Tag Archives: restaining a bowl and rim

What a Wreck of a Pipe this Peterson’s of Dublin Kildare 408 Apple

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by Steve Laug

This is another pipe we picked up from a seller in Macon, Georgia, USA on 03/08/2025. It was a classic Peterson’s Apple shaped pipe. It was stamped Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin [over] Kildare. Mid shank on the right side it was stamped 408. It was truly a wreck of a pipe at the worst and at the best it was someone’s favourite. It was very dirty and was covered with tars and oils all around what must have been a natural coloured pipe when it started. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed in lava onto the rim edge and top of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl appears to have been poorly, if not infrequently reamed with a sharp knife. It was notched and damaged all the way around and was even visible with the lava coat. The stem was a vulcanite fishtail one that was very dirty, discoloured and there were deep tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. The fit of the stem to the shank showed that the internals of the shank were as dirty as the externals of the pipe. All in all, it was truly a mess that I was unsure would clean up well. Jeff took photos of the pipe so I could have a sense of what it looked like before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the stem and the bowl and rim to give a sense of the horrible condition of the pipe. You can see the thick cake in bowl and the lava overflow on the edges and rim top of the bowl. The damage on the inner edge of the rim is visible even under the lava. The stem surface is very dirty and you can see the tooth marks and damage. This will be a challenge! He also took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain that could not be totally hidden by the heave filth on the bowl sides. You can see the oils and debris ground into the finish and built up on the surface of the bowl and shank. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is faint but still is readable as noted above.I reread 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 am quoting nothing specifically from that article but recommend you take time to read it.

I turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s Kildare Line. It has become my go to any time I want information on Peterson’s lines. Page 314 had the following information on the Kildare Line.

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.

The information given above identifies the pipe as a First Issue of the line with a matte-finish. It would have been issued between 1965 and 1979. This line was issued in a brown finish with either a P-lip or a fishtail mouthpiece. This means that the pipe is an older issue Kildare. The 408 shape number is attached to a ¼ bent Apple.

Now it was my turn to work on the pipe. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. It was such a wreck that I wondered what it would look like after his work. He reamed the heavy 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, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. The scratches in the briar stood out once clean. There were some on the heel of the bowl. The rim top was clean but badly damaged on the inner edge. He scrubbed the dirty stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. Once it had soaked he 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. Overall the pipe looked better but would be a challenge to bring back to life. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and the rim top shows the heavy damage on the inner edge of the bowl. The stem came out looking quite good and the tooth marks and chatter were visible on the surface ahead of the button.I took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The photo clearly shows the faint stamping though it is actually more readable in person. The stem is also faintly stamped with a Peterson’s P logo. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. It really does have some beautiful grain on the bowl and shank. It was time to work on the pipe. I started by trying to clean up the inner edge bevel with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was too far gone for that to work. I changed course to use various wooden spheres I have here along with 220 grit sandpaper to try to rescue the rim edge and bevel. Once finished it definitely looked better. I filled in the deep road rash on the heel of the bowl with clear CA glue, working it into the deep pits with a tooth pick. Once it cured I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out and blend it in.I sanded the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the scratching and marks on the bowl surface and top and underside of the shank. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth and by the end the bowl really began to show some promise. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank sides. I used a Cherry stain pen to restain the inner edge and rim top to match the rest of the briar before I started sanding it. Once it had been sanded the match should be perfect. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. By the final pads the briar really had a shine. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to work it into the finish. 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 worked on the tooth marks on the stem. I “painted” them with the flame of a lighter to lift them. They came up a bit and I filled in what remained with the extra strength rubberized Black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I flattened them out and redefined the button edge with small flat files. I sanded them smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I touched up the P stamp on the left side of the taper stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. Once it cured I scraped off the excess and worked over the surface with a 400 grit sanding pad to clean up the stamping. It is clear and readable.I sanded the stem and tenon with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. Each successive pad brought smoother shape and definition to the stem. I wiped it down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad and by the end it was starting to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped them down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil and set aside for the product to absorb into the vulcanite. It was great to finish this older (1965-79) Republic Era Peterson’s 408 Apple. It was a question if it could be reborn but I think it looks good.  I put the bowl and the stem 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 to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with deep sandblast all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Peterson’s Kildare 408 Apple 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 ¾ 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 58 grams/2.05 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will soon be on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you want to add 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.

