Tag Archives: restaining

A Resurrection of a 1920 Dunhill Patent Ao Bruyere 52 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Eric Fleming

Eric and I have chatted about pipe restoration for some time now and when he picked up this Dunhill I asked him to keep me posted on his work on it. I have to say, he went far beyond anything I have done and really, what I expected when I saw the pipe. It is a very creative and innovative restoration that I thought you might all enjoy! Without further introduction or discussion, Eric will walk us through his process in the following pages. Thanks Eric for allowing me to post it on rebornpipes!

As a student of history and all things of antiquity I am a sucker for an old Tobacco Pipe. And as a result, when I ran into this poor old and somewhat disabled Patent era Dunhill I couldn’t resist the temptation to “try” to rehabilitate it. Configuring a plan of attack based solely on pictures is usually riddled with surprises and this plan was the usual. The damage was as adequately represented as an image can be but holding a thing in one’s own hands and soaking in the magnitude of it is another thing entirely. Upon unboxing, it was obvious that my plan was slightly premature.

The moment I concluded my purchase I moved straight on to Pipedia to confirm some of what I already knew (Dunhill Bruyere – Pipedia.html). This old boy was a Dunhill (shape 52) Inner Tube patent# 1130806/15 (1924-1926) Ao Bruyere. The history of the early Bruyere is interesting. By 1920 Dunhill was making all of their stummels in house and the Bruyere of this time was “usually” made of Calabrian briar due to its physical traits and ability to take on a deep red stain (Pipedia Dunhill Dating Guide – Pipedia.html).

Here are the Before pics. The Dunhill had some things going for it. The original Vulcanite stem had already been polished and exhibited very little external wear. There are a few indentations near the tenon that a previous owner decided, rightly, to leave alone rather than reduce the diameter where it matches up to the stummel. This pipe is almost 100 years old. A little original wear is, in my opinion, a mark of character. Proof of a past existence if you will. The tenon to mortice fit was surprisingly tight. Extreme care was taken to remove it. This will have to be remedied before it is re-inserted. The stem’s draft hole was heavily caked in tar. The stummel was in reasonably good shape everywhere but the rim. This poor old boy survived many violent blows over the years, Severe mushrooming and on one side it chipped out at some point. A crude epoxy fill was employed to fill the damage. The rest of the stummel had almost no original finish and was clean internally and sooty externally. The factory stampings were difficult to read, rather thin but enough to make out. I was hopeful that cleaning would bring them back some. The bottom of the bowl was hard to make out since a very thick bowl coating had been applied. Shining a light into the bowl revealed that the bottom of the bowl was eroded below the draft hole. This pipe might have been someone’s favorite. It has been smoked heavily. It was now time for deep cleaning. Aiming towards the low hanging fruit, I decided to deal with the stem first. The draft hole had an impressive build up. The first alcohol soaked bristle cleaner was tough to push through and many were employed to finish the job. Toward the end I couldn’t help but wonder if I was removing the end result of a fine smoke that took place nearly 100 years ago.Now on to the stummel. Because it was quite clean already I decided to skip the soapy water scrub and just scrub the outside with Murphy’s oil soap concentrate and a toothbrush. This action effectively revealed the briar under the grime and I was quite happy to see that the stampings were clearer and more visible. Still light but legible.

Next was the issues with the inside of the bowl. The coating was hiding much of the real condition of the pipe. Cotton balls were inserted into the bowl and wadded up tissue pressed into the mortice. 99% alcohol then poured in to perform its overnight magic. The next morning the coating had been dissolved, easily removed with a wipe. Now the real condition is revealed and it wasn’t all that good. The epoxy fill was deep and the side of the bowl had light erosion from the many smokes this pipe had delivered. The erosion at the bottom of the bowl was deeper than originally perceived. Not near burnout, but about 1/8” below the draft hole. At this point a decision had to be made as to how to proceed. The epoxy fill was poorly done and would likely cause future problems if left alone. The mushrooming of the rim was unlikely to be steamed out and the height of the rim was obviously below it’s original state. After a day of rolling it around in my mind I decided that there was no other acceptable option but to remove the offending rim and replace it. The erosion would also need to addressed.

For me the easiest way to remove the top of the rim is with my old manual knee mill. Using the disc sander an even flat is ground on the top of the rim. The stummel is then placed in the machine vise with protective strips of leather. The leather not only protects the briar from indentation but it also adds some traction for the jaws to grip. A dial indicator is then used to indicate the flat on the top of the rim. This operation could have been done with the disc sander alone but I am partial to the control allowed by the mill. After the mill the refreshed rim is lightly sanded by hand to 400 grit on a sanding block. To fabricate a new rim a small piece is cut from a chunk of briar left over from another build and sanded flat on one side then milled flat and parallel on the knee mill. The only references I had to estimate the correct height of the bowl were the measurements taken before the rim removal and an image found online of a 52 shape Dunhill.

