Tag Archives: restaining

Next on the Table – a Savinelli Deco 622KS Bent Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a Savinelli line pipe that was a new one to me. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Savinelli in an arch over DECO. On the right side it is stamped with the Savinelli “S” Shield and the shape number 622KS over Italy. The stem has the Savinelli Shield on stamped on the topside and 6mm stamped on the underside. The pipe was dirty and there was a thick cake in the bowl. There is some lava on the inward bevel and some darkening as well. There is also some lava on the rim top. The finish is in excellent condition other than being dirty. The stem is acrylic and there are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button with light damage on the button surface itself. The stem is free of the 6mm filter and looks like one has not been used in the stem. The internals of the pipe are very dirty. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it.  The photos of the rim top and bowl show the thick cake, tobacco debris and thick lava overflow on the rim top. The pipe was a mess. You can also see some chipped areas on the outer edge of the bowl and nicks in the sides of the bowl. He captured the grain around sides of the bowl in the next photos. You can also see the nicks and chips out of the briar but it is still quite pretty beneath the wear and tear and grime! He took photos of the stamping on the shank sides. They are clear and readable and read as noted above. The acrylic stem was in good condition other than the tooth marks on the surface of both sides ahead of the button and some wear on the button as well.Jeff out did himself on the cleanup of this pipe and when I received it I was not disappointed as it showed what I saw on the briar in the photos above. The grain was quite nice and the colour was very good. Jeff had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the debris left behind with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with running water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the debris on the stem. The pipe looked quite amazing. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the damaged areas and how clean it was. You can see damage on the right front inner edge and back left edge of the rim. There appeared to be some burn damage and darkening. The stem looked good other than the tooth marks and the light chatter on the surface ahead of the button.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the parts. It is a great looking pipe.I decided to start on the inner rim edges and the rim top. I sanded the beveled edge with a piece of folded 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damaged edges and removing the darkening. I stained the edge with a Maple Stain Pen. The rim top also looks much better and will improve with polishing.I polished the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust left behind from sanding. I buffed bowl on the wheel with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and bring the grain out. I rubbed it down with Before & After Refurbishing Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and let it sit for 20 minutes. The Balm works to preserve, protect and enliven the briar. The pipe is starting to look very good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and chatter remaining on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and followed that by starting the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I continued polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.I used Antique Gold Rub’n Buff to touch up the stamping on the stem. I applied a spot of the product on the surface and worked it into the stamping with a tooth pick. I rubbed it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The finished look was very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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. This Savinelli Deco 622KS Bent Pot is a nice looking pipe. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I polished the metal band with a jeweler’s cloth. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain is quite beautiful a mix of cross grain and birdseye grain around the bowl sides and the rim top and heel. The pipe feels great in the hand. It has an interesting shape that fits well in either the right or left hand. The finished Bent Pot is shown in the photos below.  The 6mm filter stem is in great condition. What i like about the 6mm filter pipe is that it can be smoked without a filter and still has a great draw. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This great looking Savinelli pipe turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Something about the grain on this one called my name – a No Name Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

I don’t know how to explain this any other way than the title says. I looked at this pipe at least two times when Irene and I were on the Oregon coast with Jeff and Sherry. We went to this shop at least twice and each time I looked at the pipe and thought about it. I turned it over in my hands and examined it. There was no stamping on the shank or stem and it was a filthy pipe. However the grain just spoke to me and I think something about the compact shape did as well. I finally put it in the purchase pile and moved on. Jeff took the lot we found home with him to clean up and this one went along. He took some photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up and the photos revealed a crack in the shank that I had not noticed. It just goes to show you I was so caught up in the shape and grain that I missed the crack. Ah well just another pipe to fix. The photos of the rim top and bowl show the thick cake, tobacco debris and thick lava overflow on the rim top. The pipe was a mess. You can also see some chipped areas on the outer edge of the bowl and nicks in the sides of the bowl. He captured the grain around sides of the bowl in the next photos. You can also see the nicks and chips out of the briar but it is still quite pretty beneath the wear and tear and grime!The vulcanite stem was heavily oxidized and was pitted. There were tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button and some wear on the button as well.I saved the next photo for last as it shows the surprise that I don’t believe I saw when I examined the pipe in the basement of the antique mall.Jeff out did himself on the cleanup of this pipe and when I received it I was not disappointed as it showed what I had seen through the grime on the bowl. The grain was quite nice and the colour was very good. Jeff had reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the debris left behind with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the externals of the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush and rinsed it off with running water. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer. The pipe looked quite amazing. I took photos of it before I started my part of the restoration. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the damaged areas and how clean it was. You can see damage all the way around the inner edge of the rim. The larger one was at the back of the bowl. There was burn damage and darkening. You can also see the damage to the outer edge of the bowl. The stem looked good other than the slight nicks on the button surface and the light chatter on the surface ahead of the button.I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the parts. It is a great looking pipe.I decided to start on the rim edges – both inner and outer and the rim top. I built up the chipped edge on the right side and front of the bowl with super glue and briar dust. I filled them in to even out the edges. Once the repair had cured I sanded the repaired areas with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repaired areas. I went through my bag of bands and found one that was oval and would work to bind together crack. It was already oval and slightly dented but it would work and I could tap it out and make it smooth again. The crack was hairline and closed so I ran a thin bead of clear super glue on it and let it soak in before banding.  I fit it onto the shank end and tapped it to fit well and be smooth against the shank and the shank end. I took photos of the pipe to show the look of the banded shank. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to reduce the damage on the rim top and the edges of the bowl. I also used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the rim edge and to bring the bowl back into round. The second photo below shows the rounded rim edges on the inside and outside. The rim top also looks much better though the burn spot remains.I polished the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the dust left behind from sanding. In order to mask the burn mark on the rim and to make the grain really stand out I stained the pipe with a Tan aniline stain. I flamed it to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage and set it aside overnight to cure.In the morning I hand buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to see what I was working with. I still needed to buff it on the wheel but I liked what I saw. I buffed bowl on the wheel with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and bring the grain out. I rubbed it down with Before & After Refurbishing Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and let it sit for 20 minutes. The Balm works to preserve, protect and enliven the briar. The pipe is starting to look very good at this point. I set the stained, polished and banded bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded out the tooth marks and the oxidation remaining on the stem with 220 grit sandpaper and followed that by starting the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I continued polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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. This little Canadian really is a nice looking pipe. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain is quite beautiful a mix of straight and flame around the bowl sides and birdseye on the rim top and heel. The pipe feels great in the hand. It has an interesting shape that fits well in either the right or left hand. The finished no name Canadian is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This great looking Canadian pipe turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Cleaning up a Willmer Straight Grain AAA Standard Cup and Saucer

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a shape I would call a cup and saucer or at least Willmer’s take on this shape. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank Willmer in script over Straight Grain over AAA over Standard. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in England. It is a bent cup and saucer shaped smooth briar with vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe was dusty and dull looking but had great grain around the bowl and rim. The rim top is smooth and there was some darkening and damage to the inner edge of the bowl. There was a thick cake in the bowl. The finish was in great condition under grime ground into the sides and shank. The saddle vulcanite stem was oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the condition of the rim top and edges of the bowl. There was a little darkening around the inner edge and heavier along the back edge of the bowl. There are some scratches on the top and outer edge of the bowl as well. You can also see the cake in the bowl.He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish and the grain around the bowl. The pipe has some stellar grain around the bowl and shank and the carver maximized the lay of the grain with the shape of the pipe. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.  He also took a photo of the Willmer “W” on the left side of the stem. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. You can see the light tooth marks right next to the button edge.I turned to Pipephil to get a quick review of the Willmer Company as it had been a long time since I had worked on one (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-w3.html). I quote the side bar from the site bellow.

Willmer is a brand of H. Willmer & Son Ltd. The factory closed down about 2006-07 after more then 60 years activity and two generations of makers. Gradings until the 1980s (ascending): BA, A, AA, and AAA. After this date Willmer introduced the AAAA and AAAA PRESENTATION as top grades.

The pipe I was working on has a AAA stamping on it which if the pipe came from pre-1980s was the top of the line. If it was later pipe it close to the top of the line.I turned to Pipedia to get more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Willmer). The first paragraph dispelled of the belief that Willmer had been a carver for Charatan in his own words. I quote a portion of the article to give a sense of the history of the brand.

Willmer was founded in London. According to the website, which doesn’t exist anymore because the Willmer factory has been closed in 2006/07, the firm was in business “for more than 60 years” by 2003. Willmer was homed then in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, so not far from the Cadogan plant.

When Willmer first started, they definitely strived to compete with brands in the high-end market. Due to the excellent quality of the pipes Willmer was frequently asked to produce private label pipes for England’s best renowned pipe retailers. So many pipes are not easily recognized as Willmers for stamped under the name of the respective shop. Willmer’s own pipes were stamped “Willmer – Made in England” and showed a sweeping “W” in white or gold on top or left side of the stem. The earlier grading had AAA as top grade followed by AA, A, AB etc.

Sometime in the 1980’s, Willmer went through some major changes. The move to Essex was already mentioned above. They continued making highly respectable freehands – often copying some of the stunning Charatan shapes of days gone by. The grading was altered. What used to be an AAA now became the additional name “Presentation” and was stamped with AAAA. Funny enough, the forth A was often larger than the three before. The other grades were changed accordingly.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done his usual thorought job in removing all of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. To show the damage to the inner edge of the rim and the rim top I took a close-up photo. You can see it on the right inner edge and the back edge of the bowl. The vulcanite stem had some tooth marks on both sides and there was some oxidation remaining.I took a photo of the stamping on both sides of the shank. It clearly read what was noted above. The “W” stem on the left side of the saddle stem is also readable.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. It really is a great looking pipe.I started my part of the restoration by addressing the damage to the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the inside edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the newly topped rim and the rest of the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. I stained the rim with a Maple Stain Pen to blend the repaired and polished rim into the rest of the bowl.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 fingertips into finish on the bowl and shank. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I 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. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. To address the oxidation and the tooth marks on the stem surface I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend in the tooth marks and to break up the oxidation. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I started polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.I touched up the “W” stamp on the stem with PaperMate Liquid Paper. I pressed it into the stamp in the vulcanite with a tooth pick. Once it dried I scraped off the excess fill with the tooth pick and with micromesh sanding pads.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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 wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This is a unique pipe and it is the first one I have worked on like this. It is a beauty. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The grain is quite beautiful a mix of straight and flame around the bowl sides and birdseye on the rim top and heel. The pipe feels great in the hand. It has an interesting shape that fits well in either the right or left hand. The finished Willmer Straight Grain AAA Standard is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This great looking Willmer Cup and Saucer pipe turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Breathing Life into an Aged Imported Briar Bullmoose

