Tag Archives: restaining a bowl and rim

Restoring a W.O. Larsen 11 Handmade Bent Brandy

Blog by Steve Laug

Charles Lemon of Dadspipes blog picked up a batch of pipes that included a lot of Danish made ones from an estate not long ago. He has been writing about their restoration on his blog. He sent me some photos of the pipes and offered to sell some to me. I chose two of them. The first one was the Larsen that is pictured below. The description of the pipe said that it was stamped on the underside of the shank 11 over W.O. LARSEN over Handmade over Made in Denmark. On the topside of the shank next to the stem/shank junction it was stamped SUPER. The stem had a broken tenon and it was stuck in the shank. Charles had mentioned that he thought it looked like it had been glued in so it would take a bit of work. When I saw the grain on it I decided that it would be a fun piece to work on for my own rack. It has some stunning flame grain on all around the bowl sides and birdseye grain on the rim and the bottom of the bowl and shank.I looked up some background on W.O. Larsen and found a great summary on this site. It was helpful and brief so I quote it in full below: https://www.finepipes.com/pipes/danish/w-o-larsen?sort=20a&page=1&zenid=debcdee8f415c1977fb5c359652d6aeb W.O. Larsen was one of the most famous tobacco shops in Copenhagen, with a beautiful store located on Copenhagen’s famous “Walking Street.” During the flowering of the Danish pipe in the ’60’s, they first began retailing pipes by such carvers as Sixten Ivarsson, Sven Knudsen, Poul Rasmussen, and Brakner. Urged on by his store manager Sven Bang, the owner, Ole Larsen, decided to begin making pipes in the basement of the shop. He first hired Sven Knudsen as the pipe maker, who soon passed the job to his protégé Hans “Former” Nielsen. Larsen’s fortunes rose along with the rest of the Danish pipe business and Former was soon managing a group of carvers in the old Larsen cigar factory. Among these were Teddy Knudsen, Tonni Nielsen, Jess Chonowitch, Peter Hedegaard and others, who were responsible for the Select and Straight Grain series before they branched out on their own. After Former left to start Bentley pipes in Switzerland, his duties were taken over by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen, while the straight grains were made by Teddy’s student Benni Jorgenson. As Ole’s health began to fail, the reins were taken over by his son Nils. Nils became convinced that the way for Larsen to prosper was by entering the low-end market, and acquired the Georg Jensen pipe factory to make an array of less expensive pipes. This turned out to be a fatal error, and Larsen was recently sold to Stanwell, who continue to produce so-called “Larsen” pipes in their huge factory. Thus ended an important part of Danish pipe history.

I was looking forward to seeing it firsthand so I paid Charles and he shipped it on Friday. Wonder of wonders, Canada Post delivered it on Monday. I came home from work to find the awaited box on the table. I opened it and found the Larsen in a bag with the label printed on the outside enumerating it’s stamping. I took it out of the bag and immediately took it to the work table. The photos below show the pipe as it looked when it arrived. It was much lighter in colour than the photo had led me to believe.The bowl was dirty and there were some dents and marks in the briar. The rim had a thick coating of tars and the back edge of the rim was worn down from knocking the pipe out to empty it. There was an uneven cake in the bowl. The tenon was stuck in the shank and there were dried bits of glue on the end of the shank and around the end of the stem where someone had glued the stem onto the end of the shank. Fortunately the stem did not stick to the briar but the tenon certainly did. The stem was clean of bite or tooth marks and was lightly oxidized. I took a photo of the end of the shank to show the glue spots on the briar and around the broken tenon.When I had looked at the initial photo I was uncertain that the stem was original as it looked to be bigger in diameter than the shank. I lined up the broken tenon in the shank with the rough end on the stem and took some photos to see if it actually fit the pipe.I decided to try pulling the tenon with my normal screw and it did not budge. It began to shatter and break apart.Thus I knew that I would have to resort to drilling out the broken tenon. I set up my cordless drill and put a drill bit slightly larger than the airway in the chuck. I slowly drilled out the tenon, increasing the size of the drill bit until it was the just slightly smaller than the mortise. The last bit I used broke the tenon piece free from the shank and the mortise was clear.While I had the drill out I also drilled out the broken tenon in the stem in preparation for the replacement tenon I would use.Once the airway was drilled out on the stem I used a tap to thread the newly drilled airway to accommodate the threaded replacement Delrin tenon.I used the topping board and 220 grit sandpaper to clean off the glue residue on the end of the stem before I put the new tenon in place. I want a clean, flat surface to work with against the shank when I was finished.I used some clear super glue on the new tenon and twisted it into the stem. I put it in the shank to check the alignment several times before putting a few more drops of super glue around the tenon stem union.Once the glue dried I put the stem in place in the pipe and took some photos to evaluate the fit. With the tenon repair completed it was time to address the bowl. I took some close up photos of the bowl/rim and the stamping on the shank.I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer using the third cutting head and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Pipe Knife. I sanded the inside of the bowl with a tube of sandpaper. This smoothed out the walls of the bowl and began to clean up the damage on the inner edge of the rim.The rim damage on the back side needed to be dealt with so I topped the bowl to remove the damaged area.I scrubbed the briar with acetone on cotton pads to remove the wax, grime and oils in the wood. The grain is really beautiful in the photos below. I scrubbed out the mortise and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they came out clean.I mixed three of the stain pens together to get the correct brown on the rim. Once it was blended and sanded I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until the coverage was even on the bowl. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads to make it more transparent and make the grain show through. It still needed more work but it was definitely getting there. The inner edge of the rim needed more work to remove the damage but the colour was correct.I used a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper to bevel the inner rim of the bowl to remove the damaged areas. I followed up by sanding it with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and continued to sand the inner edge. I sanded the inner edge and rim with 1800-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I restained the inner bevel with a dark brown stain pen to match the finish on the bowl.With the bowl finished I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed it down with 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 Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. By now you are all probably very familiar with my process. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise a shine and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to add depth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is one I plan on hanging onto for my own rack and I am happy with how it turned out. Thanks for looking.

Sofia ‘Hole in the Wall’ find – Savinelli Tortuga

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Blog by Dal Stanton

Emboldened by the responses and expressions of welcome from my first submission of the restoration of the Dr. Plumbs, Oom-Paul (named, Chicho Pavel for Bulgarian residence), I wanted to tackle a beautiful Savinelli Tortuga 628 that Steve and I met at what I affectionately call the ‘Hole in the Wall’ antique store (first door pictured below – getting a paint job that day – thanks to Google Maps) in an ethnically diverse area of Sofia near Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market) on Brother Miladinovi Street. After finding a few pipes at the Antique Market near Nevski Cathedral we made the trek to the Hole in the Wall. I remembered on other occasions the shop owner producing (from a safe place behind his desk) a beautiful leather 4-pipe pouch and I asked about it. I was glad that he still had it so that Steve could take a look – 4 pipes still intact. Steve’s eyebrows raised a bit as he looked over the contents – the leather bag itself was a find. The 4 revealed after unzipping the bag were a Savinelli Tortuga 628, Danske Club Vario 85, Capitol (I discovered later to be a Savinelli second) and to complete the find, a Butz-Choquin Rocamar. At 150 Leva (86$) asking price for the lot, I had always passed on it – more in tuned to search for the 5-10 Leva orphans that needed a new home. But I have to be honest – the Tortuga was pulling at my heart-strings! The Danske Club Vario was a close second – feeling like the 16-year-old kid with braces and acne and looking at the prom queen – ‘out of your league, son!’

