Tag Archives: restaining

Two of Boston’s L. J. Peretti Oom Pauls Recommissioned

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Blog by Dal Stanton

With all pipe man honesty, what could I do?  What would you do if faced with this staring at you on the eBay auction block?J. Peretti Co., all, looking back at me! – the pipe name that I had unintentionally started collecting and liking a lot. The seller was from Everett, Massachusetts, near Boston’s L. J. Peretti Co. Tobacconist, second oldest Tobacconist in the US. Even though Peretti Tobacconist is more known for their 1000s of custom blends of tobacco which I have enjoyed (see below presents from last Christmas from my daughter-in-law!), they have also produced pipes over the years bearing the Peretti name.  It became obvious to me that this seller had Peretti estate pipes which had belonged to a pipe man who loved Peretti pipes, and I was attracted to the Lot for all the Peretti shapes that I do not yet have in my collection.  The massive amount of briar jumping out at me also caught my eye – oh my, Oom Pauls, and some sitters that were borderline Oom Pauls with strong ¾ bent stems and the quint essential long, tight, tall bowls.  Also, in the Lot I saw a large, graceful Bent Egg, a Calabash, a gentle Half Bent Billiard and a huge, colossus of a Billiard!  I was happy to bring this Peretti Lot of 10 back with me to Bulgaria destined for the worktable. My enjoyment of Peretti pipes started Christmas of 2016 with our family gathering in Denver.  My son, Josiah, secured a proud, square shank Billiard bearing the Peretti stamp and an amputated stem from the Armadillo Antique Mall.  I found it under the Christmas tree with Josiah’s encouragement, ‘Dad, I know you can do something with it!’  And I did.  I cannibalized another stem and spliced it on the existing stem – I wanted to save the Peretti ‘P’ stem stamp at all cost!  This stout square shanked Billiard is a good smoker and a regular friend in my rotation!Doing research for the Peretti Christmas gift stem splice restoration (See: LINK), introduced me to the Peretti name which I was surprised to discover is not an Italian pipe name, as I originally assumed!  The family originally came from the southern slopes of the Swiss Alps which would have much Italian influence, just to the south. I discovered the beginning of a significant story of Americana pipe history with the establishment of the L. J. Peretti Company of Boston in 1870 (Pipedia citing: Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks, by José Manuel Lopes), the second oldest tobacco shop in the US, second only to Iwan Ries & Co. of Chicago established in 1857 (See: Link).  Going to the Peretti shop in Boston is on my bucket list where blends are still hand mixed and I’ve read that you can take your pipe and try some blends out before purchasing.  Not bad.My second Peretti found me serendipitously in Oslo, Norway, as I, along with a few other colleagues met to take in the European Biathlon finals (that’s skiing and shooting!).  Jon gave me a very sharp looking square shanked Rhodesian, also bearing the name, Peretti.  He said he wasn’t using it anymore and I welcomed this Peretti into the fold.  I now had what I started calling, the Peretti Brothers.  Here is the restoration of the Peretti Rhodesian.In the Peretti Lot of 10, I’ve already restored the Large Bent Egg and added it to my collection of Perettis.  It is a stunning pipe and fits the palm amply and nicely!  When smoking this pipe, I’ve warded off random hawkers trying to barter him away from me!  I’ve remained strong.I have been looking forward to tackling the Oom Pauls for some time.  I will add one to my collection, and the others are up for adoption and will benefit a good and worthy effort, the Daughters of Bulgaria, helping women and girls (and their children) who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  As I approach restoring the Oom Pauls, there is no doubt as to the popularity of this shape and that everyone wants to have at least one in their collection.  In Pipedia, Bill Burney’s description of the Oom Party is helpful:He also describes that the Oom Paul is always a full bent, with a large tobacco chamber and relatively heavy.  Yet, because of the way it hangs, it is a comfortable hands-free pipe.  To me, the attraction to the Oom Paul is the solid, massive merger between the bowl and shank – it creates a hefty presence in the palm and it hangs from the mouth great with the full bent style.

