Tag Archives: restaining a bowl and rim

New Life for a Danish Hand Made Prince Amled 4 Peewit Shape

Blog by Steve Laug

This past January Jeff and his wife Sherry and Irene and I made a pipe hunting trip down the Oregon Coast. At least that is what Jeff and I called it. We stopped in a lot of the small towns up and down the northern part of the coast and picked up some nice pipes. This little pipe was obviously Danish and I think both Jeff and I thought it was a Kriswill. We were hooked so we picked it up and added it to the finds of the trip. This pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and on the underside at the shank/stem union. On the left side it is stamped with Prince Amled over Danish Hand Made. On the underside it is stamped with the shape number 4. Next to the 4 there was a chip in the shank end. It was a very dirty pipe with a dull and lifeless finish but it was the shape that caught our eye. We were hoping for some nice grain around the bowl. There was a very thick cake in the bowl and a thick lava coat on the rim top and the inner edge. It was hard to see what the condition of either the inner or outer edges with the lava and grime. It did appear that there was a burned area on the right side of the outer edge. The pipe had a rich medium brown stain with a reddish tint that was meant to highlight the grain on the bowl sides. A lot would be revealed once Jeff had worked his magic on it. The pencil shank and pencil flared saddle stem was heavily oxidized and calcified. There was light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff has gotten very good at capturing the condition of the bowl and rim top with his photos. You can see the work that is ahead of us in terms of the lava and grime on the rim and the thick cake in the bowl. This pipe is a real mess.The next set of photos show the grain on the sides and heel of the bowl. It is an interesting combination of grain – cross grain, swirls and birdseye predominate. I look forward to seeing what this one looks like once it is clean and restored. He took photos of the faint stamping on the sides of the shank. The Prince Amled stamp on the left side is readable. On the underside is the shape stamp 4 which is very clear readable. The third photo below shows the crown logon on the left side of the saddle stem. The next photos show the stem surface. It was very dirty, oxidized and calcified. It had pitting, light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Before I started to work on the pipe I wanted to learn about the brand. I turned first to Pipephils site to see if there was any information on the Danish Made Prince Amled brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-p5.html). I did a screen capture of what was on the site and I include that below. It was another of those pipes with little information included.I turned to Pipedia see if there was any further information to help me with hunt for this pipe manufacturer. The listing for that pipe company had some great photos but also an appeal for information on the brand. It looks like I had as much information as I could find online.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had once again outdone himself on this pipe. It looked far better than what it was like when we found it. We were right in our assumption of nice grain under the grime. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. He cleaned up the bowl walls 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 beveled rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some photos of the inwardly beveled rim top and stem. Once Jeff removed the lava on the top and inside of the rim top was rough. Both the inner and the outer edge of the bowl showed damage. There a lot of darkening on the inside edge and burn damage on the top right outer edge. The close up photos of the stem shows that is it very clean and there is some tooth chatter and marks on the button surface and just ahead of the button.I took the stem off the bowl and took a picture of the pipe. It really is a pretty little pipe with a classic Danish look to it.I decided to begin my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the rim top and edges. The rim was beveled inward so topping it on a topping board was out of the question. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner and outer edges of the bowl. I also used it to smooth out the rim top to remove the damage.In the photos that Jeff took of the underside of the shank you can see a chip or large nick on the shank. It is almost like someone tried to pry off the stem. It needed to be cleaned up and repaired. I have included that photo as the first one below. One of the perks that I have found from Jeff’s cleanup methods as nicks like this will often swell and either disappear or be greatly reduced. The second photo shows the same area after his cleanup work. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the remaining damage on the shank (picture 3) and then took a photo of the clean shank end (picture 4). I was happy with the way the rim top and edges looked so I did not need to do anymore except to polish them. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The grain really began to stand out and the finish took on a shine by the last sanding pad. The photos tell the story! I touched up the rim top to match the rest of the bowl with a blend of Oak and Maple stain pens. The blend works really well with this colour of bowl. I am happy with the work so it is time to move on.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for about ten 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 set the bowl aside at this point and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in very good condition. I decided to apply some Antique Gold Rub’n Buff to the logo on the side of the saddle stem. I rubbed it on and buffed it off and it looks good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing 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 delicate and petite Prince Amled Hand Made Danish pipe is a real beauty. I know it is hand made in Denmark but that is the extent of the information available on the brand. The shaping and carving follows the grain and highlights the mix of grains around the bowl. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and the contrasting stains work well to highlight the stunning grain on the pipe. The thin vulcanite pencil saddle stem adds to the mix. With the grime and debris gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and the grain just pops at this point. The rim top looks really good now. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank and stem during the process. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished “Peewit” shape (at least that is what I am calling it) is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that like the other pipes I am working that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another interesting pipe. This pipe will be added to the Danish Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

Breathing Life into A Pipe Maker 16 Lovat with a Cumberland Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

This past January Jeff and his wife Sherry and Irene and I made a pipe hunting trip down the Oregon Coast. At least that is what Jeff and I called it. We stopped in a lot of the small towns up and down the northern part of the coast and picked up some nice pipes. When I saw this little Lovat with a Cumberland stem I was hooked and we picked it up and added it to the finds of the trip. This pipe is stamped on both sides of the shank and on the underside at the shank/stem union. On the left side it is stamped with the Pipe Maker. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar. On the underside it is stamped with the shape number 16. It was a very dirty pipe with a dull and lifeless finish that hid the grain around the bowl. There was a very thick cake in the bowl and a thick lava coat on the rim top and the inner edge. It was hard to see what the condition of either the inner or outer edges with the lava and grime. The pipe had a rich medium brown stain with a reddish tint that highlighted nice grain on the bowl sides under the grime and the finish appeared to be in good condition. A lot would be revealed once Jeff had worked his magic on it. The Cumberland style saddle stem was in good condition with oxidation and light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff has gotten very good at capturing the condition of the bowl and rim top with his photos. You can see the work that is ahead of us in terms of the lava and grime on the rim and the cake in the bowl. This pipe is a real mess. The next set of photos show the grain on the sides and heel of the bowl. It is an interesting combination of grain – cross grain and birdseye predominate. I look forward to seeing what this one looks like once it is clean and restored. He took photos of the faint stamping on the sides of the shank. The Pipe Maker stamp on the left side is faint but readable. The Imported Briar stamp on the right side is also faint but readable. On the underside is the shape stamp 16 which is very clear readable. The fourth and fifth photos below show the logo on the left side of the saddle stem. The next photos show the stem surface. It was very dirty, oxidized and calcified. It had pitting, light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff removed the stem from the shank and the photo shows the interesting stinger apparatus and threaded tenon on the pipe. I was certain that the brand was American because of the Imported Briar stamp on the shank but I wanted to learn more about it. I turned first to Pipephils site to see if there was any information on the brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-p3.html). I did a screen capture of what was on the site and I include that below.I turned to Pipedia see if there was any further information to help me with hunt for this pipe manufacturer. There was no listing for that pipe company so I had as much information as I could find online.