Neither Steve nor I left any of our money at the Hole in the Wall that day, but it didn’t take long heading home on the metro before Steve and I were weighing the pros and cons of me heading back and laying claim to the Bag of 4 – I could sell two of the pipes to bankroll the purchase…. Suddenly, with Steve’s encouragement, the prom queen became a possibility! I could imagine the Tortuga planted in my palm. I returned to the HitW the next morning to lay claim to the Bag of 4 only to discover the shop was closed for the weekend. I returned Monday and was able to strike a deal at 130 Leva – roughly 74$ US – not really bad when you include the leather bag as well. When I arrived home, I promptly took pictures and sent them off to Steve, who had moved on to Athens that morning for his work. He posted the pictures I sent at https://rebornpipes.com/2016/06/10/ for “Some Good Pipe Finds on a Recent Trip to Europe”. I’ve included a picture of the Bag of 4 below. I also found two pipe tools as I explored the pockets – one looks to have some age – a Duncan Made in England with what appears to be the original leather holder. Another was marked ‘Queen’. I looked a bit on the internet and the Duncan might have some collector value. I’ve grown to love the hunt! As a newbie to the hobby, several months ago Steve directed me to eBay’s Estate Pipe listings where my Tobacciana education began in earnest. It was by trolling through the plethora of pipes on the block, reading descriptions, that I began to distinguish shapes, markings and names. Savinelli pipes caught my attention early on because the briar always seemed to be on fire and the Lucite stems were rolling matrices of color smartly complimenting the wood grains. I also noticed that the name Savinelli consistently created more bidding wars and happier results for the sellers! I was fortunate enough to place the winning bid to add my first Savinelli marked ‘Goliath’ 619EX which I brought back to Bulgaria from my recent trip to the US – in queue along with several others I brought back. I looked on the internet to see if I could find any specific information about the Savinelli Tortuga 628 and I discovered that for at least the Tortuga series, Savinelli sells them with bowl toppers which appear to match the Lucite stems – a very nice touch which I’ll keep in mind for later. There’s much information about the Savinelli name in Pipedia.com and I enjoyed reading of the beginnings in 1876 when Achille Savinelli Sr. opened the first shop in Milan. On this trip to Pipedia I also discovered that the ‘Capitol’, appearing to be a petite bent apple, also acquired in the Bag of 4 was a Savinelli second – the only non-filtered pipe in the lot. Following are the pictures taken after acquiring the Tortuga from the Hole in the Wall: With the prom queen in my gaze, I was not disappointed. The stummel was in need of basic cleaning but needed no fills. She would shine up nicely with the briar ablaze. There was moderate cake in the chamber that would need to be reamed to bring it down to the wood – a fresh start. The rim revealed the most abuse – there was normal lava buildup but a significant burn at seven o’clock which revealed the Tortuga’s former steward’s right-handed lighting practices – drawing the flame over the rim – ugh. I detected a nice, crisp bevel on the inside ring of the rim – that would be nice to restore. I like ‘accent’ bevels – a classier detailed look. Other than this, the stummel appeared to be in good condition. The stem had minor tooth chatter on the top and bottom and I detected oxidation on the band that I would need to address. The Lucite stem – my first to work on – looks to shine up well. I’ll work on the stem internals to remove the dark build-up evident in the airway through the translucent Lucite – at this point I’m not sure what will actually clean-up in the airway. Yes, and I’ll need to toss the used filter left behind which would reveal the former owner’s DNA code. Thankful to Steve for his coaching and with a prayer, I decided to tackle the bowl first with my PipNet kit to restore the bowl to the wood. Since my workstation is in our bedroom, I first spread out the paper towel to collect the released cake and minimize clean-up. Starting with the smallest blade I rotated the blade while applying gentle, consistent vertical pressure. I could tell when the blade was finished when the cake resistance stopped as I turned the tool. As the charcoal fell out of the bowl, I realized that the overhead fan that was keeping me cool was also scattering the soot into the atmosphere – my wife won’t be happy about that! Fan off – I continued with the next larger blade and that was sufficient. In order to get a better look at the rim, and survey the extent of the scorched area, I cleaned the rim with a brass brush and isopropyl 95%. The pictures show the progress. With the rim fully exposed I can now see more of the inner bevel that I want to restore and I can see the depth of the burn. I would need to top the bowl taking off only enough to remove the burn damage. With my last (maiden!) full restore of the Dr. Plumbs Oom Paul (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/06/10/a-newbie-restore-of-a-dr-plumb-9456-oom-paul/) I made the mistake of topping the bowl at a slight (unfortunate!) angle so that it was not perpendicular to the shank/stem. Steve said that this can happen when a part of the rim is softer and that can pull the angle off. OK, burn spot – maybe a soft spot on the Tortuga’s rim. I don’t want to ‘re-top’ the bowl like last time! I decide to remove the stem from the stummel so that while topping, I can allow it to ‘free-stand’ periodically and eyeball things – to make sure the angle is true! I spread out 240 grit paper on a chopping board and offer another prayer. For this procedure, I move out onto my 10th floor balcony ‘Man Cave’ so as to minimize sawdust in the bedroom atmosphere. I decide to turn on Eric Clapton’s ’24 Nights’ live concert album (on my iPhone) and I go to work. After a bit, I decided to put the stem back on the stummel because it helped me line things up. It seems I did a better job topping this time around so I began work on the inner rim to restore a nice bevel before I micromesh the bare rim. I used needle files and sandpaper to do this. I think the bevel is looking pretty even around the inner circumference of the bowl. Working by hand, I was a bit disappointed that I was not able to restore the sharp, crisp bevel as I had hoped. I was reluctant to use the Dremel, as it has a tendency (in my hands) to chew out more than expected. The finished bevel is rounded out more than I wanted but still attractive. I will leave it as is – put beveling techniques on the learning list! I move to micromesh the rim with 1500-2400 to remove all the scratches from the topping and bevel work. I completed the rim by applying a mahogany stain stick. Using isopropyl and cotton pad I lightly wiped the rim to lighten the application. I found that I could either lean toward the lighter or darker tones of the Tortuga briar. I chose the darker – from my vantage point, a pretty good match! She’s looking great! I’m pleased with the progress! With the rim repaired and bowl reamed, I moved to the internals of the stummel – cleaning with pipe cleaners and Q-tips dipping in isopropyl 95%. Well, about 4 minutes into the process with Q-tips blasting away at the muck while I listened to the track of Westside Story, a thought sprang to life in my right lobe – ‘Why not break out the new retort you just brought back from the States?’ My first reflex was – ‘Oh no – boil alcohol?’ That thought has bothered me since I ordered it and read about retorts and watched YouTube demonstrations. It took me a minute to remember where I had stowed the box it came in – eBay of course, from Mark Johnston (www.pipeandwine.com). I remember appreciating that he was selling to promote the “Wounded Warrior Project” – very cool. I paid his asking price and sent a note thanking him for his service in the Navy and proud to say that my son too, was a naval veteran having served on an LA class attack sub as a reactor technician – the USS Boise. After finding the box and unpacking the contents, I thought it might be wise to read the directions included. The first paragraph didn’t ease my concerns as it recommended having safety glasses and fire extinguisher nearby, “just in case.” Fears aside, I start putting things together. The directions were very much ‘spoken English’ and I could almost hear Mark explain the debate about what kind of alcohol to use – potable or isopropyl? I’ve used a strong Bulgarian drink called, Rakia (brandy) but I’ll give vodka a try for the retort. Settled. The retort worked as advertised with only one exciting moment when the cotton ball shot out of the bowl. I wasn’t fast enough to catch a picture of that. The stem before and after pictured below.

With the internal cleaning complete for both bowl and stem, I move to the externals. I decide to work on the stummel first – starting with a light cleaning with Murphy’s Soap, which weighed quite a bit in my suitcase flying from Atlanta to Sofia. With Steve’s counsel, I used cotton pads and made a light application, undiluted, and quickly wiped it off with a cotton pad with tap water so as to not take off stain and dampen the color already in the briar. As expected, Murphy’s dulled the finish as it took off the superficial wax layer. Now, what I’ve been waiting for – since the stummel is already in stellar condition – no significant scratches or blemishes, I move directly to the polishing regimen with carnauba wax using my Dremel (truth be known, I actually do not have a Dremel brand tool – but a Skil (It does the job and was a bit cheaper here in Bulgaria) and Chinese-purchased cotton wheels off eBay. Since about 50 came in the bag, I decided to use a new one for the Tortuga but I know that means I’ll be covered with cotton fiber as the new wheel settles down from being new! I put the stem back on the stummel so that I would have a good hold for the Dremel work – launching the cotton ball with the retort was enough excitement. I don’t want to launch the pipe too, especially as I work around the rim. I use the slowest RPM setting and am careful to keep the wheel moving over the briar surface to not overheat the wood. I took a couple close-ups of the stummel before I started for a comparison later. I applied several coats of carnauba wax and finished with a clean wheel buff and a vigorous rub with a micro-fiber cloth to give the grain depth. Pictures show great progress and a look at my chop-block lap work with the Dremel – it’s easier to stay on top of things. Now to the stem – the home-stretch. I’ve not worked on a Lucite stem before but Steve assured me it’s the same basics as a vulcanite stem. I took another close up of the button area to determine if 240 grit sandpaper will be sufficient to deal with the moderate teeth chatter or if I need to build the divots up with super glue first. I decided simply to strategically sand the teeth chatter and gave the button a bit more definition with the needle file. To remove the scratches from working with the file and paper I used the full regimen of micromesh 1500-2400, 3200-4000, and 6000-12000. During the first cycle I also used a bit of 240 grit sandpaper on the band focusing on some pitting from oxidation that I detected. It worked the problems out of the band and I continued with the micromesh regimen. The pictures tell the story! Well, I’m not disappointed with the prom queen! She’s beautiful. The briar is on fire as I hoped and the Lucite ‘turtle’ stem compliment the wood perfectly. I was disappointed with the bevel initially, but I like how the rounded bevel flows with the rest of the grain movement. I will be cannibalizing a stem and fabricating a filter adapter – I don’t like filtered systems. So, before I try this Savinelli out, I’ll be working on that. As with my other pipes – a name is appropriate when it stays in my meager but growing collection. I think Savinelli already did a good job. Tortuga is a cool name! Thanks!

Spotlight: Ladies Pipes, Part 5/7, a Vintage Dr. Grabow Carved Duke

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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://www.roadrunnerpipesnm.biz
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

If a man loves you…he’s willing to profess it. He’ll give you a title after a while. You’re going to be his lady, his woman, his fiancée, his wife, his baby’s mama, something.
— Broderick Steven “Steve” Harvey (b. 1957), U.S. comedian, actor, TV and radio talk show host, writer of books on relationships, former New York public high school teacher

INTRODUCTION
I neither forgot nor gave up on this special series despite the relative vacuum of responses. Instead, I was sidetracked by developments in a portfolio of litigious necessity that might very well expand with more certainty and regularity than the universe. Returning to the subject of this blog, just the other day I chanced upon a woman with a rather off-putting appearance. Perhaps some significant other had at last given her a title she disliked. At any rate, she was chain-smoking cigarettes with almost the frenetic zealousness of the late great Lloyd Bridges near the end of the comic classic “Airplane.”

Nevertheless, by pure nature, I acquainted her with my name and part-time occupation, and of course mentioned the several new customers I came across in recent weeks, under circumstances that can only be called serendipitous, who were already free of cigarettes. Undeterred when the lady did protest – with a deceptively soft, dismissive laugh that was somehow more like a tiger stifling a yawn before it pounces – that the idea of a woman smoking a pipe did not seem very lady-like. Still not dissuaded, I pulled from my magic box the perfect specimen of a lithe, sleek, petite bent billiard that I had reserved for one other singularly odd woman who never claimed it.

“That’s why I also restore ladies pipes such as this,” I said with a hint of enthusiasm, and held it out.

With the most cursory pretense of a glance I never before had the pleasure of noting in my writer’s mental file, she gave a flick of the head every bit as memorable, so that her long, dirty blonde hair made room for a fresh cancer stick. She shoved in her mouth, so forcefully punctuating her contempt that the nasty, chemical laden coffin nail went farther into her mouth than anticipated and almost choked her. I had to admire the quick recovery with a lengthy, chic, palliative drag, so reminiscent of any one of the many Golden Age of Hollywood starlets now long dead from the same prop rather than age. I know when I’ve been shot down. But it still goes to show the progress society needs to make before a lady can be comfortable walking into a tobacconist to buy a pipe.

