Tag Archives: restaining

Restemming and Restoring a Citation 614 Rusticated Meerschaum Lined Oom Paul

by Steve Laug

In November I received an email from Mario about working on some of his Dad’s pipes. Here is what he wrote to me.

I am desperately seeking help restoring and repairing some of my dad’s smoking pipes. I have tried reaching out to the only two known pipe repair establishments I could find in the entire country but one is not currently taking repair orders and the other said she didn’t want to try to repair these pipes without having even seen them. Would you be willing to take on the repairs or can you recommend anyone? Thank you much!!!—Mario

I wrote him back and asked him to send me photos of the pipes. He sent some single photos of the meerschaum bowl and stem, several of the leather clad Canadian and the photo of the rack and six pipes shown below. I looked through the photos and this is what I saw. There were two leather clad pipes a Canadian and a Pot. Both of them were cracked on the shanks and had been self-repaired with wire to hold the cracked shank together. The leather cladding was torn and the stitching was rotten and broken around the bowl. To me they were both irreparable. There was a lovely older Meerschaum with a horn stem that needed a good cleaning and repairs to the horn stem. There were two Knute Freehand pipes with original stems that were dirty but fixable. The plateau on the smooth one had a large chunk of briar missing. There was a Wilshire Dublin with a chewed and misfit stem. Finally, there was a billiard that had been restemmed with a fancy GBD saddle stem on it. They were a messy lot but I told him to send them on to me. They arrived yesterday and the condition of the pipes in the photos was confirmed. They were a mess and needed much work. I have included Mario’s group photo below to show the lot.This afternoon I decided to start working on the Oom Paul next. It was the one on the left centre on the bottom of the rack in the photo above. It was an Oom Paul shape with a bent round shank and the saddle stem had a huge bite through on the topside of it. The bowl had a thick cake on the walls and a heavy lava coat in the rustication on the rim top. It was internally a mess. The finish was dirty and had grime ground into the sides of the bowl. There seemed to be line around the bowl top that hinted at the bowl being lined with meerschaum. The shank was in good shape with no nicks or cracks. The pipe was stamped on the underside of the shank and read Citation in script (followed by) the shape number 614 [over] Italy. The shape number and Italy stamp tell me the pipe was made by Savinelli. There was no other stamping on the shank sides. The stem was correct but chewed beyond repair and would need to be replaced. I took photos of the pipe when I unpacked it to examine it. I have included those below. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition and the interesting ring on the rim top. I also took photos of the heavily damaged stem. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took a photo of the bowl with the stem removed to give a sense of the proportion and appearance of the pipe without the stem. You can see the damage on the stem top so it is no question that it needs to be removed.I remember having worked on a Citation before but could not put my finger on what I knew about it. I did a quick search on rebornpipes and found a blog I had restored and restemmed a Citation that had been meerschaum lined (https://rebornpipes.com/2015/12/24/a-surprise-when-working-on-the-citation-812-canadian/). Fortunately, I could see what looks like a smooth ring around the inside of the bowl. As I examined it I found that ring around the inside edge of the bowl was a meerschaum lining. I knew that I was working on a Meerschaum lined Oom Paul.

I carefully reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer remove from the bowl leaving bare meerschaum. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed the remaining debris. I sanded the bowl walls smooth with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I scraped the lava coat off the rim top – both the rusticated portion and the smooth ring of the meerschaum bowl top with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and removed all of it. I cleaned out the internals of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs, shank brushes and 99% isopropyl alcohol. It was very clean and it looked and smelled far better.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I worked over the bowl, shank and rim top with the soap and then rinsed it off warm water. The bowl looked extremely good. There were some significant burn marks on the rim top and inner edge but the bowl itself was very clean. Once the bowl had dried I touched up the stain on the rim top to match bowl colour. I used a Walnut Stain Pen to colour the briar and leave the meerschaum rim clear for polishing.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I went through my can of stems and found one that was the right taper for the pipe bowl I was working on. It had the right look and would need shaping. The stem is very similar to the original that came on the pipe and should look very good.I cleaned out the internals of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. There was some tars and oils in the airway and it took some work but it was clean. One of the odd things on this pipe was that the inside of the shank had a piece of black electrical tape stuck in it that had come off the tenon sometime along the way.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the overage in diameter on the top and the left side of the saddle (forgot to take photos). I smoothed out the sanded portions and the sanded tooth marks with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. It was beginning to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This restored and restemmed Savinelli Made Citation 614 Rusticated Oom Paul with a new vulcanite saddle stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautiful rusticated finish stands out and gives depth to the bowl and shank sides. 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 rim top shows Meerschaum Lining and other than darkening it was in great shape. The finished Savinelli Citation 614 Meerlined Oom Paul is a beautiful pipe, but it 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 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 58 grams /2.01 ounces. This is the third of six pipes that I am restemming and restoring for Mario from his Dad’s collection. I look forward to hearing what he thinks of this newly restemmed pipe. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring an interesting Nameless Silver Spigot Bent Acorn

