Tag Archives: restaining

Another ‘Hole in the Wall’ Find – BBB Banker Bent Volcano

Blog by Dal Stanton

Last April, during one of my earlier visits to what I have affectionately named, ‘The Hole in the Wall’ antique store near the Zhenski Pazar (Women’s Market) in downtown Sofia, Bulgaria, my eyes locked on to a very handsome pipe that called out to me resolutely – “Take me home!” The pipe was a slightly bent volcano shape, brandishing a broad flattened oval shank and stem that drew my attention. In my small collection of pipes then, and even today, I have nothing like it. After taking in the unique shape, the briar grain, obscured by layers of grime and old wax, gave me an internal ‘wow!’ that I carefully kept hidden from the shop owner who would see my excitement as potential greater profit for him – so I played it cool. I looked at how the grain moves horizontally across the bowl and shank giving the appearance of a tiger pattern looking down on the shank. Looking straight at the bowl the grain looked like horizontal flames terminating on the sides of the bowl with Birdseye patterns – I was anxious to work on this pipe. The top of the shank was imprinted with the classic BBB diamond mark over Banker. Underneath the shank had London, England over 739. The stem top also had the white diamond BBB mark. I also spied another pipe in the basket that looked like a good candidate to bundle with the BBB Banker, a French Jeantet Fleuron 70-7 which helped me negotiate 30 Bulgarian Leva for the pair – about 16US. Not a bad deal at $8 a pipe! The first picture is the Jeantet followed by the BBB Banker after I arrived home from the ‘Hole in the Wall’ with my newest acquisitions: I found a lot on the internet about the BBB name. The small blurb in Pipehill describes the evolution of the BBB moniker:

BBB: ” Best British Briar” is now a brand of the Cadogan Company (Oppenheimer group). American rights to use the brand name were sold to Wally Frank in 1980.

Founder of the brand in 1847: Louis Blumfeld. The oldest pipe brand name in the UK has been registered in 1876 (Blumfeld Best Briar).

Steve also posted a blog on the history of BBB pipes a few years ago using the French article:

https://rebornpipes.com/2012/08/05/history-of-bbb-pipes/

I discovered that there are many BBB collectors and enthusiasts in my research. Unfortunately, I could find nothing helping me to date or place my BBB Banker except some informed guesses comparing to the BBB stamps (pictured below) depicted in the French article Steve posted above which would probably date the Banker at the earliest in 1989 when the Cadogan Company consolidated manufacturing its various pipe lines at Southend-on-the-Sea, but more likely in the 2000s – not a terribly old pipe (Can anyone help me on that?):The condition of the Banker is generally good. There is some cake build up in the chamber but I still want to ream the bowl down to the briar for a fresh start and to be able to make sure there are no problems lurking beneath – which I really don’t expect. The rim has light grime and lava on it, but a significant wearing down of the front lip so that bare briar is exposed. The stummel looks to be in good shape – I detect one fill underneath but it looks to be solid and will blend well. The stummel grain is dulled and obscured by grime and oil build up. The stem is in good shape – showing almost no oxidation, but has a tooth dent on the lower side of the bit. I take a fresh close up of the rim to mark the progress. I begin with reaming the bowl with my Pipnet reaming kit. As I’ve become accustomed, I try to do the dirtier part of the cleanup on the 10^th floor balcony adjoining our bedroom where my work-station is here in Sofia, Bulgaria. Sometimes I wish I had a basement work area, but we do what we must! I use only the two smaller blades of the four blades available to ream the cake down to the briar. I follow the use of the reaming blades with 120 grit sanding paper to clean the cake further and finish with 240 grit on the chamber wall. The bowl looks good. True confession – while I was reaming the bowl my thoughts drifted off to a Savinelli reaming knife – on the eBay block, that I’ve had my eye on – one like Steve often employs. There are still a few days left in the auction and I’m hopeful that I might add it to the arsenal! I’ll let you know! In order to get a better idea of the rim’s condition, I clean the external stummel with Murphy Oil Soap and work on the grime covering the rim. I use cotton pads with undiluted Murphy’s. I also employ a brass brush to work on the rim. After the cleaning, I take the stummel to the sink and rinse it with cool tap water. The pictures show the progress. Ok, for you who have years of restorations under your belts, here are some newbie musings – your patience appreciated! At this point I realize I need to top the bowl to repair the front lip of the rim – it won’t take much but it is needed. When one takes the rim down to the bare briar, I’ve learned that one also must have a plan for matching the hue of the old stain if one desires to keep the old stain tone matching the bowl. I like the color scheme of the BBB Banker and I desire to keep it. To keep it, I need to match the rim color tone with the rest of the stummel AND I need to address the very minor scratches and wear marks on the stummel surface BUT NOT sand it aggressively to remove the stain. It is in some ways much easier to take the briar down to the wood with acetone and sanding and then apply new stain and voila! New surface and color all blended and ready to go. I know this situation calls for use of polishing compounds and such, which is a more passive approach to dealing with the surface – more opportunity to learn new things! So, I move forward with topping the bowl with the aim of maintaining the current rich, deep red tones – we’ll see how it goes. I took the BBB Banker to the topping board – 240 grit paper on a chopping block and rotated it on the paper in a gentle clockwise circle not applying too much pressure – letting the grit do its work. To make sure I wasn’t leaning into the damaged lip area as I rotated, I eyeballed that the damaged area was untouched during the early rotations which meant the topping was true – I took a picture at this point (second picture). I took off only enough to clear out the front lip problems. I think it went well and the bowl looks perfectly round. As I often like to do, to add a classy touch to the rim I bevel the inside lip. I make the initial cut of the bevel with 120 grit sanding paper followed by 240 grit. I’m satisfied with the bevel – not too much but just an accent. I use micromesh on the rim from 1500-12000 to complete the rim repair preparing it for stain later. Now, the stummel surface. I have questions rolling through my mind regarding how aggressive I can be to remove small scratches and wear blemishes but maintain the original patina of the briar as it came to me. I elect to micromesh the stummel surface and leave the small blemishes. I do not start with the coarsest pad (1500) but at 2400 – gentle approach (though the first picture below shows the 1500 it was not used). I’m not sure this is the best plan but I can always back up to a more aggressive posture if I’m not satisfied with the results. After a quick email with Steve, I feel better about the course of action. I continue on the stummel with micromesh pads 3200-4000 and 6000-12000. I am loving the briar grain popping out through the micromesh process – one of God’s small creations each piece of briar. The pictures show the progress: As I put the stummel aside to work on the stem, I realized that I was so involved in working on the externals that I forgot that I hadn’t cleaned the internal of the stummel nor stem. Before working on finishing the stem I decide to use the retort to clean the internals. Last time I used the retort, an alcohol saturated cotton ball was launched from the bowl during the process. I was gun-shy of the retort to begin with when I first acquired it – the launch didn’t help. Notwithstanding, I unwrap the retort, get out the vodka, and proceed to let the retort do its work. The pipe was surprisingly clean. After two retort cycles, I finished off with cleaning the internals of stummel and stem with Qtips and pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol. I think it’s better to clean internals earlier in the process…. Now to the stem externals. Earlier, I applied black super glue to two significant tooth dents on the underside of the bit (visible in picture above). I use 240 grit sanding paper to remove the excess super glue removing traces of the dents as well as file marks after using a needle file to fine tune the shape of the button. There was very little oxidation on the stem or teeth chatter so I proceed to wet sand with micromesh 1500-2400 and apply Obsidian Oil to the stem. I follow by dry sanding using 3200-4000 micromesh pads and then the same with 6000-12000 and apply Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to dry. I’m pleased with the vulcanite ‘pop’ – that wet reflective look is great. Well, I mentioned earlier that I was hopeful to add a Savinelli pipe knife to my tool box. Steve speaks highly of this tool and has increasingly put it to good use in his restoration work. He also posted a blog describing it when it arrived on his work table in Vancouver. When I saw one on the block in the eBay’s estate pipes in tobacciana listings a few days ago, I decided to watch the auction and see if I could snag it – it seemed to be calling out to me: “I want to live in Bulgaria!” As you would guess, others were watching too. I’m thankful that my bid was sufficient and my new Savinelli pipe knife will be delivered to my daughter and son-in-law who live in Denver. They will carry it with them to Bulgaria (along with some other supplies I’ve ordered including 32 oz. of Lane BCA Cavendish tobacco which I discovered with great enjoyment on my last trip to the US) when they visit in September! My son-in-law had no problem agreeing to find space in the suitcases when I bribed him with sharing bowls together of the Lane BCA! So, I’ll look forward to their arrival for the additional reasons that they will be packing new supplies and my new pipe knife!The BBB Banker slightly bent volcano is now in the home stretch. After topping and sanding the rim with micromesh, I left the rim the bare wood until I finished the sanding of the stummel. I did this so that the stain I would eventually apply to the rim would be more closely matched. Using an Italian brand stick, I applied a dark Mahogany stain to the rim and before it dried, lightly wiped it with a dry cotton pad to remove uneven stain application – the first two pictures below show before and after application of the stick. I’m very satisfied with the match up of stummel and rim and am anxious to finish the stummel. Living on the 10^th floor of a former Communist block apartment building and with my work station in my bedroom (shared with my gracious and understanding wife!) space is at a premium. My Dremel high speed tool is my workhorse when it comes to the polishing wheel. Starting with a felt wheel, I first purge the engaged wheel by using the flat edge of the Dremel’s metal tightening wrench against it. This softens the wheel and rids it of residue Tripoli caking from previous jobs. With the newly purged wheel, I begin the final polish of the BBB Banker applying Tripoli to the surface addressing the minor pits and scratches on the bowl surface that I did not sand out aggressively to guard the beautiful patina of this piece of briar. Finished with the Tripoli and Blue Diamond, I change to a cotton cloth wheel for the Dremel and apply several coats of carnauba wax. I use the slowest setting for the Dremel and keep a continuous circular rotation over the briar surface – oh my, does the grain pop! I cannot say exactly when this pipe was made, but if it’s been since 1989, someone employed by Cadogan Company’s Southend-on-the-Sea pipe making plant did an amazing job with the choice of this piece of briar and the volcano shape it became. The grain is beautifully showcased in horizontal movements laterally across the stummel so that one can see the horizontal flame grain facing the stummel straight on and then move to the sides of the stummel and see the grain emerge in Birdseye perspective and swirls. In the beginning I described the top-down view of the broad, flattened oval shank as reminiscent of tiger fir to me – now as I look at it zebra also comes to mind. Another example of the beautifully showcased briar grain in the Volcano shape is the broad landscape of its underside – from across the broad shank to the front lip of the volcano base, runs a robust dissecting flow of grain that is majestic from my vantage point. Yes, I confess, I’m a briar grain junkie. Its beauty reminds me of its Maker. With my last application of carnauba wax on stem and stummel, I change to a clean cotton cloth wheel and buff the entire stummel and stem. Then I give the BBB Banker bent volcano a brisk buffing with microfiber cloth to bring out the richness of this briar even more. I’ve enjoyed this restoration and look forward to loading the BBB Banker with its first bowl of tobacco in my hands. Thanks for joining me!

