Tag Archives: restaining a bowl and rim

Marxman Jumbo Lovat

Blog by Aaron Henson

Several years ago when I was first getting into our hobby, I stopped into a local antique store looking for practice pipes. This particular store did not have much and what few they did were dirty, heavily caked and $25 each. The dirt and the heavy cake didn’t bother me but dropping 25 clams on an old briar pipe for practice was not going to happen.

A few weeks ago, one of my jobs happened to take me past this same store. It had been two years since I had been in so I thought it might be time for another look. After my last visit I wasn’t expecting much. When I asked the gentleman behind the counter about pipes he directed me to the same old display case at the back of the store. The same pipes were on display but this time the price tag had been changed. Clearly the pipes had been in inventory too long and he wanted to move them because now they were two for $10. Not one to pass on a deal this good, I selected four large bowl pipes including the Marxman below (shown second from the top) as well as a large caliber Emperor and an unmarked Custombilt look-alike. The Marxman is a truly large pipe (and not the largest of the three) with a bowl diameter of 1 1/2”, chamber diameter of 1” and a depth of 1 5/8”. The shank is a whopping 7/8” in diameter and the bit is that same width. The following page from a 1946 ad for Marxman calls the large size a “Jumbo” but I do not have any way of telling what letter size it might be.For background, Marxman only made pipes from 1934 until 1953 before being bought out by Mastercraft. But Bob Marx’s short run made an impact on Hollywood and on US pipe makers in general. Pipedia has a short article on Marxman.Taking the pipe to the work bench I started by cataloging the things that needed to be done. The bowl had a thick cake built up. So much so that I had to start with the smallest head on my Castleford reamer (and the largest head was too small to be effective to finish reaming the bowl). The rim had a significant buildup of tars and a couple burn marks. The outside of the stummel was grimy and had some dents but nothing too devastating. On the bottom of the bowl there were two dark burn marks. They were located on the bottom side of the shank which made me think they were not burn-outs but with the bowl cake so thick I could not be sure. When I removed the stem, I could see that the end of the tenon, the stinger and the inside of the shank were all coated with a heavy tar. This was going to be an arduous cleaning job. For as much build up as there was in the stummel there was little in the way of tooth chatter or marks on the stem. One small tooth dent on the top side of the stem was all. The button was quite small but the slot was nicely formed. Aside from some oxidation, all in all the stem was in great shape.

I set the stem to soak in an Oxiclean bath to loosen the oxidation and the tar build up in the air way and turned my attention to the stummel. First I reamed the cake out of the bowl. I could not believe just how much there was! I took it back to clean briar to make sure there was no burn through. After the largest reaming head, I still needed to finished off the chamber with 80 grit sand paper wrapped around a dowel. There was a slight loss of briar about half way down the bowl but no burn through. If I had to guess, the previous owner may have been in the habit of half loading the pipe early in its life.

I shaped a soft wood stir stick into a narrow spatula shape and used it to clean out the caked gunk in the shank. I also need a short piece of wire coat hanger to open the air way. I finished scrubbing the internals of the shank with bristled pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol and cotton swabs until they came out clean.

Now that the insides were clean I turned to the outside of the pipe. The rim was heavily coated with crusted tar/lava. I had hoped to clean up the rim without needing to top the bowl but that was not the case. There were some burn marks in the rim under the tar build up that were best removed at the topping board. When topping a bowl, I use 100 grit paper on a smooth flat surface and work the bowl in a circular motion. I have recently started rotating the bowl a quarter turn every 10 passes. This helps me keep the topped bowl level by ensuring I don’t put too much pressure on one side of the bowl all the time.I started cleaning the outside of the pipe by wiping down the briar with acetone. This removed the wax and grime build up. I had hoped that the burn marks on the bottom of the shank were superficial and would be removed with a light sanding but I was mistaken. I am not sure what happens to the pipe but it appeared to have been exposed to a significant heat source because the burns were deep. The wood was not damaged, that is to say there was no charring. After a significant amount of sanding with 220 grit I had removed as much of the burn as possible without significantly impacting the shape of the pipe. I was careful to sand the entire area around the burn to blend, or feather, the repair. Even so, it did not completely remove all of the burn mark.Next I steamed out dents by wrapping the bowl with a wet terrycloth rag and applying a clothes iron. The important thing here is to keep your fingers away from the steam and the iron away from any stamping.

I finished the bowl by sanding the outside with 1500 – 3200 micro mesh pads. I also took the liberty of beveling the inside of the rim which I thought gave the large bowl some visual character.Even though I sanded the chamber back I could still smell some ghosts of the old tobacco so thought I would give the pipe a salt and alcohol soak. I let sit for 24 hours but there was still a residual odor. Before I was done with the restoration, I had to run three tubes of grain alcohol in a retort through the pipe before the pipe was truly clean (sorry no pictures).

The original finish was very light colored, almost a natural. To hide the remnants of the burn I decided to go with a light brown stain and contract the worm grooves with a slightly darker stain to make them stand out. This would also help hide the burn.The stem was an easy clean for a saddle bit. The Oxiclean bath had loosened the crud in the airway and a few passes with bristled than soft pipe cleaners took care of the internals. The outside I sanded with 1500 grit micro mesh then added a small drop of black super glue to the one small tooth mark and a another dent that I didn’t want to sand out. I had tried to raise both with heat first but with little success hence the super glue. Continued sanding with micro mesh pads up through 12,000 grit. I kept the pipe assembled during this process in order to keep the shank-stem connection flush.

With sanding and polishing complete I coated the entire pipe in mineral oil and let sit overnight. The mineral oil seems to help hydrate the briar and vulcanite of the stem.After 12 hours I wiped off any remaining oil and took the pipe to the buffer. I went over the whole pipe with red diamond then applied multiple coats of carnauba wax. As a finishing touch I decided to apply a bowl coating to the chamber. I wiped the inside with maple syrup then add a table spoon of charcoal powder. Placing the heel of my palm over the rim I shake the pipe until the charcoal evenly coats the inside. I let the pipe dry for a week before dumping out the excess charcoal.

Now it’s time to “Relax with a Marxman”. Thank you for taking the time to look.