I will attempt something I’ve never done before as I approach the restoration of the Oom Pauls, I’m going to tackle 2 at once – first, the Oom Paul that I’ve chosen to add to my collection and the first Oom Paul that will go in the Pipe Steward Store where a new steward will be sought!  To keep things straight and abbreviated, my Oom Paul will be ‘MOP’ and the available Oom Paul will be ‘OP’!  I want to use MOP to test the overall approach to the hue of the Oom Paul stummels, which I want to keep as close to the original Peretti scheme as much as possible. The pictures below were numbered so that I wouldn’t mix them up while in the ‘Help Me!’ basket.  Here first, is MOP: And now, OP showing beautiful horizontal grain that I think is eye catching on the large Oom Paul stummel: The forensics of all the pipes of the Peretti Lot of 10, show similarities of condition and areas of need, which point to all 10 having had a common steward.  MOP and OP both have thick cake in the long Oom Paul chamber which has run over the rim with crusty lava flow.  Both pipes show deterioration on the right side of the rim where the lighting of the tobacco was faithfully administered.  Both show consistent, tooth chatter and dents on the upper and lower bit – attesting to the great hands-free ‘hanging’ capacity of an Oom Paul but without using a bit guard!  MOP’s stem is severely oxidized, and OP’s is lightly showing oxidation.  MOP enjoys the only stem marking of all the Oom Pauls – the Peretti ‘P’ is crisp but in need of refreshing. I notice that OP’s stem is not snug against the shank and as I rub my finger over the transition from shank to the saddle stem, there is a slight hang of the stem over the shank.  On the stummel heel of OP I see a cut in the briar from some trauma.  I detect a microscopic hairline crack running from the end of the cut toward the shank (on top in the second picture below), a few millimeters.  This needs to be addressed.  I take some pictures to show the stem seating and cut on OP.On my last restoration of an Meer lined Italian Croc Skin Zulu, which has arrived in Edinburgh, Scotland, to meet his new steward, I tested the Before & After Deoxidizer and both of the stems of MOP and OP were among the volunteers for testing.  From pictures above, MOP’s ‘P’ stamped stem shows significant oxidation, while OP is in good shape.  Before & After is also supposed to be stem stamp friendly – which proved to be true.  The stems of Mop and OP are below – of the larger stems in the first picture below, the first and third.  After cleaning each stem with pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl 95%, I placed all the stems in the Before & After Deoxidizer keeping them in order!    I left them in the soak overnight, though the directions do not require that long. One at a time, I removed them from the Deoxidizer and wiped each with a cotton pad with mineral water (in Bulgaria, its light paraffin oil) buffing each with the cotton pad until all the solution was removed and the residue oxidation.  I am pleased with how the product works.I am especially pleased to see how the Peretti ‘P’ cleaned up and rejuvenated on MOP!  The Before & After Deoxidizer is advertised to be nice to stem stamping and it seems to be the case!  A before and after picture.I then applied Before & After Fine Polish and then Extra Fine Polish.  I put a small amount on my finger and worked it into the vulcanite.  As I work it in, the vulcanite absorbs it.  The results are good causing the vulcanite to look rejuvenated.I do the same for OP’s stem.  It’s looking very nice as well!I now turn to the stummels.  The first thing for both stummels is to clean the internals, starting with reaming the deep Oom Paul chambers.  Before I can determine the condition of the chamber walls the cake will be removed down to the briar.  Using the Pipnet Reaming Kit, I start with the smallest blade, then working to the larger. I start with MOP and take a closer picture of the rim and chamber.  It’s thick and crusty.  I use 3 of the 4 blades available to remove the carbon cake.  I then scrape more of the chamber wall with the Savinelli Fitsall tool and finish with wrapping a piece of 240 grit paper around a Sharpie pen and sand the chamber.  I wet a cotton pad with alcohol and wipe the chamber clean of carbon dust.  The chamber looks great – solid, no cracks or fissures.  Pictures of MOPS: I do the same with OPs.  I take a starting picture, ream with 3 of the 4 blades in the Pipnet Kit.  I fine tune with the Savinelli Fitsall tool, sand the chamber with 240 grit paper and wipe the chamber clean of carbon dust.  The chamber wall looks good as well.  What I do see is what I noted earlier.  The rim on the right side was burned by the lighting of the tobacco and the scorched briar has eroded on that side. Now, to clean the external briar stummel and rim.  Starting with MOP, I use undiluted Murphys Oil Soap with a cotton pad to scrub the surface and rim.  I also use a brass brush to work on the thick cake on the rim.  With my Winchester pen knife, I carefully scrape the old scorched lava crust on the rim.  The stummel of MOP cleaned up nicely and no fills are detected.  The challenge will be to clean up the internal rim, removing all the scorched briar in a way that doesn’t remove a lot of good briar.  Pictures of MOP showing the progress: Now, to clean the externals of OP with Murphys Oil Soap in the same way with the same tools.  The grime is stiff, and I also use a bristled tooth brush to reach into the full bent shank area which is the beauty of an Oom Paul, but a pain to clean.  Again, after employing a brass brush on the thick lava flow on the rim, I carefully scrape using my pin knife to remove the crust, utilizing a fingernail here and there.  I then rinse OP in cool tap water and take a closer look at the stummel.  The stummel of OP cleaned up well.  Like my Oom Paul, the internal rim on OP needs to be cleaned of charred briar down to healthy wood.  I take a picture showing the start and then the cleaned stummel of OP.It was going so well until it wasn’t!  I see what no one restoring a pipe wants to see!  With difficulty I see a crack in the shank nestled in the armpit of the bend, where it’s difficult to clean.  With a magnifying glass I can see it better.  It runs from the very joint of the bend where bowl and shank meet, up the shank about ¾ of the way, but does not run to the top of the shank.  This strikes me as strange.  Most shank cracks are caused by improperly mounting or dismounting the stem and mortise, putting pressure on the thin briar at the junction and the briar gives way and cracks.  These cracks usually start from the top of the shank and run down toward the bowl.  What I’m looking at with OP is that it originates at the elbow of the bend and moves upwardly toward the top of the shank, where the stem is mounted.  My first thought is that this is good news!  It means that the integrity of the shank is still in place at the most vulnerable point – where shank and stem meet.  Yet, however this crack originated, it can continue to creep up the shank if nothing is done to arrest it.  With the magnifying glass I carefully check around the shank and mortise opening to see if there is another crack lurking, but I see nothing.  Here are the pictures of the crack discovery on OP. As I have done in the past to get more input on a challenge, with his wealth of experience shared on Rebornpipes, I send these pictures off to Steve to see what he has to say!  OP has two projects so far catalogued for the stummel – the cut on the heel and now this crack on the lower shank.   I then turn to completing the cleaning of the internals of both stummels.  Using isopropyl 95%, I employ cotton buds, pipe cleaners to clean the mortise and airway.  I also use a bristled shank brush down the airway which does a good job breaking up the tars and oils.  With the design of the drilling for the full bent Oom Paul design, the initial mortise drill going down the shank forms a trap where gunk collects.  Then, the angled airway drilling runs off the initial mortise chamber down to airhole.  To dig gunk out of the trap, I also use a dental spatula to scrape the mortise walls and trap area.  All went well for both my Oom Paul and OP.  The pictures show the results.I want to address the rim issues before moving on.  Both stummels’ rims have scorching issues around the internal lip. With MOP (remember, My Oom Paul), it is engineered slightly different from OP and is a bit smaller.  I pull out the topping board to remove a bit of the rim top to clean up as much as I can.  MOP’s full bent shank barely fits on top of the board without touching.  OP’s shank extends beyond the plane of the rim, that will be a bit more challenging to top but not impossible.  I take a picture of MOP and then take it to the topping board with a sheet of 240 grit paper on it.  I had noticed before that the shank and the plane of the rim were not perpendicular – the rim plane has a left leaning tilt, but I’m not worrying about that – I think.  To correct it would need too much briar to be removed. The more that I look at the rim plane tilt, the more I realize that it will drive me crazy when I’m smoking this guy down the road and wondering why I didn’t correct it!  Since, it IS my Oom Paul, I decide to trade some briar for a bit of sanity.  I start sanding the high right side of the rim down to bring the plane and shank into closer perpendicular alignment.  I use a flat needle file as well as a miniature sanding block to do this. With the rim in closer alignment with the shank, I first cut an internal bevel with a coarse 120 grit paper rolled up tightly.  I pinch the roll over the internal rim with my thumb and remove the charred briar and start shaping the internal lip.  I follow this with 240, 320 and then 600 papers.  Because the rim’s width is not consistent around its circumference, I also introduce a gentle rounding bevel to the external edge of the rim.  This has the effect of making the rim look more balanced and softer, hiding some of the problems with dimension.  I am very pleased with the look of the repaired rim.  The pictures show the progress!  I suppose some briar for a bit of sanity was a good trade! With MOP’s rim work finished for now, I turn to OP’s rim.  The last steward was very consistent in his practices – especially lighting his tobacco.  Again, the left side of the rim has taken the brunt of the flame which was pulled down over the side of the rim.  Pipe ladies and gentlemen, light tobacco ABOVE the chamber – not over the side!! The charring here needs to be removed to uncover healthy briar, but it will leave, as before, an imbalance in the width of the rim.  As with MOP, I take a picture at the beginning to mark the progress and to show the charred area.  I then take the topping board with 240 grit paper and lightly top it on the side of the board – the full bent shank is extending beyond the plane of the rim.  After 240, I use 600 on the board.  Thankfully, OM’s rim is in closer perpendicular alignment than was MOP’s.  After looking at the picture immediately above, I decide to take more top off to regain a precious few millimeters of rim width to help balance the appearance.  I use a miniature sanding block to sand down the surface to build up the left rim width.  I find the sanding block useful when I need to ‘steer’ the rim in a certain direction.  I still have a flat surface, but with pressure can strategically leverage the sanding. I then take the stummel back to the board with 240 and then 600 to level the rim. I think this helped to regain some rim width, but the imbalance is still evident but less so. Now, cutting a bevel as I did before with MOP, on the internal and external rim edges helps round and blend the appearance.  I use 120 grit to do the major shaping then 240, 320, and 600.  It’s as good as I can manage without taking a lot more off the top to even out the rim width.  It does work, and I move on to the next challenge.I had written to Steve earlier to get input on how to approach the crack I discovered in OP’s shank.  His response came with a picture.  I already knew that I needed to drill a counter creep hole at the top of the crack where it was obviously creeping.  Steve said that a counter creep hole was needed at the bottom as well – in the bend itself.  It will be a bit of a challenge with the angle and drilling, but I think possible.  The holes at the end of the cracks arrests the expansion of the crack.  Steve’s picture follows:The other challenge that I’ll attack at the same time is on the cut and creeping crack on the heel of OP’s stummel.  This injury will also need drilling at each end to arrest any growth in the crack or cut.  As Steve did for me, I’ve circled the points where drilling is needed.  I needed a magnifying glass to see the cracks accurately.I use the Dremel for these drillings mounted with a 1mm drill bit.  The great thing working with the Dremel is its flexibility.  The bad thing about using the Dremel, is its flexibility!  In my workspace on the 10th floor of a former Communist block apartment building, I don’t have much room.  So, the Dremel does everything for me, almost!  One of these days I will find a universal mounting system that will allow me to strap the tool in so that I can make precision movements, like this drilling project, which is more difficult in the handheld mode.  In the drilling of the holes, one does not want to break through the briar to the inner chamber or mortise!  The hole depth only needs to be 2 or so mm.  I start with the cut on the heel, the easier of the two projects.  To guide my drilling, with the use of the magnifying glass, I use the sharp point of a needle file to press a guide hole into the briar.  I then follow with drilling the shank crack holes.  The pictures show the results which turn out well despite my handheld approach! Now to apply patch material.  Again, I start with the heel repair.  Using a toothpick to guide, I apply a drop of thin Hot Stuff CA glue directly into the cut.  I want the glue to sink deeply into the fracture to sure things up.  I sprinkle some briar dust on it.  After this, on an index card, I mix a little briar dust with Hot Stuff Special T CA glue – a bit thicker.  This forms a briar dust putty that I mix and apply to the 3 holes I drilled.  I build a mound with the briar dust putty, that after cured, provides thorough coverage over the entire repair area that will be sanded down and blended. After about 45 minutes, the heel patch has set up enough for me to work on the shank crack.  Just to be on the safe side, I mask the sides of the shank to protect from CA glue accidentally running down the sides.  I am especially protective of the L J Peretti Co. stamping. As before, I place a line of thin CA glue along the crack to seep in and fill the open areas in the fracture.  Then, I mix another batch of briar dust putty using thicker CA glue and apply this on the holes and over the full length of the crack.  A toothpick acts a trowel.  It’s time to go to bed so I’ll leave the patches to cure overnight. The pictures show the patch progress on OP’s restoration. The next morning the patches have cured thoroughly and I’m ready to start filing down the patch mounds beginning with a flat edged needle file.  I’ll work down the mound starting first with the heel patch.  The key is to ride the patch mound down as far as possible with the file then switch to sand paper which will be less intrusive to the healthy briar around the patch.  When I near the briar surface with the file, I reduce the pressure I’m exerting on the file.  When down close to the briar surface, I switch to 240 grade sanding paper, again, keeping the sanding on the patch material to remove the excess patch from the briar leaving only the fills.  The patch looks good.  I will blend later. The pictures show the progress with OP. After nearly a week in Athens, Greece, attending a conference and doing some pipe hunting, I return to Sofia and to my worktable where the shank patch and sanding are waiting for me.  It will be a bit more of a challenge.  Not only because of where the crack patch is located, but because sanding in the area will impact the end of the shank, potentially affecting the stem union.  I noted before that I wasn’t satisfied the seating of the stem.  There were small gaps showing between shank base and the stem.  I also could feel lips where the shank and the saddle stem were not flush.  My plan is to address these issues as I sand down the shank crack patch.  I start first with a flat and a rounded needle file to work down the patch. I progress to the crook of the bend and file with a round needle file. When I’m close to the surface with the needle files, I then switch to 240 grade sanding paper to remove more patch material down to the briar.  Then I follow using 600 grade paper to smooth out the coarser sanding scratches and to blend. While I’m sanding in the shank area, I work on the stem/shank alignment. I previously noticed that there was ‘daylight’ between the contact point between the shank and stem.  As much as possible, I want a seamless fit between the shank and the stem.  I notice also that the vulcanite on the end of the stem is not smooth which might be contributing to the stem’s fitting issues.  I decide to ‘top’ the stem at the tenon base using a piece of wood with a hole to accommodate the tenon.  I place a piece of 240 grade sanding paper over the topping board also with a tenon hole, insert the stem and rotate it.  This enables the smoothing of the vulcanite at the tenon base and hopefully, achieve a tighter, more true contact point between stem and shank. That does the job partially – the stem is snugger, but I still see a bit of daylight through the right side of where the shank and stem meet.  To address this, I need to remove the high spot on the left side of the junction to achieve a better seating of the stem in the shank.  I use a piece of 320 grade sanding paper folded and inserted between the shank and stem over the high spot and sand down the area.  I saw this method used by Charles Lemon on Dad’s Pipes to help improve the stem connection.  This does the job very well and after working the sanding paper around the high area, the stem contact looks better.Finally, I want to smooth out the lip that is caused by an overhang of the stem which I can detect by rubbing my finger over the shank and stem junction.  On the lower shank/stem the stem is a bit over the shank.  I use 240 grit paper to sand the lip down so that there is no lip between stem and shank.  After sanding down the area, the fit of the stem is much better all around.  I like it!With the major stummel repair projects completed, I rejoin stems with the stummels of MOP and OM and look.  As I work I’m admiring the briar on these larger Oom Paul bowls.  MOP is dominated by bird’s eye pattern with lateral grain on the bow of the stummel.  While OM has striking horizontal flame grain tying both shank and bowl and culminates at the bow of the stummel with bird’s eye.  Very nice.  What I love about Oom Pauls is the ample briar real estate on display!Before I switch my focus to the stems, while I think about the next steps for the bowl restorations, I decide to augment the internal cleaning of the stummels using a kosher salt and alcohol soak.  For both MOP and OP I fill the bowls with kosher salt.  I then pull and stretch cotton balls to form ‘wicks’ that I stuff down the mortise of each stummel.  The cotton wicks act to draw out the oils and tars left behind.  This method also helps to freshen the briar for a fresher taste for the new steward.  Placing each stummel in an egg crate for stability, with a large eye dropper I fill each bowl with isopropyl 95% and wait a few minutes and top it off again.  It takes a good bit!  I then set the bowls aside for several hours to allow the salt and alcohol to do their work.Turning to the stems, I start with My Oom Paul.  I take a close-up of the upper and lower bit area of MOP.  The former steward of these Oom Pauls was a clencher.  The good news is that he didn’t chew on the button too much – it’s in good shape.  With the dents and chatter, I start by using a flame to heat and expand the dents as much as possible.  I use a cheap Bic lighter.  This does raise and soften the dents.  The before and after of upper and then lower bit pictures follow. Using 240 grit sanding paper, I sand out the dents and chatter.  I also use a flat needle file to re-establish a crisp button. After sanding, I’m able to identify the remaining dents that need to be filled.  One dent on the upper bit with also a small indentation on the button needs attention.  On the lower, two areas need more attention on the bit and a bite on the button. Using cotton pads, I clean the upper and lower bit area with alcohol before applying drops of Starbond Black Medium KE – 150 CA glue to the problem areas on the lower bit.  I will wait an hour or so before turning the bit to apply Black CA glue on the upper bit. After the Black CA cures, I work the patches down on the lower and upper bit with a flat needle file then fine tune with 240 grit paper.Now, turning to OP’s stem, I take close-ups of the upper and lower bit area to show the starting point.  Again, as with MOP, the tooth dents are on both sides.  I paint the bit with fire from a Bic lighter to expand the vulcanite and raise the tooth dents.  As before, the heating did raise the dents so that sanding becomes more effective.  Before and after pictures of the heating for upper bit and then lower bit. As before, using 240 grit sanding paper I sand out as much as possible the dents on the bit and button. I also use a flat needle file to define the button lips more.  That worked out well.  All the dents sanded out except for one small area on the lower bit.  No patch is necessary on the top. After cleaning the area with alcohol, I apply a drop of Black Medium CA Glue to the spot.  I set OP’s stem aside for a few hours for the patch to cure.  When cured I sand the patch with 240 grit paper.  The pictures show the progress with the OP’s stem. Looking back at the stummels, the kosher salt/alcohol soak did the job.  The salt and wicks have discolored indicating that the tars and oils have been drawn out.  I remove the salt, wipe the bowls out with paper towel assuring that all the salt is removed. For the sake of abbreviation in this long blog, both stems proceed through the finishing process.  I use 600 grade paper to erase the 240 grade sanding and then buff up the stems using 0000 grade steel wool.  From here, I take the stems through the full process of 9 micromesh pads from 1500 to 12000, wet sanding 1500 to 2400 then dry sanding with 3200 to 4000 and then 6000 to 12000.  Between each set of three I applied Obsidian Oil to enrich the vulcanite.  The results are good.  The Peretti ‘P’ stamped on my Oom Paul looks great.Now to the stummels.  I begin with MOP.  I start with taking a few pictures to take in the great looking bird’s eye grain.  I love the wide expanse of the briar on the Oom Paul stummel – it goes on and on.  To remove the nicks and minor scratches on the briar surface I use sanding sponges progressing from coarser, medium, and then, light. I follow the sponge sanding by doing a full regimen of micromesh pad sanding.  Using 1500 to 2400, I wet sand, then with the remaining pads, 3200 to 12000 I dry sand.  This process brings out the grain very nicely and I’m liking what I see! As I now look to the OP stummel, I’ve been going back and forth as to what to do with this stage of the process.  OP has two crack/cut repairs to blend into the finished coloring of the bowl.  It also has many normal nicks and scratches which need to be addressed.  I want to keep both L J Peretti pipes as close to the color scheme as possible, but to provide some blending cover for the cut/crack patches, I will need to darken the color some for OP.  Even so, I know that most likely, patches will still be detectable but much subdued.  My thinking now is waffling between staining my Oom Paul with a new color of Fiebing’s leather dye I brought back from the US – Saddle Tan Pro Dye.  I tested it on a raw piece of wood and I like the results.  The other approach I want to test is simply using Before and After Briar Balm or as it’s called on the label, ‘Hard Rubber Balm’.  Steve recommended this approach to me in lieu of stain.  With waffling completed, I will use the Briar Balm on MOP first to see how it turns out.  Then, for OP, which needs more blending activity, I’ll use the Saddle Tan dye. With this decided, I take a few more close-ups of OP to mark the start.  I begin preparing the briar surface using sanding sponges – from coarser, to medium, and to fine to clean the surface of scratches and nicks.  Throughout, I am careful to guard the L. J. Peretti Co. nomenclature on the shank.  As with My Oom Paul, I use micromesh pads following the sponge sanding.  I wet sand using pads 1500 to 2400, then dry sand from 3200 to 12000.  I record the progress after each set of 3.  I love this phase of the process.  The micromesh pads do a great job bringing out the fine detail of the grain.  The OP has a distinctive lateral, horizontal flame grain that spans the bowl and full bent shank.  It culminates in the front with bird’s eye grain – the perpendicular view of the horizontal flow of grain.  Very nice.  The pictures capture a bit of what I’m seeing emerge with OP. Now testing time.  I will apply the Before and After Briar Balm to MOP – My Oom Paul, to see how the briar absorbs and reacts.  I’ve seen Steve apply the balm to several pipes he’s restored on Reborn Pipes with very nice results.  The process is easy.  Apply balm to the briar and work it in with your fingers.  I take a picture of each side of the stummel to show the starting point.  I put some balm on my fingers and I work it in.  The balm is loose and oily when it first begins but as it is worked in, it thickens as it is absorbed into the briar.  After applying the balm, I wait about 10 minutes and wipe/buff the stummel with a clean cotton cloth.  The difference is noticeable – the briar has a deeper, richer appearance.  I like it! I take two ‘after’ pictures to compare.  The first picture is the right side of the bowl and the second, left.  Before the balm is on the left and after application, is on the right.  The pictures speak for themselves. Now, turning to OM, I will apply Fiebing’s Saddle Tan Pro Dye. I first wipe the bowl down with alcohol to make sure it is free of dust and dirt.  I insert a cork into the shank to serve as a handle and heat up the stummel using an air gun to expand the briar making it more receptive to the dye.  Then, I thoroughly apply the aniline based Saddle Tan dye to the stummel with a pipe cleaner and then flame the wet dye which immediately burns off the alcohol setting the pigment into the briar.  I repeat the process and flaming and set the stummel aside to rest overnight allowing the dye to set.  The good thing about aniline dye is that I can use alcohol on a cotton pad to wipe the stummel later to lighten the hue if I choose.  Another day has come to an end.Early the next morning before heading out to another full day of work, I’m anxious to ‘unwrap’ OP’s bowl that rested through the night.  I take a picture of the ‘rested’ stummel.  Using the Dremel, set to the lowest speed, I mount a felt buffing wheel dedicated to applying Red Tripoli compound.  After purging the wheel to soften it and clean it, I methodically work the wheel around the stummel ‘unwrapping’ the fired dye revealing the briar surface.  I do not apply a lot of pressure on the felt wheel but allow the fine abrasive nature of the Tripoli compound, speed of the Dremel and the felt wheel to do the work.  Since the felt buffing wheel is not flexible, I mount a cotton cloth wheel with Tripoli to reach into the crook of the shank’s bend.  I take a picture of the ‘unwrapping’ with the Tripoli compound to give an idea of what I’m seeing.At this point, I yoke both Oom Paul stummels together in the process.  I reunite stems to both and after mounting a cotton cloth buffing wheel, I leave the Dremel’s speed the same slowest setting, and apply Blue Diamond compound to both stummels and stems. When I finish, I buff each with a felt cloth to remove the compound dust from the pipes in preparation for the wax.  I mount a dedicated cotton cloth buffing wheel on the Dremel, increase the speed to about 40% and apply carnauba wax to both MOP and OP, stem and stummel.  After applying several coats of carnauba to each pipe, to finish I give both a good buffing from a micromesh cloth to deepen the shine more.