A Pipe with a Story – an R.V.W. Handmade 5 pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me pictures of a pipe he found on eBay that grabbed his attention. It was not so much the pipe but the story of the pipe that caught his eye. He sent me the link and I had a look but was not sold on picking up the pipe. But he wanted it so he threw in a bid and won the pipe. He wrote to the seller and asked about it. He received a reply that the pipe had been found in Northern Michigan, US in a mud bank on the Rifle River – farm country in the middle of nowhere. They had no more information. The pipe was dark and looked like the mud bank it had been found in to my eye. The stem looked too long and the flow of the pipe did not work for me.The stamping on the pipe was pretty clear which surprised me. On the underside of the shank it read R.V.W over Handmade and then a 5 underneath that. That piqued my interest a bit so I decided to wait and reserve judgment until I saw the pipe. While I waited I did a bit of research and found out the pipe was made by Randy Wiley. I Googled to find his website and was directed to his Faceboook page. The link follows: https://www.facebook.com/wileypipes?__mref=message_bubble. I sent him a message on Facebook and related the story that my brother told me. I also included the above photos of the pipe supplied by the eBay seller. The next day I received a message back from Randy. Here is what he wrote: “Hi Steve, Wow, Glad there wasn’t a body with it. I’ll bet it was dropped while fishing. I’ve heard many stories. One day someone will find a pipe while scuba diving. I know the owner. This pipe is a second, RVW. It retails today for around $105.00”

When I first read his response I missed the part about him knowing the owner. This morning I read his response again as I was working on this blog and wrote Randy back regarding that line. I wonder if the original owner would want the pipe returned. We shall see.

When I was in Idaho I taught my brother to do the initial clean up on the pipes. It has been a real help for me. With the box of pipes to be refurbished filling up on this end it is really nice to have him work on them ahead of time. When I get them they have been reamed and the internals all cleaned so it makes my work much quicker. Because this one attracted his attention he really liked the cleanup of it. He reamed and cleaned the bowl and shank as well as the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the debris left behind by the mud bank. He took the following photos to show the pipe after his cleanup work. The straight grain on the left side, back and front of the bowl and the birdseye on the right side are beginning to show through. When I received the pipe I brought it to the worktable and took some photos of it before I began to work on it. While the grain was showing through it was still too dark to my liking. There were also many tiny nicks and pits in the surface from time spent in the mud by the river. These would need to be sanded out. The rusticated portions on the bowl sides and edges were also in need of deeper cleaning. The heel of the pipe had been knocked around and had many nicks and pits. The combination of smooth and plateau on the rim also needed deeper cleaning. The stem still seemed too long to me and if I end up either keeping the pipe or selling it I think I will make a second stem that is more proportional to the pipe in my opinion. The stem was oxidized but did not have any tooth marks or chatter. I ran the Savinelli Pipe Knife around the inside of the bowl out of habit with little effect because my brother had done a great job reaming this one.The bowl had some white debris in the bottom which I think was water marks from its time in the mud. I used alcohol pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove that debris. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank to remove more of the dark stain with acetone on cotton pads and was able to remove some more dark stain. There was more work to be done in this area but I would keep trying. I scrubbed the exterior with a bleach mixture to further remove the stain. The next photos show the effect of the bleach on the stain. The grain is beginning to show. I went through my stem can and found a nice amber Lucite stem that was the right length to my eye and would be a great contrast with the bowl. I did not have to do any fitting or tenon work as the stem fit in the mortise perfectly from the start. The stem was bent too much and would need to be straightened and bent to match the flow of the bowl. You can see in the photo below that the new stem is about an inch shorter than the one that came with it when I got it. I put the stem in place and took some photos to get an idea of how the pipe looked with the stem. You can also see the effect of the bleach on lightening the stain on the bowl in these photos. I used a Sharpie pen to darken the plateau areas on the end of the shank and the top of the bowl. I also used it on the rustications down the bowl sides and front. I used Watco’s Danish Oil with a Cherry Stain to stain the bowl. It is an oil based product and as it dries on the surface it darkens to a black cherry. I applied the stain with a cotton pad and let it absorb into the warm briar.When it had dried I buffed it off. The stain had darkened and with the natural darkening that had happened as the pipe lay in the mud the overall appearance almost a rich charcoal grey with red undertones. I forgot to take photos of the process of rebending the stem but what I did was boil water in the microwave in a cup and then heated the stem until it was flexible in the hot water. I inserted the tenon in the mortise and then bent the stem to match the flow of the bowl. I held the stem under cool water to set the new bend. There was some tobacco stains in the stem from a previous pipe it had graced. I cleaned it out with pipe cleaners and cream cleanser/soft scrub cleanser until all of the stains were gone.There was a groove in the stem on the top side about a ¼ inch from the saddle that I sanded out with 220 grit sandpaper. I worked over the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding the stem with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I sanded the bowl with micromesh sanding pads to try to lighten the dark cherry colour of the stain. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads to polish the briar.While I was finishing polishing the pipe, I received an message from Randy regarding the previous owner of the pipe. He said that he had confused it with one that had been lost while scuba diving. So he could not remember who had purchased this one. I had also asked whether the stem was original and he was not certain.I actually found that to be good news as I did not like the stem that it came with.