Restoring ‘The Professor’ – WDC Milano Hesson Guard

3 Replies

Blog by Dal Stanton

This pipe was gifted to me in 1980 while a seminary student. I was Professor Freundt’s student assistant and I spent much time with him in his office which was a virtual jungle of books, papers and journals – heaped in piles here and there yet the professor knew where to find the most obscure minutia. Added to the smells of old books and leather covers were the tobacco and smoke that regularly provided an upper layer haze in his work space. The Professor introduced me to the art and enjoyment of smoking pipes – now some 36 years ago. I was young and eager, soaking in the ambiance of academia at a post-graduate level and pipes I discovered, were very comfortable partners in this environment. Professor Freundt gave me the Hesson Guard, showed me how to pack its first bowl in my hands, and I smoked it, adding my offerings to the perpetual haze. After these days, pipe smoking was put aside until last fall when Steve reintroduced me to it. At this point, 3 pipes made up my collection: a corncob I also bought during those seminary days to use while fishing and duck hunting, a Willard I received after my grandfather’s passing (a future restoration), and the WDC Milano Hesson Guard that I had tucked away in drawers over the past three and a half decades. Anxious to put a pipe back into service last fall, I grabbed the Hesson Guard, to clean it and do what I thought then were needed repairs…. I made a mess of the pipe – cracked the shank, reamed out the mortise so that the metal tenon was too loose – sloppy repair with super glue…. I’m anxious now to return to ‘The Professor’ (its given name) and try to make amends for the rough treatment he received last fall!

The right side of the shank is stamped with the well-known WDC inverted triangle next to Milano over Real Briar. The left side holds Hesson Guard. The bottom of shank had PAT. 1855800 which enabled me quickly zero in on the dating of the pipe. The patent application was submitted by the inventor of the special internals, William W. Hesson, in 1930 and granted two years later. An excerpt from the patent documentation describes the essence of the design:

The principal object of the invention is to provide a pipe which will eliminate contamination of the natural aroma of the tobacco through noxious secretions and which will remain sweet and clean. A further object is to devise a construction of pipe which will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which. will be devoid of pockets to harbor noxious elements. The principal feature of the invention consists in the novel arrangement of a tubular resilient member surrounding and embracing a metal stem which extends from the pipe bowl to the mouth piece and forming a seal to prevent the seepage of moisture around the metal stem.

(https://www.google.bg/patents/US1855800?dq=1855800&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibqa2KsOjNAhUFVBQKHZ1DAvMQ6AEIGjAA)

I was curious to compare my Hesson Guard with the patent diagram which essentially is a long metal tenon meeting up with a metal sleeve at the base of the bowl and shank junction. This design, along with many other designs, was to eliminate the moisture build up, gurgle and gunk. Figure 1 (below) is followed by my overlay comparison picture – the tube inserts quite a way according to the 1930 design. Following are pictures telling the current story of The Professor: The pipe is attractive and has a good feel in my hand. The free-hand sculpting on the bowl gives the appearance of flames rising and is showcased in 3 paneled murals around the bowl. I notice that one of the panel dividers has been damaged at the top by cutting the briar. It looks like they were seeking to connect the panels – not sure. That will need to be filled in. The rim will also need some gentle repair to what appears to be nicks created by wear and tear. The cracked shank will need repair to keep it from growing and cleaning up the metal tenon and creating a good fit with the mortise might be a challenge. The bit has very mild tooth chatter. The last picture above captures not only the crack in the shank but the metal sleeve deep in the mortise that the chamfered tube/tenon docks with to create a dryer smoke – according to the patent information. Before any cosmetic restoration takes place I first must deal with the major issues of the shank crack repair and the tenon/mortise fit. I start the crack repair by drilling a small hole at the end of the crack to keep the crack from creeping up the shank. I use my Dremel tool and a 1.5mm drill bit to make the hole. I utilize a magnifying glass to trace the crack which had become a ‘hairline’. I’m careful not to drill too far and breach the mortise wall. Next time, I want to use a 1mm drill bit to leave less of a footprint. Next, after inserting the tenon into the mortise to expand the crack area for glue penetration, I create a mixture of briar dust and CA Instant Glue filling the hole and running a line of glue along the crack. I then sprinkle briar dust over the entire area and wait to dry. The timing worked out well as my wife just called me for lunch! After lunch, I work on cleaning up the tenon removing the old superglue with fingernails, Winchester knife, brass brush and 240 grit sanding paper – back in pristine shape. Well, after about a week, I return to the Milano Hesson Guard after my wife and I take advantage of the summer opportunities at the Black Sea coast. We enjoy some days at the beach near our favorite coastal fishing town, Sozopol. While at the beach, I thought about the Milano and how best to approach the overly loose tenon/mortise fit. Instead of applying clear nail polish around the metal tenon, which is what I did before, I attempt to rebuild the mortise wall by applying a very gentle coat of superglue on the inner wall of the mortise, rotating it as I applied superglue to achieve, what I hope, will be an even texture around the mortise wall. Amazingly, this seems to have worked! After drying, I gently reach into the mortise to remove some superglue ‘bumps’ with a needle file and I use a tightly rolled piece of 240 sanding paper carefully to smooth things down. I don’t want to inadvertently remove too much of the restored mortise wall! I also give the crack repair a light, strategic sanding with 240 grit paper, careful to guard the stampings. I refit the stem and to my relief, a snug fit was restored. With the stem refitting correctly and inserted, I return to the shank crack to finish sanding it to remove the excess superglue – I do this with stem in so as to not create unevenness between the mortise and stem shoulder. Satisfied with the shank crack repair and rebuilding the mortise wall, I put the stem in an Oxyclean bath for a soak to soften up the moderate oxidation buildup. I move my attention to the bowl to ream the mild cake down to the briar and then move to rim repairs and then to the panel repair. I want to have all these completed before looking at the general stummel cleanup and refinishing. I move out to the 10^th floor balcony adjoining my bedroom work station with Pipnet reaming kit to minimize the airborne cake soot – maximizing happy wife status! I started with the smallest reaming blade moving to use 3 of the 4 blades available to remove the moderate cake in the bowl. I finished the reaming by employing 120 grit paper on the chamber wall to remove remaining cake and smoothing the wall. I took a close up of the chamber and rim to show progress and to get a good idea of how to approach the rim repair. Inspecting the rim, I place a drop of superglue on one particular ‘dent’ that reached significantly down the external side of the bowl. I’m hoping that this small fill will enable me not needing to take as much off during the bowl topping to repair the rim. After the superglue sets up on the rim dent fill, I top the bowl using 240 grit sanding paper on top of a chopping block. Since the day is beautiful, I again move to the 10^th floor balcony to do the work. With the rim having no burns, I expect the surface to plane off evenly without pulls toward softer burned areas of the rim. I rotate in a clockwise circular even motion and take off only as much as needed to remove the damaged area of the rim. As I like to do, I create a small bevel on the inner wall of the rim to give a more finished, classier look. I use 120 grit paper to form the initial bevel angle followed by 240. I also decide to give the outer rim edge a slight sanding to round off the lip which seems to be consistent with the original Milano design. Again, I make the initial cut on the lip with 120 grit paper and finish off with 240. I have grown to appreciate more the rim presentation in finished pipes. To me, the rim, it’s nuances, are the first thing the eye is drawn to when looking at a pipe – much like the first thing one sees when looking a person are the eyes, then one follows by taking in the general appearances. The following pictures show the Milano’s rim progress. You can see in the immediate preceding picture the rim superglue fill spot at the 11 o’clock position of the rim and the ongoing panel repair just below it (to the left in the picture). Before moving to the stummel finishing, I now need to resolve the panel repair. I realize at this point with all the stummel repairs (cracked shank, topping and panel line), I will be removing the finish and refinishing the surface in order to achieve an even briar tone appearance. Now, continue to ‘heal’ the panel cut – earlier I applied superglue to it to build it up. I take a close up of the panel as it is now in order to know what I have. In order to blend more, I rough up the original superglue with a Dremel stone sander instrument. I apply on top of it a thick mixture of superglue and briar dust to form the restored surface that will join the side briar panel with the solid ring around the top of the bowl. I use toothpicks to mix, spread and tamp the mixture into place. I want this briar dust putty to setup well so I put the stummel aside for the time and turn to the stem which has been soaking in Oxyclean. The Oxyclean bath did the job of bringing the oxidation to the stem surface. I attack this initial layer with 000 steel wool and then use 240 grit paper to address the minor tooth chatter – I take pictures of bit top and bottom before starting to show progress. In order to have a good match between the mortise and the stem, I want to eyeball what the fit looks like before I proceed further. As I suspected, with all the superglue applied to the mortise area, the fit between mortise end and stem was not flush. I took the stummel back to the topping board and gently rotated the shank end on the board to regain a flush docking between stummel and stem. After a few rotation cycles and testings to eyeball things, I am satisfied. Before starting the micromesh cycles for the stem finishing, I need to remove the lip that I discovered with the shank end over the stem. With the topping of the shank end, I enlarged the circumference of the end just a bit so that it was a bit larger than the circumference of the stem shoulder – primarily on the lower side of the shank. I use 240 grit paper to even out the difference between the shank and stem – leaving the stem in place to assure a good, smooth transition! I am careful to use my thumb to cover and protect the nomenclature as I move around the shank with the sanding paper.Now to the panel repair below the rim. Using 240 grit sanding paper I bring the hardened superglue and briar dust mixture down to the bowl surface careful to maintain a rounded surface and not to flatten out the area of sanding focus. The pictures show the progress. Dal