Now it was time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. It looked far better than what it was like when we found it. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. He cleaned up the bowl walls 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 beveled rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the Cumberland style rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some photos of the rim top and stem. Once Jeff removed the lava on the top and inside of the rim top was a wreck. Both the inner and the outer edge of the bowl showed damage. There were deep nicks and gouges to the surface of the rim and a lot of darkening. The close up photos of the stem shows that is it very clean and there is some tooth chatter and marks on the button surface and just ahead of the button.I removed the stem from the bowl and worked on the rim surface. The rim was beveled so topping it on a topping board was out of the question. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner and outer edges of the bowl. I also used it to smooth out the rim top to remove the damage.I was happy with the way the rim top and edges looked so I did not need to do anymore except to polish them. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The grain really began to stand out and the finish took on a shine by the last sanding pad. The photos tell the story! I touched up the rim top to match the rest of the bowl with a blend of Maple and Cherry stain pens. The blend works really well with this colour of bowl. I am happy with the work so it is time to move on.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for about ten 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 set the bowl aside at this point and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the tooth marks on the button edge and along the edge on both sides with clear super glue. When the repairs had cured I used a needle file to recut and sharpen the edges of the button and the button surface. I paused in my work on the stem to realign the stem in the shank. I heated the tenon with a lighter to soften the glue that holds it in place. I screwed the stem back in the mortise and aligned it while the glue was soft. Once it had set I removed the stem and continued to work on it.I blended the repairs into the surface of the stem and reshaped the button with 220 grit sandpaper and started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I continued the polishing using Denicare Mouthpiece polish. It is a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli to me. It works very well to polish out remnants of oxidation and smooth out fine scratches in the rubber stem.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing 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 small Pipe Maker American Made Lovat is a bit of a mystery. I know that Frankau made them in England and Pipe Maker made them in the US but that is the extent of the information available on the brand. The shaping and carving follows the grain and highlights the mix of grains around the bowl. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and the contrasting stains work well to highlight the stunning grain on the pipe. The Cumberland saddle stem adds its reds to the mix. With the grime and debris gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and the grain just pops at this point. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank and stem during the process. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Lovat is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another interesting pipe. This pipe will be added to the American Pipe Makers section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

A New Lease On Life For A No-Name English Make Large Pot

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

I had purchased this pipe lot of two unmarked beautiful looking pots on eBay with the intention of either selling or gifting. The price was very low and from the pictures, the pipes screamed quality and appeared solid. Here are a couple of pictures of this pair that were posted by the seller. Once the pipes were delivered home (my work place is away from where my family resides), Abha my wife, checked them out and informed me of the following;

(a) Both pipes are similar with only difference being in the size, one is large Pot while the other is a medium.

(b) The only stamping seen is on the right side of the shank and reads “MADE IN” over “LONDON, ENGLAND”. The stem is devoid of any stampings. The overall feel of the pipe is that of high quality.

(c) Both pipes have a darkened spot each, the larger one has it on the heel and the other on the bottom left side of the stummel.

The last piece of information was something that troubled me. I had seen a dark spot on the heel of one pipe, but it appeared to be a smear of grime and dirt. Here are the pictures of the spots that Abha had sent me. It definitely appeared to be the beginnings of a burn out!!Truth is, after the initial surprise of being misinformed by the seller on eBay had subsided, I did not find these damages very alarming and I felt that these two beauties still had many years of smoke left in them with some minor repairs. The matter rested till I received about 40 pipes that Abha had sent me duly cleaned for my part of refurbishing. Both these pipes were part of that parcel that I had received.

I decided to work on the larger pot first. The pipe has a beautiful mix of swirls and cross grains. In fact, the USP of the stummel lies in the solid hand feel and robustness of the build. The quality of briar is top notch and without any fills at all on this piece. It is stamped on the right side of the shank as “MADE IN” over “LONDON, ENGLAND”. The high quality vulcanite saddle stem is sans any stampings.There are not very many clues that can point me towards the provenance of this pipe. The only fact that can be established is that this is a London made pipe. The build quality, the shape and stem type reminds me a lot of Charatan’s pipe, most notably their Belvedere line. In fact, I do have a Charatan’s Make BELVEDERE pot shaped pipe that I had received as part of my Mumbai Bonanza and the similarities are striking. Also, while surfing the net, I came across a MOUNTBATTEN pot which again resembled the pipe on my work table. Here are pictures of both these pipes, the first two are of the Mountbatten and the next two are that of Belvedere pot. With Mountbatten being a Charatan’s second and observing the similarities between these three pipes, it may be surmised that there is a possibility that the pipe presently on my work table is made by Charatan’s for some pipe shop, which was not uncommon in the past. Any confirmed input to either support or refute my assumption is most welcome.

Initial Visual Inspection
The chamber has a thick even layer of cake with heavy lava overflow over the inward sloping rim top surface. The deposition of heavy lava overflow is predominantly seen on the backside of the rim surface in 6 ‘O’ clock direction. A number of dents and dings are seen on both outer and inner rim edges. I suspect charring to the inner rim edge in 1 ‘O’ clock and likely in the 6 ‘O’ clock direction. The extent of the charring and the condition of the walls of the chamber can be ascertained only once the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. The foot of the stummel did show the sign of beginnings of a burn out that was considerably darker towards the draught hole (encircled in green) and extending outwards away from the draught hole half way across the foot. The damage to the heel and the resulting severity of the burn out will be confirmed after reaming. There are some very strong ghost smells to the chamber which will need to be addressed. The stummel is covered in oils, dust and grime giving it a dull and lackluster appearance. The stummel feels solid and well carved and nice mixed grains can be observed all over the surface through all the grime. There is not a single fill anywhere on the bowl. Other than the charring observed at the foot of the stummel, the stummel has a robust and solid feel. The mortise is cleaned and clogged with the accumulation of old and dried oils, tars and gunk. This will need to be cleaned. The vulcanite saddle stem is heavily oxidized with signs of calcification on either surface of the stem about an inch from the button edges. There is no serious tooth chatter or indentation or button damage to the stem. The tenon end and horizontal slot shows signs of accumulation of old oils, tars and gunk. The high quality vulcanite stem should clean up nicely.Initial Cleaning By Abha…
The initial cleaning on this pipe was done by Abha, my wife (she has cleaned up around 40-50 pipes and these have now reached me for further restoration). She reamed out the complete cake and further smoothed out the chamber walls with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. She further cleaned out the internals of the shank with pipe cleaners and alcohol and cotton buds. She followed the internal cleaning of the shank with external cleaning of the stummel using Murphy’s Oil soap and hard bristled tooth brush and dried it with paper napkins and cotton cloth.