I took the pipe to the buffer and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond and then gave it several coats of carnauba wax. The briar has many small pits in the surface that I am convinced came from its time spent in the mud alongside the river. Part of me wanted to sand them out and remove them but another part, the part that won decided to leave them to bear witness to the shadow life this pipe had before it was found. I took the next photos with the blanket background as it seems to allow the grain to stand out a bit. The next photos I took against a light blue backdrop to show the contrast between the amber stem and the dark cherry stain. Thanks for looking.

Marxman Jumbo Lovat

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Blog by Aaron Henson

Several years ago when I was first getting into our hobby, I stopped into a local antique store looking for practice pipes. This particular store did not have much and what few they did were dirty, heavily caked and $25 each. The dirt and the heavy cake didn’t bother me but dropping 25 clams on an old briar pipe for practice was not going to happen.

A few weeks ago, one of my jobs happened to take me past this same store. It had been two years since I had been in so I thought it might be time for another look. After my last visit I wasn’t expecting much. When I asked the gentleman behind the counter about pipes he directed me to the same old display case at the back of the store. The same pipes were on display but this time the price tag had been changed. Clearly the pipes had been in inventory too long and he wanted to move them because now they were two for $10. Not one to pass on a deal this good, I selected four large bowl pipes including the Marxman below (shown second from the top) as well as a large caliber Emperor and an unmarked Custombilt look-alike. The Marxman is a truly large pipe (and not the largest of the three) with a bowl diameter of 1 1/2”, chamber diameter of 1” and a depth of 1 5/8”. The shank is a whopping 7/8” in diameter and the bit is that same width. The following page from a 1946 ad for Marxman calls the large size a “Jumbo” but I do not have any way of telling what letter size it might be.For background, Marxman only made pipes from 1934 until 1953 before being bought out by Mastercraft. But Bob Marx’s short run made an impact on Hollywood and on US pipe makers in general. Pipedia has a short article on Marxman.Taking the pipe to the work bench I started by cataloging the things that needed to be done. The bowl had a thick cake built up. So much so that I had to start with the smallest head on my Castleford reamer (and the largest head was too small to be effective to finish reaming the bowl). The rim had a significant buildup of tars and a couple burn marks. The outside of the stummel was grimy and had some dents but nothing too devastating. On the bottom of the bowl there were two dark burn marks. They were located on the bottom side of the shank which made me think they were not burn-outs but with the bowl cake so thick I could not be sure. When I removed the stem, I could see that the end of the tenon, the stinger and the inside of the shank were all coated with a heavy tar. This was going to be an arduous cleaning job. For as much build up as there was in the stummel there was little in the way of tooth chatter or marks on the stem. One small tooth dent on the top side of the stem was all. The button was quite small but the slot was nicely formed. Aside from some oxidation, all in all the stem was in great shape.

I set the stem to soak in an Oxiclean bath to loosen the oxidation and the tar build up in the air way and turned my attention to the stummel. First I reamed the cake out of the bowl. I could not believe just how much there was! I took it back to clean briar to make sure there was no burn through. After the largest reaming head, I still needed to finished off the chamber with 80 grit sand paper wrapped around a dowel. There was a slight loss of briar about half way down the bowl but no burn through. If I had to guess, the previous owner may have been in the habit of half loading the pipe early in its life.

I shaped a soft wood stir stick into a narrow spatula shape and used it to clean out the caked gunk in the shank. I also need a short piece of wire coat hanger to open the air way. I finished scrubbing the internals of the shank with bristled pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol and cotton swabs until they came out clean.

Now that the insides were clean I turned to the outside of the pipe. The rim was heavily coated with crusted tar/lava. I had hoped to clean up the rim without needing to top the bowl but that was not the case. There were some burn marks in the rim under the tar build up that were best removed at the topping board. When topping a bowl, I use 100 grit paper on a smooth flat surface and work the bowl in a circular motion. I have recently started rotating the bowl a quarter turn every 10 passes. This helps me keep the topped bowl level by ensuring I don’t put too much pressure on one side of the bowl all the time.I started cleaning the outside of the pipe by wiping down the briar with acetone. This removed the wax and grime build up. I had hoped that the burn marks on the bottom of the shank were superficial and would be removed with a light sanding but I was mistaken. I am not sure what happens to the pipe but it appeared to have been exposed to a significant heat source because the burns were deep. The wood was not damaged, that is to say there was no charring. After a significant amount of sanding with 220 grit I had removed as much of the burn as possible without significantly impacting the shape of the pipe. I was careful to sand the entire area around the burn to blend, or feather, the repair. Even so, it did not completely remove all of the burn mark.Next I steamed out dents by wrapping the bowl with a wet terrycloth rag and applying a clothes iron. The important thing here is to keep your fingers away from the steam and the iron away from any stamping.

I finished the bowl by sanding the outside with 1500 – 3200 micro mesh pads. I also took the liberty of beveling the inside of the rim which I thought gave the large bowl some visual character.Even though I sanded the chamber back I could still smell some ghosts of the old tobacco so thought I would give the pipe a salt and alcohol soak. I let sit for 24 hours but there was still a residual odor. Before I was done with the restoration, I had to run three tubes of grain alcohol in a retort through the pipe before the pipe was truly clean (sorry no pictures).

The original finish was very light colored, almost a natural. To hide the remnants of the burn I decided to go with a light brown stain and contract the worm grooves with a slightly darker stain to make them stand out. This would also help hide the burn.The stem was an easy clean for a saddle bit. The Oxiclean bath had loosened the crud in the airway and a few passes with bristled than soft pipe cleaners took care of the internals. The outside I sanded with 1500 grit micro mesh then added a small drop of black super glue to the one small tooth mark and a another dent that I didn’t want to sand out. I had tried to raise both with heat first but with little success hence the super glue. Continued sanding with micro mesh pads up through 12,000 grit. I kept the pipe assembled during this process in order to keep the shank-stem connection flush.

With sanding and polishing complete I coated the entire pipe in mineral oil and let sit overnight. The mineral oil seems to help hydrate the briar and vulcanite of the stem.After 12 hours I wiped off any remaining oil and took the pipe to the buffer. I went over the whole pipe with red diamond then applied multiple coats of carnauba wax. As a finishing touch I decided to apply a bowl coating to the chamber. I wiped the inside with maple syrup then add a table spoon of charcoal powder. Placing the heel of my palm over the rim I shake the pipe until the charcoal evenly coats the inside. I let the pipe dry for a week before dumping out the excess charcoal.

Now it’s time to “Relax with a Marxman”. Thank you for taking the time to look.

