Tag Archives: restemming

Re-stemming and Restoring a Danmore De Luxe Made in Denmark Scoop

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came from a lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was traveling in Europe. In the box were 4 Stanwells, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, 1 Danmore bowl, and 1 Brigham. I have restored the Nording, the snapped Stanwell, the Brigham and the Gourd Calabash with the briar bowl. There are blogs on each restoration available.The next pipe on the table is the scoop shaped bowl without a stem at the top of the photo above. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Danmore [over] Made in Denmark. On the right side of the shank it is stamped De Luxe. There is no visible shape number stamped on the pipe. There was a thick cake in the bowl, cobwebs in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. The airway was plugged and there was no draught on the pipe. There was a lava overflow on the rim top. The inner edges of the bowl were damaged and the outer edge had been knocked about and damaged on the front side. The finish was dirty and dusty and there was lava on the sides and heel of the bowl. The pipe did not come with a stem so I would have to go through my collection of stems here to find one that fit well. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava build up and the damage on the edges of the bowl. The cake was thick and hard and I am hoping that at some level it protected the edges from damage. You can see the nicks in the inner edge and the damage on the rim top. I also took a photo of the shank end. You can see the tars and build up around the opening.I turned to Pipedia to read about the Danmore brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Danmore). There was a brief article there that I quote below.

Danmore was founded by Hans Sørensen in the early 1970s, and produced pipes from that time until the early 1980s, at one point having up to 30 employees. The pipes were sold in the first Dan Pipe catalog. In the early 1980’s, however, production ceased in Denmark due to labor costs, and the company’s production was outsourced to Italy and Spain, and they began to also make pipecleaners and smokers articles.

Sørensen focused on the pipecleaner side of the concern, and eventually bought a share in the factory in the Far East making them. Today the company, owned by Hans’ sons Jesper and Lars Sørensen, no longer makes pipes, and instead makes only pipe cleaners under the name Danmore Hobby Aps, selling only to hobby and craftshops in Denmark and Scandinavia.

Hans Sørensen passed away in 2012. The Sørensen family continues to own the trademarks for the use of the Danmore name in relation to pipes, matches, and tobacco.

There was also a shape chart on the site that I have included. The shape was a 3041 which I have drawn a red box around.With that I turned to work on the pipe. I went through my can of stems and found one that would work well with the bowl. It is a uniquely carved saddle stem with a twist of a freehand. I sanded the tenon now slightly to allow it to fit the shank. I put it in the shank and took photos of the pipe. I like the looks of the one I chose over the original! I set the stem aside and turned to the bowl clean up. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the second and the third cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I scrubbed out the internals of the pipe with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I cleaned out the airway in the stem as well. I worked on these areas repeatedly until the shank and the airway in all the parts was clean.I worked over the damage on the inner edge of the bowl and the rim top. I also smoothed out the damage on the outer edge with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better after I sanded the damaged areas smooth.I polished the briar with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad. The briar took on a deep shine that highlighted the grain. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I sanded out what remained with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil.I am excited to finish this restemmed Danmore De Luxe 3041 Made in Denmark Scoop. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the rusticated gourd and the polished black, fancy turned vulcanite stem was beautiful. This Danmore De Luxe 3041 Scoop is nice looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.66 ounces/48 grams. It is a beautiful pipe and one that I will be putting in the Danish Pipemaker Section on the rebornpipes store. Thanks for walking through the cleanup with me as I worked over this pipe.

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

Refreshing a Peterson’s System Standard Smooth Made in the Republic of Ireland 312

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Rusticated Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from and estate in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s System Standard on left side of the shank and reads Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. On the right side it reads Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 312. It has nice grain around the bowl and shank that has oils, debris and grime ground into the finish. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim top that was heavier toward the back side. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P [over] three hallmarks – a harp, a wolf hound and a tower. That is followed by Petersons. It small dents in the nickel ferrule on the right side. The vulcanite stem is a Peterson’s style P-Lip with a “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime in finish around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the sides of shank. The stamping was readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s over three Peterson marks. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. This is the second of two Peterson’s System Standard pipes in Bob’s collection marked with the 312 shape number. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 312 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. I am also including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era  – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. My guess is that the pipes is a 1960s era System pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual clean up process. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour I was amazed it looked so good. The stem showed some damage on the button edge and surface. The bonus was that the tenon had a brass chimney in the end that was correct for this pipe. I took some close-up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top and inner edge had darkening and damage. There was damage to the inner edge on the back of the bowl. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean and the tooth marks and damage to the button edge and stem surface is visible in the photos below.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. He was able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. I started by working over the edge and the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I minimized the damage on the inner edge and rim top. It looked significantly better. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust. The briar was really shining by the final pad. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jewellers cloth to remove the remaining tarnish and to protect the surface from further tarnishing. The shine was quite nice. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. There were several issues that I needed to deal with to secure a good fit. The brass chimney was stuck in the tenon and I could not remove it. I heated the chimney with a lighter and was finally able to unscrew it from the stem end. I cleaned out the threaded area on the stem and the threads on the chimney and greased it with Vaseline. I screwed it back in the stem.The fit of the stem in the shank was canted to the left and the brass chimney hit against the wall of the mortise. As I examined it I saw that the drilling in the shank was more worn on the right side than the left. I smoothed out the walls of the left side of the shank with small half circle needle files. I also sanded the right side of the stem to adjust the seat in the shank. Once I had completed the process the fit was perfect in the shank.I fit the stem in the shank and the adjustments straightened out the cant of the stem. I took photos of it to show the new fit in the shank.I rebuilt the top edge of the button with black CA glue. I filled in the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem. Once the repair hardened/cured I used a small file to reshape the edge of the button and flatten the repairs. I reshaped the top of the button with the file at the same time. I sanded the repairs with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the vulcanite. I started polishing the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper to further smooth it out. I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better. There were some weak spots on the leg and tail of the “P” stamp.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 312 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain really pops with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 312 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.01 ounces/57 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Repurposing a Brigham Voyageur 109 into a Frankenpipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen to work on is a bit of a Frankenpipe – one I have cobbed together from a variety of pipes. A Frankenpipe is simply a pipe composed of parts from a variety of sources. In this case it included a Brigham bowl, a Copper Plumbing fitting as a ferrule and a vulcanite freehand stem. Put together these parts create a totally unique pipe that is more than a total of its parts.