Next she cleaned out the internals of the stem air way and immersed it in “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution along with the stem of the other pot in line for restoration. Once the stem had soaked overnight, she cleaned the stem under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using Scotch Brite pad. She further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little olive oil to rehydrate the stem.Once The Pipe Is On My Work Table…
Now that the cleaned pipe is on my work table, I proceed to carry out my appreciation of the work that needs to be done on this pipe to restore it. The cleaned up pipe presented a clearer picture about the actual condition and the work required on this pipe. Here is how the pipe reached me. The stummel was clean and free of any accumulated grime. As observed earlier, there is not a single fill anywhere on the stummel. The only cause of concern is the darkened spot over the foot of the stummel. I felt the spot for softness with my nail and it appeared sufficiently solid, thus confirming that it’s not an all out burned heel. Rest of the stummel feels solid and robust to the touch. This piece of briar should polish up nicely. I was eager to understand the extent of burn out in the heel of the bowl. True enough, I could make out a dark patch just in front of the draught hole approximately at the center of the heel (marked in yellow). The chamber shows a few vertical minor heat lines all along the front of the walls emanating from the dark patch and further branching out horizontally to either side. The entire heel of the bowl appears dark and when seen in conjunction with the foot darkening, this issue needs to be investigated and addressed. The inward sloping rim top surface is in decent condition with the inner rim edge showing slight deformation and darkening in 6 o’clock and 1 o’clock direction (circled in red). The outer rim edge show few dents and dings. Thus, I would need to address issues of the darkened heel, inner rim edge and dents and dings to the outer rim edge. The mortise and shank is nice and clean. The ghost smells are history and reflects the thoroughness with which Abha cleans the internal and external of the pipe.The stem had cleaned up nicely and is in pristine condition. Whatever, little oxidation remains, will need to be removed by sanding with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper and follow it up with polishing with micromesh pads. The Process
The first issue on the agenda that I decided to tackle was to address the dark patch to the heel observed just in front of the draught hole and correspondingly to the foot of the stummel. The black patch is bounded by the yellow arrows and the alignment of the web of these minor heat fissures is indicated by the green arrows. With a pointed dental tool, I scraped the black patch in the heel of the chamber and completely removed the dead charred briar from the surface till I reached solid intact briar. Thereafter, I removed the charred briar from the heat fissures till I had reached solid briar. Once the dead and charred briar was removed, there was a need to give a protective coat over the surface to avoid direct contact of the briar with the burning tobacco as the thickness from these damaged areas were slightly reduced. I would achieve this by coating the walls of the chamber with J B Weld mix. I preceded the stummel repairs first by coating the walls of the chamber with a slightly thick layer of J B Weld. J B Weld is a two-part epoxy Cold Weld in two tubes; hardener and steel which are mixed in two equal parts (ratio of 1:1) with hardening time of 5-6 minutes and complete curing time of 6-8 hours. I poured the contents of the two tubes and mixed it well. I inserted a petroleum jelly coated regular pipe cleaner through the draught hole to prevent it from getting blocked due to the J B Weld mix. I applied this mix, as evenly as possible, over the entire chamber wall surface. I worked fast to ensure an even coat over the chamber walls before the weld could harden. I set the stummel aside for the application to harden and cure overnight.While the J B Weld coat was curing, I worked the stem by first sanding it down with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. This step addresses the twin issues of removing residual stubborn oxidation and also smooth out the minor tooth chatter from the bite zone. I wiped the stem with Murphy’s Oil soap and cotton swab to remove the resulting sanding dust. I rubbed in a small quantity of EVO in to the stem and set it aside to rehydrate.Turning my attention back to the stummel, I sand the entire stummel surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper to remove the minor dents and dings from the surface. This also helped to lighten the darkened spot from the foot of the stummel. Staying with the stummel repairs, the next issue I addressed was that of the damage to the rim top surface. The rim top surface is sloping inwards, making topping impossible without compromising the profile integrity. To address the issue of darkened rim surface, I sand it with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper pinched between my thumb and fore finger, moving along in the direction of the surface profile. Simultaneously, I addressed the issue of charred inner rim edge and the dings and chips to the outer edge, by creating a slight bevel to both the rim edges. I am happy with the appearance of the stummel at this stage. I switch back to the stem and further sand it with 400, 600 and 800 grit sand paper. I wiped the stem with cotton pad dipped in alcohol to remove the resultant dust. I rubbed some extra virgin olive oil into the stem and set it aside to be absorbed. I polished the stem with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I rubbed a little extra virgin olive oil in to the stem at the end of all the micromesh pads. I finished the polishing of the stem by rubbing a small quantity of Paragon wax and giving it a final polish with a soft cotton cloth. The stem is now nice, smooth and shiny. With the stem polishing completed, I moved ahead with completing the stummel repairs. The J B Weld coat had hardened considerably by this time. I mount a sanding drum on to my hand held rotary tool and setting the speed to half of the full RPM, I sanded the excess coat from the chamber walls. To further fine tuned and keep the coat to a minimum thickness, I further sanded the coat with a 150 grit sand paper till I had a coat of a thickness that was just sufficient to protect the briar underneath. Here is how the chamber appeared at this stage. I polished the stummel with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 pads. I wiped the surface with a soft cloth at the end of the micromesh cycle. The stummel looks amazing with a deep shine and beautiful grains popping over the stummel surface. However, the dark rim surfaces in 1 o’clock direction and the dark spot at the foot of the stummel do not present a visually appealing picture. I had the option of either masking them under a darker stain or to let them be. I shall decide after I am done with polishing with Blue Diamond, hoping that this would further lighten these spots. I followed up the polishing by applying “Before and After Restoration” balm. This balm protects and enriches the briar surface and is highly recommended for use in any restoration of briar pipe. I rubbed it deep in to the stummel surface and set it aside to be absorbed for 20 minutes. I was pleased by the appearance of the stummel, less the dark spots on the rim edge and on the foot of the stummel. I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and applied a coat of Blue Diamond to the stummel, hoping to see a slight change in the appearance of the dark spots. However, these spots are still prominent and will need to be masked. Here are the pics of the pipe at this stage. I decided to stain the stummel with a Cordovan stain in the hope that it would help in a nice blending of the dark spots with the rest of the stummel. I heated the stummel surface with my heat gun to open up the pores on the stummel so that the stain is well set. I dipped a folded pipe cleaner in Fiebing’s Cordovan leather dye and liberally applied it over the heated surface, flaming it with the flame of a lighter as I went ahead to different self designated zones of the surface. This helps in even application and in the setting of the stain in the grain of the briar. I set the stummel aside for the stain to set into the briar. The next afternoon, I mounted a felt cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and using Red Tripoli proceeded, as my dear friend Dal Stanton likes to say “unwrap the coat of stain to reveal the grain” from the stummel surface. I set the tool at its slowest speed, again my recent experience while working on Steve’s pipe came in handy and the damage that can be caused due to heating while using the felt buffing wheel still fresh in my memory; I began to peel off the stain from the stummel surface first. The stain peeled out gradually. This was followed with wiping the stummel with a cotton swab and alcohol to lighten the stain a little as it was too dark for my liking. This also helped in cleaning the surface of all the residual stain and highlighting the grains. I set the stain by again heating the stummel surface with the heat gun. This is an essential step as, if missed, there is a possibility of the stain running down the hands of the smoker who decides to carry forward the trust in this pipe. To apply the finishing touches, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and applied a coat of Blue Diamond to the stummel and the stem to polish out the minor scratches. Next, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel and setting the speed to ¼ of the full power, I applied a thick coat of carnauba wax over the stummel and the stem. I worked the complete pipe till the time all the wax was absorbed by the briar. The pipe now boasted of a beautiful and lustrous shine. I vigorously rubbed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine and also to clean away any residual wax that had been left behind. I am very happy with the way this beauty has turned out. P.S. There was only one more issue that needed to be addressed and one that could not be ignored, being a functional issue. After I had protected the heel of the stummel and the walls of the chamber with a coat of J B Weld, it was necessary to prevent this coat from coming in to contact with the burning tobacco. I addressed this by mixing activated charcoal and plain yogurt to a thicker consistency, just enough that it would spread easily and applied it evenly all along the chamber walls after inserting a folded pipe cleaner through the draught hole to keep it open. Once dry and set, this will not only protect the walls but also aid in faster buildup of cake.I wish to thank all readers for sparing their valuable time to read through this write up.

Rusticating A Willard That Was A Gift For My Colleague…

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

My job involves a lot of transfers and frequent shifting of our household to a completely new place. At times, it is we who move to our work place alone while our families stay back for children’s education or when accommodation is not available or when the new place is in a remote area and fraught with risks. I moved to my present place of work alone. Here, I had a very fine set of colleagues with whom I gelled well. As time went by, these colleagues got transferred and new colleagues joined. However, when the last of my old colleagues got his transfer orders, I wanted to gift him a pipe as he has started to enjoy pipes more than his cigars.

Abha, my wife, had sent me one lot of 40-45 pipes that she had cleaned up and all ready for my part of restoration process. From this lot of the pipes that I had earmarked as for sale/ gifting, he selected a pipe that had come to me as part of my Mumbai Bonanza.

For those readers who have missed out on how I came to purchase this lot, here is the background story….