By the way, The shape 52 is listed as a Bent Low Pot. My measured estimation is that once the rim was removed there needed to be .200 added back. This is not an exact science. The .200 thick block of briar then has two diameters marked with a compass for outside diameter and inside diameter, leaving a little extra on each of course, and taken to the scroll saw to be roughed out. Glue up comes next. All briar surfaces to be bonded are wiped with alcohol to remove dust and or oil residue. The epoxy I have grown fond of is West Systems G Flex 2 part epoxy. It is incredibly durable, neutral when cured and easy to work with. Since it is undesirable to have an epoxy filled bowl, I have found it advantageous to mix the epoxy, wait 45 minutes (the listed pot life) and then apply to both briar surfaces. At this point the epoxy is gel like and will not run. The stummel is clamped in a vise and remains for 24 hours. Once the rim replacement has cured the tedious hand work begins. Extra material is removed with aggressive hand files. Then small needle files are used to bring the profile close to finished. To match and blend the two surfaces at the end a ¾” wood dowel wrapped in 150 grit sandpaper is used to mate the inside diameters while a small thin sanding block with 150 grit is used to mate the outside diameter. The entire stummel (except for the stampings) are at this point sanded from 250 grit thru 2400 grit micro mesh. The stamped parts of the stummel sanded 1500 thru 2400 grit micro mesh only. The erosion damage to the bottom of the bowl is the next focus. I have used “pipe Mud” with success in the past but it can be precarious and doesn’t always stay put long term. I wanted a more permanent fix and didn’t feel the need to bore a hole through the bottom of the stummel for a plug. So, I shot a call to my pipe making and repair mentor Mark Tinsky of American Smoking Pipe Co. Mark has been making Artisan Pipes longer than I have been alive, tolerates my frequent calls and emails, and is an all around great guy and wealth of knowledge. Upon presenting my Dunhill issue he shared with me one of his bowl bottom repair tricks. A mixture of Elmer’s multi purpose glue, Briar dust and Charcoal dust mixed into a black paste. This was a new one to me. When I asked Mark “why not Pipe Mud”? He replied… “I don’t smoke Cigars”. Apparently, Elmer’s glue is an organic material and when mixed with both briar and charcoal holds up to the temperature and general abuse well. The Briar dust was left over from the rim removal and the charcoal dust was made from Willow Charcoal sticks easily found at an art store. The mixture is easy to adjust for texture and also easy to apply. The draft hole of the stummel was plugged with a pipe cleaner and the mixture slowly scooped in to the desired level which was almost to the top of the cleaner. The stummel was then set aside to cure for 24 hrs.  The next day I had a high and flat surface at the bottom of the bowl. A ¾” wood dowel was taken to the disc sander and slowly profiled to my desired radiused bowl bottom. This took several attempts. Then a small diameter was cut from a sheet of 80grit sandpaper and glued to the radius of the dowel. I used super glue for it’s fast adhesion. The bottom of the bowl was then sanded with the abrasive dowel until the desired depth was achieved. The result was surprisingly good. The shiny dark color was noticeable but very uniform to the bowl.  All that was then necessary to complete the repairs to the inside of the bowl was to address the light erosion to the sides. Since they were shallow It was decided that Pipe Mud would be a good solution. A nice Maduro was sacrificed to fulfill my pipe repair needs. You owe it to yourself to employ a “good” cigar for this purpose. Not only is it a nice change of pace but a fine cigar actually produces a higher quality ash. Using a dropper, I slowly added water to the ash. This can easily be overdone. If the mixture becomes shiny, you have added too much water and need to add more ash. If the mixture is too dry it wont stay put. I experimented before using it the first time. I am glad I did. The Pipe Mud was then scooped into the bowl, not allowing it to settle in the bottom and then worked into the erosion with a finger. The Dunhill was again set aside for the day. With the Dunhill repaired, sanded and ready for dye I had reached a point of concern. How do I blend this light colored briar to the rest of the stummel without it looking like a repair? I had previously researched the old Bruyere finish used in this era Dunhill. Apparently, it consisted of a light brown dye under a dark red dye. A few examples were found online and saved for comparison. The light briar of the repair then received 6 coats of dark brown dye lightly polishing each back until it was darker than the original briar color. The rest of the original stummel received one coat of light brown dye and polished back. At this point I tried to blend the light into the dark for a seamless look. Then the dark red was lightly received and polished back. The result was not great. The original part of the stummel looked nearly identical to the sample images I had found but the repair was still obvious. With no other option I gave the repair many coats of dark red overlapping onto the original briar to try to create a pure dark red blending into the lighter dark red. This took several tries and applications. In the end, I was not able to perfectly match my sample images due to the very dark rim, but I think it’s better than having a obvious mismatch that would surely stand out. Indoors the repair is almost invisible. Outside in sunlight it can be faintly seen. Because I was a little hesitant to mess with this time consuming and difficult dye job, it was decided to take the light-handed approach to waxing the stummel. Crystal Clear Paste Wax was lightly rubbed on with a soft clean cloth and polished off. Letting it sit for 30 minutes, polished again and re-applied 3 times. This approach is probably not as durable as pure carnuba wax applied with a buffer but I was not willing to risk spoiling the hard won appearance. Normally I would call this repair complete but there had been so much work done to the inner bowl I was uneasy to leave it as is. There are many versions of Bowl Coatings but from what I have read and heard they all server the same purpose. To protect the inner bowl from heat damage. At this point I had a glue concoction for a bottom and pipe mud lightly coating the sides and epoxy joint. That is worth protecting. I decided to go with another of Mark Tinsky’s suggestions and use the honey/charcoal version of the bowl coating. A couple drops of honey were placed in a small bowl. Water was mixed in with it 1 part honey to 3 parts water to create a very thin yet sticky liquid. I still had charcoal dust laying around from earlier. Using a pipe cleaner bent in half It was dipped into the honey water and lightly swabbed on the entire inside of the bowl. The charcoal then dumped into the bowl, a piece of cardboard held over the rim and a good blow into the draft hole to scatter the charcoal and clear the draft hole. It was then let sit for a few hours and the charcoal dumped and blown out. This Old Dunhill has been rehabilitated and is ready for a few more years of service.I learned a lot from this project. It is the most involved pipe repair I have attempted to date and has opened my eyes to the possibilities from this point on.  Because I know this project could not have been a success without the incredible depth of knowledge that was shared with me I would like to thank those individuals for their giving nature.

I have been reading rebornpipes for years and have structured much of my method after Steve Laug’s style of pipe repair. I don’t think I would have started refurbishing pipes if it were not for this Blog and am honored to be a part of it.

A shout out to Mark Tinsky as well. I doubt there is any aspect of pipe repair or pipe making that this man has not experienced. His patience with me has been instrumental and is greatly appreciated.

Eric Fleming

Boise Idaho

Peterson’s “Kildare” Special HG Republic of Ireland 10 Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s Large Canadian pipe that we purchased from and our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] “Kildare”[over] Special on the topside of the shank. On the right it is stamped with the shape number 10. On the underside it is stamped with a large interlocked HG [followed by] Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines). It is a large Canadian that has a smooth finish with great grain around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a heavy lava overflow on the rim top and edges. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style Fishtail stem. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some deep tooth marks and chatter. There was wear on the edge of the button that would need to be dealt with. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. I turned first to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 306 it says:

Kildare (1965-) First issue of the line with matte-finish in Classic Range shapes. P-lip and fishtail mouthpiece. Second issue c.1979 as Kildare Patch, with rusticated patches on the pipe surface. Third issue 2010, matte brown, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece, no band. Fourth issue 2011-burgundy sandblast finish, nickel army mount, fishtail mouthpiece, exclusive to Smokingpipes.com.

I wrote to Mark Irwin and asked where I could find information on the GH stamp on this particular pipe. I quote his response below.

Hi Steve, the answer is on p. 300 of your Peterson book: “GH Retailer’s Monogram.” The SPECIAL stamp indicates that this pipe was made specially for George Huber of Munich, who had other Peterson pipes made expressly for their shop. Best, Mark

I turned to page 300 of  “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg as noted by him and found a great paragraph on the stamping. I quote in full.

GH Retailer’s Monogram (c. 1960s) George Huber of Munich, Germany, a Peterson distributor and retailer for decades, stamped their monogram on pipes sold in their store, G overlaid on H. Peterson shared in the 1988 commemoration of Huber’s 125th year in business by producing a special pipe with a sterling rim cap, stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION.