I originally received it in a lot of pipes that I worked on for a fellow here in Vancouver. It was a bowl sans stem that was in a bit of rough shape. I described it as follows when I first received it (https://rebornpipes.com/2018/08/03/converting-a-brigham-voyageur-109-into-a-churchwarden/). The pipe is an apple shaped bowl that is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Brigham [over] Voyageur [over] 109 Italy in a smooth panel on the rusticated bowl and shank. The shank end had nicks and chips but was in fair condition. There was no stem with the bowl. The stem would have had the lighter weight nylon system tenon since the pipe is one of the Italian made Brighams. It was another one of the fellow’s pipe finds on a recent pipe hunt in Vancouver. The rusticated finish had almost a scale like rustication pattern with flecks of paint in the finish. The rim top was damaged and was darkened toward the back of the bowl. The finish was very dirty and there was a thick cake in the bowl. When I first received the bowl from the fellow we talked about replacing the missing stem with an original Brigham stem. I talked with Charles Lemon and he sent me a stem blank and an aluminum system shank for the Brigham. When it arrived, I talked with the Vancouver fellow about that and together we concluded that a churchwarden stem might look good on it. I ordered some from JH Lowe and found that they only have one diameter size stem. I ordered it and when it arrived it was significantly smaller in diameter than the shank. I had an interesting copper ferrule that I thought might work to provide a different look to the pipe and provide a way of using the smaller diameter churchwarden stem. I slipped the ferrule on the shank and put the stem partially in place in the mortise and took the following photos to send to the fellow to see what he thought. He liked it so I moved forward with the restoration of the bowl and the fitting of the stem. I am including the cleanup description of the work on the bowl as it adds to the story of the next stage of the creation of the new Frankenpipe.I slipped the ferrule off the shank and took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is very clear and readable. I sanded the shank to smooth it out for fitting the ferrule. I cleaned out the inside of the shank with a dental spatula to remove the heavy tar buildup on the shank walls. The shank was ready for the new ferrule.I used a heat gun to heat the copper ferrule and pressed it onto the shank end. I repeated the process until it was set on the shank as far as I wanted it to be. To remove the paint flecks on the rusticated finish on the bowl I scrubbed it with a brass bristle wire brush and used a dental pick to remove the flecks. I wiped down the bowl with alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the dust and debris from the finish. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet Piper Reamer using the first two cutting heads to remove the majority of the cake. I cleaned up the remnants on the walls of the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I used a dowel wrapped with sandpaper to sand down the walls on the bowl. I cleaned out the airway in both the bowl and stem with alcohol (99% isopropyl), pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until they were clean on the inside.When I restored the pipe originally I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I also polished the smooth portions of the rustication with the micromesh pads at the same time. I rubbed down the briar with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips and finished working it in with a shoe brush. The balm worked to clean, preserve and enliven the surface of the finish on the small bowl. The briar was coming alive so I took some photos of the pipe at this point. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and buffed the bowl with a shoe brush.