These two Oom Pauls provided some challenges in their restorations, but I am pleased with the results!  After this I don’t believe I will do another ‘double restoration’ write-up – too much!  The grain on both Oom Pauls is striking.  My Oom Paul’s finish came out well using Before and After Briar Balm and the grain is dominated by a large orchard of bird’s eye pattern.  I look forward to his inaugural smoke as I add him to my growing L. J. Peretti Co. collection.

The Oom Paul heading to The Pipe Steward Store had some challenges with cracks and cuts, and loving abuse from his former steward whose practice of lighting over the edge of the rim presented some hurdles.  The Saddle Tan finish looks great – it has masked the cut repair on the heel but not fully hidden – he takes some signs of his past life war wounds into the future! But OH MY, the lateral flame grain flowing through the stummel from the full bent shank to the front of the bowl culminating with a sprinkling of bird’s eye is striking and a beautiful example of God’s handiwork!  He’s bigger than my Oom Paul with the length (in full bent position) is 6 inches, height of the bowl: 2 ½ inches, rim width: 1 ½ inches, chamber width: 15/16 inches, chamber depth: 2 1/8 inches.  He is ready for a new steward and the adoption of this Oom Paul will benefit the Daughters of Bulgaria, our work with women and girls (along with their children!) who have been trafficked and sexually exploited.  The pictures following start with MOP and OP together, two pictures of MOP happily heading to my rack, and then the remaining pictures of the Oom Paul heading to The Pipe Steward Store!  They turned out to be a handsome pair of dudes! Thanks for joining me!

Paresh’s Grandfather’s Pipe #2 – A Yello-Bole Carburetor 4522 Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have repaired pipes for Paresh in India over the past four months and not long ago he sent me seven of his Grandfather’s pipes to restore. It is an interesting assortment of older pipes that come from the period of 1937-1950s. His Grandfather worked for the Indian Railroad many years and was a pipeman. Paresh is also a pipeman and recently found out that his Grandfather smoked a pipe as well. The second of the pipes is an older Yello-Bole Carburetor Billiard. It is stamped on the left side of the shank Carburetor over the KBB triangle logo followed by Yello-Bole over US Pat. 2082.106 over Cured with Real Honey. On the right side there is a four digit number 4522. This pipe was made between 1935 and 1936. Here is the rationale. The carburetor patent was granted in 1935, this pipe is stamped “US Pat.” Interestingly enough, it also has a patent number on the bottom of the shank that reads Reg.U.S.Pat.Off. over No. 343.331. The four digit number was used by KBB until 1936. The first two numbers indicate the finish, in this case 45 indicates a smooth finish. The second two numbers indicate the shape, in this case 22 indicates a straight billiard. The rim top is beat up and worn there is damage on the surface and also has nicks around the inner and outer edges of the bowl. The bowl still had a fairly thick cake on the walls. The carburetor tube that goes through the bottom of the bowl from outside to the inside was clogged and dirty. I took a close up photo of the rim top and both sides of the stem. You can see the damage to the top and inner edge of the rim top in the first photo below. The second and third photo shows the top and underside of the stem.The next photo shows the stamping on the left side of the shank as noted above. There is also a large crack on the top left side of the shank. The next two photos show the stamping and the crack very clearly. I always enjoy getting some background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring when I am working estate pipes from the family members. If you have followed rebornpipes for a while you have read a few of these summaries from estates like Kathy’s Dad, Barry’s Dad and Farida’s Dad. Each of them did a great job summarizing their fathers’ estates. Since the next group of seven pipes that I will be working came to from India and belonged to the Grandfather of Paresh, I asked him to write a short tribute to his Grandfather. What follows is his writeup.

Respected Sir,

Now that the first batch of my Grandfather’s pipes has reached you, I would like to share my memories of him with you, the aim being to provide you with an insight to his personality, the era in which he lived, and a brief history associated with the pipes that I have inherited from him.

My Grandfather, Ananta (named after an exotic seasonal white flower having lovely fragrance), was born in a small coastal town of Konkan region of Maharashtra, India, in 1918. These were very turbulent times when India’s freedom struggle against British rule was gathering momentum and the atmosphere was charged with “Quit India Movement”. Having completed his graduation from Bombay, he joined Railways in 1937. This also marked the beginning of his journey into the world of pipe smoking!!!!!

