Tag Archives: Republic Era Pipes

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Billiard

by Steve Laug

A couple of weeks ago I received a message on Facebook from Shannon about cleaning up a pipe for him. It was one of his favourite pipes so he wanted it spiffed up. I have included several of his messages below along with photos of the pipe in question.

Hello! I saw the beautiful work you did on a Peterson Shannon 80S recently and not only would I like to purchase that but I would also like to see if you could give my Shannon Billiard a glow-up. I purchased it with some minor wear and teeth marks but it has been faithful for a good while. would like to get it a sibling and pair them together as fresh if possible. Please let me know…

…I’ve only been smoking for a little over a year so when I saw that Peterson had a whole line in my own name, I’ve kinda been drawn to it. They’re just not that common and usually in a sad state when I see them.

…Here’s the pipe in question. I covered the teeth marks with a pipe bit but as you can see, it’s still in pretty good shape overall.Probably THE best smoking pipe I own, especially for when I don’t feel like fully rubbing out flakes. It handles folded tobacco better than the rest of the ones I have. Here’s a couple more photos I just took of the minor issues… We chatted back and forth a bit about his pipe and I agreed to work on it for him. He boxed it up and sent it to me to work on. It arrived this week thanks to UPS and I opened the box and took the pipe out. I examined it and took photos of the pipe. It was well smoked and well cared for. The bowl has a light cake on the top 2/3rds and the bottom 1/3 is raw briar – not darkened by smoking. The rim top had some darkening in spots and the inner edge also had some darkening. The finish was shiny like it had a light varnish coat. There were some oils and grime in the finish. The stem was in good condition other than the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The brass spacer on the stem was lightly oxidized. The Peterson’s P logo stamped on the left side of the stem was faint but had remnants of gold in it. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] Shannon. On the right side it bore the number 6 next to the bowl/shank junction which is the shape number for a Peterson’s Billiard. That is followed by Made in The [over] Republic [over] of Ireland in three lines. This tells me that the pipe was a Republic Era pipe which dates it between 1948 and present date. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. It really is a beautiful piece of briar. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. You can see that my assessment in the above photos is correct. The rim top shows some darkening toward the back and around the inner edge of the rim. The cake is the bowl is quite light. The photos of the stem show the tooth chatter and marks (which are light but still present) from the previous owner Shannon bought the pipe from. Otherwise the stem looks very good.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable as noted above. The P logo on the stem side is deep but the colour in it is faint. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to show the proportions of the stem to the bowl. The stem is a classic Peterson style taper stem.Before I started working on the pipe I turned to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 313 it says:

Shannon (19695-c.1987) First offered as entry-grade walnut or black sandblast, P-lip mouthpiece and a nickel band. In 1969-c.1970 offered through Iwan Ries as Shannon Meerschaum lined, middle grade black sandblast and higher-grade brown sandblast finish, P-lip mouthpiece. From 2005 as polished tan and black stain, unmounted, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece with stamped gold P on the vulcanite mouthpiece.

I believe that the pipe I am working on is from the 2005 line. It has a polished tan and black stain and a fishtail mouthpiece. It has a classic shape and the information would make the pipe one issued after 2005. It has a bit of age on it and it is in excellent condition. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the shiny top coat on the bowl. I wanted to remove that and clean up the finish. I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the varnish (possibly shellac). It worked very well to get rid of the top coat without harming the stain coat on the bowl. It also looked much better after the wash with the acetone. I used a dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the thin cake in the bowl. It was a bit rough and uneven before I sanded it. Once finished it was smooth to touch from the top to the bottom of the bowl. I cleaned out the internals of the pipe with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It was quite clean which is a tribute to Shannon’s care of his pipes. I cleaned out the remnants of tars and oils in the shank and the pipe is clean. There is a smoky smell of tobacco but it is clean.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The rim top, edges and bowl were really shining by the final pad. I paused the polishing to clean up the top of the rim a bit. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening on the rim top. It looked better at this point. Afterwards, I repeated the 1500-2400 grit pads and then continued to work through the rest of the pads. It looked much better. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the vulcanite surface with the flame of a lighter – constantly moving the flame over the tooth marks and was able to lift many of them. I was able to lift them significantly enough that sanding them with 320-3500 grit sanding pads.I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads and easily removed the tooth marks and chatter. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.The stem was in such good condition that I decided to just do some preliminary work on it before polishing it. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I let it dry then polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the curve of the “P” stamp but overall it looked very good. 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 it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine, I rubbed it on with my finger and buffed it off with a cloth. I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to let the oil be absorbed. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Billiard with a fishtail stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 and the beautiful grain really popped with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Straight Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe 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 1.48 ounces/42 grams. I will be sending it back to Shannon shortly. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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.

