Tag Archives: sanding a stem

Cleaning up a Unique Savinelli Autograph Grade 4

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother found this Savinelli Autograph on a trip through Nebraska. He picked it up in an antique shop. It was in very good shape with a light cake in the bowl. It is a large pipe that is sandblasted on three sides of the bowl and the shank. The sandblast finish was very clean and the smooth portion was also smooth and undamaged. The Pipes and Cigars website http://www.pipesandcigars.com/pipes/73592/savinelli-autograph-pipes/ says that:

“Savinelli Autographs are as individual as your fingerprints. Each is the dream of an expert pipe maker realized in briar and personally selected by Giancarlo Savinelli. Every Autograph is 100% ‘Hand made’ using only the highest grade of Sardinian and Corsican Briar Plateau blocks. Well grained briar, worthy of becoming an Autograph is rare and therefore, these beautiful masterpieces are very limited and coveted by pipe smokers worldwide. Truly an achievement to be treasured, Autographs are available in smooth, paneled, sandblasted brown or black.” The Autograph my brother found is a paneled version.

On the Savinelli website it says this about the Autographs:

“This rare, unique and irreplaceable pipe is shaped from the raw material following the grain and the “fiammatura” (“flame”), which Mother Nature has put at our disposal, according to the artistic mood of our master craftsmen. The wood is natural and the shape is unique for each piece. The name “Autograph” was created from the handwritten signature of Achille Savinelli Senior printed on the mouthpiece.”

“These pipes are graded according to very strict parameters: the 0 (zero) category goes from 000, an outstanding masterpiece, to 00 and then 0. The grading then goes down to 8, 6, 5, 4 and 3.” The one my brother found is stamped with a 4 thus it is a 4 Grade pipe.

The Savinelli website went on to confirm that the Autograph are available as ‘Panel’ pipes which have both a smooth and a sandblasted part or are completely sandblasted. http://www.savinelli.it/en/autograph-liscia The rim was dirty but undamaged. The inner and out edge was in perfect shape. The stem was oxidized and had some tooth marks on the top and bottom sides near the button.There was a smooth spot on the underside of the bowl and shank that is stamped Savinelli Autograph over the number 4 over Italy. The finish was a little dirty on the bottom of the shank and would need to be scrubbed off. The first photo below shows the underside of the bowl and the shank. The second photo shows the stamping on the pipe. The third photo shows the state of the stem. My brother is doing all of the initial cleanup work for me. He reamed the bowl and cleaned up the rim and the shank. He scrubbed out the internals in the shank and the stem. He scrubbed the stem with Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the stickiness and some of the surface grime on the stem. When I received the pipe it was in very good shape. The finish was very clean. The bowl and the rim were cleaned. The stem had some oxidation and there were tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem. I took a close up photo of the rim to give a clear view of the cleanup Jeff had done for me. He is doing some excellent work preparing the pipes before I get them. I can’t thank him enough as it saves me a lot of time and work.I quickly swabbed out the mortise and airways in the shank and in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It did not take too much work to clear out the sanding dust and debris from my work on the pipe.The stem had the autograph of Achille Savinelli Senior printed on the mouthpiece. It was faded and worn and the gold colour in the stamp had disappeared. I cleaned off the oxidation with 220 grit sandpaper being careful around the autograph. I rubbed it down with some Obsidian Oil and used Rub n’ Buff Antique Gold to fill in stamped area on the stem. I rubbed it in place with a soft cloth. I was able to sand out the tooth chatter on the underside of the stem with the 220 grit sandpaper. There were several deeper tooth marks on the top side. I patched them with a drop of black super glue. I let it harden over night and sanded it smooth to blend into the surface of the stem.With the stem cleaned and repaired I just needed to polish it. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads to begin to polish it and remove the remaining oxidation. I worked carefully around the signature so as not to damage it. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads using the Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. I gave it a final rubdown and let it day. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand waxed the bowl with Conservator’s Wax and buffed the bowl and stem with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Autograph is shown in the photos below. It is a unique and stunning pipe made in a shape that is unique to this particular pipe. The combination of smooth and sandblast finish works well on this panel version of the Autograph. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. If any of you are interested in adding this one to your rack let me know. I am sure we can make a deal. Thanks for looking.

