Tag Archives: restaining

Restemming JSP (Joel Shapiro) Stack that came with a misfit stem

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is large, tall bent stack with a poorly fit long Churchwarden stem. The diameter of the shank is not even close to the stem diameter. It appears to me that someone had added the stem solely to create their own long stem smoke. The shank end was a bit damaged on the on the face of the stem. I would need to do something to deal with that when I worked on it. This particular pipe had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some nice grain around the bowl sides and shank underneath the dark reds and black stem. It came to us from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/26/2023. This Bent Stack was stamped on the underside of the shank and read JSP. There were no other stamps on the shank sides. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with oils and grime ground into the briar sides and rim. The bowl had a thick cake and some darkening on the inner edge of the rim. There was some light lava on the rim top. The misfit stem was dirty but there was no oxidation or calcification on it. There were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was not a logo stamped on the stem. The diameter of the shank was significantly larger than that of the stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl showed some moderate cake and some darkening on the inner edge. The rim top looked quite clean with small specks of lava on the surface. The photos of the stem show the light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the grain showing through the black and red stain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. He took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photo below and is as noted above. He took a photo of the fit of the stem against the shank end. You can see the difference in the diameter of the stem and the shank as well as some of the nicks and marks in the shank end. I turned to a blog I wrote recently about a JSP pipe. That one was a Bamboo shank poker that was quite beautiful. Here is the link to that blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2023/07/13/restoring-an-american-made-jsp-7-bamboo-shank-poker/). I quote from that blog now in the section on the background to the brand.

I turned to Pipedia to have a look at the history of the brand. I was pretty sure it was made by Joel Shapiro but needed confirmation (https://pipedia.org/wiki/JS_Pipes). Here is the information from the article.

Welcome to JS Pipes! http://www.jspipes.com

Let me introduce myself. My name is Joel Shapiro, and I live in Rancho Cordova, California. I offer a limited number of handmade briar pipes for sale.

The type of briar (Grecian, Italian, etc.) will be noted for each pipe made, along with further details concerning stem type (ebonite, lucite, cumberland, etc.) and shank extensions. A complete size description will be included with each pipe posted for sale.

I do not fill any flaws in the briar, so the buyer will see exactly what is offered with nothing to hide. All pipes are finished with a buffed in coat of carnauba wax over the stain. Stains are all alcohol based and will not seal the wood, so won’t alter the smoking experience or the breathing qualities of the briar.

In addition, I also offer a unique tamper design. My tampers are hand turned from quality hardwoods and the foot is cut at an angle to aid in mounding the tobacco and keeping the ember banked. I have found that this design results is fewer relights for a more enjoyable smoke. I can make these in any custom size and in most hardwoods, including some exotics. If you’d like a custom size (for very large pipes for example) or material, please contact me at jspipes@jspipes.com. All tampers are priced at $24.95, unless the material chosen is particularly expensive or difficult to work.

If you’d like to buy a pipe or tamper, but prefer to pay by money order or check, please e-mail (jspipes@jspipes.com) for my mailing address.

Would you like an email when new pipes are posted? Send me an e-mail and request to be on the JS Pipes mailing list! jspipes@jspipes.com

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 the darkened spots with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived.I went through my can of stems until I found the one that fit the angles and the diameter of the shank. I used a Dremel and sanding drum and a file to reduce the diameter of the tenon on the new stem to fit the shank. Now it was time to deal with the damage on the shank end. I decided to use a thin brass band to provide a smooth base for the new stem to sit against. I gave the shank end a thin coat of white all-purpose glue and spread it with a tooth pick. I pressed the band in place on the shank and wiped off the excess glue. The end was smooth and the bit of brass gave the pipe a touch of bling that was perfect. I took photos of the newly fitted band and have included them below. With the band in place on the shank I fit the stem in the shank and took photos of the new look. I still needed to polish the new stem but I wanted to give a sense of the whole with the photos. Have a look. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl along with the stem to show their general condition. The rim top looked good and the stem was in good condition as well without tooth marks or chatter on either side. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The JSP stamp is clear and readable.I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to make the stain a bit more transparent so the grain showed through. I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the bowl after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I used a Mahogany stain pen to touch up the rim top to match the rest of the bowl. The rim matches the colour in the rest of the bowl and shank perfectly.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. 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 finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it sit and absorb into the vulcanite.I am excited to finish this JSP “Joel Shapiro” Briar Stack with Vulcanite taper Stem. 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. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl made a stunning pipe. This smooth JSP Joel Shapiro Stack is great looking with its new stem 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: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.38 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the American (US)Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. 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.

Kenneth’s Pipe Incident Report

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Blog by Kenneth Lieblich

Here is another instalment of my Pipe Incident Report. The idea, in general, is to provide a brief write-up – focusing on a particular pipe-related problem and/or solution, rather than an entire restoration story. Previous articles in this series have discussed such things as plaster of Paris, lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol, Cordovan stain, et cetera. Today, I will talk you through my process of repairing a badly damaged shank. This shank was not simply cracked (as is often the case), but, as the photos show, was missing a large chunk of briar. One’s first question might be, “Why bother fixing this at all? Toss it in the fireplace!” That’s a fair point. In this case, however, the owner of the pipe wanted to keep it as a memento of her grandfather. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I was only too happy to help fulfill her wish.The pipe is a no-name churchwarden (with the word “Czech” along the shank) and it had clearly been through the wars. Not literally, of course, but this pipe was smoked hard! The old fellow must have loved this pipe and it must have smoked well. The stummel was full of cake, lava erupting on the rim, and fills everywhere – in fact, I counted no fewer than 39 fills. Anyway, let’s take a closer look at the shank. You can see what the problem is. My guess is that the shank was broken when the stem was removed from it at an inopportune moment. The tenon on the stem is an odd metal thing, which I suspect might be a replacement. The tenon and mortise certainly don’t fit together very well. Regardless, the tenon needs to be repaired in a manner that is both structurally sound and aesthetically pleasing.Furrowing my brow, I consulted with Steve about solutions he’s used in the past for this sort of problem. He initially proposed building up the shank with a mixture of briar dust and CA glue. This is what I had originally considered too, but I also toyed with the idea of actually using a chunk of briar in place of the missing wood. Steve said it might be fun to try, so that’s what I did. Regardless of which technique I used, the shank would have to be banded in order to provide structural integrity and (preferably) to hide some of the repair – which will be unsightly no matter what.

I have some wrecked stummels among my workbench items. I picked one, broke off a piece, and set about fitting it in place. It was immediately apparent that I needed a bit more wood, so I took another, smaller piece and fit that one too. I must admit, it took some trimming, filing, and general tinkering/fiddling to make it fit. Once I had a reasonable fit, I glued the pieces to the shank with CA glue. There were still gaps among the cracks and I dealt with that by adding a mixture of CA glue and briar dust.