The pipe I have is one that bears that monogram but does not appear to have ever had the sterling rim cap and was not stamped HUBER over CELEBRATION. With that information I turned my attention to working on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the front and back of the bowl. The rim top is clean but in rough condition. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the large and deep tooth marks on the button and on the stem ahead of the button were very visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I started by working over the edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I then topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I finished the work with a wooden ball and sandpaper to give the inner edge a slight bevel. Using these methods, I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I touched up the stain on the rim top with a Cherry stain pen. It matched the stain on the rest of the bowl perfectly and once buffed it would blend in very well.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a Bic lighter to try and lift the marks. I was able to lift them slightly. I filled in the deep marks on the stem with Black Rubberized CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I polished it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the leg and tail of the “P” stamp.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.  Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Kildare” Special 10 Canadian with a taper stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Kildare” 10 Canadian was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Restoring a Charatan’s Make 318 Pickaxe Shaped Pipe with a Replacement Acrylic Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a nice-looking sandblast Pickaxe shaped pipe that we purchased from an estate sale from Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Charatan’s Made [over] London England [over] shape number 318. To the left and below the stamping is a circled cursive L. It has a sandblast finish around the bowl and rustication on the shank that is covered with a shiny coat of shellac it appears over a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl and tobacco debris stuck to the walls. There is a thick lava overflow in the sandblast on the inwardly bevelled rim top. The top and edges of the rim looked good under the tars and lava, but that would be very clear once the pipe is cleaned. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The taper stem was an acrylic replacement. It was filthy and there were some deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The button had not been shaped at all and still needed to be slotted and shaped. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake and tobacco debris in the bowl and the heavy lava build up on the sandblast rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked pretty good but a proper clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank under the shiny coat on the finish. It seems to fill in the grooves in the blast. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. An added part of pipe restoration for me is to try to gather as much background on a brand and maker as I can find. With Charatan that is an enjoyable web to try to untangle. There is a lot of information and it can lead to understanding what era a pipe was made in. To try to figure out the era of the Charatan’s pipe I was working on I turned to the Pipephil website, Logos and Stampings (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html). There is some really helpful information on each of the lines of Charatan’s Make pipes that entered the market. There was not a sandblast stamped like the one in hand. The site did give a short history of the brand. I quote the portion that is most pertinent.

The brand was founded in 1863 by Frederik Charatan. When his father retired in 1910, Reuben Charatan took over the family business. All the pipes were handmade until 1973. The brand name has been overtaken by Dunhill in 1978 and sold in 1988 to James B. Russell Inc.(NJ, USA). During the period 1988-2002 Charatans were crafted by Butz Choquin in St Claude (France). Dunhill re-purchased Charatan brand name in 2002 and Colin Fromm (Invicta Briars, Castleford) followed up on freehand production.Next, I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find more information on the brand and possibly a link to a sandblast finished Dublin (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan) but once again in the general article it was not listed. It did give a little more historical information. I quote the pertinent parts that give information on this particular pipe.

In 1950 Herman G. Lane, striving to expand his business in Great Britain, made contacts with the Charatan family. Apparently, Lane got a certain influence soon, but it was not until 1955 that Lane Ltd. became the sole distributor for Charatan’s in the United States superseding Wally Frank. This can be documented in a “biography” written for Herman G. Lane titled “Leaves from a Tobaccoman’s Log”.

Thanks to Herman G. Lane’s dedicated labor Charatan became hugely popular in the States. As reported by Ken Barnes in an interview with Rick Newcombe, Reuben Charatan passed away in 1962, and his widow sold the firm to Herman Lane 1 or 2 years after his death.[1] In the early 1960s Charatan pipes were the first to overstep the $100 Dollar line in US pipe sales. In 1978 Lane’s heirs sold the Charatan company to Dunhill. The Prescot Street factory was closed in March 1982. Thereafter the fame and quality of the make declined.

The pre-Lane period (prior to 1955) and the Lane era pipes (1955 to until sometime between 1979 – 1984) are of primary interest the collector. The Lane era is often quoted as beginning about 1950.

Charatan records are almost non-existent before Lane due to a factory fire, making it difficult to date pre-Lane pipes. Charatan used 4 basic grades prior to 1950: Supreme, Selected, Executive, and Belvedere. After 1950 Herman Lane’s influence began, and the grades started to expand. In 1955 Lane took over sole distributorship of Charatan in the US. In 1957 he introduced the Supreme S. Most of his other introductions were from the 1960s and early 1970s.

From this I am fairly certain I am dealing with a Lane pipe made after 1955. There is also a circle L script mark that is a Lane stampings on the pipe which also supports this.

I continued digging further into the dating of the pipe, but what I had found above was a good start for me. If some of you would like to try your hand at dating it more accurately as to the time period it came out you might want to check out the article on Pipedia on Dating Charatans (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans).

I also reread the article on Pipedia by the Italian fellow who contributed some really helpful information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan_-_Milan_2014). I quote the section on the Second period: Reuben Charatan 1910 – c. 1962. I have highlighted a portion of the section on the shank in red to point out some more helpful dating information.

– In 1962 Herman Lane took over the business from the Charatan family, although he had already influenced production from the 1950s.

– The pipes were mostly larger than the previous ones and corresponded in size to Dunhill group 5. These are slightly less rare, but still difficult to find.

– Stem: Usually in ebonite, saddle shaped or tapered, bearing a fine “CP” stamp, underbore system (see below) used when necessary.

– Shank: The shape code is stamped on it together with the nomenclature “CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND” arranged in two lines. From 1955 onward on the models marketed for the USA there is also a serif and circled capital “L” (but not all models bear this) which resembles the pound sterling symbol. The “L” is for Lane, the importer.

From 1958, Lane changed the nomenclature for models marketed for the US to clarify the message: “MADE BY HAND”.  In this period the underbore was introduced. Its manufacturing period ranged between 1920 and c.1930. This model was equipped with a duralumin plunger trap fitted in the stem, which served to clean the residue more easily. This particular model bore a special stamp on the stem, and also had its own catalogue…

QUALITY GRADES…The stem did not only display the stamps mentioned above. Another stamp that can help dating is the one referring to the quality of the pipe. Until Herman Lane arrived on the scene there were four quality grades. Starting with the lowest: Belvedere, Executive, Selected, and Supreme. Lane went on to add higher grades from time to time: Supreme S, Supreme S100, S150, S200, S250, S300, Coronation, Royal Achievement, Crown Achievement, and Summa Cum Laude; these last three are extremely rare and almost impossible to find. He also invented other, different grades, even changing the previous pipe classification standards. We will not go into detail here, but it means that if we find an S100 or Coronation the pipe was manufactured following Herman Lane’s acquisition. In particular, the FH mark, or Freehand pipe was commissioned to the famous Danish craftsman, Preben Holm.

Nomenclature

The Lane Trademark serif and circled L indicates the pipe is from the “Lane Era” (approx. 1955 to 1979 -1984?), however it appears that both the English factory or Lane themselves sometimes, or perhaps even often forget to stamp the L on a pipe. The Charatan factory was known for inconsistencies, especially in stampings. Therefore, although an L on the pipe definitely defines it as a Lane Era pipe, the lack of it could simply mean the pipe missed receiving the stamp from the factory. The lack of the trademark could also mean the pipe was destined for the European market.

Charatan pipes were not well distributed prior to the Lane Era, so very few pre-Lane pipes exist today. Herman Lane greatly grew the brand in the U.S., which caused corresponding growth in Europe.

Generally, when the pipe is stamped with the BLOCK letters “MADE BY HAND” it means the pipe was probably made between 1958 and 1965”

Generally, block letters “MADE BY HAND” and some of the other nomenclature in script (i.e. City of London or Extra Large next to the MADE BY HAND) means the pipe was made sometime between 1965 and the mid 1970s. The total script nomenclature “Made by Hand in City of London” evolved over this period of time, so many pipes had variants, such as Made By Hand in block letters and City of London in script, or some other variation of the terms or stampings.