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from a group of pipes we purchased on 02/29/2024 from a seller from Spring Branch, Texas, USA. It is a nice looking richly stained acorn shaped pipe with a stick bit silver tipped stem. The bowl has a dark reddish brown colour stain that highlights grain. There are also a lot of lighter coloured fills around the bowl and shank. I am hoping to mask these a bit in the clean up. This pipe has no stamping on the shank or the stem. There is a stamped Silver [over] 925 on both the band/ferrule and the silver tip on the stem. There is no other stamping. The bowl had been reamed and but then smoked so there was a light cake in the bowl and some lava on the top and edges of the rim top. The Sterling Silver ferrule and stem tip is oxidized and dark. The stem is black acrylic and there were some light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe looks to be in good condition under the grime. This is a nice looking pipe and in a well-loved shape. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup. He took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show their general condition. You can see the lava, scratches and nick marks on the rim top and the light cake in the bowl. The bevelled inner edge of the bowl looks to be okay. The stem is acrylic and dirty and there are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The silver ferrule and stem tip is also oxidized and almost black. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give an idea of the grain around the bowl as well as the number of putty fills. I cannot wait to see what it looks like once it is cleaned and polished. Should be interesting to minimize the visual prevalence of the fills. He captured the stamping on the silver ferrule and stem tip in the next photos. Even through the oxidation they are clear and readable. It really amazes me that a pipe with silver shank and stem adornments has no name stamped on it and that a pipe with these many fills would even bother with the silver. Ah well….Jeff carefully cleaned the pipe. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and then cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals of the shank, stem and shank extension with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and lava on the rim top. The finish looks much better and has a deep richness in the colour that highlights grain of the briar. The rim top had some damage to the around the entire top of the bowl. The silver ferrule and stem tip were oxidized but clean. Jeff worked the acrylic stem over with Soft Scrub All Purpose Cleaner to remove any grime or debris in the bite marks and on the surface. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver and I finally started my work on it I was amazed it looked so good. Here are some photos of what I saw. I took some photos of the rim top and stem. The rim top and inner edge of the bowl shows damage and nicked spots. The close up photos of the stem shows that the surface of the stem is pitted. There are tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem near the button. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe at this point. You can clearly see the condition, size and shape of the pipe.To start my work on the pipe I decided to wipe it down with acetone to remove some of the darker portions of the stain and try to blend in the fills to the lighter colour once it was finished. I wiped the bowl down with acetone on cotton pads. I really like the way it came out. Have a look. I sanded out the scratches in the briar around the bowl sides and rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. The sanding really brought the grain to the front and blended in the marks of the fills. This is a great piece of briar. And once it is waxed and polished it should really be a beauty. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping down the bowl after each sanding pad. I touch up some of the lighter spots on the shank/bowl junction and rim top with a Mahogany stain pen to match the rest of the bowl. Once it dried I hand buffed it and the restained areas looked very good. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Balm did its magic and the grain stood out. I sanded out the tooth marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove and smooth out the marks.I sanded out the scratch marks on the stem surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with an Obsidian Oil cloth. The stem began to shine.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. The photo below shows the polished stem. This No Name Bent Acorn with the Silver Spigot with an acrylic stem is a nice looking pipe. The finish looks very good and the grain stands out. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I carefully avoided the stamping on the shank sides during the process. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad on the buffer. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The flow of the grain and the way the shape follows it is very well done. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. I can only tell you that it is much prettier in person than the photos capture. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.52 ounces/42 grams. This interesting No Name Bent Acorn Silver Spigot is a great looking pipe in excellent condition. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Makers Section soon. If you want to add it to your collection send me an email or a message! Thanks for your time.

Finding a Stem for a Bjørn Thurmann Hand Made

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Steve’s recent foray into re-stemming pipes inspired me to try the same. In my box of various-and-sundry pipes, I was drawn to a nifty Danish freehand – but it was missing its stem. The beautifully rugged and chunky stummel has a real charm to it. The grooves and trenches are quite remarkable. This is a pipe that deserves a new stem. Let’s take a deeper dive into Thurmann’s pipes. The pipe was made by the esteemed pipemaker, Bjørn Thurmann. Unfortunately, I am not able to date the pipe, as the photo below shows all of the markings to be seen. On the underside of the stummel were some identifying markings. They read Thumann [over] Hand Made [over] Denmark [over] 3.Thurmann passed away a few years ago, but his company, Thurmann Piber, is still well known in Copenhagen for the fine quality of his work. The reference book, Scandinavian Pipemakers by Jan Andersson, provides us with a nice overview of his background and work. I will quote a bit of it here:

Bjørn Thurmann was born in 1946 – some would say, born into the tobacco trade. In 1953, his parents opened a pipe shop in central Copenhagen and Bjørn helped them there from the beginning, mainly by sorting pipes. Initially, the pipes were bought from a firm called Larsen & Stigart, but eventually they decided to start their own production.

Bjørn’s parents thought that their son ought to widen his views and get some international experience, so, in 1968, he was sent to London to work in different tobacconists shops, a period of learning that ended at Dunhill’s famous shop on Duke Street. After returning home, he almost immediately received an offer to work for Iwan Ries & Co. in Chicago, an offer that was hard to resist, so off he went.