On the subject of pipes, it turns out there really was a Dr. Grabow – Paul E. Grabow, MD (1868-1965), a general practitioner in Chicago who was a friend of Louis Linkman, co-founder with August Fisher of M. Linkman and Co. in 1898. During a conversation between the two in the early years of the Great Depression, Linkman reportedly told Dr. Grabow of his idea to introduce a new and improved line of pipes that he felt would sell better if they were named after a physician. Dr. Grabow, flattered by the request to use his name, accepted. The pipe brand named for him was launched in 1932, and until his death at age 97 the good doctor was given new models whenever he wanted them. Grabow1

The free pipe perk persisted despite Linkman’s production of the brand stopping in February 1953, when the Dr. Grabow Pipe Co. filed for dissolution a month before Henry Leonard and Thomas Inc. (HLT) of Queens, New York bought the rights, and they were produced by Sparta Pipes Inc. U.S. Tobacco bought out Sparta in 1969, assuming control of the Dr. Grabow production until Lane Ltd. paid for the rights some time later. Around 2000, RJ Reynolds and British American Tobacco took over.

As for the peculiar little carved Duke that is the subject of this installment, regardless of its smallness, the bowl seems to have six subtle sides. I am inclined to call such a shape a panel. But the best narrowing I can do with the multitude of Dr. Grabow sites is a “textured” slim pear, shape number 74. Grabow2 Grabow3 Grabow4 Grabow5

And here is a photo I found online of a Dr. Grabow “Duke G,” which appears to be the same pipe except for the white spade. Grabow6

RESTORATION
At a glance, the Duke was rough from age and unnatural wear. Here are a few close-ups of the stummel showing the thick, dark stain and some of the damages I faced, as well as the nomenclature I needed to preserve. The bit was in good shape, needing only moderate work. The six-sided paneling (two each on the front and back, and then the sides) is hard to spot by eye, but an inspection with fingers reveals the presence. Grabow7 Grabow8

This kind of surface of a pipe stummel – whether it be referred to as carved, rusticated, textured or by any other designation – always poses a challenge in stripping the old stain. No matter how long the wood soaks in alcohol, at least by my concept of safe and sane standards, sanding is always still needed, in particular for the crevices. Of course, I could have started this project with an arduous application of several grades of paper, but the overdone original finish suggested the need for an Everclear soak to begin. And so that is how I commenced the task, putting the bit in an OxiClean bath at the same time. Grabow9

I removed the bit from its bath first and stuck a regular cleaner through the air hole. I was surprised by the remaining blackness of the Vulcanite, which I rubbed dry with a strip of soft white cotton rifle barrel cleaning cloth. Grabow10

I apologize for my camera’s continuing flash problems, which for the above photos required manipulation of the color and brightness settings in my editor to show the minor scratches near the lip of the mouthpiece. Here it is, again with the editor adjustments, after light sanding with 320-grit paper and wet micro mesh from 1500-12000. I know it’s hard to see the difference, but the entire surface was smooth. Grabow11

And here’s the stummel after drying with another piece of cotton cloth, running another cleaner through the shank, sanding with 200-grit paper and wiping down with 0000 super fine steel wool. The additional cleaner is from the bit. Note the still dark crevices. Grabow12 Grabow13 Grabow14

I began an assault on the crevices that turned out to be the crux of the battle to fix this nice, older Dr. Grabow. I started with super fine steel wool, squeezed into small enough edges to fit into the crevices. This was a tedious process, but it did improve the situation. Grabow15 I tried 180-grit paper folded to maneuver the edge into the pesky crevices, and the result was an improvement in spots but still disappointing. I only show the next photos as emphasis of the point. For the first time in a long while, I concluded a second Everclear soak was needed, as I had not really let the first one complete. The success is clear, following another drying with cotton cloth and scrubbing the shank more with both ends of an ear cleaner. I flashed back to my childhood, at times when such cleaners came out of my ears in about the same condition. The task of ridding the crevices of unwanted darker color accomplished, I prepared the pipe for the final steps, very gently using 320-grit paper again and the full scale of micro meshes. I retorted the pipe, and for the re-stain used Fiebing’s brown alcohol-based leather conditioner and flamed it with a lighter.A clean up of the char with 2400 micro mesh and a little reduction of the darkness with super fine steel wool worked well.The fine briar was ready for Halcyon II. For once I laid it on thick.When the wax compound had time to set in, I wrapped it in a cotton cloth and wiped it vigorously for about a minute. Then all that was left was buffing on the electric wheels, with red and White Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba on the bit. To my eye, the wood needed a little more gloss, so I added some carnauba with the wheel, as always followed by the clean buffer. I was more happy than usual with the final results. Please excuse the unfortunate symbol in most of the following shots. I had rushed outside of the club where I was for open sunlight and didn’t notice until I saved the photos from my camera’s memory card to the computer hard drive, by which time the sun had set. CONCLUSION
For a weathered old Dr. Grabow, this restoration provided some interesting lessons to me in working with a carved pipe. My dear friend and mentor, Chuck Richards, has always advocated a toothbrush for the crevices, but try as I have, that venerable method has never worked for me. Every situation seems a little different. This one required attacks from several different directions.

SOURCES
http://www.drgrabow.net/dr-grabow-pipes/
https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dr._Grabow
http://www.geocities.ws/lokomac8/grabow.htm
http://drgrabows.myfreeforum.org/index.php?component=content&topicid=15&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=40
http://www.drgrabow-pipe-info.com/drgrabowp03.html
http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-l4.html M. Linkman & Co.
http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-drgrabow.html
http://www.drgrabow-pipe-info.com/pipenames09aa.html Date guide
https://1fa1282d-a-62cb3a1a-s-sites.googlegroups.com/site/seanspipes/home/dr-grabow-shape-charts/drg1988shapechart1.jpg?attachauth=ANoY7coHvB5qOmn44n9H_4wsnE06IzBJemJ0T5wa-FPbZh08FdvUUxghql7wG8V643ehj8Lj3Qjz4dhyUHGqC8PjXVHPy7yUihii1MNoOToCN-ZApjh36oFXVhS77OqW1r_meXdwIMaTYJP391i8GxBuwipjRfJyF-PbV4dNJrnK4684TJR7xnektgvTVNZ52aHs8nJKdigkmmVsgS06lld4DlOYIxYa2zismOQMQ1Lavw-0v_HcC4jddbKt2qVHTLKognYdJ2tD&attredirects=0 Slim Pear Shape 74

Restoring my Paris Finds – A Pair of Hilson Double Ecume Sandblast Pipes

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Blog by Steve Laug

As I wrote earlier in another blog, I found these two pipes on an evening walk to dinner in the Latin Quarter of Paris (https://rebornpipes.com/2016/06/10/some-good-pipe-finds-on-a-recent-work-trip-to-europe/). The pair of Hilson pipes was stamped in block letters Hilson over Double Ecume with the word Sandblast following. The delicate canted Dublin was stamped with the shape number 5 just before the stem shank union, while the stack with the saddle stem was stamped with the shape number 95/S on the bottom of the bowl. The finish on both pipes was dirty and worn but not ruined. The bowls were meerlined and the top of the Dublin had a heavy build up of tars and cake that overflowed the bowl. The stack/billiard was less dirty but the cake overflowed onto the rim as well. The meer lining was darkened. The bowl in the Dublin had a thick cake that extended to the bottom of the bowl and reduced the size of the already petite bowl. The bowl on the stack was less thick but it nonetheless reduced the diameter of the bowl as well. The stems on both pipes had some tooth chatter and light oxidation but would easily clean up. Both stems bore a stylized capital H on the left side. As I looked at them I was glad I had picked them up for small sum of 10 Euros or slightly over 14 dollars Canadian.

I remember when I purchased them I took them back to the hotel in Paris and used a wooden coffee stirrer to scrape away some of the cake and debris in the bowls to check the meerlinings. I was hoping that they were intact all the way to the bottom of the bowl. I breathed a sigh of relief when I found that they were uncracked as far as I could see.