Once the CA glue was cured, I set about filing, sanding, and shaping my repair. I obviously sanded the top of the shank to make it look normal, but I also sanded the end because the added bits extended beyond the main part of the shank. I also ensured that there was no roughness (or other problems) inside the mortise. To that end, I also gently filed the mortise. What an improvement! Fortunately, I found the perfect band to place on this stummel. It was made of brass, fit very snuggly, and – most importantly – it was quite long. The band covered all repairs beautifully.After prepping the stummel, I stained it so as to provide some camouflage for the aforementioned fills. I then added the band with some glue and polished it to a shine. The photo below is not quite the finished product but it is close enough to show what a difference this repair made.If you do try this type of shank repair, please let me know how it goes. I would be interested to know what your results are. I hope you enjoyed reading this instalment of the Pipe Incident Report – I look forward to writing more. If you are interested in my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Refreshing an unsmoked, varnished FRB Old Briar Bent Egg

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is mixed finish Full Bent Egg. It came to us in a Chacom pipe sock in a FRB was clean and unsmoked with a varnished finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It came to us as part of a trade on 01/12/2023. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads FRB in an oval with Old Bruyere arched underneath it. It is stamped on the right side and reads MFD BY ROSSI [over] BY ROSSI. The pipe was clean as noted and very shiny with a top coat when he brought it to the table. It was smooth with rusticated patches around the bowl sides, base and shank. There were also a lot of putty fills in the rusticated areas. The rim top and edges were very clean. The rim top but the edges of the bowl were very clean. Some of the putty in the rustication on the shank end and sides was pitted and damaged. The stem was clean with no oxidation or calcification on it. There were no tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was a white circle with a dot logo on the left side of the taper stem. The inside of the tenon held an inner tube. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is clean, unsmoked and the rim top and the inner edge of the bowl is also clean. The photos of the stem show no damage or marks on the stem surface. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the mixed finish of rustication and smooth. The photos show that patterns in the rustication and to some degree the putty that was in the rustication around this bowl and shank. It is a nice looking pipe. He took a photo of the left side of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photo below and is as noted above. He did not take a photo of the right side as it is hidden slightly in the rustication. He also captured the white circle logo on the left side of the stem. You can also see what appears to be a chip in the shank next to the stem. Looking at it closely it appears to me that the area is not a chip but rather it is a spot where the fill is chipped or shrunken. I will be able to confirm that once I see it in person.I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-n1.html#ninorossi) to see what I could find on the FRB brand. There was nothing specifically on that. I did however make the connection to the stamping on the right side to Rossi. I looked up information on pipes made by Nino Rossi and low and behold there was a photo and a bit of information that connects the Rossi Brand to FRB. I have included the photo of the pertinent section below. It reads as follows:

After the first world war Leonida Rossi was designated as chairman and joined by his brothers. The name of the corporate because Fratelli Rossi Barasso hence FRB abbreviation.

So, I now knew that the FRB and Rossi connection is very clear. I would need more information to pin down the dates that FRB was stamped and where the FRB fit in the Rossi hierarchy.I then turned to the Pipe Brands and Makers list for Italy on Pipedia to see if I could get an even tighter connection to Rossi (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Italian_Pipe_Brands_%26_Makers_D_-_F). I found the connection in the list. It read as follows and contained a link to Rossi on Pipedia.

FRB Fratelli Rossi Barasso. See Rossi.

I turned to the article on Pipedia on Rossi to see if could get a sense of the timing and the placement of the FRB line in the Rossi hierarchy (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Rossi). I quote from that article below.

Ferdinando Rossi from Milan was one of the most important wholesalers for tobacco related goods of northern Italy. When he attended one of his pipe suppliers in Saint-Claude in 1880 he got hooked on the idea to establish this manner of industrialised briar pipe production in Italy as well. Rossi went abroad several times to buy the hardware here and there because the special features of machines for pipemaking were secrets – well kept by the French in those days. Many machines and tools had to be modified on Rossi’s defaults.

He acquired a large area of land in Barasso in the province of Varese and founded the Fabbrica di Pipe di Radica Rossi in 1886. For sure there was no lack of skilled workers and Rossi personally recruited 30 craftsmen of different occupations from the environment to get started. After a few years the enterprise had developed well and entered into export trades. In 1892 e.g. the ledgers registered the first pipes shipped to Brazil.

One reason of success was the ultramodern conception of the factory and its equipment at the given time. To give an example: a system of canals invented by Rossi drove water to turbines propelling downstream generators, which supplied the entire machinery with electricity. Also lighting and heating were already electrically operated.

In the first years after 1900 Rossi grew steadily and became one of the ten biggest pipe manufacturers of the world. Rossi’s rapid ascent produced further foundations of pipemaking firms in the area around the Lake of Varese.

1897 Gerolamo Ceresa (starting as subcontractor for Rossi) in Cassano Magnano
1900 Fratelli Lana in Gallarate (bought by Tagliabue in 1922)
1910 Stefano Santambrogio (working with Lana and with Rossi before) in Groppello di Gavirate
1911 Federico, Carlo, Cornelio and Francesco Rovera (all working for Rossi before) even there.

So the province of Varese became the most important center of Italy’s pipemaking industry after the turn of the century. Still going strong today along with the brands in the provinces of Como and of Pesaro.

From 1918 on Leonida Rossi supported his father in the management of the company. Later he was designated as chairman and joined by his brothers. Rossi now formed as Fratelli Rossi Barasso shortly FRB….

…Dating Rossi pipes

From the beginning of its activity and until, surely, 1918, the most part of Rossi pipes was just marked with “REAL BRIAR”, “VERA RADICA” or “BRUYERE GARANTIE” (or something similar): this can easily be explained by the enormous amount of pipes daily producted, which requires the fastest solution.

From, approximatively, Twenties, Rossi pipes were marked with “FRB” (Fratelli Rossi Barasso) or “MFRB” (Manifattura Fratelli Rossi Barasso), into an oval and above “OLD BRIAR” (or similar – sometimes, there was also “MFD. BY ROSSI”, as “Manufactured by Rossi”); on the stem, there was generally the “R” letter in circle. However, “FRB OLD BRIAR” was maintained for the “traditional pipes” (for cheap models – see below), surely, to Sixties.

From, approximatively, the fiftieth anniversary (1936), pipes were marked with “Rossi” (in cursive font), with model name just under it; on the stem, there was “ROSSI” (for expensive models like “extra”, which had the best quality; “racine”, which was rusticated by hand; “extra grain”, which was accurately sandblasted; “super”, which had the best briar selection, and a limited production; “fiamma”, which was the best selection of Sardinia and Greece briar, and a very limited production) or “R” in circle (for unexpensive models like “standard”, “grana” and “FRB”).

From, approximatively, Seventies, until 1985, Rossi pipes were marked with “ROSSI”, into an oval (sometimes there was also “ITALY” on the shank); on the stem, there was “ROSSI”. In these years, appeared the signature “Nino Rossi” (in cursive font): he was the last heir of the factory.