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Blog by Steve Laug

There is something about Custombilt style older American Made pipes that always gets my attention. This one is a uniquely rusticated Bullmoose shaped pipe with a short stubby vulcanite saddle stem. The pipe had some unique beauty shining through the dust and debris in the valleys of the rustication. The rustication is on the sides and bottom of the bowl and shank. The rim top is smooth as is the smooth panel on the left side of the shank and the band around the shank end. The finish was very dirty from sitting around. There was a thick cake in the bowl with lava flowing out of the bowl and over the rim top. The rim top looked like it had been used as a hammer repeatedly. There were nicks, gouges and deep chunks missing on the smooth rim top. It was in very rough condition. The inner edge of the rim appeared to be in surprisingly good condition. The stamping on the left side of the shank read Aged Imported Briar. There are no other stampings on the pipe and no shape numbers. The saddle stem was oxidized and there were tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the damage to the rim top. It really is a mess. You can see the lava overflow and debris in the gouges and scratches on the rim top. You can see the cake in the bowl. This was a dirty pipe but the rusticated around the bowl finish appeared to be in good condition. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the unique rustication around the bowl. You can see the dust and debris in the finish. It is a good looking rustication and unlike any others that I have seen. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable.The next photos show the overview of the stem top and the tooth chatter and oxidation on the top and underside of the stem. The stamping on the shank does not help me identify the maker of the pipe. There are things about the pipe that remind me of either Kaywoodie rustics or Custombilt pipes. But there was nothing other than conjecture on my part.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done his usual thorough job in removing all of the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. To show how clean the rim top and stem really were I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and cake free. The rim top is very clean with no residual lava in the sandblast finish. The inner edges of the bowl look good. The vulcanite stem cleaned up nicely. The surface had some light oxidation and tooth marks but the button edge looked really good.I took a photo of the stamping on the under side of the shank. You can see the clear stamping.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. The saddle vulcanite stem look very good. I decided to address the damage to the rim top first. I filled in the deep gouges and nicks in the rim top with superglue. Once the repairs had cured I sanded the rim top with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. I worked on especially hard areas on the rim top and edges with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I polished the rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. I stained the rim top with a Tan aniline stain to match the colour of the smooth portions around the bowl and shank.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 and with a horse hair shoe brush to get it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish on the bowl and shank. I let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I 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. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. To address the oxidation and the tooth marks on the stem surface I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend in the tooth marks and to break up the oxidation. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I started polishing the stem with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste that feels a lot like Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out some of the more surface scratches in the vulcanite left behind by the 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I rub it into the stem surface with my fingertips and buff it off with a cotton pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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 final rub down with Obsidian Oil to preserve and protect the vulcanite stem. I have used No Oxy Oil in the past at this point as it does the same thing as Obsidian Oil but have gone back to using Obsidian Oil. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the rusticated bowl so as not to fill in the crevices with the product. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The rustication is unique with almost a nautilus swirl on both sides. The pipe feels great in the hand. It is comfortable and light weight. The finished Aged Imported Briar Bullmoose is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. This great looking rusticated Bullmoose turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Renewing Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” Round Shank Bulldog – The Third Pipe of a Great Grandfather’s Legacy

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This Kaywoodie “500” is the final of three pipes Joe sent.  It belonged to Paw, Joe’s wife’s great grandfather.  I’ve enjoyed learning about Paw, or ‘2-Page Sam’, the name given to him by his fellow workers of Brown & Williamson Tobacco, Corp, founded in the 1800s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In the restoration of the first of three, a Medico Apollo Brylon (See: Another Legacy Pipe of a Great-Grandfather: Challenges Working with ‘Brylon’ on a Medico Apollo) an article in the B&W Tobacco, Co.’s company magazine, Pipeline, Sam’s 43-year career was showcased and it described how he became known as ‘2-Page Sam’.  As a salesman for the tobacco company, Sam’s daily goal was to secure enough orders from clients he would visit, ‘Ma & Pa’ establishments mostly, to reach page two of the order book for the day.  This company-wide work ethic, along with how the article captures Sam’s sincere respect for people – his fellow M&W employees and supervisors as well as the normal working-class people he sold to that made his livelihood possible.   Joe sent the picture on the left, below, of Sam among fellow employees of B&W.  I’m not sure which one is Sam but, my guess is the top, fourth man from the left!  The picture on the right is Sam (standing on the right) – capturing a moment in an age long gone.The second of Sam’s pipes that I just restored (See: Bringing to Life a Unique Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33 – Another Legacy Pipe of a Great Grandfather) was a rarer, Kaywoodie ‘Natural Burl’ 33, Apple shape.  It turned out very, very well and even included the collaborative help of Bill Feuerbach, Kaywoodie’s – or more correctly, S. M. Frank Co.’s, president, the holding company of Kaywoodie, Medico and Yello Bole.  The last of the three is on the worktable now, the Kaywoodie “500” IMPORTED BRIAR US Pat. 2808837 50C.  Here are a few pictures to take a closer look. The nomenclature on both sides of the shank is clear.  The left flank is stamped KAYWOODIE [over] “500” [over] IMPORTED BRIAR [over] PAT. 2808837.  The right side of the shank is stamped with the Kaywoodie shape number, ‘50C’.  The stem holds the classic inlaid Kaywoodie shamrock or clover. The first interesting aspect about this Kaywoodie is the shape designation.  When I first saw pictures of the pipe that Joe sent, I made the immediate identification of the shape to be a compact Rhodesian.  When I looked up the Kaywoodie shape number in the extensive list provided by kwguy originally in the Kaywoodie forum listed also in Pipepedia’s listing, the description surprised me:

50C Small bulldog, round shank 1960-1963

My main pipe shape ‘go to’ is Bill Burney’s Pipedia’s Pipe Shapes  where the debate is described:In deference to Kaywoodie, I’ll call Paw’s pipe a small Round Shank Bulldog.  What was also helpful is that the short period that the Round Shank Bulldog was in production is small – 1960 to 63.  Pipephil.eu’s comments on Kaywoodie’s
500 and 600 series were that they were cheaper, low-end pipes that ran through the period: 1959 – 1967.  It’s probable that Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” Round Shank Bulldog which isolates it as a “500” that was marketed between 60 to 63, cost him $5.95.  The 1962 Kaywoodie catalog page that Bill Feuerbach provided to include in the restoration write-up of Paw’s Kaywoodie Natural Burl, also included an ‘All New Kaywoodie “500”’ advertisement.  Bill’s explanation of the page below indicated that the cost of the pipe, $5.95, identified it as the 1962 catalog which would have encompassed the 1960 to 1963 timeframe of the round shank Bulldog production. The Kaywoodie “500” add also touts a “Syncro-Lok Stem” and a “New Miracle Finish” which lasts for years.  The “Syncro-Lok Stem” was a component part of the US Pat. 2808837 which is stamped as part of the “500” nomenclature.  According to Pipedia’s Kaywoodie article, the 1957 Pat. 2808837 applies specifically to the metal on metal fittings developed by Kaywoodie (Picture below courtesy of Doug Valitchka).  It was interesting for me recently to hear Bill Feuerbach, president of S. M. Frank Co., describing the era of Kaywoodie’s metal fitments coming to a close in his January, 2016, interview with Brian Levine on the  Pipes Magazine Radio Show.  Some reasons discussed were the changing landscape of pipe smokers where ease of cleaning and the fact that today’s pipe smoker, representing a younger generation, is not using the pipe as rigorously as those of earlier generations.  The other primal reason that Bill gave were the economics – the company that had manufactured these parts for Kaywoodie no longer was in business and finding a replacement ended up not making economic sense. With a better understanding of the Kaywoodie “500” on my worktable, I now take a closer look at the Bulldog’s issues.  The cake in the chamber is not thick in the upper chamber, but tightens toward the floor of the chamber. The rim is classic ‘2-Page Sam’ as it has sustained Sam’s rushed knocking damage on the aft quadrant of the rim – but it’s not severe.  As with the other 2 pipes, and with Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” Long Shank Billiard that I restored for Joe last year, this “500”’s rim will also carry these marks in remembrance of Paw. The internal edge of the rim has a large divot which I will repair.  The rest of the rim shows some grime and nicks on the external edge which one would expect.  The finish on the “500” series to me is not preferred.  In the Kaywoodie “500” add above it describes the finish as a “New Miracle Finish” which lasts for years.  As with the other “500”, to me the acrylic-like finish is not as attractive as a natural briar shine.  The ‘candy apple’ shine I will remove in order to reveal better the grain beneath.  The stem is thick with deep residual oxidation and the bit is caked with calcium deposits.  There is tooth chatter, but the button seems to be in good shape.One last issue is that the Kaywoodie screw in stem is slightly under clocked.  This will need a small adjustment and may even correct itself through the cleaning.  With the help of my mouse and box of matches, I’m able to show the stem’s orientation.To begin the restoration of the last of Paw’s pipes, I start by working on the stem. I first clean the internal airway with pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 95%.  In order to reach through the tight quarters of the 3-hole stinger, a shank brush is used to help clean.To get a jump on dealing with the oxidation and calcium deposits, I take the stem to the kitchen sink and use a Soft-Scrub-like product here in Bulgaria called CIT.  Using 000 steel wool, I scrub the stem with the CIT cleaner.  The results look good, but I’ll probably use 240 sanding on the stem after seeing how the soak with Before & After Deoxidizer goes.The Kaywoodie “500” stem then joins other pipes in the queue for a soak in the Deoxidizer. After a few hours in the soak, the Kaywoodie’s stem is taken from the Deoxidizer and drained of the excess fluid to save it for future use!  After I squeegee the liquid with my fingers, I again use a pipe cleaner wetted with isopropyl 95% to clear the remaining Deoxidizer from the stem’s airway and a cotton pad, wetted with alcohol, is used to wipe away oxidation raised by the soaking process.Then, to condition the vulcanite stem, paraffin oil, a mineral oil, is applied to the stem and set aside to absorb.Turning to the Kaywoodie “500” Bulldog stummel, the chamber has cake that thickens as it moves toward the chamber floor.  To remove this cake buildup, the smallest blade of the Pipnet Reaming Kit goes to work on the small chamber.  After using only this blade head, the Savinelli Fitsall Tool is employed to further scrape the chamber walls removing more carbon cake buildup.  Next, using 240 grade paper wrapped around a Sharpie Pen, the last vestiges of carbon are removed from the chamber wall.  After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to clean the carbon dust residue, an inspection reveals a healthy chamber. Transitioning now to the external cleaning, the rim has some darkening from lighting and light lava flow. The stummel has normal grime. The second picture below shows the shininess of the acrylic-like finish.  I’m interested to see how the finish holds up through the cleaning.Undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap is used on a cotton pad to begin the external cleaning.  A brass wired brush is also used to clean the rim.  After some cleaning, the stummel is taken to the kitchen sink where with shank brushes and anti-oil liquid dishwashing soap is used to clean the mortise and airway using warm water.  After a good scrubbing, the stummel is rinsed thoroughly and after returning to the worktable, I take a picture to show the results of the cleaning.Next, returning to cleaning the internals, I use cotton buds with pipe cleaners wetted with isopropyl 95% to do the job.  The metal threaded shank insert is small, and this makes it difficult for the cotton buds to exit with their buds!  The buds are pulling off the sticks in the close quarters and that makes retrieval difficult.  I discover in the end, if I ‘unscrew’ the buds when extracting them, the threads help instead of grabbing the buds.  This makes cleaning a bit slower.  A small dental spoon is helpful is scraping the mortise walls and excavating old tars and congealed oils.  Another helpful technique was folding two bristled pipe cleaners and twisting the ends together.  This provides the action of 4 pipe cleaners in the mortise at one time enhancing the cleaning action.  In time, the buds are coming out lighter and I transition to cleaning with a kosher salt and alcohol soak.The hour is late, and I’ll let the soak go through the night.  Kosher salt and isopropyl 95% are used for the soak and this method of cleaning helps to freshen the internals for the new steward.  I first fashion a ‘wick’ by pulling and twisting a cotton ball.  It is then inserted and guided down the mortise and airway with the aid of a stiff wire.The chamber is then filled with kosher salt, which leaves no aftertaste, and placed in an egg carton for stability.  Using a large eyedropper, the chamber is then filled with isopropyl 95% until surfacing over the salt.  After a time, the alcohol is absorbed, and I top the bowl off once more with alcohol and turn out the lights.The next morning, I discover that the salt and wick have soiled little which usually is a good indicator that last night’s cleaning was effective.  After tossing the expended salt in the waste and clearing the salt from the stummel with the use of paper towel and by blowing through the mortise, I use a few more pipe cleaners to complete the internal cleaning.Next, I take another look at the stummel surface and finish.  As with Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” I restored for Joe last year, the candy apple shine of the acrylic-like Kaywoodie finish lingers.  My preference is to remove the finish and to get down to the natural briar.Another reason for removing the old finish is the fact that it’s already been removed on the rim from Paw’s knocking on the back side of the rim.  Raw briar is already exposed here but the wear on the rim edge also shows where the finish is either gone or very thin.The most efficient way I found to remove the Kaywoodie “500” finish from my previous experience is with acetone.  Starting with cotton pads I incessantly rub the surface with the cotton pads wetted with acetone.  From the very beginning, the red dye begins to show on the cotton pads as the acetone breaks down the old finish.The next picture shows the progress on the stummel surface.  The shiny surface indicates old finish hanging on.  Next to it, you can see splotches of dull surface – the goal!The progress is slow with the cotton pads, so I transition to utilizing 000 steel wool wetted with acetone.  This does the trick as the following pictures show.  I’m amazed at the grain that I can now see, and it’s not half bad!  Even though I do not prefer the thick acrylic-like finish, the upside of it at this point is that it has successfully protected the stummel’s surface from damage.  Most of the nicks and scratches that could be seen before were superficial damage to the finish shell and not to the briar.  As I inspect the stummel, I’m seeing a practically pristine surface. Before moving further with the stummel’s finishing, the divot on the rim needs attention.  It’s located on the internal edge just in front of Paw’s skinned rim backside.  It’s small but filling it will provide a better rim presentation.I fill the divot by mixing a very small amount of thick CA glue with briar putty.  After placing both the briar dust and glue on the mixing palette, I use a toothpick to draw the briar dust into the glue until it reaches the thickness of molasses at which time I apply it to the divot. I use an accelerator to quicken the curing time of the patch.  I next use both flat and half-round needle files to remove the excess briar putty patch.After doing the primary removal with the needle files, 240 grade sanding paper finishes the patch blending at this point.With the 240 paper in hand, I do a quick internal rim edge sanding.  There is a dark ring remaining on most of the internal rim that is cleaned up.Taking a close look at the rims condition, there are nicks throughout the external rim’s edge.  There are also pits here and there which need cleaning.I decide to do a very gentle cosmetic topping of the stummel to clean the rim and give it a fresh definition.  Using the chopping board for my topping board, I first place 240 grade paper on it.  With the stummel inverted, I give the bowl a few rotations and check. Then, after a few more rotations, I’m satisfied.  I’m not concerned with Paw’s aft knocking damage – that remains.  I’m concerned that the rest of the rim enjoys fresh rim lines.  This is especially with a Rhodesian and Bulldog – the twin dome lines that encircle the bowl give these pipes their unique shapes. Then, switching to 600 grade paper on the topping board, the stummel goes a few more rotations to smooth things out further.Next, I use sanding sponges to further erase minuscule nicks and scratches and to start the process of coaxing out the grain that has been waiting beneath the heavy finish.  Starting the sanding with a coarse sponge is followed with a medium then light grade sponge. I avoid the nomenclature except with the final sponge. HOLD THE PRESS! – At this point I had moved into the process of applying the full regimen of micromesh pads to the “500” and Steve had published a really good write up on rebornpipes that caught my attention which I was reading as I sanded (See: Operation Rescue – “My Dog Ate my Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard!”).  He described the process of applying rustication, a skill that I’ve not had too much experience with, and I was very interested in the processes he described.  One of these processes that dovetailed with my current musings about the Kaywoodie “500” on my table was the staining process.  Steve described in his write-up using a black undercoat stain followed by a mahogany on the smooth briar parts of his project (See picture).  He also described the reasoning and the other micro steps leading into and out of this process. The motif of the Kaywoodie “500” series is obviously red, but the grain underneath is dark to stand out in contrast to the light wood.  Last year when I restored Paw’s other Kaywoodie “500” I had used a dark brown undercoat followed by an Oxblood overcoat.  This achieved results that emulated very well the “500” red theme.  The question in my mind after reading Steve’s write-up was the use of black versus dark brown.  I sent Steve an email with that question that resulted in several emails back and forth where Steve responded to more questions raised about how his approach to undercoat staining was different than what I had done and probably, much more effective in creating the affects desired.  Without repeating the full email chain, the process difference that I’m trying out with the Kaywoodie “500” from Steve’s input is to move the undercoating process before the micromesh process and to focus more on the undercoat process of removal of the excess dye.  So, now you know why the presses are on hold!

Therefore, I stop the micromesh process mid-stream and plan to insert Steve’s approach to provide an undercoat and see how it goes!  Regarding the question of the use of black or dark brown for the undercoat, Steve saw no difference in the two.  I understand why now – the point of an undercoat is to darken the grain threads for the most part and in his approach, the undercoat is, in large measure, removed but for these effects.  I decide to apply Fiebing’s Dark Brown Leather Dye as the undercoat.  I assemble on my desktop the needed components.  With spring in full swing here in Sofia, I’m working on my 10th floor Man Cave balcony and enjoying the views while I work.  To begin, after wiping the bowl with alcohol to clean it, I warm the stummel with a hot air gun (inside again for a few minutes).  This warms the briar with the result of opening the grain to be more receptive to the dye.  Then, back on the Man Cave, I use a folded pipe cleaner to paint the aniline dye onto sections of the briar surface.  While still wet, the lit candle ‘flames’ the dye.  The flame combusts the alcohol in the dye leaving behind pigmentation in the grain.  I cycle around the bowl painting and flaming twice to make sure the coverage is thorough.  I then put the stummel aside for the initial undercoat to dry.  The following pictures show the dense appearance of the flamed surface.Turning now to the stem, there is very little chatter on the bit. The lower side pictured in the second picture only has a small button compression that I will address.Deep oxidation is still hanging on especially on the shank side of the stem.  The lighter exposure of the picture helps to show what I can see with the naked eye.To address the lower bit button compression, I use the heating method of expanding the vulcanite, a rubber compound.  With the flame of a Bic lighter, the bit is painted and as the vulcanite heats, the dent hopefully reclaims lost territory.  The result is good.  Only sanding will be necessary.The flat needle file is used to freshen the button and 240 grade paper sands the bit, and the minor chatter is erased.I expand the 240 sanding to the entire stem to address the latent oxidation.  I do not relish the thought of the oxidation emerging during the later polishing stages.  I use a plastic disk I fabricated for this purpose that I pinch up against the stem facing to guard against shouldering the edge of the stem.  The disk works well to maintain a crisp facing.Next, the entire stem is wet sanded with 600 grade paper followed by an application of 000 grade steel wool.  The 3-hole stinger also receives attention from the steel wool.The stem is now ready for the full regimen of micromesh pads beginning with wet sanding using pads 1500 to 2400 and followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian oil is applied to condition the stem and to guard against future oxidation setting in.  The Kaywoodie “500” stem looks great. Turning again to the stummel, per Steve’s description I use 430 grade paper to sand off the dried excess undercoat.I combine the sanding with wiping the stummel with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol.  This helps to remove the excess and to allow the grain to come through more.At this point I transition to applying the full regimen of micromesh pads from 1500 to 12000 in 3 pad increments – 1500 to 2400, 3200 to 4000, and 6000 to 12000.  The point of the undercoat is darkening and giving greater definition to the grain.  The progression of the micromesh process shows this to be the case. Next is the overcoat staining with the new red aniline dye I acquired.  I’m hoping to get close to the Kaywoodie “500” red finish hue.  I used Fiebing’s Oxblood as the overcoat last time.  I approach this overcoat stain as if it were the first coat.I begin by heating the stummel with the hot air gun to open the briar’s receptivity to the dye.Next, using a folded pipe cleaner, I paint the red dye on the stummel.  I discover at the first attempt to flame the dye with the lit candle, that there wasn’t enough alcohol content in it to combust.  The application of the dye transitioned into a dye wash – hmm.  I paint the dye on to get a thorough coverage.  I repeat the process once more to make sure all was covered well with the dye. Afterwards, I set the dye aside to dry.  I’m a bit concerned at this point that the red dye may not have enough resonance or depth in it.  It seems to light or pale at this point.I decide to unwrap the finish using Blue Diamond compound and a cotton cloth buffing wheel on the Dremel.  The Dremel is set at about 40% full power.After removing the dye excess my concerns were confirmed.  The new red dye mixture that I used was not ‘grabbed’ by the grain to create much of a red tent over the dark brown undercoating.  I take a quick picture on the black cloth I normally use for the finish shots at the end of the restoration to see what the camera might see.  The finish looks great – the grain looks great, but the color of the Kaywoodie “500” is falling short of expectations. Last time I worked on Paw’s other Kaywoodie “500”, I used an Oxblood over dark brown and it turned out well.  I know my processes have changed up somewhat, but I have a foundation of dark brown undercoating that has been brought down to a darkened grain presentation.  On top of that, the red dye added something… and now, Fiebing’s aniline Oxblood Leather Dye on top of that.  The only thing I do to prepare the surface for the Oxblood is to wipe it well with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol.  Interestingly, almost no dye residue came off after the red wash.  Now using Fiebing’s Oxblood, I apply the dye, flame it, and set the stummel aside to rest for several hours – overnight.  Even at this ‘raw’ state, I can see a marked difference in the dye’s resonance.The next morning, the fire-dyed stummel is ‘unwrapped’ using my normal process, with a felt buffing wheel and Tripoli compound with the Dremel set at the slowest speed.  I take a picture midstream to show the contrast between the flamed shell and the unwrapped briar surface.  The difference is marked.  As the surface is unwrapped, I purge the felt wheel many times during the process by running the felt wheel against the edge of the lapboard I’m working on.  This keeps the felt wheel cleaners and more supple.  The picture below shows the caking on the wheel that happens as the wheel does the plowing. I follow by wiping the stummel with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol.  This lightens the finish some but helps to remove excess dye build up and help to blend the finish.Next, after changing to a cotton cloth buffing wheel set at about 40% full power and after reuniting stem and stummel, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the entire pipe. Tripoli is a coarser abrasive and Blue Diamond is finer, and less abrasive as the fine sanding is completed. After completion, I use a felt cloth rag to buff/clean the pipe of compound dust in preparation for the application of wax.In the homestretch – after changing the cotton cloth buffing wheel and leaving the speed of the Dremel at 40%, carnauba wax is applied to the entire pipe – stem and stummel.  Following this, the pipe is given a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.After some twists and turns trying out new processes and a new dye, I’m pleased with the results.  I believe the undercoating advice that Steve provided certainly deepened the signature of the darker grains.  Paw’s Kaywoodie “500” 50C Round Shank Bulldog is looking good with a classy, sharp presentation, and I believe the Oxblood works well to bring out the deeper red tones of the Kaywoodie “500” series.  Paw’s signature remains on the back side of the rim with the shadow of Paw’s penchant for knocking and a reminder of the man he was as ‘2-Page Sam’.  It was a privilege bringing life back to this Kaywoodie “500” for Joe and Hannah and preserving a great grandfather’s legacy to his family. Moreover, Joe’s commissioning of this restoration benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited. Thanks Joe!, and thanks to all, for joining me!