I like the panel patch and it will blend with a darker stain. On a roll, I launch into the clean-up of the stummel and especially the ‘flame murals’ which are filled with grit and dust. I use a tooth brush with Murphy’s Wood Soap undiluted and work over the entire stummel with special focus in the fire sculpting to remove the surface finish. I follow this with rubbing down the stummel using cotton pads and tooth brush with acetone to remove the finish deep in the grain of the briar. I finish my clean-up of the surface by picking the carved crevices with a dental tool. Using micromesh sanding pads, I sand the high points of the stummel. Using 1500-2400 I wet sand. Following, 3200-4000 dry sand and finishing dry-sanding with 6000-12000. The pictures show the progress – I’m liking the briar grain the micromesh process is bringing out. At this point, I have two questions about how to proceed before staining the stummel. First, I need to clean out the ‘flame’ sculpting and use a black fine tipped permanent marker to darken the flames to give more contrast after the stain is applied. The other question was how do I treat the stampings of the WDC Milano – Hesson Guard? Do I protect it from the stain? Do I cover them with Vaseline? What? Upon closer inspection, I notice that the left side stamping, Hesson Guard, appeared to have gold left over in the ‘Hesson’ lettering – the rest having worn off (picture below) after the crack repair. After a quick email to Steve, his input revealed that both sides would have originally born the gold lettering. So, from my model kit (I’ve been involved in a project for several years building the USS Constitution sailing ship) I discover a bottle of Testors Gold Enamel Model Paint and my wife finds a small brush which I trim with my knife to create a more distinct point. With Steve’s counsel stored in my mind, I applied the paint over the lettering and wiped off the excess. To my relief and joy, the gold paint adhered to the crevices of the lettering and the overflow came off with the paper towel. My first stamping restoration with paint worked well! Steve also said that there was no need to worry about the new lettering during staining – that the gold paint would repel the stain. Careful to avoid the new gold lettering, I clean the bowl with isopropyl using a tooth brush to get rid of the residue from the sanding and then I move to highlighting the flame sculpts to bring greater definition to the paneled murals in the finished pipe. The pictures tell the story. Time to stain and I decide to use a mixture of an alcohol-based Italian stain I found here in Bulgaria with a color description of dark nut. I want this as the base, but I mix it with a mahogany color water based stain to bring out a slightly more redish tone in the briar. I think the red will work with the flame sculpting motif and I think this will look good – but of course the briar does what it will with the hues! After mixing the stains in the shot glass, I apply the mixture to the stummel mounted on the cork and candle stick with cotton balls making sure to cover everything and getting a good thick coverage. After applying stain, I use the butane lighter to flame the stain. With the mixture that I made, the alcohol content was too low to ‘flame’ so I evenly moved the lighter flame across the surface to evaporate the alcohol setting the dye in the grain of the briar. I repeated the process again and set the stummel aside to dry.With the stummel put aside, I turn again to the stem. I re-inspect the button area after the earlier sanding to remove the teeth chatter. I decide that the button needed a little more attention. I use 240 grit sanding paper and a needle file to fine-tune the shape of the button before starting on the micromesh cycles. I wet-sand the stem using 1500-2400 and complete the cycle by applying Obsidian Oil. While still wet from the oil I continue to dry sand with 3200-4000 micromesh pads, again concluding the cycle by applying Obsidian Oil. The final cycle, 6000-12000 is used and a final coat of Obsidian Oil and I put the stem aside to dry. I love watching the shine of the stem progressively make it to the surface getting that final wet, reflective look in the stem. Nice! The stem pops. The pictures capture the progress! For me, beginning the process of finishing the stummel after the staining dries, is like opening a Christmas present. The anticipation is to see what actually is under the crust of flamed stain and what the briar grain will reveal. With the Dremel tool, I begin to remove the ‘wrapping’ using a felt wheel. Also with a felt wheel I polish beginning with Tripoli and then move to Blue Diamond. I focus on bringing out the contrast of briar ‘flames’ showcased in the three panels. I switch to a cotton cloth wheel and apply carnauba wax to both stummel and stem. After several coats of carnauba, I complete the job by giving the pipe a clean cotton cloth wheel buff followed by a rigorous buffing with a micro-fiber cloth to bring out the deep tones of the briar. I’m pleased with the revitalization of ‘The Professor’, WDC Milano Hesson Guard. I think Professor Freundt, if he were alive today to comment, would agree. The rich dark tones of the briar, with the hints of deep reds, reminds me of the myriads of leather bindings and books that filled his hazy office. I’m pleased with the results. Thanks for joining me!