It is believed the FH was used on Charatan pipes between 1957 and 1967-68. Three different sizes were used. The Charatan Logo (CP) on the pipe bit was changed over the year

Now I knew I was working on Lane Era pipe which actually means it was between 1955 and 1988 as shown by the stamping. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in excellent condition. There were spots on the surface where the stain had lightened – both inner and outer edges. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the acrylic. It was clean but there were tooth marks and chatter on the stem ahead of the button on both sides. One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one had faint spots on the edges so I was worried that it would worsen with the cleanup. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. The photo is a little blurry but the stamping remains the same. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to capture the look of the pipe as a whole.I started my work on the pipe by touching up the light areas around the rim top and edges with a Walnut Stain pen. It blended well into the surrounding briar. With that finished the bowl was very clean and the sandblast looked great. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on both sides of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter and as expected I was not able to lift them at all. I filled in the tooth marks with clear CA glue and let the cure. I flattened out the repairs with a small file to start blending them in. I sanded the areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper, though I forgot to take photos of this part of the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil to give the sanding pads some bite. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I know that most think it does nothing for acrylic stems but I use it anyway as I find it works very well to deepen the shine. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Charatan’s Make London England 318 Sandblast Pickaxe is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the replacement stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the newly fit stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl. This Charatan’s Make London England 318 Sandblast Pickaxe with an acrylic replacement stem was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/47 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Breathing Life into a Charatan’s Make 4143DC Sandblast Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a nice-looking sandblast Pot shaped pipe that we purchased from an estate sale from Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Charatan’s Made [over] London England [over] a circled cursive L on the left toward the bowl and the shape number 4143DC toward the right toward the stem. It has a sandblast finish around the bowl and shank that is covered with a shiny coat of shellac it appears over a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl and tobacco debris stuck to the walls. There is a thick lava overflow in the sandblast on the inwardly bevelled rim top. The top and edges of the rim looked good under the tars and lava, but that would be very clear once the pipe is cleaned. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The saddle stem was an acrylic replacement. There were some deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The button had not been shaped at all and still needed to be slotted and shaped. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake and tobacco debris in the bowl and the heavy lava build up on the sandblast rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked pretty good but a proper clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth marks and chatter on the stem surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank under the shiny coat on the finish. It seems to fill in the grooves in the blast. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. An added part of pipe restoration for me is to try to gather as much background on a brand and maker as I can find. With Charatan that is an enjoyable web to try to untangle. There is a lot of information and it can lead to understanding what era a pipe was made in. To try to figure out the era of the Charatan’s pipe I was working on I turned to the Pipephil website, Logos and Stampings (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-charatan.html). There is some really helpful information on each of the lines of Charatan’s Make pipes that entered the market. There was not a sandblast stamped like the one in hand. The site did give a short history of the brand. I quote the portion that is most pertinent.

The brand was founded in 1863 by Frederik Charatan. When his father retired in 1910, Reuben Charatan took over the family business. All the pipes were handmade until 1973. The brand name has been overtaken by Dunhill in 1978 and sold in 1988 to James B. Russell Inc.(NJ, USA). During the period 1988-2002 Charatans were crafted by Butz Choquin in St Claude (France). Dunhill re-purchased Charatan brand name in 2002 and Colin Fromm (Invicta Briars, Castleford) followed up on freehand production.Next, I turned to Pipedia to see if I could find more information on the brand and possibly a link to a sandblast finished Dublin (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan) but once again in the general article it was not listed. It did give a little more historical information. I quote the pertinent parts that give information on this particular pipe.

In 1950 Herman G. Lane, striving to expand his business in Great Britain, made contacts with the Charatan family. Apparently, Lane got a certain influence soon, but it was not until 1955 that Lane Ltd. became the sole distributor for Charatan’s in the United States superseding Wally Frank. This can be documented in a “biography” written for Herman G. Lane titled “Leaves from a Tobaccoman’s Log”.

Thanks to Herman G. Lane’s dedicated labor Charatan became hugely popular in the States. As reported by Ken Barnes in an interview with Rick Newcombe, Reuben Charatan passed away in 1962, and his widow sold the firm to Herman Lane 1 or 2 years after his death.[1] In the early 1960s Charatan pipes were the first to overstep the $100 Dollar line in US pipe sales. In 1978 Lane’s heirs sold the Charatan company to Dunhill. The Prescot Street factory was closed in March 1982. Thereafter the fame and quality of the make declined.

The pre-Lane period (prior to 1955) and the Lane era pipes (1955 to until sometime between 1979 – 1984) are of primary interest the collector. The Lane era is often quoted as beginning about 1950.

Charatan records are almost non-existent before Lane due to a factory fire, making it difficult to date pre-Lane pipes. Charatan used 4 basic grades prior to 1950: Supreme, Selected, Executive, and Belvedere. After 1950 Herman Lane’s influence began, and the grades started to expand. In 1955 Lane took over sole distributorship of Charatan in the US. In 1957 he introduced the Supreme S. Most of his other introductions were from the 1960s and early 1970s.

From this I am fairly certain I am dealing with a Lane pipe made after 1955. There is also a circle L script mark that is a Lane stampings on the pipe which also supports this.

I continued digging further into the dating of the pipe, but what I had found above was a good start for me. If some of you would like to try your hand at dating it more accurately as to the time period it came out you might want to check out the article on Pipedia on Dating Charatans (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dating_of_Charatans).

I also reread the article on Pipedia by the Italian fellow who contributed some really helpful information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Charatan_-_Milan_2014). I quote the section on the Second period: Reuben Charatan 1910 – c. 1962. I have highlighted a portion of the section on the shank in red to point out some more helpful dating information.

– In 1962 Herman Lane took over the business from the Charatan family, although he had already influenced production from the 1950s.

– The pipes were mostly larger than the previous ones and corresponded in size to Dunhill group 5. These are slightly less rare, but still difficult to find.

– Stem: Usually in ebonite, saddle shaped or tapered, bearing a fine “CP” stamp, underbore system (see below) used when necessary.

– Shank: The shape code is stamped on it together with the nomenclature “CHARATAN’S MAKE LONDON ENGLAND” arranged in two lines. From 1955 onward on the models marketed for the USA there is also a serif and circled capital “L” (but not all models bear this) which resembles the pound sterling symbol. The “L” is for Lane, the importer.

From 1958, Lane changed the nomenclature for models marketed for the US to clarify the message: “MADE BY HAND”.  In this period the underbore was introduced. Its manufacturing period ranged between 1920 and c.1930. This model was equipped with a duralumin plunger trap fitted in the stem, which served to clean the residue more easily. This particular model bore a special stamp on the stem, and also had its own catalogue…

QUALITY GRADES…The stem did not only display the stamps mentioned above. Another stamp that can help dating is the one referring to the quality of the pipe. Until Herman Lane arrived on the scene there were four quality grades. Starting with the lowest: Belvedere, Executive, Selected, and Supreme. Lane went on to add higher grades from time to time: Supreme S, Supreme S100, S150, S200, S250, S300, Coronation, Royal Achievement, Crown Achievement, and Summa Cum Laude; these last three are extremely rare and almost impossible to find. He also invented other, different grades, even changing the previous pipe classification standards. We will not go into detail here, but it means that if we find an S100 or Coronation the pipe was manufactured following Herman Lane’s acquisition. In particular, the FH mark, or Freehand pipe was commissioned to the famous Danish craftsman, Preben Holm.