I was curious as to the stamping on the pipes. I have cleaned and restored quite a few Hilson pipes over the years – many of them meerschaum lined – and I do not recall seeing the Double Ecume stamping before. First I wanted to know what the name Ecume meant so I looked it up in a French/English dictionary and found that it meant Foam. Thus the pipe name was Hilson Double Foam. I liked the French far better! It sounded more elegant. I used Google and found out that the pipes were made when Hilson was still a Belgian Company. This dates them as pre 1980 as the company was then purchased by Gubbels in Holland. I checked on Pipedia and found an advertisement for Hilson Elan pipes. The sandblast looks like the one on my Ecume pipes. The interesting thing that came from this Wally Frank Catalogue advertisement was the description of the tube in the shank. It is described as Hilson’s special tubular dry smoking condenser. You can see a line drawing of that in the photo below marked as FIG. A (circled in red in the photo below).From that link I checked out Chris Keene’s Pipe pages site for more information and found the following catalogue page. http://pipepages.com/2wf14.htm. Even thought the advertising page is for Hilson Fantasia Pipes it confirmed several facts for me that I had not previously known. First was that the meerschaum lined bowl was cut from block meerschaum and not a pressed meerschaum. That is probably why it had survived intact through the years. Second, that all Hilson Belgian pipes had the condenser tube in the shank. I also found a page from an Iwan Ries Catalogue from 1962 that showed meerschaum lined briar pipes. Sadly I could not view the page as the link was not functional.I carefully reamed out the cake in both pipes with the Savinelli Pipe Knife to take it back to the meerschaum lining. I did not want to gouge or chip the meerlining so I proceeded with caution. I sanded the interior of the bowl with a piece of 229 grit sandpaper around the cutting head of the PipeNet pipe reaming tool to take out all of the cake in the bowls. Once I cleaned the bowls I decided to top the two pipes to remove the build up on the rim surfaces. Since both pipes appeared to have smooth rims topping them would not damage the original look of the pipe and would allow me to smooth out the top of the meerschaum bowl insert. I topped both bowls on 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board.When I finished topping them the meerschaum was clean the surface of the rim was smooth.I sanded the rims with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratches left behind by topping the bowls. The polished rims looked really smooth and ready to be stained. I stained the rim of the briar outer bowl with a dark brown stain pen and a Sharpie black permanent marking pen to get the dark brown colour of the bowl.I scrubbed out the inside of the stem and the shank of the pipes with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. There was a lot of grime in both pipes. The condenser tubes on both were coated with tars and oils that I removed with 0000 steel wool. I had to reshape the open end of the tube in the Dublin stem as someone had tried to remove it with pliers. It was crushed and there were some marks from the jaws of the pliers. I reshaped it with an ice pick inserted and heated the tube with a lighter. I was able to bring it back to round. I was also able with the heating to remove both tube inserts and clean the stems before putting them back in place. I scrubbed the briar with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed them with tap water. I dried them off and both bowls were clean.I sanded the tooth marks and chatter on the stems with 220 and 380 grit sandpaper and a medium grit sanding stick. I was able to remove all of the marks. I wet sanded the stems with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed them down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded the stems with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave them another coat of oil. I finished sanding them with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave them a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let them dry. I buffed the stems with Blue Diamond on the wheel and gave them both multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand waxed the bowls with Conservator’s Wax and a shoe brush. I hand buffed both the bowls and stems with a microfibre cloth to add depth to the shine. The finished pair of Hilsons is shown in the photos below. They are a beautiful set of pipes and serve as a reminder of my recent Paris trip. Thanks for looking.

A Newbie Restore of a Dr. Plumb 9456 Oom Paul

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Blog by Dal Stanton

It is a pleasure to introduce Dal Stanton to you all. He has become a good friend through the work that I do. I just returned from spending time with him in Sofia, Bulgaria where we went pipe hunting and enjoyed some great smokes over dinner together. Here is his first blog for rebornpipes. I hope that he will do many more. Thanks Dal. Welcome to rebornpipes as a contributor. — Steve

Well, after much encouragement and a bit of prodding from Steve, I’m submitting this, my first full restore, to rebornpipes exclusively (and hesitantly) from a newbie’s perspective. After discovering the hobby of restoration only last year, I’ve been intrigued by the restoration process and amazed at the skills and blogging of Steve Laug (rebornpipes.com), and Charles Lemon (Dad’sPipes.com) and several other contributors. I thoroughly enjoyed the ‘Mission Impossible’ episodes that Steve and Charles collaborated on. All the posts have been workshops for me as I’ve pieced together the different steps and techniques of pipe restoration. Since I live in Sofia, Bulgaria, and on the 10th floor of a formerly Communist ‘Block’ apartment complex, I do not have a basement or a garage to set up a workspace. My wife has lovingly allowed me to set up shop in our bedroom (yes, I know that limits the night-time hours for restoration and reflection!) but it has forced me to develop ‘compact’ ways of approaching the hobby. Instead of polishing wheels I utilize a Dremel with many wheels purchased from China on eBay! It works well for me and most importantly, I’m enjoying something that has surprised me with the satisfaction involved in finding a tired candidate that can be redeemed and brought back to life.

So, in April I found the Oom Paul bowl from a vendor in an outside antique market in the shadow of Sofia’s largest church building – Nevski Cathedral. I enjoy my developing relationship with the young Bulgarian man who enjoys the bartering event as much as I and has begun to recognize me in the crowd as I have become a regular buying customer. After looking through his holdings and striking deals for a few tired candidates for future attention, he produced a bag full of orphaned bowls and stems. At this point in my early pipe collecting strategy, my eye is drawn to the styles I’ve yet to add. The Oom Paul jumped out even though I wasn’t sure I wanted to touch it! The first question that came to my mind as I got a feel for the bowl in my palm was, “How could anyone smoke a pipe to a state that I was looking at!” I took the pictures below when I got home from the antique market. My initial look at the markings found Dr. Plumb over London Made with what I assume is the shape number 9456. I checked it out in Pipedia and found this: The Dr. Plumb brand name is owned by A. Oppenheimer & Co., Limited, owners of Cadogan Investments, Ltd. J.B. Rubinovich, GBD’s Parisian sales manager, created this brand in 1925. The pipe was produced by the Ruchon & Verguet and also Ropp factories (Saint-Claude, France). In 1962 a Dr. Plumb pipe sold for between C$3.95 and C$4.95, or $31.72 in 2015 U.S. dollars and pipes can still be purchased from this brand for a similar price today. These pipes have long been advertised as Dr. Plumb’s Perfect Pipe, that name coming from an aluminum tube system designed to keep the smoke cool and dry while at the same time permitting the “cooling chamber” to be cleaned by simply twisting the stem. While Dr. Plumb pipes were long made in France and stamped accordingly, they are now British made.

The bowl was almost closed with the buildup of lava and the rim was in pretty tough shape revealing at least one unfortunate drop on the front – that part that I could see. A look down the shank revealed something lodged. I couldn’t detect any cracks or burns. I enjoyed the feel of the bowl in my hand and the briar had great potential – I liked the dark reddish hue of the briar and the gentle rustification seemed to enhance the mostly hidden grain but showing promise. I would have to ream the bowl and clean the rim before I could know what might lie underneath. I would also have to find an appropriate stem too to fit the Dr. Plumb, no small task in Bulgaria. Since I was soon to make a trip to the US for my daughter’s graduation from college (Yes!), I decided to order the needed stem and bring it back to Bulgaria in order to complete the restoration. Steve recommended J. H. Lowes (http://www.jhlowe.com/). I discovered that finding the correct stem wasn’t too difficult but I was a bit nervous about the measurements. The directions on the website were pretty clear that the shank diameter would do the trick. I wasn’t sure whether the tenon measurements factored in at all. I purchased the Giudici bit – Round Saddle 17mm X 75mm. While I was buying a stem for my Oom Paul project, I bought a selection of nickel silver bands to have on hand in Bulgaria. While I was looking at the bands, I had the idea of dressing the Oom Paul with a band – and since it was my first honest to goodness restore – I splurged and bought a sterling silver band – oh, to get the correct size! Again, the size was measured by the diameter of the shank as the stem which looked to be at 17.5mm. I might also mention that Tim West at JH Lowe answered my emailed newbie questions and was a great help. Having put in motion the strategic plan with the stem and band, I moved to the cleanup of the bowl. In order to soften the muck buildup in the bowl I put the bowl in a bath of isopropyl 95% overnight. The pictures reveal the post-bath bowl working in my ‘satellite workspace’ on the 10th floor balcony! I tried unsuccessfully to remove the obstacle in the shank using a wooden chopstick as a tool. It works great on Chinese food, but not so well here. I decided to leave the shank for the time and I moved to reaming the bowl with the Pipnet reaming kit that recently arrived from Germany – eBay of course. I started with the smallest blade working toward the larger bringing the tobacco chamber back to the wood. Not having used the reaming kit too much, I’ve learned that it works best if I allow each blade to do the work – not applying too much vertical pressure on the tool. Simply rotating the tool (clockwise) with consistent pressure proved to do the job. I had a pretty big pile of ‘charcoal dust’ resulting from the ream – Question: Can this be used for stem repairs mixing with superglue? After completing the ream I turned my attention to the rim. I used a brass brush and isopropyl to clear away the remaining lava flow allowing me to see more clearly the condition. The rim would need to be topped but the prospect of ’re-rustifying’ the rim was a daunting thought at this point. The rim appeared to have a ‘lined’ rustification before, but I decided to put that question off till later. These pictures show the progress. Moving to the shank, I knew that I would need to do extraction work. After working with several Qtips and a dental probe I was not able to extract the muck. Drawing on previous rebornpipes posts, I decided to use a wood screw to remove an obstruction. While I don’t have an extraction tool like Steve’s, in Bulgaria we do have wood screws. Carefully I inserted a smaller diameter wood screw into the mortise slowly rotating the screw to grip the obstruction without damaging the briar. Thankfully, the battle was not long and the pictures reveal the unearthed obstacle to now allow pipe cleaners to do their part. When the remains of what appeared to be an old filter were removed, I went to work on the airway with pipe cleaners and Qtips dipped in isopropyl 95%. Cleaning the Oom Paul seemed to go on forever. Part of the problem was that I could not quite figure out through ‘Qtip feel’ what the design was in the internals of the bowl. No matter how many Qtips I put in, they didn’t seem to make a dent on the muck. So I went to the internet and discovered on puff.com questions from what appeared to be another newbie trying to figure out Oom Paul gunk problems. I discovered that Dr. Plumb’s internal design had a trap that would collect the moisture while the airway flowed over it – theoretically giving the proverbial ‘dryer and cooler’ smoking experience. I’ve included the cut-away picture that helped me understand what I was dealing with in my seemingly unending cleaning project. If I had a retort at this point, I would have put it to work (I just ordered one on eBay that I would also pick up in the US and bring back to Bulgaria!). I settled for loading the bowl and shank with isopropyl and letting it sit overnight again hopefully to loosen things up more. The next day I used a bunch of Qtips and pipe cleaners to clean the bowl sufficiently for me. At this point I put the project aside in anticipation of my trip to the US. I needed to have stem and band in hand before I proceeded with the bowl preparation and finishing. I would also return from the US with purchased cleaning and finishing supplies that I cannot find in Bulgaria. Thankfully, Qtips are in great supply in Bulgaria!http://www.puff.com/forums/vb/general-pipe-forum/175391-oom-paul-gunk-problem-2.html