Easy Cleanup of a M&T Bent Horn Bulldog

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Aaron Henson – 7/23/16

I have not been very good at documenting my last few restorations. Once I get into a project I tend to get so focused I forget to take pictures, especially if it’s a repair that is technically challenging or that I have not done before. The most recent example of this was an unsmoked M&T bent bulldog with a horn stem. Even though it had never been used (it still had the factory purple putty bowl coating) it had a few issues to be addressed from its 40+ years of tumbling around in a drawer.When I saw the pipe in the case at the antique store the first thing that caught my eye was the horn stem and I knew I wanted it. In all honesty, I wasn’t one hundred percent sure that it was horn until I got it home. A couple of passes with a 2400 micro mesh pad and a sniff test confirmed my suspicions – it’s the same smell as when you use an emery board on a finger nail. I started with a little research into the brand. The only M&T that I could find was the German pipe maker Müllenbach & Thewald. They made pipes from 1830 until the 1972. The company still exists but is solely devoted to mineral mining. You might think this strange but M&T was known originally for clay pipes. In 1860 they branched into making wood pipes. A short article on M&T can be found on Pipedia.

I began the restoration by performing triage of the issues to be addressed. The bowl was clean but had a dull finish that was marred with some dents and minor scratches. The factory bowl coating was starting to chip and a there were three small fills on the outside of the bowl that needed to be repaired. A close inspection of the shank revealed a small crack where the aluminum tenon inserted (seen in the picture below). I had assumed the narrow band was original to the pipe but perhaps it had been added to reinforce the shank? I may never know the answer to that. All in all the bowl was very good condition.The stem too was in almost “like new” condition. A few scratches but the button was well define and, of course, no tooth chatter. The aluminum tenon was a little rough around the edges but the fit to the shank was fine.

I started by applying a thin coat of mineral oil on the stem. This seemed to ‘hydrate’ the horn and give some bite to the micro mesh pads. I worked through the 1500 to 12000 pads stopping to apply oil as the horn dried out. The button was quite large and the edges sharp, a bit more than I like. But I kept it original and only slightly smoothed the corners while polishing. I smoothed up the edges of the tenon and set the stem aside.

The first order of business was the cracked shank. Using a 1/64 drill bit, I drilled a hole at the end of the crack to stop its spread then filled the crack with clear supper glue. Then I picked out the three putty fills and using a super glue and briar dust mixture, refilled the pits. Once cured I sanded the repair smooth.I steamed the dents out of the briar with a clothes iron applied to a wet cloth wrapped around the stummel – keeping away from the stampings and fingers. I sanded the entire stummel up to the 3200 micro mesh then wipe down with alcohol before I stained. In this case I tried to match the original color with several coats of different browns aniline dyes.

Before reassembling I decide to remove the factory bowl coat and leave it bare briar. Then I wiped the whole outside of the pipe with mineral oil and set it aside for twelve hours before taking to the buffer. The oil seems to hydrate the briar and brings out a nice shine when waxed. I first buff with red diamond, wipe off the residue with a soft cotton cloth then apply three coats of carnauba wax giving the pipe a little rest between each coat.

The bent bulldog is one of my favorite shapes and I love the horn stem. I’m not sure when I will get around to breaking it in. It might just stay unsmoked for a while.

Restoring a Piece of History – A Mastercraft Mark II Zeppelin

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Blog by Mike Zarczynski

I first read about Mike’s restoration of this Zeppelin on Facebook in one of the pipe smoking groups. Because I was so impressed with what he had done with the pipe and because I have been looking for one to restore, I wrote him a message and asked if he would be willing to do a write up for rebornpipes. It is a privilege to have him post his first blog here and show us some of his work. I think you will enjoy the work he has done on this unique piece of pipe history. He has written a brief introduction to himself so rather than repeat it I will let him tell you in his own words. “I’ve been restoring pipes for about a year now, I started when I first became inspired by Steve’s blog rebornpipes (it is an incredible honor to have been requested to write an article for the blog). At first it was a way to avoid paying list price for big brands, but now it’s a full blown addiction. I’ve restored fishing gear most of my life and once I started smoking I realized pipes were an obvious choice to fill the need of fixing things.”

The pipe itself:
Being an avid reader of both Charles’ and Steve’s Blogs, I read an article on an odd pipe. Charles had restored a Master-craft Zeppelin pipe for a family member, but one thing crossed my mind, how did it smoke? Months passed by of watching the type and shape, and almost winning a few auctions had me wondering, just how rare is this pipe? I read on pipephil that there were two main versions, Mark I, a smooth pipe, and Mark II, a rusticated pipe. Being a fan of rusticated pipes, I started searching for the second variety. (The idea of rustication is to give as much surface area as possible to dissipate heat.) I finally won an auction and the pipe was received on a Saturday following the transaction.

The pipe was in great shape, no corrosion on the aluminum, a bit of oxidation on the stem, and two fills on the briar. One of the fills had shrunk to the point it needed replacing, but the other could stay. First off is to ream the bowl, and scrub the outside (I prefer to work on a clean pipe.) The interior of the pipe was in decent shape with no major burn outs or char. I popped the large fill out and started filling it with layers of CA superglue mixed with briar dust. The result worked nicely and was re-rusticated with a Dremel.