I was fortunate enough to have heeded the advice of my dear friend and mentor, Steve, and struck a deal with a junk collector from Mumbai. He did not know what he was selling and I did not know what I was buying as we reside in different cities!! The argument that Mr. Steve presented was that if not anything, I shall at least have some spares and this was logical. I struck a deal and here are pictures of the pipes that I received in this lot. This lot contains some very nice collectible pipes, a few well known brands and some mediocre brands. Overall, with seven Dunhill pipes, a Preben Holm #1 FH, a couple of “Made in England” Pete System pipes, a couple of Charatan’s Belvederes, Custom-Bilt, Stanwell and other assorted pipes, I would say that I had struck a decent deal!! This is indeed my “Mumbai Bonanza”.

The pipe selected by my colleague and now on my work table from this find (sixteenth pipe being restored) is a bent billiard pipe with flame shaped worm rustications, a poor imitation of worm rustications as seen on Custombilts from the Wally Frank era! It is indicated in yellow arrow in the picture below. It is stamped on the left side of the shank as “WILLARD” in block letter over “IMPORTED BRIAR” again in block letter. The right side of the shank is devoid of any stamping. The stem bears a “Dot” logo in Yellow, embedded on the left side of the stem. Now coming to the research of this brand and line/model in specific, I referred to pipedia.org. Though there are no reams of information on this brand or model, the information provided gives a clear perspective of this brand and its aim. Here is the link (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Willard).

“The Willard pipes were made by Sparta Industries in Sparta, N.C from 1963 to 1975 (about 60,000 pipes per week). Some were distributed by the Post and Base Exchanges that serviced the military during the Vietnam War. Others were produced for R. J. Reynolds Tobacco. (preceding content from the “Pipes” website http://www.pipephil.eu/index.html)

Lord Abbott was either a sub-brand or a series produced by Willard —Dgillmor 22:42, 10 May 2012 (CDT)”

From the above information, it is evident that the pipe currently on my work table is from the period 1963-75. With this input on the vintage of this pipe, I move ahead with the restoration of this 42 plus years old pipe!

Initial Visual Inspection
The stummel is covered in dust and dirt giving it a dull appearance. The Custombilt like worm rustications are uneven, without any finesse and filled with dirt and grime. There are a couple of fills that are plainly visible. These will need to be refreshed, if needed. It’s a matter of personal choice; however, I could not help but wonder what it was that attracted my colleague to this pipe in the first place!! I got my answer the next day when he said that he liked the shape and lightness of this pipe. Thus, it was not the grains (which were zero!) or the worm rustication that he was interested in and could be done away with to make it more attractive. With this input from him, I decided to rusticate the stummel as I was not very happy with the appearance of this pipe at this stage. A thick layer of cake can be seen in the chamber. The smooth rim top surface is covered in dirt, dust and grime with a few dents and dings thrown in for good measures. The condition of the inner walls of the chamber will be known once the cake has been taken down to the bare briar. The inner rim condition appears to be in good condition with no burn/ charred surfaces. Even the outer rim edge appears to be in a decent condition. Only once the stummel has been thoroughly cleaned that I can be sure of my initial appreciation. In spite of the thick cake, the chamber odor is surprisingly not strong, yet I shall be subjecting it to a salt and alcohol treatment to freshen it up for him.The shank end has a metal band and this metal band extends inside the shank with threads, over which the threaded stinger is seated in to the mortise. Thankfully, the band and threads are all intact. The mortise is blocked with dried gunk, adversely affecting the airflow. The metal band is dull and dirty in appearance.The vulcanite stem is oxidized and has calcification deposits towards the button end. The lower and upper stem surface is peppered with tooth chatter. The button edges also need to be sharpened. The stinger opening and the horizontal slot is covered in accumulated oils and tars. The alignment of the stem and shank is skewed with the stem being overturned to the right. Initial Cleaning By Abha…
The initial cleaning on this pipe was done by Abha, my wife (she has cleaned up around 40-50 pipes and these have now reached me for further restoration). She reamed out the complete cake and further smoothed out the chamber walls with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. She further cleaned out the internals of the shank with pipe cleaners and alcohol and cotton buds. She followed the internal cleaning of the shank with external cleaning of the stummel using Murphy’s Oil soap and hard bristled tooth brush and dried it with paper napkins and cotton cloth.Next she cleaned out the internals of the stem air way and immersed it in “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution (pipe is marked in indigo blue arrow) along with the stem of other pipes in line for restoration. Once the stem had soaked overnight, she cleaned the stem under running warm water and scrubbed the raised oxidation from the stem surface using Scotch Brite pad. She further removed the oxidation by scrubbing the stem with 0000 grade steel wool and applied a little olive oil to rehydrate the stem.Once The Pipe Is On My Work Table…
The cleaned up pipe presents a very clear picture of what needs to be done to restore this pipe to a decent and smoke worthy condition. I really cannot thank Abha, my wife, enough for all the help and support that she extends in my pursuance of this hobby. I proceed to carry out my appreciation of the work that needs to be done on this pipe to restore it. The cleaned up pipe, as I received it, is shown below. The chamber walls are without any heat fissures or pits and that’s a big relief. The rim top surface is peppered with dents and dings. The inner rim edge shows slight darkening all round and should be easily addressed with a couple of turns of a piece of 220 grit sand paper along the edge. There are some minute chipped spots on the outer edge. The condition of the chamber is good and will not require much repair work. There are no ghost smells in the chamber. The stummel surface is nice and clean. The worm rustications, though clean, are still not visually pleasing. There are a large numbers of fill now plainly visible (only larger ones are enclosed in yellow circle). The mortise is clean and air flow is smooth. The metal spacer ring is also clean and intact. The vulcanite stem had cleaned up nicely. The upper stem surface has a couple of deep bite marks at the base of the button and also in the bite zone. The lower surface has some minor tooth chatter in the bite zone. The button edges on both the surfaces need to be sharpened. The aluminum stinger is clean.The seating of the stem stinger in to the metal threaded mortise is off center. The stem is overturned to the right and will have to be readjusted to perfectly align with the shank and the stummel.The Process
The first issue that I addressed in this project was that of the stem repairs. I painted both surfaces of the stem with the flame of a lighter to raise the tooth chatter and bite marks to the surface. This also helps in loosening minor oxidation from the stem surface. I sand the entire stem surface with a folded piece of a 220 grit sand paper to remove the loosened oxidation. I wiped the stem with a cotton swab and Murphy’s oil soap to further clean the surface. Even though most of the tooth indentations have been eliminated by heating the damaged stem portion, one deep indention is still seen on upper surface in the bite zone and a minor bite mark is seen on the button edge on the lower stem surface. I filled the tooth indentation in the button edge on lower and upper stem surface with a mix of activated charcoal and CA superglue and set it aside for the fill to cure.With the stem fills set aside for curing, I decided to work the stummel. The other day during a Face Time video call with Steve, we discussed the best way to transform this stummel. The long and short of the discussion was that it was decided to rusticate the stummel. This would help to mask the fills and provide a very tactile feel while smoking. It would also provide me an opportunity to practice rustication. With this decision finalized, I proceed with rusticating this stummel.

Now, this would not be my first attempt at rustication as I had rusticated one a few months back, here is the link to the write up (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/08/02/gifting-my-mentor-and-dear-friend-steve-an-alexander-zavvos-hygrosystem-pipe/).