Now I knew a bit more about the pipe I was working on. The older versions of the FRB pipe were made between 1920 – 1936. After 1936 the majority of pipes were marked Rossi and were made of the best briar. There were also cheaper pipes/less expensive models like the FRB stamped pipes continued to be offered as entry level pipes. During that time period they were stamped like the one I am working on. I believe that the one in hand is not an older version of the pipe but is rather one of the newer cheaper pipes.

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove dust and debris. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe came to me in its original box and I took photos of it before I removed it from the pipe sock in the box.I removed it from the box and took photos of the pipe as it looked after Jeff’s cleanup. The fills are very obvious in the rusticated patterns but otherwise it is a charming pipe that sits well in hand. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show the condition of both of them They were clean and looked very good.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I decided to address the shiny topcoat on the bowl. I wiped the varnish coat off the briar with acetone on a cotton pad. I was careful removing it around the putty fills in the rusticated areas of the pipe. I did not want to damage the putty with the acetone. It looked much better with the shiny coat covering both the smooth and rusticated portions of the briar. I let the acetone evaporate from the finish and used a Walnut stain pen to touch up the rusticated areas and the putty fills. It looked better with that finished.I filled in the chipped putty areas on the shank with clear CA glue. I let it cure then sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed it out with 1500-2400 grit sandpaper and restained it with a Walnut stain pen. I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the bowl after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. It was in great condition so I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. I am excited to finish this Rossi Made FRB Old Briar Bent Egg. I put the pipe back together and carefully 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. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl and brass band on the shank and made a stunning pipe. This mixed finish FRB Old Briar Made by Rossi Bent Egg 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: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 42 grams/1.48 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring a Peterson’s London and Dublin 35P London Made Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is smooth finished Peterson’s London& Dublin Canadian pipe that had a very dirty/grimy finish but had some good looking grain around the bowl sides and shank. It came to us from a fellow in Copenhagen, Denmark on 10/03/2022. This Lightweight Canadian was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] London & Dublin. It was stamped on the right side and read London Made [over] England. On the underside near the shank/stem junction it is stamped 35P. The pipe was in filthy condition when he brought it to the table. The finish was dirty with grime ground into the briar sides and rim. There was a thick cake in the bowl and a coat of lava on the rim top but the edges of the bowl. The inner edge of the bowl was rough and looked like it had been reamed with a knife and had a lot of rough edges. The stem was dirty but there was no oxidation or calcification on it. There were tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside on and near the button. There was no “P” stamp logo on the taper stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the promise that we see in this pipe. Jeff took photos of the rim top and stem to show the general condition of the pipe. The bowl is caked and the rim top has a lava coat and the inner edge of the bowl is rough and shows knife damage. The photos of the stem show tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took some photos of the bowl sides and heel to show the amazing grain that was around this bowl. It is a nice looking pipe. He took photos of the sides of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photos below and is as noted above. I am including the link to the 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 turned to “The Peterson Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to get some background on the Peterson’s London Made England line. On page 296-297 it had the following information.

MADE IN over ENGLAND and variations shown below (1936-62) Peterson maintained a factory in England for about a quarter of a century, from the late 1930s to ’62. Corporate transcripts and London business periodicals suggest the London operation on White Lion Street was about to get underway in ’37. Only a handful of London hallmarked Petersons are documented, stamped with date marks of 1936 and 1939, and these have no COM stamp. Their output would be limited by the onset of the Battle of Britain in July 1940, but it seems reasonable to suppose pipes were made in the London factory during WWII, inasmuch as the K&P Staff Register lists twelve employees earning wages there in January ’44. London hallmarked Petersons have been identified with dates of 1949-54. Most London made Petersons in a collector’s inventory were made in these postwar years, from 1949 until the closing of the factory in ’62. This narrow range of dates is probably the most reliable indicator of years when the stamp and the variations listed below were employed. The presence of one variation or another on a pipe is not by itself a reliable indicator of age.

Made In over England

Made In England forming a circle

Made In England forming an ellipse

Made in England in a line

A “Peterson’s Product” over Made In England

A Peterson’s Product over Made In England

A Peterson Product over Made in England

Made In over Great Britain

Great Britain

London Made over England

London Made

Now I knew a date range for the pipe I was working on – 1949-1962. I have underlined and made the text bold in the above list to show the stamping on the pipe I am working on. 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 the darkened spots with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived. 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 had some looked quite good and the inner edge had some darkening and damage. It should clean up really well. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the tooth marks on the surface near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to have a look at the parts and overall look. I decided to address the damage on the rim top and the hacked inner edge of the bowl first. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage and bring the bowl back to as close to round as possible. The thinness of the walls did not leave a lot of room to work with so it is better but not perfect. I used a walnut stain pen to stain the inner edge of the bowl and the rim top to match the rest of the pipe. I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the bowl after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a “Bic” lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to raise them and I sanded the remaining marks to blend them into the surface of the surrounding vulcanite. 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 finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. I am excited to finish this London Made English Peterson’s London & Dublin, Canadian 35P. 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. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl and brass band on the shank and made a stunning pipe. This smooth Classic Older Peterson’s London & Dublin English Made Canadian 35P 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: 5 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 34grams/1.20oz. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

Restoring an older 1939-1945 Vauen Dr. Perl D.R.W.Z. Bruyere Extra 6140 Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

In the last box of pipes Jeff sent me there was a nice looking straight Bulldog. It came to us through our connection Copenhagen, Denmark on 10/17/2022. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Vauen [arched over] Dr. Perl [over] D.R.W.Z. On the right side of the shank it was stamped Bruyere [arched over] twin pipes (logo) with Extra arched underneath. On the left underside of the diamond shank it was stamped with the shape number 6140. The pipe had charm for sure but it was a very dirty pipe when we received it. The finish was smooth finish on the bowl and shank with classic twin rings around the cap of the bowl. There was a heavy cake in the bowl that darkened the inner edge and overflowed as a thick lava coat on the rim top. The vulcanite, taper stem was oxidized, calcified and there were light tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. The tenon was made for Vauen Dr. Perl 9mm filters. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show their general condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the heavy lava coat in the top of the rim and inner edge of the bowl. The finish on the bowl is very dirty with grime and oils ground into the bowl, but still very stunning. This pipe has a class straight Bulldog look to me. The P-lip style taper stem that has some oxidation, calcification on the surface of the vulcanite. There is chatter and tooth marks on the top and underside. On the underside near the button was a thick spot of goop – a repair possibly? I don’t think so, I think it rather is debris that should clean off. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the grain and the finish around the bowl and shank. It is amazing and I cannot wait to see what it looks like once it is polished and waxed. He took a photo of the cut and fill marks on the right side of the bowl toward the shank. The sharp cuts will not steam out.He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides to capture how they look at this point. They are clear and readable as noted above. I wanted to get some background on the Dr. Perl pipe by Vauen. I turned first to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-v1.html). I did a screen capture of the information on the site. There was a great sidebar that gave some history of the brand. I include both of them below. There was also a note at the bottom of the screen capture below that has a link to the Vauen Dr Perl variant on the P-Lip pipe.In 1848, Karl Ellenberger and his partner Carl August Ziener establish a pipe factory in Nuremberg. In 1901 they merge with Gebhard Ott an other factory in town and they create a firm named Vereinigten Pfeifenfabriken Nürnberg (abbreviated : VPFN*). Shortly after Ernst Eckert, a member of the Ott family became manager of the society. During the 20th century Adolf, Ernst (jr) and Alexander Eckert (CEO in 2012) followed one another at Vauen’s head.* VPFN : “V” is said VAU in German (pronounce faou) and “N” becomes EN. Hence VAUEN.