After a good retort and scrub of the “smoke chamber”, I could shine the aluminum in the interior. I shined the nosecone of the zeppelin with 6000 grit sandpaper to give it a shine, but leave the oxidation to give it an antique look. I sanded the stem with 600-6000 grit sandpipers to remove any oxidation and to give it a shine. The stem was also cleaned with 70% isopropyl alcohol and pipe cleaners.

I chose to re-stain the pipe to give it a more contrasted dark-light look with the rustication. I set the dye with the flame of a lighter (gotta love the blue flame of this step) and set it to finish drying. After a quick wipe down and hand buff with conservative wax, the pipe was pieced back together and a “bowl” of Prince Albert Burley was packed to try to give it a start of a cake once again. Here are the results of this restoration: Thank you to Steve Laug and friends for not only letting me write an article on my restoration, but for serving as inspiration and entertainment for this past year, and for the many years to come.

Restoring a Chubby Shank Bruyere Shop Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

This one came to me in the box of pipes from my brother, Jeff. It is stamped Bruyere Shop on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar on the right side. It has a sterling silver band that is stamped STERLING and bears three hallmarks – an Anchor, a Lion and a T. The band thus reads Birmingham (the Anchor), .925 Sterling Silver (the Lion) and the letter T which dates the pipe to 1943. The band appears original as there are no cracks that it is banding or repairing. There is no damage to the pipe under the band. The silver band was oxidized and tarnished. It is pressure fit on the shank. The bowl was in decent shape when I got it – dirty and worn. There were paint specks on the briar. The beveled/rounded rim had darkening and heavy coating of tars and oils. The bowl had a cake that cover the sides and bottom. The thick shank was extremely dirty and oily. The stem had tooth marks on the top side and the underside next to the button. It was oxidized and very dirty as well. I took a close-up photo of the rim to show the buildup and the cake in the bowl. The second one shows the stamping on the band that I spelled out above.The next two photos show the condition of the stem and show the oxidation and the tooth marks next to the button.I scrubbed the bowl and rim with acetone on cotton pads to remove the old wax and grime on the finish. I worked on the rim to remove the buildup that had collected there. I used the Savinelli Pipe Knife to cut back the cake to bare briar.I sanded the inner edge and top of the rim to clean off the tarry buildup and also smooth out the dents and nicks in the rim.I scraped out the shank with a dental spatula and scrubbed the shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean.I polished the silver band with silver polish to remove the tarnish and oxidation. The bright shine of the sterling silver came through the polish and I could see that it was going to be a beauty once the tarnish was gone.I used a light brown stain pen to restain the rim and polished it.I buffed the bowl lightly with Blue Diamond to polish the briar. I buffed it until the bowl and rim matched each other. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks on the top side of the stem. I repaired the one on the underside with black super glue. I built up the top of the button on both sides of the stem with black super glue. I sprayed it with an accelerator to dry it quickly.I used a needle file to rehape the sharp edge of the button and smooth out the surface of the stem.I cleaned out the airway with pipe cleaners and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the stem.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove all of the oxidation. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil and dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads. I gave it another coat of oil and sanded it with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the stem and bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish it. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. If anyone knows anything about the Bruyere Shop please let me know in the response below. Thanks for looking.

ADDENDUM

I was doing some reading on the web and found a reference to a pipe shop in Buffalo, N.Y. called the Bruyere Pipe Shop in a May 1953 Popular Mechanics Magazine. I wonder if there is a tie…

Restoring a Fieldstub Bullmoose for a Friend

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Blog by Steve Laug

This is the second pipe that my friend dropped by for a restoration and cleaning. The first was the Tom Howard that I wrote about recently https://rebornpipes.com/2016/07/09/restoring-a-tom-howard-rhodesian-scoop/. This one is a Fieldstub imported briar. The most I can find out about it is that is American made in the 30-40s by and unknown factory. It shares a lot of features with pipes made by Tracy Mincer and the Custom-Bilt line but I can find no link. This one was dirty and tired looking. The rim had a lot of darkening and the bowl had a cake. The grooves on the rim were dirty and darkened. The stem was oxidized and had tooth marks at the button on both the top and underside of the stem. The pipe is stamped FIELDSTUB over Imported Briar on the left side of the shank. I took a few close-up photos of the rim and the stem. The first shows the buildup on the rim top and the cake in the bowl. The second and third show the stem with the tooth marks right next to the button edge. I scrubbed the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap, used a brass bristle brush on the rim top and rinsed it under running water. I dried it off and took these photos. I scrubbed the top of the rim to remove the darkening using acetone and cotton pads. I was able to remove most of the darkening. I wiped down the rest of the bowl with acetone as well to remove the wax and any debris that remained. I cleaned up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the nicks and dings on the edge.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and cleaned the airway with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol.I used alcohol and wiped off the damaged areas next to the underside of the button where the worst of the tooth marks remained after sanding. I filled in the tooth marks with black super glue and sprayed it with an accelerator to speed the drying time. I cleaned up the edge of the button and smoothed out the repair with a needle file. I wanted a clean, sharp edge on the button.I sanded the patch with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the stem and remove the file marks.I stuffed a cotton ball into the bowl and filled it with alcohol to pull the tars and oils out of the bowl and shank. I let it sit for several hours while I worked on the stem.I took the cotton ball out of the bowl and cleaned out the shank and bowl with pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to clean up the last of the alcohol. I let the bowl dry and turned to the stem. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads, gave it a final rubdown of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I hand waxed the bowl with Conservator’s Wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth. This one joins the Tom Howard as they wait for Theo to stop by and pick them both up. They are cleaned, polished and smelling great! If you read this blog, they are both ready for you Theo. Thanks for looking.