I referred to the above write up and other subject write ups on rebornpipes to understand the mistakes committed and decide on the look/pattern of rustications over the stummel surface. I decided to maintain a smooth ring atop the rustication below the outer edge of the rim and also at the shank end. I used a transparent tape to demarcate the area that I wanted to keep smooth that is the rim top and about quarter of an inch below the rim outer edge and a thin band at the shank end. Similarly, I covered whatever little that remained of the stamping. From my experience, I knew that this is a very essential step as I realized during rusticating that it is very easy to lose track and transgress over the areas and stampings which you wish to preserve.To rusticate, I firmly held the stummel in my left hand and with my right hand and began gouging out the briar. The technique is to firmly press the pointed four prongs of the modified Philips screwdriver in to the surface, rotate and pull out the removed chunk of briar. I worked diligently till I was satisfied with the rustications and the appearance of the stummel. I cleaned the stummel surface with a brass wired brush to clear all the debris from the rustications. I decided to take a break from further rusticating the surface as the process is tiring and painful. This makes me want a better and efficient rusticating tool. While giving my right hand a rest from this task, I decided to work on the damage to the rim top and edges. I start by addressing the rim top surface damage. I top the rim on a piece of 220 grit sand paper, checking frequently till I am satisfied that the darkened surface is addressed to a great extent and the rim top surface is nice, smooth and even. The inner and outer edges are still uneven, though much better than before topping, and shall be addressed subsequently.With a folded piece of a 220 grit sand paper pinched between my thumb and forefinger, I create a slight bevel on the inner and outer edges of the rim top surface. This helps to mask and address the minor dents and dings that had remained on the rim edges after topping. I am careful so as not to alter the profile of the stummel by excessive topping or creation of the bevels. I am pretty pleased with the appearance of the rim top and edges at this stage. I cleaned the stummel with pure acetone and cotton swab to remove the old stain completely in preparation for the polishing and subsequently, a new stain. After the cleaning, I set the stummel aside to dry out naturally. I turn my attention back to the stem. The fill has cured nicely and with a flat head needle file, I sand the fill to achieve a rough match with the surrounding surface. To achieve a perfect match, I sand the stem with a 220 grit paper, progressively moving through to finish with a 1000 grit sand paper. As expected, a clean and neat looking stem stared back at me. I rub a little Extra Virgin Olive oil into the stem surface to hydrate it and set it aside to be absorbed in to the vulcanite.I polish the rim top and the smooth surfaces of the stummel using micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I am happy with the appearance of the stummel at this point in the restoration. The stummel is now ready for a fresh coat of stain. I heat the stummel surface with my heat gun to open up the pores on the stummel so that the stain is well set. I mix black stain powder with isopropyl alcohol and liberally apply it over the heated surface, flaming it with the flame of a lighter as I went ahead to different self designated zones of the surface. This helps in the setting of the stain in the grain of the briar. Once the stain has set in well, I again warm the stummel with my heat gun. This helps the stain to be absorbed and set further into the briar. I mount a felt cloth buffing wheel on my rotary tool and gently buff the entire stummel surface to remove the stain crust. I wipe the stummel with a cotton swab and alcohol to remove any excess stain and follow it up sanding the raised rustication with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. This is followed up by careful dry sanding of the entire stummel, especially the raised rustications with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. This not only lightens and highlights the rustications, but will also provide a smooth surface for the next coat of stain. Here is how the stummel appears at this stage. I buff the stummel with a horse hair shoe brush to remove any sanding dust resulting from the micromesh sanding. I apply a small quantity of “Before and After” restoration balm to rehydrate and rejuvenate the briar and set it aside for some time. Thereafter, I buff and clean the stummel with a microfiber cloth. I apply a second coat of Medium Brown stain over the stummel and the shank extension, going through the same method as described above and set them aside for the stain to set. With the stummel set aside for the stain to set, I turned my attention to the stem polishing. Using the micromesh pads, I complete the polishing cycle by wet sanding the surface with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. The stem looks great with the fills nicely matched with the rest of the surface. I rub a little quantity of Extra Virgin Olive oil in to the stem surface and set it aside to be absorbed by the vulcanite.Coming back to the stummel, once the stain is set I wipe it down with a cotton swab and alcohol to remove any excess stain and lighten it from the raised rustications. Mounting a felt cloth buffing wheel on my rotary tool, I go about removing the crust formed by the stain over the raised rustication. The second coat of brown stain has added another layer of texture to the appearance of the stummel. Next, I rub a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to the briar with my finger tips, work it deep in to the sandblasts and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful rusticated patterns on full display. I further buff it with a horse hair shoe brush. I rub a small quantity of Halcyon II wax into the surface and immediately wipe it with a microfiber cloth. The only issue that remains unaddressed at this stage is the issue of the overturned stem. With the flame of a lighter, I heat the aluminum stinger to a point where the stem is just about able to rotate on the stinger. I reattach the stem to the shank while the stinger was still warm, and turned it till the alignment was as perfect as I desired and set it aside to cool down.To complete the restoration, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool. I set the speed at about half of the full power and applied several coats of carnauba wax. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks amazingly beautiful and quite a transformation it was. It is now ready for its long second innings with my colleague. I wish that he enjoys his pipe and remembers our association for a long time to come. I wish to thank our esteemed readers for sparing their valuable time to read through and any input or advice is always welcome.

Breathing New Life into a Charatan’s Make Special Bell 33X Dublin

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Blog by Steve Laug

I still remember the first Charatan pipe I picked up over 25 or so years ago. I remember finding it in an Antique Shop that is no longer around. It was Charatan’s Make Bell 33X with a Double Comfort (DC) bit on it and probably the craggiest looking sandblast I had seen to date when I found it. I still have that pipe and still fire it up with a good bowl of 5100. It is a smoking machine. So when I when I moved on to choose the next pipe to work on it was not a far stretch to pick the Charatan’s Make Special Bell 33X smooth that was in my box. It is a nice looking Dublin shaped pipe that Charatan called a Bell. All of the stamping is on the left side of the shank. It reads Charatan’s Make [over] London England. Under that it reads Special with the shape number 33X. The CP logo on the left side of the vulcanite saddle stem is clear and readable. It was dirty and was another well-loved pipe when we received it. The bowl had a thick cake and the lava overflow on the inner edge of the bowl a heavy on the back side of the rim top. It was hard to know the condition of the inner edge of the bowl. The pipe had a rich medium brown stain that highlighted nice grain on the bowl sides under the grime and the finish appeared to be in good condition. A lot would be revealed once Jeff had worked his magic on it. The vulcanite saddle stem was in good condition with light tooth chatter and marks on both sides ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. Jeff tried to capture the condition of the bowl and rim top with the next series of photos. You can see the work that is ahead of us there. The grain around the bowl is quite stunning. Jeff took some great photos showing what is underneath the grime and debris of time and use. He captured the stamping on the left side of the shank and both sides of the half saddle acrylic stem. They are clear and readable. It read as noted above. The photos of the stem show the stem surface. It is dirty and has light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I turned to Pipephil to get a quick overview on the brand to refresh me in a quick overview of the history of the Charatan’s Make Brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html). I quote a pertinent summary of the information I found there.

Short history of the brand. Brand founded in 1863 by Frederik Charatan. When his father retired in 1910, Reuben Charatan took over the family business. All the pipes were handmade until 1973. The brand name has been overtaken by Dunhill in 1978 and sold in 1988 to James B. Russell Inc. (NJ, USA). During the period 1988-2002 Charatans were crafted by Butz Choquin in St Claude (France). Dunhill re-purchased Charatan brand name in 2002 and Colin Fromm (Invicta Briars, Castleford) follows up on freehand production.

I turned to Pipedia to the specific section on Dating Charatans to fill in more of the gaps (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans). I was hoping to be able to solidify the time period that the pipe was made. In reading through the material I am pretty confident that the pipe is a Third Era Pipe. I have included the section from the article that helped me arrive at this conclusion.

Identification of a third era pipe (First Lane era, 1961-1965)

Pipes of this period are quite common.