I followed that link on the bottom of the photo above (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/p-lip-en.html). I found that there was description of the Vauen Dr. Perl that had the same style stem as the pipe I was working on. I have included a screen capture of the Dr. Perl pipe below:I also turned to a blog written on rebornpipes by Dal Stanton (Pipesteward.com) that I quote a section from the blog below that gives a great sense of the history of the German brand and some photos from the website (https://rebornpipes.com/2021/04/27/breathing-new-life-into-a-german-vauen-6294-p-lip-saddle-billiard-for-a-special-young-lady/).

… I turn to the question of the history of the VAUEN name? I look to the History section of the VAUEN website and again, I am impressed with the presentation. Whenever I work on a pipe, and especially when a pipe name is new to me, I enjoy looking at its history to appreciate the pipe more fully now on my worktable. From VAUEN’s website:Quality and a wealth of ideas have a long tradition at VAUEN. 160 years of VAUEN: that means 160 years of skilled workmanship and modern technology and 160 years of experience in fulfilling the individual wishes of today’s pipe lovers, and those of tomorrow.

In Nuremberg in 1848, Karl Ellenberger and his partner Carl August Ziener turned an idea into reality: Germany’s first pipe manufacturer produced tobacco pipes for connoisseurs around the world using a selection of the best wood. In an amalgamation with the Gebhard Ott pipe factory, which was founded in 1866 in Nuremberg, the Vereinigten Pfeifenfabriken Nuremberg (United Pipe Factories Nuremberg, or VPFN) was born in 1901. Under the management of Ernst Eckert, a descendent of the founding Ott family, a company was born whose products and services would shape the tobacco and smoking culture in Europe and overseas for the next 160 years and counting.

The question about the name, VAUEN, not being a name of a person and why it is capitalized throughout is explained:

In his search for a name that would be easily remembered by all pipe lovers, Ernst Eckert’s son, Adolf Eckert, coined a new name for the company in 1909: VAUEN – a composition of the first letters V (pronounced vow) of Vereinigte Pfeifenfabriken and N (pronounced en) of Nuremberg. A brand for the future was born.

I did a final search for information on the D.R.W.Z. stamp to see if it could help me establish a date for this pipe. I found a link to one stamped the same though in a different shape number (https://vkpipes.com/pipeline/vauen-dr-perl-d-r-w-z-3232/). I quote a portion of the article below and have highlighted a pertinent portion in red.

VAUEN Dr. Perl D.R.W.Z. 3232

Germany, 1939-45

VAUEN is really a phenomenal company – one of the oldest and largest European pipe businesses remains at the same time very flexible and innovative: they not only freely experiment with shapes and finishes, but regularly offer basically new solutions such as the “Pipo” or the “Zeppelin”.

Unfortunately unlike other big manufacturers the history of VAUEN products is not well documented: many documents and catalogues wee lost in the end of the World War II, nowadays company launches about 50 models every year, so it’s hardly possible to systematize all that variety.

Nevertheless this pipe can be easily identified as a VAUEN product made between 1939 and 1945: the stamping “D.R.W.Z” (Deutsches Reichs Waren Zeichen – a kind of a registered trademark) was applied only within that perios and was replaced after the end of the War by “registered (German) trademark”. So there’s a really old and historical pipe for your attention.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. 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 scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. 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 started to work on it. I took some photos of the rim top and stem. The rim top and bowl looked very good. The cake and lava overflow were gone but the rim top and edges showed a lot of burn marks and darkening. Both the smooth portion and the plateau portion would need a bit more work to really clean up well. The closeup photos of the stem shows that it is a much cleaner and looks good. The light tooth marks and chatter were still present on both sides.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank to show the condition after the cleanup. It was very readable and undamaged. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the proportions of the pipe. I started my restoration work on this pipe by addressing the darkening around the inner edge of the bowl and the rim top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edge and the rim top. The finished rim top looked much better.I filled in the shrunken fills and the chips/cuts in the right side of the bowl below the twin rings of the cap with clear CA glue. I used a tooth pick to fill in the holes. Once it cured I sanded the areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surface. I touched up the sanded areas with a Walnut stain pen to blend them into the surrounding briar. I started my polishing regimen on the bowl. I used nine micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded the bowl with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. The bowl really shines by the final three pads. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and into the twin rings with a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and polished out the tooth marks and chatter with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil on a cotton cloth to remove the sanding debris. I finished the polishing routine with some Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. Once I finish a filter stem I like to fit it with a clean filter. In this case I do not have the filters to fit it. My thinking is that it was made for a Dr. Perl Junior 6mm filter. The pipeman or woman who adds this pipe to his/her collection will have to pick some up. I have included a photo of what I think the filters will be.I finished with the Blue Diamond and moved on to buffing with carnauba wax. Once I have a good shine in the briar and vulcanite I always give the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I following up the wax buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I follow that up with a hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a beautiful pipe. The bowl coating and build up of cigar mud should harden and provide a base for the build up of new cake. The sand blast finish around the bowl sides and shank show the grain patterns underneath the rich brown stains of this Vauen Dr. Perl D.R.W.Z. Bruyere Extra 6140 Filter Straight Bulldog and the polished vulcanite taper stem is a great addition. The finished 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: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.16 ounces/33 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will have to tell a friend of mine about who collects Vauen pipes. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of 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 pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of those who follow us.