UPDATE!!! Pretty Tired and Dirty – Messy Restoration of a Caminetto Business Tomahawk 182

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Blog by Steve Laug

GREAT NEWS! When we bought this pipe we also bought a BC and the seller had swapped the stems. This morning I was looking at the pipes in that box and the shape of the stem on the BC did not look right! It had a moustache on the top of the fancy acrylic stem. Now the problem was that it was stuck in the acrylic shank extension… Took a bit of work but I got it out and polished it up. I have included the new photos below.

The next pipe on my worktable is one of the first Caminetto Business Pipes that I have ever worked on. It has a rugged rusticated finish and a taper military bit vulcanite stem. It had come to Jeff and me in very rough condition. It was a filthy pipe with grime and oils ground into the rusticated finish on the bowl. The pipe had some rustic beauty shining through the dust and debris in the valleys of the rough finish. The blast covered the rim top, bowl and shank with a smooth panel on each side of the shank. The finish was dull and lifeless and dirty from sitting around. There was a very thick cake in the bowl with lava flowing out of the bowl and over the rim top. The lava had filled in the deeper grooves of the finish on the rim top. The inner edge of the rim appeared to be in good condition but it was hard to tell under the thick lava. The shape is called a Tomahawk. The stamping on the left side of the shank read Caminetto in script over BUSINESS. To the right of that toward the stem was the shape number 182. On the right side of the shank it was stamped HAND MADE IN ITALY over CUCCIAGO (CO). The taper military bit stem had a broad fishtail shape and no significant markings. The surface was oxidized and there was light tooth chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the condition of the bowl and rim top edges. You can see the lava overflow and debris in the rustications of the rim top. You can see the cake in the bowl. This was a dirty pipe but it was the finish was in great condition. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the beautiful incredibly deep rustication around the bowl. It is the same kind of rough finish that I really like on Castello Sea Rock pipes. You can see the oil, dust and debris in the finish on both sides of the bowl. It is a good looking sandblast. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above. The stamping is clear and readable.The next photos show the overview of the stem and the fit in the rusticated shank end as well as the tooth chatter and oxidation on the top and underside of the stem. When the pipe arrived I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c1.html) to see if he included not only information on this Caminetto Business 182. He gave some interesting information about the brand. It was created in 1986 by Guiseppe Ascorti, Luigi Radice and Gianni Davoli as the distributor. It states that in 1979 the first Caminetto period ended with Luigi Radic leaving the company. Guiseppe Ascorti continued making the pipe with his son Roberto. In 1986 the New Caminetto period began by Roberto Ascorti.I turned to Pipedia for more information on the Caminetto and how to date the pipe I had in hand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/The_History_of_Caminetto_(shapes,_stamping,_articles,_etc.). I quote a pertinent paragraph:

Stampings and dating: First off, dating earlier Caminetto’s is nearly impossible. Nevertheless, there were three phases, some in which were much earlier, of development that occurred in the stamping process of Caminetto. Before that though, every pipe had the stamp of Caminetto in one of two ways: Caminetto in script or Caminetto within quotation marks in block letters (I do not know how it was decided which pipe got which stamp, as I have had EARLY Caminetto’s with both)…

The stampings are shown in the photo to the left. The stamping on this pipe is like #2.

…Now, the question is which stamps are earlier and more likely to have been made by Ascorti and/or Radice. The answer is #1. The differences in #2 and #3 seem to be minute, as Cucciago is simply a suburb of Cantu. Pipes stamped like #1 are the most valuable Caminetto’s as they are the earliest production of the brand, as well as what some would claim the most perfect of Ascorti and Radice’s work. The last tidbit is, of course, debatable…

… There is also another factor in stamping, that is, which series the pipe falls in. The majority of Caminetto’s one sees are those of the “Business” series, which are stamped such with their collective shape (see photo of shapes below). Another stamp that sometimes follows the “Business” one is “KS,” which from what I know means “King-size” (this could be wrong, as there are pipes stamped with KS1, KS2, and KS3).

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done an amazing job in removing all of the cake and the lava on the rim top. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove the lava and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration. To show how clean the rim top and stem really was I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and cake free. The rim top is very clean with no residual lava in the sandblast finish. The inner edges of the bowl look good. The plateau shank end also looks good. The black vulcanite fancy stem looks cleaned up nicely. The surface had some light tooth marks but the button edge looked really good.I took a photo of the stamping on both sides of the shank. You can see the clear stamping.I knew that the original Caminetto Business 182 pipe had a flumed rim top and runoff down the top ½ inch of the bowl sides. I found a photo of the same pipe online and flumed the bowl on the one I had accordingly. I used a Walnut stain pen to touch up the rim top and give the bowl a slight flume around the top edge. Once I treated the pipe with Before & After Restoration Balm the flumed part would flow better with the surrounding briar. The bowl looked very good so I did not need to do any further work on it. 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 and with a horse hair shoe brush to get it into the nooks and crannies of the deep rustication of the finish on the bowl and shank. I let it sit for about 20 minutes to let it do its magic. I 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. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. While the stem was in very good condition I am certain it is a replacement stem rather than the original that came with the pipe. I am pretty sure that the original was an acrylic stem that would have had a gold mustache on the top of the fancy saddle. Other than some light tooth marks and some light oxidaiton. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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 final rub down with Briarville’s No Oxy Oil to preserve and protect the vulcanite stem. The vulcanite stem is not the original for sure as the fit in the upper part of the mortise is a little larger in diameter than this stem. The fit of the stem is still snug in the lower part of the mortise so it works well with the pipe. I put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the rusticated bowl so as not to fill it in with the polishing product. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks very good. The rustication is very tactile and feels great in the hand. It is comfortable and light weight. The finished Caminetto Business 182 Tomahawk is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This great looking rusticated Caminetto turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. ADDENDUM

I found the correct stem for this one in the box as noted above. I have polished the new stem and took photos of the proper look for this nice Caminetto Business 182. Whether you call it a Tomahawk or an Egg and Spur you have to admit it is a beauty! The adjusted dimensions of the pipe with the proper stem are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This great looking rusticated Caminetto turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It will be going on the rebornpipes store shortly if you are interested in adding it to your collection.

Beginning again – a KB&B Bakelite Blueline Cup and Ball Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

Jeff picked up this interesting Cup and Ball or Claw and Ball pipe somewhere along his hunts or in an auction. It is quite unique. I have worked on a lot of KB&B pipes but never one like this. It is stamp on the inside of the case with the KB&B Cloverleaf and Bakelite in the centre. Underneath it appears to read Blueline. The gold band on the shank end is also stamped with the KB&B Cloverleaf as well as what looks like 12K Gold Plate. Both the base of the pipe and the stem are Bakelite. The stem has a bone tenon that screws into the Bakelite shank. It came in a black leather covered case lined with blue velvet fabric. The only marking on the case was what I mentioned above. The case has a brass clasp on the front and brass hinges on the back. It was obviously custom made for this pipe.Jeff opened the case and this was what the pipe that was inside looked like. It was a very unique looking pipe that is for sure but it was also very dirty. The base, shank and stem were rich red coloured Bakelite. The exterior of the bowl was very dirty and had tars and oils ground into the finish and sticky spots on the finish. Looking at the top of the bowl you can see the cake and how much lava had overflowed onto the rim top. I am sure once it was out of the case it would become clear how dirty it really was.Jeff took it out of the case to have a better look at the condition of the pipe. It was a very interesting looking rendition of a Ball and Cup pipe – at least that is what I would call it. It looked like it would cleanup really well and look great when finished. The hardwood bowl (cherry or maple) had some colour from either being filthy or from age. Cleaning would reveal the facts! He took some close-up photos of the bowl and rim top. There was a very thick cake in the bowl that was hard and uneven and had lots of flakes of tobacco debris stuck to the walls. The lava overflowed down the outside of the ball on several sides. The edges of the bowl looked to be in pretty good condition at this point. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl to show the grain and condition of the finish around the bowl. These photos also lead me to conclude that the bowl is not briar… perhaps Cherry or Maple.In terms of stamping the only identifying marks on the pipe were those on the case on the gold band on the shank. Jeff captured those marks in the next set of photos. The logo on the inside lid of the case was worn and dirty so he included two photos of that. I also found a similar lid logo online and have included it as well for comparison sake. Jeff took photos of the KB&B Cloverleaf and the 12K Gold Plate stamp on the band.He took photos of the ball and the stem off the shank/base. The ball and the stem both are threaded and are screwed into the base. It was filthy with oils and tars. The internals of the pipe were in as bad a condition as the inside of the bowl and airway.Jeff took photos of the stem to show the general condition of the stem shape. The curve is graceful and the curve great. The photo shows the profile of the stem. He took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the damage and bite and scratch marks on both sides up the stem from the button.I remembered that one of the contributors to rebornpipes, Troy Wilburn had done a lot of work on older KB&B pipes so I turned to one of his blogs on rebornpipes on a Blueline Billiard that he restored (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/kbb-blue-line-pipes-with-bakelite-stems/). As expected Troy had done a great job digging into the Blueline brand and potential dates. I quote from his blog the following sections.