In 1976, Bjørn established himself as an independent pipemaker, and since then he has had shops in several places in Copenhagen. Bjørn has also written a book called Pibemagerens Handbog (The Pipemakers Handbook), which tells how to make pipes using simple tools most people have at home.Clearly, Thurmann was a vastly experienced and talented pipe man. One can not only see, but also feel, the quality of the briar. Here is a screenshot from Pipephil:Let’s get working! The first step for me is to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplishes a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleans the bowl and provides a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake is removed, it allows me to inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there is damage or not. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed. I’m pleased to report that the inside of the bowl looks good.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took an old butter knife and gently scraped the lava away. This provides an edge that is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim.The inside of the stummel needs to be cleaned thoroughly. So I then cleaned it with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. It took some work to get clean!I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds (and a toothbrush). This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar. The last step of the cleaning process is to scour the inside of the stummel with some all-purpose cleanser and tube brushes. This is the culmination to a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.Before picking a stem and slapping it on, there is quite a bit of prep work required. First, the flat face of the shank obviously once had a shank extension. A few years ago, I worked on another Thurmann pipe that also had a shank extension, so this didn’t surprise me. However, there was no shank extension anymore, so I had to improvise.After pondering the situation, I decided to carve the shank face in a style similar to the rest of the pipe. I took my Dremel and a couple of different burrs, and carved a trench that matched those on the bowl. I think it came out really well.The edge of the shank face was quite sharp. This makes sense when one considers that the extension would have butt up against it. However, it didn’t look right anymore. Instead, I very carefully sanded this sharp edge to match the rim’s edge. After that, I used some of my furniture pens (which is just dye in pen form) and matched the colours. Looks great.I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and left it to sit for 20 minutes or so. I also had to use my horsehair brush and a cotton swap to get into the nooks and crannies. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth. Now, I had to find a suitable stem and make it work with the stummel. I quickly found a stem in my stores that worked perfectly. It matched the style and shape of the pipe, and I felt that it was a great choice. First, I reduced the thickness of the tenon until it fit snuggly in the stummel’s mortise. I used all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even everything out, and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also applied pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful, deep black shine to the stem when I was done. The final step is buffing. I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it – first with a white diamond compound for the stem, then with three coats of conservator’s wax for the stummel. Naturally, this procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Bjørn Thurmann Hand Made was a pleasure to work on. It looks fantastic and is ready to be enjoyed again by its next owner. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the ‘Danish’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅝ in. (12 mm); height 1¾ in. (44 mm); bowl diameter 1⅔ in. (43 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅞ oz. (54 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s restoration as much as I did restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Conway Aristocrat Made in England Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

I picked some older pipes to work on next. The next of these is a Classic, Smooth Straight Bulldog with a Saddle Stem. We purchased this one on 09/20/2023 from a seller in Portland, Oregon, USA. The is a large straight Bulldog that is stamped on the top left side of the shank and reads Conway [over] Aristocrat. On the left side it is stamped Made in England. On the top left side of the saddle stem the Circle C logo of Conway was stamped. The pipe was well used. The finish was dirty with dust and debris in the smooth briar and in the twin rings around the rim cap. The bowl had a thick cake in it and heavy lava on the rim top and the inner edge. There was some damage on the left back of the rim top and om the bevelled inner edge of the bowl. The vulcanite stem was oxidized, calcified and had some tooth marks on the surface ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took some closer photos of the rim top and bowl to show the condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top and inner edge. You can see the chip on the outer edge at the back of the rim top. It is hard to know for certain but it looks like there is some roughening on the back inner edge. He also took photos of the stem to show its condition. You can see the oxidation, calcification and tooth marks and chatter. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the bowl. The twin rings and bowl cap are quite well done and you can see the nicks and damage in the briar. He captured the stamping on the left top and right top side of the diamond shank. It is faint in spots but reads as noted above. It is interesting to note the nicks on the shank. The circle C logo stamped on the left side of the saddle stem is faded but the stamp is quite deep. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c6.html) to see what I could find out on the brand. I did a screen capture of the section on the site on the Conway label. It is a pipe that bears the same stamping as the one in hand here other than the shape number. I also copied the sidebar information below the screen capture.Conway pipes were most probably made by Singleton & Cole. If the pipe is stamped with a shape number this probability almost becomes a certitude. According to Wilczak & Colwell (op. cit.) Loewe had a line named Conway.

I turned to a link on Pipedia hoping for more information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Conway). Sadly the only information was a mention of the information on Pipephil’s site. There were some amazing photos of the brand on the site. There was one that included an unsmoked Apple with a box and pipe sock as well as a brochure. The interesting point is that it was also an Aristocrat.Armed with that information that pipe was probably made by Singleton & Cole in London, England. I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe and it looked very good. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it 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, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top had some damage on the back left side of the top. The outer edge of the bowl look very good. The inner bevelled edge was clean but had some darkening all around the bowl. The stem surface was clean but the oxidation was still visible and calcification was gone. Overall it looked very good with a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.The stamping on top left side of the shank and the top right side is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. It is faint in spots but still clear. The logo on the left topside of the saddle is also clear. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The wide taper stem is nice and the photo shows the proportions of the pipe. I used a wooden half sphere and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the rim top and the bevel on the bowl. Once finished the inner edge looked better. I then topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage to the left side of the rim top. I took a photo of the top after this part of the work as well.I washed the bowl with cotton pads and acetone to remove some of the opaqueness of the stain. Once I washed it down it looked much better. The grain really stood out and I was able to add a bit of colour to the sanded rim top. I touched up the stain on the rim top with a Walnut stain pen to match the rest of the bowl colour. It matched well and once it was polished and buffed it would be perfect.I sanded the bowl and shank with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad to remove the debris. The pipe was beginning to look much better. I polished the smooth briar around outside of the bowl and the rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get it into the rings and rustication. It works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain and the rustication came alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them (forgot to take photos). The heat did a great job lifting all of them. The marks and chatter that remained I filled in with black CA glue strengthened with carbon and rubber. Once cured I flattened them with a file and blended them into the surface by sanding with 220 grit sandpaper. I touched up the Circle C logo on the left side of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once it cured I scraped off the excess and polished the stem.I polished the roughness, scratch marks and smoothed the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It removes the dust and also gives the sanding pads some bite. By the final pad it was looking quite good.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This Conway Aristocrat Straight Bulldog is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The style of rustication that is used around the bowl is quite beautiful and works well with both the shape and the polished vulcanite taper stem. 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 wheel and followed by buffing the pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Conway Aristocrat Bulldog 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 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 47 grams/1.66 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. I appreciate your support and time!

Restoring a Republic Era Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

A couple of weeks ago I received a message on Facebook from Shannon about cleaning up a pipe for him. It was one of his favourite pipes so he wanted it spiffed up. I have included several of his messages below along with photos of the pipe in question.