Restoring a Peterson’s “Shannon” 80S Bulldog with a Fishtail Stem

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s Bent Bulldog pipe that we purchased from and our connection in Denmark on 04/11/2024. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] “Shannon” on the left side of the shank. On the right it is stamped with Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) over the shape number 80S. It is a classic Peterson’s Bent Bulldog shape that has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow on the inner edge of the bowl. The top and edges of the rim looked surprisingly good. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s fishtail stem with the P logo in faint white on the left side of the saddle. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a light lava build up on the top of the rim and some on the bevelled inner edge of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the deep tooth marks, chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank and stem. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. Before I started working on the pipe I turned to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 313 it says:

Shannon (19695-c.1987) First offered as entry-grade walnut or black sandblast, P-lip mouthpiece and a nickel band. In 1969-c.1970 offered through Iwan Ries as Shannon Meerschaum lined, middle grade black sandblast and higher-grade brown sandblast finish, P-lip mouthpiece. From 2005 as polished tan and black stain, unmounted, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece with stamped gold P on the vulcanite mouthpiece.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brushes and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge looked very good. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and there were some deep tooth marks and chatter barely visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the damage to the inner edge on the front left side of the bowl. I worked over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished the edge looked very good.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The rim top, edges and bowl were really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and into the twin rings around the cap with a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the vulcanite surface with the flame of a lighter – constantly moving the flame over the tooth marks and was able to lift many of them. I filled in the deeper centre tooth marks that remained with black rubberized CA glue. Once it cured I flattened the repairs with needle files. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into the surface. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.The stem was in such good condition that I decided to just do some preliminary work on it before polishing it. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I let it dry then polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the curve of the “P” stamp but overall it looked very good. 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 it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine, I rubbed it on with my finger and buffed it off with a cloth. I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to let the oil be absorbed. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Shannon” 80S Bent Bulldog with a saddle, fishtail stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 and the beautiful grain really popped with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Shannon” 80S Bent Bulldog was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.48 ounces/43 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Fresh Life for a Peterson’s “Kildare” 999 Rhodesian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s 999 Rhodesian pipe that we purchased from and our connection in Los Angeles, California, USA on 04/11/2023. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] “Kildare” on the left side of the shank. On the right it is stamped with Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) followed by the shape number 999. It is a classic Peterson’s Rhodesian shape that has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava but I was hoping they were protected. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s P-lip stem with the P logo in white on the left side of the taper. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks, chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. Before I started working on the pipe I turned to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 306 it says:

Kildare (1965-) First issue of the line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes. P-lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue c.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on the pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte brown, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to Smokingpipes.com.