Nomenclature

The Lane Trademark serif and circled L indicates the pipe is from the “Lane Era” (approx. 1955 to 1979 -1984?), however it appears that both the English factory or Lane themselves sometimes, or perhaps even often forget to stamp the L on a pipe. The Charatan factory was known for inconsistencies, especially in stampings. Therefore, although an L on the pipe definitely defines it as a Lane Era pipe, the lack of it could simply mean the pipe missed receiving the stamp from the factory. The lack of the trademark could also mean the pipe was destined for the European market.

Charatan pipes were not well distributed prior to the Lane Era, so very few pre-Lane pipes exist today. Herman Lane greatly grew the brand in the U.S., which caused corresponding growth in Europe.

Generally, when the pipe is stamped with the BLOCK letters “MADE BY HAND” it means the pipe was probably made between 1958 and 1965”

Generally, block letters “MADE BY HAND” and some of the other nomenclature in script (i.e. City of London or Extra Large next to the MADE BY HAND) means the pipe was made sometime between 1965 and the mid 1970s. The total script nomenclature “Made by Hand in City of London” evolved over this period of time, so many pipes had variants, such as Made By Hand in block letters and City of London in script, or some other variation of the terms or stampings.

It is believed the FH was used on Charatan pipes between 1957 and 1967-68. Three different sizes were used. The Charatan Logo (CP) on the pipe bit was changed over the year

Now I knew I was working on Lane Era pipe which actually means it was between 1955 and 1988 as shown by the stamping. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in excellent condition. There were spots on the surface where the stain had lightened – both inner and outer edges. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the acrylic. It was in clean but there were tooth marks and chatter on the stem ahead of the button on both sides. One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one had faint spots on the edges so I was worried that it would worsen with the cleanup. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. The photo is a little blurry but the stamping remains the same. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to capture the look of the pipe as a whole.I started my work on the pipe by touching up the light areas around the rim top and edges with a Walnut Stain pen. It blended well into the surrounding briar.With that finished the bowl was very clean and the sandblast looked great. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I decided to open the single hole in the end of the button and shape a slot. I used a Kemper Tool (small pottery saw) to begin the process of shaping the slot in the button. Once it was begun I used several small needle files to further shape the slot. I sanded the edges of the slot with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had finished it was open and the draw was much improved. I “painted” the tooth marks on both sides of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter and as expected I was not able to lift them at all. I filled in the tooth marks with clear CA glue and let the cure. I flattened out the repairs with a small file to start blending them in. I sanded the areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil to give the sanding pads some bite. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. I know that most think it does nothing for acrylic stems but I use it anyway as I find it works very well to deepen the shine. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Charatan’s Make London England 4143 Sandblast Pot is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the replacement stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the newly fit stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl. This Charatan’s Make London England 4143 Sandblast Pot with an acrylic replacement stem was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.62 ounces/46 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Fresh Life for a Republic Era Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky 608S Saddle Stem Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a sandblast Peterson’s Rusitcated Pot shaped pipe that we purchased from an auction in Manorville, New York, USA on 07/28/2022. It was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] “Donegal” Rocky [over] Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) followed by the shape number 608S. There is a band on the shank that is stamped on the left side and reads K&P in shields [over] Sterling Silver. Under those stamps there are three hallmarks – Hibernia seated, Crowned Harp for country of manufacture and a date letter in this case an oddly shaped upper case “S”. It has a rusticated finish around the bowl and shank that has a lot of oils, debris and grime in the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a heavy lava overflow in the rustication on the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl looks to have significant damage on the left front under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip Saddle Stem. It had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl and the heavy lava build up on the rusticated rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked rough but a proper clean up would tell the full story. At this point the inner edge of the left side of the bowl looked to be out of round. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. More would be visible once Jeff cleaned it up. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime and what looks to be white paint around the sides of the bowl and shank in the rusticated finish. It seems to fill in the grooves in the rustication. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Sterling Silver ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. The hallmarks are light but readable.

I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson Company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

I turned to the hallmarking chart on one of the blogs on rebornpipes to lock down the date for the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/peterson-cataloguecomp_page_27.jpg). The chart defines the meaning of each hallmark. The first one of the seated woman with a harp is known as the Hibernia stamp and identifies the pipe as made in Ireland. The second stamp is a crowned harp which is a fineness mark denoting the high quality of silver that was used. The third stamp is an oddly shaped S. I have included a larger screen capture of the chart in the lower left of the photo below.

I have drawn a RED CIRCLE around the date letter below. What appeared to be an upper-case S actually is a very stylized G as seen in the circled letter below. It identifies the date of this Peterson’s pipe to 1974.I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950 and the present. The hallmarks date the pipe to 1974. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. The silver tarnished once again and would need to be polished because it had been sitting here for awhile. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges look quite good though the bowl was very out of round with damage to the left side toward the front of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the light tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the band. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is faint but still readable. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good-looking pipe and has a rugged rustication around the bowl. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edge of the rim and the top. I built up the damaged edge with clear CA glue and briar dust. The initial start looks pretty awful but follow through the photos. I used a brass bristle brush to clean up the rusticated rim top. I worked over the inner edge of the rim with both a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. The rim top and edges looked significantly better after the clean up. I touched up the inner edge and the rim top with a Walnut stain pen to match the stain on the briar around the bowl. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I polished the Sterling Silver band on the shank with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and polish it. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the light tooth marks on both sides. I was able to lift all of them. I followed that by sanding it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing of the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I am excited to finish this Republic Era Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky 608S Pot. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rugged rustication all around it. Added to that the polished Sterling Silver band and the black vulcanite stem was beautiful. This rusticated Classic Peterson’s “Donegal” Rocky Pot is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams/1.06 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the Irish Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

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

Restoring a Smooth, Republic Era Peterson’s System Star 307 Sterling Silver Ferrule

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from and estate in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Star on the left side of the shank vertically below the silver ferrule. On the right it is stamped Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 307. It has a smooth finish around the bowl and shank that is covered with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim top that was heavier toward the back side. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side Peterson [over] Dublin. That is followed by Sterling [over] Silver. On the underside there are three hallmarks – Hibernia seated, Crowned Harp for country of manufacture and a date letter in this case a lower case “m”. There is a small dent on the underside of the ferrule. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth marks and chatter. There were tooth marks on the button itself as well. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Sterling Silver Ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. The hallmarks are light but readable. I have not seen the System Star stamp before so this new stamping made me once again turn to The Peterson Pipe by Mark Irwin & Gary Malmberg. I looked up the System Star in the book and on page 315 it includes this information:

Peterson’s over System over Star (c1979-c.1985, 2010) A high-quality line between the De Luxe and Premier, in smooth burgundy finish with sterling domed mount.