New Life for an Israel Made Long Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a great looking long Canadian that Jeff picked up on 12/17/2020 from an auction in Cramerton, North Carolina, USA. The finish is smooth around the bowl and shank with some leaves carved into the finish. There is one on the left side of the shank and there are three on the right side with one of them on bottom right and front. The bowl had been coated with a varnish coat that was spotty in places and would need to be removed. It is a great looking pipe. It is stamped on the underside at the shank/stem junction it reads Israel. The finish was dirty and had a lot of grime and grit ground into the rustication and the smooth portions. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl is dirty with a heavy lava flow on the edge and the top. There is a thick cake in the bowl. The taper stem has an X logo on the top. It is lightly oxidized and there were tooth marks and chatter on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. It showed a lot of promise.He took close up photos of the bowl and rim top from different angles to show the condition of the bowl and the rim top. You can see the lava on the rim top and on the inner edge of a caked bowl flowing onto the top. He took photos surface of the vulcanite stem which is lightly oxidized and dirty. It has tooth marks on both sides as well as chatter. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the rich reddish finish and the carved leaves around the right side and shank. There is great grain peeking through the grime on the shank and the sides of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank to capture it. It was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the X logo on the stem top. I turned to both Pipephil and Pipedia to see if I could find any information on the stamping on the pipe. There was nothing stamped with both Israel on the shank and X on the stem top. I am pretty convinced that the pipe was made by the Shalom Pipe Company in Israel and the makers of Alpha pipes. The shape and the conformation of the pipe remind me of other Shalom pipes. While I will never know the maker for certain I am fairly confident it as noted above. It is a neat looking pipe.

When I received it from Jeff it did not look like the same pipe. It was clean and the finish had life. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. It was in good condition. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off with a soft cloth. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it.  I took some photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of them both when the pipe arrived. Overall it looked good. There is some damage and darkening to the inner edge of the bowl. The stem looked good even with the tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and reads Israel. It is clear and readable and in great condition. The X stamp on the topside of the stem is faded but readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.I cleaned up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. To remove the damage on the inner bevelled edge I used a wooden sphere and 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better. I touched up the stain on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl with a Maple stain pen to match the rest of the briar.I sanded the sides of the rim top and bowl with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the varnish coat. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It really began to have a more natural shine. I polished the bowl and the high points on the plateau with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl is starting to look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and into leaf patterns with 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. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the deep tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button with a rubberized/carbon extra strength Black CA glue. Once it cured I used some small flat files to blend the repairs into the surface of the vulcanite. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to finish blending it into the stem surface. I touched up the X stamp on the topside of the stem with some white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it harden and then scraped off the excess and went over it with a 1000 grit sanding pad. It looked very good at this point.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 2 x 2 inch sanding pads – dry sanding with 320-3500 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth.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 beautiful mixed finish Israel Long Shank Canadian with carved leaves, probably made by the Shalom Pipe Company with a slightly bent vulcanite stem has a great look and feel. I polished the stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of browns and blacks in the smooth and carved leaves took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished vulcanite stem. I like the grain and finished look of this Israel Long Shank Canadian. Have a look at it in the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 7 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 52 grams/ 1.83 ounces. This Israel Long Canadian is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Pipes from Various Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Turns out to be an older Peterson’s Donegal Rocky Made in Ireland Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a sandblast Peterson’s Rusitcated Billiard shaped pipe that we received from a friend in Naples, Florida, USA on 07/17/2024. It was stamped on the underside of the bowl and shank and on the heel, it was stamped “Donegal” [over] Rocky. There was no shape number though it appears to be a shape 15.  Following that it read, Made in Ireland (in circle). There is a band on the shank that is stamped on the left side and reads K&P [over] three faux hallmarks, or Makers Marks. These were used before 1963. These included a Refined Shamrock, Wolf Hound and a Tower without a door. Under that it read DUBLIN. It has a deeply rusticated finish around the bowl and shank that has a lot of oils, debris and grime in the finish. The pipe had been recently reamed and there was a light cake in the bowl and a lava overflow in the rustication on the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl looks to be in good condition. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s Fishtail Taper Stem. It had light 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 thin cake in the bowl and the light lava build up on the rusticated rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked good. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter on an otherwise good looking stem. More would be visible once Jeff cleaned it up. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the dust and grime around the sides of the bowl and shank in the heavily rusticated finish. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Silver ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. 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.

1915 – 1949 The Pre Republic Period

This was a turbulent period for the company with the outbreak of World war 1 and the start of the Easter uprising in 1916. The K&P shop was extensively damaged during the military action at this time (see attached newspaper report).

Following quote by Kapp & Peterson.

