Tag Archives: restaining a bowl and rim

Bringing a Yello Bole Pot back to Life

Blog by Andrew Selking

Anyone who reads my previous postings know that I have a fondness for early KB&B pipes. Since the briar used in Yello Bole pipes was generally inferior to those used in Kaywoodies, most Yello Bole pipes are smaller. This was a work around for defects found in the briar. I saw this Yello Bole pot and was intrigued. It’s a full size pipe. Here is the seller’s picture. When the pipe arrived, the stem was nearly perfect with the original stinger intact (not that I planned to leave it there). The bowl looked decent with a minimal amount of tar on the rim and very light cake. I dropped the bowl into the alcohol bath and soaked the stem in Oxyclean.

I noticed the first indication of trouble when I pulled the bowl out for reaming: it had a heavy varnish coating. That’s usually a sign that the pipe maker wanted to hide imperfections in the wood.

I quickly reamed the bowl then broke out the 0000 steel wool and acetone to remove the varnish.

I’ve seen some pits in briar before, but this is the first time I’ve encountered a pit so deep that I gave it a name. I named it the pit of despair. Here’s the picture before I removed the pink putty.

Here’s the pit of despair fully revealed. My dental pick had a good ¼ of an inch of room to explore.

Even with the pit I still liked the pipe and decided to fix it anyway. I filed a good amount of briar dust from a broken shank onto a piece of paper. The paper makes it easier to collect the briar dust. Or you could do like Steve and just have a big jar of briar dust. I packed the pit and added super glue followed by accelerator. After applying the super glue and accelerator, I had to add briar dust two more times. This was the final result. In addition to the pit of despair, there were three minor pits on the front of the bowl and two deep pits on the bottom of the shank near the juncture of the stem. I finally got the exterior of the pipe sorted out and turned my attention to the insides.
I did my retort on the bowl. There was some gunk on the brush, but the stinger did a decent job keeping the shank clean. After a few passes with the brush dipped in alcohol, I moved on to q-tips. Not a terribly dirty pipe. Next I retorted the stem. I anticipated it would be dirty, since stingers tend to make pipes smoke wet. I retorted it three times to be safe and had an easy time cleaning the remaining tar.

I next turned my attention to removing the oxidization from the stem. I used 400 wet/dry with water and my sanding wedge, followed by 1500-2400 grit micro mesh pads with water. I polished both the bowl and stem with a progression of micro mesh pads, 1500-12,000 in preparation for final finish. I used my rotary tool with white diamond, followed by carnauba wax on the stem. I have to say this will be the new standard from now on. I decided to use Pimo Pipe Supply’s dark walnut stain on the bowl. This would give me a fighting chance to cover the pit repairs while still allowing the grain to show. It turned out better than I expected. I now have a very classy looking short pot. I also had the chance to try extreme pit repair. Even though this pipe had several pits, the briar still had nice grain. This one is a keeper.

Rescuing a Scorched GBD New Era 549

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Blog by Andrew Selking

After reading Al’s posts about his GBD pipes, I had to have one. I saw this pipe listed on eBay with a low buy it now price, obviously based on the scorch mark on the front of the bowl. I’m not sure whether it was a sense of overconfidence in my ability or naivety about the extent of the damage, but I bought the pipe. I realized when it arrived that if I couldn’t fix the scorch mark the pipe probably wouldn’t be worth my time. I nearly despaired when normal procedures failed to even lighten the mark. I put the pipe aside several times before finally deciding to take drastic measures and use a hand sander with 150 grit sand paper. I figured at this point there was nothing to lose and I knew I could still maintain the original shape if I was careful. After spending about a half an hour with the sander, I found myself at about an 80% solution. The mark was still too dark, so I took it to the next level of desperation: the rotary tool (that’s the generic name for a dremel that you buy at Harbor Freight Tools) with a sanding attachment.

I do not recommend the use of either a hand sander or the rotary tool except as a last resort. By this point I had accepted the fact that this pipe was beyond hope for a perfect restoration, so I lowered my expectations to a good restoration.

The sanding on the top portion of the bowl changed the contour of the rim, so I used 400 grit sand paper and a piece of glass to top it. Normally I have a set order for restoring a pipe, but dealing with the scorch mark threw it all off. I don’t like to work on a pipe that has a dirty bowl, so I went ahead and reamed it. As you can see from this picture the scorch mark is fairly light. Next I retorted the shank. She was a dirty girl.

I retorted the stem after that, but did it four times. On a dirty pipe you can either spend time with lots of q-tips and fuzzy sticks, or do the retort multiple times. Now that I had the internals of the pipe cleaned, I turned my attention to the removing the oxidation from the stem. This stem was all angles and had some serious oxidation. I’ve felt for a long time that my stem work needed improvement. It’s especially difficult to clean the crease under the button and in the case of this stem the curved area where it meets the diamond portion. I know that when I work with wood I use a sanding block or wrap the sand paper around an object that would fit into the area to be sanded. With that in mind, I “borrowed” a small plastic scraper from the kitchen. You will notice that it has a beveled edge and fits the underside of the button perfectly.

Using the scraper wrapped with 400 grit wet/dry and water, the oxidation was soon gone. I followed with 1500-2400 grit micro mesh pads and water. The bowl had a couple of dents so I decided to steam them out. One of my essential tools for this type of work is an old butter knife. I used my heat gun to get the tip of the knife very hot, then applied it to a wet cloth directly over the dents. Here is what it looked like after several applications of steam. The dents still needed some work, so I sanded them smooth with 400 grit sand paper. By this point the finish was completely uneven, with bare wood on the rim and side of the bowl, so I used acetone and 0000 steel wool to remove the remaining finish. I find that if I’m careful with the stampings, that grade of steel wool cleans the wood without damaging the stampings. This is what the pipe looked like after I took the bowl and stem through a progression of micro mesh pads, 1500-12,000. I decided to use a dark walnut stain from Pimo Pipe Supply to help cover the remaining scorch mark. Here is the bowl after the application of stain. I used white diamond buffing compound on the buffing wheel to bring out a shine. Let me digress a bit about buffers. There are three things that a buffer loves, angles, stem inserts, and nice pipes. When spinning at 3450 rpm’s the buffer will catch anything with an angle and fling it at a high rate of speed onto the nearest hard surface. Alternately it will catch any type of stem insert and rip it out of the stem. Finally if you have a nice pipe that you’ve invested time in, the buffer has a tendency to shatter it just as you finish. This pipe had all of those elements, so I decided to try something different; my rotary tool.

I took a felt buffing pad and loaded it with white diamond buffing compound. The results were spectacular. The rotary tool gave me more control, I didn’t have to worry about the stem flying out of my hand, and I was able to achieve a more consistent shine in the areas that are hard to get with a buffer. Not bad when you consider that I paid $19.99 for this thing at Harbor Freight Tools. I finished the bowl on the buffing wheel and here is the final result.

A Bit of Cosmetic Surgery in Restoring a Moistless Sandblast Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I saw this pipe come up on eBay I was struck by the combination of the colours and textures. The yellow Lucite stem and the dark reddish black sandblast went well together. The slight bend in the stem looked perfect. I had not heard of the brand before but decided to bid on it anyway. The first seven photos are from the seller and give different views of the pipe and the stem. In several of the profile photos there appeared to be a lip or ledge near the shank bowl junction. It was a curious thing that I would check when it arrived.

The stem also made me wonder about the material it was made of. It has the rounded end button that often appears on orific button stems but there no photos of the end of the stem so it would also be clear once I received it. The stem appeared to be in great shape other than some internal staining.

I did some research on the brand and found that there was a patent taken out for a Moistless Pipe in 1935 by a S. Guida. The pipe I purchased is stamped Moistless over Italian Briar. The patent is from the US Patent Office and the pipe I have is American made in my opinion. When it arrived I took it apart to see if the insides reflect the drawings from the Patent diagrams. They did not. The tenon on this one is a metal tenon but there are no any of the other parts of the insert shown. The shank is quite open and deeply drilled so it well could have had the apparatus inside. The inside of the tenon looks like it could have had an insert as it is tapered into a cone shape guiding the smoke into the airway. The inside of the pipe was clean and the bowl lightly smoked with no cake build up. I ran some pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol through the shank and stem. They came out remarkably clean.