Having seen his potential, in 1945, he was sponsored by the Government to visit England, for gaining further experience and expertise in his profession. This was a period when India’s Independence was round the corner and efforts were being made to train Indians for various administrative appointments in future Independent India. He returned back to India after a year, in 1946 and with him came some pipes that he had purchased in England. I believe a few of his Petes, Barlings, Charatans and GBDs are from this visit.

In 1947, when the British finally left India for good, my Grandfather was gifted pipes by his British peers, subordinates and Superior Officers as a parting gift. He stayed in touch with a few of them over all these years, even visiting them in 1959-60. Some of his later era Charatans and Barlings and Pete are from this trip. He quit smoking in early 1970s (before I was even born!!!!) and his pipes were packed up. There were a number of pipes which were used as TINDER for lighting fires (CAN”T BELIEVE IT…… I have not overcome my grief of this loss till date!!!!!) due to ignorance!!!!!!

My Grandfather was a very strict disciplinarian and temperamental (I did not know this as he was neither when dealing with me as I am the youngest of all his grandchildren!!!!!! He was always the most understanding and loving person in my life). I later learned that in his office, he was not to be disturbed when his pipe was lit, as he would be in his thinking/ contemplating mode while it was just the opposite as he lit his pipe in the evening while at home, when he would be at his relaxed best!!!!.

The interesting part is that neither of us knew that we each smoked a pipe until after his demise in Jan 2018!!!! In our culture, to this day, smoking or alcohol consumption is socially never talked about (mute acceptance!!!). It was during his last rites that absent mindedly I lighted my pipe and looking into the flickering flames of his funeral pyre, remembered and recollected all the wonderful memories and talks that we had shared. No one said a word to me about my lighting up a pipe!!!!!! Immediately thereafter, I rejoined my duty station. A few days later, my wife, Abha, received a box from my Uncle with a note that said “Grandfather would have loved Paresh to have these”. This box contained a collection of his fountain pens and 8-10 of his pipes (since then as my folks are winding up his belongings, I have received 2-3 packets and a large number of pipes, some in decent condition and some in unspeakable state). Abha immediately messaged me with pictures of these pipes and pens. I had been collecting and restoring (no major repairs, though) fountain pens since long and immediately recognized some of them as highly collectibles, however, pipes were a totally different ball game! I was inexperienced with no knowledge/ information regarding various brands/ pipe makers, shapes and materials. I knew nothing about the value of these pipes, nothing about pipe restorations, nothing about caring for them; I mean zero knowledge about collecting pipes. I smoked some real cheap Chinese pipes which were readily and unfortunately, the only ones, available in India and some inexpensive pipes from eBay India!!!!! Also regular pipe cleaning, pipe rotation, pipe cleaners and such things were unknown to me.

Thus, to know more about the REAL pipes, I embarked upon the journey of exploring finer nuances of pipe brands/ makers, their history and watching “How to videos” on packing a pipe, cleaning, repairing and caring for ones pipes. I found it extremely interesting and satisfying. It was while meandering through this confusing quagmire of pipe world that I came across rebornpipes.com website and eventually established contact with you, Mr Steve, who has since been my mentor, guide and GURU, making this journey a wonderful and satisfying experience.

Sir, there is one more thing that I need to thank you for and that is when you asked me to write a brief about my grandfather and his pipes, I realized how little I knew about him, in fact, knew nothing, as I was not even aware that he was a “pipeman” as no one in my family ever spoke about it being taboo subject and since he had quit a long time before I was even born!!!! This led me to ask the elders in my family, questions on the subject and came to know the above details. I cannot thank you enough for prodding me to get to know my grandfather and his pipes a lot better. Sir, these pipes of his, with your help and guidance, will remain with me forever in mint condition……

Thanks Paresh for this great descriptive take of your Grandfather. It really gives me a sense of the pipes that you have sent me and what they meant to him. It is obvious from the variety of pipes that you sent and the overall condition that he knew how to choose good quality pipes and obviously enjoyed smoking them throughout most of his life.

Paresh’s wife Abha cleaned the pipes before she sent them to me here in Canada and did an amazing job cleaning them up. She reamed the bowls, cleaned the rims and scrubbed the exterior of the pipes and the stems with Murphy’s Oil Soap and cleaned off the buildup on the stems. This particular pipe had a very hard cake in the bowl and with the tube sticking up from the bottom of the bowl she was very careful in here cleanup. There was till cake that needed to be removed. The finish on the bowl is in bad condition and was peeling and dirty. The light varnish coat was rough. The stamping on the sides and bottom of the bowl was very readable. The crack in the shank was fairly open and would need to be banded to repair it. The rim top had been beat up on hard surfaces and the outer edges were rough and rounded. The stem was lightly oxidized on both sides of the stem and had quite a bit of tooth chatter on both.

I removed the stem from the shank and started my work on the bowl itself. I wiped down the peeling finish on the bowl and shank with acetone on cotton pads. I rubbed it down until I had removed the varnish coat and the grime in the finish. I carefully cleaned up the reaming in the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer first. I started with the smallest cutting head and worked up to the second cutting head. I took the cake back to bare briar on the top ¾ of the bowl with the PipNet. I finished up the bottom ¼ with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and took the cake back to the bare briar on the bottom. I was careful around the tube extending into the bowl bottom so I would not damage it. I wanted to check out the condition of the interior of the bowl. It looked very good once it was cleaned off. There was no checking or cracking on the bowl walls. There was no sign of burn out inside.  I decided to take care of the cracked shank next before I cleaned up the inside. I found a nickel band that was the right diameter for the shank. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to cut back about 1/3 of the depth of the band so that when it was fully on the shank it would not cover up the stamping on either side of the shank. I cleaned out the crack with a cotton swab and alcohol. I put some all-purpose white glue in the crack and pressed the band onto the shank. I used the sandpaper on the topping board to face the band and the end of the shank. I wanted the shank end and band to be absolutely smooth so that the fit of the stem in the shank would not change. You can see from the first photo below that the band placement does not come close to the stamping but completely cover the crack.To remove the damage to the top of the rim and minimize the damage on the inside and outside edge of the rim I topped it on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I cleaned out the carburetor tube on the bottom of the bowl with a paper clip and pushed through the tars and grime that had plugged the tubes. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and the mortise with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol until the inside was clean.I polished the rim top and bevel with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and the scratches. I stained the rim with a Maple stain pen to match the colour of the rest of the bowl and shank.I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the briar to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips. I worked it into the rim and shank end. I set it aside for a few minutes to let the balm work. I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl is really beginning to stand out and will only do so more as the pipe is waxed.  I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I sanded out the tooth chatter on both sides of the stem at the button with 220 grit sand paper.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine to remove the last of the scratches. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With the stem polished I put it back on the pipe and lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. I gave them both multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I have five more of Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes to finish and then I will pack them up and send across the sea to India where he can carry on the legacy. I know that he is looking forward to having them in hand and enjoying a bowl of his favourite tobacco in memory of his Grandfather. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked this pipe over.

Paresh’s Grandfather’s Pipe #1 – An Early GBD Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have repaired several pipes for Paresh in India over the past four months or so and not long ago he sent me a box of seven of his Grandfather’s pipes. There is an interesting assortment of older pipes that come from the time period of 1937-1950s. His Grandfather worked for the Indian Railroad for many years and was a pipeman. Paresh follows in his love of the pipe and just recently found out that his Grandfather smoked a pipe as well. The first of the pipes I am working on for him is a GBD. It is an older one that has a silver band on the shank that is stamped with a GBD oval over four individual boxes – each is worn and hard to read. It is possible that it reads MRCLtd like the one in the first photo below which would identify the pipe as a French made GBD by Marechal, Ruchon & Co. Ltd. It could also be silver hallmarks with a lion (925 silver) and anchor (Birmingham) and two unreadable marks (one of which could give a date). Underneath them AO is stamped. AO could mean Alfred Oppenheimer which would date the pipe as after the Oppenheimer bought the brand in 1902 from MR&C Ltd. This would make it an early English made GBD pipe. The shank is stamped with a GBD Oval. There are no other stampings on the shank sides or the band. There is also a GBD Oval stamped on the left side of the saddle portion of the stem.Paresh’s wife Abha cleaned the pipes before she sent them to me here in Canada and did an amazing job cleaning them up. She reamed the bowl, cleaned the rim and scrubbed the exterior of the pipe and the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap and cleaned off the buildup on the stem. She also cleaned off the silver band. The finish on the bowl is in very good condition and the GBD oval logo on the bowl was very readable. The silver band was scratched and worn. The GBD oval on the silver was faint but readable. The four hallmarks were very worn but it is possible that the first two are a lion and anchor but not certain. The stem was lightly oxidized on the underside and there was a GBD oval on the left side of the saddle portion of the stem. Interestingly for a stem that purports to be bite proof there is a deep tooth mark on the left side of the top near the button over the left twin bore and on the underside near the button on the right side. Both are directly over the twin bore airways.

The stem is unique and one that I have not come across before. From researching on the internet a bit it appears that the twin bore stem could be an early edition of the Tuskan Series that was London Made. Underneath the movable end cap diffuser it has something like the Tuskana Insertion with the twin bore stem. In the pipe I am working on it has the insert between the twin airways but it also has a diffuser cap at the end of the button. It is an amber coloured piece that covers the end of the button. There is a slight gap between the edge of the button and the cap that functions to diffuse the smoke. The end piece can be turned vertically to reveal the twin bore stem underneath. Like I said it is quite unique and I have not been able to find any other examples of this system on the internet. If any of you have any insight or information on this particular feature on GBD pipes please let me know. Thanks.I found an advertisement on the Pipedia link above which explains the Tuskana Insert. I have included that below.I took photos of the pipe before I started to work on it. It is a beautiful pipe that has some age on it. It has some very great looking grain on the bowl and shank. The rim top is worn, damaged on the surface and also has nicks around the inner edge of the bowl. The bowl was slightly out of round and there was still a light cake on the walls.I took a close up photo of the rim top and both sides of the stem. You can see the damage to the top and inner edge of the rim top in the first photo below. The second and third photo shows the top and underside of the stem. I have circled the tooth marks on both sides of the stem with red.I always enjoy getting some background information on the pipeman whose pipes I am restoring when I am working estate pipes from the family members. If you have followed rebornpipes for a while you have read a few of these summaries from estates like Kathy’s Dad, Barry’s Dad and Farida’s Dad. Each of them did a great job summarizing their fathers’ estates. Since the next group of seven pipes that I will be working came to from India and belonged to the Grandfather of Paresh, I asked him to write a short tribute to his Grandfather. What follows is his writeup.

Respected Sir,

Now that the first batch of my Grandfather’s pipes has reached you, I would like to share my memories of him with you, the aim being to provide you with an insight to his personality, the era in which he lived, and a brief history associated with the pipes that I have inherited from him.