I finished the stem as well and put it in the shank of the pipe. I took photos of it to show the look of the Church Warden that we had designed.The fellow smoked the pipe and enjoyed for a while but decided the Church Warden was not for him. We tried different stems and looks but, in the end, it came back to me. It has been here in a small box on the shelf behind my desktop. I had several stems in the box along with the last stem I had fashioned for it a few years ago. Today I decided it was time to work on it again and finish crafting a new Frankenpipe. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. The rim top was and inner edge showed darkening and damage. The bowl was nicked and out of round. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the stem surface. There were marks and chatter on the stem ahead of the button on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank side. It read as noted above. When I had placed the copper ferrule earlier I was careful to not cover the stamping on the shank… surprising as I usually don’t worry about that when I am crafting a new pipe from a damaged bowl.I took photos of the elongated tenon on the stem that I crafted for the pipe. I wanted to not use a Brigham system filter so I worked to make a long tenon that left a small gap between the entrance of the airway into the bowl and shank end. It functioned quite well.Now it was time to rework the bowl and rim. I started by cleaning up the inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I gently topped the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper on a topping board to remove some of the rim damage.I used a wooden ball and a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around it to give the inner edge of the bowl a bevel to help minimize the burn damage on the briar.I touched the stain on the rim top with a Walnut stain pen to blend it into the surface of the briar. I let it dry before I polished it with micromesh sanding pads.I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sadded it with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiped it down between the pads with a damp cloth. With that finished the bowl was very clean and the sandblast looked great. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks on both sides of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter and as expected I was not able to lift them at all. I filled in the tooth marks with clear CA glue and let the cure. I flattened out the repairs with a small file to start blending them in. I sanded the areas smooth with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper, though I forgot to take photos of this part of the process. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil to give the sanding pads some bite. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to keep the stem from oxidizing as quickly. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in making Frankenpipes I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when newly fashioned Brigham Voyageur 109 Apple is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the replacement stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the newly fit stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication come alive with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl. This Frankenpipe Brigham Voyageur Frankenpipe with a copper ferrule and modified Freehand stem was fun to create. It really is a quite stunning looking creation. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.73 ounces/49 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Canadian Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

New Life Sandblast Republic Era Peterson’s System Standard 312

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a sandblast Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from our connection in Copenhagen, Denmark on 01/26/2023. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard on the underside of the shank followed by Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines) [over] the shape number 312. It has a sandblast finish around the bowl and shank that is covered with a shiny coat of varnish it appears over a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a moderate cake in the bowl and a light lava overflow in the sandblast on the rim top. The top and edges of the rim looked good under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s [over] the three common hallmarks on System pipes – a shamrock, a wolf hound, and a tower. The stem was a Peterson’s style P-Lip. It was well polished and shiny with light tooth marks and chatter. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the moderate cake in the bowl and the light lava build up on the sandblast rim top and the edges of the bowl. The rim top and edges looked pretty good and a proper clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching, calcification and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. The stem looks far better in the photos than it does in person. The button edge was very worn and was in tough condition. The edges were damaged enough for me to want to replace this stem. More would be visible once Jeff cleaned it up. Check the later photos. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime around the sides of the bowl and shank under the spotty looking shiny coat on the finish. It seems to fill in the grooves in the blast. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The Nickel Ferrule is actually clearly stamped and readable. The hallmarks are light but readable. I am including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminum. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. This is the second of two Peterson’s System pipes marked with the 312 shape number that I have worked on in the past few days. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red oval around the 312 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe.I knew that I was dealing with a Republic Era pipe made between 1950-1989. It was a Sandblast Peterson’s System Standard 312 Billiard with an interesting blast finish. The bowl was stained with a combination of brown stains. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned it thoroughly. He had reamed it with a PipNet reamer and cleaned that up with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He had scrubbed the exterior of the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. He removed the shiny coat on the briar with acetone on cotton pads. He cleaned out the interior of the shank, sump and airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation and calcification on the surface. He soaked it in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. He removed it from the Deoxidizer and rinsed it off with warm water. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my part of the work. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in good condition. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was still oxidized and the tooth marks on the button and on the stem ahead of the button were very visible in the photos. The button edge of the stem was worn down to almost nothing on both sides.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe to capture the look of the pipe as a whole. The pipe bowl was very clean and the sandblast looked great. I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the sandblast surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. With briar polished with the Restoration Balm I moved onto the metal. I polished the Nickel Ferrule with a jewellers cloth to raise the shine and to protect it from further oxidation. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I went through my stems and found a perfect unused replacement that I had picked in a batch I stems I received from a local pipe shop. It was the exact shape, and length as the original but the diameter of the tenon end would need to be reduced by sanding.    I worked on the diameter of the tenon with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I would not need to remove much but just enough to make the fit snug in the shank. Once finished the fit in the shank was perfect.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Republic Era Sandblast Peterson’s System Standard 312 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and the replacement stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and the newly fit stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny new black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and Nickel ferrule. This Republic Era Peterson’s Sandblast System Standard 312 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe feels great in the hand will be better when warmed up while smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.76 ounces/49 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Peterson’s System Standard XL307 Made in the Republic of Ireland Rusticated Bent