When I examined the bowl there was a ridge that ran around ½ of the bowl just above the shank bowl junction. It was like a shelf and felt uncomfortable in the hand. The blast had taken some material but left a very distinct shelf and a ridge along the topside of the shank. In my mind it was an unattractive interruption in an otherwise classic shape. It would need to go to bring the most out of the shape of this pipe. The next seven photos show the bowl from a variety of angles to highlight the issue I am speaking of regarding the shelf. It is these issues that the impending plastic/cosmetic surgery will deal with.

It almost took more time to decide to remove the shelf and clean up the shape of the bowl and the shank than it did to do the work. I wanted a cleaner junction for the shank and bowl as well. I used a Dremel and sanding drum to remove the excess material. The next three photos show the bowl after surgery – the cosmetic surgery/face lift had begun. The patient did not squeal too much even though there was no anesthesia. Within a matter of five minutes the foundational work was finished and what remained was hand work.

I don’t have a sandblaster so I decided to start with a basic rustication pattern and then work it with carving knives and sandpaper to give the rustication a more blasted look. I used the rustication tool that Chris made for me and it did a great job turning the smooth sanded surfaces into a more patterned look.

I then used a carving knife to give swirls and movement to the rustication and try to blend it into the surface of the sandblast. I used the dark brown stain pen to highlight the high spots on the rustication to enable me to better determine the pattern I was working on.

When I had finished the matching of the pattern as best I could I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain and flamed it to set it in the briar.

I buffed the bowl with red Tripoli to smooth out the rough spots and specifically used a sanding block to flatten the rustication more. Then I stained the bowl with an oxblood aniline stain and flamed it. I set the bowl aside to dry. Overall I am happy with the rustication and the match to the sandblast of the bowl.

When the stain was set and dry I took the pipe to the buffer and gave it a light buff with White Diamond. I also buffed the stem lightly with it to give it a shine. I gave the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it to a shine. I rubbed the bowl down with Halcyon II wax and then buffed the bowl with a shoe brush to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below.

I have included the next two close-up photos of the bowl to show the finished rustication after the two coats of stain and the buffing and polishing have been finished. I really like the finished shape and look of the bowl and the bothersome shelf is gone. The junction of the bowl and shank is much cleaner with a sharper angle. The pipe now fits the classic shape that it approximated previous to the plastic surgery! The patient survived the procedure and looks to be thriving in its post operative glory. Oh, and the stem had an orific opening in the button and it was in excellent shape only needed a quick polish.

Cleaning an Older Savinelli Duca Carlo Straight Billiard and Paying It Forward

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://www.roadrunnerpipes.com
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

“As you know, Shibumi has to do with great refinement underlying commonplace appearances. It is a statement so correct that it does not have to be bold, so poignant it does not have to be pretty, so true it does not have to be real. Shibumi is understanding, rather than knowledge. Eloquent silence. In demeanor, it is modesty without pudency. In art, where the spirit of shibumi takes the form of sabi, it is elegant simplicity, articulate brevity. In philosophy, where shibumi emerges as wabi, it is spiritual tranquility that is not passive; it is being without the angst of becoming.”
― Trevanian (Rodney William Whitaker, 1931-2005), U.S. film scholar and writer, in “Shibumi,” 1979

INTRODUCTION
Although Trevanian, in the well-turned quote above from one of his diverse novels (in this case a spy story), is far less sesquipedalian yet just as articulate as the late great jack of all trades, William F. Buckley Jr., I admit I had to resort to my Oxford English Dictionary to look up pudency. To save anyone reading this the trouble, if he might be inclined to do as I did, I will say the word is defined as susceptibility to the feeling of shame, or bashfulness. I made it through that stage long ago. The passage as a whole is apt to the understated grace, style, artistry and charm, combined with simplicity and humbleness, of this lovely Savinelli Duca Carlo Straight Billiard,relative to higher end Savinelli beauties and their prices.

The circumstances surrounding my chance and fleeting but thoroughly pleasant encounter with the alluring implement for fine tobacco enjoyment are also appropriate for this preface. Had I not sought refuge at my local tobacconist in a fluky and serendipitous urge the other day, I might never have met Al, a 25-year-old student who is pursuing both a master’s degree in his field of study and new pipe experiences. And, of course, I would not be writing this account of my rewarding experience cleaning the Duca Carlo. When Al introduced himself to me by his full first name, Alfred, and moved with spontaneous purpose from where he was sitting to the cushioned chair next to mine, I had been distracted, in deep concentration, working on something on my laptop. In most cases when someone can see I’m working, and still tries to engage me in conversation, I become a bit piqued. But something was different about Al. So outgoing and affable was his personality that I really can’t even remember now what had been so important to me the moment before his appearance beside me.

Al spotted the rather large, black bag on the floor by my side, which was made for carrying tools but is now my run case. In case I ever need to run to my tobacconist, to get away from the mounting pressures that consume the rest of my life, I always have my run case with its selection of pipes and jars of tobaccos du jour. It should come as no surprise that I also keep a stock of provisions within the many pockets of the run case, from an extra Bic in the event my regular pipe lighter runs out of butane to a cheap pipe nail against the times when I misplace my three-in-one tool; pipe cleaners; balsa, 6mm and 9mm filters, for the most part to have on hand for others who like to use them; sandpaper and micromesh for refurbishing on the go; a small digital caliper, and a 120-inch cloth tape measure, should I ever run into the Titanic of pipes and need to determine its exact specs. Basically, everything the OCD pipe enjoyer and restorer might want without notice. Sometimes my fellow tobacco enthusiasts poke fun at me– more often than not the cigar smokers – seeing me coming through the door with my run case and laptop in either hand like a circle and crosshair marking me as a target. Being a good former Boy Scout, I always say be prepared.

At any rate, Al somehow got the idea that I was serious about pipes, and being new to the attendant rituals, he enquired what was in the bag.As I am rather free with my tobaccos, I began taking out the jars, looking for something appropriate for a newcomer. Mostly that day I found stronger, more advanced blends such as McClelland’s Top Hat and C&D Bayou Morning (with a whopping 28% Perique content), but I also had C&D Joie de Vivre and Rattray’s High Society. Al’s sharp eyes noticed the Joie de Vivre plug, and he was intrigued. Thinking he might be up to that excellent, smooth and unusual English blend, I said so and suggested he give it a try.

Well, the next thing I knew, poor Al was puffing away and suddenly looked a bit peaked. When he told me he had opted for a bowl of the Bayou Morning, I wasn’t surprised. As his composure returned, he brought up the subject of my pipes and ended up asking me if his was “very good.” He said a college friend had given it to him, knowing he wanted to quit cigarettes. Glancing at it in his hands, I said it looked Italian, and that a good pipe was anything that made its owner enjoy the tobacco. I added that if he took care of it, the pipe would last him a lifetime. Seeing the briar had faint nomenclature of some sort, I wanted to take a closer look, and perhaps sensing this, he held it out to me.

Squinting, I made out the words Duca Carlo on the shank and exclaimed something that some might consider inappropriate for this space. Understandably alarmed, Al asked if anything were wrong. I told him it was a Savinelli, and it was apparent the name meant nothing to him. I proceeded to explain a little about the well-known Italian maker and the quality of its pipes, noting that although his Duca Carlo was not one of the high-end varieties, it was a fine pipe indeed. That was when the magical moment happened. Al said he was thinking of having it professionally cleaned.

Hmm, I thought. Chuck was gone for the day, and I supposed I had a spare half-hour that night, so I offered my services to the young newcomer. Surprised, he asked how much it would cost, and I told him I would be happy to do it for free. While I have always been reluctant to charge people for anything I enjoy doing, I suppose there were several subconscious reasons behind my impulsive offer: Al is a young student working hard to assure a secure future, similar to another young pipe-smoking friend of mine who is now studying physics at Purdue, and for whom I bought two packs of my own tobacco mix – Sneaky Rabbit, sold by my tobacconist as a house blend – since he was enjoying it so much he was almost out both times during a recent visit to his hometown for the holidays; I remember how tight my finances were in my own college days; I had a sudden desire to pay forward the many similar favors my friend and mentor, Chuck Richards, and others in my piping community have done for me, and least of all, it was just good sense for the growing business Al knew I was in. Al still tried to resist, but there was no way I was going to take his money for a simple cleaning.

Having a similar but apparently newer Duca Carlo of my own, I showed him the picture of it stored in my laptop. Al told me what he really wanted was to see the stem (which was in excellent shape but a dull, faded gray with a thin shiny streak by the shank) sparkle all over. He said he had no idea if it would be possible. I could do that, I assured him, and return it to him the next day.