I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. This is the second of two Peterson’s System pipes marked with the 307 shape number that I have worked on in the past few days. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. I am also including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era  – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

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

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

I have written many times about the hallmarks on Peterson’s Pipes and have included date charts in the past. Here is another date chart (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/peterson-hallmark-chart.jpg). I spelled out the details of the hallmarks in the opening paragraph above but now want to specifically address the date of the pipe. It has a lower case “m” in the cartouche on the silver. Using the chart below the lower case “m” dates the pipe as being made in 1978. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent letter in the screen capture below. With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the System Star pipe was made during the Republic Era in 1978. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual clean up process. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour I was amazed it looked so good. I removed the incorrect stem and replaced it with a correct P-Lip stem for a 307 that I had here in my box of stems. The bonus was that the tenon had a brass chimney in the end that was correct for this pipe. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in good condition. There was some darkening and slight damage to the inner edge. The rim top also had some nicks and marks. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean  and the tooth marks on the button and on the stem ahead of the button were very visible in the photos.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I removed the damage on the inner edge and the nicks on the rim top. It looked significantly better.  I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. With briar polished with the Restoration Balm I moved onto the metal. I polished the Sterling Silver ferrule with a jewellers cloth to raise the shine and to protect it from further oxidation. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them a bit but not totally. I filled in the deep marks that remained with clear CA glue and sit it aside to cure. Once it cured I used a file to flattened the repairs and redefine the button edge. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to further blend in the repairs. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I scrubbed the stem with SoftScrub to remove the oxidization left in the vulcanite of the saddle stem. I was able to remove a significant amount of oxidation that was on the saddle portion of the stem. It looked significantly better at this point.I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson System Star 307 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and Sterling Silver ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Star 307 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.43 ounces/70 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Peterson’s System Standard XL307 Made in the Republic of Ireland Rusticated Bent

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Rusticated Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from and estate in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s System Standard on the underside side of the shank in a smooth panel. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. That is followed by the shape number XL307 [over] Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines). It has a rugged, tactile rustication around the bowl and shank that is fill with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim top that was heavier toward the back side. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P [over] three faux hallmarks. That is followed by Petersons. It is not dented or damaged. The stem was the wrong stem for the pipe. It was not a Peterson’s style P-Lip but rather a Wellington style with the airway exiting on the end of the stem. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. I would need to restem it with a proper stem once I received it in Vancouver. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. You can also see the exit of the airway on the stem end rather than the to of the P-lip. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime in the rustication around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s over three Peterson marks used on nickel ferrules. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. This is the second of two Peterson’s System Standard pipes in Bob’s collection marked with the 307 shape number. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. I am also including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era  – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

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

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

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. My guess is that the pipes is a 1960s era System pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual clean up process. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour I was amazed it looked so good. I removed the incorrect stem and replaced it with a correct P-Lip stem for a 307 that I had here in my box of stems. The bonus was that the tenon had a brass chimney in the end that was correct for this pipe.I put the stem in the pipe and took photos of it with the correct stem. I liked the look of the pipe at this point in the process. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in excellent condition. I also took close up photos of the replacement stem I put in the shank to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean other than some slight oxidation at the edges of the button. There were no tooth marks or chatter on the stem surface.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up some of the polishing compound left in the rustication ahead shank rustication ahead of the ferrule. I worked the end over with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the crud in the finish. The photos show the progress.  I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the rusticated surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. With briar polished with the Restoration Balm I moved onto the metal. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jewellers cloth to raise the shine and to protect the ferrule from further oxidation. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation that remained in the vulcanite and also the light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better even though there was some faintness on the curve of the P.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.  Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Rusticated Peterson System XL307 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Peterson’s System Standard XL307 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/64 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

On My Diversionary Pipe Hunt I Found this French Made Lotus Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table was second pipe I found on a recent trip to Alberta. I had a couple of hours to kill so I stopped at an antique mall along the way. The first was an Italian made cross grained Molina Bent Billiard that I already restored (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/09/27/took-a-diversionary-pipe-hunt-and-found-this-molina-81007-bent-billiard/). The second pipe I found was a French Made Bent Billiard. It was time to work on the second one now. On the left side of the shank it is stamped Lotus in script, underlined [over] Made in France. The pipe was in dirty condition. The finish on the bowl and shank were coated with a thick coat of grime and oils ground into the surface. There were many fills in the bowl sides, heel and the shank. The bowl had a thick cake that overflowed with a thick coat of lava on the rim top that obscured the inner and outer edges of the bowl. There appeared to be some damage on the front outer edge of the bowl. The black, hard rubber stem had an orific button and there was the beginning of a slot being shaped points to an older pipe. It was dirty and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. There were small white paint spots on the shank and the stem. I took photos of the pipe before I started my clean up work on it to give a clear photo of the condition of the pipe before I started my work. I took a photo of the bowl and the rim top. The bowl had a thick cake that covered the bowl walls and bottom. The rim top and the bevelled inner edge of the bowl had a thick lava overflow. There appeared to be some damage on the front outer edge of the bowl. It was hard to know for sure what was underneath until it was cleaned. The hard rubber stem shows light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button as mentioned above. There were paint spots on the stem top and sides. It had promise but it was dirty!I took a photo of the left shank side to try to capture the stamping on the briar. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the pipe’s proportions.I dropped a message to Kenneth Lieblich about the pipe because of his love of French Made Pipes and his work on gathering information on them. He wrote me back with the following helpful hint.

I think Lotus was a line of Delacour Brothers. Delacour closed around 1960, so if it’s one of their pipes, it must be older than that.

He wrote back with some more information as well:

Very little, but there’s a possible tidbit. There is a lighter company called Lotus, but I don’t think that’s related. However, my tidbit is a tobacco shop in Paris called “Le Lotus”. It’s been there for a while, but I haven’t yet figured out how long. That seems like a possibility, however tenuous. It’s also possible that it’s a second from one of the big French companies, but I don’t have a listing for it.

Also, there was a Lotus brand made by Delacour Bros. — that might be the most likely. The St Claude branch of Delacour, not the London branch.

I started by looking up the tobacco shop in Paris that Kenneth referred to “Le Lotus”. I found the shop in Paris and it looks to be an amazing shop with a huge selection of cigars. It is an old style tobacco shop and I suppose it could have some pipe tobacco but there were no photos showing any available. It is still a shop that I would love to visit one day that is for certain.

I agreed with Kenneth’s suggestion that the pipe is probably made by the St. Claude brandch of Delacour. I decided to do some digging to see if I could find information that definitively linked the Lotus pipe to Delacour.

I turned first to Pipephil to see what I could learn (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-d4.html). It gave a brief history of the brand and link to both the French and British activities of the company. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section and the comments from the side bar below. Delacour pipes were crafted in the St Claude (14 bis rue Carnot) factory. The brand was founded in the late 19th century by Alix Delacour and owned a subsidiary company in London. Their activities stopped in the late 1950s.

From there I turned to look up the brand on Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Delacour). There was very little included in the article. In fact, it gave a very brief history and a link to the company website. I quote the article in its entirety below.

The Delacour factory was built around 1892 and expanded in 1893) in Saint-Claude, Jura, France, Rue Carnot 14 bis.