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is Rusticated Peterson’s System pipe that we purchased from and estate in Plano, Texas, USA on 03/30/2022. It was stamped Peterson’s System Standard on the underside side of the shank in a smooth panel. It was stamped Peterson’s [over] System [over] Standard. That is followed by the shape number XL307 [over] Made in the Republic of Ireland (in three lines). It has a rugged, tactile rustication around the bowl and shank that is fill with a lot of oils, debris and grime. There was a thick cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls. There was a lava overflow on the rim top that was heavier toward the back side. The top and edges of the rim were well hidden under the tars and lava. There was a very beautiful pipe underneath all of the buildup of years of use. The nickel ferrule on the shank end was oxidized and is stamped on the top and left side K&P [over] three faux hallmarks. That is followed by Petersons. It is not dented or damaged. The stem was the wrong stem for the pipe. It was not a Peterson’s style P-Lip but rather a Wellington style with the airway exiting on the end of the stem. It was oxidized and calcified toward the end with some tooth chatter. There were also some tooth marks on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. I would need to restem it with a proper stem once I received it in Vancouver. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the thick, hard cake in the bowl with remnants of tobacco stuck on the walls of the bowl. There was a lava build up on the top of the rim and the edges of the bowl. The rim top looked pretty good but it was hard to know for sure if there was damage under the thick lava. Only clean up would tell the full story. Jeff took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button. You can also see the exit of the airway on the stem end rather than the to of the P-lip. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish. You can see the grime in the rustication around the sides of the bowl and shank. Even under the dirt and debris of the years it looked very good. Jeff took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was faint but readable as you can see from the photos. It read as noted above. The nickel ferrule on the shank end is stamped on the top and left side K&P Peterson’s over three Peterson marks used on nickel ferrules. I have included the information on the shape number on this pipe that I picked up on researching the previous pipes. This is the second of two Peterson’s System Standard pipes in Bob’s collection marked with the 307 shape number. I have included a page from a Petersons Catalogue that I have on rebornpipes (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/peterson-hallmark-chart/). I have put a red box around the 307 shown in the catalogue page shown below. That should give a clear picture of the size and shape of the pipe. I am also including the information from Pipedia’s article on Peterson pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson). I have included a bit of the pertinent history here.

1950 – 1989 The Republic Era  – From 1950 to the present time, the stamp for this era is “Made in the Republic of Ireland” in a block format generally in three lines but two lines have been used with or without Republic being abbreviated.

During the 1950’s and 60’s the Kapp & Peterson company was still in the ownership of the Kapp family. However 1964 saw the retiral of the company Managing Director Frederick Henry(Harry) Kapp.

Pipedia also included a section of information on the System pipes including a diagram of the systems look (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Peterson#Republic_Era_Pipes). I quote a section of the article in part and include a link to another article on Pipedia on the System pipe.

The Peterson System pipes are the standard bearers of the Peterson pipe family, famous for the excellent smoking pleasure they provide. Often imitated but never equaled, the Peterson System smokes dry, cool and sweet, thanks to the scientific effectiveness of the original design. The heart of the System is the unique graduated bore in the mouthpiece. This makes the suction applied by the smoker 15 times weaker by the time it reaches the tobacco chamber. The result is that all the moisture flows into the reservoir and, thus cannot reach the smoker’s mouth. The Peterson Lip further enhances the effectiveness of the graduated bore by directing the flow of smoke upwards and away from the tongue. This achieves a uniquely even distribution of smoke and virtually eliminates any chance of tonguebite or bitterness. Furthermore, the shape is contoured so that the tongue rests comfortably in the depression under the opening. Each “PLip” mouthpiece is made from Vulcanite. For the Peterson System pipes to work properly, the stem/tenon has to have an extension, the tip of which will pass by the draft hole from the bowl and into the sump. Upon the smoker drawing in smoke, this extension then directs the smoke down and around the sump to dispense a lot of the moisture before the smoke enters the extension and stem. On the System Standards and other less expensive systems, this extension with be made of Vulcanite turned integrally with the stem. On the more expensive System pipes this extension will be made of metal which screws into the Vulcanite stem. This extension on the earlier pipes will be of brass and the newer pipes will be of aluminium. Most smokers not knowing this function of the metal extension, assumes that it is a condenser/stinger and will remove it as they do with the metal condensers of Kaywoodie, etc. Should you have a System pipe with this metal extension, do not remove it for it will make the System function properly and give you a dryer smoke (https://pipedia.org/wiki/A_closer_look_at_the_famous_Peterson_Standard_System_Pipe).

With that information in hand I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I knew from the information that the pipe was made during the Republic Era between 1950 and 1989. My guess is that the pipes is a 1960s era System pipe. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