Restemming and Restoring a Tiny KBB Rocky Briar 1540B Salesman’s Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

In the box of pipes my brother sent me was a beat up leather pipe and tobacco pouch. I pushed it aside and cleaned up the rest of the pipes in that particular part of the box. The other evening I was doing a bit of sorting and I took out the pouch and looked it over. It had a large tear on the bottom edge. The zipper was worn and hard to work and the leather was brittle. I almost tossed it in the bin but felt something inside of the pouch. I looked at the inside of the underside of the pouch and there was nothing there. I open the broken zipper on the top of the pipe and inside was a very small – tiny if you will – pipe. The tenon was broken and the stem and bowl sat in the pouch. I took it out of the pouch to have a look. It was a KBB that was stamped Rocky Briar. Why it bore that stamp I have no idea as it is a smooth briar. There is no rustication or and carving on the bowl at all – just very smooth. Underneath the KBB in a cloverleaf stamp and the Rocky Briar on the left side of the shank it read Reg. Pat. No. 298978. On the right side of the shank it reads 1540B which it was the shape number. All of that seems very normal but did I say that this pipe is tiny? It is only 4 ¾ inches long, 1 1/8 inches tall. The diameter of the bowl is 5/8 inches and the chamber is 7/16 inches in diameter. All is proportional and well laid out. It makes me wonder if it was not a salesman’s pipe.The tenon was snapped in the shank but no damage had been done to the shank itself. Really the pipe looked quite good other than the broken tenon.Obviously the pipe had been smoked and quite often. There was a fairly thick soft cake in the bowl and the rim top had a coating of tars and oils. The back left side of the rim had a burn mark on it that was quite large.I took a photo of the pipe before I began to work on it. The finish was very shiny – like it had been given a coat of varnish. The rim was obviously rough as you can see from the photos but the rest of the pipe looked good. The stem had tooth chatter on the top and the bottom of the stem near the button. The logo on the shank was a clearly stamped circle within a circle. The broken tenon would need to be pulled and if possible the stem given a new tenon.I used a drywall screw to pull the broken tenon. I screwed it into the broken tenon in the shank and wiggled it free. Before I pulled it out of the shank I took the following photos. I pulled the piece of tenon out of the shank and reamed the bowl with the only reamer that would fit in the tiny opening – a Savinelli Pipe Knife. I scraped back the cake to bare briar.The burned area on the top of the bowl made it necessary to top the bowl on the topping board using 220 grit sandpaper.I scrubbed off the briar with acetone on a cotton pad. I wanted to clean off the sanded rim and the shiny coat on the bowl so that it would be easier to stain the bowl and rim to match.I used the Dremel and sanding drum to flatten the face on the stem and then set up my cordless drill to drill out the end of the stem. I hand twisted the stem onto the drill bit. I started with a bit slightly larger than the airway in the stem and worked my way up until I had opened up the airway large enough to hold the tenon in place.I decided rather than trying to turn a small tenon that would fit in the shank I would clean up and use the existing broken tenon. Fortunately on these old pipes the tenon was quite long. I glued the broken tenon piece into the newly drilled opening in the stem with black super glue. I filled in around the tenon piece with the super glue using a dental pick and a piece of paper clip. I smoothed out the glue and aligned the tenon in the shank and set the stem aside to let the glue cure. Once it hardened, I sanded the new tenon with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess glue and make the fit in the shank smoother.I put the stem in the shank and sanded the shank and stem to make the transition smooth. Once I had the stem fit adjusted I sanded the shank and stem with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to remove the scratches. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it a second coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to dry. I gave the bowl a first coat of Medium Brown Stain with a staining pen to serve as an undercoat. I realize that for many of us who read about pipe restoration the measurements of this pipe really do not give a clear picture of the true size of the pipe. To give more of a sense of perspective to the diminutive size of the pipe I decided to take two photos of the tiny bowl with a regular sized Comoy’s long shank billiard. The first photo shows the pipe above the larger one. The second photo shows the bowl fitting inside of the regular sized bowl. Hopefully that helps give you a clear idea of the tiny nature of the pipe.I gave the bowl a second coat of stain using a Danish Oil Cherry stain. I wanted a bit of contrast to the brown and also to enhance the reds in the briar. I rubbed the bowl down with a soft cotton cloth to spread the stain coat out and rub it into the briar. The next photos show the look of the pipe after a quick hand buff.I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel to polish it. I gave the bowl several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth.I gave the bowl and stem another coat of carnauba wax and lightly buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the entire pipe with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It came out really nicely. Looking at the pipe is hard to tell from the photos the tininess of the pipe as all is proportional. The seashell in the photo is the same one that I use in all of the final photos and with this pipe it seems quite large. Thanks for looking.