My Grandfather, Ananta (named after an exotic seasonal white flower having lovely fragrance), was born in a small coastal town of Konkan region of Maharashtra, India, in 1918. These were very turbulent times when India’s freedom struggle against British rule was gathering momentum and the atmosphere was charged with “Quit India Movement”. Having completed his graduation from Bombay, he joined Railways in 1937. This also marked the beginning of his journey into the world of pipe smoking!!!!!

Having seen his potential, in 1945, he was sponsored by the Government to visit England, for gaining further experience and expertise in his profession. This was a period when India’s Independence was round the corner and efforts were being made to train Indians for various administrative appointments in future Independent India. He returned back to India after a year, in 1946 and with him came some pipes that he had purchased in England. I believe a few of his Petes, Barlings, Charatans and GBDs are from this visit.

In 1947, when the British finally left India for good, my Grandfather was gifted pipes by his British peers, subordinates and Superior Officers as a parting gift. He stayed in touch with a few of them over all these years, even visiting them in 1959-60. Some of his later era Charatans and Barlings and Pete are from this trip. He quit smoking in early 1970s (before I was even born!!!!) and his pipes were packed up. There were a number of pipes which were used as TINDER for lighting fires (CAN”T BELIEVE IT…… I have not overcome my grief of this loss till date!!!!!) due to ignorance!!!!!!

My Grandfather was a very strict disciplinarian and temperamental (I did not know this as he was neither when dealing with me as I am the youngest of all his grandchildren!!!!!! He was always the most understanding and loving person in my life). I later learned that in his office, he was not to be disturbed when his pipe was lit, as he would be in his thinking/ contemplating mode while it was just the opposite as he lit his pipe in the evening while at home, when he would be at his relaxed best!!!!.

The interesting part is that neither of us knew that we each smoked a pipe until after his demise in Jan 2018!!!! In our culture, to this day, smoking or alcohol consumption is socially never talked about (mute acceptance!!!). It was during his last rites that absent mindedly I lighted my pipe and looking into the flickering flames of his funeral pyre, remembered and recollected all the wonderful memories and talks that we had shared. No one said a word to me about my lighting up a pipe!!!!!! Immediately thereafter, I rejoined my duty station. A few days later, my wife, Abha, received a box from my Uncle with a note that said “Grandfather would have loved Paresh to have these”. This box contained a collection of his fountain pens and 8-10 of his pipes (since then as my folks are winding up his belongings, I have received 2-3 packets and a large number of pipes, some in decent condition and some in unspeakable state). Abha immediately messaged me with pictures of these pipes and pens. I had been collecting and restoring (no major repairs, though) fountain pens since long and immediately recognized some of them as highly collectibles, however, pipes were a totally different ball game! I was inexperienced with no knowledge/ information regarding various brands/ pipe makers, shapes and materials. I knew nothing about the value of these pipes, nothing about pipe restorations, nothing about caring for them; I mean zero knowledge about collecting pipes. I smoked some real cheap Chinese pipes which were readily and unfortunately, the only ones, available in India and some inexpensive pipes from eBay India!!!!! Also regular pipe cleaning, pipe rotation, pipe cleaners and such things were unknown to me.

Thus, to know more about the REAL pipes, I embarked upon the journey of exploring finer nuances of pipe brands/ makers, their history and watching “How to videos” on packing a pipe, cleaning, repairing and caring for ones pipes. I found it extremely interesting and satisfying. It was while meandering through this confusing quagmire of pipe world that I came across rebornpipes.com website and eventually established contact with you, Mr Steve, who has since been my mentor, guide and GURU, making this journey a wonderful and satisfying experience.

Sir, there is one more thing that I need to thank you for and that is when you asked me to write a brief about my grandfather and his pipes, I realized how little I knew about him, in fact, knew nothing, as I was not even aware that he was a “pipeman” as no one in my family ever spoke about it being taboo subject and since he had quit a long time before I was even born!!!! This led me to ask the elders in my family, questions on the subject and came to know the above details. I cannot thank you enough for prodding me to get to know my grandfather and his pipes a lot better. Sir, these pipes of his, with your help and guidance, will remain with me forever in mint condition……

Thanks Paresh for this great descriptive take of your Grandfather. It really gives me a sense of the pipes that you have sent me and what they meant to him. It is obvious from the variety of pipes that you sent and the overall condition that he knew how to choose good quality pipes and obviously enjoyed smoking them throughout most of his life.

I removed the stem from the shank and started my work on the bowl itself. I cleaned up the reaming in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and took the slight remnant of cake back to the bare briar. I wanted to check out the condition of the interior of the bowl. The inside looked very good once it was cleaned off. There was no checking or cracking on the bowl walls. There was no sign of burn out inside.To remove the damage on the rim top and to minimize the damage to the inner edge of the rim I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I carefully removed the damage without changing the shape of the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inside edge of the bowl. I was able to remove much of the damage to the edge with the sandpaper and smooth out the bevel.  I polished the rim top and bevel with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and the scratches. I stained the rim with a Cherry stain pen to match the colour of the rest of the bowl and shank.I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the briar to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips. I worked it into the rim and shank end. I set it aside for a few minutes to let the balm work. I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl is really beginning to stand out and will only do so more as the pipe is waxed.  I polished the silver band with a jeweler’s cloth to remove the tarnish from the silver and give it a shine. It worked pretty well to bring it back to life. The second photo below shows the stamping on the left side.I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I cleaned the deep tooth marks on both sides of the stem with a cotton swab and alcohol and dried it off with a cotton pad. I filled in the tooth marks with clear super glue. I set it aside to cure and called it night.In the morning I sanded out the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine to remove the last of the scratches. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With the stem polished I put it back on the pipe and lightly buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. I gave them both multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I have six more of Paresh’s Grandfather’s pipes to finish and then I will pack them up and send across the sea to India where he can carry on the legacy. I know that he is looking forward to having them in hand and enjoying a bowl of his favourite tobacco in memory of his Grandfather. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked this pipe over.

 

Replacing a Broken Tenon on a Civic Select 14 Zulu

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Blog by Steve Laug

I received a call from a local fellow who had picked up my phone number from a local pipe and cigar shop. He had just returned from a trip and the tenon on his little Civic Zulu had snapped off. As it was his only pipe he wondered if I would be willing to take on the job of repairing it. He had tried to glue it on with epoxy but it had not worked. The pipe was relatively new and half the bowl was not even darkened by smoking. There was raw briar on the bottom half of the bowl. The briar was dirty on the outside from being pocketed in his coat of backpack.  The stem was oxidized and had tooth chatter on both sides at the button. The oxidation is deep in the vulcanite. I told him I would take on the project. I took photos of the pipe before I started working on it.I found a Delrin tenon replacement in my box that would fit well once the diameter was reduced. We talked and he decided to get rid of the stinger to make it a better smoking pipe. The broken angle on the end of the stem would need to be sanded smooth and faced so that the new tenon would fit well. I took some photos of the pipe, stem, broken tenon and new tenon.In preparation for drilling out the stem for the new tenon I used a sharp knife to open and bevel the edges of the airway in the stem. I have found that doing this keeps the drill bit centred and straight in the airway.I used the Dremel and the sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the new tenon. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the tenon. I worked on it until the diameter was the same as the broken tenon and the fit in the mortise was snug.I started drilling the airway with a bit slightly larger than the diameter of the airway. I slowed the speed on the cordless drill to make sure it moved slowly and straight. I worked my way up to a bit that was the same diameter as the new tenon end, but not too large to compromise the strength of the stem.I removed some of the diameter on the threaded end of the tenon to get a proper fit in the stem. I cleaned up the inside of the newly drilled end of the stem with a needle file to smooth out the walls. When it was smooth I cleaned up the new tenon, applied glue to the end and pressed it into place in the stem.I sanded the tenon with 4000 grit wet/dry sandpaper to clean up the marks and scratches in the tenon. Once the glue had cured I put the stem on the shank of the pipe. As is usual with these repairs the alignment was not perfect but close. I sanded the shank/stem junction smooth to clean up the alignment. I took pictures of the newly fit stem. I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. I worked on them until they were clean. Since the pipe was barely smoked it was a pretty simple clean up.I reamed out the debris in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I wanted the bowl to be clean and smooth.I stained the area where I had sanded the shank with an oak stain pen to blend it into the rest of the shank. It is a bit streaky at this point in the process but that would blend together once I buffed and polished the pipe. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the briar to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips. I worked it into the rim and shank end. I set it aside for a few minutes to let the balm work. I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth to polish it. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl is really beginning to stand out and will only do so more as the pipe is waxed. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine to remove the last of the scratches. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With the stem polished I put it back on the pipe and lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a more aggressive buff of Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I will call the pipeman soon so he can pick up his pipe and begin to enjoy it once more. He called several nights ago and said he had ordered some new tobacco and it had arrived. He was excited to try it out with his repaired pipe. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked this pipe over.

Restoring a Kaywoodie Hand Made Rusticated Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last Fall I took a trip for work to Gainesville, Georgia in the US and during that time had a day free to do a bit of roaming. The friends I was staying with took us to a couple antique malls to have a bit of a pipe hunt. I found a few good pipes that I will be working on in the days ahead. This is the first of them – a Kaywoodie Hand Made Rhodesian. The stamping on the left side of the shank is faint but readable with a bright light and a lens. It reads Hand Made over Kaywoodie. On the right side of the shank it reads Imported Briar. The bowl had a light cake lining the walls and bottom while the rim top had a coating of lava that made the rim top look like it was rusticated or knocked about. The rim top is beveled slightly inward and was probably originally smooth. The carved worm trails pm the bowl sides and shank have angled slash marks across each of the grooves. The grooves on the bowl sides are more worn than those on the shank. There are twin rings around the bowl separating the cap from the bottom portion of the bowl. The finish was dirty and many of the grooves were filled in with dust and debris of the years. The stem had some nicks and scratches in the vulcanite and was lightly oxidized. There was also a spot on the top side near the shank where there must have been a logo insert that was lost many years ago and had been filled in with glue. There was light tooth chatter on both sides of the stem at the button but no deep tooth gouges. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and both sides of the stem to show the condition prior to cleaning. The buildup on the rim top is a combination of thick lava and damage to the surface of the briar. There appears to be some rustication on it but at this point I am not certain it is actually rusticated or just damaged.On the top side of the stem was a round spot that I think had originally held a Kaywoodie logo. It was missing and there was a slight divot in the stem. I filled it in with a clear super glue and set it aside to cure.I cleaned up the rim top with a Savinelli Fitsall Knife blade. I scraped the surface of the rim and also the inner edge of the bowl to smooth things out. Once the rim was cleaned off the damage to the surface of the rim was visible. It was rough to touch. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer starting with the second cutting head and finishing with the third head which was the close to the same size as the bowl itself. I reamed the cake back to smooth briar. I worked over the beveled rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the rough surface and remove as much of the damage as possible.I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the rusticated patterns of the briar to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the rustications with my fingertips and with cotton swabs. I worked it into the rim and shank end. I set it aside for a few minutes to let the balm work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth and buffed it with a horsehair shoe brush to polish it. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl is really beginning to stand out and will only do so more as the pipe is waxed.  I wiped down the rim top and polished it with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the rim top down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I restained the rim top to match the contrasting stains on the rest of the bowl. I used a black Sharpie pen to colour in the grooves on the top of the rim to match the grooves around the bowl. When I had finished I like the final look of the pipe.I used a dental spatula to clean out the hard tars and oils on the walls of the mortise. It did not take too much work to remove the hard build up. I scrubbed out the shank after that using cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and isopropyl alcohol. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. The airway in the end of the tenon was slightly out of round because somewhere along the way the stinger had been removed and the airway damaged. I used a knife to bevel the edge of the airway in the tenon and then sanded it with a folded piece of sandpaper to smooth it out. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit sanding pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both Fine and Extra Fine to remove the last of the scratches. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With the stem polished I put it back on the pipe and lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a more aggressive buff of Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I will be posting it on the rebornpipes store very soon. It should make a nice addition to your pipe rack if you have been looking for a reasonably priced older Kaywoodie Hand Made Rhodesian carved in an almost classic Custombilt style. It should be a great smoking pipe with a good hand feel. The dimensions are Length: 5 3/4 inches, Height: 1 1/2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 inches. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked this pipe over.

