were with the flame of a lighter. I filled in the deep tooth marks that remained with a rubberized Black CA glue. After it cured I flattened the repairs with a small flat file. I sanded the repairs further to flatten out the tooth chatter with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Progress was happening! I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to remove the remaining oxidation. I dry sanded the surface until I have removed all of the oxidation and the stem started to really shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Texaco Imported Briar Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then by hand with a microfibre cloth to deepen it. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful grain on the smooth portions and the rustication depths all around it. The polished grain on the pipe looks great with the black vulcanite stem. This Texaco Billiard 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 ¼ 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 34 grams/1.20 ounces. It is another beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 8 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this next beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Restoring the first of 11 pipes sent for restoration – an old Triangle WDC Bakelite Bent Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

A while back I was asked by a customer and friend, Jack to take on some projects for him. I have worked on a few pipes for him over the years so we seem to have a standing agreement that I will clean up his pipes. This time he sent a batch containing 11 pipes – six Bertrams, an Arlington, a GBD, an old WDC Triangle Bakelite and one marked Texaco. All of them were in various conditions and would need different types of work. I took a photo of the pipes before I started working on them.I chose to work on the older Triangle WDC Bakelite Bent Bulldog first. This richly stained Bent Bulldog is a beautiful pipe. It is clearly stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Triangle [arched over] WDC in a triangle [over] BAKELITE. On the right side it is stamped at angle along the shank and reads Italian Briar. There is a diamond shaped silver coloured band on the shank end that is stamped and reads Oxford Plate [over] Made in U.S.A. It is oxidized but in good condition. The grain around the bowl is highlighted by the stain and really stands out. It has a rich darker, reddish brown finish that is on the bowl and shank. It was filthy with dust and debris ground into the sides of the bowl. The rim top has a heavy lava overflow on the top and edges coming from a thick cake in the bowl. The tapered Bakelite stem had a bone tenon that screwed into the shank. It had some deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. It really is a beauty. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and overflow of lava on the rim top. The photos of the stem show the tooth marks and damage in the Bakelite on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the diamond shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. I tried to capture some of the stamping on the oxidized band as well. It is a little blurry but it is clear and readable under the oxidation. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts. Before working on the pipe, I followed my usual procedure of looking for history on both the brand and the Triangle Bakelite line. I have included a quick history of the brand from Pipedia that is interesting and is helpful (https://pipedia.org/wiki/William_Demuth_Company).

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

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

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

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

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

There was nothing specific on the Triangle Bakelite Line in the above article. I did a further Google search and found a link to an advertisement on the WDC Triangle Bakelite pipe that is quite interesting (https://farm1.static.flickr.com/198/460550444_b0cd63fa8f_o.jpg). I have included a copy of the file below.The above advertisement reads as follows:

WDC Triangle Pipes are as good as they are beautiful. They combine the WDC standard of goodness in the bowl, and the lasting beauty of a Triangle Bakelite bit.

There is no substance known to science more suitable for pipe stems, cigar and cigarette holders than Triangle Bakelite. It possesses all the advantages of natural amber but none of the failings.

It has the beautiful coloring of amber – brilliant, rich and translucent – but excels in that it is tougher and more durable than amber. It has neither taste nor odor and is non-flammable.

The bowls of the WDC Triangle Pipes are genuine French briar, specially Demuth seasoned and guaranteed against cracking or burning through.

Me who want something distinctive in a pipe will find a wide variety of select shapes of WDC Triangle Pipe, at the better grade shops, at $1.00 and up. Also a wide selection of cigar holders at 50c and up, and cigarette holders at 35c and up, in many beautiful shapes.