A WDC Bakelite/Briar Pipe like none I have seen before

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Blog by Steve Laug

When my brother sent me this pipe I have to say I was surprised and enamored with it. I have cleaned up a lot of WDC pipes over the years and have come to really like them. There is something about them that always gets my attention. The workmanship is generally well done. The materials used are good quality. The briar always tends to have some flaws and is never perfect. But there is something about the brand that I like. Well this pipe is an oddity to me. It is a shape that is similar to some of the CPF pipes I have cleaned up and the combination of briar, brass and Bakelite it really nicely done. The first difference is that this one has a flat rectangular shank and saddle stem. The Bakelite base is rounded and flows into the flattened shank and stem. The stem is also Bakelite or Redmanol as the case may be. It is a rich reddish colour that is translucent and the light really plays with. The second difference is that in a lot of this style pipe the threaded connector and bottom of the bowl is metal. On this one it is white porcelain. When the bowl is removed the threaded connector is also porcelain – a single porcelain unit from the cupped bottom of the bowl to the connector. Those two differences intrigued me.There is a brass spacer between the base and the briar bowl and at some time in its life the spacer had been reversed and the sharper edges scarred the bowl. The Bakelite is actually notched to receive the sharp turned down edges of the spacer. The bowl had lots of dents and scars – character marks that I wish could talk and tell the story of the travels of this old pipe. The brass rim had long since come loose and was easily removed but for some reason never disappeared as it clung to the rim of the pipe. In the next photo you can see the rim top and the porcelain bottom of the bowl… it almost looks like the old milk glass that my grandmother collected.After looking at the two pictures above that came from my brother I was looking forward to seeing the pipe in person. When it arrived and I finally took it out to work on it was all that I had expected. The stem was over clocked so that would need to be addressed but I lined things up and took the next set of photos to show what the pipe looked like after my brother did an amazing job cleaning it. (It is great to have him work with me – it really speeds up the process on the restoration. He reams and cleans the pipes and does the dirty work of reaming and removing the debris of the years.) I looked it over to see if there were identifying marks. What I thought was brass may all be what is stamped on the right side of the band – 14K Gold Plated. The left side of the band bears the inverted WDC triangle logo. I took a close up photo of the rim top to show the dents, scratches and scars on the surface. The photo also shows the porcelain cup in the bottom of the bowl. It has three round air holes for directing the smoke into the bottom chamber and into the stem.I dismantled the pipe to show the many parts that went into its construction. The photo below shows the broken down pipe.The next photos show the over clocked stem. (I had removed the loose band at this point in the process.) Once the base was screwed onto the stem it was grossly overturned. The metal tenon was set in the stem so it would need to be heated to be able to repair this.I heated the metal tenon with a lighter and once the glue softened I was able to align the stem and shank very easily. Underneath the band the number 43 had been scratched into the Bakelite shank. I am not sure if that is the shape number or if it is the “autograph” of the assembler of the pipe. Either way it is something that remained hidden for many years. I set the base aside and worked on the bowl. I removed the rim cap and cleaned off the glue that remained behind on the top of the bowl. It was rough and I was thinking that it was reason that the cap was no longer smooth. I scrubbed out the glue residue in the inside of the rim cap as well with alcohol and cotton swabs. I used a flat blade screw driver to smooth out the interior flat surface of the cap. I wiped down the bowl with acetone to remove the remnants of the finish and then glued the rim cap back in place with an all-purpose glue. I polish the rim with some micromesh and metal polish. I decided to leave some of the dents and dings as to me it gave the pipe character. I cleaned the surface of the Bakelite base and sanded the whole base with micromesh sanding pads from 1500-12000 grit. I rubbed the base down with Obsidian Oil several times throughout the process to give the micromesh some bite as I polished the base. I gave the internals a quick clean with alcohol and cotton swabs to remove any of the sanding dust that might have found its way into the bowl base and shank. I also cleaned the airway in the stem at the same time with alcohol and pipe cleaners.I roughened the area on the base that would be underneath the band to give the glue something to bind to. I used an all-purpose glue and applied it sparingly to the shank. I had previously polished the band with metal polish to remove any tarnish and give it a shine. I pressed it in place and laid the base aside for the glue to set.I cleaned the inside of the space plate with alcohol and cotton swabs to remove the debris of the years. The spacer appeared not to have been glued in place so I left it that way. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads 1500-4000 grit until it gleamed. I laid it aside until I was ready to put the pipe back together.I turned my attention to the stem. There were some light tooth marks on the underside of the stem near the button. I sanded these out with 220 grit sandpaper. I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cotton pad and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I gave the stem a final wipe down with the damp pad. With the stem finished and the glued band dried I put the base and stem back together. I would still need to buff the entirety with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel.I used a medium brown stain pen to stain the bowl. I heated the briar and then applied the stain with the pen. I repeated the staining until the coverage was smooth and even.I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and hand buffed it to raise the shine with a microfibre cloth.With all the parts finished I took a final photo of the bowl and the base before putting it back together.I buffed the completed pipe with Blue Diamond to polish out some of the scratches in the base and the stem. I was not able to remove all of them so I left a few behind to tell the story. I gave the pipe several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I am really pleased with the finished pipe and how it looks. Thanks for looking.