“Kelly’s, the well known Dublin landmark at the corner of Sackville Street and Bachelor’s Walk, one of the most shot at and fully punctured premises in Dublin, was in our possession practically before the smoke ceased over the ashes of our fine shop under the Metropole Hotel. This was one of the most sensational business captures arising out of the Rebellion.”

Around 1916, Peterson began stamping their pipes “Made in Ireland” in what is referred to as a block format.

Charles Peterson died shortly after retiring and moving to Hamburg in Germany in 1919 where he is buried. The original 1890 ‘system’ pipe patent expired at around this time.

The Irish free state came into being in December 1922. The Free State Era was from 1922 through to 1937.

Peterson followed with a stamp of “Irish Free State” in either one or two lines, either parallel or perpendicular to the shanks axis and extremely close to the stem. Ireland was a republic in all but name. Eventually the Irish people voted for a new constitution in 1937 and Ireland then formally became Eire (Ireland in Irish). The Made in Eire era stamps were from 1938 through till 1941. Peterson now stamped their pipes with “Made in Eire” in a circle format with “Made” and “Eire” in a circle with the “in” located in the centre of the circle. This was used during the years of 1938 – 41. Later they stamped their pipes with “Made in Ireland” in a circle format 1945-1947 and still later with “Made in Ireland” in a block format 1947-1949. The “Made in Ireland” block format came in either one line or two lines. The Republic of Ireland was formed on 17 April 1949.

The above information helped me date the pipe. I knew from the Maker’s Marks on the Silver that it was made prior to 1963. The Made in Ireland circular COM stamp helps to take the date back a bit further as it was used from 1945-1947. This was another older pipe. That was a bit of a surprise for me.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the reaming with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The silver tarnished once again and would need to be polished because it had been sitting here for awhile. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges look quite good. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the band. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint but still readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good-looking pipe and has a rugged rustication around the bowl.I worked over the dull area on the rusticated rim top with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the remnants of crud in the deep grooves. It looked better.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 the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the Sterling Silver band on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and protect it from further tarnishing. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the light tooth chatter and marks in the acrylic. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was able to remove the marks and the stem looked very good.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 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 Republic Era Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky 15 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 hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rugged rustication all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This rusticated Classic Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky Billiard is nice 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 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 34 grams/1.20 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. 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.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

New Life for a Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 307 Huber Munchen

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 04/11/2023. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard on the left side of the shank vertically below the nickel ferrule. On the right it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 307. The underside of the shank was stamped HUBER [over] Munchen. It has a smooth finish around the bowl and shank have oils, debris and grime ground into the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a lava overflow on the rim top that was heavier toward the back side. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath the buildup of years of use. The ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K & P [over] Peterson. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter. 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 and lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. 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 faint in spots but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The nickel Ferrule is clearly stamped and readable. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. I am also 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.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equalled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

Finally, on the underside of the shank it is stamped Huber [over] Munchen. From a past restoration I did a lot of work on the stamping (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/10/14/petersons-kildare-special-hg-republic-of-ireland-10-canadian/). Have a look if you are interested.

To learn more about the Huber Munchen stamp I turned to page 300 of “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg as noted by him in the previous blog 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 125th year in business by producing a special pipe with a sterling rim cap, stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION.

The pipe I have is one that does not bear that monogram and does not appear to have ever had the sterling rim cap and was not stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION. It was however, stamped Huber [over] Munchen – the city where the shop was located. With that information I turned my attention to working on the pipe.

Jeff cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual clean up process. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour I was amazed it looked so good. 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 were in good condition. There was some darkening and slight damage to the inner edge. The rim top also had some roughening. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the 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 faint in spots to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. It did not become worse but the photos give an accurate picture 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 with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I removed the damage on the inner edge and top. The rim looked significantly better.I sanded the bowl and shank with 320-3500 grit 2 x2 inch sanding pad. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The grain can be seen through the finish. 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 polished the nickel ferrule with a jeweller’s cloth to polish out the oxidation and dullness of the of the metal. It began to take on a deep shine. It looks quite good. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I blended in the tooth marks and chatter in the surface and after the final pad a deep shine began to develop.I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding 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 Huber Munchen Peterson’s System Standard 307 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 nicely. The depths of the grain 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 and polished nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 307 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. 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 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 2.43 ounces/69 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.

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.