Restoring a Tom Howard Rhodesian Scoop

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Blog by Steve Laug

This pipe is stamped Tom Howard on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar on the right side. A friend of mine emailed me and asked if I would clean it up for him and bring it back to life. He said the stem tasted awful. He said he had tried to clean it up a bit but was not happy with the results. He dropped it by the house before he left on a short trip. Here is what it looked like when it arrived. There was a pretty thick cake in the bowl and the rim had overflow on the top. The grooves and worm trails were pretty much filled in with grime. The stem was badly oxidized and there were some deep scratches in the surface. There was tooth chatter on the top and bottom of the stem near the button.I reamed the bowl in stages. I began with a Savinelli Pipe Knife to take back the inner edge of the bowl.I used a brass bristle wire brush to clean off the top of the rim and get rid of the buildup.I scrubbed the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the buildup of tars and oils that darkened the bowl and shank. It did not take too much to get the briar clean. I rinsed the bowl with running water and dried it off with a towel. The cleaned exterior is shown in the photos below. I did the second stage of reaming the bowl with a PipNet Reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up that reaming with the Pipe Knife again.I used the dental spatula to scrape out the mortise and then scrubbed it with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean.I decided to scrub the surface some more with a cotton pad and acetone. I was able to remove more of the finish on the bowl and lighten it even more. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edge of the rim and smooth out some of the damage that was there.I cleaned out the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation that was on the surface of the saddle, the groove where the saddle joined the bowl and the area around the button.Before continuing on the stem I stuffed a cotton ball in the bowl of the pipe and also the bowl of a second one I was working on and filled it with alcohol. The alcohol pulled the tars and residue from the bowl and shank into cotton ball.I let it sit in the bowl for several hours while I worked on the stem. You can see the oils and tars that are being drawn into the cotton ball in the next photo.The underside of the stem near the button had one deep tooth mark in the surface that I was unable to sand out. I cleaned it up and then filled it with some black super glue. Once the glue had dried I sanded the patch back to blend it into the surface of the stem.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I sanded and polished the stem. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set it aside to dry. I stained the bowl with some medium walnut Danish Oil and then buffed it with Blue Diamond on the wheel. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The pipe is clean, the smell and bad taste are gone and to me the pipe looks better than when I started the process. The bowl smelled clean. The pipe is ready to go back to its owner once I get the second pipe finished. Thanks for looking. Theo if you see this – your first pipe is ready for you when you return.

An Everyman London Pipe Un-dinged

The Scintillating Antique KB&B Redmanol Pipe

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton

Member, International Society of Codgers
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author except as noted

When life was like a summer day,
And I was under twenty,
Three loves were scattered in my way –
And three at once are plenty.
Three hearts, if offered him with grace,
One thinks not of refusing.
The task in this special case
Was only that of choosing.
I knew not which to make my pet –
My pipe, cigar or cigarette!

— Henry S. Leigh (1837-1883), British writer, playwright and lesser poet, “My Three Loves,” 1875

INTRODUCTION

As a writer, I make it a habit to look words up in the dictionary before committing to print, even when I am confident they are the best to convey my true messages. In the process, I have often been surprised to learn how many words come nowhere close to their common usage. I have stopped using fantastic (related to a fantasy or other such literary, delusional or wishful thinking, when I want to suggest excellent; I’ve dropped mesmerizing (named for the Australian physician/showman F.A. Mesmer, which deals with the alleged ability to place someone in a trance so deep the subject cannot feel pain, as opposed to something considered fascinating, and of course I have my pet peeve: unique, or existing as one, sole, solitary, alone. Therefore, there can be no higher degree than unique, such as more, very or, God help us, totally unique, dude. Thomas Jefferson’s unique literary and diplomatic exception to the same rule applied to another word, in penning the “Declaration of Independence” and referring to a more perfect Union, was a brilliant misuse of the language directed to good old King George V, whom the masterful wordsmith, diplomat and statesman knew would not miss the Colonial revolutionary’s attempt to play nice.

Somewhat of a language purist, therefore, I was disappointed upon checking the past participial adjective scintillating in the OED. I hoped to find a meaning with common uses I have heard indicating something more alluring in a sensuous sense. I suffer from chronic migraines and was struck by the sole usage referenced, to scintillating scotoma, the technical name for auras we who live with the often blinding, nauseating, debilitating torture of these attacks call the event that precedes the onset of the pure anguish that can last 12 hours, 24 or for days before running out of air, if you will, burning out (or more descriptive of their quality, terminating with a thermonuclear-like reaction) – and then returning, as they come in cycles of three or so for me. Thanks to my dear Dad, however, who taught me the value of a good double meaning in any title, I moved to the verb scintillate and found more general references to sparks, flecks, twinkles and flashes of light, without the negative but illustrative connection of scintillating scotoma.

The story behind Bakelite and two of its competitors, and the Machiavellian way the three in time merged into a single Bakelite incarnation, is one for the annals of business law. The basic original resin used to make Bakelite, a phenol formaldehyde based synthesis, was patented as such in 1900 by Leo H. Baekeland, a Belgian-American chemist. Baekeland’s synthetic plastic, the first formulated in the world, was named in honor of its inventor and began production in 1907. See below for the 1900 patent.

The first of many Bakelite satellite companies worldwide, the Bakelite Gessellschaft gmbH, was founded in Berlin in 1910 by Baekeland and two German companies. Late the same year, the General Bakelite Co. was established in the U.S. by Baekeland.

Two independent chemical research and production companies in the same time period, Redmanol Chemical Co. founded by Lawrence V. Redman after whom the harder, more durable and amber-colored synthetic was called, and the Condensite Co. established by A.J. Aylesworth, developed and sold their products which included substantial differences from Bakelite although they employed the same heat process. The hard, durable synthetic plastic redmanol was called thus after its developer and is made from the action of formin on carbolic acid. On the other hand, condensite is formed from the action of chlorine on naphthalene. In other words, all three have fundamental differences that make them viable as separate synthetic plastic products.

Perhaps seeing the only way to maintain ultimate proprietary control over his original Bakelite idea and not miss out on the opportunity to use newer, better variations on his theme, in 1922 Baekeland sued a distributor of Redmanol, which had a controlling interest in Condensite, for patent infringement. Baekeland must have known the other companies could not fight the complaint in court and maintain production. His civil action ending in success, he “arranged” for the two smaller chemical concerns to be consolidated with the formation of the Bakelite Corp. From then on, Redmanol and Condensite products, including pipes, were stamped Bakelite – but all anyone needed to do was look at the quality of the product to know the difference. Bakelite Corp. was consumed by Union Carbide and Carbon Corp. in 1939.

Redmanol so approximated the appearance of amber – which, remember, was prized in meerschaum and other pipes before and after the turn of the 20^th century – for which Redmanol Chemical Products in its own name took out ads like one in the June 1919 issue of “The Scientific American.” High-minded and overblown, as was the custom of the day, the ads were headed, “In Search of the Man Made Amber.” This amazing combination of all that one could hope to find in a pipe – artistry, elegance, refinement, style, class and functionality, to name a few attributes – alas does not belong to me, and I will neither hesitate nor pretend not to be jealous of the fact. Instead, my fellow piper and friend, Darryl Loomis, is the very lucky new owner. He loves it so much that he was willing to tolerate a somewhat bad taste he detected rather than trust it to someone to restore. I am honored to clean it up for him. Shocked to find I have no photo of Darryl, I suspect he will not be unhappy.