My time in the US for my youngest daughter’s graduation from college was a blessing as my wife and I were reunited with our 5 children and now, 2 grandchildren. We were happy to meet our newest grandson who was born only recently! I returned with a suitcase full of eBay estate pipe purchases to compliment my local finds – as well as cleaning and finishing supplies that I could not find in Bulgaria. My new retort arrived too and I’m looking forward to giving it a go – though I am a bit nervous about boiling alcohol! Also in hand were the new stem and band that JH Lowe had delivered to my US mailbox. I was anxious to see if my measurements were accurate and to continue my Oom Paul project. The first thing I discovered was that the tenon of the new stem was too large and would need to be resized. I was relieved to see that the actual diameter measurement of the shank was correct. From this I learned that there seems to be no standard tenon sizing with new stems – the most important measurement is the exterior dimensions, so that the stem and the shank have a proper mating. Given that I had not shaped a tenon before, I discovered that I had all the tools needed after a quick email question to Steve – what I didn’t know I would have was the patience to go slowly! My biggest concern was that the ’rounding’ of the tenon would not be true as I downsized it with the use of Dremel, files and sandpaper. I knew also that I didn’t want to have to repair a previously uncracked shank by forcing a too large tenon into the mortise. I ALSO knew that I didn’t want to take too much off the tenon and it be too loose and then have to build it back up with clear nail polish (epoxy) which I’ve had to do before. With questions and concerns loaded in my conscious mind, I went to work on the brand new stem. The pictures show the progress. After bringing the tenon down to close proximity to the mortise size, I gently tried the fit the tenon without pushing. I did this several times while slowly taking more vulcanite off the tenon. I discovered that when I partially inserted the tenon into the mortise to test it, the places on the tenon that were more firmly in contact with the mortise wall would be shinier – thus cluing me in to where I needed to apply the file more directly. I also discovered that the positioning of the stem in the shank – as it progressed more deeply into the mortise – began to reveal a more favorable positioning of the stem for the eventual bend direction that would be made. The technique I used (discovered!) that seemed to make sense as I started the process was to shape the tenon as a cone that gradually brought the tenon tip to the correct diameter of the mortise. I then moved gradually working that diameter toward the base of the tenon. By doing this I was more effectively able to remove the vulcanite evenly and not have a crooked or untrue tenon. The pictures below show the seated tenon from different angles. I realized that the base of the tenon where it ties into the stem was pretty roughed up from my use of the Dremel. It unevenly pushed out at the shank and needed more attention. I decided to put the stem aside for a while and turn to the bowl – I needed some new scenery at this point!Looking to the rim, I took some closer pictures as a reminder of the rustification design. The damage on the front of the bowl was significant and the bowl needed to be topped. I moved out onto the balcony so as to minimize the sawdust in our bedroom (helping my wife to be happier 🙂 and I spread out 230 sandpaper on a flat surface (cutting board). I wanted to take off enough of the top to remove the rim damage but not too much to maintain the bowl proportions. I was satisfied with the topping at this point. However, what the topping revealed was the beautiful briar underneath. Part of what has attracted me to this hobby is the ‘surprise’ I get from each peek of revealed briar grain – never the same, always creatively new with potential beauty to be more fully revealed. Getting ready for staining the bowl, I used a dark mahogany stain stick (from Italy) to darken the rim and bring out the dark rich reds I’m seeing in the briar. I have yet to find an alcohol based stain in Bulgaria that Steve uses in his restorations. The stains are pigment based with water. So, the ‘flaming’ technique that I’ve studied on rebornpipes doesn’t come without some help. I used a Cherrywood stain and diluted it with 50% alcohol as the base stain. Again, reaching for the red-tones that I see in the briar. When I applied the stain mix I used a cotton ball and let it flow over the bowl surface. I was careful to have full coverage by picking up the candle stick and cork set-up and manipulating the stain so it reached the inverted rim. When I applied the lighter, it still didn’t flame but I was able to essentially ‘dry’ the stain to the wood by moving the lighter lightly over the surface. I think it pretty closely achieved the same thing – sealing the dye in the grain. I repeated the process a second time – the pictures show the progress. Oh, and shot glasses make for good stain mixers in cramped quarters! (Also, thanks to my wife for providing the candle holder :-). I put the stained bowl aside for several hours to allow the stain to set – I suppose it needed it, but I had other things to do!I was anxious to get back to the project because I would be able to employ new supplies that I just brought back from the US – Tripoli, Blue Diamond and carnauba wax! I also had purchased different Dremel wheels for each different application. Based upon my readings, I used felt wheels for the Tripoli and blue diamond applications – in that order. Then, to bring out the grain further, I used a cotton wheel attachment for the carnauba wax application. Since Dremels have a very high RPM potential, I buffed at the slowest setting and kept the wheels moving so as to not overly heat up a particular area. Applying the carnauba wax needed some heat to spread the wax evenly over the bowl surface, but I soon was able to see the way the wax liquefied and I used that to work over a particular area and then move on. Its difficult describing the ‘rush’ of seeing the beauty of the briar grain emerge with each application. It was at this point I decided not to rusticate the rim, but to leave it smooth, revealing the grain and to me, a very classic appearance when adding the band. The pictures show the bowl but I know that I will need to polish up more after applying the band later on. With the bowl restoration nearly complete, I was re-energized to look at the stem. The tenon needed to be more finely-tuned to fit the mortise, but first, I had to deal with scars from the over-anxious Dremel sanding wheel that ate a little too much into the base of the tenon. The result was that small ridges kept the stem from seating snugly up to the shank. I remembered a technique I read on, I believe, Dadspipes.com (I’ve read so much I can’t remember for sure!) that was able to help me uniformly smooth out the base of the tenon, which is almost impossible using files freehand. I drilled a hole in a piece of wood providing enough space for the tenon to rotate freely and covered the hole with 230 sanding paper and clamped it. I punctured the paper and then forced the tenon into the hole. I rotated the stem on the flat board back and forth to evenly sand down the tenon base. I stopped the rotation periodically and let the stem ‘free-stand’ in order to eye-ball it and to make sure I was not sanding unevenly and unintentionally creating a tilt. The pictures show the process and the successful results of a more snuggly fitting stem! Again I was anxious to move to finishing the stem proper and to utilize the micro-mesh pads that were newly acquired in the US! Up to this point I had been utilizing sanding paper I found here in Bulgaria and I was anxious to see the results of using micro-mesh pads. I employed Steve’s stem finishing pattern that he utilizes with almost each stem finish: Picture 1 reveals the results of wet-sanding with micro-mesh 1500, 1800, and 2400 then an application of obsidian oil. Following is dry sanding with 3200, 3600, 4000 again followed by an application of obsidian oil. I have to confess, I was so excited to see the luster popping out I forgot to document the two sets with a picture! Finally, picture 2 shows the results from dry-sanding (with obsidian oil) with 6000, 8000, and 12000. After this, I gave the stem another coat of obsidian oil and put it aside to dry. Now I’m stoked! While the obsidian oil was drying I was re-reading the blogs on bending stems (https://rebornpipes.com/2012/07/15/bending-vulcanite-stems/) and turning on the oven to warm it up. My experience was limited – I bent one stem for a pipe I acquired off eBay from Budapest, Hungary. I named that pipe, Budapest (I may have developed a bad habit of naming my pipes like pets…). I warmed the oven to about 200 to 220 Fahrenheit, (for those living in Europe that is about 93 to 100 C). I found a ‘bender’ using a small jar measuring about 1.5 inches in diameter and stuck the pipe cleaner in the airway to keep it open during the bend. I had researched pictures of Oom Pauls and I found another Dr. Plumbs 9456 online (http://www.bidorbuy.co.za/item/222662283/VINTAGE_DR_PLUMB_LONDON_MADE_SMOKING_PIPE_NO_9456.html). I wanted the bend to reflect the original as closely as possible. I wanted the bend to be tighter toward the stem expansion at the base – the effect was that the button end of the stem reached out more, or it seemed to me. It didn’t take long for the vulcanite to become pliable – about 5 minutes or so in the oven on a cookie sheet (thanks again to my wife!). When I brought it out the first time and bent it over the jar, I was not pleased with the bend – it was too much of an arch for my liking. So I found a pestle from my wife’s mortar and pestle set that she uses to grind up spices. Its diameter was smaller. I put the stem back into the oven and it slowly flattened back out as it heated up. After about 7 minutes I took it out and bent it around the pestle – that got it. I held the bend (careful, it’s hot!) and ran the stem under tap water to galvanize the bend. I wanted the angle to be right – anxious to see the stem with the bowl, I took a few pictures to show what I feel are better results. Almost home. The sterling silver band was awaiting my attention but I wasn’t in a mood to be rushed! I re-read again Steve’s blogs on banding (https://rebornpipes.com/2012/10/31/banding-a-cracked-shank-pressure-fitting-a-metal-band-on-a-pipe-shank/). Armed with renewed knowledge and the resounding warning not to work too quickly (or else you will tear the band!) I started the work on the band. I had one large obstacle – I did not have a heat gun to apply heat to the band to enable its expansion to fit successfully over the shank (and not tear!). I did not have a heat gun, but my wife owns one of the wonders of German technology, a Braun hairdryer. It gets pretty hot and I gave it a try. The first picture shows the band placement (about 50% shy) before I started the hairdryer heating process. I heated up the band on the shank as shown in picture 2 and after about 1 minute or so I took the shank and pressed it down against the cloth on a flat cutting board and applied gentle vertical pressure against the band to slide it further onto the stem. Patience – I kept hearing “Don’t tear it!” After I felt a wee bit of movement from the band I stopped the downward pressure and started the reheating process again and then again, a wee bit of band movement as I pressed it vertically against the cloth. I repeated this process about 7 or so times and was able to move the band to where I wanted it – without tearing it! (picture 3). I finished up by applying some Weiman Silver Cream to shine the band up nicely. I’m very pleased with the results of restoring this Oom Paul and putting him back into service. I’ve already identified areas that I want to improve next time around. I didn’t describe how I had to re-top the bowl after I put the stem in and discovered that the rim was not perpendicular to the shank. Result? The stem was tilted out and not aligned. I re-topped the rim to straighten it. I also detected areas on the stem I had missed during the sanding process. Yet, overall I’m very pleased and appreciate the rich color and grain of this piece of briar. I think the band sets if off in a classic way. Since this Oom Paul will remain in my collection, I’ve named it – a bad habit probably, but I enjoy the life rekindled in restored pipes and names seem appropriate. Steve told me about the history of Oom Pauls in his recent visit to Bulgaria. This is when I learned that Oom Paul was Afrikaans Dutch meaning ‘Uncle Paul’. So, in Bulgarian, meet ‘Chicho Pavel’! Thanks for reading!