Hello! I saw the beautiful work you did on a Peterson Shannon 80S recently and not only would I like to purchase that but I would also like to see if you could give my Shannon Billiard a glow-up. I purchased it with some minor wear and teeth marks but it has been faithful for a good while. would like to get it a sibling and pair them together as fresh if possible. Please let me know…

…I’ve only been smoking for a little over a year so when I saw that Peterson had a whole line in my own name, I’ve kinda been drawn to it. They’re just not that common and usually in a sad state when I see them.

…Here’s the pipe in question. I covered the teeth marks with a pipe bit but as you can see, it’s still in pretty good shape overall.Probably THE best smoking pipe I own, especially for when I don’t feel like fully rubbing out flakes. It handles folded tobacco better than the rest of the ones I have. Here’s a couple more photos I just took of the minor issues… We chatted back and forth a bit about his pipe and I agreed to work on it for him. He boxed it up and sent it to me to work on. It arrived this week thanks to UPS and I opened the box and took the pipe out. I examined it and took photos of the pipe. It was well smoked and well cared for. The bowl has a light cake on the top 2/3rds and the bottom 1/3 is raw briar – not darkened by smoking. The rim top had some darkening in spots and the inner edge also had some darkening. The finish was shiny like it had a light varnish coat. There were some oils and grime in the finish. The stem was in good condition other than the tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The brass spacer on the stem was lightly oxidized. The Peterson’s P logo stamped on the left side of the stem was faint but had remnants of gold in it. The pipe was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Peterson’s [over] Shannon. On the right side it bore the number 6 next to the bowl/shank junction which is the shape number for a Peterson’s Billiard. That is followed by Made in The [over] Republic [over] of Ireland in three lines. This tells me that the pipe was a Republic Era pipe which dates it between 1948 and present date. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. It really is a beautiful piece of briar. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. You can see that my assessment in the above photos is correct. The rim top shows some darkening toward the back and around the inner edge of the rim. The cake is the bowl is quite light. The photos of the stem show the tooth chatter and marks (which are light but still present) from the previous owner Shannon bought the pipe from. Otherwise the stem looks very good.I took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. It is clear and readable as noted above. The P logo on the stem side is deep but the colour in it is faint. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to show the proportions of the stem to the bowl. The stem is a classic Peterson style taper stem.Before I started working on the pipe I turned to “The Peterson’s Pipe” by Mark Irwin and Gary Malmberg to see what it had to say on the “Kildare” line. On page 313 it says:

Shannon (19695-c.1987) First offered as entry-grade walnut or black sandblast, P-lip mouthpiece and a nickel band. In 1969-c.1970 offered through Iwan Ries as Shannon Meerschaum lined, middle grade black sandblast and higher-grade brown sandblast finish, P-lip mouthpiece. From 2005 as polished tan and black stain, unmounted, P-lip or fishtail mouthpiece with stamped gold P on the vulcanite mouthpiece.

I believe that the pipe I am working on is from the 2005 line. It has a polished tan and black stain and a fishtail mouthpiece. It has a classic shape and the information would make the pipe one issued after 2005. It has a bit of age on it and it is in excellent condition. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by dealing with the shiny top coat on the bowl. I wanted to remove that and clean up the finish. I wiped down the bowl with acetone on a cotton pad to remove the varnish (possibly shellac). It worked very well to get rid of the top coat without harming the stain coat on the bowl. It also looked much better after the wash with the acetone. I used a dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the thin cake in the bowl. It was a bit rough and uneven before I sanded it. Once finished it was smooth to touch from the top to the bottom of the bowl. I cleaned out the internals of the pipe with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. It was quite clean which is a tribute to Shannon’s care of his pipes. I cleaned out the remnants of tars and oils in the shank and the pipe is clean. There is a smoky smell of tobacco but it is clean.I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The rim top, edges and bowl were really shining by the final pad. I paused the polishing to clean up the top of the rim a bit. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the darkening on the rim top. It looked better at this point. Afterwards, I repeated the 1500-2400 grit pads and then continued to work through the rest of the pads. It looked much better. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the vulcanite surface with the flame of a lighter – constantly moving the flame over the tooth marks and was able to lift many of them. I was able to lift them significantly enough that sanding them with 320-3500 grit sanding pads.I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads and easily removed the tooth marks and chatter. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished out the scratch marks left behind by the sandpaper. The stem looked very good.The stem was in such good condition that I decided to just do some preliminary work on it before polishing it. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the stem with Rub’n Buff Antique Gold. I let it dry then polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the curve of the “P” stamp but overall it looked very good. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine, I rubbed it on with my finger and buffed it off with a cloth. I gave the stem a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to let the oil be absorbed. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Billiard with a fishtail stem is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely and the beautiful grain really popped with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank. This Republic Era Peterson’s “Shannon” 6 Straight Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 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 1.48 ounces/42 grams. I will be sending it back to Shannon shortly. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

A Gold Star Diplomat 9486 from my Grandfather

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by Kenneth Lieblich

This pipe has a bit of a story to it. Every once in a while, I pull out a pipe from my late grandfather and clean it up. The pipe today is a charming hexagonal panelled billiard, with a square shank, and a straight square stem. I do not know where my grandfather acquired it (or under what circumstances), so I asked my father but he didn’t know either. It doesn’t really seem like the sort of pipe he would have selected, so I wonder if it was given to him. After my grandfather died, his pipes ended up wrapped in newspaper, in a cardboard box, in a basement – as so many grandfather’s pipes do. In this case, it was the basement of my parents’ home. About fifteen years ago, my parents had a small flood and this box (along with several others) got wet and stayed wet for a long time. This had ramifications… The pipe’s markings on the left side of the shank read Gold Star [over] Diplomat. On the right side, they read London England [over] 9486. Also, on the stem, there is a star enclosing the letters GS.Very little information turned up about the brand, Gold Star. Nothing from Pipedia. Over at Pipephil, they had the following:This suggested to me that the pipe was a Sasieni sub-brand. Crucially, however, Pipephil also included this line:

The pipes temporarily gathered under the “Gold Star” label obviously aren’t from the same maker.