Jeff cleaned this filthy pipe with his usual clean up process. This one was a real mess and I did not know what to expect when I unwrapped it from his box. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with great looking grain around the bowl and shank. Jeff soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the vulcanite. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour I was amazed it looked so good. I removed the incorrect stem and replaced it with a correct P-Lip stem for a 307 that I had here in my box of stems. The bonus was that the tenon had a brass chimney in the end that was correct for this pipe.I put the stem in the pipe and took photos of it with the correct stem. I liked the look of the pipe at this point in the process. I took some close up photos of the rim top and also of the stem surface. I wanted to show what an amazing job Jeff did in the cleanup of the rim top. The rim top was and inner edge were in excellent condition. I also took close up photos of the replacement stem I put in the shank to show the condition of the vulcanite. It was quite clean other than some slight oxidation at the edges of the button. There were no tooth marks or chatter on the stem surface.One of the things I appreciate about Jeff’s cleanup is that he works to protect and preserve the nomenclature on the shank of the pipes that he works on. The stamping on this one was very faint to start with so I was worried that it would disappear altogether with the cleanup. He was not only able to preserve and maintain its condition in the process. I took some photos to show the clarity of the stamping. I have noticed that many restorers are not careful to protect the stamping in their cleaning process and often by the end of the restoration the nomenclature is almost destroyed. I would like to encourage all of us to be careful in our work to preserve this as it is a critical piece of pipe restoration! I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the pipe. I decided to start my work on the pipe by cleaning up some of the polishing compound left in the rustication ahead shank rustication ahead of the ferrule. I worked the end over with a brass bristle wire brush to remove the crud in the finish. The photos show the progress.  I rubbed the bowl and rim down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the rusticated surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horse hair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. I really like watching the Balm do its magic and bring the briar alive. With briar polished with the Restoration Balm I moved onto the metal. I polished the nickel ferrule with a jewellers cloth to raise the shine and to protect the ferrule from further oxidation. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation that remained in the vulcanite and also the light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I started polishing it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper.I touched up the “P” logo on the left side of the saddle stem with white acrylic fingernail polish. I let it dry then I polished off the excess with a worn 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad. Once the excess was removed the stamp looked much better even though there was some faintness on the curve of the P.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry.  Once again at this point in the restoration process I am excited to be on the homestretch. I look forward to the final look when the Rusticated Peterson System XL307 is put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The depths of the rustication really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny black vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the browns of the bowl and thick shank and nickel ferrule. This Peterson’s System Standard XL307 Bent Billiard was another fun pipe to work on. It really is a quite stunning piece of briar whose shape follows the flow of the briar. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/64 grams. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Irish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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

Replacing a Snapped Tenon on a Neerup of Denmark Freehand Style Bulldog

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to me from Curtis, a customer I have repaired pipes for in the past. He sent me two pipes that he wanted repaired by mail. I started with this one first. In looking at it I recalled that I had restemmed this pipe for him in December of last year. The original stem had been badly damaged and I had replaced it with the current stem and cap to give it a look similar to the original. It was a lot of work but I liked how it looks. Here is the link to that restoration (https://rebornpipes.com/2022/12/22/new-life-and-new-look-for-a-neerup-made-in-denmark-bulldog/). It was a nicely shaped sandblasted Bulldog with a black acrylic and a white acrylic spacer on the shank end. There was a snapped tenon in the shank and a vulcanite taper stem with a silver metal end cap/band. The tenon had snapped smoothly against the metal stem band. I would need to clean it up and replace the tenon. The bowl had a thick cake of a vanilla smelling aromatic and a thick overflow of lava on the inner edge and the rim top. The rim top was slightly worn and smooth under the lava. The stem had some calcification, tooth chatter and marks on the surface of the top and underside ahead of the button. I took some close photos of the bowl, rim top and the stem to show their condition when I started working on it. You can see the thick cake in the bowl and the thick lava coat on the rim top and inner edge. It is quite heavy and the overflow obscures the condition of the edge of the bowl and the rim top. I was able to start pulling the broken tenon and you can see it extending out of the shank. I started my work on this pipe by pulling the broken tenon from the shank. I used a drywall screw and threaded it into the airway in the tenon piece. When it took hold, I wiggled the tenon free from the shank. It took a bit of careful and slow work to loosen and remove it. I went through my box of tenons looking for one that was the proper size for the shank. Ideally it would have been a black threaded tenon but I did not have any that were the proper diameter. I did have some white Delrin tenons that were perfect and would work with the white acrylic space. The lower one in the photo would be perfect. I reduced the diameter of the threaded portion with my Dremel and a sanding drum. I used a flat file to smooth out the transition and further shape the new tenon. I used a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper to remove the sanding marks and clean up the diameter of the tenon.When I finished the sanding, I polished it with 220 and 600 grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface. Once finished, it fit perfectly in the shank of the pipe. I left threads on the insert portion of the new tenon so that the glue would have something to grab onto when it was inserted in the stem. I removed the new tenon from the shank and turned my attentions to the stem. I drilled out the airway with a succession of larger drill bit – beginning with one slightly larger than the airway in the stem and ending with an 11/64ths drill bit.Once it had been opened up I pushed the tenon in the shank once more and slid the stem over the top to align it. The fit was very snug and nice. I took photos of it to show the fit at this point in the restoration process. I removed the stem from the pipe and the tenon from the mortise. I turned my attention to cleaning the internals and the externals of the bowl and shank. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and the number three cutting head. I took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove what remained. I sanded the walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. Once finished the bowl walls were smooth and clean. I scraped off the lava on the rim top with the edge of a Savinelli Pipe Knife and then used a brass bristle wire brush to remove the debris. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I used the brass bristle brush to work over the rim top with the soap to go more deeply in the sandblast surface of the rim. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I worked on them until the mortise and airway in the shank and stem were clean.Before gluing the new tenon in place in the stem I went over the stem with a lens. I saw a crack in the stem side on the left. It must have happened when the tenon snapped in the shank. I removed the metal band/cap on the stem end and dabbed some clear CA glue in the cracked area and worked it into the crack with a tooth pick. I put some white glue in the inside of the cap and pressed it back onto the stem end. The crack was solidly repaired and the cap and band held it together.I touched up the rim top and edges with a Walnut and a Black stain pen to blend colour of the clean surface into the colour of the rest of the bowl and shank.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process.   I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing it with 600 wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it sit and absorb into the vulcanite. This Neerup Made in Denmark Freehand Bulldog carved by Peder Jeppesen combines a great looking piece of sandblast briar with a multi-banded shank extension and a vulcanite stem to make a beautiful pipe. The clean up work brought back the shiny coat allowing the grain to come alive with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Neerup Made in Denmark Bulldog really is a beauty and fits nicely in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.80 ounces/51 grams. Once I finish the second pipe this one will be going back to Curtis to enjoy. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