I Believe I Found an Undercover Lorenzo of Some Sort

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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://www.roadrunnerpipes.net/ (Opening soon)
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

INTRODUCTION
In late October of 2014, I wrote a blog here about a Lorenzo second with the name Spitfire Mille (Italian for thousand, just as Starbuck’s large drinks are designated by Venti, meaning 20 – for the number of ounces, including the ice in my With Room Raspberry Iced Americano right now). Lorenzo, an Italian brand that has been around since 1946, makes an assortment of traditional shapes and styles but is, among my local pipe friends at least, best known for its lines of, well, enormous proportions. Take this Spitfire, not all versions of which are so large. You can’t tell by these pictures, but although the length was near the limit of the norm at about 6”, the chamber diameter was something like 1” x 2” when I checked before adding the Spitfire to my old business website. That’s about 6/8 (¾”) x 1” larger than usual. Then I measured less common specifications, including the diameter of the entire rim across, bowl height and the top half of the shank leading into the bit. Here is where the numbers became astounding: from one side of the rim to the other was a little under 2”; the height of the bowl was close to 3”, and the shank was 1” across.

If those numbers don’t sound impressive, consider three of my largest pipes, the Peterson 150^th Anniversary smooth bent billiard, the Digby Six-Panel and the Soborg Danish Panel. The Pete’s length is 7”; chamber diameter is ⅞” x 1¾”; the full rim is 1⅜”; the bowl height is 2¼”, and the shank is 1½”. The Digby’s length is 5¾”; chamber 1” x 1¾”; rim 1½”; bowl height 2½” and square shank 1” at the halfway point. The Soborg’s length is 7”; the chamber is ¾” x 1½”; total rim is 1¼”; bowl height is 2”, and the shank is 1”.

And so, it seems, not counting the length, the Spitfire is the overall “winner,” if size really counts. All of this is to introduce the no-name Italian Dublin XM (by way of indicating extra monster, for lack of a better description). This pipe without a name, perhaps the more so for that most unfortunate social status, has all the earmarks of a Lorenzo reject. It looks like a Lorenzo; comports itself like the portlier brothers, sisters, uncles, aunts and so on and on of its fertile familia, and as it was stamped with the single word “Italy” to boot, so it must be a Lorenzo by birth if not legitimacy.

RESTORATION Once again the troubles the marvelous pipe faced before it could be presented to a new owner who would cherish it were greater than met the casual eye. The rim was just a tad crusty and therefore offered itself as the place to begin. I chose super fine 0000 steel wool to commence the task. Most times now I have at last embraced more popular techniques such as the wet micro mesh method, but on this occasion I did it with steel wool before I performed a little sanding with 320-grit paper with the goal of ridding the fair and rounded rim of scratches attendant to burning. There are still other means to this end. Yet with gentle ministration, I have found the finest steel wool an excellent first step in the process in some situations. This was one of them.At that juncture of the growing adventure, I considered the dull state of the bit and the small but numerous scratches and dings through the original stain to the excellent Mediterranean briar beneath. Perceiving an unusual thickness to the lovely red coating, I arrived at the clear and positive efficacy of an OxiClean bath for the bit and a concurrent but somewhat longer soak of the stummel in Everclear. I slipped the bit and stummel into their respective Tupperware containers and the sequel to the prequel of the not only continuing but never-ending adventures of the Starship Enterprise (“Into Darkness”) in the desktop PC’s DVD player to watch – once again for me – with my new roommate. He had somehow managed never before to see the movie, and we had some time to relax and smoke our pipes. The roommate, Darren, became convinced by someone that he could give up the doubly negative costs of cigarettes with the far lesser expenses and greater merits of a good tobacco pipe. Of course, he will gladly pay me tomorrow, figuratively speaking, for the pipe he savors today.

Furthermore, no less, his eyes became misty and enamored at the sight of the Albertson Belgian black rustic small bent billiard that is scheduled to be the culmination of my seven part series on ladies pipes and, despite his professions to the opposite, I knew he had to have it – oh, how I know that dewy look! Picture this: a guy who looks and dresses and has tats like a gang banger, getting misty for a tiny little pipe that, although not specifically made for ladies, certainly fits the bill! The fantastic sci-fi epic aside, I could only imagine what Darren must have thought of the no-doubt perplexing acts I surely appeared to be perpetrating against the once whole but weathered Dublin XM.

Here is the bit following its bath and then after sanding with 220-grit paper and wet micro meshing all the way from 1500-12000. The stummel had the thickest stain I have ever encountered other than with some Chinese pipes on which I’ve labored. It took longer than the 2 hr. 12 min. movie, with Darren or me (he’s decided he wants to learn about this esoteric occupation) flipping the big piece of briar over in the alcohol now and then to keep it soaking evenly, for the Everclear to eat through the barrier enough to sand the stummel lightly, also with 220. I only found one small spot where a hole was filled. In an email later, Steve, who had expressed some doubt that the pipe was a Lorenzo reject but suggested it might be a second, wrote that Lorenzo seconds are known for fills. To me, given the similarity of style, stain and huge proportions of the ostensible Italian no-name (the single word ITALY was stamped almost flush with the steel band, on the underside), my theory of a Lorenzo connection was cinched in my mind at least. By a stroke of good luck, as I always see it, the band came off at the end of the sanding, and I was able to make the area under it match the rest. I got on with the next step, micro meshing from 1500-12000. This is where the real challenge came. Forced to strip the stummel of its original stain to get at the scratches without creating more damage using sandpaper, I wanted to re-stain the wood as close as possible to the bright reddish tone it had, knowing that was impossible with the stains I had on hand. I opted to mix Lincoln Marine Cordovan about three-to-one with Fiebing’s Brown alcohol-based boot dyes. When flamed with a lighter or matches, the stain is fixed to the stummel without running as the light char is micro meshed off and again later with waxes and compounds buffed on.I also knew this combination, or even using only the burgundy color, would be so dark that none of the grain would show through. Applying the mix liberally, I used a couple of good strong wooden kitchen matches from a box of 250 I bought at Walmart for about a dollar to flame the pipe, but the result was not the usual impressive blue flash I expected. Still, it did the trick. I think the alcohol in my liquid stains is evaporating with age. I told Victor Rimkus, a successful pipe crafter/engineer here, how I needed to buy a new supply as well as other colors. He said I could mix what was left with alcohol, which sadly only struck me as obvious when I heard the idea, or, as he does, buy the powder and mix it as needed with alcohol. I had never heard of this powder stain before but found it online at a very affordable price. There are even some great discounts for buying the complete kit with every color made – and the variety of colors and shades is staggering. You know I can’t pass up a good discount.The light coat of residual char came off with 2400 and 3200 micro mesh. Super fine 0000 steel wool gradually lessened the dark combination of stains until I concluded the color mix was still a bit off. I deliberately took the stain down a notch lighter to add another quick layer of the brown, and when it cooled after flaming again I wiped off the char as before. The result was much better. I used a couple of dabs of Super Glue spread thin around the inside of the band to reattach it. In one of the emails I exchanged with Steve regarding the chance of this pipe being a Lorenzo relative, he pointed out that in the photo of the band I attached with a plea for help in identifying the hallmarks, the band had been placed unevenly. Trying first to determine the meaning of the marks on my own, I had found a site that was clearly not the best. The closest I came was a reference to a pair of brothers named Edwin and John Power, known naturally as Power Brothers, who ran a tobacconist shop and seem to have made pipes in 1900. They marked their bands with an EP in an oval which, given the site’s other shortcomings, I considered might be – but given the year, likely was not – a misnomer for the diamond on this band. Steve identified it as an Electro-Plate band that he thought could be an after-addition. Studying the band and the one item of nomenclature on the bottom side of the shank – the block lettered word ITALY near the opening but above the band – I was doubtful it was indeed an afterthought.

But by that time, the restoration had progressed to the point where I had already corrected the problem.

The time to retort the odd Dublin had come, but looking at the wider than wide mouthpiece of the bit, I knew that of the three rubber tubes I have, none would work. And so, as I have done in past situations like this, I rummaged around my spare bits until I found one from a Ropp natural cherry wood that matched the tenon size – at least halfway in. As always, I was happy I retorted the pipe thoroughly, as this one had more than usual use on it. I had to run six alcohol soaked regular cleaners through the shank before the last came out clean. After buffing the bit with red and white Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba, and the nice smooth reddish-brown wood with the same progression (I laid on a heavy coat of the red Tripoli to approximate the original color somewhat closer), here is the result.
CONCLUSION
I have to say, this was nowhere near the most difficult restore I’ve ever done, but the research into Lorenzo, in my attempt to establish whether or not it is one of their rejects or a second of some sort, made the process one of the most exciting of my projects. In my mind now, there is no doubt this conundrum of a pipe, is in fact a Lorenzo reject. This conclusion is not based on an overwhelming desire to make the pipe more than it may be. It is based on the evidence: the undeniable similarity of design between the Spitfire by Lorenzo Mille second; the identical color of each that has the appearance of being created specially by the maker, and the presence of somewhat erratic grain and even the single fill I found after stripping the original stain, given that Steve wrote of Lorenzo seconds tending to be known to present these defects. Although, with due respect to Steve, I doubt this is a second because of the lack of any such nomenclature, the same standards would apply to outright rejects. I did my best to make it once more the beautiful pipe it was when first created, but the grain certainly is less than perfect, and there is one place where briar shavings were mixed with some clear bonding element to fix a ding. But now, neither of these facts detracts from the pipe’s allure and good fit in a large hand, which its new owner certainly has.