I believe that the pipe I am working on is a First Issue of the line. It has a Matte-finish in a Classic shape and a P-lip mouthpiece. That would make the pipe one issued between 1965 and 1978. It has a bit of age on it and it is in excellent condition.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brushes and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge looked very good. There was some light damage to the inner edge on the front left side of the bowl. I took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and there were light tooth marks and chatter barely visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the damage to the inner edge on the front left side of the bowl. I worked over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished the edge looked very good.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The rim top, edges and bowl were really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and into the twin rings around the cap with a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in such good condition that I decided to just do some preliminary work on it before polishing it. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the curve of the “P” stamp but overall it looked very good.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 it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine, I rubbed it on with my finger and buffed it off with a cloth. I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to let the oil be absorbed. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Kildare” 999 Rhodesian with a taper stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 and the beautiful grain really popped with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 999 Rhodesian was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.76 ounces/50 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring a Peterson’s Republic Era Kildare 86 Taper Stem Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us from somewhere neither Jeff or I remember. I can tell you though that it has been sitting here for a long time. That happens a lot when I am working through a country in my boxes. This the last of the current Peterson Pipes that I have to work on at the moment (no worries as there are more coming). It is a beautifully grained Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple. The shape follows the grain around the bowl which is a combination of cross grain and birdseye. The finish was clean and the pipe had been reamed in the past so I am pretty sure it has been through Jeff’s clean up. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. On the right side of the shank Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the shape number 86. The stamping is clear and readable on both sides. The stem was quite clean though there were light tooth marks and chatter on the stem near the button on both sides. There was the no Peterson’s “P” on the taper stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl has been cleaned but the rim top and the inner edge have some darkening. The finish on the bowl is quite clean. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip button and edges look good.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to give a clear picture of what I see here. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson Company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However, 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry (Harry) Kapp.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

Kildare (1965-) First issue of line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes, P-Lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue C.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte-brown, P-Lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-, burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to smokingpipes.com.

Judging from the description above I believe that I am working on a First Issue of the line in the time period of 1965-1979. It is a late Republic Era Classic Shaped pipe with a matte-finish and a P-Lip stem. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge and the rim top. It looked much better.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust on the surface. I did not need to restain the rim top and edge because with polishing the match is very good. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips. 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. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it 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. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple with a saddle stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 86 Apple was another fun pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.09 ounces/31 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring a Republic Era Petersons “Kildare” 87S Apple with a Saddle Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Kildare” Apple shaped pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good-looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. Both Jeff and I have no memory of where we picked up this pipe. Was it a trade or a pipe hunt find? Could easily have been either one. This Lightweight Apple was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the number 87S (faint but present) near the shank/bowl junction. I believe the “S” is for the saddle stem designation. The pipe was filthy when I brought it to the table. There was grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a minimal cake in the bowl but there was still a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was thickly coated in lava and it was hard to know how the rim top and edges looked underneath. The stem was dirty with oxidation and calcification on it. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was a light “P” stamp logo on left side of the saddle stem. I took photos of the pipe before my cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. I took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl has been but the rim top has a lava coat flowing down the outside of the bowl and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl is rough around the outer edge but I will know more once it is cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip button and edges look good.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. There is a “P” logo stamp on the left side of the saddle stem. It is faint but I am hoping that I can bring it back with white acrylic. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts of the pipe to give a clear picture of what I see here. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87S Apple with a saddle stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87S Apple was another challenging pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Restoring a Republic Era Petersons “Kildare” 87 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s “Kildare” Apple shaped pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It came to us from an Antique Store on 10/20/2022 in Vancouver, Washington, USA. This Lightweight Apple was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”. It was stamped on the right side and read Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the number 87 near the shank/bowl junction. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was thickly coated in lava and it was hard to know how the rim top and edges looked underneath. The stem was dirty with oxidation and calcification on it. There were tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button and on the button edges as well. The P lip portion of the stem was bent downward putting the airway on the end of the stem. There was no “P” stamp logo on the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is thickly caked and the rim top has a lava coat flowing down the outside of the bowl and the inner edge. The finish on the bowl is rough but I will know more once it is cleaned up. The photos of the stem show the oxidation, calcification and the tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The P-Lip has been heated and turned downward making the airway enter at the bend end! Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that is peeking out from underneath that overflow of lava and grime on the surface around this bowl. It is appears to have a nice looking pipe hidden underneath it all! He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is faint but readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s System Line. On page 314 it had the following information.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. There were portions of the bowl sides where the tars had stained the briar but it was clean! He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I started to work on it. I took some close-up photos of the rim top, bowl front and heel as well as the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the front and back of the bowl. The bowl front and heel had some darkening from the tars staining the briar. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the light tooth marks on the stem ahead of the button that do not show up well. The button was also bent downward and the airway was at the stem end. One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top, inner edge of the bowl and the darkening on the front of the bowl. I worked over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I used a medium grit sanding sponge and 220 grit sandpaper to sand the darkening on the bowl front. It looked better but still was too dark to my liking. I mixed a batch of oxalic acid and wiped down the darkened areas to see if that method would lighten it more. Each step took more of the darkening away. I sanded it again with the sanding sponge and 220 grit sandpaper and finally it was as good as it would get. Some of the darkening remained but it was still a big improvement. I stained the bowl with a light brown aniline stain to try to cover and blend in the darkening on the rim top and front of the bowl. I applied the stain with a wool dauber and flamed it with a Bic lighter to set it in the grain. I set it aside to let the stain coat cure. I wiped the bowl down with alcohol on cotton pads to lighten the opaque stain and make it more transparent. I like the way the pipe looked at this point in the process. I still needed to use micromesh on it but it was looking better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. Someone had heated the tip of the button and bent it down to bring the airway on the top of the P-lip down to form a straight opening in the stem end. I heated the tip with a heat gun and carefully bent it back up and straight once again. The airway opening is certainly closer to the original than it was when I started. A bit more shaping is going to be necessary but it is better. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it 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. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87 Apple with a taper stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 87 Apple was another challenging pipe to work on. It is a nice piece of briar that cleaned up really well. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