I was thinking after some initial research that these pipes were from around 1910 – early 1920s. Seems it’s a little older than I thought. I got this info from a Kaywoodie and early KBB collector who has had several Blue Lines.

Your pipe is made by Kaufman Brothers and Bondy, or KB&B, which later (1915) created the Kaywoodie line we all know. But this pipe is Pre-Kaywoodie, as they were making pipes under the KB&B branding from about 1900 to 1914. Bakelite was invented in 1907, so this pipe was likely made from 1908 to 1914, as the Bakelite was quite the technological wonder of the time, and was used in many products (still in use today). These “Blue Line Bakelite” pipes are rare pieces, seldom seen.”

Having seen the before pictures on this pipe I was looking forward to what it would look like when I unpacked the most recent box Jeff sent to me. The pipe was present in the box and I took it out of the box to see what work awaited me when I removed it from the case. I put the case on my desk and opened it to see what was there. I opened the case and took a photo of the pipe inside.I was astonished to see how clean the pipe was. The bowl clean and the Bakelite base and stem looked very good. Even the gold band looked better. Now it was time to take it out of the case and have a look at it up close and personal. I took photos of the pipe as I saw it. Jeff had done an incredible job in cleaning up this pipe. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe reamer and cleaned up the remaining debris with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He also scraped the thick lava on the rim top. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl base and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. The rim top looked incredible when you compare it with where it started. There is some slight darkening on the inside edge of the bowl. He cleaned the base and stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I included a photo of the KB&B Cloverleaf on the gold plated band.I unscrewed the bowl and the stem from the base and took photos of the parts. The bowl and stem both had threaded connectors. The bowl was metal and the stem was bone.I stripped the spotty finish off the bowl with acetone. I know for some this is a no-no for old pipes but honestly this finish was very rough. I would restain it as close to the original aniline as I could but there was damage that needed to remove the stain and finish to address. I followed that by sanding the bowl with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge. The bowl was looking better and the dark spots turned out to be oils and not burn marks! Whew! I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth. Note the developing shine on the wood. I went through my various stains and chose a Tan aniline stain for the bowl. It is a nice coloured stain that is close to what was original and will give me some coverage over some of the dark spots on the sides of the bowl. I applied the stain and flamed it with a lighter. The flaming burns off the alcohol and sets the stain in the wood. I repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage.I set the bowl aside to let the stain cure and turned my attention to the base. The band was loose so I removed it for the first round of pads. I polished the Bakelite with micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratching and bring out a shine. I dry sanded with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down with a cloth I use that has Obsidian Oil impregnated in the fibres. It works well to remove the dust. I paused the polishing to glue the gold band on the shank end. I put some white all-purpose glue on the Bakelite and pressed the band in place on the shank. I wiped the excess glue off with a damp cloth. I let the glue dry for a short time.When it had set I continued polishing with the micromesh pads. I set the base aside and went back to the bowl. I buffed out the newly stained bowl with Blue Diamond to bring out a shine. The colour is opaque enough to hide the dark spots and transparent enough to show some grain in the sunlight. I like it!I rubbed Before & After Restoration Balm into the wood with my fingertips to clean, enliven and preserve the newly stained bowl. I find that it adds a depth to the polish that I really have come to appreciate. All that remains at this point is to wax and polish the bowl. With the bowl and the base finished it was time to put them back together. I would still need to buff and wax both but the project was coming to an end. All that remained was to finish the stem work. I set the base and bowl aside and turned to address the issues with the stem. I used a clear CA glue to fill in the gouges across the stem from the button forward an inch on both sides. I also filled in the deep tooth marks on both at the same time.I smoothed out the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with a folded piece of 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish. It is a gritty, red paste with the consistency of red Tripoli. I find that it works well to polish out scratches and light marks in the surface of the stem. I polished it off with a cotton pad to raise the shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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 Briarville’s No Oxy Oil to preserve and protect it. I put the hardwood bowl and Bakelite Base stem back together again and carefully buffed it with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl, base and stem multiple coats of Carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I hand buffed the entirety of the pipe with a microfiber cloth. The pipe was alive now and looked great to me. It has a great feel in the hand that is very tactile and the colouring on the bowl should develop more deeply as the pipe is smoked. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 2 1/4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This older KB&B Blueline Cup and Ball pipe is a beauty and the Bakelite looks great with the newly stained bowl. It is one of those old timers that will be staying in my KB&B collection. It will be a great addition to my collection of old pipes. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Operation Rescue – “My Dog Ate my Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard!”

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Blog by Steve Laug

When Jeff showed me the next pipe on the table we went back and forth about buying it or just leaving it with the seller. It was a really nice Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard at some point in its life but that time had passed. It had literally become a chew toy for someone’s dog. The bowl was in very rough shape and had deep tooth gouges around the bowl with chunks of briar missing on the rim and top. The bowl was really damaged to the point of being questionable. The shank interestingly was free of bite marks and the stem had less bite marks than some of the stems I have worked on from pipemen who chew their stems. For me the question was whether or not I wanted to work on it. There was no doubt that the pipe would be a challenge but was it a challenge I wanted to take on. That was the question we weighed before moving ahead with the buy.

After spending time talking about it we decided to pick up the pipe and see what I could do with it. When Jeff got it the story became even sadder!  The bowl had amazing straight grain around the sides and it appeared to have been barely smoked. It looked as if maybe a bowl or two had been enjoyed before the dog got a hold of the pipe and did the massive damage that showed when we saw it. The bowl had some darkening but there was no cake in the bowl. It smelled smoky but otherwise was very clean. Jeff would still clean up the pipe before he sent it on to me that way I would be able to just pick it up and see what I could do with it. Jeff took the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe. Just look at the damage! Oh my; the pipeman or woman must have just wept after the initial shock or anger when he or she saw the pipe dangling from the dog’s mouth. He took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the gnawing damage to the bowl and rim top edges. You can see the large bite marks and chunks of briar missing on both the inner and outer edges. The largest chunk is on the front of the bowl and the inner edges damage is on the right side. You can also see the damage to the sides of the bowl. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the both the extent of the damage to the bowl and the amazing grain around the bowl. It really is a shame that this poor pipe suffered this fate. Jeff took photos of the stamping on sides of the bowl. On the left side it reads Ser Jacopo over Fatta A Mano over In Italia. On the right side it reads L1 in a circle Per Aspera Ad Aspera. On De Divina Proportione. All the stampings are very readable and clear. He took a photo of the inlays on the tapered stem top. The silver J with an I and a circle. The next two photos show the top and underside of the stem. Notice the few tooth marks on both sides. It is not as bad as it could be. I wanted to know a bit more about the pipe in hand. I knew a little of the history of the brand but I wanted to understand the stamping on the shank sides and underside so I turned first to the Pipephil website (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s5.html). Interestingly the first pipe they had a photo of was similar to the one that I had. It is stamped similarly on the left side of the shank with the Ser Jacopo over Fatta a Mano but the one I have also was stamped In Italia under that. The right side of mine is stamped with the L1 in a circle and the Per Aspera Ad Astra followed that. Mine also was stamped on the underside of the shank and read: De Divina Proportione. The one I am working on also had a band on the shank and the stem stamp was different as well. I also learned the L1 stamp stood for a pipe with acceptable grain. I have included a screen capture of the  pertinent information.Once I had that material digested a bit I turned to Pipedia to understand more about the stamping on the pipe (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ser_Jacopo). I am including the information on that below. The standard nomenclature found on Ser Jacopo pipes is as follows: Ser Jacopo Fatta A Mano In Italia Per Aspera Ad Astra.

Fatta A Mano translates to “Made By Hand”. Per Aspera Ad Astra is a Latin phrase found on Ser Jacopo pipes and is the Ser Jacopo motto. It translates to “To the Stars Through Travails”, meaning that success comes through hard work. In the Summer 1997 Pipes and Tobaccos article Giancarlo Guidi translated this as “through a difficult way until the stars are reached”.

All that remained was to find out what the De Divina Proportione on the underside of the shank meant. I turned to wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Divina_proportione) for what I assumed referred to Divine Proportion or the Golden Ratio. I quote from there a good summary.

Divina proportione (15th century Italian for Divine proportion), later also called De divina proportione (converting the Italian title into a Latin one) is a book on mathematics written by Luca Pacioli and illustrated by Leonardo da Vinci, composed around 1498 in Milan and first printed in 1509.[1] Its subject was mathematical proportions (the title refers to the golden ratio) and their applications to geometry, to visual art through perspective, and to architecture. The clarity of the written material and Leonardo’s excellent diagrams helped the book to achieve an impact beyond mathematical circles, popularizing contemporary geometric concepts and images.

Now I had a clear idea of the meaning of the stamping. The Golden Ratio refers to the mathematical proportions of this particular pipe fitting that Ratio. It is seriously a beautiful pipe and now I am even sadder at the damage that was done. That motivates me to try to bring it back to some semblance of beauty.

Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had done an amazing job in removing all debris and bits of broken briar from the finish. He had done a quick reaming of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime the grime and dirt on the finish so the pipe was clean – damaged but clean. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. The rim top looked quite daunting with the missing chunks of briar but it too was clean. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took some photos of the pipe as I saw it when I brought it to the work table. To show how the rim top and stem looked at this point I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and the damage to the inner edge and the rim top was very visible. It was a mess! The black acrylic stem was saved from major dog chomping. There are just a few tooth marks on both sides of the stem that could be addressed fairly easily.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. I chose the left side of the bowl as really both sides were equally damaged. This is truly a sad sight to see as the great grain on the bowl shows up nicely under the damage.I had been thinking about what to do with the finish since first seeing the photos. I had decided I would rusticate it but was undecided as to what extent I would go in the process. I wanted to retain the original shape and intent of the pipe while working out the damages. I started by using three different burrs on the Dremel – a ball, a cone and cylinder. Each one gives a slightly different finish. I worked them one after another to seek to blend in the tooth marks as much as possible. I also decided to rusticate the worst areas – the base and part way up each side of the bowl and the entire bowl front. The photos show this first step. I decided to let that rustication pattern sit with me for awhile and not add more to it. I just wanted to think about it for a  while. I decided then to patch the bite marks in the upper part of each side and the entire back of the bowl. I also wanted to repair as much of the rim top and edge damage as I could. I used clear super glue and briar dust to patch the many tooth marks around the bowl. The photos show the freckled sides. I built up the damaged front outer edge and the deep marks on the top of the rim with super glue and briar dust. These took some layering to do the job. I looked over the rustication some more and was not completely satisfied with the coverage of the existing rustication or the distance I came around the sides of the bowl. I decided to use a tool that a reader of rebornpipes made for me for rusticating. You can see it in the photos. It is essential a group nails bound together in a handle and with a clamp to give me multiple points to rusticate with. The way it works is to press it into the briar and twist it. You move across the briar until it is “randomly” covered. Once I was happy with the coverage I knock off the debris left behind with a brass bristly brush. I like to knock it down and smooth it out to give it an old leather like look to the rustication. I left the rustication and turned to address the damage to the rim top. I topped the rim with 220 grit sandpaper on the topping board. Once it was smoother and flatter I filled in the divots and holes in the rim top and edges with briar dust and super glue once more. Once I finished I topped it once more to smooth out the repaired areas.With that finished for the moment I turned to sanding the smooth portions of the bowl. I used my Dremel and sanding drum to flatten out the repaired areas first. I followed up by sanding them with 220 grit sandpaper. The photos below show the bowl at this point in the process. Note that there was no damage to the shank so I left it as is and would match the stain to that once I stained the repaired area. I was pretty happy with the way it was looking. I was ready to stain the undercoat on the bowl. I decided to use a black aniline stain for the rusticated part of the bowl and for the undercoat on the smooth sides and rim top. Black does a great job hiding the kind of repairs that I had to do with this briar. I applied the stain and flamed with a lighter. I repeated the process to ensure the coverage was thorough. I flamed it again and set it aside to dry while I had some dinner.I took photos of the bowl at this point to show the coverage of the black stain on the rustication and the undercoat on the smooth areas. After dinner I wiped down the smooth areas with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to make them more transparent and show the grain. I then gave the smooth areas a coat of Mahogany stain using my stain pens to get into the transition areas and control the flow better. The combination of the black undercoat and the Mahogany matched the original shank colour! When that coat of stain had cured I polished the smooth portions of the bowl with micromesh sanding pads. One of the pains of this process is all the flaws show up in the initial sanding. You can see my repairs in some spots but hopefully they bill disappear a bit in the polishing. I was really happy with the right side of the bowl. The repairs virtually disappeared in the staining and sanding. I worked on the left side a little more. I sanded the offending areas of the transition with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper and restained the area. I worked through all of the micromesh pads another time on that area. I was happy with the finished looked at this point. I rubbed the finish down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the smooth areas on the bowl and rim top with my fingertips and the rusticated areas with a horsehair shoe brush. The product cleans, protects and enlivens the briar. I let it sit for about 30 minutes and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The photos below show the bowl at this point… it is a far cry from the dog eaten bowl that I started with — at least I think it is ;). I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem to address the issues that were on the top and underside. I filled in the tooth marks on the stem with clear super glue. I generally overfill them a bit so that it takes into account the shrinkage that occurs as the repair cures.Once the repairs had cured I sanded them smooth to start to blend them in with the surround acrylic of the stem. I sanded the repairs on both sides with a folded piece of 220 sandpaper and started polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I rubbed the stem down with Denicare Mouthpiece Polish – a red gritty paste a lot like Tripoli to polish it after the 400 grit sandpaper. I rub it on with my fingertips and work it into the vulcanite and buff it off with a cloth. It does a great job before I polish it further with the micromesh pads.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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. The next steps in this restoration were ones that I have been looking forward to. I was glad to reunite the bowl and stem and see what the finished pipe looked like. I polished the silver with a jeweler’s cloth and buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a light touch on the rusticated portion as I did not want to fill in the rustication with the product. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I carefully buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks a lot better than dog chewed pipe that I started with. I am happy with the finished look at this point. While the repairs to the smooth areas show a bit they are smooth. The leather like rustication works well with the finish on the bowl in my opinion. The finished Ser Jacopo L1 Billiard is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. This should be a great pipe once it is broken in. The rustication on the base and front give it a very tactile feel that should only be better as it heats up during a smoke. This one will go on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in it let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

 

 

Bringing to Life a Unique Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33 – Another Legacy Pipe of a Great Grandfather

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This is the second of 3 of Paw’s pipes that Joe sent to me from Athens, Greece, where he and his wife, Hannah, live and work.  Paw is Hannah’s great grandfather who left behind several pipes that Joe has asked me to restore for the family.  Paw, also known as, ‘2-Page Sam’ by those who knew him as a salesman of over 40 years of the tobacco giant, Brown & Williamson Tobacco, Corp, has a fascinating story that was described in an article in B&W’s company magazine that I included in the write up of Paw’s Medico Apollo Brylon, which I just completed that turned out well (See: Another Legacy Pipe of a Great-Grandfather: Challenges Working with ‘Brylon’ on a Medico Apollo).  Next, two Kaywoodies remain to be restored – a Kaywoodie “500” and the one on my worktable now, a Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33.  Here are pictures to take a closer look. The nomenclature is on the underside of the shank’s smooth briar panel with ‘KAYWOODIE’ (as most of it is not legible as the upper half of ‘Kaywoodie’ bleeds into the craggy rusticated landscape) [over] ‘Natural Burl’ in fancy cursive script. To the left of the nomenclature is stamped the Kaywoodie shape number of 33.  In Pipedia’s listings of Kaywoodie shape numbers, 33 is listed as: “Large apple, rounded top” that was used as a shape designator from 1937 to 1972.The dating indicators of this Kaywoodie are good.  The Natural Burl has a 4-holed stinger which were phased out at the end of the 1950s, though they still show up some in the 60s according to Pipephil.eu’s discussion about Kaywoodie’s stinger evolution.  The inlaid white shamrock also points to an earlier period.I found nothing specific in Pipedia or Pipephil.eu about Kaywoodie’s ‘Natural Burl’ line.  Expanding my search, I did find very helpful anecdotal information in a February, 2013, thread by ‘kwguy’ on a Kaywoodie discussion group on Tapatalk.com:

Natural Burls are in the catalogs from 1957 to 1962. They were $4.00 when they first came out and $5.00 by the time they were discontinued.  They were basically a stained version of the Coral White Briar, which also debuted in 1957.  The overall rough texture was described in the catalogs as having a rough texture like the outside of the burl.  The rough texture in theory would create more surface area for a cooler feeling bowl.  Carving of this type was done on bowls of less desirable grain and with excessive surface imperfections.  On the lower side of the quality scale, Natural Burls would have had the white cloverleaf.  There may have been the occasional higher grade pipe that was downgraded during production and hence would have the round logo, but I think you’ll mostly see them with the white logos.

Based upon the information of this thread, the Natural Burl Apple before me dates from 1957 to 1962, when they were featured in Kaywoodie catalogs. I looked for a catalog during this period online, but unfortunately, I was unable to find one.  The rusticated or carved surface theoretically provides a cooler feeling bowl.  This pipe fits Sam’s low budget approach to his pipes.  When the Natural Burl Apple first hit the market, it was in a working man’s modest budget range, $4!  I’m hopeful that after I’ve completed working on Paw’s vintage Kaywoodie it will look like a million bucks!

The above thread from ‘kwguy’ also mentions that the ‘Natural Burl’ line was featured in Kaywoodie catalogs from 1957 to 1962.  There are Kaywoodie catalogs and adds referenced on Pipedia and the Chris Keene Directory of Pictures, but I could find nothing in these ‘go-to’ places for catalogs or listing between 57 and 62.  Emails to Steve and rebornpipes contributor, Al Jones, also came up empty.  However, Al encouraged me to reach out to Bill Feuerbach, the current president of S.M. Frank with Kaywoodie production in New York.  Al said that Bill had always been helpful and had seemed to enjoy providing info.  Nothing like going to the top of the pipe food chain!  I sent a note to Bill through the S.M. Frank website as well as to the ‘kwguy’ in the Natural Burl thread with the hope of getting a response and perhaps a historical Natural Burl add!

Al’s suggestion to me paid off!  In a few days I received a response from Bill Feuerbach, president of S.M. Frank since taking over the role from his father in 1990 as the fourth generation of Feuerbachs overseeing the company.  Bill’s note to me:

Dal 

I’d love to be able to help you out with that. I’ve looked through what I have at the shop and most of those catalogs are later 60’s to later 70’s.  I’m sure I’ll have those older catalogs from that range at home.  I’ll try and check tonight.

Best regards

Bill

After arriving home that night, Bill sent an additional note that he hadn’t found anything at his home and would redouble his efforts the following day at the shop to find the sought after ’57 to 62’ catalog pages.  Then, this note came in and the treasure hunt ended with success!

Dal

Success!!  I found the catalogs at home.  They were in a storage tub in the downstairs closet. Funny I don’t remember putting them there. It’s probably been 4 years since I referenced them. It is hell getting old, CRS is kicking in.

Anyway, I’ve attached three images from the 1958, 1960 and 1962 catalogs.  I was only using my phone to take pictures and it was difficult not to get any flash or glare.  Are they ok?  You can tell the year by the retail prices for the Natural Burl.

1958- $4.00

1960- $5.00

1962- $5.95

Let me know when you’ve posted this and the link. I’d like to take a look.  If you have any other questions let me know. If in the future you need other images from the catalogs, let me know.

Best regards

Bill

The images Bill sent were great depicting the Kaywoodie presentation of the Natural Burl line.  Both the 1960 and 1962 pages, second and third below, showcase the Large Apple on my worktable.  The pictures and descriptions are great helping to wrap Paw’s pipe in its historical context! I appreciated the help of Bill Feuerbach, president of the S. M. Frank Co. & Inc. based in New Windsor, New York.  The Frank website not only showcases the Kaywoodie, Yello-Bole and Medico brand lines, but has other interesting information as well.  In my email response to Bill, I offered to digitize the ‘treasure tubs’ of Kaywoodie catalogs and adds if I only lived a bit closer to his neighborhood!  Oh my….

As I was waiting for word from Bill before he found the catalogs, I reread the Pipedia article on the S.M Frank Co. and discovered at the bottom of the article a reference to Brian Levine’s interview of Bill on the Pipes Magazine Radio Show.  I tuned in to learn more about Bill and the Kaywoodie name.  I was interested to hear in the interview that not only is Bill the CEO of the company, but he is an accomplished freehand pipe maker himself, likes single malts and owns and enjoys pipes in his rotation other than Kaywoodies!  It was a great interview and I encourage readers to tune in too!