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

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

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Blog by Steve Laug

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer and cut back the cake back to the bare briar. He cleaned up the walls with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and the darkened spots with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the Deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better when it arrived.I went through my can of stems until I found the one that fit the angles and the diameter of the shank. I used a Dremel and sanding drum and a file to reduce the diameter of the tenon on the new stem to fit the shank. Now it was time to deal with the damage on the shank end. I decided to use a thin brass band to provide a smooth base for the new stem to sit against. I gave the shank end a thin coat of white all-purpose glue and spread it with a tooth pick. I pressed the band in place on the shank and wiped off the excess glue. The end was smooth and the bit of brass gave the pipe a touch of bling that was perfect. I took photos of the newly fitted band and have included them below. With the band in place on the shank I fit the stem in the shank and took photos of the new look. I still needed to polish the new stem but I wanted to give a sense of the whole with the photos. Have a look. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl along with the stem to show their general condition. The rim top looked good and the stem was in good condition as well without tooth marks or chatter on either side. I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. The JSP stamp is clear and readable.I set the stem aside and turned my attention to the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to make the stain a bit more transparent so the grain showed through. I polished the bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped down the bowl after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I used a Mahogany stain pen to touch up the rim top to match the rest of the bowl. The rim matches the colour in the rest of the bowl and shank perfectly.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the bowl and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and let it sit and absorb into the vulcanite.I am excited to finish this JSP “Joel Shapiro” Briar Stack with Vulcanite taper Stem. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with beautiful mixed grain all around it. Added to that the polished black vulcanite stem combined with the bowl made a stunning pipe. This smooth JSP Joel Shapiro Stack is great looking with its new stem and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.38 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be putting on the rebornpipes store in the American (US)Pipe Makers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection send me an email or a message. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog.

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

Restemming a Lightly Smoked Ropp De Luxe 804 Cherrywood

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Blog by Steve Laug

Two of my daughters and I enjoy visiting our local Flea Market. They look for a lot of different things and I keep an eye out for pipes. Not long ago we were there and the girls found their things and I found these two Cherrywood Pipes – one is marked Royal Cherry [over] Made in France (top pipe in the photo below) and the other is marked Ropp in an oval [over] Deluxe [over] France [over] 804. Both are in good condition and both are without their stems. Here is what the pipes looked like when I brought them home. After finishing the Royal Cherry Cherrywood I turned my attention to the Ropp bowl. The octagonal bowl had strips of bark on four of the panels and smooth cherry stripped of the bark on the other four panels. The rim top and the heel of the bowl were stripped of bark and were smooth cherry wood. The shank is a cherry wood branch that has been threaded and screwed into the back side of the bowl. The bark on the shank is undamaged and looks good. The bowl and shank have been given a coat of varnish or shellac as it is smooth and shiny. The bowl has been smoked and there is a light cake in the bowl with some darkening and light lava on the bevelled inner edge of the bowl. The heel of the bowl is also smooth. It is stamped Ropp in an oval [over] De Luxe [over] France [over] 804. There was no stem that came with the pipe so one would need to be fit to the shank. I took a photo of the rim top to show the darkening and lava on the bevel and the light cake in the bowl. The shape of the bowl is well done and looks very good.I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It is clear and readable as noted above.I found a stem in my collection that would fit the shank but it would need to be bent to follow the flow of the shank and bowl. It was used and had some tooth marks in both sides of the stem ahead of the button.I reamed the bowl to take the cake back to bare walls. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and scraped it clean. I sanded the walls of the bowl smooth with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The walls of the bowl were smooth and undamaged.I cleaned out the shank airway and mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I did the same with the airway in the new stem. The pipe was clean when I was finished.I cleaned up the bevelled rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the light lava and the darkening. It came off very well and looked much better.I polished the smooth portions of the cherry with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I dry sanded the wood and then wiped it down with a damp cloth. The polishing work progressively brought a shine to the pipe. It looked really amazing – the combination of bark and smooth portions of the cherrywood. It is a beauty! I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the finish with my fingertips. The product works to clean, preserve and protect the wood. I let it sit and absorb for 10 minutes. I buffed it off with a soft cloth and then gave it a rigorous buff to raise the shine. It looks good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned to address the stem. I heated the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to soften the vulcanite and bend it to match the curves of the bowl and shank. Once it was soft I bent it and it looks much better. I took photos of the stem surface to show the deep tooth marks on the surface of the stem. I painted the surface of the tooth marks with a lighter flame. I was able to lift them considerably. I filled in what remained with black CA glue. I set it aside to allow them to cure. Once the repair had cured I flattened out the repair with small file to blend it into the stem surface. I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing on the stem with a piece of 600 grit sandpaper. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil and set it aside. I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – I dry sanded the chatter on the stem surfaces on both sides and the diameter of the saddle portion of the stem. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth after the sanding pads. Once finished it looked very good. I finished the hand polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian oil and set it aside to dry. I am really happy with the way that this restemmed Ropp De Luxe 804 Cherrywood Pipe turned out. It is a nice looking pipe with a great shape and finished with bark on the bowl sides and shank and the rim top and heel of the bowl are smooth. The vulcanite saddle stem turned out very nice. The polished stem works well with the Cherrywood finish. The wood really came alive with the buffing. The bark finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the wood. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Ropp De Luxe 804 Bent Cherrywood really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 64 grams/ 2.26 ounces. I will be putting the pipe on the rebornpipes store in the French Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