Darryl asked me to clean it up. Well, the fact is, I got one look at it and could almost not keep my voice under control when I said I would love to do it for him if he had no plans for the project. I admit I was jazzed to be able to take it home with me from Friday night’s local pipe get-together at the tobacconist. But there’s one important thing I should now note about any pipe “cleaning” job I undertake, unless the owner makes it clear that’s all he wants done, period. I don’t half-ass anything. Even when my business site was up (and it will be again this week), I included basic refurbishing with cleaning jobs and the full works with refurbs/restores (any necessary replacement parts not included in the base price). So that’s what’s happening here.

While we talked about the pipe, Darryl mentioned something peculiar. He said he noticed a somewhat bad taste but seemed willing to tolerate it as he did not expect to rotate this pipe very often. I unscrewed the bowl from the shank and saw right away where some of the unpleasant effect may have originated, but mentioning it to him, he was emphatic that he had heard the metal plate inside the shank (just as with any standard system metal, interchangeable bowl pipe such as a Kirsten) was coated with an unknown substance to keep it from overheating.

Being somewhat more curious than usual, after I was home with the pipe, I ran a cleaner through it, loaded a half-bowl of MacBaren 7 Seas Red cherry and lit up. Very soon the nastiness Daryl had understated rose in full force, ending with such awful dottle I spat it into a handy cup. My tentative conclusion, until I can query Daryl more, is that he trusted the person who sold it to him and didn’t considered it might never have been cleaned.

Now, for the before photos of this gorgeous, unique Kaufman Brothers & Bondy work of art – a pipe with a screw-in bowl that predates Kirstens by more than two decades. RESTORATION

I removed the bowl and began there. Having come across a couple of Reborn Pipes blogs, one by Troy Wilburn a year ago about a KB&B Blue Line Poker c. 1909-1914 and the other by Steve Laug concerning Redmanol bits from almost four years back, I was prepared for how to deal with the briar bowl as well as cleaning the deep red quality synthetic plastic, the cubic zirconia of the phenol formaldehyde resin world.

Steve had used nail polish remover (acetone) as a less invasive way of stripping the stain, and it worked quite well of course. Not having any of the stuff on me, however, and being short on cash and time to do this job for gratis, I compromised. Instead of a long, thorough soak in Everclear, I dunked the bowl in a tiny Tupperware container for a minute, removed it and scrubbed it dry inside and out with a soft cotton rifle cleaning cloth. I did have to repeat that process, but still, the combined soak time was minimal. Again I regretted not being able to follow Steve’s lead using a Pipnet reamer because I saw the good reasoning behind it…BUT, my handle broke some time ago, rendering it useless. You get what you pay for. Next time, I’ll invest a little more for a lot better. But just a couple of turns of the Senior followed by 500-grit and 320 paper made the chamber baby smooth and clear of char. I also used the 320-grit on the rim to remove some scrapes, and both papers on the bottom side which was rougher from after wear from repeated turning into the grooves of the shank. I ran a few cleaners dipped in freshener through the bit’s air hole, the first of which came out filthy, but the end result was clean.Next, I used wet micro mesh from 1500-12000 on the entire surface of the Redmanol shank and bowl cup. The minimal blemishes there made that fast work. Cleaning out the draught hole was trickier with more cleaners dipped in freshener, but the accreted gunk and juice all came out. I tested it again later to be sure, but it was clean. I really don’t like not being able to retort any pipe. Near the end, I stained the pipe bowl with Fiebing’s Brown, flamed it and after it cooled gave it a gentle 3200 micro mesh buff. I was very pleased with the color I got from the wood.The bell tolled the time to do that which I had put off and Steve graciously reminded me needed doing. He suggested a little Super Glue around the sharp edges of the Redmanol ledge where the bowl was to fit would fill in the cracks. That followed by micro mesh or light sandpaper would do the rest. Here is the best before shot I could get with my failing flash system, but the cuts on the right side of the synthetic plastic show up well enough. There was a matching pair on the left side, suggesting the pipe’s enjoyer was screwy in his habits or the bowl never quite fit right.Here’s a shot I admit is horrible with the Super Glue applied, and one after it dried. I opted for super fine “0000” steel wool to even off the ledge. I really can’t say what those apparent white flecks are other than that I took it in a hurry outside.

Not touching the bit with any kind of wax, I buffed the briar bowl with white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba.

CONCLUSION

For this special pipe, instead of my usual last photo being the left side full shot, after a detail picture of the band’s KB&B stamp, I chose the close-up of the wonderful red translucence of the bit held up to the light by a friend. The old I would have tried to take it myself despite having to hold down the flash pop-up at the same time, and the probable end would have been, well, unthinkable. But I love those flashes, sparkles and twinkles that make the lovely amber-like bit, which is often called Bakelite because of its more famous owner, so scintillating.

HOLD THE PRESSES! At the exact moment I was about to hit SEND and dispatch the blog to Steve, I made a connection between Redmanol and a meerschaum-lined art-deco style bulldog Chuck sold me some time back with a bottom he described as what I thought was “red menaul,” or something to that effect. Now I understand what it was.

Redmanol Art Deco style socket bulldog

Here I’ve had this great, smooth and cool smoking pipe in my collection for several years and never knew what to call it. All mysteries come to an end in time.

SOURCES

http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-r3.html

“Phenolic Resins Technology Handbook,” p. 6, at https://books.google.com/books?id=oYZGAQAAQBAJ&pg=PA6&lpg=PA6&dq=redmanol+chemical+products+founder&source=bl&ots=juthNFh-rW&sig=b9qO8plogjv6fj_u2TBjkdpIfCM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj-gNj4h9nNAhUM9YMKHXKjBwMQ6AEINDAE#v=onepage&q=redmanol%20chemical%20products%20founder&f=false

https://rebornpipes.com/2015/06/06/spiffing-up-a-kbb-blue-line-bakelite-poker-1908-1914/comment-page-1/#comment-18773

https://rebornpipes.com/tag/redmanol-stems/

https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/education/whatischemistry/landmarks/bakelite.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bakelite