Restoring ‘The Professor’ – WDC Milano Hesson Guard

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This pipe was gifted to me in 1980 while a seminary student. I was Professor Freundt’s student assistant and I spent much time with him in his office which was a virtual jungle of books, papers and journals – heaped in piles here and there yet the professor knew where to find the most obscure minutia. Added to the smells of old books and leather covers were the tobacco and smoke that regularly provided an upper layer haze in his work space. The Professor introduced me to the art and enjoyment of smoking pipes – now some 36 years ago. I was young and eager, soaking in the ambiance of academia at a post-graduate level and pipes I discovered, were very comfortable partners in this environment. Professor Freundt gave me the Hesson Guard, showed me how to pack its first bowl in my hands, and I smoked it, adding my offerings to the perpetual haze. After these days, pipe smoking was put aside until last fall when Steve reintroduced me to it. At this point, 3 pipes made up my collection: a corncob I also bought during those seminary days to use while fishing and duck hunting, a Willard I received after my grandfather’s passing (a future restoration), and the WDC Milano Hesson Guard that I had tucked away in drawers over the past three and a half decades. Anxious to put a pipe back into service last fall, I grabbed the Hesson Guard, to clean it and do what I thought then were needed repairs…. I made a mess of the pipe – cracked the shank, reamed out the mortise so that the metal tenon was too loose – sloppy repair with super glue…. I’m anxious now to return to ‘The Professor’ (its given name) and try to make amends for the rough treatment he received last fall!

The right side of the shank is stamped with the well-known WDC inverted triangle next to Milano over Real Briar. The left side holds Hesson Guard. The bottom of shank had PAT. 1855800 which enabled me quickly zero in on the dating of the pipe. The patent application was submitted by the inventor of the special internals, William W. Hesson, in 1930 and granted two years later. An excerpt from the patent documentation describes the essence of the design:

The principal object of the invention is to provide a pipe which will eliminate contamination of the natural aroma of the tobacco through noxious secretions and which will remain sweet and clean. A further object is to devise a construction of pipe which will be simple and inexpensive to manufacture and which. will be devoid of pockets to harbor noxious elements. The principal feature of the invention consists in the novel arrangement of a tubular resilient member surrounding and embracing a metal stem which extends from the pipe bowl to the mouth piece and forming a seal to prevent the seepage of moisture around the metal stem.

(https://www.google.bg/patents/US1855800?dq=1855800&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwibqa2KsOjNAhUFVBQKHZ1DAvMQ6AEIGjAA)

I was curious to compare my Hesson Guard with the patent diagram which essentially is a long metal tenon meeting up with a metal sleeve at the base of the bowl and shank junction. This design, along with many other designs, was to eliminate the moisture build up, gurgle and gunk. Figure 1 (below) is followed by my overlay comparison picture – the tube inserts quite a way according to the 1930 design. Following are pictures telling the current story of The Professor: The pipe is attractive and has a good feel in my hand. The free-hand sculpting on the bowl gives the appearance of flames rising and is showcased in 3 paneled murals around the bowl. I notice that one of the panel dividers has been damaged at the top by cutting the briar. It looks like they were seeking to connect the panels – not sure. That will need to be filled in. The rim will also need some gentle repair to what appears to be nicks created by wear and tear. The cracked shank will need repair to keep it from growing and cleaning up the metal tenon and creating a good fit with the mortise might be a challenge. The bit has very mild tooth chatter. The last picture above captures not only the crack in the shank but the metal sleeve deep in the mortise that the chamfered tube/tenon docks with to create a dryer smoke – according to the patent information. Before any cosmetic restoration takes place I first must deal with the major issues of the shank crack repair and the tenon/mortise fit. I start the crack repair by drilling a small hole at the end of the crack to keep the crack from creeping up the shank. I use my Dremel tool and a 1.5mm drill bit to make the hole. I utilize a magnifying glass to trace the crack which had become a ‘hairline’. I’m careful not to drill too far and breach the mortise wall. Next time, I want to use a 1mm drill bit to leave less of a footprint. Next, after inserting the tenon into the mortise to expand the crack area for glue penetration, I create a mixture of briar dust and CA Instant Glue filling the hole and running a line of glue along the crack. I then sprinkle briar dust over the entire area and wait to dry. The timing worked out well as my wife just called me for lunch! After lunch, I work on cleaning up the tenon removing the old superglue with fingernails, Winchester knife, brass brush and 240 grit sanding paper – back in pristine shape. Well, after about a week, I return to the Milano Hesson Guard after my wife and I take advantage of the summer opportunities at the Black Sea coast. We enjoy some days at the beach near our favorite coastal fishing town, Sozopol. While at the beach, I thought about the Milano and how best to approach the overly loose tenon/mortise fit. Instead of applying clear nail polish around the metal tenon, which is what I did before, I attempt to rebuild the mortise wall by applying a very gentle coat of superglue on the inner wall of the mortise, rotating it as I applied superglue to achieve, what I hope, will be an even texture around the mortise wall. Amazingly, this seems to have worked! After drying, I gently reach into the mortise to remove some superglue ‘bumps’ with a needle file and I use a tightly rolled piece of 240 sanding paper carefully to smooth things down. I don’t want to inadvertently remove too much of the restored mortise wall! I also give the crack repair a light, strategic sanding with 240 grit paper, careful to guard the stampings. I refit the stem and to my relief, a snug fit was restored. With the stem refitting correctly and inserted, I return to the shank crack to finish sanding it to remove the excess superglue – I do this with stem in so as to not create unevenness between the mortise and stem shoulder. Satisfied with the shank crack repair and rebuilding the mortise wall, I put the stem in an Oxyclean bath for a soak to soften up the moderate oxidation buildup. I move my attention to the bowl to ream the mild cake down to the briar and then move to rim repairs and then to the panel repair. I want to have all these completed before looking at the general stummel cleanup and refinishing. I move out to the 10^th floor balcony adjoining my bedroom work station with Pipnet reaming kit to minimize the airborne cake soot – maximizing happy wife status! I started with the smallest reaming blade moving to use 3 of the 4 blades available to remove the moderate cake in the bowl. I finished the reaming by employing 120 grit paper on the chamber wall to remove remaining cake and smoothing the wall. I took a close up of the chamber and rim to show progress and to get a good idea of how to approach the rim repair. Inspecting the rim, I place a drop of superglue on one particular ‘dent’ that reached significantly down the external side of the bowl. I’m hoping that this small fill will enable me not needing to take as much off during the bowl topping to repair the rim. After the superglue sets up on the rim dent fill, I top the bowl using 240 grit sanding paper on top of a chopping block. Since the day is beautiful, I again move to the 10^th floor balcony to do the work. With the rim having no burns, I expect the surface to plane off evenly without pulls toward softer burned areas of the rim. I rotate in a clockwise circular even motion and take off only as much as needed to remove the damaged area of the rim. As I like to do, I create a small bevel on the inner wall of the rim to give a more finished, classier look. I use 120 grit paper to form the initial bevel angle followed by 240. I also decide to give the outer rim edge a slight sanding to round off the lip which seems to be consistent with the original Milano design. Again, I make the initial cut on the lip with 120 grit paper and finish off with 240. I have grown to appreciate more the rim presentation in finished pipes. To me, the rim, it’s nuances, are the first thing the eye is drawn to when looking at a pipe – much like the first thing one sees when looking a person are the eyes, then one follows by taking in the general appearances. The following pictures show the Milano’s rim progress. You can see in the immediate preceding picture the rim superglue fill spot at the 11 o’clock position of the rim and the ongoing panel repair just below it (to the left in the picture). Before moving to the stummel finishing, I now need to resolve the panel repair. I realize at this point with all the stummel repairs (cracked shank, topping and panel line), I will be removing the finish and refinishing the surface in order to achieve an even briar tone appearance. Now, continue to ‘heal’ the panel cut – earlier I applied superglue to it to build it up. I take a close up of the panel as it is now in order to know what I have. In order to blend more, I rough up the original superglue with a Dremel stone sander instrument. I apply on top of it a thick mixture of superglue and briar dust to form the restored surface that will join the side briar panel with the solid ring around the top of the bowl. I use toothpicks to mix, spread and tamp the mixture into place. I want this briar dust putty to setup well so I put the stummel aside for the time and turn to the stem which has been soaking in Oxyclean. The Oxyclean bath did the job of bringing the oxidation to the stem surface. I attack this initial layer with 000 steel wool and then use 240 grit paper to address the minor tooth chatter – I take pictures of bit top and bottom before starting to show progress. In order to have a good match between the mortise and the stem, I want to eyeball what the fit looks like before I proceed further. As I suspected, with all the superglue applied to the mortise area, the fit between mortise end and stem was not flush. I took the stummel back to the topping board and gently rotated the shank end on the board to regain a flush docking between stummel and stem. After a few rotation cycles and testings to eyeball things, I am satisfied. Before starting the micromesh cycles for the stem finishing, I need to remove the lip that I discovered with the shank end over the stem. With the topping of the shank end, I enlarged the circumference of the end just a bit so that it was a bit larger than the circumference of the stem shoulder – primarily on the lower side of the shank. I use 240 grit paper to even out the difference between the shank and stem – leaving the stem in place to assure a good, smooth transition! I am careful to use my thumb to cover and protect the nomenclature as I move around the shank with the sanding paper.Now to the panel repair below the rim. Using 240 grit sanding paper I bring the hardened superglue and briar dust mixture down to the bowl surface careful to maintain a rounded surface and not to flatten out the area of sanding focus. The pictures show the progress. Dal