Another Attempt at a Drier Smoke – a Vintage Dri-Bowl Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me a link to this sale on eBay and I found it intriguing. In the first photo there is what appears to be the edge of a dial on the bottom of the bowl – it is peeking out at the bottom of the bowl. That was intriguing to me. I wanted to know more about the pipe but at this point I had not read the seller’s description of the pipe. I was still looking at the pictures and seeing all of the fills and rim damage on the pipe in the first three photos. It really was quite a mess. The bowl appeared to be reamed but the dings and dents added to the fills made me wonder if it was worth the effort. I still had no idea what the bottom looked like and what made this a dry bowl. Scrolling through the rest of the seller’s photos soon made that clear. Dri1 Dri2

Dri3 The fourth and fifth pictures remove the mystery of the knurled edge on the bottom of the bowl that showed in the first photo. You can see in that photo of the bowl bottom that the silver disk looks like it was made to be rotated. We talked and my brother bid and won the pipe (I can’t wait for the pipe to get here so I can check this out). The fifth photo shows the inside of the bowl. The top of the disk appears to be a cup intruding into the bowl bottom. It was really odd looking.

I dropped to the bottom of the eBay ad to read the seller’s description of the pipe. I wanted to get some information on the pipe. I had done some searching on Google but was unable to find any information on the brand. It is a bit mysterious. The seller writes:

“This French Briar Rhodesian Dri-bole has a 5/8″ diameter silver metal “sump”, with knurled edge, set into the bottom of the bowl. The “sump” may actually be an alloy of silver, such as coin or sterling; metal is untested, but has silver-like qualities.”

“According to advertisements, found in various 1911 magazines, this “sump” was used to hold a provided, removable “wad”. The throw away “wad” would absorb all of the nicotine and saliva as the tobacco burns. Thus the tobacco was kept dry, so that it would be fully burned.”

“This extra nice Dri-bole pipe has the same “wad” holder or “sump”, as those “silver mounted” pipes patented on Sept. 7, 1909 and shown in 1911 Saturday Evening Post and Literary Digest Magazine advertisements! That would make this pipe over 100 years old, if it is indeed the same Dri-bole pipe! There are not any “wads” with this one, but it should be a good smoker, with a nice look and make a great conversation piece!” That information was helpful on many levels. He did not however have any photos or drawings of the pipe or pictures of the advertisements. I wanted to know if the bottom “sump” as he called it was pressure fit or threaded and screwed into the briar. I wanted to know if the bottom of the bowl was damaged or if the “sump” sat as it was supposed to flush with the bottom. It was hard to tell from the photos. I wanted to know was the “wads” were that sat in the sump. From the look of the bowl bottom it appeared that the “wads” may well have been lozenges that fit in the curved cup and then sat flat in the bottom of the bowl. But what did they look like? More research would be needed to answer these questions. But at least the mystery of the knurled edge peaking from the first photo was solved. It was a single unit with a cup on the inside of the bowl. I could not wait to see this in person and “fiddle” with it.