 

Restemming and Restoring a Straight Custombilt Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

Mike, reader of rebornpipes contacted me about fixing two of his pipes. Probably over a month ago he emailed me. He packed the pipes up and sent them to me. The second one was a Custombilt Rhodesian or probably some would call it a Bulldog I have already repaired and blogged about the pear wood pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/04/06/putting-humpty-dumpty-back-together-again/). The second pipe needed a new stem and a thorough cleaning and restoration. The broken stem looked to be a replacement as the fit to the shank was not perfect and the diameter of the shank and the stem were slightly different. The tenon was also short and did not extend the full length of the mortise like I have come to expect on Custombilt pipes. The inside of the bowl had already been reamed and cleaned when I got it. The top of the rim had a slight lava build up and the inner and edges were out of round. The inside and the outside of the bowl were very dirty. There was a lot of dust and grime in the rustication of the bowl and shank as well as in the twin rings around the cap.  I would soon find out why it was not cleaned. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the damage to the top surface and the inner edge of the bowl. You can see that the top is rough from knocking the pipe out against a hard surface and the inner edge looks to have been damaged by reaming with a knife. I also took photos of the stem to show the large chunk that was missing near the button. Notice also the fit of the stem to the shank. I went through my can of stems to see if I could find a stem that would fit the shank better. I also did a bit of hunting online and found that often the Custombilt Bulldog had a saddle stem rather than a taper stem. The next stem had a tenon that was the correct length. It was slightly shorter than the broken stem but it would work well on the shank of the pipe.I put the new stem on the shank and took pictures to evaluate the new look. I also sent copies of the photos to Mike to see what he thought. I received and email reply from him that he liked the new look of the pipe so I continued with the fit of the stem. The fit of the stem to the shank was far better than the previous one. Since the shank was not round I would need to work on the shank to round out the two sides to match the stem. The next two photos show that the stem fits well on the top and the bottom of the shank but that both sides are wider than the diameter of the stem (slightly better than the previous stem).I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to sand down the sides of the shank to match the stem. I worked on it to make it round rather than the slightly off centred broad oval that it was when I started. I sanded the fit against the shank with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to smooth out the transition between the stem and shank and remove the scratching in the briar. I cleaned out the interior of the mortise and shank with a dental pick to remove the buildup of tars and oils that were built up in front of where the replacement stem tenon had ended. I cleaned it out with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners to remove all of the grime. Once the cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean I was finished with the cleanup. I did the same with the airway in the stem until it too was clean. I used a dental pick to clean around the inside of the slot in the button. I topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove the damage to the rim top and remove the damage to the inner edge of the rim. I removed very little to smooth out the rim. I also used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inside edge of the rim and remove the damage. I gave the edge a slight bevel to smooth out the edge. I polished the rim top and the reshaped shank end with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the surfaces after each pad with a damp cloth. After the final 12000 grit pad I gave it a final wipe before I continued with the restoration work. I used a combination of three stain pens – Cherry, Maple and Walnut to stain the sanded areas of the bowl. I used them on the rim top and around the end of the shank. The three together matched the colour on the rest of the bowl. I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the rusticated patterns of the briar to clean, enliven and protect it. I worked it into the rustications with my fingertips and with cotton swabs. I worked it into the rim and restained shank end. I set it aside for a few minutes to let the balm work. I wiped it off with a soft cloth and buffed it with a horsehair shoe brush to polish it. The briar really began to have a deep shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl is really beginning to stand out and will only do so more as the pipe is waxed.  I sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem near the button. I also sanded out the deep scratches in the surface of the stem. I followed up by sanding the stem again with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to remove the scratches left behind by the 220 grit sandpaper. I polished stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish, both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I waxed the bowl and shank with multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax. I buffed the stem with carnauba wax. I buffed bowl and stem with a clean buffing wheel to raise a shine. The photos below show the finished pipe. It is a great looking pipe. I love the old Custombilt shapes and the look and feel of them in hand. This one is a beauty that looks great with its new stem. Now that I have finished the second of Mike’s pipes I will soon be packing them up and sending them on their way back to New York where I am sure he is waiting to fire them up and enjoy them once again. Thanks for looking.

Repairing and Restoring a Hand Carved Danbark “Honey Stick”

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Blog by Steve Laug

Sometimes a voice from the past is a good thing for both parties. Many years ago now, here in Vancouver I met Eric at the Vancouver Pipe Club. We talked at pipe club meetings and had a common calling as ministers in within different Christian Churches. Over time Eric moved to Eastern Canada and I moved on to work for an NGO here in Vancouver. Not too long ago I received an email from Eric about some pipes that he had that he wanted me to work on for him. We made arrangements and soon a box with three of his pipes was traveling to me from Ontario. It arrived quite quickly and I opened it when it arrived. Eric had thoughtfully included a tin of Samuel Gawith’s Commonwealth Mixture Full Strength for me to smoke and I was looking forward to cracking it open. Included in the box were three pipes – a Danbark Hand Carved from Denmark that was quite stunning, a Bewlay Sandblast Billiard and a Le Nuvole Long Shank Dublin. Each had different challenges to address but each was a beautiful example of the pipe maker’s craft. I decided to work on the Danbark Hand Carved pipe next.

The finish on the pipe was very dirty with a lot of grit and grim in the grooves and crevices of the spiral style of rustication. The rim top was heavily tarred with lava that flowed from a caked bowl. The edges and top of the rim looked like it had burn marks on the front just left of centre and on the rear left side. Other than the burn marks it appeared to be in okay condition though I would not know for sure until I had reamed the bowl and cleaned off the rim top. The bowl was rusticated all around other than the rim top and about half of the shank. The grain on the smooth parts was very nice. The underside of the shank is stamped Danbark over Hand Carved over Denmark.The acrylic stem had the white Danbark “D” logo on the top side. There was tooth chatter on both sides at the button and a triangular shaped puncture on the top side about ¼ inch from the button. The pipe was not as dirty or smelly as the first pipe of Eric’s I worked on. I took photos of the pipe to show the condition it was in when it arrived.  I took close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show its condition. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the overflow of lava onto the inner edge bevel and on the rim. You can also see the burn marks on the rim top just left of centre and on the back side mid rim. The rim does not look damaged on the outer edge in this photo. I also took photos of the stem to show the general condition it was in as well. It looked pretty good other than chatter on both sides ahead of the button and the puncture on the topside of the stem.I decided to read a little about the brand and the pipemaker. It turns out that the pipe was made by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen who also made Refbjerg and Soren pipes. That was a surprise to me as I had no recollection of the connection. This “honey stick” style pipe is a Danbark with the same stamping on the shank as the pipe in the photo from Pipephil’s site. I have cleaned and restored several or Soren’s pipes in the past, both Refbjerg and Soren stamped ones but I have never worked on a Danbark. I did a screen capture of all three of the brands carved by Soren and the information included in them. It turns out that the Refbjerg pipes were made for the European market and the Soren ones for the US market. The Danbark pipes seem to overlap on both sides of the Atlantic. The D on the stem is also the same in the photo as the pipe I am working on for Eric.The Danbark that I am working on is stamped on the underside of the bowl and shank at the stem/shank junction. It is stamped with the following information: DANBARK over Hand Carved over Denmark. Soren’s handmade stems have a funneled airway leading through the tenon to a normal rectangular slot in the end of the stem. There is no flaring or shaping done to the slot. It almost looks like a factory blank that has been reworked slightly.

I did a bit more searching and on Pipedia I found out that Danbark was a second line that came from Soren (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Refbjerg). There was also a direct quote from Soren speaking of the Danbark line on Frenchy’s Pipes online. Frenchy’s was an online seller that retailed both new and estate pipes quite a few years back. I did business with him in those years and enjoyed him – great sense of humour. Here is what he quotes from Soren and is requoted on Pipedia.

“A note from the carver: I am very proud to introduce my new (!) series of hand-carved Danbark Pipes by Søren. These pipes are crafted from the finest Corsican and Grecian briars. I take a great deal of pride in crafting the Danbark Pipes to be highly functional and so they will provide the smoker with many years of dedicated service. The Danbark Pipes by Søren are available in several different styles and finishes with my personal touch and inspirations. At this time I favor making classic shaped pipes with a slight touch of my own hands and feelings. I do not produce many pipes today but the pipes that I do make available are individually crafted from the finest Corsican and Grecian Briars available to me. I still make free-hand pipes but not as many as I once made. For the past 35 years I have always tried to make good smoking pipes in my workshop located near Copenhagen, Denmark. I have always tried to craft my pipes in such a way as they will be long lasting and best friends with the owners. I take great pride in the shape of my pipes, the drilling of the pipes, and the overall dimensions of the pipes. I enjoy spending my spare time on the very long, rugged coasts of Denmark. I derive much relaxation from being on the coast while angling for Sea Trout with my own hand-tied flies. I find this environment is a great inspiration to me for making pipes. Many times I think to myself, ‘Inspired by nature, made by me’. — Happy puffing, Søren”