I like the panel patch and it will blend with a darker stain. On a roll, I launch into the clean-up of the stummel and especially the ‘flame murals’ which are filled with grit and dust. I use a tooth brush with Murphy’s Wood Soap undiluted and work over the entire stummel with special focus in the fire sculpting to remove the surface finish. I follow this with rubbing down the stummel using cotton pads and tooth brush with acetone to remove the finish deep in the grain of the briar. I finish my clean-up of the surface by picking the carved crevices with a dental tool. Using micromesh sanding pads, I sand the high points of the stummel. Using 1500-2400 I wet sand. Following, 3200-4000 dry sand and finishing dry-sanding with 6000-12000. The pictures show the progress – I’m liking the briar grain the micromesh process is bringing out. At this point, I have two questions about how to proceed before staining the stummel. First, I need to clean out the ‘flame’ sculpting and use a black fine tipped permanent marker to darken the flames to give more contrast after the stain is applied. The other question was how do I treat the stampings of the WDC Milano – Hesson Guard? Do I protect it from the stain? Do I cover them with Vaseline? What? Upon closer inspection, I notice that the left side stamping, Hesson Guard, appeared to have gold left over in the ‘Hesson’ lettering – the rest having worn off (picture below) after the crack repair. After a quick email to Steve, his input revealed that both sides would have originally born the gold lettering. So, from my model kit (I’ve been involved in a project for several years building the USS Constitution sailing ship) I discover a bottle of Testors Gold Enamel Model Paint and my wife finds a small brush which I trim with my knife to create a more distinct point. With Steve’s counsel stored in my mind, I applied the paint over the lettering and wiped off the excess. To my relief and joy, the gold paint adhered to the crevices of the lettering and the overflow came off with the paper towel. My first stamping restoration with paint worked well! Steve also said that there was no need to worry about the new lettering during staining – that the gold paint would repel the stain. Careful to avoid the new gold lettering, I clean the bowl with isopropyl using a tooth brush to get rid of the residue from the sanding and then I move to highlighting the flame sculpts to bring greater definition to the paneled murals in the finished pipe. The pictures tell the story. Time to stain and I decide to use a mixture of an alcohol-based Italian stain I found here in Bulgaria with a color description of dark nut. I want this as the base, but I mix it with a mahogany color water based stain to bring out a slightly more redish tone in the briar. I think the red will work with the flame sculpting motif and I think this will look good – but of course the briar does what it will with the hues! After mixing the stains in the shot glass, I apply the mixture to the stummel mounted on the cork and candle stick with cotton balls making sure to cover everything and getting a good thick coverage. After applying stain, I use the butane lighter to flame the stain. With the mixture that I made, the alcohol content was too low to ‘flame’ so I evenly moved the lighter flame across the surface to evaporate the alcohol setting the dye in the grain of the briar. I repeated the process again and set the stummel aside to dry.With the stummel put aside, I turn again to the stem. I re-inspect the button area after the earlier sanding to remove the teeth chatter. I decide that the button needed a little more attention. I use 240 grit sanding paper and a needle file to fine-tune the shape of the button before starting on the micromesh cycles. I wet-sand the stem using 1500-2400 and complete the cycle by applying Obsidian Oil. While still wet from the oil I continue to dry sand with 3200-4000 micromesh pads, again concluding the cycle by applying Obsidian Oil. The final cycle, 6000-12000 is used and a final coat of Obsidian Oil and I put the stem aside to dry. I love watching the shine of the stem progressively make it to the surface getting that final wet, reflective look in the stem. Nice! The stem pops. The pictures capture the progress! For me, beginning the process of finishing the stummel after the staining dries, is like opening a Christmas present. The anticipation is to see what actually is under the crust of flamed stain and what the briar grain will reveal. With the Dremel tool, I begin to remove the ‘wrapping’ using a felt wheel. Also with a felt wheel I polish beginning with Tripoli and then move to Blue Diamond. I focus on bringing out the contrast of briar ‘flames’ showcased in the three panels. I switch to a cotton cloth wheel and apply carnauba wax to both stummel and stem. After several coats of carnauba, I complete the job by giving the pipe a clean cotton cloth wheel buff followed by a rigorous buffing with a micro-fiber cloth to bring out the deep tones of the briar. I’m pleased with the revitalization of ‘The Professor’, WDC Milano Hesson Guard. I think Professor Freundt, if he were alive today to comment, would agree. The rich dark tones of the briar, with the hints of deep reds, reminds me of the myriads of leather bindings and books that filled his hazy office. I’m pleased with the results. Thanks for joining me!

Restoring a Piece of History – A Mastercraft Mark II Zeppelin

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Blog by Mike Zarczynski

I first read about Mike’s restoration of this Zeppelin on Facebook in one of the pipe smoking groups. Because I was so impressed with what he had done with the pipe and because I have been looking for one to restore, I wrote him a message and asked if he would be willing to do a write up for rebornpipes. It is a privilege to have him post his first blog here and show us some of his work. I think you will enjoy the work he has done on this unique piece of pipe history. He has written a brief introduction to himself so rather than repeat it I will let him tell you in his own words. “I’ve been restoring pipes for about a year now, I started when I first became inspired by Steve’s blog rebornpipes (it is an incredible honor to have been requested to write an article for the blog). At first it was a way to avoid paying list price for big brands, but now it’s a full blown addiction. I’ve restored fishing gear most of my life and once I started smoking I realized pipes were an obvious choice to fill the need of fixing things.”

The pipe itself:
Being an avid reader of both Charles’ and Steve’s Blogs, I read an article on an odd pipe. Charles had restored a Master-craft Zeppelin pipe for a family member, but one thing crossed my mind, how did it smoke? Months passed by of watching the type and shape, and almost winning a few auctions had me wondering, just how rare is this pipe? I read on pipephil that there were two main versions, Mark I, a smooth pipe, and Mark II, a rusticated pipe. Being a fan of rusticated pipes, I started searching for the second variety. (The idea of rustication is to give as much surface area as possible to dissipate heat.) I finally won an auction and the pipe was received on a Saturday following the transaction.

The pipe was in great shape, no corrosion on the aluminum, a bit of oxidation on the stem, and two fills on the briar. One of the fills had shrunk to the point it needed replacing, but the other could stay. First off is to ream the bowl, and scrub the outside (I prefer to work on a clean pipe.) The interior of the pipe was in decent shape with no major burn outs or char. I popped the large fill out and started filling it with layers of CA superglue mixed with briar dust. The result worked nicely and was re-rusticated with a Dremel.