Another Resurrection – a Savinelli Roma Lucite 412KS Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe came from Curtis, the same pipeman whose Neerup pipe I restemmed. He sent me the two pipes for work. This one is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank. It was stamped Savinelli [over] Roma Lucite [followed by] Made In [over] Italy [followed by] the shape number 412 KS. It was a sandblast pipe with an interesting blast that showed the grain around the bowl and shank. The stem was a variegated orange/brown Lucite taper with a brass spacer at the end of the stem and a gold R Shield on the left side of the shank. The stem had light tooth chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. It had a thick cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. To me those are easily dealt with and really are not an issue. What was an issue was the cracked shank. It cracked ¾ of an inch up the shank with a clean break. It was too far up the shank to band it to hold the parts together. It was a mess that I would need to be creative to fix. I left it over night to see if I could sort out a repair of some sort that would put the pieces back together again. I had some brass tubing that would work well in the shank together from the inside.I cut a piece of brass tubing that fit from the entry of the airway in the shank, across the cracked shank and ending at the bevel on the shank end. My thoughts on it were that I would reduce the size of the tenon on the stem so it would slide into the shank. It was thick enough that the thinning would not make it weak. I used a brass bristle wire brush to roughen the area of the repair on the shank to match the sandblast on the finish. It was close but I would need to do more. I found a deep set band that once in place combined with the internal tube should protect the shank. I pressed it on the shank. I worked over the repair on the shank with the wire brush and an etching tool. I wanted it to match the rest of the shank and bowl finish. It will look good once the section is restain. I restained the shank end with a combination of Mahogany and Black stain pens. Once it dried I buffed it with a soft cloth and the repair looked very good. I reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer using the second and third cutting heads to remove the thick cake in the bowl. I scraped the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remainder of the cake in the bowl. I sanded the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. It looked good. I cleaned up the rim top. I scraped off the lava coat with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I scrubbed it with some warm water and a paper towel to remove the bulk of the grime. I used a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to polish off the remainder of the grim and the rim top look significantly better. I scrubbed the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners – both regular and bristle one and isopropyl alcohol.I rubbed the briar down with Before and After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips and let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. After that I buffed it off with a soft cltoh to polish and raise the shine on the bowl. It looks very good. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished out the tooth marks and chatter with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an obsidian Oil soaked cloth. It is looking good.I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with each pad. I wiped it down with the Obsidian Oil after each pad. I finished polishing the stem with Before and After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I polished it with each polish and the stem began to have a rich glow. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to seeing the Savinelli Roma Lucite 412KS Billiard put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the grain really pop with the wax and polish. The polished variegated Brown Lucite stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of stains on the bowl and shank. This Savinelli Roma Lucite Billiard was a lot of work to bring back to life. The pipe is light weight, comfortable in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when 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 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.45 ounces/41 grams. I will be packing this one up with restemmed Neerup and getting them in the post to Curtis. I look forward to hearing from him regarding his two pipes.

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.