So that was how the adventure began. Still a little wary, however, when he handed the pipe over to my care as we left, Al said with the sincerest note of entreaty in his voice, “Please don’t break my pipe.” I knew exactly where he was coming from.

REFURBISH
I knew from the beginning there was no way I would just buff the stem and clean and sanitize the pipe. After all, if Al were a paying customer of my business he would get the Basic Cleaning, which includes light refurbishing. All I could see the pipe needed was a little rim burn removal, touch-ups on slight scratches on the stem and bowl and a careful ream of the chamber to remove the small amount of excess cake buildup while leaving the optimal amount intact. The college friend who gave Al this pipe certainly took good care of it and knew what it was, but never said a thing of it his buddy. I liked that.

Wishing to work with as much efficiency and economy of movement as possible, and having observed the minor burns and other blemishes on the rim, I chose 220 sandpaper to start. The choice of paper worked just right in removing the blackness but of course required smoothing. First I used superfine steel wool, which returned a soft sheen and coloration to the nice grain, and followed that with micromesh, buffing upward from 1500 to 2400 to 3200 to 4000.The resulting rim glimmered in its natural pale shade.I also removed the black circle around the shank opening with the steel wool. To clear out the unneeded cake in the chamber, I used my smallest reamer, the 17mm, which was loose but close enough to gain a purchase on the walls. Several turns removed the majority of the cake, and followed by a little work with a small piece of 150-grit paper, the work there was done except for cleaning out with a swab of cotton cloth squares soaked in Everclear.

Believing the stem to be black Lucite, and also because of the thorough stripping of cake the procedure would cause, I opted against retorting. Instead I ran a single bristled pipe cleaner dipped in freshener through the stem, back and forth a few times, followed with a dry cleaner so as not to leave any possible unnecessary initial aftertaste.

The shank I cleaned as well as I could, which ended up being quite well, with a wire-handled bristle brush that I ran through the narrow passage about ten times, dipping in a small container of Everclear between each run.

Next up were the only three halfway serious scars I found on the Duca Carlo, shown below before I gave the briar a bath with purified water. The scuffs on the right and lower left sides came off fast with micromesh using 1500, 2400 and 3200. The higher and deeper scratch on the middle left side of the bowl needed more surgical, localized work with 220-grit paper followed by the same micromesh progression. I then needed to re-stain the small higher spot on the left side using my Feibings dark brown leather dye.

After flaming it with my Bic and letting it cool for a few minutes while I re-stained the rim (for which, again on impulse, I decided to do with some Lincoln medium brown dye I had on hand, to show off the nice grain there), I used 3600 micromesh to buff the side where the blemish had been until it appeared never to have existed. By then it was time to do the same to the rim, which, as I intended, was the wood’s natural lighter color but, to me at least, gave the pipe a cool two-tone effect.

While I used 3200 micromesh over the whole of the remaining bowl and shank to be sure it was all smooth and ready to put to the wheels, I was seriously eyeballing the new two-tone, almost sick with dread at the thought that Al would be disappointed by my summary decision to alter his pipe without even a consultation. But I let my gut ruling stand, if only with the knowledge that I could reverse it in a jiffy should Al indeed show even a hint of unhappiness.

No kidding, I heard a faint drum roll when the moment came to address Al’s primary concern: the stem. As I noted several times already, this Duca Carlo was in great shape when it was entrusted to my care, and the stem, with the slightest of scratches just below the bit on both sides, was the least of the exceptions despite its almost complete lack of luster. Once more I remembered the advice of others wiser than I to use the least necessary force to correct a problem – advice I took to heart – and began with 1500 micromesh.

Tackling the miniscule scratches first, of course, I saw them vanish with the slightest of pressure before I continued over the rest of the stem to make it even and gave it a thorough rubbing with a soft cotton rag. Then I did the same with 2400, wiped it again, and finished at last with 3600. The prepped stem was looking good, and my heart began to beat harder, knowing I had to take the two precious parts to my single-speed wheels, where only God knew what might happen.

This project had become a labor of love to me, even greater than most of the much more difficult jobs I had performed without disaster before. And so I took a moment to collect my wits and think good thoughts.The phone rang. Dang! There went my happy thoughts.

I didn’t recognize the 575 Area Code and almost did not answer, as is my habit with unknown or Toll Free numbers because of the near certainty that they are spam or scam or other callers I wish would stop phoning me. But something convinced me to go for it. At first the voice on the other end failed to register, but then I realized it was – that’s right – Al. I gave him my card the night before but had no way to call him. There was a slight tone of anxiety in his voice when he asked how his pipe was doing. Relieved to hear his voice and understanding his concern more than he could have known, I almost laughed but choked it down. Feeling my own nerves settling, I told him I was just putting the final touches on the Duca Carlo and could meet him at the tobacconist between 3 and 3:30. At the end of our conversation, I realized I was calm again and good to go.

Proceeding from the living room, where I like to do most of my work in more comfort, to my workroom, with the pipe, stem, cotton rag and camera in my hands, I set everything down on my desk and turned to the small bench with my two buffing wheels. I threw the switch on the one with red Tripoli and without another thought to distract me picked up the smooth gray stem and held it in both hands with confident firmness (but not like a mother choking her child as she’s about to watch the poor kid go off to summer camp or college or wherever) and did what I knew how to do. The first step done, I wiped the stem down, removing the streaks, and flicked on the second wheel that had the white Tripoli. Ditto. Two-thirds of the way home with the stem, and seeing each buff give it a higher shine, I returned to the first wheel where I…yes, I finished it on the White Diamond pad, without a single incident or even slip through the whole process!

Stoked for the next part, I set aside the stem and went straight through the steps again with the bowl and shank, except that I used white Tripoli followed by White Diamond and ended with carnauba.

This Savinelli required one very last task, which is always a pleasure when I have the opportunity to do it. I always seem to forget one thing when I walk to my workroom ready to polish a pipe, and this time it was the white wax marker to fill in the outline of the crown on the stem. I retrieved it from my run case.Taking what I considered a well-needed rest in the office chair before my desk, I took the stem firmly in hand and, with my magnifying glasses on, scraped the little exposed end of wax first left to right across the crown, then turned the stem vertically and applied another layer top to bottom and finally added a third layer diagonally. Brushing aside a little of the considerable resulting excess wax, I pressed my thumb down across the whole blotch and waited for the heat of my skin to make the wax settle into the tiny grooves. After about a minute I lifted my thumb and used the cotton cloth gently around the edges and still more lightly over the area of the crown, which emerged visible with all of its points.

I attached the completed stem and briar and gave the fine pipe that was whole again a final wipe with the rag and millimeter by millimeter scrutiny with my glasses. It passed muster, despite my ever-growing attention to detail.

CONCLUSION
The best laid plans of mice and men often go astray, and due to unforeseen circumstances I was a half-hour late to the tobacconist. Spotting Al sitting in the back of the shop almost as soon as I was through the door, I know he saw me, also, but pretended not to, playing it cool. I even had to say hello first as he stared at something, and when he looked up at me the forced smile told me he was sure I had broken his pipe. All of the good seats were taken by those dratted cigar smokers, except for Al sitting in his in misery that was clear to my keenly empathetic eyes.

And thus it became my extreme pleasure to walk to his side and set down my run case and laptop. Before I stood straight again, I retrieved a dark blue Savinelli box inside of which was a light brown Savinelli cloth bag containing the refurbished Duca Carlo. Al’s eyes lit on the box in my hand. Yes, indeed, that had his attention. I could not, even to save my life, lose the grin on my face as I handed it to him and watched his real smile appear in what must have been extraordinary relief.

Then to watch Al open the box slowly, like a Christmas present, only to find the bag inside that he took out with care and reached inside the open end to pull his pipe out by the stem – well, the obvious shocked surprise as he saw the glistening, dark black stem emerge first, followed by the lustrous refurbished pipe, and the initial reaction of total speechless wonder, told me everything.

“Wow,” was his first word. He went on to expand on that dazed thought, but this seems like a good place to wrap it up.