This was important to me, because the shape number, 9486, didn’t seem to correspond to anything that Sasieni made. So, I did some sleuthing and figured out that, in fact, the name Gold Star was also produced by GBD. This did fit, and I found some examples of GBD 9486 online, including this one (among others) from Iwan Ries’ website:Clearly, my grandfather’s pipe was one of these and I can confirm that both Sasieni and GBD (at least) made the Gold Star name. I am pleased to say that this post has added that small tidbit to the collective knowledge of pipe making in the twentieth century.

Anyway, on to the pipe – and this poor pipe had some issues. Sitting in moist newspaper for as long as it did had some very negative effects. I don’t remember the crack on the shank being there in the past and I wonder if the water induced stresses in the wood that caused the crack. There were other small fissures in the bowl, I don’t think they were flood-related. Another problem related to the water was the colour of the wood – any staining this pipe had was long gone. Finally, as I was examining the pipe, I didn’t realize it in the moment, but the yellow stem would prove to be the biggest problem of them all. The effect of water on vulcanite stems is well known, but stems don’t normally sit in water for an extended period of time. Aside from the above, the stummel had the following problems: lava on the rim, charring to the rim, some cake in the bowl, and a few substantial fills. Meanwhile, the stem had its own set of problems (besides its colour): tooth marks and scratches, and a filthy stinger. The stinger was first on my list. It went for a soak in some lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I let it set for several hours and then cleaned it off and it looked much improved. I then finished it with some 0000-grit steel wool and moved on.I wiped down the outside of the stem with oil soap on some cotton pads. That did next to nothing. I took my BIC lighter and painted the stem with its flame. This helped a bit, but not much. Then, I cleaned out the insides with pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol.Now it was time to remove the horrific yellow on the stem. I used some cream cleanser on the outside to remove the oxidation. I scrubbed and scrubbed and scrubbed. Then, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover. The following day, I cleaned the de-oxidizing mess off with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. I scrubbed again with cream cleanser on some cotton pads to remove the leftover oxidation. This worked only so well. I put the stem down, thought about it for a while, and decided to repeat that entire procedure: scrub with cream cleanser, soak overnight, and scrub with cream cleanser. This made the stem so much better than before, but still not great. Steve reminded me of an additional technique to try: soaking in Oxyclean. Again, this helped a bit, but it was just not going to be enough. This stem was definitely improved, but would always show the signs of its time in the water.I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the stem to make it look as good as possible. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing.On to the stummel. I used the KleenReem to remove the built-up cake, and followed that with 220-grit sandpaper to remove as much as I could. I wanted to take the bowl down to bare briar to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was quite a bit of filth inside this stummel – it took many pipe cleaners et cetera to clean it out.I decided that a de-ghosting session would be a good idea. I thrust cotton balls into the bowl and the shank and saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton. I followed that up by cleaning the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with oil soap and some cotton pads. That removed any remaining dirt. The bowl was nice and clean after this. Having completed that, I was able to address the crack on the shank and the nicks on the bowl. This took some careful work. I filled the crack and the tiny divots with cyanoacrylate adhesive then let them cure. Now, with the nicks and crack filled, it was time to sand down the stummel. I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand everything smooth. Much improved. I felt that this pipe really needed a bit of colour – it had lost it during the flood. However, I only wanted a light stain. So I made a very dilute mixture of leather dye and alcohol. This didn’t really work well, so, instead, I simply put a drop (literally) at a time on my dauber and gently coated the wood with theat. I flamed it with my Bic lighter and let it sit overnight. Upon the morrow, I used isopropyl alcohol to wipe down the pipe and remove excess stain. I am very happy with the results.After that, a light application of Before & After Restoration Balm brought out the best in the stummel’s grain. What a difference that made! Then it was off for a trip to the buffer. A dose of White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax were just what this pipe needed. The lovely shine made the wood look great. This Gold Star Diplomat 9486 panelled billiard has an elegant feel to it. It took a lot of work – and the results were not exactly what I had hoped for – but I am proud of it and the final product is (hopefully) worthy of my beloved grandfather’s memory. Obviously, this is one pipe that I am keeping for myself and adding to my collection. I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe as much I as I did restoring it. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅛ in. (130 mm); height 1½ in. (39 mm); bowl diameter 1¼ in. (32 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1 oz. (31 g). If you are interested in more of 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.

Restoring a Rare Preben Holm Private Collection Circle B Hand Made in Denmark Freehand