The owner was Alix Delacour. Already in 1909 the factory was further expanded. Delacour had their own briar drying facilities. In 1960, the pipe factory closed. (Brand name was probably taken over by Jeantet). The Delacour building harbored afterwards: an eye-wear company, dance school, restaurant, etc. There was not any direct mention of the Lotus brand in the material but the shape and the look of the pipe is much like the Delacour pipes. I am about 99% clear that the pipe is a Delacour pipe. Given that information it was time to work on the pipe itself.

I started my work by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer to remove the thick cake on the walls so I could see what they looked like. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape off the remaining cake on the bowl walls. I followed that by sanding the walls of the bowl until they were smooth with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls showed no checking or cracking which is remarkable. I cleaned off the rim top and bevelled inner edge carefully, wet sanding the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It cleaned up quite well. I also gently topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to minimize the damage on the top and outer edge of the bowl. I scrubbed the bowl down with a tooth brush and some undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime and oils around the bowl and shank. I rinsed it down with warm water to remove the debris. I coloured in the fills with a Walnut stain pen then filled them in with a clear CA glue. There were nine fills around the bowl and also the rebuild of the damage on the front of the outer edge of the rim. I sanded the glue repairs to the fills with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I smooth them out so that the surface of the repairs was smooth and blended together. I touched up the repaired spots and the bevelled inner edge of the rim with a Walnut stain pen to prepare the bowl for restaining. I stained the bowl with Fiebing’s Cordovan aniline stain. I flamed it and repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage on the bowl.I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on cotton pads to make the stain more transparent and still leave the repaired fills hidden. I worked on the finish around the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads to dry sand the briar. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth after each sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for ten minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. It was at that moment I remembered I had not cleaned the shank and stem. I turned to work on that now. I cleaned out the airway and mortise in the shank and the airway in the stem. I used 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the tars and oils. It was extremely dirty and once cleaned smelled and looked better.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. It was in decent condition with very light tooth marks. I polished the stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads and was able to remove the marks. I wiped it down Obsidian Oil on a cotton cloth. I finished my polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra-Fine polishes. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set aside.I am excited to finish restoration of this Lotus Made in France Bent Billiard. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. I love the look of the polished grain on the pipe with the polished black hard rubber stem. It is a very beautiful looking pipe. This smooth Lotus Bent Billiard is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 4 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 33 grams/1.16 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the French Pipemakers Section soon. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

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

Breathing New Life into a Stunning Ben Wade Danish Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is another that came to me for restoration from a friend in the US. He sent three pipes for me to restore for him. I finished the restoration of the first of these – a 1913 GBD 347 Straight Apple (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/09/23/breathing-life-into-a-1913-mrco-gbd-london-england-347-apple/). I am turning to the second one he sent, a beautiful Ben Wade Connoisseurs Collection First Edition Long Diamond Shank Brandy with a saddle stem. That leaves the final one that I need to work on an interesting Ivarsson 389 Product Apple. All the pipes are gorgeous examples of pipe craft and all were incredibly dirty and showed various issues with their finishes. The stamping on the pipe was as follows. On the top left side of the long diamond shank it read Ben Wade in script [over] Connoisseur Collection [over] First Edition. On the left underside it is stamped Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. On the right side it was stamped Reg. No. 80343. My guess is that this is a Ben Wade made by Preben Holm during the time Dunhill had him making Freehands for them. The pipe was in dirty condition. The finish on the bowl and shank were worn and dirty with grime and darkening ground into the surface all around the bowl and shank. The cake in the bowl was very thick – so much so that I could not put my little finger into the bowl. The lave flowed over the rim top and inner and outer edges of the bowl. It seemed to be in fair condition under the lava but cleaning would tell the story. The vulcanite diamond saddle stem had a crown logo on the top of the diamond. The stem was dirty and had file marks/sanding marks and tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took photos of the pipe before I started my clean up work on it to give a clear picture of the condition of the pipe before I started my work. I took a photo of the bowl and the rim top. The bowl had a very thick cake on the walls and bottom. I was not able to even put my little finger in the bowl. The rim top and the inner edge of the bowl showed some nicks and a thick lava overflow. There also seemed to be some burn marks on the inner edge. It was hard to know for sure what was underneath but I would be there would be some darkening. The vulcanite stem shows some deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button as mentioned above. There were also some file or coarse sandpaper marks. It had promise but it was dirty!I took photos of the shank sides to try to capture the stamping on the briar. I took photos of the stamping on the right top side, underside and right top side of the diamond shank. It was clear and readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo to get a sense of the length of the shank and overall look of the pipe. It is a beauty!I did a Google search on the Ben Wade Connoisseur Collection [over] First Edition and found two listings on Worthpoint (an auction site). The first included the pipe, the hand made case and the certificate of authenticity (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ben-wade-pipe-preben-holm-connoisseur-521474453). Make sure to read the certificate as it clearly states that Preben Holm made the pipe under the auspices of Ben Wade. The First Edition was limited to 504 pipes. Theoretically a second edition etc. would follow. We know that Holm died in 1989 so it appears that there was only one edition of the pipe. That makes this a rather unique and very collectible piece.

I copied the advertisement on Worthpoint in full and included it below. The description of the pipe is quite amazing as is details on the shape, size, finish etc. I quote:

You are bidding on a special BEN WADE, ” CONNOISSEUR COLLECTION ” first limited edition series that was hand crafted by legendary pipemaker PREBEN HOM, in Denmark, in 1980. This pipe shows a darker reddish stain that nicely accentuates the well-defined birdseye and cross grain that cover the entire bowl and shank. Top of bowl is very clean and in excellent condition (please see pictures). The shank itself and the mouthpiece show a distinct diamond shape. Unique, ” Canted Danish Billiard ” shaped bowl with a 1/4 bent, diamond shaped shank. Part of a ” LIMITED EDITION ” series called ” Connoisseur Collection ” of distinctively shaped and numbered pipes. This is number 388 of a first series of only 504. There has never been a second edition of Ben Wade pipes. This is roughly the size (and capacity) of a Dunhill ODA sized pipe. Lovely grain textures, unique shape, great condition and overall quality artisanship! A very lovely piece and a very original play on an old classic! This pipe has been formerly lightly smoked and is in very good condition. A pipe cleaner passed through with ease. This pipe comes in its original presentation box, and with the original certificate. The pipe was cleaned, polished and taken care of by one of the oldest pipemakers in Montreal, now celebrating 107 years of pipe making (est. 1907)! Markings: The mouthpiece is the original (acrylic), shows the original Ben Wade “crown” and is in excellent condition (no marks …). Ben Wade CONNOISSEUR COLLECTION FIRST EDITION HAND MADE INDENMARK REG NO. 8021 ……(21st PIPE OF THE FIRST EDITION, 1980). Dimensions:  Overall height of pipe: 2″ Length: 6 3/4″ Inner Diam. = 7/8″ Outer Diam. (top of bowl) = 1 3/8″ If there are any questions about this item or any other items presently available, please feel free to ask.