Bringing an Everton Big-Boy 1025 Rhodesian back from the brink

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Blog by Steve Laug

I saw the Everton Big-Boy pipe on a website and the shape hooked me. In the photos the bowl seemed squat and wide and the shank was thick. The bend in the stem appeared similar to an earlier Sina pipe that I picked up; in fact the entire shape was similar. I searched and could find nothing on the brand. There was nothing in any of the books that I usually check out and nothing on the various websites that I use when researching a brand. The brand was a mystery to me and that made me want the pipe even more. I could find Everton Tobacco which is a Danish pipe tobacco. I could find the Everton Football Club (Everton is a District of Liverpool) but no Everton tobacco pipes. I figured that when it arrived I might be able to see why the seller had labeled it an English made pipe. When the pipe arrived I checked the stamping and it was stamped Everton over Big-Boy on the left side of the shank. On the right side of the shank it was stamped 1025. The shape in hand is not as wide and squat at the above photo led me to believe it would be. It is actually very close to a GBD 9438 though I had never seen a GBD stamped with this number. This sent me on a hunt for potential English makers that had a similarly shaped Rhodesian. I looked through many of the Comoy’s charts and again could not find any reference to the number. On a lark I just typed in the shape number in a Google search and immediately had a hit for a 1025 shaped pipe made by the French pipe making company, Butz Choquin (BC). I opened the link from Google to find that it was indeed the pipe I was looking for. BC still makes the 1025 shape in several of their lines. The stamping is slightly different in terms of the name on the left side of the shank. All of them have the BC name and the Line underneath. The right side has the 1025 stamp and also a Made in France. I have included the next two photos from Tobacco Pipes.com. The first is the Bistro line 1025 Rhodesian, while it has the thick shank the stem shape is slightly thinner that the one I have. The second one is from the Manoir line. It has the same thick stubby stem as the one I have. From this exploration I can see that the pipe is an older BC pipe. I have no idea what the Everton stamping is – though it may well be a Liverpool tobacconist.

As I examined the pipe upon taking it out of the box I was troubled by the state of the pipe. There were no noted issues with the pipe either on his site or in email exchanges regarding billing and shipping. The trouble was that there were many issues with the pipe. All together they add up to a question mark for me regarding this pipe. The bowl was over reamed and out of round. There appears to be a sandpit in the inner edge of the bowl toward the front. There is a small crack on the underside of the bowl (the heel) directly below the over reaming. The top of the shank near the stem has a large pit that appears to have small spider web cracks that radiate from it. They are not deep but they are present. The stem is a mess. Evidently the previous owner found the stem to thick to his liking and had performed a butcher job trying to remedy that. It had been hacked with a knife blade on the underside from about mid stem to the button leaving the surface corrugated looking with a lot of file and knife marks. The top of the stem had also been hacked and filed in an attempt to thin it down. It is wavy and rippled. I think that most of the damages to the stem can be fixed as the stem is beefy and I should be able to smooth them out. In terms of the over reaming and the crack – time will tell what I can do with it. Needless to say I was disappointed when I opened the package from the seller.

From first appearance the pipe does not appear all that deficient. It seems like it is in pretty good nick. You can see the similarity in shape to the GBD 9438 Rhodesian in the photos below.

It is only when the pipe is viewed more closely that the problems become obvious. The first photo below shows the crack in the bottom of the bowl and the dents and scratches around that crack. The next photo shows the underside of the stem. The underside had been carved with a knife and with files and left maimed and decimated. The gouges were deep and crossed each other leaving a corrugated surface. The next photo shows the topside of the stem. It had much the same issues as the underside but was nearly as drastic. It had grooves, scratches and flattening. There were ripples in the surface of the vulcanite that left it marked. The filing had left grooves and damage and had been done at angles that destroyed the flow of the stem. The bowl was out of round and the rim had damage to the inner front edge of the bowl. There was a pit in the edge that had opened up. There was burn damage to the bowl edge and rim top. I started working on the stem to smooth out the ridges and corrugations on the top and underside. I used 180 grit sandpaper to begin the process and reduce the ridges. The next series of photos show the stem after this initial sanding.

I continued to sand with 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the scratches and smooth out the surface. I followed that by sanding with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. The next two photos show the progress in the shaping of the stem. The top side worked quite well. The underside still had one horizontal groove that would take more work but the overall look was getting better.

I continued to sand the underside with the 220 grit sandpaper to remove the groove and reshape the edges of the stem. Once I had the stem shaped and smoothed out I sanded the bottom of the bowl to clean up the glue and bumps on the bottom of the bowl. I sanded with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface. Once I had removed the glue I could see that the damaged area, the crack had been repaired with epoxy mixed with briar dust. I was glad to see that the crack had been repaired and that the repair while rough, nonetheless was solid and had stopped the crack. The round area in the center of the crack made me wonder if there was potential burnout that had been cleaned out and repaired. Examining the bowl interior I could not see evidence of a burnout though it was severely over reamed.

I topped the bowl to remove the sandpit in the surface and smooth out some of the out of round shape of the bowl. The rim was damage so a light topping would take care of the problems. I used a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth out the inner rim of the bowl. I cleaned the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol.

On the top of the shank there was a sandpit at the shank/stem junction that had spidering cracks around it. I sanded it smooth and refilled it with super glue and briar dust. I sanded the junction with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the flow of the stem and shank.

I sanded the stem and shank with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge and wiped the bowl and stem down with a cotton pad. I wiped the bowl down with acetone and cotton pads to remove the finish from the bowl and prepare it for staining.

I sanded the bowl and stem with a fine grit sanding sponge to smooth out the finish and remove the wear and tear that had come with the bowl.

I mixed a small batch of plaster of Paris to repair the over reamed bowl. I inserted a pipe cleaner in the shank and then pressed the plaster into the bowl bottom under and around the pipe cleaner. I raised the bottom of the bowl to the bottom of the airway.

I sanded the inner edge of the rim some more to bevel it inward and try to work in more into round. I finished that shaping and then prepped the bowl to restain. I stained it with a dark brown aniline stain and flamed it. I restained and reflamed it until I had an even coverage on the bowl. I wiped the newly stained bowl down with alcohol on a cotton pad to lighten the bowl and make it more transparent. I wanted the grain to show through once the bowl was polished.

I sanded the stem with my usual pattern of micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. Once the final rub had dried I buffed the stem with White Diamond.

The newly shaped stem is shown in the next two photos. The shine and polish came out well and the reshape of the stem took care of the ridges and cuts on the surface. The sanding had taken care of the issues with the stem.

After I put the stem on the pipe I buffed the entirety with White Diamond and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed with a soft flannel buffing pad. The finished pipe is shown below. Once I shed this chest cold I intend to christen this one with a bowl of Black Parrot. I am looking forward to giving this old timer a re-entry into pipedom.

Trash to Treasure – Restoring a KBB Yello-Bole Billiard

4 Replies

Blog by Aaron Henson

Last evening I received an email from Aaron to which he attached this writeup on his restemming of an older KBB Yello-Bole. It is great to have the various readers of the blog submit articles to the blog to share with others. The dream of rebornpipes when I started it was just that – to provide a platform where those of us engaged in refurbishing tobacco pipes could share our methods, successes and failures. This community would provide ongoing education for anyone who wanted to try their hand at restoring estate pipes. With that background here is Aaron’s restoration and the explanation of his process. Welcome to rebornpipes Aaron.

By way of introduction, let me begin by saying that I am relatively new to pipe restoration. This write up details my third restoration and I thought I would submit it for two reasons; 1) I have gotten so much help from the regulars posting here at rebornpipes and from forums elsewhere I felt that I would like to share my experience for others to glean from, and 2) although it is not very different from some of the other restorations that Steve has catalog for us here, some of my tools and techniques may be a little different. I also hope to get some feedback on ways to improve my process.

I was at local second-hand shop with my family around Thanksgiving and was looking for pipes when my son found a stemless KBB Yello-Bole stummel. After looking it over for cracks in the bowl and stem I realized that the briar was in relatively good condition. I noted a few chips on the edge of the rim and some blackening of the rim but no fills and not much cake in the bowl. The stem was clearly stamped with the KBB logo in a clover leaf just to the left of:

I did not know much about the Yello-Bole brand but I thought I should be able to find a stem easily enough (aren’t they somewhat universal in size?). Besides, with a $4 price tag I figured I would not be out anything if it didn’t work out.

I jumped on my computer as soon as I got home and found some interesting history on the Yello-Bole brand. I won’t go into it here because Steve has done a nice job summarizing it in one of his posts: Narrowing Down a Date for Kaufman Brothers & Bondy’s KBB and KB&B Pipes. From the data available I had to guess that this pipe was form the late 1950’s or 60’s.

After reading up on the history of the pipe I began looking online for a new stem. I quickly learned that not all pipe stems are created equal, nor are they interchangeable. For a while, I considered sending the stummel to someone to have a stem made but that kind of defeated the whole spirit of restoring the pipe myself.