1) The mouthpiece is frequently double comfort, rarely saddle without the double comfort, never tapered. If the stem is not a double comfort but a saddle one, it is characterized by the letter X on the right of the shape code (e.g. 2502X), naturally in this case the letters DC are not displayed.

2) In the CP logo, the C enters the P

3) Presence of £ on the shank (note that from 1955 all the pipe imported in the USA by Lane has it, however that stamping is not synonymous of the Lane era)

4)Presence of the letter DC just after the shape number (e.g. 2502 DC) or of the letter X only if the stem is not a double comfort one

5) Presence in some models of the stamp “MADE BY HAND” on the shank (introduced for the first time in 1958)

6) Presence of the writing “CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND” on 2 lines

7) The CP logo is thicker than in previous eras

I am also including a photo from the article that shows the same stamping as the one I am working on. The one I have has a different shape number (33X) and also does not have the Lane’s L stamp visible on the left side of the shank in the photo below.I posted the stamping on the Tobacco Pipe Restorers Group on FaceBook and Paige Simms and I dialogued a bit about it. Michael Stanley responded first and echoed my thinking. Paige Simms followed up with the rest of the dialogue. It was a very helpful conversation.

Michael Stanley: The “X” denotes a non DC mouthpiece. And imho, that, was a good move!

Steve Laug: Thanks Michael I would agree.

Paige Simms: I beg to differ my friends. The ‘X’ denotes a ‘special’ pipe in grain, size or maybe shape. I have several DC stemmed pieces stamped ‘X’

Paige Simms: No ‘Lane stamp’ may mean made before 1958ish…….or they forgot to stamp it. LOL. But the shape number ’33’ probably dates it pre1968. How is it stamped on the right side of the shank? IMPORTANT

Steve Laug: Nothing on the right side Paige… Everything is on the left

Paige Simms: Meaning then, the pipe was made before 1955 or 1960. The nomenclature change after the ‘blank right shank’ was in block letters “MADE BY HAND”. That stamp started in 1956 or 1961. (And ran for 5 years only). I was a founding member and I learned well from ‘The International Charatan Pipe Smokers Society’. That’s a Great pipe!!!

Steve Laug: What is the 1968 referring to above?

Paige Simms: The first year of the “Lane stamping”

With that information in hand Pipedia informed me that I was dealing with an era of Charatans pipes that were quite common. It was known as a third era pipe (First Lane era, 1961-1965). According to the information from Pipedia the pipe was made in the early 1960s. From Paige Simms information it pushed it back a bit further to being made before 1955 or 1960. The nomenclature change after the ‘blank right shank’ was in block letters “MADE BY HAND”. That stamp started in 1956 or 1961. (And ran for 5 years only). I now had an idea of the age of the pipe and a bit of its story – it had been made between 1955-1961. Now it was time to work on the pipe itself.

Jeff cleaned the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. 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 good looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took some photos of the rim top and stem. Once Jeff removed the lava on the back side of the rim top and inner edges the damage became evident. There was some significant damage on the back inner edge of the bowl that included chipping and burning of the surface. The outer edge of the bowl looks very good. The close up photos of the stem shows that is it very clean and there is some minimal tooth chatter and marks on the button and surface just ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the stem and shank of the pipe. It is clear and readable. I took the stem off the shank and took a picture of the pipe. It really is a nice looking pipe with great lines.I started my part of the restoration work on the pipe by trying to address the burn damage on the back inner edge of the rim. The least invasive method was where I started. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to try and smooth out the edge while keeping the bowl in round. While I was able to smooth out the edge and keep it round the burn damage on the back of the rim top needed something a little more invasive. This is probably a step that some will find unnecessary but I feel somewhat compelled to try to bring it back as close as possible to the original look. I topped it on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. Once I finished it I smoothed out the inner edge again. The third photo below shows the newly shaped rim top without the burn damage. Fortunately it was not too deep and the topping was minimal. I was happy with the rim top and edges now so it was time to polish the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. I was also hoping to blend the newly topped bowl into the finish of the rest of the pipe. The grain really began to stand out and the finish took on a shine by the last sanding pad. The photos tell the story! I apologize for the next photo but I did not catch it until later in the process when it was too late to go back and retake the photo.I touched up the rim top up with a blend of oak and maple stain pens to match the rest of the bowl. I forgot to take a photo of that. When the stain was cured I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for about ten 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 laid the bowl aside and turned to deal with the stem. The tooth marks and chatter on the stem were not deep. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing 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 older Charatan pipe came together quite well. The finish on the pipe is in excellent condition and the contrasting stains work well with the black vulcanite saddle stem. With the grime and debris gone from the finish and the bowl it was a beauty and the grain just pops at this point. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank and stem during the process. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Charatan’s Make Special 33X is quite beautiful and is a lovely Bell shaped pipe. The finish on the bowl combines various stains to give it depth. It is very well done. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. I really like this Bell shaped Charatan’s Make Special pipe and it really does remind me of one of my first pipe finds. This is a great looking pipe in great condition. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Thanks for your time.

Breathing Life into a Weary, Stubby Butz-Choquin Maitre Pipier De Luxe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the worktable is a stubby, canted Butz-Choquin Volcano. It has a vulcanite tapered stem with a BC logo on the left side of the taper. The finish is smooth with some nice grain around the bowl. The bowl has a mix of various grains on the sides and on the rim top and heel of the bowl. This pipe not only looks comfortable but it amazingly comfortable in hand. The pipe is stained with black and various hues of brown. It truly is a beautiful finish. The pipe is stamped Butz-Choquin over Maitre Pipier over De Luxe on the left side of the shank. On the right side it is stamped Fait Main (Hand Made) over St. Claude France. The finish was very dirty and tired looking with a lot of grime and oils ground into the sides of the bowl. It appears that the pipe had a varnish or shellac coat that is damaged. There was a thick cake in the bowl and some lava overflowing onto the rim top. There is also some darkening on the inner edge of the rim. The tapered vulcanite stem is heavily oxidized and it appears that the last pipe man used a Softee Bit. The stem looked good. It is dirty with light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show their general condition. It is hard to see the condition of the bubbling and peeling finish on the rim top because of the lava and grime but it is present. There is cake in the bowl and some darkening around the rim edges and some lava on the top of the rim. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the smooth finish and the grain shining through the grime. I cannot wait to see what it looks like once it is cleaned and polished. He took several photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank to capture it for me. It is clear and readable. It reads as noted above. He also included a photo of the acrylic encased BC inlay on the left side of the stem.The vulcanite stem is a bit of a mess! It is oxidized and there is calcification build up all over the stem from the button forward. There are also light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem. The button appears to be in good condition. The photos below show the condition of the stem. Before I started working on my part of the restoration I quickly turned to the previous blog I had done on the Butz Choquin Maitre Pipier (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/04/09/breathing-life-into-a-weary-but-graceful-butz-choquin-maitre-pipier-de-luxe/). I had done some research on the Maitre Pipier line to see what I could learn. I quote from that blog below:

I turned first to PipePhil’s site to get a quick overview of the brand (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-butzchoquin.html). There found the following information. I am also including a screen capture of the pertinent section from the site.

Pipes of the “Maitre Pipier” series were crafted by Paul Lanier until he retired and after him by Alain Albuisson. The model illustrated is remarkable for its “swan neck” shank.

The one pictured in the screen capture is an Extra but the shape is very similar to the one I have that is stamped De Luxe. The same swan neck shank is a part of its beauty.I turned then to Pipedia and did not find anything pertinent to this series of pipes. If you would like to learn more about the brand here is the link (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Butz-Choquin).