Resurrecting a 4th Generation Erik Stokkebye Churchwarden

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by Steve Laug

On Tuesday the local pipe shop dropped by 5 pipes for me to clean up and restore. I have finished and returned four of them. The last of them was a pipe they saw as pretty much a lost cause that they had sitting in their stock room. It was an Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation Churchwarden. It was new, unsmoked and other than being in pieces was in good condition. We spoke and figured it would be an interesting challenge to work on so they dropped it by. Yesterday I cut a piece of tubing and glued it into the airway in the bowl. I let it cure overnight before I began reconstructing the pipe.I cleaned up the end of the tube with a piece of sandpaper. I painted the extension of the tube with clear CA glue. I also used a tooth pick to coat the broken portion on the bowl and the shank with the CA glue. I slid the shank onto the tube and aligned the two parts until they were smooth and clamped the bowl until the glue cured. I took photos of the repair after it had cured. I let it sit for an hour while the repair hardened. It looked quite good. I sanded the repaired areas on the shank with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repairs. It took a bit of work but was able to smooth out the repairs and blend them into the surface of the briar. The pipe was beginning to look better. I put the stem in place on the shank and took photos of the pipe. It is going to look very good once I smooth it out and restain it.I polished the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with the pads and wiping it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The repair began to take on a shine. I used a Cherry, Walnut and Mahogany stain pen to restain the repaired shank after sadning it. The combination of colours worked very well with the surrounding stain on the briar. I rubbed the bowl down Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10-15 minutes. I wiped it down and buffed it down with a soft cloth. It looks quite good. I am excited to finish this Erik Stokkebye 4th Generation Churchwarden. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain just popping on all sides. This Eric Stokkebye 4th Generation Churchwarden is nice 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: 10.90 inches, Height: 1.68 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 70.75 grams/ 2.50 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be going back to the local pipe shop that dropped it by for a repair. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Fitting a new stem to a Neerup, Made in Denmark Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe came to my table from a fellow I had repaired pipes for before. It has been awhile and he has moved further away but he remembered me and sent the pipes to me to repair. There were two of them – a Savinelli Billiard with a snapped shank and a Neerup Bulldog. The Bulldog looked very familiar to me and I did a bit of looking back and found that I had worked on it previously. I had fitted it with a new stem in the past and later replaced the tenon on it. Now it was back for a new replacement stem. It is obviously a favourite pipe. It has a black sandblast finish that is a bit dirty and a light cake in the bowl that had been recently reamed. There is an overflow of lava on the rim top. The pipe was still a beauty. The shank end of the vulcanite stem had been wrapped in tape but I am not sure the purpose of the tape. Under the tape was a polished nickel end cap on the stem for decorative purposes and perhaps Curtis would rather have it plain. The button end had been chewed and was missing a large piece of vulcanite on the underside of the button surface. The stem will need to be replaced. I took photos of the pipe before I began my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the condition of the stem when I received the pipe. It was a bit of a mess. The stem was in rough condition as noted above. You can see the damage on both sides of the stem – the chipped and broken underside of the button as well as the tooth damage on the topside of the stem. Looking at it you can see why we chose to restem it.The next two photos showed the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint and hard to read in the photos. In person it is faint but readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of perspective to the parts. I went back and reread my previous work on this pipe. I have been doing this long enough that I am doing repeat repairs on pipes that I had repaired before. This link is to the first restem on the pipe. Here is the link (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/12/22/new-life-and-new-look-for-a-neerup-made-in-denmark-bulldog/).

I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer to remove the thin cake from the bowl – using a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape away the carbon coat. I sanded the walls smooth with a piece of dowel wrapped with some 220 grit sandpaper.I cleaned out the shank and the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol to remove the tars and oils. I also cleaned out the airway in the stem I had chosen to use as well. I scrubbed the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush on the sandblast and the a brass bristle brush on the rim top. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to rinse off the soap and the grime left behind. It looked better. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get it deep in the grooves of the sandblast. I let it sit for 15 minutes and buffed it off with a soft cloth. I went through my stems and found this slightly longer taper stem that would need very little adjustment to fit in the shank. I took pictures of the old stem with the replacement stem in the photo to show the difference.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. The oil both preserves the rubber and also provides some needed friction for the micromesh pads. I polished it with Before & After Fine & Extra Fine Polish. I rubbed it down a final time with the oil and set it aside. This Neerup Made in Denmark Freehand Bulldog carved by Peder Jeppesen combines a great looking piece of sandblast briar with a multi-banded shank extension and a vulcanite stem to make a beautiful pipe. The removal of the thick shiny coat allows the grain to come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel 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 Neerup Made in Denmark Bulldog really is a beauty and fits nicely 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. Once I finish the second pipe this one will be going back to Curtis to enjoy. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

 

Restoring a Huge Bjarne Nielsen Hand Carved Danish Bent Brandy with a 9MM Filter Stem

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by Steve Laug

It is a beautiful chilly day in Vancouver without rain so I decided to go to the basement and work on another pipe that was purchased on 12/27/2025 in a lot of pipes that came to us from an estate of a pipeman in Durham, North Carolina, USA. The grain around the bowl and shank of this huge Bent Egg has a mix of birdseye, straight and flame grain. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Bjarne Nielsen [over] Hand-Carve [over] Made in Denmark. The pipe was dirty when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. It is finished in the warm stain that highlights some nice grain around the bowl and shank. The bowl was heavily caked and there was some darkening and lava on the rim top. The inner edge is not visible under the lava so it may well be protected and undamaged. The saddle stem is vulcanite and was dirty with light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button and on the button itself. There is no logo on the sides or top of the stem. The tenon is made to hold 9MM filter. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before the clean up. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the darkening and lava on the inner edge and top of the rim. The stem photos show the oxidation and the tooth marks ahead of the button. The photos of the sides and heel of this huge bowl show the grain around the bowl and shank. The stain adds depth finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on the underside of the shank is shown in the photos below. It is clear and readable as noted above. I have had many Bjarne pipes cross my work table over the years but all had been stamped only Bjarne or Bjarne Handmade. None of them had his full name stamped on it and none had a Hand – Carved stamp which I assumed indicated the grade of the pipe. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-b5.html). I have included a screen capture of the section below and below the screen capture I included the information from the sidebar.Bjarne Nielsen (1941 – † 2008) distributed his own “Bjarne” brand and pipes carved by Danish pipemakers (Mogens Johansen, Tonni Nielsen or Ph. Vigen). High grade pipes were stamped “Bjarne Nielsen” without any logo on the mouthpiece and graded A, B, C and D. Bjarne second brand: Viking