It took a while to find a stem that I thought would look right on the pipe. I settled on a stem from Vermont Freehand (ebay vt_freehand), a 2½” tapered stem – No. 547. I ordered 3 of them, figuring that I would need at least one for practice.

While I waited for the stems to arrive I began working on the stummel. There was not a lot of cake in the bowl so I started there – low hanging fruit. Now, I don’t own a reamer, but I have found that a ½” dowel wrapped with 60 grit sandpaper answers very well. What cake there was came out cleanly.

Besides the chip there was some charring on the rim. The chip was not very deep so I thought I would take care of both issues by taking the top of the bowl down to clean briar. Using 120 grit sand paper mounted on a flat surface, I carefully worked the bowl in a circular motion trying to keep it level. I didn’t want to take off too much of the top so I gave the outside lip of the bowl a slight chamfer to remove the bottom part of the chip. I then gave the stummel a soak in a 91% isopropyl alcohol bath. This was for the dual purpose of removing the existing finish and loosening the crud in the shank. I removed the stummel after about 24 hours and wiped off the existing stain. I then cleaned the shank with a bristled brush, bristled cleaners and cotton swabs. I wanted to make sure the mortise was thoroughly cleaned before I began to size the tenon on the new stem. When the stems arrived, I realized that I probably could have been a little more attentive to the size I purchased. I was going to have to remove a lot of material to get the tenon to fit the mortise as well as flushing the stem to the shank. The best way to shape a stem is on a lathe, but not having a lathe I turned to my drill press. I found that a bamboo skewer fit very snugly into the air hole of the stem. Leaving about 1 inch of the skewer protruding out of the air hole, I chucked the stem into my drill press. I started out a little timidly, removing material with 120 grit sand paper but the vulcanite is so soft that it gums up the paper very quickly. I switched to 60 grit and still was not seeing much progress. I tried a metal file next and when that did not answer I rummaged around the tool box and found a rasp. A bit aggressive I admit, and I would not recommend it unless you are removing a lot of material, and I was.

The drill press method worked great but was not without its problems. Pressing too hard with the file or rasp would cause the stem to slip on the skewer. The stem would then have to be reseated before I could resume. The other problem happened about half way through the rough shaping; the skewer broke off flush with the end of the tenon. I admit I panicked a little when I could not get a hold of the skewer with my needle nose pliers. But using a small drill bit I was able to carefully drill out the wedged skewer.

Back on track I, stopped often to check the fit. As I neared the correct size I switched back to the file then to the sand paper again. I finished the tenon with 320 grit sand paper. I thought fitting the tenon to the mortise was going to be the hard part but shaping the stem to get that perfect flush fit with the shank turned out to be the big challenge. You can see in the picture above that I have a ways to go to get the taper from the shank to the button. I have also started to get a bit of a wave about a quarter of the way from the tenon.

To fix this I stapled a piece of 240 grit paper to a 3” sanding block and went to town. The sanding block kept the contact surface flat and helped to eliminate the wave. It took about an hour of work stopping often for fit checks. In the end I was rewarded with nice taper. Somehow I had rounded over the shoulder of the stem ever so slightly. This formed a little groove at the stem/shank connection. It was not terrible and I felt could live with it for now.

I finished the stem with 600, 1000, 2000, 4000, 6000 grit sand paper. Then set it aside to buff with the stummel once it was complete. I stained the stummel using one part Fiebing’s light brown diluted with 2 parts isopropyl alcohol. I applied two coats, flaming each coat. Once dry, I wiped it down with a clean cloth and attached with stem. I set my drill press up with an inexpensive Sears buffing system and started with the white buffing compound. I found on previous projects that gearing down the drill speed to 1200 rpms was important to maintain control of the pipe and not overheat the pipe. I finished with two coats of carnauba wax and buff with a soft cloth.

I needed a tooth pick to remove some of the wax from the sand blasted areas. And that little groove between the stem and shank collected some wax too. Overall I am very happy with the outcome of this restoration. I am looking forward to smoking my first bowl in it.

Looking back, I am glad that I tried shaping my own stem. It was not without its challenges but the result was very rewarding. I now have two spare stems in my tool box, so I will be keeping an eye out for another stemless billiard.

Refurbishing The Guildhall London Pipe 409 Bulldog for Country Squire Radio Host Beau York

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I really like the grain and look of this bulldog. It is made by Comoy’s London and bears the stamping is The Guildhall over London Pipe on the left side of the shank. On the right side is the circular Com stamp Made In London in a circle with the In centered in the circle. Underneath the circle it reads England and to the right of that is the shape stamp 409. The grain on this pipe is a mixed bag but is nonetheless beautiful. There is cross grain, swirls and birdseye that pops on the right side of the bowl. I was listening to the live show when Beau and Jon David talked about this pipe. They showed the condition of it and made some comment about needing to give it some attention as it was looking rough (my recollection). I tweeted them that I would gladly take it on as a project if he sent it my way. Beau packed it up and sent it my way. It arrived early this week after the New Year weekend. When I took it out of the packing envelopes and unwrapped it this is what I found. The stem was badly oxidized but did not have any deep bite marks. There was the normal tooth chatter around the button on the top and bottom sides of the stem. There was a distinct line from the button up ½ inch toward the shank that looked like the stem at one time in its life had sported a rubber softie bit over the vulcanite. The finish was worn and spotty and there were some serious issues with dents and marks in the briar. The rim was very rough with a lot of dings and damage to the top surface. Some of the damage went down the cap on the left side of the bowl. The top of the bowl looked as if it had been dropped on asphalt or concrete. There were parallel marks and dings on the left side low on the bowl and on the point at the bottom of the bowl.

I took the next three close-up photos of the dings on the bowl and rim to show the extent of the damage. Both the inner and outer edge of the rim had damage that made this rim a prime candidate for topping.

Andrew, Anthony and others use a piece of glass for their flat smooth surface for topping a bowl. I use a hard piece of finished oak that is part of my work top. I put a piece of 220 grit sandpaper on the board and anchor it in place. Then I turn the bowl clockwise in a circle across the sandpaper to remove the damaged portions. I check frequently to make sure that I remove just the damage and not too much briar. I also make sure that the rim is flat against the board so that I do not change the angles and profile of the rim top and cap.

Once I had the top flattened with the 220 grit sandpaper I worked it over with a medium and a fine grit sanding block to remove any of the scratches left behind in the topping of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the spotty finish.

I steamed the dents and marks on the bowl using a wet cloth and the blade of a butter knife that I heated on the flame of our gas range. I put the wet cloth over the dents and touched it with the hot knife blade. The stem generated lifts the dents from the briar. Doing this I was able to remove many of the dents on the sides of the bowl and on the back edge of the cap and rim.

Some of the dents were going to take more drastic measures to try to raise and some of them would need to be filled with a mix of briar and clear superglue to smooth out the surface of the briar. I decided to work on the stem for a break in the process. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to break up the oxidation and remove what appeared to be ripples in the vulcanite stem. The more oxidation I removed the more these ripples became apparent. I sanded it with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge made by 3M. I pick it up in 8×10 sheets and cut it into working squares to sand stems and bowls. I used a plastic washer that I made to sit between the shank and stem to protect the shoulders of the stem from being rounded in the sanding process.

The next photo shows the remaining dents in the bottom of the bowl. It was almost like a road rash left behind by a drop on concrete. Many of the lighter more shallow dents were raised with the steam but these were more stubborn. I decided to soak the dented portion of the bowl in water. I was careful to not get water in the shank or the bowl. I used a small shallow dish filled with about an inch of water and angled the dented bottom and side of the bowl in to the water. I have found in other refinishing work that water will swell dents in the wood and lift them to the surface. While I knew that some of these dents would not move much, I was certain I could raise them all significantly using this method.

While the bowl soaked in the water I turned my attention to the stem. I find these old Comoy’s stems with the three silver bars inset in them a pain to deal with. Sanding or polishing around them causes the metal to ghost on the surface of the vulcanite. It has to be quickly wiped down with a soft towel to remove it before it penetrates the vulcanite surface. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and rubbing it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-12,000 grit pads again rubbing down the stem with the oil between each group of three pads. I have found that sanding a freshly oiled stem gives teeth to the micromesh and it gives a deeper shine in the process.