The Spitfire awaited a new home for months after I finished the restoration, and in the end was purchased by a New World gentleman, from Raymore, Missouri to be specific, who read my blog of another pipe and found the massive Lorenzo (second) on my site. The lovely example of Italian flair and craftsmanship in this blog, on the other hand, was reserved prior to its restoration by a visitor to my pipe club’s monthly meeting. His name is Evan, and here he is at the tobacco shop with his “new” pipe. See how snug it is in Evan’s big mitt. When Evan, who resides in the much smaller town of Placitas about a half-hour’s drive from the relative metropolis of Albuquerque (close enough to commute to and from where he works here), talked to me alone in the big back room of the Moose Lodge where our official monthly pipe meeting is held, I asked if he had seen any of my pipes he found interesting. I assumed he had not located one he wished to buy but also wanted to get an idea of what he looks for in a pipe, other than the Dunhill with its distinctive dot on the bit he enjoyed for the meeting. I admit to thinking I might have something I put off restoring that I could perhaps expedite.

Evan was courteous enough to tell me the truth: none of the pipes I had displayed was big enough for his general taste. That remark turned out to be the exact sort of intelligence I hoped to receive from my question, for I knew I had just what he was looking for, at my humble home and small business, waiting to be cleaned up. I inquired if he had heard of Lorenzo pipes and added that I had restored and sold one but had another pipe like it that I believed was a reject by that company, although there was nothing wrong with its looks or quality. Evan had not heard of Lorenzo but was intrigued by my description of the large pipe.

After getting a look at the photos I emailed to him showing the restored Spitfire and the no-name as it was before cleaning up, the good man replied with considerable enthusiasm. In fact, considering the low price I offered him, he asked me to name the time and place he could pick it up! I had the pleasure of presenting Evan with the finished Lorenzo or second or whatever it is Monday morning at the tobacconist shortly after the comfortable little shop opened at 10. With any sale, online or in person, and in particular when the buyer has requested a pipe that was not yet restored, I always wonder if it – or, rather, I – will match the new owner’s expectations. I observed at once that Evan had pondered his reverse version of the same scenario from his reaction of unconcealed surprise. In short, the pipe was just the kind he loves most – big enough to fit in his large hand, solid, possessed of an unusual shape and beautiful to behold. I add the last part not to pat myself on the shoulder but due to Evan’s appraisal. To my way of thinking, pipe restoration is very much the same as newspaper editing, with which I have had more experience than working on pipes: the flaws in the pipe or article are unimportant so long as all of the necessary information is there to put in order. The best word to describe Evan’s reaction to his latest acquisition – which went on for close to a half-hour – is effusive.

SOURCES
https://www.smspipes.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/catalog.listProducts/catId/4/Lorenzo_Pipes.htm
http://vermontfreehand.com/product/powdered-dye/
http://www.pipes.ws/Lorenzo
http://www.silvercollection.it/DICTIONARYTOBACCONISTE.html Power Bros. hallmark

A Mystery Bent Apple Pipe Turned out to be an Oldenkott

Dunhill White Dot Repair

12 Replies

Lance Leslie

I received an email from Lance this afternoon with a blog submission. In his email he states that he thought that this would make a good blog for the site. He has been restoring pipes for a few years and has learned some valuable tips on rebornpipes. He sent along a restoration he completed that had a repair tip he had not seen addressed on the blog. While I have inserted dots on Dr. Plumb pipes and an odd variety of others I have not dedicated a blog to this repair so I agreed that it would be good to have his process spelled out here. Welcome to rebornpipes as a contributor Lance. It is good to have you here. Hopefully this will be the first of many contributions that you bring to the site. — Steve

I have been restoring pipe for a few years now and have learned some valuable tips from rebornpipes. I have a restoration to share and unless I have missed it, I have not seen this issue addressed on this blog. The issue being, adding the infamous white dot to new replacement stem. Or…in my case, a blank replacement stem.

I recently won this Dunhill on eBay and noticed that the White Dot was missing. After asking all the right questions to be sure I WAS bidding on a Dunhill, I made my offer and won. The owner did not know much about pipes so he did not know if it was a replacement stem. I have seen the white dot covered by soot only to be revealed during the cleaning, but this was not the case. This was listed as a 1982 Dunhill Bruyere but it turned out to be a 1977. Here is the pipe as it looked when it arrived.The rim was covered with lava and the bowl was thick with cake. There were some dings in the bowl that would need to be addressed. The stem had some dents and would need a White Dot added. What is a Dunhill without the White Dot? The stem was also heavily oxidized. I placed the stem in an Oxyclean bath and let the stummel soak in an alcohol bath to loosen the lava. After I removed the lava I saw significant damage to the rim of the piped and the rim was scorched in two places. This could only be fixed by topping the bowl. Rats! I removed the stem for the Oxyclean bath and polished it with Meguiar’s scratch X 2.0. I didn’t want to go too far with the stem because I would be adding the dot later. I then took the bowl and my sanding bit and topped the bowl. As you can see, it is now clean and sharp. The scorching was also gone. Thank goodness it was not too deep. Next I wanted to address the dents in the sides of the bowl. Thanks to rebornpipes I knew a simple way to do this. And yes, my wife is missing a dish towel. With said dish towel wet, I heated a kitchen knife with a lighter. I pressed the knife against the dish towel and steamed the dent right out. Works every time. Now I needed to stain the top of the bowl. I mixed up some leather dye to match color of the bowl and gave the top several coats until it matched.Now the fun part!! It was time to add the White Dot to the stem. I had recently acquired a quad copter (Syma X5SW) and remembered the propeller protectors that came with the copter.
These are added for beginners to help protect the blades while you learn to fly. I no longer needed these so I checked the size and knew it would be a perfect match. BTW, you can order these blade protectors off of Amazon. Just type in replacement parts for Syma X5SW. They are cheap! See photos below… The ends of the blade protectors would do nicely. They are even conical shaped!!! I clipped off one end and sat it to the side. I then took some old stems and did a practice run before trying it on the Dunhill. It worked like a charm. I did not take pictures of my practice run, sorry. I then went to my drill bits and chose the correct size. I lined up another Dunhill beside this one to get the proper distance for the White Dot on the stem. After I found the distance and center, I carefully drilled about 3 mm down. (Start your drill out slow if you use a hand-held drill. I would suggest a drill press if you have one.) I added some black super glue to the hole and placed the little white rod into the hole. Then using a rubber hammer, I hammered it into the hole.Then I clipped the plug as close as I could using scissors, and sanded down the rest with my sanding bit. The rest of the plug was sanded down with 220 sandpaper.Then it was a trip through the micro-mesh sanding/polishing pads. The pipe was married to its stem once again and polished with carnauba wax. Here is the finished pipe.

This one was just plain ugly it was such a mess

9 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

When my brother sent me the link for this one and I scrolled through the pictures the seller included, I almost said to pass on it. It was such a mess that the ugliness made me not want to even deal with this one. But there was something challenging about the pipe and through the gunk it looked like it might have some interesting grain. I know in the early days of my estate buying on EBay I did not pay attention to the measurements on the pipe. I figured it would be a moderately sized Banker or Author with an oval shank. I also ignored the brand stamping on the pipe. It read La Strada Forte on the top of the shank which also should have been a bit of a giveaway. Even the photos below that the seller included of the pipe in a rest should have been a clue. But I missed the clue because I was blown away by the sheer disaster of the pipe. As you look at it below try to catalogue the issues that you see. Let me tell you what, no matter how much I prepared myself by cataloging the issues I saw in the pictures they in no way captured the reality of the mess this pipe was in. It was actually quite unbelievable. First off, I should have read the measurements. This pipe was huge. The length was average really, at 5 ½ inches long. The width of the shank was a bit bigger at 1 1/8 inches wide. The diameter of the bowl exterior was 2 1/8 inches. The chamber appeared to be an inch in diameter but the cake in it reduced it to about ¾ inch. The cake was thick and it was hard. It overflowed onto the top of the bowl and part way down the sides. The inner edge of the rim looked like someone had hacked at it with a knife so underneath the thick cake I could see the chop marks of the knife in the edges of the bowl. The finish was more than shot – it was gone and in its place was thick oily grime ground into the briar. The stamping was black with the oils. It was thick enough that the grime was flaking off on the bottom of the bowl. The stamping was readable and said LA STRADA over FORTE on the top side. On the underside was the shape number 538 and next to the shank stem junction was stamped Italy. The stem was not only oxidized but really worn. The top edge of the button was almost flattened and there were tooth marks in the top of the stem. The underside was another story – there was a chunk of vulcanite missing and the button was gone. The airway was collapsed and the inside surface was gouged with file marks. This poor pipe was looking pretty desperate and I thought about cannibalizing it for briar and parts.Then I looked at the briar through the grime. The bottom of the bowl had some really nice grain – a few fills popping through – but still really nice. The sides of the bowl also had some promise under the grime. And, I liked the shape of the pipe even though it was a war club. Maybe…just maybe…I took a close-up photo of the top of the bowl and the cake inside. I still shake my head when I see the state of the bowl and the damage to the inner rim. It was really in bad shape. Just look at the hack job that had been done to that inner edge.I also took a couple of close-up photos of the stem to show the extent of damage that had been done to it as well. It was in very rough shape.I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer starting with the smallest cutting head to clean up the walls of the bowl slowly. I worked through all four reaming heads ending with the largest one. I used the Savinelli Pipe Knife to do some clean up to the edges and try to smooth out some of the rim damage. Between the largest PipNet cutting head and the pipe knife I was able to do a lot of redeeming work on the inner edge of the rim.I topped the bowl on the topping board to remove the damaged finish and to reduce the damage to the inner edge of the rim.I scrubbed the surface of the briar with acetone on cotton pads to remove the dirt and grime in the grain as well as the oils. It was amazing how much grit came off the bowl. Once the surface was clean I worked on the inner rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to bevel the edge inward and clean up the cuts and nicks in the edge. I did not take a picture at this point but you will see the cleaned up rim in the pictures that follow the work on the stem.