Restoring a Friar London Made by Sasieni 52SG Made in England

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a large saddle stem Apple with a smooth finish that was stained with a rich brown colour around the bowl and shank. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and reads FRIAR [over] London Made [over] By Sasieni. The right side of the shank is stamped with the shape number next to the bowl that reads 52SG. Next to the shank end it read Made in England. The stamping was readable. The pipe was purchased as part of an estate from Australia on 07/27/2020. It was dirty with grime ground into the finish around the bowl and shank. The bowl had a moderate cake with darkening on the inner edge of the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. It was heavier on the backside of the rim top. There were some nicks on the front rim top. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had some chatter and deep tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. There was a logo stamped on the left side of the saddle that bore a faint shield with an “F” in it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show their general condition. You can see the cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat on the top of the rim and inner edge of the bowl. The finish on the bowl is very dirty with grime and oils ground into the bowl, but still very stunning. The round saddle stem is oxidized, calcified and has chatter and tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the grain around the bowl and shank. It is amazing and I cannot wait to see what it looks like once it is polished and waxed. He took some photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank to capture it for me. It is clear and readable as noted above. He also included a photo of the faint shield F logo on the left side of the saddle stem. I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Sasieni) to see what I could find out about the Friar line of pipes by Sasieni. The write up there is a concise history of the brand that gives a sense of the background and development of the Sasieni brand. I quote a section of the article that specifically refers to the Friar line. I have highlighted that in bold text.

Through the post war years, Sasieni added shapes and lines. While the Four Dot remained their most famous product, the company also sold lines of “seconds” under various names, such as Mayfair, Fantail, Olde English, and Friar. These were pipes made of good wood, but possessed of some flaw, usually filled with putty. Pipes that were almost, but not quite, good enough to be a Four Dot were sold as Two Dots. I have two of these pipes in my collection. Both pipes are quite striking, exhibiting exquisite shapes and exceptional grain. At first I wondered why they were not Four Dots. Eventually, after long inspection, I discovered each pipe contained one very small filled flaw. In spite of this they remain two of my favorite pipes. However, it is clear Sasieni was determined to put the Four Dot logo on only the most perfect pipes.

Caption: Sasieni Friar Stinger marked ‘RUM 850’, and shaped like a Rum bottle. Some Sasieni pipes including this one were Rum cured. Courtesy Brian Robertson collection.

I also have included a shape chart that was included. The number 52s in the chart below is a Hurlingham. The pipe I am working on is a 52SG which I cannot find on the charts. I am thinking that because of the size of the pipe the 52 is an apple shaped pipe, the “S” is possibly a notation for a Saddle style stem. The “G” is possibly the notation for a Giant or a large sized pipe.There was also an interesting photo of the Sasieni Friar pipe and a comment about it being a rum cured pipe. It had a bottle shape stinger apparatus in the tenon. The pipe I am working on does not have that apparatus and the logo on the stem top of that one is quite different. I am including them for reference. Here is the link: (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Sasieni-Friar-Stinger-Rum850.jpg).

Caption: Sasieni Friar Stinger marked ‘RUM 850’, and shaped like a Rum bottle. Some Sasieni pipes including this one were Rum cured. Courtesy Brian Robertson collection.

The pipe I am working on is stamped with a unique 52SG shape number as noted above. It is a Sasieni that was called a second but for the life of me the grain on this one is quite beautiful and there are possibly some fills. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. 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 scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the bowl and the rim top and inner edges of the bowl. You can see the darkening around the inner edge and on the crowned rim top. I took photos of the stem surface to show the condition and tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts. It is quite a stunning piece. I started my work by cleaning up the darkened inner edge of the rim and burned area on the back of the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The crowned rim top cleaned up nicely. I polished the bowl and the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a shoe brush to get it in the grooves. It works to clean, restore and preserve the briar. I let it do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The pipe looks incredibly good at this point in the process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I painted the tooth marks in the vulcanite with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift them. I was able to raise them a little. What remained, I filled in with black rubberized CA glue. Once it hardened I flattened the repairs out with a small file. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the rest of the vulcanite stem and started the polishing them with 600 wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. This Friar London Made by Sasieni 52SG Made in London Apple is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The brown stains really highlight the grain on the smooth portion and the rusticated portion. Once it was polished the finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully 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 Sasieni Made Friar 52SG Apple 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: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 67 grams/2.36 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the British Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Cleaning up a Canadian Era 1970-1980 Brigham 343 Made in Canada Prince

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is an interesting looking mixed finish Prince that was stained with a rich brown colour on both the smooth upper portion and rusticated lower portion of the bowl and shank. It was stamped on the smooth underside of the shank. The stamping was readable. The shape number 343 is on the bowl side of the shank. That is followed by the stamping Brigham in script [over] Made in Canada. The age on this one is Canadian Era, nominally 1970-80. The pipe was purchased form a Facebook DND auction on 11/11/2021 from a sell in Salmon Creek, Washington, USA. It was dirty with grime ground into the finish around the bowl and shank. The bowl had thick cake with darkening on the inner edge of the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top. It was heavier on the backside of the rim top. The internals were dirty though there was no filter tube in the aluminum tenon. I would need to replace the Maple Distillator once I was finished. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had some chatter and deep tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show their general condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat on the top of the rim and inner edge of the bowl. The finish on the bowl is very dirty with grime and oils ground into the bowl, but still very stunning. The round saddle stem is oxidized, calcified and has chatter and deep tooth marks on the top and underside ahead of the button. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the grain around the bowl and shank. It is amazing and I cannot wait to see what it looks like once it is polished and waxed. Jeff removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the aluminum tube that held the Distillator. It was obviously removed from the tube but the inside was quite dirty.He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank to capture it for me. It is clear and readable as noted above. He also included a photo of the three dot triangle brass pins in the left side of the saddle stem.Before starting my clean up work on the pipe I turned to a chart that Charles Lemon of Dad’s Pipes sent to me on the Dot system on Brighams until 1980. As the pipe I am working on is a fits in this time frame, it’s more accurate to refer to its grade by name (the post 1980 grading scheme refers to Dots). Here is the chart that Charles sent me. The pipe I am working on is thus a Brigham Exclusive with the 3 brass pins arranged in a triangle. For historical background for those unfamiliar with the brand I am including the information from Pipedia on Brigham pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history and background on the pipes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes). Charles Lemon (Dadspipes) is currently working on a book on the history of the brand. Until that is complete this article is a good summary. I have included it below.

Roy Brigham, after serving an apprenticeship under an Austrian pipesmith, started his own pipe repair shop in Toronto, in 1906. By 1918 the business had grown to include five other craftsmen and had developed a reputation across Canada for the high quality of workmanship. After repairing many different brands of pipes over the years, Roy noted certain recurring complaints by pipe smokers, the most common referred to as “tongue bite”. Tongue bite is a burning sensation on the smoker’s tongue, previously thought to be due to the heat of the smoke (i.e. a “hot smoking pipe”).

He soon began manufacturing his own pipes, which were lightweight, yet featured a more rugged construction, strengthening the weak points observed in other pipes. The problem of tongue bite intrigued him, and he decided to make overcoming it a future goal.

About 1938, Roy’s son Herb joined him to assist in the business. The business barely survived the great depression because pipes were considered to be a luxury, not a necessity, and selling pipes was difficult indeed. In approximately 1937 [1], after some experimentation, Roy and Herb discovered that tongue bite was in fact a form of mild chemical burn to the tongue, caused by tars and acids in the smoke. They found that by filtering the smoke, it was possible to retain the flavour of the tobacco and yet remove these impurities and thereby stop the tongue bite.