The name for this Kaywoodie series, ‘Natural Burl’, harkens back to a pipe’s origins – or at least its bowl.  The Natural Burl adds above from Bill describe the ‘rugged, weather-carved briar’ that breathes more because of the increased surface of the bowl.  Briar comes from a bush-like plant that grows in arid lands.  The Kaywoodie motif focuses on the rough state of the burl in its natural form sporting rusticated or carved bowls to emulate a natural harvested burl.  The burl is the base of the briar bush that is cut into blocks, each becoming the raw material for fashioning each unique bowl. I found this example online of the burl texture which looks very much like the pipe on my worktable! This interesting information was added about the process at the WorthPoint site:

The mother of briar is Erica Arborea, an evergreen bush / tree, that grows in all forests of the Mediterranean area, preferring acid soils (Cyprus, Greece, Italy, Spain, France, Portugal, Morocco, Algeria- these are the countries where it is found). The bush has a typical height of 3 – 12 feet. But not the visible parts are the wanted ones, the ball-like roots are the pipe makers desire. These are the raw material for the briar wood, which is cut in blocks (plateaux and ebauchons) by real specialists. After a long process of boiling them in clear water and drying periods, these briar blocks will be ready for the experienced hands of a pipe maker.

With a deepened understanding and appreciation for Paw’s Kaywoodie on my worktable, I look more closely at the issues it brings from its years of service. As one would expect, the craggy Burl bowl is full of grime.  The chamber has thickening cake as you go down toward the floor.  This needs to be cleaned out as well to inspect the chamber wall and to give the briar a fresh start. The rim has evidences of Sam’s penchant for knocking the stummel on the back side of the rim.  It is worn and tapers away from the chamber. The rim was fashioned to be somewhat rough complementing the craggy bowl motif, but there is a large chip or divot out of the rim that will need to be filled and then blended. The bowl itself, along with the rim, is faded and skinned up.  I suspect that the original finish bent toward a light brown, but it is now thin and will need refreshing with new dye to blend the rim and bowl.  The 1962 add above describes a ‘2-tone brown finish’ characterizing the ‘Natural Burl’ line.  This is helpful information that hints at the depth of the final finish.The stem is in rough shape.  The oxidation is thick and deep.  The bit has calcium caked on it and some lower tooth compressions – not as bad as I’ve seen on Paw’s previous pipes! The stem orientation is also over-clocked which is a normal phenomenon with Kaywoodie screw in stems that happens over years of use with repeated loosening and tightening.  This will need to be adjusted as well. I begin the restoration of Paw’s Kaywoodie Natural Burl Large Apple by addressing the severe oxidation in the stem.  Before placing the stem in a soak of Before & After Deoxidizer, I get a head-start on removing the oxidation by pre-sanding the stem.  I use both 240 grade sanding paper and 000 grade steel wool to sand the stem to remove as much oxidation and caked calcium as possible.  The nickel 4-hole stinger also is cleaned up with the steel wool.After the sanding, the stem joins other pipes in the queue in a soak of Before & After Deoxidizer. After a few hours, the Kaywoodie’s stem is extracted from the Deoxidizer and after draining, I squeegee the liquid off the stem with my fingers.  I then run a pipe cleaner wetted with isopropyl 95% through the airway to clear the Deoxidizer.  Using a cotton pad and alcohol, the stem is wiped to remove the raised oxidation resulting from the soak.After cleaning the stem, paraffin oil is applied to help condition the vulcanite.  I put the stem aside to absorb the oil.  The stem looks great compared to where it started. It’s cleaning up nicely.Next, I turn the attention to the stummel.  I begin by reaming the Kaywoodie’s chamber to remove the cake.  Using the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I use two of the four blade heads available in the Kit.  I don’t know how long this cake has been waiting to be removed, but it is as hard as a brick.  I’m careful not to force the blades beyond their torque endurance level – simply allowing the scraping action to wear away the brick cake.  When both blades do what they can, the Savinelli Fitsall Tool continues the scraping of the chamber walls. Finally, to remove the last remaining carbon remnants, a 240 grade sanding paper is wrapped around a Sharpie Pen to sand the chamber getting down to fresh briar. After wiping the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol, and inspection reveals a perfectly healthy chamber.  The picture on the 10th floor Man Cave balcony where I’m working, does not allow a very good picture of the chamber, but it looks good.  Moving on.Next, using undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap, I go to work on the wonderfully craggy but grime-filled surface of the Natural Burl bowl.  I use a cotton pad a bit, but transfer to using a bristled toothbrush which gets into the nooks and crannies of the landscape much more effectively.Next, after transferring the bowl to the kitchen sink, I continue to clean the surface and use shank brushes and liquid anti-oil dish soap and warm water to work on the internals.  After rinsing thoroughly, back on the worktable I take some pictures of the results.  The cleaning has totally removed what was left of the old finish – not unexpected.  The cleaning reveals some white fills on the right side of the stummel which are fully embraced in the craggy landscape cover and seem to be solid after testing them with a sharp dental probe.Next, I focus again on the internal cleaning using pipe cleaners and cotton buds wetted with isopropyl 95%.  Cleaning Kaywoodie pipes tends not to be easy.  Working through the threaded metal shank facing makes access to the mortise difficult.  Along with pipe cleaners and buds, the full arsenal added the use of shank brushes, and a dental spoon to scrape the mortise walls.  After quite a bit of time and effort, the buds start to emerge lighter and a cease fire is called. I’ll continue the cleaning later with a kosher salt and alcohol soak to work through the night to further clean and freshen the internals of the Kaywoodie stummel.Turning now to the rim, the next step is to fill the divot, or perhaps, the crater on the rim.  I go along with the ‘rough’ motif of this Kaywoodie Natural Burl.  The rim is rough and the only repair I plan for the stummel is this divot.  The damage of Paw’s knocking will remain – it simply adds to the rough rustic look and will be a remembrance of Paw when it is put into service by the family.I place a small mound of briar dust on the mixing palette that I’ve covered with scotch tape for ease of cleaning.  Next to the briar dust a small amount of BCI Extra Thick CA glue is puddled.Using the toothpick, briar dust is pulled into the glue and mixed as it is added.  As more is added, the resulting briar dust putty thickens.  When it reaches the thickness of molasses, with the toothpick the putty is troweled to fill the rim divot.With the briar putty applied, I place the stummel aside for several hours for the putty to cure.Turning now to the stem, the upper bit is in good shape after the ‘pre-sanding’ that was done before putting the stem into the Deoxidizer.  The lower bit, pictured below, has some compressions and a button bite compression that need addressing.I start by using the heating method with a Bic lighter.  Using the flame of a Bic lighter, I paint the bit using a back and forth motion heating the vulcanite.  As the vulcanite heats, it also expands to regain the disposition of the stem before the compressions were made by Paw.  The picture below is after the heating and the process has helped the bit compressions so that only sanding should be needed to remove the damage.  However, the button is still in need of additional steps.To fill the button lip bite, after wiping the area with alcohol to clean it, I spot drop black CA glue on the compression and put the stem aside for the patch to cure.The patch on the rim is now ready for filing.  I use both the flat and half-rounded needle files to remove the excess putty and to shape the internal curve of the rim. I put a stop on sanding and further cleaning the rim because the hour is late, and through the night I want to use a kosher salt and alcohol soak to advance the cleaning of the internals of the stummel.  I first fashion a cotton ball into a ‘wick’ by pulling and twisting it.  It is then inserted down the mortise into the airway with the help of a stiff wire. The wick helps to draw out the latent residue of tars and oils.The bowl is then filled with kosher salt, which leaves no aftertaste as with regular iodized salt.  After placing it in the egg carton to keep it stable, I then fill the chamber with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt. After a few minutes, as the alcohol is drawn into the stummel, the alcohol is topped off and it is set aside to work through the night. The next morning, the salt and wick are slightly soiled which hopefully means that the internals are already clean from earlier. After dumping the expended salt and wiping the bowl with a paper towel, I blow through the mortise to make sure all the salt crystals have been dislodged. To make sure that the internals are clean, and nothing has been left behind after the soak, I use only one pipe cleaner and cotton bud as confirmation of the cleaning. Moving on.I return now to the rim.  I plan to apply a fresh color to the stummel and the only preparation for applying the new stain to the stummel is on the rim.  I plan to leave it in the rough motif of the Natural Burl line, but I want the rim cleaned.  I lightly sand the internal rim edge as well as lightly around the rough external rim edge as it transitions into the Burl landscape.  I’m looking for ‘rough’ and ‘rustic’ but ‘fresh’ to give this unique Kaywoodie a fresh start.I follow the 240 paper with 600 grade paper with the same approach – keep the rustic but refresh the rim.Before moving to the next step, I notice that the nickel shank facing after the cleaning had not been spruced up.  A quick revolution of 000 steel wool takes care of this.  This is the only bling this Kaywoodie has and I’m making the most of it!As I think about applying a fresh color to Paw’s Kaywoodie, I have only one picture of another Natural Burl online and it is no help in hinting at the original 2-toned brown coloring Kaywoodie used.  The best clue I have is on Paw’s pipe. The smooth briar panel on the underside of the shank holding the nomenclature holds a clue.  To guard the stamping on the panel I’ve not sanded it – only cleaned with the rest of the stummel.  I’m guessing that the coloring of the panel leans toward a light brown.  I’m thinking that Kaywoodie’s approach was straightforward with this less expensive line of pipes.  Yet, the craggy surface now is so dry and bare, showing pristine briar, that applying even a light brown dye will probably darken considerably as the thirsty briar drinks it in.Looking at the craggy landscape in the picture above brings the next question in my mind about applying a new finish.  My normal way of staining with aniline dye is to flame it to combust the alcohol which encourages a deeper embrace of the dye by the briar grain.  My normal follow-up to this is then to apply compounds to remove the crusting the combustion creates and to further shine the surface with the fine abrasives of Tripoli and Blue Diamond compounds.  The roughness of this stummel causes me to question my normal approach.  My concern is that if compounds are used on this craggy rough surface, I will forever be trying to clean out the compound residue lodged in the rough surface!  I think I can utilize buffing wheels on the Dremel without too much problem, but without compounds.  I decide in the end to apply a dye wash instead of flaming the dye because of this concern.