Peterson’s “Kildare” Special HG Republic of Ireland 10 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s Large Canadian pipe that we purchased from and our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”[over] Special on the topside of the shank. On the right it is stamped with the shape number 10. On the underside it is stamped with a large interlocked HG [followed by] Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines). It is a large Canadian that has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style Fishtail stem. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some deep tooth marks and chatter. There was wear on the edge of the button that would need to be dealt with. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. I turned first to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 306 it says:

Kildare (1965-) First issue of the line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes. P-lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue c.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on the pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte brown, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to Smokingpipes.com.

I wrote to Mark Irwin and asked where I could find information on the GH stamp on this particular pipe. I quote his response below.

Hi Steve, the answer is on p. 300 of your Peterson book: “GH Retailer’s Monogram.” The SPECIAL stamp indicates that this pipe was made specially for George Huber of Munich, who had other Peterson pipes made expressly for their shop. Best, Mark

I turned to page 300 of “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg as noted by him and found a great paragraph on the stamping. I quote in full.

GH Retailer’s Monogram (c. 1960s) George Huber of Munich, Germany, a Peterson distributor and retailer for decades, stamped their monogram on pipes sold in their store, G overlaid on H. Peterson shared in the 1988 commemoration of Huber’s 125^th year in business by producing a special pipe with a sterling rim cap, stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION.

The pipe I have is one that bears that monogram but does not appear to have ever had the sterling rim cap and was not stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION. With that information I turned my attention to working on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the front and back of the bowl. The rim top is clean but in rough condition. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the large and deep tooth marks on the button and on the stem ahead of the button were very visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I started by working over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I then topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I finished the work with a wooden ball and sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel. Using these methods, I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I touched up the stain on the rim top with a Cherry stain pen. It matched the stain on the rest of the bowl perfectly and once buffed it would blend in very well.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a Bic lighter to try and lift the marks. I was able to lift them slightly. I filled in the deep marks on the stem with Black Rubberized CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I polished it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the leg and tail of the “P” stamp.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it 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. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Kildare” Special 10 Canadian with a taper stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly 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 depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 10 Canadian was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.