The seller also included a photo of the stamping on the pipe and briefly spelled out what it said. The left side of shank is stamped DRI-BOLE (in crescent) and below the crescent it reads REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. The right side of the shank is stamped Imported Briar leading me to believe that is it American made. The bottom of shank is stamped “266”. Dri6 He gave the dimensions of the pipe as follows: overall length: 5 ½ inches, bowl height: 1 ½ inches, diameter of the bowl: 1 5/8 inches, bore diameter: 7/8 inches, bore depth: 1 1/8 inches and the weight: 44 grams or 1.6 ounces

When the pipe arrived in Vancouver I was looking forward to working on it. My brother had done a great job cleaning the interior and stripping the shiny coat that had been applied to the pipe. It was clean and ready for me to work on. I tried to turn the knurled silver disk on the bottom of the bowl and could not move it at all. The rim looked rough and needed topping. The stem was in decent shape with some pitting and dulling to the old rubber. I was so excited that I forgot to take photos of the pipe before starting my restoration. I put the bowl in an alcohol bath to see if I could loosen the tars that held the silver disk tightly in place. I was guessing it was threaded so I was thinking that if I could soak the bowl overnight things would soften up. Dri7 I took it out of the alcohol bath and heated the disk with the flame of a lighter. I used a pair of pliers to hold tightly to the edge of the disk and I was able to twist it out of the bowl. Once it popped free I could undo it by hand. The first photo below shows the inside of the silver disk. The second shows the knurled outside. Dri8 To remove the damage to the rim top and edges I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper. Dri9 There were some nicks around the hole in the bottom of the bowl so I sanded those smooth with sandpaper and then cleaned out the threads in the briar with a cotton swab and alcohol. Dri10 I used the brass bristle brush to scrub the threads and the cup on the disk. I cleaned it afterwards with cotton swabs and alcohol. Dri11 I used a cotton swab to coat the threads on the disk with Vaseline and turned it into the bottom of the bowl. I wanted to make sure that I could easily turn the disk by hand. Dri12 I cleaned out the internals with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It was pretty clean thanks to my brother. It did not take too many to clean it out. Dri13 I sanded the bowl and stem with a medium and a fine grit sanding block. The pipe is beginning to look really good. I had to make a decision how far to sand the bowl and how many of the original dings and dents to remove without changing the “story” and character of this old timer. Dri14 I heated the briar and then stained it with dark brown aniline stain cut by 50% with isopropyl alcohol. I flamed it to set the stain and repeated the process. Dri15 I wiped down the stain with alcohol dampened cotton pads to make it more transparent and make the grain stand out. At this point the fills stood out and I would need to address them a bit differently. Dri16 Dri17 I used a black Sharpie Permanent Marker to draw some lines across the fills and blend them into the grain on the pipe. I then chose to give the bowl a second contrast staining using a Cherry Danish Oil stain. I find that the combination of the black marker and the cherry stain blends the fills better than a brown stain. The combination of the brown and the cherry stains gives depth to the finish so I like using them together. Dri18 Once the cherry Danish Oil stain dried (overnight) I buffed it lightly on the wheel with Blue Diamond and then gave the bowl a coat of carnauba wax. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. You can see the small dings that I left in the bowl sides rather than change the look. I polished the silver disk with a silver polishing cloth. The next series of photos shows the bowl at this point in the process. Dri19 Dri20 I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. The old hard rubber that was used on this stem was good quality. There was very little oxidation if any on it. The main issue was the pitting that covered the surface of the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to address the pitting and smooth out the surface and then began my normal sequence of micromesh sanding pads. Between each set of three grits (1500-2400, 3200-4000, 6000-12000) I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I gave it a final coat of the oil and let it dry before I buffed the pipe. Dri21 Dri22 I buffed the pipe and stem with Blue Diamond and gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to put the finishing touches on the pipe. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Thanks for looking. Dri23 Dri24 Dri25 Dri26 Dri27 Dri27a Dri28 Dri29 Dri30