I decided to start the work on this pipe by repairing the puncture in the stem. I cleaned the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners to remove the grime. I wiped the stem down with alcohol on cotton pads to remove any debris or grime on the puncture wound. I cleaned the edges of the puncture with a cotton swab and alcohol. Once it was clean, I greased a pipe cleaner with Vaseline and inserted it through the slot making sure that the space below the puncture was filled with greased fuzz. I filled in the puncture with black super glue. I sprayed it with an accelerator to set the repair quickly so that I could remove the pipe cleaner. I sanded the repair lightly to smooth it out. I refilled the repaired area with a bubble of black super glue to fill in the air bubbles in the repair. I set the stem aside until the repair had hardened. While the repair was curing I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape away the cake and take it back to bare briar. I worked it over from top to bottom removing the thick cake coat.I rolled a piece of sandpaper around my finger and sanded the walls of the bowl smooth. I worked over the inner edge of the rim and the rim top to remove as much of the burn damage and damage to the edge of the bowl. I worked on it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth it out. I lightly topped the bowl on the topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove more of the damaged wood. The top of the bowl was charred at the front edge a little left of center. I topped it to remove the char and smooth it out. The wood that is left is solid. I did not take too much of the top because of the smooth outer edge above the last spiral of rustication.I cleaned out the interior of the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I cleaned it until the cleaners came out white.I sanded newly topped rim gently with a worn piece of 220 sandpaper and wet sanded it with some 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. The photos below tell the story of the polishing of the rim top. Once the rim was polished and scratch free I used a Maple stain pen to match the colour of the rest of the smooth areas around the shank and bowl. I wanted the stain to hide the burn marks on the rim. I figured that it would at least mask them a bit.I let the stain dry and then rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm working it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish with my fingertips. I am really enjoying working with the balm and it cleans, enlivens and protects the briar and removes the dust and debris in the rustication. It also helped to blend in the stain on the rim and brought new life to it as well. I rubbed it in, used a horsehair shoe brush to work the balm into the finish, let it sit for a little while then buffed it off with a cotton cloth. The photos below show the progress of the polishing.  I gave the bowl and shank multiple coats of Conservator’s wax – once again rubbing it into the finish with my fingertips and then letting harden slightly. I buffed it with a shoe brush and a cotton cloth. I repeated the process until I had given the bowl several coats of the wax. The finish really had taken on a shine that was beautiful. I set the bowl aside and called it a night. When I returned the next evening after work I turned my attention to the stem. The repair had hardened and looked good. I sanded it smooth with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. I did not want to sand too deeply into the repair rather I wanted to have it form a protective layer over the puncture mark. I used 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to feather in the edges of the repair. I polished the entire stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. I polished it further with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it down and gave it a shine with some Obsidian Oil. With the stem polished I put it back on the shank and polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I used a light touch on the briar so as not to fill in the rustication or the rings with buffing compound and a slightly heavier touch on the acrylic stem. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax by hand rubbing it into the finish and the stem multiple coats of carnauba on the buffing wheel. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine on the briar and the acrylic. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos that follow. It is a beautiful piece of pipe crafting. I am sure Eric will enjoy this beauty once it heads back to Ontario. Just one more of his pipes to work on before they all travel east. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration. Cheers.

Breathing Life into a Republic Era Peterson’s System 313 Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have been corresponding with Paresh for some time now and have repaired and restored two of his pipes and sent him others as well. We carry on conversation via WhatsApp on the internet and discuss the various pipes he is purchasing as well as ones that he has inherited from his grandfather. This Peterson 313 System pipe came to me direct from the eBay seller in England. It took so long to get here (almost 2 months) that we both had pretty well given up on it. It arrived in a crushed package that I had to pick up at the post office. I was worried that the pipe inside had been damaged as well. This was one of those times that the seller had done a very thorough wrapping of the pipe in bubble wrap so it was unscathed by the crushing of the box. The pipe was stamped Peterson’s arched over System over Standard on the left side of the shank and Made in the Republic of Ireland on the right of the shank with the shape number 313 under that. The nickel ferrule was stamped K&P over Peterson.

The finish on the pipe was very dirty with a lot of dents on the bottom side of the bowl and shank. There was a long deep dent on the front of the bowl. The bowl had a very thick, hard cake that had overflowed onto the rim top. The bowl was out of round and the inner bevel was burned and damaged. It looked as if some had tried to ream the bowl with a knife sometime in its life. There were two fills – one on the back left and one on the back right. In the angle of where the shank and bowl connected there was a heavy oily grime build up. The inside of the shank and sump were filled with tars and oils. The nickel ferrule was in great condition with light scratching but no real oxidation. The stem was a mess. The top side of the stem had deep tooth grooves extending forward from the p-lip button about 1 inch. On the underside there were also tooth marks. Both sides had a lot of serious chatter and some calcification build up. The stem was oxidized and very dirty. I took some photos of the pipe before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition it was in when it arrived in Vancouver. You can see the heavy lava buildup on the rim top. You can also see the damage on the inner edge, particularly heavy on the right front side. The cake was quite thick and very hard leaving barely enough room for my little finger to fit in the bowl. You can see the condition of the stem and the tooth marks in the oxidation on both sides. The tooth marks and chatter on both sides are deep and worn looking.The stem was stuck in the shank and would not move. I tried to twist it and turn it but nothing moved. I put the pipe in the freezer for half an hour let it do its magic. At the end of the half hour I was able to easily remove the stem from the shank.I decided to soak the stem in a bath of Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer so I dropped it in the airtight container and set it aside overnight to let it do its work.I turned my attention to the bowl. I started by reaming the hard cake back with a PipNet pipe reamer. I started with the smallest cutting head and worked my way up to the second head. I took the cake all the way back to bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants in the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The knife allowed me to get all the way to the bottom of the bowl and remove the cake that still remained around the airway.I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked on it until I had removed the damage on the top of the rim and was able to minimize the damage to the inner and outer edges of the bowl. I used a folded piece of sandpaper to rework the inner edge of the bowl and give it a slight bevel to hide the burn marks and the damage from the knife reaming. With a little work I was able to remove the damage on the inner edge of the bowl. I also ran the folded sandpaper around the outer edge to smooth out the nicks and marks.The briar on the bowl had some dents around the sides, front and back of the bowl. The underside of the shank was also dented. Before I dealt with the dents in the surface I decided to polish the briar and raise a shine. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove any sanding dust. The grain in the briar really began to stand out. There was some really nice birdseye on the sides of the bowl and cross grain on the front and back sides. I used a cherry stain pen to restain the rim top to match the colour of the rest of the bowl. I have found that this particular cherry stain perfectly matches the colour of the Peterson’s System Standard pipe.I cleaned out the inside of the shank, the sump and the airway into the bowl with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It took a few of each but after while the cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean and the pipe smelled fresh.With the internals clean and the externals clean I decided to address all of the dents in the briar on the bottom and front of the bowl. I took photos of the dents to give an idea of the sheer number of them all around the shank, bowl bottom and up the front. They were all quite rounded dents rather than cuts so I figured that I could steam most of them out. I use a wet cloth (not dripping but enough to make steam when heated) and a hot butter knife to steam the dents. I heated the knife over a flame on my gas stove, put the wet cloth over the dents and touched the surface of the briar with the hot knife. The heated blade on the wet cloth created steam and began to lift the dents. I repeated the process until the majority of the dents had been lifted. I took photos of the pipe, knife and wet cloth.I dried off the bowl and took photos of the briar to show how well the steam had lifted the dents in the wood. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar to lift out the dust in the grain, enliven and protect the clean and steamed bowl. I let it sit for a little while then buffed it off with a soft cloth. I like the way the grain stands out now. Some of the dents are still visible on the bottom left side of the shank but they are far better than they were. I took the bowl to my buffer and buffed it with Blue Diamond to polish it and raise a shine. I was careful around the stamping so as not to damage it or reduce its readability. The bowl looks really good at this point. All that remains for the bowl is to wax it and buff it. I set it aside and began my work on the stem. I took the stem out of the Before & After Stem Deoxidizer bath and rinsed it under warm water. I blew air through the stem to remove the deoxidizer from the inside of the airway. I dried it off with a paper towel to remove the residual oxidation that was on the surface. I took photos of the stem at this point in the process. You can see some of the calcification on the stem around the button and the tooth marks on both sides. The tooth marks on the underside are by far the deepest.I cleaned the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the residual deoxidizer in the airway.I painted the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to left as much of the tooth denting as possible. Once I had repeated that and the stem would no longer rise I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage. I finished by sanding it with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to remove more of the scratches in the vulcanite. I sanded the entire stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification and remaining oxidation. I used a needle files to sharpen and reshape the sharp edge of the p-lip button on the top side and the shelf on the underside. I need to clean up those areas before I could repair the deep tooth marks. I cleaned out the deeper tooth marks with alcohol and cotton swabs to remove the debris and dust from the divots. I dried them off with a cotton pads. I filled in the tooth dents with black super glue. I spread the glue and smoothed it out with a dental spatula. I set it aside to let the glue cure.I sanded the repairs smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper. I blended them into the surface or the stem and reshaped the button and shelf. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with a damp cloth. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it into the stem and polished it with a cotton pad. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With the stem reshaped and polished I put it back on the pipe and buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. I used a light touch on the stem to polish out any remaining scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is the fifth pipe I have worked over for Paresh. Once I finish the other two pipes that he has in the queue I will pack them up and send them to India. I look forward to hearing what he thinks one he has them in hand. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as this one provided a few different challenges to the restoration craft. Cheers.

Restoring Barry’s Dad’s Pipes #6 – a Dunhill Root Briar 34 F/T Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have been including some of the back story in each of the restorations of these pipes because to me the story gives colour to the pipe as I work on it. I am including it once again. Skip over it if you want to. Late in the summer of 2017 I received an email on rebornpipes blog from Barry in Portland, Oregon. He wanted to know if I would be interested in purchasing his Dad’s pipes. I have finished four of them so far, a 1939 Dunhill Patent Shell Bulldog, a Comoy’s Grand Slam Zulu, a Comoy’s London Pride Liverpool and a 1959 Dunhill Root Briar Billiard. After I finished the second pipe Barry wrote me an email that gave me a little more information on his Dad and incidentally on himself as this pipe was one of his own. Here is what he wrote me.

Steve, — Another great restoration and writing to go with it. I appreciate these pipes more watching the work it takes to get them in good condition.

Your (mine?) floral words about my father are perhaps a little deceptive. Inside that man was a lifelong Bolshevik. Who yearned for the revolution and settled for the party of Roosevelt. His parents were born in the Russian Empire (Ukraine), his father having escaped after brief detention during the 1905 failed uprising and to avoid conscription. His father was gruff, a bit crude and all politics. Given those origins he made the best of himself, had tons of friends and would have been a great social worker.

I misled you on the origin of his pipe conversion. It seems clear based on the 1939 pipe that he smoked a pipe in college, returning to them after the 1964 Surgeon General ‘s report on the danger of cigarettes. After that he only reverted to cigarettes at moments of great stress, a death, business setback or a fight with his wife.