I set the bowl aside to work on the stem. To take care of the damaged stem I made a wedge out of cardboard and covered it with clear strapping tape so that the super glue mixture I was going to use would not stick to it. I wanted it thick enough to leave an airway/slot in the stem. I mixed up a paste of charcoal powder and black super glue. The glue has a slow drying time so I was able to mix a thick paste with the combination. I used a dental pick and spatula to put the mixture in place on the top and the bottom of the stem and build up the area that would become the button on the top side and the repair and button on the underside. I also built up a slope on the stem underside to give me a bit more thickness over the airway. At this point I sprayed the repair with an accelerator to harden the surface of the glue. I set it aside to let the glue repair cure/harden.Once the repair had hardened I used the sanding drum on the Dremel to smooth out the repair. I would still need to sand it by hand but the Dremel took a lot of the heavy spots out of the mix and also allowed me to rough shape the button.The next photos show the repairs after a lot of filing and sanding. The shape is very clear and distinct. The repair is rock solid. You can also see the inner rim bevel on the rim of the bowl in the first photo.The slot was really tight in the button. It was partially closed off and need to be reopened. I used different shaped needle files to open the slot and to reshape it. I also reshaped the button with the needle files. The three photos below show the development of the slot and the button.I reshaped the button edges with needle files and reshaped the taper of the stem from the saddle to the button. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface of the vulcanite stem. The photos show the progression in the shaping. There is still a lot of sanding to do to finish the shaping and polishing of the stem but I set it aside and worked on the bowl for a while. I cleaned out the inside of the mortise and the airway in the shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It took a lot of scrubbing to clean out the airway and mortise.I heated the briar with a blow dryer and then stained it with a dark brown aniline stain mixed 50% with isopropyl. I used a black Sharpie to darken the fills on the bowl and shank then applied the stain with a cotton swab and flamed it with a lighter to set it in the grain.I wiped the bowl down with alcohol cotton pads to blend the stain and to make it more transparent. The photos below show the bowl after the wipe down. The scrubbed bowl looks quite a bit lighter but once it is waxed it will darken again. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 micromesh sanding pads and rubbed the stem 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 oil and let it dry. (The photos below show both sides of the stem with each set of micromesh pads.) I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to polish the wax. I buffed it by hand with a microfibre cloth to add depth to the shine. I am pleased with the overall look of the pipe and considering what it was like when I first looked at it the improvement is vast. The stem repair is quite extensive. It has cured and is hard now and I am curious as to how it will hold up over time. The pipe looks good and should have a long life ahead of it. Thanks for looking.

Rough Texture of a Jobey Shellmoor combined with Yellow Lucite

4 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

As I said before I never paid much attention to Jobey pipes. My brother has given me a new appreciation for them. The pipe he sent me that I chose to work on next is stamped Jobey Shellmoor on the underside of the shank. There is no shape number or other stamping on the pipe. There is a Jobey logo stamped on the yellow acrylic/Lucite stem. When I first saw the pipe I was pretty certain that the stem was a replacement. Now that I have it in hand I have to admit I was wrong it is the original. When I first picked it up I thought it would be a pretty straightforward repair. I could not have been more wrong but that would come out in the process of the restoration. The rustication was very dirty on the sides of the bowl but it had that rough rustication that I have come to expect on Shellmoor pipes. The rim was in rough shape with lava in all of the grooves. That would have been easily remedied but there was also a burned area on the top of the rim at the front that had left a deep groove. The bowl was thickly caked (I removed much of it in Idaho when I was there). When I brought it to the work table and tried to finish reaming the bowl I was reminded of the rock hard cake. It took two different reamers to take out the cake. The stem had some tooth marks and the airway was black with tars. When I removed the stem the Jobey Link was stuck in the stem. Not a big deal but it would make getting the black out of the airway. When I examined the rim more closely I saw that it was actually quite damaged. I took two close-up photos of it to show the thick lava and the burned area on the front of the bowl. It is a little hard to see in the second photo (forgive the slightly out of focus photo) but it extends down the front of the bowl about ¼ inch. I worked on the Jobey Link and was able to dribble alcohol down the stem to soften the tars that held it in the stem. I wiggled it free. The photo below shows the pipe taken apart.I started working on the bowl by reaming it completely. The cake was exceptionally. I hard I used the PipNet reamer with the first three cutting heads to take the cake back to bare briar. I used a Savinelli Pipe Knife to complete the job at the bottom of the bowl. When I had finished reaming the bowl I noticed that the airway into the bowl was absolutely invisible. I could not see it on the back wall of the bowl. I used the drill bit from the KleenReem pipe reamer to hand drill out the airway from the shank into the bowl. The tars in the shank were almost as hard as the cake in the bowl. It took a lot of elbow grease and pressing the bit into the airway. I was finally rewarded with it popping through into the bowl. With the rough cleaning done on the bowl and shank I decided to work on the rim surface. I topped it with 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board. (If you look closely at the shank end in the photo it appears that there is a crack in the shank. It is merely a scratch in the top surface of the briar at that point.)After topping it for a while I took a photo to show the extent of the damage to the rim. This photo clarifies what I saw in the original scan of the bowl.I continued topping the bowl until I got to solid wood under the burned area. The rim surface was darkened but the briar was hard. I picked the burned area on the front of the bowl clean of soft burned wood with a dental pick.I was not too worried about the rim darkening as I intended to rusticate it again to match the rough finish of the bowl. I filled in the burned area with clear super glue to build it up. I also intended to rusticate the burned area on the front of the bowl at the same time. The next series of photos show the process of rustication and the different burrs I used on the Dremel to get the pattern on the rim I wanted. I also worked on the front of the bowl to remove the damage of the burned area with the same burrs. I tried to match the pattern on the rest of the bowl. The success of that will be seen in later photos. Once I had the work down with the Dremel and burrs I took it back to the worktable and used a brass bristle brush to knock of the sharp edges and the loose pieces of briar from the rim and the bowl front. The second and third photos show the bowl front and the work that I did to match the pattern in that area. I scrubbed the briar with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime so that I could restain the bowl. I rinsed it with warm running water to remove the soap from the grooves and crevices along with the loosened grime.I used a black Sharpie to colour in the depths of the rustication on the rim and the repaired area at the front of the bowl. I wanted to approximate the contrast in the rest of the finish.I restained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain and flamed it to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until the coverage was what I wanted.I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads to remove some of the dark brown stain from the high spots on the bowl and add some contrast and depth to the finish. I took another close-up photo of the rustication on the rim to show what it looked like with the stain coat.I cleaned out the mortise threads and the airway with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol.Once it was clean I greased the threads on the Jobey Link with Vaseline and turned it in place in the shank with a small screwdriver.The stem turned out to be another issue that I had not taken into real consideration. The dark stain of tars and oils in the airway turned out to be a real pain. I used cotton swabs and alcohol to clean out the portion of the stem that slid over the Link. That was the easy part. I then scrubbed out the airway with alcohol and pipe cleaners. I used a dental pick to clean out the slot in the button. The tars in the airway were stubborn. I mixed a batch of Oxyclean, inserted pipe cleaners in the airway to wick the mixture up the stem and then dropped the pipe in the mixture to soak overnight. I took it out in the morning and scrubbed it with several different brushes and pipe cleaners. I removed about 50% of the black in the stem but not all of it. I put it back in the Oxy soak for another night.I buffed the bowl by hand with a shoe brush to see what the finish would look like. The following photos give a good picture of where things stand with the bowl at this point. I took the stem out of the Oxy bath and cleaned out a bit more of the darkened area. I used pipe cleaners dipped in Bar Keepers Friend scouring powder and was able to get out more of the tars and darkening. I stopped for a little while and worked on the externals. There were several deep tooth marks in the stem near the button on the top and bottom sides. I sanded and cleaned the stem then filled the tooth marks with clear super glue. When the glue set I sanded the repairs smooth to match the surface of the stem. I went back to scrubbing the airway. I remembered reading about someone using soft scrub successfully so I ran upstairs and asked my wife if she had any I could use. I push it through the airway in the stem with thick, fluffy pipe cleaners and rotated them to scrub. It took out some more of the darkening but still not enough to my liking. Finally I set up a retort on the stem alone. I boiled alcohol through the stem to remove more. Finally I used an ear syringe to shoot boiling water through the stem. I gave up after using all of those methods. I think I had removed as much of the darkening as I was going to get out of the stem. The stem definitely looks better than it did when I started. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and wiped it down. I dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pads and wiped it down. I lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave the stem several coats of carnauba. I polished the stem and bowl with a clean buffing pad and then by hand with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown below. The first photos show the areas of the rim and the front of the bowl that I cleaned up and re-rusticated with the burrs and Dremel. The remaining photos are of the pipe in its entirety. I have never seen a Jobey Shellmoor pipe with a Lucite stem but this golden stem goes really well with the dark brown stain. The finished pipe is 6 ½ inches long and looks rather dapper and stylish. It has come a long way from when I started on it. I picked this pipe to work on while I was restoring the La Strata because I thought it would be easy. I could not have been more wrong. But I am glad it is finished. Thanks for looking.