The bowl sat in the water for the entire time I worked on the stem (probably 1 ½ hours). Once I finished the stem with the micromesh I heated the knife and used it and the wet cloth to once again steam the dents. I was able to significantly lift the majority of them this way. The photos below show the pipe after the steaming. The rim dents are all gone. The majority of the ones on the side and bottom are either gone or significantly shallower. The steam on the briar brought out some nice reds in the grain of the briar. I used a soft cloth with a few drops of olive oil to wipe down the bowl and shank after the steaming.

I decided to address the remaining dents with briar dust and clear super glue fills. I sanded the surface of the bowl around the dents. I wiped it down with alcohol on a cotton pad to clean the surface of dust. I packed briar dust into the dents and put a drop of super glue on each repaired area.

I sanded the patches with 220 grit sandpaper, medium and fine grit sanding sponges to blend the repairs into the briar and to remove the excess glue and briar dust. The next two photos show the bowl after I had sanded the repairs smooth. They appear as dark spots on the bowl but they are smooth to touch. The dents are all gone at this point in the process.

I sanded the bowl with 2400-3600 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratches and prepare the bowl for staining. I wiped it down a final time with alcohol on a cotton pad. I decided to stain it with an aniline based walnut stain. Before staining it I used a dark brown stain pen to go over the areas that were repaired. Once they were covered I applied a coat of the aniline stain and flamed it. Once it was dry to touch I buffed the bowl with White Diamond to polish and even out the stain. The next series of four photos show the bowl before polishing. It is smooth in the hand. All dents have been removed or repaired.

I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed it with White Diamond to raise the shine. I then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect it. I buffed it with a soft flannel buffing pad as the final touch. The finished pipe is shown below. There is still some remaining oxidation around the three bars on the left side of the stem but it has been minimized.

A Student Pays Tuition with a Reborn Suffolk

6 Replies

Blog by Anthony Cook (Piffyr from Reddit’s /r/PipeTobacco forum)

It is a pleasure to put Anthony’s first blog on rebornpipes. His work on this tired old Suffolk pipe is well done. His ability to adjust and flex to deal with the challenges presented by this old pipe is really enjoyable to read about. I did a little digging and found that Suffolk pipes were made by two companies – one in England (Tyler & Co.) and one in the US (Whitehall Products). My guess would be that this is the American made pipe – thus made by Whitehall. It has a look that is very similar to some of the Whitehall pipes that I have restored over the years. Welcome to the blog Anthony. We look forward to reading about more your work in the year ahead. Thanks for being willing to post here. Without further introduction here are Anthony’s own words.

I think when I first spoke with Steve near the end of last year over on Reddit’s /r/PipeTobacco forum that I was actually a bit starstruck. You see, I’m a new guy at the art of pipe restoration, but since discovering Reborn Pipes around mid-2014, I have fallen madly and deeply in love with the site. I have read every post going back to October 2012. Steve, Al, Greg, and the other contributors here have been unwittingly providing me a free education for months and I have great admiration for the excellent work that they do.

So, when Steve invited me to share some of my work on the site I quaked in my Nikes a little. At the time, I had restored a sum total of six pipes to varying degrees of success. None of them had exploded, but I did partially dissolve one (more on that later). Still, when you are invited up to the Country Club, you go even if you’re not dressed for it.

It so happens that another member of that same forum was kind (or possibly foolish) enough to send me a few pipes to practice with around that same time. The pipe in the following picture was part of that group. It was described by him as one of two in the lot that were “as basket pipey as basket pipes get.” It had a few issues that I had not dealt with previously and had rarely seen covered. Since Lady Fortuity seemed to have spoken, I decided to document the restoration of this one and contribute it to the site to pay back some of the tuition that I owe. I’ve had no luck digging up anything on the origin of this pipe, but the stamping reads “SUFFOLK” over “ALGERIAN BRIAR”. The first thing that struck me when I pulled this one out of the packaging was the interesting and varying grain pattern. I thought it would be fun to work with to bring up to its full potential. Two small fills on the side of the bowl that were barely more than scratches and another that peeked out from under the band on the shank were the only factory flaws that I could find. There was clear evidence that it had suffered through an abusive relationship in its past though.

The stummel was dented and well scratched with a worn and uneven stain. The rim, as you can see in the photo below, was tarred, charred, deeply scratched, and there was a large gouge on the front edge from being knocked on a hard surface. Worse yet, the bottom of the bowl chamber had been reamed within five millimeters of its life and it was just begging for a burnout. Clearly, the wood was going to need some intensive therapy. The ABS stem was largely in good shape on the bit end with only light tooth chatter and a small amount of material missing from the upper portion of the button. On the other end though, the edge of the stem face had been roughly chiseled away in what I could only imagine to be an attempt to create a faux military mount fit. There was also an abrasion along the side that was deep enough to take the stem out of round. Once the ailments were cataloged, I went to work cleaning and sanitizing the internals. I started by reaming the bowl to bare wood to prepare it for the necessary repairs. Since I was unsure of the condition of the bottom of the chamber, I used my T-handle reamer only in the top 2/3 of the bowl. Then, I sanded out the remaining cake in the bottom by hand with 400-grit, then 600-grit sandpaper. The bowl, mortise, and airway were scrubbed clean with several cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they came out as white as they were when they went in. Then, I ran a pipe cleaner through the shank into the bowl and filled the chamber with cotton balls and alcohol and set it aside in a container of rice (to keep it upright) and let it leech out any remaining tars. I know that some people prefer to use kosher salt instead of cotton balls for this treatment. I’ve tried both and haven’t seen any difference in the end results. Cleanup is easier with the cotton balls, though. So, that’s the method I choose. In any case, I’ve since figured out that this step is unnecessary for pipes like this, because it’s going into an alcohol bath anyway and that will accomplish pretty much the same thing. Sometimes, it takes me a while, but I get there eventually. I then turned my attention to cleaning the stem. I don’t like working with ABS stem material. Some experience has taught me that some of the cheaper ones will begin to dissolve when exposed to alcohol. You’ll think (or at least I did) that you are removing thick tar build-up, but the sticky sludge on the pipe cleaner is actually disintegrated stem material. I speak with no exaggeration when I tell you that this is a horrifying revelation when you are faced with it. So now, I make sure to always test them first by dipping the pad of a finger in alcohol and pressing firmly against the surface of the stem for 20-30 seconds while it’s lying on the work surface. If the stem sticks to my finger when I lift it away and needs to be “peeled” off, then I know that the material is no good for alcohol cleaning. If that’s the case, like it was here, I use a citrus cleaner instead. It doesn’t work as well for breaking down tar build-up, but it’s non-toxic and doesn’t cause harm to the stem material. It just takes more a bit more elbow grease and I always keep a good supply of that on hand.

Roughly 24 hours later, I removed the tar-stained cotton balls and pipe cleaner from the bowl. Then, I dropped the stummel into a jar of isopropyl alcohol to bathe overnight to remove the old stain and soften the tar around the rim to make removing it easier.

I removed the stummel from the bath the next morning. I was surprised to see that not only had it performed well at removing the stain, but it had done a fantastic job of removing the crud from around the rim too. A lot of what I had taken to char was actually heavily caked soot and tar that had dissolved away in the alcohol. It still looked like it had been through a thresher, but this time at least, the machine hadn’t been on fire. My first step in repairing the damaged rim was to remove the surface scratches. I clamped 220-grit sandpaper to a sheet of glass from and glass-top table (the glass looks dimpled in the photo below, but that’s actually the opposite side) to set up a topping surface. 220 is more course than what I would normally start with, but the scratches were deep and it helps to speed things up when you’re removing that much material. I placed the bowl rim-down on the paper, firmly gripped the bottom of the bowl, and slowly sanded in a circular motion. While sanding, I made sure to check my progress often and to change the position of my hand frequently to avoid putting too much pressure on the same side.Once the worst of the scratches were about half of their original depth, I switched to a 320-grit paper. I continued sanding until the scratches were barely visible. Then, I swapped the paper to 400-grit and sanded until the scratches and majority of the charring were gone.

The top surface of the rim was smooth and scratch-free but there were still several small nicks remaining along the inner and outer edges. Also, the gouge along the front had barely been touched. So, I decided to chamfer the outside edge of the rim at an angle and depth that matched the gouge. The chamfer would have to be deep. So, this decision was going to take the project outside of the realm of pure restoration and into modification, since it was going to change the shape of the pipe. I’m never completely happy with a choice like that, but in my opinion, it was the only way to give the pipe a truly refinished look.