He gave me two pipes in college – the GBD bulldog and a “Parker”. The latter I used to smoke a few times but found I was allergic to it, fortunately. The GBD was to get girls with an MGB, a Harris Tweed sport coat with leather elbow patches and jug wine. Didn’t work. Stanford women were in revolt and saw through the pretense. I put both pipes away for nearly fifty years and now they are in your good hands. — Barry

Barry and I corresponded back and forth and concluded our deal. I became the proud owner of his Dad’s pipes. The inventory of the pipes he would be sending included some real beauties – Comoy’s, Parkers, Dunhills and some no name brands. They were beautiful and I could not wait to see them. I had him send them to Jeff where he would clean them up before I received them. Jeff took some photos of the lot as he opened the box. Each pipe was individually wrapped with bubble wrap and taped to protect them. There were 25 bubble wrapped packages and a lot of pipe accessories included – pipe racks, reamers, scrapers and Comoy’s filters and washers. There were pipe pouches and a wooden cigar box that held all of the accessories and reamers. There was a boxed KleenReem pipe reamer that was virtually unused. Jeff unwrapped the pipes and took pictures of the estate showing both the pipes and the accessories. Barry had labeled each pipe with a sticky note. It was an amazing addition to my pipe and tool collection. The next pipe I chose to work on from the collection was the Dunhill Root Briar billiard that is the third pipe down in the photo above. It was in decent condition with dents and wear of the years on briar but the stem was un-oxidized. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank with the shape number 34 followed by F/T which is the style of stem (fish tail). I looked up the shape number on a previous blog on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/2012/11/01/dunhill-pipe-shapes-collated-by-eric-w-boehm/). The shape number 34 is a Billiard. Next to that it reads Dunhill over Root Briar. On the right side of the shank it reads Made in over England with a superscript 9 and a c. Next to that is the familiar 2 in a circle for the size of the pipe followed by a capital R for the Root Briar finish.

This petite billiard was interesting to me in that it was a unique little Root Briar with a mystery stamping next to the Made in England stamp. The superscript underlined 9 gives a potential date of 1959 but the mystery to me is the superscript underlined c next to that. I had not seen that before on any of the Dunhill pipes that I have worked on. The finish was dirty but in decent condition and the stamping was very readable. The bowl was caked and had an overflow of lava on the rim top as well as some darkening. The outer edges of the rim had some rough spots from knocking the pipe against something hard. There was a burn mark on the front right side of the bowl and the rim top. Even through the grime and grit the amazing birdseye on the sides and cross grain on the front and back of the bowl. The stem was in excellent condition with no oxidation and some tooth chatter both sides of the stem at the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he cleaned it up. As usual the photos tell the story better than my words can. Jeff took some close up photos of the bowl and rim top to show the cake and the overall condition of the bow and rim top. Both the outer edges and inner edges of the rim show damage. The top of the rim had some lava build up and had scratches and nicks in the surface. He also took a photo of the underside of the bowl to show the grain and the small dents. It is a really nice piece of briar and should clean up well. The stem was made of hard rubber and was barely oxidized as mentioned above and had tooth chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of both sides of the stem to capture their condition before he cleaned the pipe. The small white spot on the top of the stem was in good condition and slightly indented. Jeff once again did his usual great job on cleaning this pipe, leaving it pristine and without damage to the finish. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the remnants with the Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim and shank with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the grime of the smooth finish on the bowl and shank. He was able to remove the tars and oil on the rim but the darkening and damage to the surfaced would need to be addressed. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. Once the dust and debris were removed the finish looked very good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the light oxidation, rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it.   I took some close up photos of the bowl, rim top and damaged areas around the outer edge of the bowl. The front outer edge has a burn mark. The bowl was very clean and the rim top had some nicks on both the inner and outer, some scorching and general darkening. Jeff had been able to remove the lava from the finish. The inner edge had some damage and nicks and the roughness of the rim top and outer edge was visible. The stem was barely oxidized as can be seen in the photos and has tooth chatter near the button on both sides.Before I did and restoration work on the bowl or stem I decided to pin down the date a bit more. I knew that the pipe was made after the patent era pipes as there was no patent number on the shank but I wanted to narrow that down more. One of the beauties of Dunhill pipes is that the stamping can give you a precise date of manufacture. In this case I wanted to work on the stamping Dunhill Root Briar on the left side of the shank and the Made in England9 c  on the right side of the shank. I looked up the brand on the Pipephil website as he has very helpful photos and information in dating and interpreting the stamping on Dunhill pipes. On one of the supplemental pages associated with Dunhill pipes he has a page on the Patent era pipes. I find that this page is particularly helpful when I am trying to properly identify a pipe. Here is the link to the page: http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/root-briar1.html.

The stamping on this one is similar to the one I am working on. Though the one I have in hand is not a DR A.  The one I have is stamped 34 F/T. The Made in England marking on the pipe in the photo on the right side of the shank is similar as well. The 9 on mine is more of a superscript than this one but the underscore is the same. There is also a 1969 version that is similar but it does not have the underscore on the 9. So the pipe I have is either a 1959 or a 1969 Root Briar. What is also unique on the one I have is the superscript underlined c next to the 9. I cannot find any information on what that means.Jeff photographed the stamping on the right side the shank to show what it read and the condition of the stamping. You can see the underscored superscript 9 matches the one above. The formula is simple – the base number is either1950 or 1960 and you add the underscored superscript 9 to that number. It is either 1969 or 1959. The parallels to the photo above leads me to think it is probably a 1959 pipe. Any help on this would be greatly appreciated.To remove the damage on the rim I decided to top the bowl. I used 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove the damage. I worked on it until the top was smooth and the damage on the outer edge of the bowl was minimized. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damages along the outer rim. I used it to also work on the inner edge of the bowl. I gave the inner edge a slight bevel like it original had before I started.  I polished the rim with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad to check on the progress. I used a maple stain pen to touch up the rim top to match the colour on the rest of the bowl. With the touch ups the rim matches the rest of the bowl colour.I worked Before & After Restoration Balm deep into the briar on the smooth finish to clean, enliven and protect it. I wiped it off with a soft cloth. I buffed the bowl with a cotton cloth to polish it. It really began to have a deep shine in the briar. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. The grain on the bowl is really beginning to stand out and will only do so more as the pipe is waxed. I started working on the stem next. I sanded out the tooth chatter next to the button on both sides with 220 grit sandpaper. I wiped the stem surface clean with a damp cloth. I sanded it with 400 grit wet/dry sandpaper to blend the scratches left behind by the sandpaper and blended the scratches into the surface of the vulcanite.  I polished stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish, both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This small Dunhill Root Briar is a real beauty with straight grain on the back and front and beautiful birdseye on both sides of the bowl and shank. The grain really is quite stunning. The rim top looks much better. The Dunhill vulcanite stem is high quality and shined up well. I buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish to raise the shine on the briar and the vulcanite. I was careful to not buff the stamping and damage it. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The rich brown stain allows the grain to really stand out on this little pipe and it works well with the rich black of the vulcanite stem. The dimensions of the pipe are: Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 1/2 inches, Outside Diameter: 1 1/8 inches, Diameter of the chamber: 5/8 inches. This little Dunhill will fit really nicely into the collection of a friend of mine, Henry who has been looking for a pipe this size. I will sending it to him soon and I know that he is looking forward to enjoying his first bowl in it. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me.

Breathing New Life into a Royal Esquire French Made Poker

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is another pipe from the estate of a Vancouver pipe smoker whose widow left them with a local Pipe Shop. I was asked to clean them up and sell them for the shop after it closed. The photos show the pipe as it was when I brought it to my work table. It is a light weight Poker shape – with some interesting grain but the number of small putty fills in the bowl on the sides, back and shank detract from the cross grain on the bowl sides and birdseye on the front and back sides. The bowl was heavily caked with a lava coat on the top of the rim. It was hard to tell how the inner and outer edge of the rim actually looked until the bowl was reamed. The exterior of the bowl was dirty and covered with grime. The stem had the same tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside near the button as the rest of the pipes in this estate. There was calcification on the first inch from what looked like a Softee bit. The stem has a Top Hat logo on the left side of the saddle. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank with the words Royal Esquire over Made in France. There is no other stamping on the pipe. When I went back to the States after Christmas to visit my parents and brothers I took a box of these pipes with me so that I could have Jeff clean them for me. When they came back to Canada they looked like different pipes. He reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned it up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to clean off the grime on the finish and the heavy overflow of lava on the rim top. He cleaned up the internals of the shank, mortise and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the pipe. When it came back to Vancouver it was a quite different pipe. I was in a hurry this afternoon when I worked on this one and forgot to take photos of the bowl and stem before I started working on the pipe. There were so many fills and places where the putty had shrunk that I had a hard time even looking at it the way it was. I had already refilled the fills in the sides and shank with clear super glue and then remembered to take photos. You will have to imagine it without all the super glue freckles around the bowl. I took photos of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean out the bowl completely and the rim top. He removed the tars and lava and left behind a clean top that would need to be topped to remove some of the deep scratches and burn marks around the edges of the rim. The stem was lightly oxidized and there was tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the button and on the surface edges of the button itself.I took the stem off the bowl and took photos of the repaired fills all around the bowl and shank. Somehow the pink putty that was in them really stood out and made them highly visible. They look like pox marks. Once the repairs had dried/cured I sanded them smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the bowl. It took a lot of sanding to smooth them all out. I was careful around the stamping on the left side of the shank so I would not damage it. To clean up the damaged rim top I used 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board. I topped the bowl until the surface was smooth and the damage was removed. It did not take too much work to remove the damaged areas.I cleaned up the inner edge and the slight bevel with a folded piece of sandpaper. I worked it around the bowl to smooth out the damage and minimize the darkening on the inner edge.I polished the bowl top and sides with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. I was amazed at how many of the fills blended into the finish of the bowl and virtually disappeared. There were still some showing on the shank but the overall effect of the polishing was really apparent. I decided to stain the pipe with a Cherry stain pen to blend the repaired fills into the rest of the briar. The stain looks streaked and uneven but it will blend in nicely to the grain once I am finished with it. Once the stain dried I wiped the bowl and shank down with alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the streaking and blend the colours on the briar. The pictures below show the pipe at this point in the process. The fills have all but disappeared into the stain. The pipe looks considerably better at this point. I rubbed down the briar with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar to clean, enliven and protect the new finish. It also evened out the stain coat and gave the stain a multidimensional feel. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed it with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl now. The fills are invisible. The bowl is pretty well finished. I still need to wax and buff it but that will wait for the stem. I turned my attention to the stem and worked on the tooth marks and chatter near the button. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper until I removed the lighter marks on the surface of the stem.I painted the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. One of the benefits of the lighter is that it burned off the sulfur on the surface of the stem. The tooth chatter and marks lifted on both sides of the stem. A little sanding would smooth it out well. I polished out the scratches in the vulcanite with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper and with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanded with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each pad with Obsidian Oil. After sanding with the 12000 grit pad I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. With the stem polished I put it back on the pipe and lightly buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond. I buffed the stem with a more aggressive buff of Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely and the many fills virtually disappeared with the new stain. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I will be posting it on the rebornpipes store very soon. It should make a nice addition to your pipe rack if you have been looking for a reasonably priced pipe that can be used as a yard or shop pipe. It should be a great smoking pipe with a good hand feel. The dimensions are Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 1 3/4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 inches. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked this pipe over.