After a good retort and scrub of the “smoke chamber”, I could shine the aluminum in the interior. I shined the nosecone of the zeppelin with 6000 grit sandpaper to give it a shine, but leave the oxidation to give it an antique look. I sanded the stem with 600-6000 grit sandpipers to remove any oxidation and to give it a shine. The stem was also cleaned with 70% isopropyl alcohol and pipe cleaners.

I chose to re-stain the pipe to give it a more contrasted dark-light look with the rustication. I set the dye with the flame of a lighter (gotta love the blue flame of this step) and set it to finish drying. After a quick wipe down and hand buff with conservative wax, the pipe was pieced back together and a “bowl” of Prince Albert Burley was packed to try to give it a start of a cake once again. Here are the results of this restoration: Thank you to Steve Laug and friends for not only letting me write an article on my restoration, but for serving as inspiration and entertainment for this past year, and for the many years to come.

Restoring a Chubby Shank Bruyere Shop Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

This one came to me in the box of pipes from my brother, Jeff. It is stamped Bruyere Shop on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar on the right side. It has a sterling silver band that is stamped STERLING and bears three hallmarks – an Anchor, a Lion and a T. The band thus reads Birmingham (the Anchor), .925 Sterling Silver (the Lion) and the letter T which dates the pipe to 1943. The band appears original as there are no cracks that it is banding or repairing. There is no damage to the pipe under the band. The silver band was oxidized and tarnished. It is pressure fit on the shank. The bowl was in decent shape when I got it – dirty and worn. There were paint specks on the briar. The beveled/rounded rim had darkening and heavy coating of tars and oils. The bowl had a cake that cover the sides and bottom. The thick shank was extremely dirty and oily. The stem had tooth marks on the top side and the underside next to the button. It was oxidized and very dirty as well. I took a close-up photo of the rim to show the buildup and the cake in the bowl. The second one shows the stamping on the band that I spelled out above.The next two photos show the condition of the stem and show the oxidation and the tooth marks next to the button.I scrubbed the bowl and rim with acetone on cotton pads to remove the old wax and grime on the finish. I worked on the rim to remove the buildup that had collected there. I used the Savinelli Pipe Knife to cut back the cake to bare briar.I sanded the inner edge and top of the rim to clean off the tarry buildup and also smooth out the dents and nicks in the rim.I scraped out the shank with a dental spatula and scrubbed the shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean.I polished the silver band with silver polish to remove the tarnish and oxidation. The bright shine of the sterling silver came through the polish and I could see that it was going to be a beauty once the tarnish was gone.I used a light brown stain pen to restain the rim and polished it.I buffed the bowl lightly with Blue Diamond to polish the briar. I buffed it until the bowl and rim matched each other. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks on the top side of the stem. I repaired the one on the underside with black super glue. I built up the top of the button on both sides of the stem with black super glue. I sprayed it with an accelerator to dry it quickly.I used a needle file to rehape the sharp edge of the button and smooth out the surface of the stem.I cleaned out the airway with pipe cleaners and alcohol to remove all of the oils and tars in the stem.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove all of the oxidation. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil and dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads. I gave it another coat of oil and sanded it with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the stem and bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish it. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. If anyone knows anything about the Bruyere Shop please let me know in the response below. Thanks for looking.

ADDENDUM

I was doing some reading on the web and found a reference to a pipe shop in Buffalo, N.Y. called the Bruyere Pipe Shop in a May 1953 Popular Mechanics Magazine. I wonder if there is a tie…

Restemming and Restoring a Hardwicke’s Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

One of the pipe bowls that came to me in the box of pipes from my brother was a tall nicely grained freehand that was stamped on the shank Hardwicke’s and Italy on the underside of the shank next to the shank stem junction. I had never heard of the brand before and it was not listed on Pipedia or on the Pipephil website. The more I looked in my usual sources such as Who Made that Pipe the more stymied I was about the brand. It was an interesting shaped bowl. The bowl had some dark marks on the shank, the bowl bottom and on the right side at the point and up the side midway. There was a thick coat of urethane over the entire bowl and the faux plateau. The rustication on the rim matched that of the end of the shank and had been done with tools. There was a thick coat of tars and oils under the urethane on the rim. The bowl itself had a thick cake in it that filled it from top to bottom. The first quarter inch down from the top of the rim had a darker stain that ran down the walls. (I almost forgot to take photos of the bowl before I had sanded all of the urethane off the surface. I stopped and caught these. On the lower part of the bowl on the right side there was a spot of real plateau. I went through my box of stems and had a stem that would work really well with this pipe. It would need to have the tenon end reduced so that it would sit in the mortise.I decided to Google Hardwicke’s Cigar and Pen to see if the pipe could have been a shop pipe. It was made in Italy but the Hardwicke’s stamping pointed elsewhere. I found that there was a group of shops in Indianapolis, Indiana. The main shop was located at 743 Broad Ripple Ave, Indianapolis.One reviewer of the shop had this to say about the shop: “This small cigar shop is located just south of the circle, so in the heart of downtown. They carry a pretty impressive stock of cigars and the pricing is relatively reasonable considering their location. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and willing to help you find something in your price range. They do have a lot of cigars at the $5 price point so don’t be put off by the fact there are also a lot of $15+ cigars.”

“They also have their own brand, which is rolled with several different tobaccos and in several sizes, these should not be overlooked, especially if you don’t want to spend a lot on your smoke.”

“They also offer pens, pipes, pipe tobacco and the usual array of cutters and lighters you’d expect from a cigar shop. I’ve only purchased cigars here so cannot comment the rest of their offerings, although their selection of pipes does seem good to me.”

Further digging found an article in the Indy Star newspaper about the Downtown shop closing. The article also says that the Broad Ripple Store remains open. I have included the link to the article as well the article in full. http://www.indystar.com/story/money/2016/01/20/smoke-free-downtown-landmark-hardwickes-exits/78800744/

Hardwicke’s Pipe & Tobacco, a long-time Indianapolis fixture, seems to have shuttered its Downtown store.

The inventory was being removed last week, and a store clerk said closure was imminent. The store now stands empty, void entirely of the fine cigars, cigarettes and pipes the retailer sold for five decades.

Hardwicke’s Broad Ripple store, which predates the Downtown shop, remains open. Staffers answering the phone there declined to comment on the fate of the Downtown location, which had occupied a storefront at 18 N. Meridian St., just off Monument Circle, since 1977.

The demise of Hardwicke’s Downtown comes amid a flurry of change for Indianapolis’ old-time businesses.

Last month Kincaid’s, the high-end meat market at 56th and Illinois streets that had been in the same family since its founding nearly a century ago, was sold. Virginia Jarvis Coiffures, a beauty shop for many of Indianapolis’ leading women since 1965, closed its doors Saturday. G. Thrapp Jewelers, in the Butler-Tarkington neighborhood, closed Sunday after 33 years.