After wiping the stummel down with a cloth and alcohol to clean it the best I could, the stummel is heated with the hot air gun to open the briar.Then, with the use of a folded pipe cleaner, the surface is painted with Fiebing’s Light Brown Leather Dye.  I make sure the dye is getting into all the cracks, crevasses, nooks and crannies.  The rim also receives the dye.After the dye is applied, the stummel is set aside to rest for several hours before continuing with the next steps of finishing.  This ‘rest’ helps the new dye to stabilize in the briar.Turning back to the stem, the patch applied to the lower button lip is cured and I use a flat needle file to remove the excess patch material and to shape and refresh the button lip.  I also file the bit area to remove any residual tooth compression.Flipping over to the upper bit, I file residual compressions as well as refresh the button lip.  Refreshing the button lip is helpful to allow a better ‘hang’ grip of the pipe without biting and clenching, and extreme chewing!Continuing now with 240 grade sanding paper on the upper side, the file scratches are removed, and the button is smoothed further.  The same is done on the lower bit and to further blend the button patch.   I expand the 240 sanding to the entire stem to make sure that residual oxidation has been addressed. Following the 240 sanding, I wet sand the entire stem with 600 grade paper and follow with applying 000 steel wool. The nickel stinger is also a benefactor of the steel wool polishing again.Moving on, the full regimen of 9 micromesh pads are applied by first wet sanding with pads 1500 to 2400 and dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  Between each set of 3 pads, Obsidian Oil is applied to condition the vulcanite and to guard against oxidation. I love the glossy pop of newly micromeshed vulcanite! I had observed earlier that the Kaywoodie screw in stem was over clocked a few degrees.  This happens over time with tightening and loosening.To correct this problem and to bring the stem back to an accurate orientation, a Bic lighter is used to heat the nickel 4-hole stinger.  Since the stinger is gripped by the vulcanite of the stem, the goal is to warm the stinger so that the vulcanite gripping the stinger heats and loosens its grip allowing the stinger to rotate. After heating the stinger, I quickly re-screw the stem into the threaded shank facing and when it tightens to the orientation pictured above, I continue to apply clockwise pressure and the heated vulcanite releases its grip and it allows me to turn the stem one full revolution to line it up correctly.  I had to heat the stinger twice as the first try did not loosen the grip.  After lining the stem orientation correctly, I leave the stem in place and as the vulcanite cools, the grip on the stinger is re-engaged holding the stem again in the proper orientation.Time to address the dyed stummel.  It has been resting for several hours to help stabilize the dye in the briar.I use a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to wipe down the dyed stummel.  I do this to remove excesses of dye on the surface and to lighten and blend the new dye.Next, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel onto the Dremel and simply buff the stummel.  I do not use any compounds so that the compound dust does not fowl up the surface getting lodged in the plethora of hiding places on the Burl surface causing me to have to clean it!  The Dremel is a great tool for getting into the nooks and crannies of the Natural Burl landscape. I’m able to rotate and move up and down ridges and to reach into crevasses.  The newly dyed surface responds well to the buffing wheel.  The coloring of the wheel shows that new dye is leeching out of the surface.  The more I’m able to remove now, less likely to come off on hands later!Next, I use the 1500 grade micromesh pad and lightly sand over the Burl surface.  The aim is to ‘scalp’ the peaks of the mountain tops on the craggy surface to lighten them.  The lightening of the peaks creates more contrast and depth definition to the landscape.  I follow the scalp sanding by running the Dremel’s buffing wheel over the surface again.  This, I believe, achieves the ‘2-toned’ look of Kaywoodie’s design for the ‘Natural Burl’ line.In the homestretch – next, I mount another buffing wheel onto the Dremel setting the speed at about 40% full power.  After reuniting the Kaywoodie’s stem and stummel, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the rim and smooth briar surface on the underside and end of the shank.  The compound is also applied to the stem.  After applying the Blue Diamond compound, the pipe is buffed with a felt cloth to remove the compound dust from the areas on the stummel and from the stem.  Next, another cotton cloth buffing wheel is mounted and set at the same speed and carnauba wax is applied to the entire pipe.  I’m careful to apply with a very light touch of wax to the Natural Burl surface not to allow wax to build up in the crannies.  Wax is applied to both stummel and stem and then the pipe receives a rigorous hand buffing with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.

Wow!  I’m very pleased with how this Kaywoodie Natural Burl Apple shaped up.  The brown craggy finish is flecked with shade differences that give it a depth and warmth – a rustic knobby feel.  I always enjoy the contrast nuances that the coalescing of rough and smooth briar creates. The smooth briar underside and shank ring alongside of the Burl texture is nice.  I’m amazed that this pipe occupied the lower shelf on Kaywoodie’s offerings back in the day when Sam chose it and added it to his rotation of pipes.  The TLC it has received has enhanced the briar presentation with this unique Natural Burl finish. I appreciate the collaborative help from Bill Feurbach who even as the president of the S.M. Frank Co., was not hindered from helping with the recommissioning of this one vintage Kaywoodie – a pipe man at heart.  Thanks, Bill!  I like the Natural Burl a lot and I trust that Joe likes it too.  Paw’s Kaywoodie Natural Burl 33 – Large Apple, that was put into production in the mid-50s/early 60s, is a venerable 60-year-old(!), and is starting a new lifetime in the loving care and stewardship of Paw’s family.  Adding frosting to the Kaywoodie cake, Joe’s commissioning of this restoration of Paw’s Natural Burl also benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  Thanks for joining me!

New Life for a Second Generation Butz-Choquin A Metz Origine

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on my worktable brings back a lot of fond memories for me. The first is walking through the restoration of Paresh’s Grandfather’s A Metz Origine. Paresh and I had chatted on Facetime many times during this particular restoration (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/11/17/a-challenging-restoration-of-vintage-era-first-choquin-a-metz/). Paresh had determined that this pipe was very old. I quote:

From all the input that I have gathered, the flat bottom bowl, the stamping, the sterling silver adornments, the bone shank extension and horn stem, I can safely place this piece as being one of the first A Metz pipes from the 1858 era!  (Photo from Paresh)That was the first memory of the Origine. The second one is also is one I cherish. On my trip to India last year to visit Paresh and Abha and their daughters Mudra and Pavni I had the privilege of not only seeing this pipe up close but of also being the first one to smoke it since the restoration. What a privilege to be able to smoke Paresh’s Granfather’s pipe. It was so light weight and an amazing smoke. It was cool and dry to the end of the bowl. I cannot thank Paresh enough for letting me fire up this old timer. Dal wrote about this in a great blog about the trip called West meets East in India (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/05/30/west-meets-east-in-india-to-restore-a-grandsons-treasure-an-1846-bbb/). I quote Dal as he so ably described this experience:

As we had planned, in celebration of the completion of the restoration together we smoked 3 unbelievable vintage pipes with albatross shank extensions and horn stems – all from the 1800s.  Oh my…. We each thoughtfully packed our bowls with our choice of blends and lit up and, well….  What a treat for Paresh to share the treasure trove of pipes left to him by his grandfather.  Jeff did the honor of commemorating this event with pictures. (Photo from Dal)For me smoking that older BC A Metz Origine was a delight. I was able to enjoy a great English tobacco in this historic pipe. So when this pipe showed up in one of Jeff’s auctions we went for it and picked it up. While the 1858 Origine had an albatross wing bone for the shank extension the new one had a shorter acrylic look alike. The shape of the bowl is the same but the 1858 version’s horn stem was replaced by an acrylic stem that was nowhere near as elegant as the first.The pipe was in overall good condition. The silver (polished nickel) that caps the shank and the faux “bone” extension was tarnished but in good condition. The stem was amazingly clean with just some tooth chatter on both sides near the stem. The finish was dull and lifeless and a little dirty from sitting around. There is a cake in the bowl and an overflow of lava on the rim top toward the back. There also appears to be some burn/charring damage on the inner edge in the same area. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Butz-Choquin over A Metz over Origine. On the right side of the shank it is stamped St. Claude France over the number 2. Jeff took the previous and the following photos before he started his cleanup work on the pipe.Jeff took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top from various angles to capture the condition of the bowl and rim top edges. You can see the darkening around the inner edge of the rim and the damage at the back of the bowl. You can also see the cake in the bowl and the lava overflow onto the back of the rim top. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show condition of the briar. You can see the birdseye grain on sides of the bowl. And the cross grain on the heel, front and back of the bowl. The stamping is very clear on both sides of the pipe. The next two photos confirm what I wrote about the stamping above.The next photo of the stem to shows the general condition of the stem. The flow of the shank extension with a silver cap each side is well done. The angle of the stem is very similar to the shape of the original 1858 horn stem. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem to show the light tooth chatter on both sides near the button. I turned to Pipephil (www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-butzchoquin.html) to get a bit of background on the second or the modern version of the Origine pipe. I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section below.Now it was time to look at it up close and personal. Jeff had great job in cleaning up this Origine. He had reamed the bowl with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He took the cake back to bare briar so we could check the walls for damage and also see the extent of the burn damage on the back of the inner edge of the rim. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime on the bowl and rim and was able to remove much of the grime and dirt. He cleaned out the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until they came out clean. The rim top looked much better when you compare it with where it started. The damaged area is very clear now and the extent of the damage was clear. He cleaned the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the grime on the exterior and cleaned out the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I took some photos of the pipe as I saw it. To show how clean the rim top and stem really was I took a close-up photo of the rim and stem. The bowl was clean and cake free. The rim top is quite clean and the damage to the back inner edge of the bowl is clear. The pinkish/bone coloured acrylic stem looks very good. The surface and the button edge look really good. There are no issues that are there to address. The tarnished silver ends on the shank ends have a rich shine to it now as well.I removed the stem from the bowl and took photos of the parts. The shank extension came apart at the shank end but not at the stem. It was glued to the stem and unmovable. The pipe looks pretty amazing – kind of a shorter version of the 1858 Origine.I decided to address the burned area on the inner edge and top of the rim first. I started by lightly topping the bowl to clean up the top edge. Once it was smooth I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to give the inner edge a bevel to minimize the damage at the back of the bowl. I decided to polish the rim top and the bowl next. I polished them with  the micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads to remove the sanding scratches on the rim top and blend it into the bowl. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. When I finished the bowl and rim top looked significantly better. I touched up the stain on the rim top Oak stain pen. The match to the rest of the bowl was very good. Once I buffed it the colour would be a perfect match. The repaired rim top looked very good and the burn damage was gone.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 let it sit for 10 minutes to let it do its magic. I 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. The bowl was finished so I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. Since it was quite clean I decided to polish the stem and shank extension with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cloth containing some 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 put the bowl and stem back together again and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a soft touch on the extension and stem but work the bowl over with a regular touch to the wheel. I buffed the pipe with carnauba wax and a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I finished buffing with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The grain patterns came alive with the buffing and wax and looked great to me. It has a great feel in the hand and if it is at like the first generation 1858 Origine should smoke very well. The finished Butz-Choquin Origine 2 pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 8 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. This modern replica of the original A Metz turned out very well. It should be a great pipe. It is one that I am not sure what to do with at the moment. It brings back the memories spoken of at the beginning of the blog and I need to sort that out a bit before making a decision. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.