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by Steve Laug

This particular Freehand pipe was purchased from an auction seller in Sylacauga, Alabama, USA on 04/08/2024. It really is a very Preben Holm style Freehand pipe that is almost flower like in its shape. It has a twisted shank and a twisted vulcanite shank extension. It is stamped on a heel of the bowl and the lower backside of the bowl and reads Preben Holm on the bottom edge at the back of the bowl. On the heel it is stamped Private [over] Collection [over] B enclosed in a circle [over] Hand Made [over]In [over] Denmark. The smooth floral shaped pipe is dirty but the grime does not hide the beautiful looking combination around the bowl and shank. The stain is a black understain that brings out the grain highlighted by a top coat of walnut stain. The pipe had a moderate cake in the bowl and a thick lava overflow on the backside of the smooth rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There was grime ground into the smooth and sandblast finish and dust and debris in the valleys and turns on the flower petal shaped carving around the bowl and the shank end. The top edge of the petal on the left front of the bowl had a chip. There was also a darkened spot mid bowl on the right mid bowl toward the back of the bowl. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem and the vulcanite shank extension were oxidized. Added to that the stem surface was also calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The pipe must have been a great smoker judging from the condition it came it. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The turned and twisted vulcanite shank extension and stem were dirty and had light chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. You can see the chip on the top of the front flower petal in the first photo. You can also see the darkened spots on the right side of the bowl in the second photo. It really is a nicely shaped pipe that has the classic look of a Freehand carved by Preben Holm.The next photos Jeff took shows the stamping on the back side of the bowl and the underside of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe.
I had vague memories about the Private Collection line being a unique and special line of pipes made by Preben Holm but I had no idea what it meant and how it came to be so designated. It would take a bit of digging to ferret our that information on the web. I turned first to Pipephil’s site and there was an additional page on the Private Collection line that gave me a lot of detailed information on the line (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/infos/prebenholm-pc1.html). I quote the extra page in full below with the inserted graphics.

The “Private Collection” pipes are Preben Holm’s most coveted pieces. They were crafted by the artisan himself from the late 1970’s to the end of his career in 1986.

The stampings on the shanks are always displayed in the same order (see right). Information in white is systematically stamped, the one in grey is optional.

“Additional stampings” may sometimes occur under the carver’s name (ie: “Traditional”, “Fancy”, “9m/m”, …)

The “C5” stamping appears on pipes distributed in the USA by CAO who took over distribution from Lane Ltd. in 1985. This distinguishing stamping was to avoid warranty issues with pipes that were not of CAO’s distribution.

Gradings: The early Private Collection series were graded with 4 letters (ascending): A, B, C and D. Those letters may be encircled (older markings) or not.

Later, a “x0x” 5 tiers grading system was introduced (ascending): 101, 202, 404, 606 and 808. Letter and x0x systems may coexist on the same pipe.

Signature stem logo

Nearly all pipes of Preben Holm’s Private Collection sport the carver’s signature on their stem. It may sometimes be worn and in a very few cases it may be missing (replacement stem?). But Preben Holm’s logos with the PH initials do not originally occur on Private Collection pipes.

So now I knew that the pipe was a part of the unique Private Collection that were crafted by Preben Holm himself. I learned that the pipe was made between the late 1970s and the end of his career in 1986. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the plateau rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. 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 stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. You can see the burn marks on the right side of the bowl. It is very visible in the second photo below at midbowl. The one toward the back of the bowl had a very fine micro crack in the bowl. The second one was just darkened not damaged. The stem was still oxidized in the grooves after Jeff’s work but it was definitely better. The pipe really looked good. I took close up photos of the stem and the rim top to show both how clean they were and what needed to be addressed with both. The rim top and bowl still had some darkening and what looked like some hard lava in the plateau inner edge. The stem looked better and the tooth marks and chatter though light were still present. I would need to remove those to bring the stem back.I took photos of the stamping on the back bottom of the bowl and the heel of the bowl. You can see from the photos that it is clear and readable. I removed the stem from the bowl and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of the beauty of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by using clear CA glue to fill in the burn areas on the bowl. The one toward the back of the bowl had a tiny micro crack in it. The one toward to front of the bowl was merely darkened. I shined a light in the inside of the bowl and checked it out for burn damage or cracks in the bowl sides. That would help explain if there were flaws on the inside or potential burn out or pointed to that potential in the bowl. Thankfully there was not any burn damage on the inside of the bowl. There were no burned areas behind the damage on the outside of the bowl. Once the glue cured on the bowl side I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I scrubbed the oxidized vulcanite shank extension with Soft Scrub on cotton pads. I was able to remove a lot of the oxidation with the product but there was still work to do on it.I sanded the bowl sides, reshaped the chipped petal edge on the left front outer edge and sanded the vulcanite extension with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. It worked very well. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad to get a sense of the progress in the process. To minimize the burn marks on the side I decided to stain the bowl with a Cordovan stain. I applied it with a wool dauber, flamed it with a lighter and repeated until I was happy with the coverage around the bowl and rim. Once the stain had cured I wiped the bowl down with cotton pads and acetone to make the stain on the bowl more transparent. It looked better but sanding and buffing would take off the remainder and leave it like I was aiming for. I set aside for the evening. In the morning I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond to work toward more transparency in the stain coat. I wanted to see grain showing through but still disguise the burn marks a bit. It worked. I then sanded it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. I finished by another trip to the buffer and finally I had it where I wanted it! Note: the stamping is untouched. I carefully avoided both buffing and sanding it. The stamp is on a curve so it is out of focus. I rubbed down the briar Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention stem. I scrubbed the surface of the stem with Soft Scrub cleanser to begin to break through the remaining oxidation on the stem.I sanded out the scratches in the horn with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. It started to take on a deep shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads to remove them. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I am really happy with the way that this Preben Holm Private Collection Circle B Hand Made in Denmark Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and smooth finished bowl and rim and vulcanite shank end. The fancy original acrylic saddle stem is really nice. The black vulcanite colour of the stem works well with the briar. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich cordovan and 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 Preben Holm Private Collection B Grade 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: 7 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches long x 2 inches wide, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 48 grams/1.76 ounces. In all my years of working on pipes I have never seen a Preben Holm Private Collection pipe and this one is a beauty. I intend to hold onto it for my own enjoyment. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