A Ropp La Montagnarde Deposee 298 Horn-Cherrywood-Briar

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have been cleaning up a lot of pretty standard pipes lately, whether metal, meerschaum or briar. It has been a while since I took on a unique looking piece that captured my interest. In the current box of pipes my brother sent there are some great one of a kind pipes that I have not seen before so I turned my attention to one of them. The first one that I decided to work on just called out my name. The combination of rustic cherrywood with the bark on, really nicely striated horn and beautifully grained briar just called out to see what I could do with a restoration. I have no idea of the age of the pipe but the horn stem with the orific button speaks of some age. The pipe is stamped on the left side La Montagnarde over Deposee and on the right side it is stamped with Ropp in an oval with the 298 shape number next to it. The brass band on the shank and the small wedding ring brass band on the cherrywood extension give the pipe a touch of class. The next two photos were the seller’s photos. The pipe looked to be in really good condition. When the pipe arrived at my brother’s house it was not nearly as clean as it appeared. The finish was spotty and worn. It had been waxed or maybe shellacked to give it a shine. The stem screws into the cherrywood and then the wood end is pressure fit into the shank of the pipe. It was very loose and would not stay in place. My brother cleaned the internals and scrubbed the exterior with Murphy’s Oil Soap. It took off the soiled finish and the remnants of the polish. When I got it the pipe was very clean. The brass bands were tarnished and the horn was dull. I took some close up photos of the rim and the stamping to have a better look. The top of the rim had a burn mark on the inner edge of the right side. It did not go deep into the surface of the briar so a light topping would remove the damaged area.The second close up shows the stamping on the shank. La Montagnarde Deposee is what it reads. La Montagnarde translates from French as “The Mountain” and Deposee translates as “Filed” or “Registered”.I topped the bowl with 220 grit sand paper on a topping board. Once the bowl was topped I used a rolled piece of sand paper to sand out the bowl and smooth out the inner edge of the rim. The internals were pretty clean. My brother had done a good job scrubbing out the mortise and shank. I used a few cotton swabs and pipe cleaners and alcohol to remove and of the dust left behind by my sanding.I stained the bowl with dark brown aniline stain and flamed it. I repeated the process until the bowl was covered.I wiped the bowl down with a cotton pad and alcohol to thin the stain and make the grain stand out better.I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond and gave it a light coat of olive oil. I rubbed down the cherrywood bark with oil as well to bring some life to it. In the photo below you can see the way in which the pipe is held together.The cherrywood insert has a threaded wooden tenon on the outer side which the horn stem threads onto. The other end is a wooden stinger apparatus that fits into the shank of the pipe and holds the stem in place on the bowl.I polished the brass bands with a tarnish polish to bring back the shine.I cleaned out the threads in the end of the stem with cotton swabs and alcohol.I sanded the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil between each set of three pads. What appears to be chips along the end of the stem are not actually chips but striations that run through the rest of the stem. I sanded the bowl with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pads. As I sanded it the grain really began to pop and some of the scratches in the briar disappeared. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond. I avoided buffing the cherrywood insert as I did not want to risk peeling the bark. The finish began to take on a rich glow. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The first four photos show the pipe as a whole. The rest of the photos show the various pipe parts. Thanks for looking.

The box said it was a BBB Peacemaker

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Blog by Steve Laug

I learned something this afternoon as I worked on a Peacemaker. The stem bears the Dr. Plumb stamp and red dot but the box says BBB. So who made this pipe? What I found inside the box may well explain that question. The brochure reads The Peacemaker Pipe. There is no Dr. Plumb or BBB on the brochure. This got me thinking that the pipe was probably made by a third manufacturer and sold under a variety of labels. Somewhere along the way a Dr. Plumb version got placed in a BBB box. The interesting thing about the box was that it had peal and stick logos on circular marked areas. It was missing a sticker on one side. I looked on-line and found a BBB version of the pipe. It was stamped identically to mine with the only difference being on the top of the stem. Where my pipe had the Plumb and red dot it had the BBB Diamond on the top. I tried to find out who made them but everything pointed to them being made by Peacemaker. I am wondering if they were not made by the Cadogan Group after they had bought out both GBD and BBB. Maybe some of you know some of the history about the brand. Don’t be shy let us all know.