Just as Thomas Edison had searched far and wide for the perfect material from which to make the first electric light bulb filaments, Roy & Herb began experimenting with many materials, both common and exotic, in the quest for the perfect pipe filter. Results varied wildly. Most of the materials didn’t work at all and some actually imparted their own flavour into the smoke. They eventually found just two materials that were satisfactory in pipes: bamboo and rock maple. As bamboo was obviously not as readily available, rock maple then became the logical choice.

They were able to manufacture a replaceable hollow wooden tube made from rock maple dowelling, which when inserted into a specially made pipe, caused absolutely no restriction to the draw of the pipe, yet extracted many of the impurities which had caused tongue bite. The result was indeed a truly better smoking pipe…

Charles Lemon has also written a great article on the stampings and marking on the Brigham pipes that fit into a time line that he has drafted. It is well worth a read and is fascinating. (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes_%E2%80%93_A_Closer_Look_at_Dots,_Dates_and_Markings). I quote from the pertinent section on the time frame for this pipe.

Around the late 1960s or early 1970s, at the beginning of what I’ve called the Canadian Era (roughly 1970 – 1980), the stampings changed again as Brigham moved to modernize its logo. Pipes are stamped with the 3-digit shape number and “Brigham” over “Made in Canada”. Note these two variants of this stamping. The pipe I am working on is stamped with a three-digit shape number as noted above. The cursive Brigham stamp over Made is Canada (like the first photo above) tells me that the pipe was made between 1970-1980. It is made in the period Charles has designated it as the Canadian Era. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. 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 scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. The pipe looked very good when it arrived here in Vancouver. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the bowl and the rim top and inner edges of the bowl. You can see the darkening around the inner edge and the burn damage on the back topside of the rim. I took photos of the stem surface to show the condition and tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank’ It is readable as noted above and though faint is clear. I took a photo of the three dot brass pins on the left side of the stem as well. It is in excellent condition. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts. It is quite a stunning piece.I started my work by cleaning up the darkened inner edge of the rim and burned area on the back of the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. The rim top cleaned up nicely. I had to give the inner edge a slight bevel to accommodate the damage on the rim edge. It worked well to minimize the damage at the back of the rim edge. I stained it with an oak stain pen to blend it in. I polished the smooth portions on the rim top and top half of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the grit. The bowl began to take on a rich shine. It is a beauty. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a shoe brush to get it in the grooves. It works to clean, restore and preserve the briar. I let it do its magic for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The pipe looks incredibly good at this point in the process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I painted the tooth marks in the vulcanite with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift them. I was able to raise them a little. What remained, I filled in with black rubberized CA glue. Once it hardened I flattened the repairs out with a small file. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the rest of the vulcanite stem and started the polishing them with 600 wet dry sandpaper. At this point in the process of polishing the stem I stopped to fit the stem with the Rock Maple Distillator. I took one out of the box I have of the Distillators and fit it in the tenon tube.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the stem. This Brigham Made in Canada 343 Prince is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The brown stains really highlight the grain on the smooth portion and the rusticated portion. Once it was polished the finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully 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 Brigham Made in Canada 343 Prince 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 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 37 grams/1.31 ounces. I will be adding the pipe to the Canadian Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. If you are interested in purchasing this pipe send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a Charatan’s Make Belvedere 4 Saddle Stem Billiard with the stamping starred out

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a strange one. It is a well made Charatan’s Make billiard with some nice grain around the bowl and shank. The stamping is quite clear though the entire stamp has been covered with flower/star stamps obliterating it for the most part. I am not sure what it means as I have not seen this before. Under the flower stamps it is stamped on the topside and reads Charatan’s Make[over] London England [over] Belvedere in three lines. On the underside it is stamped Made in London [over] England. Above that it has a number stamp 4 which I assume is a shape number. We purchased the pipe on 06/24/2023 from an auction in Garland, Texas, USA. The finish on the pipe was dirty but obviously well loved. There was a thick cake in the bowl with lava flowing up and onto the rim top and edges. It is heavier on the back side of the rim top but is present all the way around. The stem was oxidized and light calcification on the area around the button. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides. There was no CP stamp on the sides of the stem but it was stamped on the underside and read REG^D NO [over] 203573. It had the DC or Double Comfort step down saddle stem. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on the pipe.He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show their general condition. You can see the tars on the inner edge of thick lava coated rim top. The cake in the bowl is quite thick and there is tobacco debris on the walls of the bowl. The finish on the bowl is very dirty with grime and oils ground into the bowl, but still very stunning. This pipe has a classic Charatan Double Comfort stem that has some oxidation, calcification on the surface of the vulcanite. There is chatter and tooth marks on the top and underside. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the grain on this particular piece of briar. It is amazing and I cannot wait to see what it looks like once it is polished and waxed. He took photos of the stamping on the top and underside of the shank to capture it for me. The first photo shows the topside of the shank and the floral/sunburst overstamping as noted above. The second shows the underside of the shank with the Made in London [over] England as noted above. You cannot see the numeral 4 but it is above the Made in London stamp.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 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 is an alphabetical listing of the lines but the Belvedere they showed had a stem made for a 9mm filter while the one I have is a nonfiltered pipe. 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 the Belvedere line (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 and have highlighted in red the sections that give information on this particular pipe.

In 1863 Frederick Charatan, a Russian/Jewish immigrant, opened a shop in Mansell Street, located in the borough of Tower Hamlets, London E1, where he began to carve Meerschaum pipes. These pipes got very popular soon, and thus Charatan moved to a bigger workshop in Prescot Street, just around the corner. Here he began to make briar pipes which should make the name famous the world over. Charatan was the first brand to make entirely hand-made briars from the rough block to the finished pipe including the stems. The nomenclature “Charatan’s Make” refers to this method of production and was meant to differentiate Charatan from other brands who “assembled” pipes from pre-drilled bowls and delivered mouthpieces.

Being the undisputed No. 1 in English pipemaking, Charatan was approached by Alfred Dunhill who was unsatisfied with the quality of the pipes he imported from France. During 1908 – 1910 Dunhill bought pipes from Charatan paying exorbitant prices to ensure he had some of the very best pipes for sale in England. In 1910 he lured away Joel Sasieni, one of Charatan’s best carvers, and opened his own small pipe workshop on 28 Duke Street. On the retirement of his father in 1910 Reuben Charatan took over the family business…

…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 60’s and early 70’s…

From this I am fairly certain I am dealing with an early Lane pipe made in 1955 and because of the Belvedere stamp it could potentially go back as far as before 1950. There are none of the expected Lane stampings on the pipe which is interesting though the Double Comfort bit helps point to the Lane time.

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 onwards 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.

Now I knew I was working on an early Lane pipe which actually means it was made around 1955 as shown by the stamping. I wanted to now see if I could find any information the shape 4 number as it was not listed in any shape charts I could find.