I did some research on Pipedia.com and found some helpful information on both the stamping of my pipe and the history of Bjarne Nielsen himself. I am including the link to the full article on Pipedia and also some pertinent sections of the article that I have edited for quick reference. https://pipedia.org/wiki/BjarneFrom the early 1990s Bjarne had seven pipemakers employed and the pipes were sold in no fewer than 32 countries. For more than six months each year, Bjarne travelled around the world to promote his pipes by meeting with dealers and customers. But sadly, it all ended in February 2008 when Bjarne, then 66 years old suffered a fatal heart attack. An unexpected blow fist of all to his family, but also to the pipemakers who had been working for him, and to all lovers of his pipes from around the world. And as no one was willing to take over, the Bjarne pipe died together with its creator.

There was also an interesting section on the high grades and also the Giant pipes. I am including the pertinent information below…

From the early 1990s Bjarne had seven pipemakers employed and the pipes were sold in no fewer than 32 countries. For more than six months each year, Bjarne traveled around the world to promote his pipes by meeting with dealers and customers. But sadly, it all ended in February 2008 when Bjarne suffered a fatal heart attack. An unexpected blow fist of all to his family, but also to the pipemakers who had been working for him, and to all lover of his pipes from around the world. And as no one was willing to take over, the Bjarne pipe died together with its creator.

Among the pipemakers that worked for Bjarne were Johs (for the lower priced high volume pieces), and makers like Ph. Vigen, Ole Bandholm and Tonni Nielsen for high grade pieces. The cheaper line was stamped “Bjarne” while the highest grades were stamped “Bjarne Nielsen” (never with the pipemakers’ name) and graded, from highest to lowest, by the letters: AX, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, and J.

Bjarne was also a good source for lovers of XXL pipes. These were called “Giant”.

From that information I knew that the pipe that I was working on was made before 2008 but had no idea who the carver was. There was no letter stamp on the shank so I had no idea where it fit in the hierarchy. When I look at the grain and also the way the pipe maker cut the pipe to maximize the lay of the grain on the bowl makes me think it is definitely high on the grade list. Perhaps it is a Tonni Nielson carved pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe on my end.

When I received it from Jeff this past week it did not look like the same pipe. It was clean and the finish had life. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. It was in good condition. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I brought it to the table. I took some photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of them both when the pipe arrived. Overall the briar looked good. The vulcanite stem had some light tooth chatter and marks ahead of the button and on the button surface on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is readable and in great condition. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.I took a photo of the filter tenon on the stem. It looked very good and I fit it with an adapter that converted it to a regular tenon. It is removable allowing the pipe to be smoked with or without a filter.I sanded the sides of the bowl and the rim top with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch sanding pads to remove the scratching in the briar and smooth it out. It is a really beautiful piece of briar with some amazing grain around the sides, heel and rim top. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl is starting to look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped the tooth marks down with isopropyl alcohol and a cotton swab and then filled in the tooth marks with black CA glue. Once the repairs cured I used a small flat needle to smooth out the repaired areas on both sides of the stem. I sanded them with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I fit the 9MM filter tenon with an adapter converting it to an unfiltered tenon. It is removable so it can be smoked with or without a filter.I touched up the BJ logo on the left side of the saddle stem. Once it dried I scraped off the excess and cleaned it up with a 600 grit sanding pad. It looked much better, though faint in spots.I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. By the final 3500 grit sanding pad the rim top had a shine.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 is a beautiful Bjarne Nielsen Large Bent Brandy Hand-Carved in Denmark with a filter saddle stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape fits well in the hand with the curve of the bowl and shank junction a perfect fit for the thumb around the bowl when held. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of browns in the smooth finish took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished hard rubber stem. I like the grain and finished look of this Bjarne Nielsen Bent Brandy Hand-Carved. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches wide, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 169 grams/5.96 ounces. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Making Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

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.