That tells a lot about the manufacture and marketing of WDC pipes. They were viewed as spectacular and unique. They were chosen by discriminating smokers and enjoyed with durability and flavor. Now it was time to work on this pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I scraped the rim top with the flat edge of the blade at the same time and removed most of the thick lava build up. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls look very good at his point in the process. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that it had really been enjoyed by the previous pipe man. I cleaned the bone tenon and the inside of the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. The damage on the bowl front and rim top is very clear. The darkening on the rim top and the outside of the bull cap would need to be dealt with. I cleaned up the inner edge with a piece of sandpaper. I sanded the top of the rim and the sides of the cap with the piece of 220 grit sandpaper and was able to remove much of the darkening.I finished that and moved on to it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to finish minimizing the burn damage and reshape the rim top and the top half of the bowl. The briar began to take on a rich shine and the burn damage was by and large gone. The photos tell the story. I polished the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain started to rise to the surface as I polished it. The rusticated portions looked very good as well. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the twin lines around the bull cap. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I polished the plated band with a jeweller’s cloth to protect the band from oxidizing and discolouring. I turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks in the Bakelite with clear CA glue. After it cured I flattened the repairs with a small flat file. I sanded the repairs further to flatten out the tooth chatter with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Progress was happening! I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads to remove the remaining oxidation. I dry sanded the surface until I have removed all of the oxidation and the stem started to really shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. The final steps in my process involves using the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The smooth, nicely grained bowl sides and the rusticated blaze on the left bowl side looks great with the vulcanite stem. The Triangle WDC Bakelite taper stem Bent Bulldog feels great in my hand. It is a well-balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 4 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/32 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will send to Jack after I finish working on the other 10 pipes. I look forward to hear what he thinks of this old beauty. It should be a great smoking pipe.

Reclaiming a tired old Stanwell Bench Made 33 Bulldog with an oxidized Vulcanite shank extension

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe is one I also worked on while I was at Jeff’s place in Idaho. I brought it home to finish it. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA on 03/08/2025. I would call the pipe a Bulldog shaped pipe with a vulcanite shank extension and a military style, vulcanite saddle stem. It is stamped on the left underside of the diamond shank and reads 33 (shape number) followed by Stanwell [over] Regd No. 969-48 [over] Bench Made. There is no other stamping on the shank. The bowl had a heavy cake and a thick coat of lava on the rim top. The finish was dirty and dusty with grime ground into the finish and in the twin rings around the cap. There were a few nicks in the finish from the journey the pipe had travelled since it was made. The vulcanite shank extension was oxidized and dirty. The military style vulcanite saddle stem sat well against the shank. It was dirty with oil and tar in the airway from the tenon to the button. There were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was a Crown S Stanwell logo on the topside of the stem. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top had a thick coat of lava overflowing on top with some possible damage around the top and inner edge. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks and chatter on the vulcanite saddle stem surface as well as the heavy oxidation.The stamping is faint in spots but is readable in the photo below. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to show the parts of the pipe. The finish on the pipe is very worn and tired looking.I turned to do a bit of research on the Stanwell Bench Made line first to Pipephil’s site but unfortunately though there as some great information there, the Bench Made line is not shown on the site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html).

I know that Pipedia has some great history (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell) on the brand so I turned there hoping to see the Bench Made. There was nothing on the line itself and no mention of the Bench Made pipes.

I turned to the article on designers and shape numbers to see if I could find data on the 33 Shape (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). I found that the shape had two versions with this shape number: a) Bent bulldog with a tapered stem and b) Quarter-bent tall bulldog with a diamond shank and push flared stem. The one I have in hand is closest to the b shape.