Contact IndyStar reporter Will Higgins at (317) 444-6043. Follow him on Twitter @WillRHiggins.
So now I knew that the pipe I had was indeed a shop pipe made for Hardwicke’s Tobacco Shop of Indianapolis. Now it was time to work on it and restore and restem it. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the urethane finish that covered the grime and the burn marks. I sanded the burn marks and tried to reduce the damage to the briar. The more I worked on them the more I am convinced that they were not burn marks but rather dark stains that happened when the bowl was laid in something that left a stain mark. I remember when my mom made pickles when I was a lad and the jars of vinegar left dark rings in the oak table top. These looked identical to the ones I remember as a boy. I sanded and was able to remove several of them. I wiped the bowl down with acetone to clean off the stain and the dust.The rim was thickly caked. I worked on it with a brass bristle wire brush and a dental pick to remove the build up on the rim. You can see from the second photo the rustication pattern in the faux plateau on the rim. It is identical to the one that is cut on the end of the shank.I reamed the bowl with a PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare wood. I cleaned up the edges and the bottom of the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife.I sanded the bowl with a medium and fine grit sanding sponge and then with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratching in the surface left behind by the 220 grit sandpaper. I remove the darkening around the top of the rim so the surface of the briar was the same over the entire bowl. The bottom of the bowl shows a scratch in the surface that looks like it is a hairline crack. Looking at it with a magnifier I am pretty sure it is a scratch and not a crack.To deal with the darkened spots on the shank and the bowl bottom as well as the scratch I decided to use a contrast stain. I stained the bowl with a black aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until the coverage was even.I wiped down the black stain with alcohol on cotton pads to remove the stain in the body of the briar and leave it in the grain.I washed it down with an alcohol damp pad and gave it a top coat of brown stain. I flamed it and applied it until the coverage was even. Then I set it aside to dry.I used the Dremel and sanding drum to reduce the diameter of the tenon. I cleaned it up with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I put the stem in the shank and took some photos of the look of the pipe at this point in the process. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides of the stem at the button.I cleaned out the airway with a pipe cleaner and alcohol. It was not dirty at all which surprised me.I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on cotton pads and then buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads, gave it another coat of oil and finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. It removed a little more of the brown stain and made it a bit more translucent. I gave the stem and bowl several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. The new stem looks like it belongs with the pipe and the curve of the bowl and the new stain look great in my opinion. The grain on the pipe is very nice. The black and brown stain combination hides the dark mars on the shank and the bowl. They are still present but blend in nicely. Thanks for looking.

An Interesting Churchill’s Volcano Brought to Life

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next out of the box of pipes from my brother is the one below. It is stamped Churchill’s on the smooth underside of the shank. The shape number 882 is along the shank stem junction on the underside. I have refurbished several Churchill’s pipes from their pipe shop in Norwich. I wrote a bit about that shop when I did a refurbish on a Churchill’s Bent Pot. The link to that article is as follows: https://rebornpipes.com/2013/09/08/churchills-bent-pot/. This pipe had a rustication that is very similar to those I have seen on Lorenzo pipes. The stem on this pipe is stamped Italy on the underside. The finish was tired and dirty but the rustication was in good shape. The rim was solid with no damage to the inner or outer edge but it was thick with tars. The bowl was reamed while I was visiting in Idaho. The stem was in good shape at first glance. It was oxidized but there were no tooth marks. As I examined it I found that the stem had been cut off and a new button was cut into the surface. The slot was also reshaped. The button itself was very thin as the stem was also thin at this point. I took a close up photo of the rim and the stamping on the underside of the bowl. The rim is dirty but the rustication is in good shape with no burn marks or damage. The stamping is also very clear.I scrubbed the rim with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the tars and oils that had built up there. Once it was loosened I scrubbed it with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to clean off the grime in the finish. I rinsed the bowl with warm running water to remove the grime and soap. The next photos show the cleaned finish on the pipe. I used the dental spatula to scrape out the inside of the shank and break the tars and oil build-up away from the walls of the shank and mortise. I cleaned out the mortise and airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation. I built up the button with black super glue to add thickness and enable a grip on the button. I used a file to shape the button and recut the sharp edge against the stem surface. I sanded it with 180 grit sandpaper to smooth out the areas in front of the button on the top and the bottom sides. I continued to shape the stem surface and the button with 220 grit sandpaper and also used the needle files to open up the slot in the button and reshape that.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to clean off the oxidation. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-4000 grit sanding pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding the stem with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I let the stem dry. I stained the bowl with a dark brown aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until the coverage was good. I hand buffed the bowl with a shoe brush. I gave it a light coat of olive oil and hand buffed it again. I rubbed the surface down with some Conservator’s Wax and then hand buffed it with the shoe brush for a final shine. I buffed the pipe lightly with Blue Diamond polish on the wheel and then gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The rustication has depth and textures both visually and tactilely. It feels great in the hand. The shape of the bowl and the faux military stem give the pipe a classic look with a flair that is almost Danish looking. I like the finished look of this one. Thanks for looking.

An Interesting Antique Store Stummel

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

I have a routine when I visit in Bellingham. I take the ladies in my life to the mall and leave them to shop and I set out on my circuit of pipe haunts to see if I can find some likely object of my attention to repair. I rarely come home empty handed, though I don’t know if that is because I will work on many kinds of pipes or if it is because I generally find something. It may be hard for the observer to discern the difference, I know it is for my wife and daughters. I visited several of my haunts and finally in the last one I did a quick walk through and found nothing… this time it looked like I would come home empty handed. Just to make sure I asked at the counter if there were any old pipes in the shop. The seller pointed directly behind me and there in a case that I had totally missed were four pipes. I bought them all. They had a look of age about them so I jumped and paid the price. It turned out that one of them had a cracked bowl but I was able to cannibalize a sterling silver band for an old KBB Yello Bole from the 20s. Two of them were also older – one a GBD and one a Dr. Plumb. The fourth, a Canadian had a gold coloured band and was missing the stem. It looked pretty dirty and the finish was gone. I figured that it too might be one I cannibalized for parts. I paid for them and went out to my car. I went through them and looked them over. The first three showed no surprises. But the stemless bowl was a real surprise. There on the shank was the arced Barlings stamping and under that was the stamping Ye Olde Wood over 237 on the left top side of the shank and Made in England on the right top side. There is also a remnant of the word EXEL. Boy was I surprised. Suddenly it went from a potential victim for cannibalization to one that had some interest for me. It turned out to be the best of the lot. I took a close-up photo of the rim to show the extent of the damage to that area. The cake in the bowl had flown over the top of the rim. There were also dings and dents that were quite deep. The outer edge was compromised and rounded over and the inner edge was out of round. I also included a photo of the stamping and the crack in the shank. This is the stamping that I saw in the bright daylight when I left the basement antique shop.I went through my can of stems and found one that would work on this shank. I had to go with a bit of an oversized stem in terms of diameter as the shank was thinner on the top than on the bottom. I would have to hand fit the stem to accommodate that idiosyncrasy.I used a microdrill bit to put a tiny pin hole at the end of the crack and then filled in the crack with super glue. The drilled hole would keep the crack from spreading and the glue would fill it in. The integrity of the shank was stabilized by the band as well.Once I had a good fit of the stem to the shank I used the Dremel and sanding drum to remove the excess vulcanite on the diameter of the stem. The fine tuning and flow of the stem would be done by files and hand sanding. I reamed the bowl with the PipNet reamer and took out the majority of the cake. I cleaned it up and took it back to briar with the Savinelli Pipe Knife. I topped the bowl on a topping board using 220 grit sandpaper. I removed the damaged surface of the rim until the outer edges were sharp and there was no rounding.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with acetone on cotton pads to remove the grime and wax that had built up and made the exterior dull and lifeless. I reworked the inner edge of the bowl to bevel it and bring it back to round using a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper and then a piece of 220 grit sandpaper.I wiped the bowl down again with acetone to remove any remaining grit and also the sanding dust from the rim repairs.I put the stem in place and took some photos to be able to see what still remained to remove from the diameter of the stem and what shaping still needed to be done. There was some width to be removed from the top and bottom sides at the band and then the taper needed to be reduced as well to remove the slight hip. The width on the right and left side also needed a bit more work to make the flow seamless. I sanded the stem with 180 grit sandpaper to further shape it and clean up the flow from the shank to the button. It took a lot of sanding to get the angles and flow just right.I scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the stem and the shank with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners.I sanded the rim with a medium and a fine grit sanding sponge to remove the scratches left behind by the topping and then stained it with a light brown stain pen to match the colour of the bowl.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished the sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of oil. I set it aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. The colour darkened slightly with the wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad and then by hand with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown below. I am pleased with the way the fit and finish of the stem came out and also the overall look of the pipe. Thanks for looking.