The second listing on Worthpoint (https://www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/ben-wade-connoisseur-collection-first-486770771) was a second pipe with the same stamping other than the Reg. No. I have copied it below for the further information. In this article it says that Holm died in 1975 but he died in 1989. The other error it seems to my research that Ben Wade made the pipe in honour of Preben Holm. However, it seems that pipes were actually made or designed by Holm himself. I quote:

Bari Preben Holm died 1975 this pipe was made in his Ben Wade (Dunhill) era Wade Connoisseur Collection First Edition Reg.No.80353 Hand Made in Denmark that’s it!! This pipe is amazing good old times this pipe was made for collectors and lovers for a very good Danish pipe by Ben Wade to honour Preben Holm Hand Made unique birdseye smoked made without any number- means this pipe is unique. This pipe shows a smooth finish-no scratches no tooth marks very good condition for the age!!! Nearly 45years old!!High: 4,5 cm = 1,77 inch length: 17 cm = 6,68 inch smoked pipe comes cleaned with 96% alk x-mas is coming shipping with tracking number and insurance Austria : 6 €eu : 14€ = 18 $us and worldwide : 19 € = 25$i am a private seller: no returns no exchanges.Given those facts I can be certain that the pipe was made by Preben Holm in Denmark prior to his death in 1989. From the information above using the Reg. No. 80343 stamp we are given a method of dating the pipe. The pipe is thus the 34th pipe of the first edition made in 1980. It is a limited collector series of pipes that combines a touch of freehand with a classic Danish Canadian. It was a way in which Dunhill could carve a niche for themselves in the burgeoning freehand market in the US. Now it was tie to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer to remove the thick cake on the walls so I could see what they looked like. Strangely, I touched the cake with the tip of the cutting head and the cake crumbled out onto the paper. It was very soft and crumbly and I have never had an entire cake come out of the bowl with the first touch of the reamer. I used a KleenReem pipe reamer to clean up the bottom of the bowl and remove remnants of cake there. I followed that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape off the bits of remaining cake on the bowl walls. I followed that by sanding the walls of the bowl until they were smooth with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls showed no checking or cracking which is remarkable. I took a photo of the mountain of carbon that came out of the bowl with the reaming.I cleaned out the airway and mortise in the shank and the airway in the stem. I used 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the tars and oils. It was extremely dirty and once cleaned smelled and looked better.I decided to deal with the damage and darkening to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl next. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the nicks and damage on the edge. Once finished it looked much better. I cleaned up the damage to the rim top and thick lava coat with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper and a topping board. I lightly topped the bowl to remove the damage. I did not remove much briar at all, actually I removed the thick lava coat and smooth out the nicks and marks. That was my goal and I think it worked well. I touched up the stain on the rim top with a Walnut stain pen. It would even out as I polished and buffed it. I worked on the finish around the rim top and bowl with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads to dry sand the briar. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth after each sanding pads. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for ten minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine.    I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I painted the stem surface with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them quite a bit. I repaired what remained with some light spots of CA. I would have left them but the marks were large and needed to be addressed. I sanded out the repairs and blended them into the surface with 220 grit sandpaper. I stared polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down Obsidian Oil on a cotton cloth. I finished my polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra-Fine polishes. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set aside. I am excited to finish the restoration of this 1980s Preben Holm carved Era Ben Wade Connoisseur Collection First Edition Danish Canadian. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. I love the look of the polished grain on the pipe with the polished black vulcanite stem. This smooth Ben Wade Connoisseur Collection Canadian is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is quite light for its size and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 46 grams/1.62 ounces. It turned out to be a beautiful pipe. I will be sending it back to the pipeman who sent it to me once I finish the final remaining pipe. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

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

Sometimes I wish I had been alive in the time of the classic shops in North America – Breathing Life into an Ansell’s Wash.D.C. Saddle Stem Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was purchased on 05/21/22 from and Antique Store in Longview, Washington, USA. Both Jeff and I love hunting for pipes and we pick up quite a few pipes for restoration from shops on our travels. We work them into the restoration queue so that we can keep them moving. This is a beautifully grained Billiard with a vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe is stamped on the left side and reads 76 next to the shank bowl junction followed by the stamp IMPORTED BRIAR. On the right side of the shank it reads Ansell’s [over] Wash.D.C. The finish had a lot of grime ground into the smooth finish on the bowl and some darkening around the sides of the bowl. The bowl was thickly caked with an overflowing thick lava coat on the bevelled rim top and edges of the rim. The stem was lightly oxidized, dirty and had light tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button. There were not markings or a logo on the saddle stem. It had promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.    He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the overflow of lava on the rim top. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the light chatter and tooth marks. You can also see the light oxidation and calcification on the surface. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar around the pipe looked like. There is some stunning grain under the build up of grime. He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I turned to Pipedia to see if there was any information on the brand that gives me the background info that I enjoy as I work on a pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ansell%27s). I found a brief article and I quote it below in full.

Ansell’s Pipe and Tobacco store was at 820 14th St. NW in Washington D.C. It was one of three pipe brands I know of which are marked with Wash. D.C. The others are Bertram pipes and A. Garfinkel.

There was also a photo of a label and matchbook. Thanks to Doug Valitchka for his photo.From this information I learned that Ansell’s was a Pipe and Tobacco Shop in Washington DC and along with Bertrams and Garfinkel made and sold their own pipes. Previously, Jeff and I picked it up a group of pipes from a seller who had bought them at the closing auction of the Bertram’s Pipe Shop in 1970. Though this one came from a separate sale, I think that it is safe to assume that the pipe was made prior to that.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his habitual process that delivers a very clean pipe to me for work. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe once I received it.     The rim top cleaned up well with the lava coat removed. The inner edge of the rim had some burn damage on the left and back of the bowl with some darkening and burning on the rim top in the same places. The stem surface looked very good with a few small tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the shank. There is a 76 stamped next to the shank/bowl junction followed by Imported Briar on the left side and Ansell’s in script [over] WASH.D.C. I left on trip around Alberta for work before working on the pipe. I decided to bring it along to work on in the evenings once work was finished. At the first hotel I started my work on the pipe. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The saddle stem billiard is a nice looking pipe. The stem also has an aluminum stinger in the tenon.I brought along a bag with some 220 and 600 grit sandpaper and a set of micromesh sanding pads. Now it was time to do my work on the pipe. I took the pipe to the desk top in the hotel room and started my work. The bevelled rim top and the inner edge of the rim was damaged with burn marks and darkening. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean it up and remove the damage. It looked significantly better.   Once I had cleaned up the bevelled rim top and edges I polished the bowl and the rim top, sides and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each pad with a damp cloth. At that point my trip was over and I returned to Vancouver. After a good night sleep I got up in the morning and returned working on the pipe. I used a Walnut stain pen to touch up the stain on the bevelled rim top and rim edges. I stained it and set it aside to cure.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for about ten minutes and then buffed it off with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I heated the stinger and twisted it free of the shank. It was pressure fit in the tenon and the tars and oils held it tight in place. I used a pair of needle nose pliers to carefully twist it free. I cleaned the tenon area after it was removed but it was not too dirty.I polished the tooth marks and chatter out of the vulcanite stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I finished my polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra-Fine polishes. I wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside.I pressed the stinger back in the tenon. It is simple to remove so if the new owner does not want it in place he/she can remove it.This Ansell’s Wash.D.C. Imported Briar Billiard with a vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Ansell’s Saddle Stem Billiard fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe 1.20 ounces/34 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section soon. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

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