I knew that with the Regd. No. on the shank, the pipe was made in the period between 1948 and 1960. But I wanted to know more. I can find many examples of the Bench Made line online but no one explains the meaning of the term. I can only surmise from going through the photos that the Bench Made was a higher end line of Stanwell made factory pipes. Perhaps the finishing is what distinguishes it from the rest of the brand offering. Do any of you readers have any information on this quandary? Post a response and let us in on the information.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by reaming it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaning up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scraped the lava built up on the rim top with a small blade. It looked much better after the clean up. I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I removed the tars and oils with the cleaners and the alcohol. It was a dirty pipe!I scrubbed oxidation on the vulcanite shank extension with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleanser. I have found that it does a remarkable job in softening and often removing the oxidation. Lot of elbow grease but it is effective. The photos show this step in the process. I scrubbed the surface of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the debris and dust in the depths of the rustication. I cleaned out the shank again with a shank brush and the soap. I rinsed it with warm water. I dried off the briar with a soft cloth. It looked very good at this point in the process. After doing this I wondered if I should not have done this before the Soft Scrub. But oh well – hindsight is 20/20. I sanded the bowl, rim and shank extension with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads to minimise the scratches and marks in the surface of the briar and to further work on the oxidation on the vulcanite extension. I polished the bowl and the vulcanite shank end with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to give it a deep shine. I wiped down the bowl and shank with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth after each pad. The briar and rubber began to shine! I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get in the twin rings around the cap. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the surface with Soft Scrub Cleanser and cotton pads. I was able to remove much of the oxidation. The rest would come off using other tricks.I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of lighter to lift the tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. It worked fairly well but some of the larger ones though they had come up a bit were still an issue.I filled in the deep tooth marks in the vulcanite with a rubberized black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I used a small file to flatten the against the surface and clean up the sharp edge of the button. I sanded the repaired areas with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to further flatten and blend them into the surface. I sanded the stem further with 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the stem surface. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I took photos of the stem after the sanding.I touched up the stamping on the top of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it dried I scraped off the excess and cleaned up the area around the stamp with a 1500 grit sanding pad. It looked very clean. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I am excited to be finishing work this lovely Stanwell Bench Made 33 Bulldog pipe. This is the part of the restoration part I look forward to when it all comes back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in 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 medium brown stained bowl looks really good with the polished black vulcanite. This Stanwell Regd. No Bench Made 33 Bulldog was another fun pipe to work on. It really has that classic Danish look that catches the eye. The brown stain really makes the pipe look attractive. It is another comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.55 ounces/46 grams. If you are interested in carrying on the previous pipeman’s legacy with this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. As always questions and comments are appreciated.

Breathing Life into a Radice Rind Hawkbill with a Faux Bamboo Shank

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe is one I also worked on while I was at Jeff’s place in Idaho. I brought it home to finish it. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA on 03/08/2025. I would call the pipe a Hawkbill shaped pipe with a faux bamboo shank and amber acrylic taper stem. It is stamped on the heel of the bowl and reads Radice [over] Rind [over] 0 T/B. Against the shank end it is stamped hand [0ver] made in Italy. The “Bamboo” shank has the nodules and grooves well carved into the briar. The bowl had a heavy cake and a thick coat of lava on the rim top. The finish was dirty and dusty in the valleys of the rustication and the nodules of the “Bamboo” shank. The shank was black, tarry and oily. The acrylic amber stem sat well against the shank. It was dirty with oil and tar in the airway from the tenon to the button. There were deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There was no logo or identifying marks on the stem. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top had a thick coat of lava overflowing on top with some possible damage around the top and inner edge. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks and chatter on the acrylic taper stem surface.The stamping is very clear and readable in the photo below. It reads as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to show the parts of the pipe. The finish on the pipe is very worn and tired looking. I started my search on the brand by looking on Pipephil’s site to see if there was any information on the Radice Rind line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r1.html). The line was not included there but there was some information in the side bar on the dating of the pipes. It was helpful as the pipe in hand is stamped Hand Made in Italy.

Dating: From 2009 and beside the stamp “Hand Made in Italy” a 2 digit number indicates the manufacture year since the brand’s foundation (1980). (32=2012). Production: ~ 1800 pipes/year. See also: Caminetto, Luciano

I turned to Pipedia to the article on Radice pipes and the birth and development of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Radice). I have included the information that I found there below.