Breathing New Life into a Stanwell Dorado 175 Stack

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by Steve Laug

It is a beautiful chilly day in Vancouver without rain so I decided to go to the basement and work on another pipe that was purchased on 02/16/2023 in a lot of pipes that came to us from a seller in Copenhagen, Denmark. It included a group of Danish Made Stanwell pipes that are quite beautiful. The grain around the bowl and shank of this Stack has a mix of birdseye, straight and flame grain. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads STANWELL [over] Made in Denmark [over] Dorado. On the right side of the shank it is stamped with the shape number 175. The pipe was dirty when Jeff received it. There was dust and grime ground into the finish. It is finished in the warm stain that highlights some nice grain around the bowl and shank. The bowl was heavily caked and there was some darkening and lava on the rim top. The inner edge shows some damage and darkening around the bowl. There was a ferrule on the end of the shank with two think black lines around the band. The stem is acrylic and is dirty with light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button and on the button itself. There is no logo on the sides or top of the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show what they looked like before the clean up. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the darkening and lava on the inner edge and top of the rim. The acrylic stem was in decent condition with tooth marks that are visible in the photos below. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl show the grain around the bowl and shank. The stain adds depth finish on the pipe. Even under the grime it is a real beauty. The stamping on the sides of the shank are shown in the photos below. It is clear and readable as noted above. I turned to Pipephil’s site to see if I could find any information on the Diplomat line of Stanwell pipes (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-stanwell.html). There was nothing specific on the line but the summary of Stanwell History is quite helpful. I quote it below.

Brand & factory were established in 1942 by Poul Nielsen. The company has been owned since 2000 by Nordisk Tobaks Kompagni A/S.

The factory in Borup crafted all Stanwell pipes from 1965 until 2009. From 2010 on the pipes are crafted by Barontini (Italy) exept for the limited editions.

Production (2007): 115 000 Pipes/year – Denmark

I turned to Pipedia to an article that originally was posted here on rebornpipes and written by my late friend Bas Stevens (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Stanwell_Shape_Numbers_and_Designers). The list did not clarify who designed the shape so that was still a bit of a mystery. Whoever did so, created a beauty. I now knew that the shape 175 was a Tall Billiard or Chimney with tapered stem. There was no other information. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. 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. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. It came in Stanwell Box with Pipe Sock. I removed it from the sock and took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took close up photos of both the rim top and the stem. Jeff had been able to get the grime and lava off of the rim top and it looked pretty incredible. Even the darkening and marks on the rim top on the right side and the back of the bowl are very obvious now that it is clean. The stem looked very clean. The tooth marks and chatter were minimal and should be easy to remove.The stamping on the shank side was readable as noted above. I also took a photo with the stem removed to give an idea of the perspective and design of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edge of the bowl with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a sphere to remove the damage. I then used a half sphere to further shape the rim top to bring the edge back into round and it looked much better. Over all the rim top and edges looked much better.I sanded the outside of the bowl and rim with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the scratching and marks on the briar. I wiped the bowl down between pads with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I stained the sanded and polished rim top with a Maple stain pen and it matched the colour of the rest of the pipe. I polished the smooth bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads using 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the finish of the bowl and shank with my fingers. I want the product to go deep into the finish because it works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. Once I was confident that it was deeply worked into the finish I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The pipe really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain really stands out on the pipe in the photos below. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the acrylic stem. I tried to raise the tooth marks on the acrylic stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter and was not able to lift any of the marks. I filled in the tooth marks with black CA glue (I forgot to take photos of the repairs once I glued them). Once the repairs cured, I used a small flat file to smooth out the repairs. I then sanded the areas with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth them out and blend them in. I wiped it down with an Obsidian cloth to remove the debris. I sanded the stem with 320-1500 grit sanding pads to further blend the sanding marks into the surface of the acrylic. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian cloth to remove the debris from the sanding.I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. This Stanwell Made in Denmark Dorado 175 Stack with an acrylic taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful finish really highlights the straight grain and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel 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 Stanwell Dorado 175 Stack 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 38 grams /1.34 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Danish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email.