Spotlight: Ladies Pipes, Part 5/7, a Vintage Dr. Grabow Carved Duke

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Guest Blog by Robert M. Boughton
Member, International Society of Codgers
Member, North American Society of Pipe Collectors
http://www.naspc.org
http://www.roadrunnerpipesnm.biz
http://about.me/boughtonrobert
Photos © the Author

If a man loves you…he’s willing to profess it. He’ll give you a title after a while. You’re going to be his lady, his woman, his fiancée, his wife, his baby’s mama, something.
— Broderick Steven “Steve” Harvey (b. 1957), U.S. comedian, actor, TV and radio talk show host, writer of books on relationships, former New York public high school teacher

INTRODUCTION
I neither forgot nor gave up on this special series despite the relative vacuum of responses. Instead, I was sidetracked by developments in a portfolio of litigious necessity that might very well expand with more certainty and regularity than the universe. Returning to the subject of this blog, just the other day I chanced upon a woman with a rather off-putting appearance. Perhaps some significant other had at last given her a title she disliked. At any rate, she was chain-smoking cigarettes with almost the frenetic zealousness of the late great Lloyd Bridges near the end of the comic classic “Airplane.”

Nevertheless, by pure nature, I acquainted her with my name and part-time occupation, and of course mentioned the several new customers I came across in recent weeks, under circumstances that can only be called serendipitous, who were already free of cigarettes. Undeterred when the lady did protest – with a deceptively soft, dismissive laugh that was somehow more like a tiger stifling a yawn before it pounces – that the idea of a woman smoking a pipe did not seem very lady-like. Still not dissuaded, I pulled from my magic box the perfect specimen of a lithe, sleek, petite bent billiard that I had reserved for one other singularly odd woman who never claimed it.

“That’s why I also restore ladies pipes such as this,” I said with a hint of enthusiasm, and held it out.

With the most cursory pretense of a glance I never before had the pleasure of noting in my writer’s mental file, she gave a flick of the head every bit as memorable, so that her long, dirty blonde hair made room for a fresh cancer stick. She shoved in her mouth, so forcefully punctuating her contempt that the nasty, chemical laden coffin nail went farther into her mouth than anticipated and almost choked her. I had to admire the quick recovery with a lengthy, chic, palliative drag, so reminiscent of any one of the many Golden Age of Hollywood starlets now long dead from the same prop rather than age. I know when I’ve been shot down. But it still goes to show the progress society needs to make before a lady can be comfortable walking into a tobacconist to buy a pipe.

On the subject of pipes, it turns out there really was a Dr. Grabow – Paul E. Grabow, MD (1868-1965), a general practitioner in Chicago who was a friend of Louis Linkman, co-founder with August Fisher of M. Linkman and Co. in 1898. During a conversation between the two in the early years of the Great Depression, Linkman reportedly told Dr. Grabow of his idea to introduce a new and improved line of pipes that he felt would sell better if they were named after a physician. Dr. Grabow, flattered by the request to use his name, accepted. The pipe brand named for him was launched in 1932, and until his death at age 97 the good doctor was given new models whenever he wanted them. Grabow1

The free pipe perk persisted despite Linkman’s production of the brand stopping in February 1953, when the Dr. Grabow Pipe Co. filed for dissolution a month before Henry Leonard and Thomas Inc. (HLT) of Queens, New York bought the rights, and they were produced by Sparta Pipes Inc. U.S. Tobacco bought out Sparta in 1969, assuming control of the Dr. Grabow production until Lane Ltd. paid for the rights some time later. Around 2000, RJ Reynolds and British American Tobacco took over.

As for the peculiar little carved Duke that is the subject of this installment, regardless of its smallness, the bowl seems to have six subtle sides. I am inclined to call such a shape a panel. But the best narrowing I can do with the multitude of Dr. Grabow sites is a “textured” slim pear, shape number 74. Grabow2 Grabow3 Grabow4 Grabow5

And here is a photo I found online of a Dr. Grabow “Duke G,” which appears to be the same pipe except for the white spade. Grabow6

RESTORATION
At a glance, the Duke was rough from age and unnatural wear. Here are a few close-ups of the stummel showing the thick, dark stain and some of the damages I faced, as well as the nomenclature I needed to preserve. The bit was in good shape, needing only moderate work. The six-sided paneling (two each on the front and back, and then the sides) is hard to spot by eye, but an inspection with fingers reveals the presence. Grabow7 Grabow8

This kind of surface of a pipe stummel – whether it be referred to as carved, rusticated, textured or by any other designation – always poses a challenge in stripping the old stain. No matter how long the wood soaks in alcohol, at least by my concept of safe and sane standards, sanding is always still needed, in particular for the crevices. Of course, I could have started this project with an arduous application of several grades of paper, but the overdone original finish suggested the need for an Everclear soak to begin. And so that is how I commenced the task, putting the bit in an OxiClean bath at the same time. Grabow9

I removed the bit from its bath first and stuck a regular cleaner through the air hole. I was surprised by the remaining blackness of the Vulcanite, which I rubbed dry with a strip of soft white cotton rifle barrel cleaning cloth. Grabow10

I apologize for my camera’s continuing flash problems, which for the above photos required manipulation of the color and brightness settings in my editor to show the minor scratches near the lip of the mouthpiece. Here it is, again with the editor adjustments, after light sanding with 320-grit paper and wet micro mesh from 1500-12000. I know it’s hard to see the difference, but the entire surface was smooth. Grabow11

And here’s the stummel after drying with another piece of cotton cloth, running another cleaner through the shank, sanding with 200-grit paper and wiping down with 0000 super fine steel wool. The additional cleaner is from the bit. Note the still dark crevices. Grabow12 Grabow13 Grabow14

I began an assault on the crevices that turned out to be the crux of the battle to fix this nice, older Dr. Grabow. I started with super fine steel wool, squeezed into small enough edges to fit into the crevices. This was a tedious process, but it did improve the situation. Grabow15 I tried 180-grit paper folded to maneuver the edge into the pesky crevices, and the result was an improvement in spots but still disappointing. I only show the next photos as emphasis of the point. For the first time in a long while, I concluded a second Everclear soak was needed, as I had not really let the first one complete. The success is clear, following another drying with cotton cloth and scrubbing the shank more with both ends of an ear cleaner. I flashed back to my childhood, at times when such cleaners came out of my ears in about the same condition. The task of ridding the crevices of unwanted darker color accomplished, I prepared the pipe for the final steps, very gently using 320-grit paper again and the full scale of micro meshes. I retorted the pipe, and for the re-stain used Fiebing’s brown alcohol-based leather conditioner and flamed it with a lighter.A clean up of the char with 2400 micro mesh and a little reduction of the darkness with super fine steel wool worked well.The fine briar was ready for Halcyon II. For once I laid it on thick.When the wax compound had time to set in, I wrapped it in a cotton cloth and wiped it vigorously for about a minute. Then all that was left was buffing on the electric wheels, with red and White Tripoli, White Diamond and carnauba on the bit. To my eye, the wood needed a little more gloss, so I added some carnauba with the wheel, as always followed by the clean buffer. I was more happy than usual with the final results. Please excuse the unfortunate symbol in most of the following shots. I had rushed outside of the club where I was for open sunlight and didn’t notice until I saved the photos from my camera’s memory card to the computer hard drive, by which time the sun had set. CONCLUSION
For a weathered old Dr. Grabow, this restoration provided some interesting lessons to me in working with a carved pipe. My dear friend and mentor, Chuck Richards, has always advocated a toothbrush for the crevices, but try as I have, that venerable method has never worked for me. Every situation seems a little different. This one required attacks from several different directions.