Starting at the front of the rim, I first sanded the rough surface of the gouge smooth, and then worked my way around the rim to create the chamfer. I used the same progression paper that I had when topping the bowl. I roughed in the shape with 220-grit and then refined it as I moved to the higher grits. I also put a narrow chamfer on the inside edge to remove most of the nicks there. You can see the end results in my admittedly poorly lit photo below.The major issues of the rim were taken care of. So, I began to work on the rest of the briar surface using a little steam power. To free up my hands, I secured the stummel in my bench vice using a bit of foam rubber to protect it. I then heated the end of an old, flat-head screwdriver over a tea candle, placed a dampened cotton cloth over the dents, and pressed the hot metal into it. If there’s no material missing inside the dent and the edges aren’t too sharp, this method does a fine job of raising the wood to the surface. There were still scratches when I finished, but I would take care of those in a later step. I gave the stummel a good wipe-down with acetone after working on the dents, and then dropped it into a short alcohol bath to further remove the original stain. I wanted this one as bare as possible to give the grain the chance to do what it so badly wanted to do. I let the stummel completely dry out overnight. Then, I patched a few scratches on the front of the bowl that were too deep to be sanded out. I used an artist’s palette knife as a trowel to pack briar dust into the scratches until they were slightly overfull and dripped CA glue into the dust. Once dry, I sanded back the hardened glue. I began sanding with 320-grit until the “bumps” of glue were about half their original height. Then, I used 400-grit until the glue was just barely a ridge above the surface. Finally, I sanded with 600-grit to sand the patch flush and remove any of the shiny glue that remained on the surface around the patch. At this point, the bowl was looking much better, but it was still heavily scratched and needed more work. However, I also needed to pay some attention to the stem. So, I sat it aside for later.

It seems that even these ABS stems will oxidize over time. Perhaps not at the rate or to the severity of vulcanite, but I’ve noticed a brownish hue on the surface of some of the older stems like this one. So, I applied a bit of Vaseline to the metal tenon and dropped it into a Oxyclean bath for an hour or so (the Oxyclean dulls the finish on polished metal, thus the Vaseline). Once removed, it was ready for a scrub with a Magic Eraser. When I use these, I cut each pad into eight cubes and rotate the cubes as I work to get a clean surface. Lightly oxidized stems might need only one or two cubes before they’re finished. Here’s the stem with a matte black finish after the scrub. Heating a stem is a great method for raising deep tooth dents in most materials. I’ve found that it also works well for leveling out even normal chatter. The more that I accomplish with the application of heat, then the less material I will have to remove and the less work I will have to do in sanding them out. So, it’s become part of my regular routine for stem maintenance. My high-tech stem heating apparatus consists of a paint stripper secured by a large, weathered c-clamp with a jar of cold water by the side. I run a pipe cleaner through the stem to hold it and move it back and forth over the heat source to keep it from burning. As soon as I can smell the hot material I know that I have done all that I can do. I either immediately dip it in the cold water to set it, or re-bend if necessary, and then dip. Most bent stems like this one tend to straighten out at least a little during heating. So, before I begin, I print a photo reference of the stem, trace the inside edge of the bend on paper, and find a hard, smooth, rounded surface that fits well inside the bend. If it’s required, I’ll grasp both ends of the pipe cleaner and bend the warm, pliable stem over the rounded surface and let it cool for a few seconds. Then, I set it with cold water, wipe it dry and compare it to my tracing. If it’s still off a bit, it usually takes only a couple of minutes to reheat the stem enough to give it another try. The following picture shows the stem after heating and re-bending. It was time to address that chiseled chamfer along the stem face. I considered cutting the damage off and reseating the tenon, but decided against it because I didn’t want to shorten the stem. The only other option, aside from replacement (and that wasn’t going to happen – this was for practice after all), was to replace the missing material. I began by applying several layers of black CA glue to create a sort of collar around the edge. I allowed each layer to dry and sanded them back a bit to keep it smooth and prevent bubbles from forming between each layer. I also applied a couple of layers of CA glue to the abrasion that had taken the stem out of round and on the top of the button where a bit had been worn off. The picture below shows the collar once it was completely built-up. To ensure that the stem was without gaps when attached to the shank, I needed a way to evenly sand out a smooth surface on the face of the stem. My solution was to take a piece of scrap wood and drill a hole in it only slightly larger than the tenon. Then, I tightly clamped a strip of sandpaper over the wood and used an X-Acto blade to carefully cut a hole in the paper to match the bore. I inserted the tenon into the hole, then twisted and rotated to sand out any lumps and bumps created by the CA glue. I began sanding with 320-grit paper, and then progressed to 400-grit and 600-grit to finalize. When the stem face was smooth and even, I reattached it to the stummel to do the final work on the stem patches. I put a strip of painter’s tape around the end of the shank to prevent any scratching. It’s much easier to match the shape of this sort of patch with the stem attached. Still, care has to be taken not to remove material from outside of the patch, which would give it a fluted appearance. I used the same progression of grits to sand as I did on the face. It took a long time to get the collar, abrasion, and button patches shaped to my satisfaction. Once they were, I sanded out what tooth chatter remained after the heat treatment with 400 and 600-grit paper. Then I lightly sanded the entire stem with 1200-grit to smooth the dimpled surface. I followed with the full range of micromesh pads from 1500 to 12,000 to polish it. I don’t have a currently working buffer. So, that was going to have to be it for this stem. I gave it a wipe down with Obsidian oil and two shots of Paragon wax to achieve the results you see in the two pictures below. Also, it is obvious from those pictures that I am not working in a lint-free environment.

The stem was complete. So, I could get back to work on the stummel, which is where I have the most fun. There were still all of those scratches to address, but before removing them, I applied a quick layer of dark brown stain thinned with about three times the amount of isopropyl alcohol. I heated the wood to open the grain, and then I used a cotton swab to “paint” the stain along the grain. I didn’t want to cover the whole piece. I just want to add a bit of contrast and variation to the grain. The stain is very uneven and blotchy in the picture below, but that’s fine. Most of it was to be removed in the next step anyway, leaving only what had set in the grain. After letting the stain set, I sanded out the scratches with 600-grit paper. I also took the opportunity to further refine the shape of the rim chamfer and soften the edges a little. You can see in the picture below that the contrast stain has done its thing and the grain is really starting to “pop”. Even the minor grain has some definition now. Once again, I painted the bowl with another contrast stain. This time, I got fancy and used a size 20/0 liner brush. I again heated the wood, and then used a black stain to paint over only the thickest and tightest areas of the grain. The last staining gave the grain definition. I was hoping that this one would give it depth. Next, I sanded the stummel with 1200-grit paper. Then, I used micromesh pads 1500, 1800, and 2400 to arrive at the results you see in the picture below. It’s difficult to tell from the picture, but the lighter grain seems to recede a bit behind the darker stained grain to add some subtle intensity. I then applied a final stain to the wood. I used a medium brown to even everything out and add some warmth. I used micromesh pads 3200-12,000 to give it a polish. The following picture gives you an idea of the final finish. There was still the issue of that over-reamed bowl that needed to be addressed. So, I mixed up a batch of pipe mud to fill the bottom of the bowl. The recipe that I use consists of activated charcoal, powdered pumice and sodium silicate (water glass). I use the spoon on my pipe tool to “measure” out roughly equal parts activated charcoal and powdered pumice. Then, I use a toothpick to stir them together in a glass candle jar top. When they are well mixed, I level out the powdered material, and then use a pipette to drip a few drops of sodium silicate into the mix near the edge. I then begin stir the sodium silicate into the mix with the toothpick and “shovel” in more dry material as needed. Once it reaches a thick, tar-like consistency, it’s ready to be applied.

Once mixed, the patch material begins to set up very quickly. So, it’s important to work with a bit of haste. I use the toothpick to load the spoon of my pipe tool with the gooey “tar”, and then transfer it to the pipe bowl where I have already ran a pipe cleaner through the airway and slightly into the bowl to seal it. When the patch is in the bowl, I use the tamper to press it into place just below the draft hole. After a minute or two, the patch material has set up enough that it is no longer sticky but still pliable. I use this opportunity to refine the shape of the patch with my fingertip. I put the stummel aside for three days to give the bowl patch a chance to fully cure. When I returned to it, the material had become dark gray and very hard to the touch. I’m sorry, but I didn’t get a picture of it after it cured. I was excited to be in the home stretch with this pipe and plunged ahead without thinking about it. So, I probed around the edges of the patch a bit with the spoon of my pipe tool, and then turned the bowl upside-down and gave it a few firm taps into the palm of my hand. I wanted to make sure that the material was fully adhered to the bottom surface of the chamber. Once I was satisfied that it was, I sanded the patch a bit with a piece of 600-grit paper to smooth the edges along the slope of the chamber and the patch was complete. This repair should last a long time and eliminate any chance of a burn-through in the bottom of the bowl.