With that information at hand I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had thoroughly cleaned up the pipe. 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 scrubbed the exterior of the stem with Soft Scrub to remove as much of the oxidation and calcification as possible. 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 started to work on it. I took some photos of the rim top and stem. The rim top and bowl looked very good. The cake and lava overflow were gone and the inward inward edge of the rim was very clean. There was damage on the back and front of the inner rim edge. Jeff had been able to get rid of most of the darkening and all of the lava and tars. The rim top looked good with no marks or nicks on the surface or edges. The closeup photos of the stem shows that it is a much cleaner and better-looking stem. There is still some residual oxidation on the saddle and blade that I will need to deal with. The light tooth chatter was still present but faint and the stem looked really good. I took some photos of the stamping on the shank sides to show the condition after the cleanup. Often the stamping takes a hit with the cleaning and is lessened in its clarity. Jeff does a great job in leaving the stamping looking very good. I also removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show the proportions of the pipe. It is a pretty pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe. I started working on this pipe by turning to the bowl. I chose to deal with the darkening and burn damage on the inner rim edges and top. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage and darkening. It took a little work but I was able to remove all of the darkening. It is a beautiful piece of briar with some great grain.Once rim edges were reshaped and reworked I needed to blend them into the rest of the briar. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads. I choose to dry sand the briar rather than wet sand it. Again, it is a matter of personal preference. I prefer to use the pads dry and find they work very well on the briar. I sand with each pad (9 in total) and group them by threes for ease of reference. I also work over the plateau areas at the same time. I wipe the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and check the briar. I love seeing the developing shine on the briar as I move through the pads which is why I include so many photos of this step. For the past few years now I have been using Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a “waxy” paste/balm that is rubbed into the surface of the briar and the plateau. The product works to deep clean the nooks and crannies of finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and let it sit for 10 minutes to do its work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth and buffed it with a cloth. The briar really took on a deep shine and the grain shone through. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. It is a gorgeous pipe. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem was in good nick other than the light oxidation on the top side. There some light tooth marks next to the button edge button chatter on the surface. I “painted” the surface in those areas with the flame of a light and raised them. I sanded out what remained with 220 grit sandpaper and then started polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I scrubbed the stem surface with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove the oxidation in the vulcanite. I was able remove all of the residual in the finish and the stem looked much better. I used micromesh sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pad as I find it does two things – first it protects the vulcanite and second it gives the sanding pads bite in the polishing process. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I rub the Fine Polish on the stem and wipe it off with a paper towel and then repeat the process with the extra fine polish. I finish the polishing of the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection from oxidizing quickly.I finished with the Blue Diamond and moved on to buffing with carnauba wax. Once I have a good shine in the briar and vulcanite I always give the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I following up the wax buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I follow that up with a hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished vulcanite and acrylic combination stem. It really is a beautiful pipe. The smooth finish around the bowl sides and shank show the grain shining through the rich brown stains of this Charatan’s Make London England Belvedere 4 Billiard overstamped with flower/sun figures. The finished 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: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.01 ounces/57 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Maker section.

Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. I am always open to questions and comments from you who are reading the 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.

A Second Pipe from the Old Gentleman’s Estate – A Cracked Shank Whitehall 1B Rustic Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

I decided I needed a change of pace in my restoration/clean up work. I went through my pipes waiting in the queue and chose pone from a group of four pipes that were given to us by a woman in Columbus, Ohio, USA. It had belonged to her Grandfather who lived from 1882 to 1977. There were four pipes that she sent us from his estate – the metal bowled apple, a cased meerschaum with a broken shank and an amber stem, a Whitehall rusticated apple and a BBB Glokar Fraternity Pipe.Even though I generally pass on Whitehall pipes I decided to work on this one because it came with a great back story. The older pipe man who had used it obviously had enjoyed it beyond measure. Since he passed away in 1977 I knew that the pipe was much earlier than that. It was well smoked, reamed with a knife. And it had continued to be smoked even after the shank crack. I am guessing from the marks on the stem that the crack happened when he tried to remove the stem with a pair of pliers. The stamp on the left side of the shank read Whitehall 1B [over] Imported Briar. The pipe was dirty and well used. The finish had deep grime ground into the rustication around the bowl. The bowl had tobacco debris in it and a very thick cake overflowing as lava onto the rim top. The rim top looked to be in rough condition with damage from reaming and burns particularly on the back side of the edge and top. The stem was vulcanite and fit the cracked shank well. It had oxidation, calcification and deep gouges from pliers just behind the saddle. There were light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work.Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition. You can see the thick cake int eh bowl and the lava coat on the top of the rim. The inner edge of the bowl is a mess and very out of round. It was obviously her grandfather’s favourite pipe even though some of his others were nicer. The vulcanite saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and had deep nicks at the saddle end from what appeared to be pliers. It too was going to take some work. Jeff took photos of the cracked shank to show the condition of the crack. He also took photos of the damage to the stem surface just behind the saddle on both sides where it looks like the stem was twisted with pliers. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the composition of the pipe. The combination of smooth and rustication is quite nice. There are Custom-bilt like channels from top to bottom of the bowl and horizontal rustication around the bowl between the channels. The rim top and top half of the bowl are smooth. The shank has horizontal rustication all around leaving a smooth panel on the left side for the stamping. It is quite nice looking. He took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panel on the left side of the shank. You can see that it is readable as noted above.I knew that there was a connection between Block Brothers Tobacco and Whitehall as I have had pipe coupons in boxes of Kentucky Club tobacco but I wanted to verify that and get the details. I turned to the listing on Pipedia for Whitehall and read it (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Whitehall). I quote from the site below.

Whitehall pipes are frequently misunderstood to be a model rather than an actual pipe company, which has led collectors to mistakenly ascribe their manufacture to Civic and Ben Wade (Who Made That Pipe; Wilczak & Colwell, 1997). In fact, Whitehall refers to the pipe company (not a model), which itself produced models such as the Hialeah, Jumbos, London Hall, and Thermofilter. The history of the Whitehall Pipe Co., Inc. (Richmond Hill, NY), is a complicated one, involving several parent companies and subsidiaries including Whitehall Products, Inc. (Helmetta, NJ), The Bloch Bros. Tobacco Co. (Wheeling, WV), Helme Products, Inc., apparently all subsidiaries of Culbro Corp. (owner also of General Cigar). The “Imported Briar” stamp on many of the pipes, and the unmistakable Whitehall logo bearing resemblance to the American-made tobaccos of that brand strongly suggest that these are products made for the Whitehall Pipe Co., Inc., an American company. There is furthermore no evidence that Civic or Ben Wade outsourced any manufactory of pipes to Italy; nor did Ben Wade manufacture pipes with aluminum screw tenons, paper filter inserts and molded acrylic stems. For irrefutable proof that the American company Whitehall Pipe Co., Ltd., was, in fact, responsible for these brands, one need only consult the University of California, San Francisco “Truth Tobacco Archives” which clearly links these brands to the company (see image below) [on the Pipedia site]…