Now I had a pretty good idea the carvers of the Maitre Pipier Series. I am not sure of the date this pipe was made but I did know who made it – either Paul Lanier or Alain Albuisson. With that information I moved forward to do my part of the restoration work on the pipe itself and see what I had to do with it. The bowl looked unbelievably good in light of where it started. The rim top was the roughest looking portion but it was just odd and flaky not damaged. What remained was some very nicely grained briar. The stem looked much better with just a few tooth marks on each side of the stem just ahead of the button. Jeff had done his normal thorough clean up – reaming, scrubbing, soaking and the result was evident in the pipe when I unpacked it. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. The squat shape and finish on this pipe looks great. I took some photos of the rim top and stem. The rim top shows the damage I spoke of above. The bubbling and peeling was gone but there was a very mottled looking surface on the rim top. The bowl looked very good. The inner edge shows some damage on the back right side and a bit on the left side. The close up photos of the stem shows that is it very clean.I took pictures of the stamping on the shank. It is very clear and readable. Jeff’s clean up work left it unfazed and if anything more readable now that the peeling varnish coat was gone.I started my restoration work on the pipe by addressing the damage to the inner edges of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge and bring the bowl back to round. It did not take too much work. The issues with the rim top itself would be taken care of when I polished the bowl with micromesh pads.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The grain really began to stand out and the finish took on a shine by the last sanding pad. The photos tell the story! I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for about ten 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 laid the bowl aside and turned to deal with the stem. I sanded the tooth marks and chatter on the stem with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the stem and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with some Denicare Mouthpiece polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like the texture of red Tripoli. It works well to polish out some of the scratches. I find that it does a great job preparing the stem for polishing with micromesh sanding pads.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing 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. Putting this pipe back together was very rewarding. The change in condition and appearance of the rim top alone was remarkable. The removal of the damaged peeling coat brought the briar back to life. I love seeing the grain just pop at this point. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank during the process. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is quite beautiful and is a stubby volcano/sitter pipe. The finish on the bowl combines various stains to give it depth. It is very well done. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. Butz-Choquin seems to have a lot of creatively shaped designs that leave me respecting the creativity. This interesting pipe is no exception and it is a great looking pipe in great condition. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

Next on the Table – a Savinelli Deco 622KS Bent Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a Savinelli line pipe that was a new one to me. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Savinelli in an arch over DECO. On the right side it is stamped with the Savinelli “S” Shield and the shape number 622KS over Italy. The stem has the Savinelli Shield on stamped on the topside and 6mm stamped on the underside. The pipe was dirty and there was a thick cake in the bowl. There is some lava on the inward bevel and some darkening as well. There is also some lava on the rim top. The finish is in excellent condition other than being dirty. The stem is acrylic and there are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button with light damage on the button surface itself. The stem is free of the 6mm filter and looks like one has not been used in the stem. The internals of the pipe are very dirty. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. The photos of the rim top and bowl show the thick cake, tobacco debris and thick lava overflow on the rim top. The pipe was a mess. You can also see some chipped areas on the outer edge of the bowl and nicks in the sides of the bowl. He captured the grain around sides of the bowl in the next photos. You can also see the nicks and chips out of the briar but it is still quite pretty beneath the wear and tear and grime! He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. They are clear and readable and read as noted above. The acrylic stem was in good condition other than the tooth marks on the surface of both sides ahead of the button and some wear on the button as well.Jeff out did himself on the cleanup of this pipe and when I received it I was not disappointed as it showed what I saw on the briar in the photos above. The grain was quite nice and the colour was very good. Jeff had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the debris left behind with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with running water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the debris on the stem. The pipe looked quite amazing. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the damaged areas and how clean it was. You can see damage on the right front inner edge and back left edge of the rim. There appeared to be some burn damage and darkening. The stem looked good other than the tooth marks and the light chatter on the surface ahead of the button.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the parts. It is a great looking pipe.I decided to start on the inner rim edges and the rim top. I sanded the beveled edge with a piece of folded 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damaged edges and removing the darkening. I stained the edge with a Maple Stain Pen. The rim top also looks much better and will improve with polishing.I polished the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust left behind from sanding. I buffed bowl on the wheel with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and bring the grain out. I rubbed it down with Before & After Refurbishing Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and let it sit for 20 minutes. The Balm works to preserve, protect and enliven the briar. The pipe is starting to look very good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter remaining on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and followed that by starting the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I continued polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.I used Antique Gold Rub’n Buff to touch up the stamping on the stem. I applied a spot of the product on the surface and worked it into the stamping with a tooth pick. I rubbed it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The finished look was very good.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 containing 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 Savinelli Deco 622KS Bent Pot is a nice looking pipe. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I polished the metal band with a jeweler’s cloth. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain is quite beautiful a mix of cross grain and birdseye grain around the bowl sides and the rim top and heel. The pipe feels great in the hand. It has an interesting shape that fits well in either the right or left hand. The finished Bent Pot is shown in the photos below. The 6mm filter stem is in great condition. What i like about the 6mm filter pipe is that it can be smoked without a filter and still has a great draw. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This great looking Savinelli pipe turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Something about the grain on this one called my name – a No Name Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

I don’t know how to explain this any other way than the title says. I looked at this pipe at least two times when Irene and I were on the Oregon coast with Jeff and Sherry. We went to this shop at least twice and each time I looked at the pipe and thought about it. I turned it over in my hands and examined it. There was no stamping on the shank or stem and it was a filthy pipe. However the grain just spoke to me and I think something about the compact shape did as well. I finally put it in the purchase pile and moved on. Jeff took the lot we found home with him to clean up and this one went along. He took some photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up and the photos revealed a crack in the shank that I had not noticed. It just goes to show you I was so caught up in the shape and grain that I missed the crack. Ah well just another pipe to fix. The photos of the rim top and bowl show the thick cake, tobacco debris and thick lava overflow on the rim top. The pipe was a mess. You can also see some chipped areas on the outer edge of the bowl and nicks in the sides of the bowl. He captured the grain around sides of the bowl in the next photos. You can also see the nicks and chips out of the briar but it is still quite pretty beneath the wear and tear and grime!The vulcanite stem was heavily oxidized and was pitted. There were tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button and some wear on the button as well.I saved the next photo for last as it shows the surprise that I don’t believe I saw when I examined the pipe in the basement of the antique mall.Jeff out did himself on the cleanup of this pipe and when I received it I was not disappointed as it showed what I had seen through the grime on the bowl. The grain was quite nice and the colour was very good. Jeff had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the debris left behind with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with running water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. The pipe looked quite amazing. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the damaged areas and how clean it was. You can see damage all the way around the inner edge of the rim. The larger one was at the back of the bowl. There was burn damage and darkening. You can also see the damage to the outer edge of the bowl. The stem looked good other than the slight nicks on the button surface and the light chatter on the surface ahead of the button.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the parts. It is a great looking pipe.I decided to start on the rim edges – both inner and outer and the rim top. I built up the chipped edge on the right side and front of the bowl with super glue and briar dust. I filled them in to even out the edges. Once the repair had cured I sanded the repaired areas with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repaired areas. I went through my bag of bands and found one that was oval and would work to bind together crack. It was already oval and slightly dented but it would work and I could tap it out and make it smooth again. The crack was hairline and closed so I ran a thin bead of clear super glue on it and let it soak in before banding. I fit it onto the shank end and tapped it to fit well and be smooth against the shank and the shank end. I took photos of the pipe to show the look of the banded shank. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the damage on the rim top and the edges of the bowl. I also used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the rim edge and to bring the bowl back into round. The second photo below shows the rounded rim edges on the inside and outside. The rim top also looks much better though the burn spot remains.I polished the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust left behind from sanding. In order to mask the burn mark on the rim and to make the grain really stand out I stained the pipe with a Tan aniline stain. I flamed it to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage and set it aside overnight to cure.In the morning I hand buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to see what I was working with. I still needed to buff it on the wheel but I liked what I saw. I buffed bowl on the wheel with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and bring the grain out. I rubbed it down with Before & After Refurbishing Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and let it sit for 20 minutes. The Balm works to preserve, protect and enliven the briar. The pipe is starting to look very good at this point. I set the stained, polished and banded bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and the oxidation remaining on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and followed that by starting the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I continued polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.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 containing 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 little Canadian really is a nice looking pipe. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain is quite beautiful a mix of straight and flame around the bowl sides and birdseye on the rim top and heel. The pipe feels great in the hand. It has an interesting shape that fits well in either the right or left hand. The finished no name Canadian is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This great looking Canadian pipe turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Cleaning up a Willmer Straight Grain AAA Standard Cup and Saucer