Getting Creative with this Weber Golden Walnut Imported Briar Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next bowl on the table is a classic shaped Apple. It has been sitting here and I have looked at it over and over again and today I decided to restem it. I wanted to try something a little different with this restem and see if I could come up with an interesting restem. I think when you see it you will either love it or hate it! But there you go. Here is what I did! I cleaned up the bowl and matched a stem with briar bowl. It is a cleanup and restore and is a break from my work on the Freehand pipes. The bowl is dirty and somewhere in its life before it came to us the stem was lost. The finish was coated with varnish that left it shiny even under the grime. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. It was stamped on the left side of the shank and read Weber in an oval [over] Golden Walnut. The right side of the shank it is stamped Imported Briar. The bowl had a thick cake and a thick lava overflow on the rim top. There was some lava and tars coming down the bowl sides from the top. It is a pretty pipe with some great grain under the grime. I am hoping to match a nice stem to it. I took some photos of the bowl before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to give more of a sense of what I see and noted above. It is a dirty pipe but seems to have no damage on the rim top or edges.I took a photo of the snapped tenon in the shank end. The end of the tenon is quite smooth so it was a clean snap. I will need to pull it before I can fit a new stem to it.I took a photo of the stamping on the left and right side of the shank. The stamping looks blurry and double stamped in the photos but in person it is clear and readable. Recently I picked up some unused acrylic stems. There was an acrylic amber/orange variegated saddle stem in the lot. It was drilled for a new tenon and was clean. This stem had a close diameter to the shank end of the Weber and would work well I think.I put the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes then used a drywall screw to pull out the broken tenon. I screwed it into the tenon and wiggled it free from the shank. I used the tenon piece to fit a new tenon in the shank end.I fit the new tenon in the shank end and it was a little tight. I used a Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter just enough for a snug fit. I painted the threaded tenon with black CA glue and turned it into the end of the new stem. The fit was good. I set it aside and let the glue cure. I put it in the shank and the fit against the shank end was slightly off. I used a file to make the transition between the shank and the saddle portion of the stem very smooth. I liked the look of the variegated orange acrylic stem with the browns of the briar bowl. I cleaned up the file marks on the shank and avoided the stamping on both sides with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. Once finished the transition and both the briar and the acrylic were smooth. I set aside the stem and turned my attention to reaming the pipe. I used a PipNet Reamer with the first and second cutting heads to take back the heavy cake to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I like to remove all the cake to examine the walls for damage and checking. Great news is that this one is free of any damage. With the bowl reamed it was time to work on the rim top. The lava was hard and thick. I started the process with a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. Once I had smoothed off the top outer edges it was clear that the inner edge of the rim top was slightly bevelled inward. I used a wooden half sphere and 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the bevel and remove the damage to that portion of the rim top and edges. I cleaned up a few spots with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. To remove the shiny varnish coat on the bowl and to use the stain on the bowl to colour the rim top and sanded shank end I wiped the bowl and shank down with acetone. I used cotton pads with the acetone and was able to easily remove the varnish and move some of the stain to the sanded portions of the shank and rim. I would need to restain but it definitely looked much better. I matched the stain on the bowl and shank with a Maple Stain Pen. I put it on the smooth sanded rim top and shank end. I wanted it to start matched before I started sanding the bowl and shank with sanding pads. I was very happy with the match. I worked on polishing out the sanding marks with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I worked particularly on the transition between the shank and the stem surface. I also worked over the briar of the bowl and rim top at the same time. The bowl and stem looked very good once I finished. I took the stem off the shank and turned to the bowl first. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. After each sanding pad I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris and dust. It began to take on a deep shine. I rubbed down the briar Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads to remove them. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. This is another pipe that I am really happy about the finished restoration. This reborn Weber Golden Walnut with a newly fitted golden acrylic variegated stem turned out really well to my eye. After restemming I think that it is unique and beautiful looking classic apple with a twist. The bowl is a classic Bent Billiard and the “new” horn stem is a great match. The polished horn stem works well with the briar and the nickel ferrule. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich reddish brown stains of the finish make the grain really pop with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. 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 Weber Golden Walnut Apple really has a unique beauty and feels great in the hand. It looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe 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 45 grams/1.62 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the American Pipemakers 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!

Nording “N” Handcrafted Made in Denmark Freehand with fancy turned vulcanite stem

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by Steve Laug

It was time to turn back to one of the pipes that Jeff and I picked up. This pipe was purchased from an auction on 10/03/21 in Lacon, Illinois, USA. The pipe is Freehand take on a Rhodesian. The grain around the bowl sides, the plateau on the rim top and the rusticated almost leaf pattern on the underside of the bowl. The shank end has a vulcanite shank extension. You can see the flow of straight and flame grain around the bowl and shank. It is stamped on the underside of the shank with a hollow letter N [over] Handcrafted [over] Made in Denmark. There is no other stamping on the pipe. The stem does not have the expected Nording N anywhere on the sides or top. The pipe was very dirty with a thick cake in the bowl and some lava overflowing on to the plateau rim top. It was hard to know what the inner edge of the rim looked like because of the lava and cake. Other than being dirty the finish appeared to be in good condition. The fancy, turned stem was lightly oxidized and had come calcification ahead of the button. There was some tooth chatter and marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button and on the button surface. Jeff took the following photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work on it. He took a photo of the rim top to show the thick cake in the bowl and the overflow of lava. The cake is thick and hard and the lava overflow is in the plateau. The bowl is dirty but it must have been a great smoking pipe. The stem looked dirty and oxidized with the calcification. The bite marks and tooth chatter on the stem were not too bad and the edge of the button was worn down. The mark on the back side of the bowl is actually more of the plateau running down the side rather than a flaw in the briar. The next photos show the sides and heel of the bowl to give a clear picture of the beauty of the grain around the bowl of the pipe. Under the grime there is some great grain peeking through. Jeff took photos of the stamping to capture the clarity of it even under the grime. The stamping is faint in spots but still readable. It reads as noted above.Before I started my work on the pipe I wanted to learn more about where this pipe fit into the Nording lines so I turned to the first of two sites that I always check to gather information on a brand. I turned first to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/N%C3%B8rding). Nording’s were exclusively freehand shapes, graded from A, B, C, D, up to its highest grade, extra. Later an “F” grade was added—less expensive than the “A.” I could find no other information on the rest of the stamping on the pipe.