“Compton’s Pictured Encyclopedia, Vol. 2,” pp. 813-816, at https://books.google.com/books?id=11FHAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA816&dq=in+search+of+the+man+made+amber+redmanol&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwis5OvgmNvNAhVk0oMKHYveA6sQ6AEIIzAB#v=onepage&q=in%20search%20of%20the%20man%20made%20amber%20redmanol&f=false

“Factory and Industrial Management,” Vol. 64, p. 167, at https://books.google.com/books?id=nTs8AQAAMAAJ&pg=PA144&lpg=PA144&dq=redmanol+bakelite+infringement+judgment&source=bl&ots=TCel6fmccJ&sig=ehZijKCRrQSs-RnL6xiDbVA5aKM&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwi39veundvNAhUT32MKHbeiCJwQ6AEIHDAA#v=onepage&q=redmanol%20bakelite%20infringement%20judgment&f=false

Restemming and Restoring a Hardwicke’s Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

One of the pipe bowls that came to me in the box of pipes from my brother was a tall nicely grained freehand that was stamped on the shank Hardwicke’s and Italy on the underside of the shank next to the shank stem junction. I had never heard of the brand before and it was not listed on Pipedia or on the Pipephil website. The more I looked in my usual sources such as Who Made that Pipe the more stymied I was about the brand. It was an interesting shaped bowl. The bowl had some dark marks on the shank, the bowl bottom and on the right side at the point and up the side midway. There was a thick coat of urethane over the entire bowl and the faux plateau. The rustication on the rim matched that of the end of the shank and had been done with tools. There was a thick coat of tars and oils under the urethane on the rim. The bowl itself had a thick cake in it that filled it from top to bottom. The first quarter inch down from the top of the rim had a darker stain that ran down the walls. (I almost forgot to take photos of the bowl before I had sanded all of the urethane off the surface. I stopped and caught these. On the lower part of the bowl on the right side there was a spot of real plateau. I went through my box of stems and had a stem that would work really well with this pipe. It would need to have the tenon end reduced so that it would sit in the mortise.I decided to Google Hardwicke’s Cigar and Pen to see if the pipe could have been a shop pipe. It was made in Italy but the Hardwicke’s stamping pointed elsewhere. I found that there was a group of shops in Indianapolis, Indiana. The main shop was located at 743 Broad Ripple Ave, Indianapolis.One reviewer of the shop had this to say about the shop: “This small cigar shop is located just south of the circle, so in the heart of downtown. They carry a pretty impressive stock of cigars and the pricing is relatively reasonable considering their location. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and willing to help you find something in your price range. They do have a lot of cigars at the $5 price point so don’t be put off by the fact there are also a lot of $15+ cigars.”

“They also have their own brand, which is rolled with several different tobaccos and in several sizes, these should not be overlooked, especially if you don’t want to spend a lot on your smoke.”

“They also offer pens, pipes, pipe tobacco and the usual array of cutters and lighters you’d expect from a cigar shop. I’ve only purchased cigars here so cannot comment the rest of their offerings, although their selection of pipes does seem good to me.”

Further digging found an article in the Indy Star newspaper about the Downtown shop closing. The article also says that the Broad Ripple Store remains open. I have included the link to the article as well the article in full. http://www.indystar.com/story/money/2016/01/20/smoke-free-downtown-landmark-hardwickes-exits/78800744/

Hardwicke’s Pipe & Tobacco, a long-time Indianapolis fixture, seems to have shuttered its Downtown store.

The inventory was being removed last week, and a store clerk said closure was imminent. The store now stands empty, void entirely of the fine cigars, cigarettes and pipes the retailer sold for five decades.

Hardwicke’s Broad Ripple store, which predates the Downtown shop, remains open. Staffers answering the phone there declined to comment on the fate of the Downtown location, which had occupied a storefront at 18 N. Meridian St., just off Monument Circle, since 1977.

The demise of Hardwicke’s Downtown comes amid a flurry of change for Indianapolis’ old-time businesses.

Last month Kincaid’s, the high-end meat market at 56th and Illinois streets that had been in the same family since its founding nearly a century ago, was sold. Virginia Jarvis Coiffures, a beauty shop for many of Indianapolis’ leading women since 1965, closed its doors Saturday. G. Thrapp Jewelers, in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood, closed Sunday after 33 years.

Contact IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins.
So now I knew that the pipe I had was indeed a shop pipe made for Hardwicke’s Tobacco Shop of Indianapolis. Now it was time to work on it and restore and restem it. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the urethane finish that covered the grime and the burn marks. I sanded the burn marks and tried to reduce the damage to the briar. The more I worked on them the more I am convinced that they were not burn marks but rather dark stains that happened when the bowl was laid in something that left a stain mark. I remember when my mom made pickles when I was a lad and the jars of vinegar left dark rings in the oak table top. These looked identical to the ones I remember as a boy. I sanded and was able to remove several of them. I wiped the bowl down with acetone to clean off the stain and the dust.The rim was thickly caked. I worked on it with a brass bristle wire brush and a dental pick to remove the build up on the rim. You can see from the second photo the rustication pattern in the faux plateau on the rim. It is identical to the one that is cut on the end of the shank.I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare wood. I cleaned up the edges and the bottom of the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife.I sanded the bowl with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge and then with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratching in the surface left behind by the 220 grit sandpaper. I remove the darkening around the top of the rim so the surface of the briar was the same over the entire bowl. The bottom of the bowl shows a scratch in the surface that looks like it is a hairline crack. Looking at it with a magnifier I am pretty sure it is a scratch and not a crack.To deal with the darkened spots on the shank and the bowl bottom as well as the scratch I decided to use a contrast stain. I stained the bowl with a black aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until the coverage was even.I wiped down the black stain with alcohol on cotton pads to remove the stain in the body of the briar and leave it in the grain.I washed it down with an alcohol damp pad and gave it a top coat of brown stain. I flamed it and applied it until the coverage was even. Then I set it aside to dry.I used the Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the tenon. I cleaned it up with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I put the stem in the shank and took some photos of the look of the pipe at this point in the process. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides of the stem at the button.I cleaned out the airway with a pipe cleaner and alcohol. It was not dirty at all which surprised me.I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads and then buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads, gave it another coat of oil and finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It removed a little more of the brown stain and made it a bit more translucent. I gave the stem and bowl several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. The new stem looks like it belongs with the pipe and the curve of the bowl and the new stain look great in my opinion. The grain on the pipe is very nice. The black and brown stain combination hides the dark mars on the shank and the bowl. They are still present but blend in nicely. Thanks for looking.