Luigi Radice, born 1939, took a piece of briar in his hands for the first time in 1961, when he was employed at Carlo Scotti’s Castello in nearby Cantu.

After lengthy experience, he founded, together with Peppino Ascorti, the famous “Pipa del Baffo”, the “Caminetto” which through 1974 and 1975 made wealth with the precious cooperation of Gianni Davoli, Milanese distributor.

In 1980 Luigi undertook a new adventure, founding his own brand: the Pipa Radice. From the beginning his son, Gianluca, joined the workshop, together with Luigi’s father, Paolo Radice, who helped in some basic steps of production.

Only later my brother and I started working together with our father, trying to learn the secrets and the mastery to be able to create a pipe which could join artisanal estrus(?) to functionality.

We have always trusted the professionalism of Italian briar cutters to obtain the raw material. We season the briar in our workshop for at least three years. We believe that it is enough to produce a perfect pipe.

Our shaping is pretty diversified. A distinguishing feature is the use of various options, like the faux-bamboo shank or silver band or save-rim, hand engraved by Luigi.

About pipes for completely dedicated collectors, we would like to mention the several variations of pieces made using buffalo, moufflon, deer or roe horn.

The creative idea and the study of the technical side, lead us to invent pipes with a twin bore mouthpiece, coupled with a special production of oil cured pipes, taking inspiration from old English skills.

We have recently introduced the use of ebonite(vulcanite) mouthpieces, to satisfy the requests of our fellow pipesmokers.

Radice is a pipe which is continually evolving, keeping alive the treasured experience of 50 years of pipemaking of our father Luigi.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I started my work on the pipe by reaming it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaning up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scraped the lava built up on the rim top with a small blade. It looked much better after the clean up. I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I removed the tars and oils with the cleaners and the alcohol. I scrubbed the rusticated surface of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the debris and dust in the depths of the rustication. I rinsed it with warm water. I dried off the briar with a soft cloth. It looked very good at this point in the process. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I smoothed out the walls and noticed that there were some deep gouges in the walls of the bowl. They were no burn marks or damage just deep gouges. I cleaned up the bowl walls and then mixed a batch of JB Weld and pressed it into the gouges in the walls of the bowl with a dental spatula. Once the repairs had cured I sanded the spots smooth again with the sandpaper and dowel. It looks much better. I would later coat it with a bowl coating after the repairs had cured several days. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to work on the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl. I also used a wooden sphere and piece of sandpaper to reshape the inside edge of the bowl and bring it back to round. Once finished I smoothed the edge some more with the sandpaper to give the rim top a slight bevel on the inner edge. I sanded the rim top and edge with 320-3500 grit 2 x 2 inch sanding pads to remove the scratches and marks in the surface.I polished the rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads to give it a deep shine.I wiped it down after each sanding pad. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. After I finished polishing the pipe and rubbed it down with Before & After Balm. I checked to see that the repairs had cured. They were hard and I sanded the walls once again and wiped it down to clean it. I mixed a batch of bowl coating using charcoal powder and sour cream. I mixed it until the mixture was black/grey. It was a solid colour. I applied it to the repaired bowl walls with a folded pipe cleaner. I set it aside to cure. Now back to the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks in the acrylic with a clear CA glue. Once the repairs cured I used a small file to flatten the against the surface and clean up the sharp edge of the button. I sanded the repaired areas with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to further flatten and blend them into the surface. I sanded the stem further with 2×2 inch sanding pads to smooth out the stem surface. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I took photos of the stem after the sanding.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. This Radice Rind 0 T/B Hand Made in Italy Hawkbill with an amber acrylic taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful rusticated finish really works well with the shape and the polished finish is stunning. The carved bamboo style shank and smooth rim top work well with the pipes. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the smooth portions of the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Radice Rind Hawkbill fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 74 grams /2.61 ounces. I will be adding this to the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipemakers Section soon. If you would like to add 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.