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

Restemming an Unsmoked Royal Cherry 4 Made France Cherrywood

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Blog by Steve Laug

Two of my daughters and I enjoy visiting our local Flea Market. They look for a lot of different things and I keep an eye out for pipes. Not long ago we were there and the girls found their things and I found these two Cherrywood Pipes – one is marked Royal Cherry [over] Made in France (top pipe in the photo below) and the other is marked Ropp in an oval [over] Deluxe [over] France [over] 804. Both are in good condition and both are without their stems. Here is what the pipes looked like when I brought them home. I decided to work on the Royal Cherry pipe first. The bowl was covered with uninterrupted bark and seemed to have a varnish coat as there is a shiny coat on the bowl, rim top and the heel. The shank is a branch that has been threaded and screwed into the back side of the bowl. The top end of the shank is slightly tapered behind a branch nodule. The shank is not varnished or shiny. The rim top was smooth and there is a pointed nose on the front of the bowl. It has a split in it on the top that has been filled with putty. The bowl is unsmoked but there is some darkening on front inner edge of the bowl. The heel of the bowl is also smooth. It is stamped Royal Cherry [over] Made in France. There was some sticky substance on the heel from a price sticker. I took a photo of the rim top to show the clean and unsmoked bowl. You can also see the putty fill in the rim top on the pointed nose of the bowl. It is solid and smooth to the touch.I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It is clear and readable under the sticky substance left behind by a price tag.I found a stem that would fit the shank but it would need to be bent to follow the flow of the shank and bowl. I also put a band in the photo but ended up not using it.I touched up the shank end on the shank with a Cherry stain pen so that the smooth portion would match the stain on the smooth rim top and heel of the bowl.I heated the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to soften the vulcanite and bend it to match the curves of the bowl and shank. Once it was soft I bent it and it looks much better.I sanded the diameter of the saddle portion to match the diameter of the shank. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to reduce it to match the shank. I started the polishing with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper.I polished the stem with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads – I dry sanded the chatter on the stem surfaces on both sides and the diameter of the saddle portion of the stem. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil on a cloth after the sanding pads. Once finished it looked very good. I finished the hand polishing of the stem with Before & After Pipe Polish – both the Fine and Extra Fine polishes. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian oil and set it aside to dry. I am really happy with the way that this restemmed, unsmoked Royal Cherry Bent Cherrywood Pipe turned out. It is a nice looking pipe with a great shape and finished with bark on the bowl sides and shank and the rim top and heel of the bowl are smooth. The vulcanite saddle stem turned out very nice. The polished stem works well with the Cherrywood finish. The wood really came alive with the buffing. The bark finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the wood. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Royal Cherry Bent Cherrywood really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 51 grams/ 1.80 ounces. I will be putting the pipe on the rebornpipes store in the French Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

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

Replacing a broken tenon and restoring a Stanwell de Luxe

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Blog by Steve Laug

Earlier in July I received an email from Peter, a fellow in California regarding a pipe repair he needed. He wrote as follows.

Hi, I’m just wondering if you can repair a Stanwell pipe for me? The stem broke off inside the pipe. Thanks for your time, Peter.

I wrote him back asking for photos so I could have a look at it. I figured he meant that the tenon snapped off inside the shank but I wanted to be certain. He replied