Then, I prepared a batch of bowl coating. I know that bowl coatings are a controversial subject among pipe smokers, but to me it just makes sense when a chamber has been badly damaged like this one. To me, any extra protection that I can provide is a benefit. Personally, I can’t detect any taste from it, but I won’t argue with those who say that they can. In any case, my simple recipe is a mixture of sour cream and activated charcoal. I don’t measure. I just mix by eye until it becomes a deep charcoal gray. I then apply it to the inside of the bowl with a cotton swab. After six hours, the coating was dry and I smoothed it out with a paper towel wrapped around my finger.

Again, I’m currently working without a buffer. So, instead of carnauba, I gave the bowl several coats of Paragon wax to finish the work. You can see the completed pipe in the pictures below.

Thanks again to Steve and the rest of the contributors at Reborn Pipes for taking the time to teach me the skills to get this done. I still have a lot of learning to do. So, I’ll be around for a good while. Until next time…

Giving New Life to a MasterCraft Custom De Luxe Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

Yesterday morning my wife, three of our daughters and I made our after Christmas trek to the US, crossing the border at Blaine, Washington. After a great breakfast I dropped them off at the shopping mall and I made my way down to my favourite hunting grounds for pipes. I made a quick stop at Senate Tobacco Shop and sorted through some of the tins of tobacco he had in stock, though Washington prices are high they are still lower than Canada. I picked up a nice tin of McClellands Black Parrot, a Virginia, Carolina and Perique flake tobacco dated from May of 2010. I went from there to look for pipes. I went through three of my normal stops and found nothing of interested. I stopped at the last spot, figuring I would go home empty handed but the shopkeep had just picked up a few pipes. I was able to get the MasterCraft pipe on the left below and an Algerian Briar pot that had been made in France.

I really liked the shape of the old MasterCraft. The original stem was in excellent shape with no tooth marks or damage and the MC stem logo was intact. The briar had some nice spots but the pipe had a lot of fills on the bowl and shank that had fallen out and left pits in the briar. The finish was shot with peeling varnish on the sides, back and front. The stamping was sharp and read MasterCraft in the usual shield and underneath that it read Custom De Luxe. There was no other stamping on the bowl.

There was one large fill on the rim that went ¾ of the way from the outside of the bowl inward but did not enter the bowl. The putty fill on that one had shrunken and portions of it had fallen out. The bowl had a thick hard cake that was like rock. The band was stamped STERLING and was oxidized and worn. It was also loose on the shank so it was amazing that it still was with the pipe when I found it.

I took the next three photos to show the status of the fills on the bowl and shank. They were broken and loose and would take very little to remove them.

To soften the fills and the cake I took the stem off the bowl and dropped the bowl in an alcohol bath to soak while I cleaned up the stem. It was not in bad shape so I did not need to soak it in oxyclean. There was no oxidation on the stem only dirt and grime build up that would scrub off quite easily.

I removed the bowl after soaking for 30 minutes and used my PipNet reamer with the number 2 cutting head to ream the cake back to the briar. I used a dental pick to pick out the remaining putty fills from the bowl and shank. The alcohol bath had sufficiently softened them so that removing them was quite simple.

I took the band off the shank and wiped the bowl and shank down with acetone on cotton pads to remove the remaining varnish.

With the finish removed I took out my canister of briar dust and used the dental pick to fill each of the pits in the bowl. I put the dust in them one at a time, tamped it down so that the dust was well compacted and then dripped super glue into the repair. I packed in more briar dust and then more glue. Even though the glue hardens and dries dark I find it far better than the white and pink putty fills that had been there before. I always overfill the holes as I have found in the past that to skimp on the process inevitably means that I repeat it.

I sanded the bowl and repaired fills with 220 grit sandpaper, medium and fine grit sanding sponges and then wet sanded the bowl and shank with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. Once I had the surface of the fills blended into the surface of the briar I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain. I decided to use the stain straight without cutting it to lighten it. I wanted to have the rim and top edges near the fills dark so that they would blend in with the fills well and hide them. I then stained the rest of the bowl and shank, flamed the stain and restained it until I had a good even coverage.

I buffed the bowl and shank with red Tripoli and White Diamond and brought it back to the work table. I glued the silver band on the shank and polished it with a silver polishing cloth and 4000-6000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with a light coat of olive oil to prepare it for sanding with micromesh sanding pads.

The coverage on the fills was quite good. They were still there but the darker stain coat hid them and made them blend into the briar. I sanded the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads to lighten the stain slightly and to bring up the shine. I wanted a bit more of the grain to show through the stain so the sanding would allow that to happen. The oil on the surface helped the micromesh to cut into the briar and really smooth things. Once I had finished sanding the bowl, I set up my retort to clean out the shank and stem. I had to run three tubes of alcohol through the stem and shank before it came out clean. It was one dirty pipe.

When I removed the retort I cleaned out the shank and stem with a minimum of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs and with very little effort they were spotless. I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12,000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down between each set of three pads with Obsidian Oil. I gave the stem a final coat of oil and once it dried buffed the stem with White Diamond and gave it several coats of carnauba wax to protect.

I put the stem back on the shank and then buffed the entire pipe with White Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a soft flannel buff to raise the shine. The finished pipe is shown below.

Restoring a Four-Digit Kaywoodie Canadian

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Blog by Andew Selking

I have a weakness for Kaywoodies, especially those from the 1940’s or earlier; the briar is just amazing. I read somewhere that Kaywoodie was the largest pipe maker prior to WWII and used 100-year-old briar. I don’t know if that’s true or not, but this pipe was one of their mid-range pipes, yet it doesn’t have a single fill. Additionally, it weighs exactly the same as my Heritage Heirloom with the same shape number. (As an aside, the Heritage pipes were made in the 1960’s to compete with Dunhill. According to their brochures, only one pipe out of 300 made the cut.)

Here is a picture of the pipe when I received it. It had some heavy cake, tar build up on the rim, and a few dents in the stem. Cake doesn’t scare me, my reamer makes quick work of it, and tar build up often protects the rim from damage. The only problem from a collector’s standpoint was the stinger had been cut. I think pipes smoke better without the stinger, so that wasn’t a huge issue for me. One of the things that I do to make reaming heavy cake easier is soak the bowl in alcohol. Here’s the bowl getting dropped into the bath. After a good long soak, it was time to remove the cake. My Castleford reamer effortlessly removed the cake. I like to multi-task, so while the bowl was working, I soaked the stem in Oxyclean. I used a fuzzy stick and Oxyclean solution to get the worst of the gunk out of the stem. Here is the first pass. Although I usually retort the shank and stem separately, the screw in stem prevented that. I ended up retorting the whole pipe. The inside of the shank and stem were nasty. Next I turned my attention to the rim. It had some scars that necessitated topping.

I used 150 grit sandpaper on a piece of glass to remove the damaged section. To fix the dents in the stem, I used a three-pronged approach. First I used steam to raise the dents as much as possible. I have an old kitchen knife that I heated with my heat gun. I placed a wet cloth over the area and pressed the hot knife blade onto the stem. It raised it a little bit. This is after the application of steam. Next I used 400 grit sand paper. The underside of the button was kind of messed up, so I dressed it with a file. I still had a small dent, so I filled it with clear super glue and applied a drop of accelerator. The accelerator comes in a spray bottle, which I find makes a mess. My solution is to take the sprayer out and use the end as an applicator. I also use a thumb tack to apply a small amount of glue. I’m not very neat when using glue straight from the bottle and using a thumb tack gives me more control (it also means less material to sand after the glue dries). Once I had the stem sorted out, I used 400 grit wet/dry with water followed by 1500-2400 grit micro mesh with water. I used a progression of 1500-12000 micro mesh on the bowl. Next I used Pimo Pipe Supply medium walnut stain, cut with 50% de-natured alcohol, to make the rim match the bowl.

After an uneventful spin on the buffer (anyone who ever used a buffer to shine pipes understands the drama that can occur when the pipe gets away from you) this is the result.