As always, I encourage your questions and comments as you read the blog. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipe men and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

New Life for a Castello Old Antiquari KK 32 Hand Made Canadian

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by Steve LaugView post

The next pipe on the table is another one that came to us from the seller in Caldwell, Idaho, USA on 07/12/2025. It is a Castello Rusticated Canadian with an acrylic taper stem with the faux diamond on the left side of the stem. It is in dirty but in good condition as can be seen in the photos below. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads Castello [over] Old Antiquari [followed by] KK 32 [followed by] Hand Made [followed by] Made in Cantu [over] Italy [followed by] Carlo arched over Scotti in an oval. The stamping is clear and readable. The pipe has rich Tan and Brown stains on a deep rusticated finish and a dark stain flume around the rim top and down the bowl sides about ¼ inch. The finish was dusty and lightly dirty with grime in the nooks and crannies of the rugged, deep sandblast. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was tobacco debris in the bowl. The rim top had a thick lava coat in the sandblast rim top and edges. The original taper stem is dirty and oxidized. It has the crumpled diamond look to the logo. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thickness of the cake and the lava coat on the rim top. There was some tobacco debris in the bottom of the bowl. The stem photos show the condition of the taper stem ahead of the button. The stamping on the heel of the bowl is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. It is a real beauty. Interestingly, there was a clean foil inner tube in the tenon.

As usual I cannot seem to retain the details on Castello pipes in my head for long for some reason. The stamping on this one – Castello and the Carlo Scotti stamp left me with some questions that I need to answer before I began to work on the pipe. I turned first to the Pipephil site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-castello.html) because of the general quick summary of information I get there along with a screen capture.Castello PIPA CASTELLO di Carlo Scotti & C. was founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti († 1988). Franco Coppo (AKA “Kino”) who married Carlo Scotti’s daughter Savina, manages (2012) the corporate since 1985.

The site also gave a good summary of the grading and sizes of the pipes. I quote that in full.

Sizes (ascending):

1K to 4K, G (Giant) and GG (Extra large)

Rusticated grading: SEA ROCK, OLD SEA ROCK, NATURAL VERGIN,

Sandblasted grading: ANTIQUARI, OLD ANTIQUARI

Smooth grading (ascending): TRADEMARK, CASTELLO, COLLECTION

Other stampings: Great Line (Non-standard or freestyle) Fiammata (Straight grain)

Production (2012): ~4000 pipes / year

I also found a note on the page that the Rhinestone logo was originally on pipes for the US market. It is occasionally used now.

I turned then to Pipedia for more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Castello). The majority of the information was what was already quoted above in abbreviated form.

…All carved Castello pipes are graded by the number of K’s that are stamped on each piece and are K-graded by SIZE.  1K is the smallest and fairly rare, 2K is small to medium, with 3K or 4K being the most common and ranges from medium to medium large. Large pieces are stamped “G” for giant and extra-large pieces are stamped “GG” for double giant.  In addition to the number of K’s on a carved Sea Rock piece the shape number is almost always added. As a rule a Sea Rock Castello is stained Black, although recently there have been quite a few coming in stained deep brown and still stamped “Sea Rock”. American Logo’d Sea Rocks are all priced the same to the consumer, although most are 2 or 3 K’ed models. G/GG models are charged at a higher price on American pieces and are basically the same as their European counterparts.

The Castello Old Antiquari Briar KK 32 I was working on was definitely one made for the American Market with the Rhinestone in the stem. It had a brown or tan finish with a black flume around the top and the outer edge of the bowl. The Castello Old Antiquari in my hands was 2K graded. That told me that it is a mid-sized pipe. The number 32 makes it a short Canadian shape.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I started my work by reaming the pipe. I scraped out the light cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the walls smooth with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls looked very good with no burn damage or checking on the walls. I worked over the rugged rustication on the rim top to remove the tars and lava on the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush.I cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and both bristle and regular pipe cleaners. I scrubbed the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and some undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the dust and soap from the finish. I dried it off with a soft cloth. The rim top was still darkened in the grooves of the sandblast. I touched up the black of the flume finish on the rim top and outer edge of the bowl with a black stain pen. It looked much better at this point with the finish cleaned of the dust and debris in the finish. It is a rich and rugged rustication.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. 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 worked on the stem. The stem was stamped on the underside and read TRADE MARK [over] CASTELLO [over] 7. I sanded the oxidation and the tooth marks and chatter with 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove all of the light tooth damage on the stem and the majority of the oxidation. I sanded the stem and tenon surface with 320-3500 grit 2×2 inch pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.I polished the vulcanite 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 beautiful Castello Old Antiquari Rusticated Flumed Top KK 32 Short Canadian with a taper acrylic stem looks amazing after the work on it. The briar is clean and the deep rustication really came alive. The rich brown stains gave the finish a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. The flumed black rim top and edges were a great contrast. The finish really popped. 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 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 Castello Old Antiquari Rusticated KK 32 Canadian really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.66 ounces. I will soon be putting this pipe on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers section. It should make a great smoker that the next steward will enjoy. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on.