Thanks so much for your very fast response. Pictures are below. Best wishes, Peter We chatted back and forth a bit and Peter decided to send the pipe to me. I received it yesterday and here is what I saw once I unwrapped it. The photos tell the story but here is my review of it. The finish was dirty and worn. The bowl had a thick cake and there was lava buildup flowing along the inner edge and into the plateau on the rim top. The stem was snapped off leaving the tenon in the shank. Fortunately, there was no damage to the shank itself. It did not have any cracks in the sides. The shank end showed a lot of tar buildup. The tenon was still in the shank. The snap at the stem was fairly clean and would just need to be flattened. The stem itself showed a lot of oxidation, calcification and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The pipe was stamped on the left side and read Stanwell [over] de Luxe. I could not see any other stamping on the shank. There was a gold crown S on the left side of the saddle stem. This was going to be fun to bring back to life. I decided to begin working on the pipe by trying to pull the broken tenon with my usual methods. I put the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes, then inserted a screw into the airway in the shank. I wiggled the screw and tried to break it free. It was no use. I used a qtip to dribble alcohol around the edges of the broken tenon in the shank. I repeated that several times and let it sit. I was still unable to remove the broken tenon in the shank. It was stuck and nothing seemed to loosen it. With the tenon being stuck in the shank I stepped up the process and drilled it out. I started with a drill bit slightly larger than the airway. I have had good success in drilling and in the process having the tenon come out on the drill bit. In this case I worked through four drill bits until I used one that was slightly small than the mortise. I then scraped out the remainder of the bits of vulcanite in the shank with a small pen knife until the walls were clear. I took a photo of the pipe at this point in the process – the tenon drilled out, a replacement tenon and the stem. Now it is ready for the next part of my work. I set the stem and tenon aside so that I could work on the bowl and shank. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer. I took the cake back to bare walls so I could check out the walls for damage or checking. It looked very good. I scraped out the remnants of the cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and then sanded it with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel to smooth out the walls of the bowl. I worked on the buildup in the plateau surface of the rim top with a brass bristle wire brush. I was able to remove the heaviest part of the lava in the grooves of the plateau surface. It looked better but would need to be scrubbed. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scoured the surface of the briar and rinsed and repeated the process until the bowl was clean and the rim top looking very good. I cleaned up the darkening on the smooth bevelled portion of the inner rim edge next. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage and also smooth it out. I touched up the deep grooves in the plateau with a black Sharpie pen. The rim top and edge look very good.I polished the smooth rim top portions and the exterior of the pipe with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust and debris. By the last pad it was looking very good with a shine in the briar that highlights the grain. I cleaned out the shank and mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I wanted to remove the oils and tars so that I would have a clean surface for the new tenon that I was fitting in the shank. It cleaned up and certainly smelled better once cleaned.I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get into the plateau top. The product works to clean, preserve and protect the briar. I let it sit and work into the briar for 10 minutes then wiped it off with a cotton cloth. I buffed the briar with a clean cloth. The bowl is starting to look beautiful and there is a shine developing. At this point the bowl was finished until I finished with the new tenon insertion. I set the bowl aside and took a photo of the new tenon and the tools for reducing the diameter to fit in the shank. I used the Dremel and a sanding drum to reduce the diameter. I cleaned up the work with a file and then 220 grit sandpaper to get it to a point where the tenon fit in the shank.I put the stem in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer and set it aside while I worked on the tenon fit. I left it in the bath for three hours and then removed it and rubbed off the bath with a paper towel. The surface of the stem looked significantly better at this point. The oxidation was greatly reduced, the calcification was gone and the stem showed improvement. The tooth marks would still need to be worked on but there was progress.I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol the drilled the airway to match the diameter of the new tenon insertion. I started with a drill bit the same size as the airway and gradually increased the bit size until it matched the outside diameter of the tenon. I took a photo of the newly drilled end of the stem. I cleaned up the airway once again in preparation for gluing the new tenon in place. I wiped the tenon end down with black CA glue and then aligned the tenon and the mortise. I pressed the tenon in place in the stem and set it aside to cure. Once it cured I took a photo of the stem and new tenon with the bowl before putting them back together. Once the glue cured I fit the stem in the shank. As seems to be very usual when I do this kind of thing the fit against the shank was not perfect. I would need to shape the stem and shank to make the fit and flow perfect. I took photos of the pipe at this point. The fit is not far off but just enough to be noticeable in the photos on the top and underside and slightly on the right and left sides. I sanded the shank and the stem to match and make the transition smooth all the way around the junction. I used 220 grit sandpaper and sanded it in place on the shank. I had to remove briar and vulcanite on the sides of the shank according to the transition. When finished it looked much better. I polished the sanded areas with micromesh sanding pads to make them smooth. I used an Oak stain pen to touch up the sanded areas and blend them into the rest of the bowl and shank. It blends in very well.I rubbed it down once again with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar and let it sit for 10 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. I polished the bowl with a cotton cloth and set it aside. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to finishing the work on the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them significantly. I filled in what remained with black CA glue. Once the repair cured I used files to smooth out the surface of the repair. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the stem. I started the polishing of the stem with 600 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I rubbed it into the surface of the stem and buffed it off with a cloth and buffed it to a shine. I am really happy with the way that this Stanwell Danish Made de Luxe Freehand turned out. It really is a beautiful looking pipe with a great shape and smooth finished bowl and plateau on the rim top. The original vulcanite saddle stem is cleaned up nicely. The polished black of the stem works well with the briar and the plateau portions. The briar really came alive with the buffing. The rich brown stains of the finish gave the pipe a sense of depth with the polishing and waxing. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Stanwell de Luxe really is a beauty and feels great in the hand and looks very good. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 56 grams/1.98 oz. The pipe will be going back to Peter very soon. I look forward to hearing what he thinks about it. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. It was a fun one to work on!

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