When the pipe arrived in Vancouver it was very clean. The briar and stem were spotless. The vulcanite stem looked much better and you can see the gouges in the top and underside behind the saddle. The crack in the shank was also very clean and ready to repair. Jeff had reamed the bowl with a Pipenet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the bowl walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the airway in the stem and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with Murphy’s Oil Soap (undiluted) and a tooth brush. He rinsed the exterior with warm running water and dried. He polished the briar and stem with a small drop of olive oil. The pipe really looked very good. It was going to be a fun one to work on for my part. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the table for my work. This is what I saw. I took photos of the bowl and the rim top to show the condition. It is clean and the damage is quite extensive. The bowl is very clean and there were nicks, burn damage and cuts all around the inner edge and top. The bowl was out of round due to the damage. The crack on the top left of the shank is also visible in the photo below. The vulcanite stem is clean and the damage visible at the blade where it joins the saddle portion. The button and stem surface ahead of the button is clean and undamaged. I took a photo of the left shank side to capture the stamping on the briar. It is faint but it is still readable. I took a photo of the bowl and shank separated to show the condition of the pipe. It really is a great looking pipe.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the cracked shank. I smoothed out the end of the shank so that the band would fit smoothly and not be hampered by the rustication. I used the Dremel and a sanding drum to get it prepared for the band. I heated the band and pressed it onto the shank end. It fit well and bound the crack tightly together. With the shank repair complete I turned to address the issues with the rim top and edge. I started by smoothing out some of the damage with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to flatten on the damage on the rim top. I used a wooden ball and a piece of sandpaper to give the rim edge an inward bevel and smooth out the top. It looked much better! I filled in the damaged back inner edge of the bowl with clear CA glue and briar dust. The edge was damaged but it did not go deeply into the bowl. I sanded out the inside of the edge with a piece of 220 sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I smoothed out the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper and bevelled the rim a bit more with the sandpaper. I stained the rim top with a Maple Stain Pen to match the smooth portions of the bowl. It was looking good. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I dry sanded the briar and then progressively brought a shine to the pipe. It looked really amazing – the combination of rustic and smooth portions of the briar. It is a beauty! I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips and a shoe brush. The product works to clean, preserve and protect the briar. I let it sit and absorb for 10 minutes. I buffed it off with a soft cloth and then gave it a rigorous buff to raise the shine. It looks good at this point. I filled in the gouges in the stem surface on both sides by the saddle with black CA rubberized glue. Once it cured I sanded it smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing it with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished out the scratches left behind by the sandpaper on the stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth after the sanding pads. I finished the hand polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian oil and set it aside to dry. I am really happy with the way that this Whitehall Rusticated Imported Briar 1B Apple turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and smooth finished on the upper half of the bowl and rusticated on the lower portion of the bowl and shank. The vulcanite saddle stem turned out very nice. The polished stem works well with the briar both the smooth and rusticated finish. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Whitehall Rusticated Saddle Stem Apple really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 27 grams/ .95 ounces. I will be putting the pipe on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Cleaning up a Republic Era Peterson’s 53 Straight Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I purchased two Peterson’s pipes from a fellow in Eastern Canada. They are shown in the photo below. The top one is a Republic Era K&P Irish Made 53 Billiard. The second one is a 120 Dublin. You will note in the photo below that there is an extra stem included. It is an acrylic fishtail stem that was made for the 120. It is significantly longer (1 inch) than the original and the angles of the curve are more pronounced so the flow of the stem does not look at all the same. The acrylic stem is thicker and does not have the delicacy of the original.Today I decided to work on the second pipe, the Straight Billiard. It is stamped on the left side and reads K&P [over] Irish Made. On the right side of the shank it reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (three lines) followed by the shape number 53. The grain is quite nice on the pipe. There is a nickel ferrule on the shank that is stamped with three symbols – a shamrock. a wolf hound and a tower. These makers marks put the pipe as pre-circa 1963. The briar was dirty with grime ground into the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl with darkening and lava overflow onto the inner edge and the rim top. The pipe had a strong smell of the tobacco that had been smoked in it. There is a hint of aromatic to it. The shank was dirty with tars. The stem was an original fishtail made by Peterson. There was some oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks on both sides of the stem. I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the table to show its condition. I took photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of both. You can see the cake and tobacco debris in the bowl and the lava overflowing onto the back edge and rim top. The grain shows through and I think it will clean up very well. You can see the chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button and the oxidation and light calcification as well.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. The stamping is clear and readable. I also took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the look of the pipe and show its balance. It is a beauty. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the cake and the lava on the rim top and edges of the bowl. I reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the remaining cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the bowl walls smooth with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The pipe walls were clean and undamaged with no checking or cracking. I sanded the rim edge and the top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out and remove the darkening and the damage to the top and edge. It looked much better than when I started. I would still need to polish out the darkening.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed the soap and debris off the bowl with running water. I repeated the process until the rim top and the externals were very clean. It looked very good at this point. I cleaned out the internals of the shank, mortise and the airway in the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. It took a bit of time but it came out clean. There was still a residual smell, a ghost that I would need to work on. Now it was time to deghost the pipe. I stuffed the bowl with cotton bolls and twisted another boll into the shank. I filled the bowl with 99% isopropyl alcohol using and ear syringe. I set it aside to let the mix do its work wicking the oils and tars out of the bowl. It would sit for while I worked on the stem. After four hours I took photos of the bowl and the cotton. It had taken out a lot of tars and oils. I polished the outside of the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding debris. The stain was uneven around the heal of the bowl and on the rim top so I touched up the stain with a Maple Stain Pen. It blended in with the surrounding stain on the upper portion of the bowl. I would need to buff it to further blend it into the surface.I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips. The product works to clean, preserve and protect the briar. I let it sit and absorb for 10 minutes. I buffed it off with a soft cloth and then gave it a rigorous buff to raise the shine. It looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the oxidation on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to break it up. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. When finished I wiped it down with some Obsidian Oil. There was still some oxidation remaining on the stem so I would need to do more to remove it.I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub cleanser and cotton pads to remove the remaining oxidation. It worked very well and removed all of the oxidation that remained on the stem.I polished out the chatter and marks on the stem surface with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth after the sanding pads. I finished the hand polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian oil and set it aside to dry. I am really happy with the way that this Republic Era K&P Irish Made 53 Billiard with a Nickel Ferrule turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and smooth finished bowl and rim top. The original vulcanite taper stem is really nice. The polished black of the stem works well with the briar and the nickel ferrule. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Republic Era K&P Irish Made Billiard really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 37 grams/ 1.31 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the section on Irish Pipe Makers Section if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!