I did find a great collage of photos of Erik Nording that I have included below.I turned to the second information site – Pipephil’s (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-n2.html) did not find any more helpful information on the Nording N stamp.

Armed with that information I actually knew no more about this Freehand. I turned to address the pipe itself. Jeff cleaned up the pipe for me. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime off the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. The cleaning had removed some of the black stain on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and was able to remove much of the oxidation. When it arrived here in Vancouver it was a clean pipe and I knew what I had to work with. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show their condition once it arrived in Canada. Jeff was able to clean up the incredibly thick cake and lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. You can see the spots where the black stain had been removed from parts of the plateau top. He was also able to get rid of the grime and grit in the surface of the briar. The inner edge of the bowl was in very good condition and was smooth to the touch. The rim top and edges looked very good. The stem looked much cleaner. There was tooth marks and chatter on both sides on and near the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above.I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the appearance of the parts. You can see how large the pipe is in the photos.I decided to start with polishing the briar and the vulcanite shank extension with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl began to take on a rich shine and grain was beginning to stand out. I paused the polishing to touch up the stain on the plateau rim top and shank end. I used a black stain pen and was able to match the black perfectly. It looks much better.I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the plateau top. After it sat for a little while I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem at this point in the process. I “painted” the tooth marks in the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift them. I filled in the remaining tooth marks on the stem surface and button edge with black CA glue (forgot to take photos). I set the stem aside to let the repairs cure. I used a small file to flatten the repairs and recut the button edge. I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the stem surface. I sanded out the scratches in the vulcanite with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. It started to take on a deep shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I used the Before & After Pipe Polish to remove the small minute scratches left in the vulcanite even after the micromesh regimen. I finished by wiping the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Nording Made N Handcrafted Made in Denmark Large Freehand and took the pipe to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really nicely with a great contrasting stain look to the briar. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is another unique Nording for me – the combination of plateau, rustication and smooth finish along with a vulcanite shank extension. The polished black vulcanite extension and stem looks really good with the reds and blacks standing out in the grain. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches wide x 2 long, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 77 grams/2.79 ounces. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes online store shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Cleaning up and Restemming a Sandy London Made Sandblast Billiard

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by Steve Laug

Once again, I dipped into my box of bowls to restem and came out with this interesting sandblast straight billiard. It is stained with a rich combination of brown stains that highlight the highs and lows of the blast. The finish is scratched and dirty but still interesting. The pipe is stamped on a smooth panel on the underside of the shank and reads 2 [followed by] Sandy [over] London Made. The bowl has a thick cake with some lava overflow on the rim top. There is something interesting about this little billiard bowl that makes me choose it next. Here are some photos for you to have a look. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the thickness of the cake and the lava in the sandblast on the rim. It was a mess but obviously a well loved pipe. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. There is a numeral 2 toward the heel of the bowl and the rest is centered in the shank in two lines as noted above.I took a photo of the stem I had chosen for the pipe next to the bowl so you can see the overall look of the stem and shank. It is slightly larger in diameter than the shank so that will need to be adjusted. The tenon is also slightly larger.I used a flat needle file to reduce the diameter of the tenon so that it would fit the shank of the pipe. It did not take too much to do and once it was removed it looked very good.I heated the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to soften the vulcanite. Once it was soft enough I was able to straighten the stem to the angle that I wanted.I fit the stem to the shank and used a rasp to reduce the diameter of the stem. I wanted it to be a smooth transition from the shank to the stem. It was looking much better. I sanded the reduced stem diameter with 200 grit sandpaper to remove the file marks and smooth out the scratches. The transition began to really look good and it was smooth to the touch.I sanded out the scratches in the vulcanite with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth impregnated with Obsidian Oil. It started to take on a deep shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads to remove them. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I rubbed it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it dry. I turned my attention to the bowl. I used a PipNet Reamer with the first and second cutting heads to take back the heavy cake to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and finally sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I like to remove all the cake to examine the walls for damage and checking. Great news is that this one is free of any damage! I used a brass bristle wire brush to work over the sandblast rim top and edges. The inner edge and the top looked to be undamaged.I used alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to clean out the internals of the shank and the new stem. Once finished the pipe smelled as clean as it looked.I scrubbed the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the debris from the sandblast finish. I rinsed the bowl off with warm running water and dried it with a soft towel. It looked much better at this point. I restained the faded spots on the bowl sides and heel with a Mahogany and a Cherry stain pen to blend the colours into the sandblast finish. It looked much better at this point. I rubbed down the briar Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips. I used a shoe brush to work the balm into crevices of the sandblast. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 15 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. This is another pipe that I am really happy about the finished restoration. This reborn Sandy 2 London Made Sandblast Billiard turned out really well. I used a vulcanite stem I had here to fit the pipe with a new stem. After restemming I think that it really is a great looking pipe with a great shape and grain. The bowl is a classic English Billiard that looks excellent with the new vulcanite stem. The polished black of the stem works well with the briar. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown and mahogany stains of the finish make the blast really pop with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. 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 Sandy 2 London Made Billiard really has a unique beauty and feels great in the hand. It looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ 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 28 grams/.99 ounces. The pipe will be going on the rebornpipes store soon. It will be in the British Pipemakers 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!