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a shape I would call a cup and saucer or at least Willmer’s take on this shape. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank Willmer in script over Straight Grain over AAA over Standard. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in England. It is a bent cup and saucer shaped smooth briar with vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe was dusty and dull looking but had great grain around the bowl and rim. The rim top is smooth and there was some darkening and damage to the inner edge of the bowl. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The finish was in great condition under grime ground into the sides and shank. The saddle vulcanite stem was oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the condition of the rim top and edges of the bowl. There was a little darkening around the inner edge and heavier along the back edge of the bowl. There are some scratches on the top and outer edge of the bowl as well. You can also see the cake in the bowl.He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish and the grain around the bowl. The pipe has some stellar grain around the bowl and shank and the carver maximized the lay of the grain with the shape of the pipe. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. He also took a photo of the Willmer “W” on the left side of the stem. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. You can see the light tooth marks right next to the button edge.I turned to Pipephil to get a quick review of the Willmer Company as it had been a long time since I had worked on one (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-w3.html). I quote the side bar from the site bellow.

Willmer is a brand of H. Willmer & Son Ltd. The factory closed down about 2006-07 after more then 60 years activity and two generations of makers. Gradings until the 1980s (ascending): BA, A, AA, and AAA. After this date Willmer introduced the AAAA and AAAA PRESENTATION as top grades.

The pipe I was working on has a AAA stamping on it which if the pipe came from pre-1980s was the top of the line. If it was later pipe it close to the top of the line.I turned to Pipedia to get more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Willmer). The first paragraph dispelled of the belief that Willmer had been a carver for Charatan in his own words. I quote a portion of the article to give a sense of the history of the brand.

Willmer was founded in London. According to the website, which doesn’t exist anymore because the Willmer factory has been closed in 2006/07, the firm was in business “for more than 60 years” by 2003. Willmer was homed then in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, so not far from the Cadogan plant.

When Willmer first started, they definitely strived to compete with brands in the high-end market. Due to the excellent quality of the pipes Willmer was frequently asked to produce private label pipes for England’s best renowned pipe retailers. So many pipes are not easily recognized as Willmers for stamped under the name of the respective shop. Willmer’s own pipes were stamped “Willmer – Made in England” and showed a sweeping “W” in white or gold on top or left side of the stem. The earlier grading had AAA as top grade followed by AA, A, AB etc.

Sometime in the 1980’s, Willmer went through some major changes. The move to Essex was already mentioned above. They continued making highly respectable freehands – often copying some of the stunning Charatan shapes of days gone by. The grading was altered. What used to be an AAA now became the additional name “Presentation” and was stamped with AAAA. Funny enough, the forth A was often larger than the three before. The other grades were changed accordingly.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done his usual thorought job in removing all of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. To show the damage to the inner edge of the rim and the rim top I took a close-up photo. You can see it on the right inner edge and the back edge of the bowl. The vulcanite stem had some tooth marks on both sides and there was some oxidation remaining.I took a photo of the stamping on both sides of the shank. It clearly read what was noted above. The “W” stem on the left side of the saddle stem is also readable.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. It really is a great looking pipe.I started my part of the restoration by addressing the damage to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the inside edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the newly topped rim and the rest of the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. I stained the rim with a Maple Stain Pen to blend the repaired and polished rim into the rest of the bowl.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingertips into finish on the bowl and shank. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. To address the oxidation and the tooth marks on the stem surface I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend in the tooth marks and to break up the oxidation. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I started polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.I touched up the “W” stamp on the stem with PaperMate Liquid Paper. I pressed it into the stamp in the vulcanite with a tooth pick. Once it dried I scraped off the excess fill with the tooth pick and with micromesh sanding pads.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 containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This is a unique pipe and it is the first one I have worked on like this. It is a beauty. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain is quite beautiful a mix of straight and flame around the bowl sides and birdseye on the rim top and heel. The pipe feels great in the hand. It has an interesting shape that fits well in either the right or left hand. The finished Willmer Straight Grain AAA Standard is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This great looking Willmer Cup and Saucer pipe turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Breathing Life into an Aged Imported Briar Bullmoose

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Blog by Steve Laug

There is something about Custombilt style older American Made pipes that always gets my attention. This one is a uniquely rusticated Bullmoose shaped pipe with a short stubby vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe had some unique beauty shining through the dust and debris in the valleys of the rustication. The rustication is on the sides and bottom of the bowl and shank. The rim top is smooth as is the smooth panel on the left side of the shank and the band around the shank end. The finish was very dirty from sitting around. There was a thick cake in the bowl with lava flowing out of the bowl and over the rim top. The rim top looked like it had been used as a hammer repeatedly. There were nicks, gouges and deep chunks missing on the smooth rim top. It was in very rough condition. The inner edge of the rim appeared to be in surprisingly good condition. The stamping on the left side of the shank read Aged Imported Briar. There are no other stampings on the pipe and no shape numbers. The saddle stem was oxidized and there were tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the damage to the rim top. It really is a mess. You can see the lava overflow and debris in the gouges and scratches on the rim top. You can see the cake in the bowl. This was a dirty pipe but the rusticated around the bowl finish appeared to be in good condition. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the unique rustication around the bowl. You can see the dust and debris in the finish. It is a good looking rustication and unlike any others that I have seen. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.The next photos show the overview of the stem top and the tooth chatter and oxidation on the top and underside of the stem. The stamping on the shank does not help me identify the maker of the pipe. There are things about the pipe that remind me of either Kaywoodie rustics or Custombilt pipes. But there was nothing other than conjecture on my part.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done his usual thorough job in removing all of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. To show how clean the rim top and stem really were I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and cake free. The rim top is very clean with no residual lava in the sandblast finish. The inner edges of the bowl look good. The vulcanite stem cleaned up nicely. The surface had some light oxidation and tooth marks but the button edge looked really good.I took a photo of the stamping on the under side of the shank. You can see the clear stamping.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. The saddle vulcanite stem look very good. I decided to address the damage to the rim top first. I filled in the deep gouges and nicks in the rim top with superglue. Once the repairs had cured I sanded the rim top with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. I worked on especially hard areas on the rim top and edges with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. I stained the rim top with a Tan aniline stain to match the colour of the smooth portions around the bowl and shank.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers and with a horse hair shoe brush to get it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish on the bowl and shank. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. To address the oxidation and the tooth marks on the stem surface I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend in the tooth marks and to break up the oxidation. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I started polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.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 containing some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a final rub down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the vulcanite stem. I have used No Oxy Oil in the past at this point as it does the same thing as Obsidian Oil but have gone back to using Obsidian Oil. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the rusticated bowl so as not to fill in the crevices with the product. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The rustication is unique with almost a nautilus swirl on both sides. The pipe feels great in the hand. It is comfortable and light weight. The finished Aged Imported Briar Bullmoose is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. This great looking rusticated Bullmoose turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.