When my brother received the pipe and opened the box it was an interesting discovery. The pipe definitely did not read BBB and it was in pretty decent condition. The metal was in great shape as was the stem. There was some minor tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides of the stem. The finish on the bowl was in good condition. There was a cake in the bowl and the rim top was dirty and the inner edge of the bowl had some nicks that made it slightly out of round. The box had a Peacemaker brochure inside and a pipe cleaner sleeve for the Smokin’ Bowl, a pipe shops in Charleston, Beckley and Vienna West Virginia. My brother took the above photos and also some close-up photos to show the condition of the pipe before he cleaned it up.The bottom of the metal base is stamped Peacemaker England in a Circle and the number 1 in the centre of the circle.He took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl. It shows the chips and nicks on the inner edge of the rim.He took the bowl off of the base and took a photo of the bottom of the bowl and the inside of the base that both reveal the tars and oils built up in both places.When the pipe arrived here it was in the BBB box. I took some photos of the box because I had not seen one of them before. It is an interesting box. The BBB logo is a sticker on the top and on one side of the box. I opened the box and inside was the pipe and a brochure for Peacemaker pipes. It shows the various bowl shapes and finishes that are provided. The pipe looked pretty good. My brother had done the hard work of cleaning up the bowl and the base. He had reamed it and scrubbed the finish and rim. He had also washed the base to remove the hardened oils and tars.I took the pipe out of the box and took some photos of it showing where it stood when I started my clean up. I took a close up photo of the rim and bowl. I still needed to do some light reaming with the Savinelli pipe knife and the bowl would need to be topped to remove the damage to the inner edge of the bowl.I took the bowl off the base to see what I would need to do to clean out the inside of the base. The threads and the entry of the airway into the shank needed to be cleaned up. I removed the stem from the shank and used pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to clean out the base and the entrance of the airway into the base. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I took a photo of the cleaned up parts of the pipe. It is a simple and yet effective design that is very similar to the Falcon pipe in basic concept.I topped the bowl on the topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage to the rim and the inner edge. I sanded until the rim was smooth and the rim was round once again.I cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a Savinelli Pipe Knife to remove the light cake that still was in the bowl. I smoothed out the walls and the base of the bowl.The stem had tooth chatter on the top and the bottom sides near the button. These plastic stems are not too hard to sand smooth but it is an issue to get the shine back. It takes a lot of sweat equity investment to bring a shine back to the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sand paper and then with a series of 400-600 grit wet dry sandpaper to smooth out the scratches. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I gave it a rub down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads, gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I sanded the rim with 1500-4000 grit micromesh sanding pads to smooth out the scratches left behind when I topped the bowl. I used a dark brown stain touch up pen to restain the rim to match the sides of the bowl. I touched up the outer edge of the rim as well making sure that all the stain matched the bowl. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and then used a shoe brush to buff it. I also buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine (The second photo was taken when I had coated the bowl with the third coat of wax).I lightly buffed the aluminum base and the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel. I put the pipe back together and then buffed the pipe with a light touch giving it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad and then with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is a great example of the Peacemaker Pipe. I have several of these so I will not be keeping this one either. If any of you want to have a Peacemaker for your metal collection, contact me and this one can be yours. Thanks for looking.

A Butz-Choquin Millesime Limited Edition 1986 Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

One of the pipes that my brother sent me was a Butz-Choquin that was in a large presentation box. It was stamped Butz-Choquin on the bottom of the shank and had a silver disk on the left side of the shank with 1986 engraved on it. On the right side of the shank it was stamped MILLESIME with C in a circle and 215 underneath. The box was satin lined and the pipe was held in place by an elasticized band. The stem bore the acrylic inset BC logo. In the lid of the box was a Butz-Choquin pipe sock and a certificate stating that this pipe was a limited edition and bore the number 215 of 1200 pipes made.On the satin lining of the box it was stamped BC and the Butz-Choquin logo. Underneath was Millesime. Underneath that to the left it read Limited Edition, central it read Maitre Pipier a Saint Claude – France, and to the right it read edition numerotee. A little research on Google told me that Millesime translated Year and the Millesimei line was composed of the BC pipes of the year. Thus I had in my hands a 1986 Pipe of the Year.I took the pipe out of the box and laid it on the pipe sock and took a photo of it. It is a beautifully grained piece of briar with a shiny Lucite stem.The certificate has the BC Butz-Choquin logo and Millesime. Then it reads:

This year we have carefully selected this model B.C. Millesime 1986. This year is engraved on a silver plate inlaid in the briar and the edition is limited to 1200 pieces.

We have created the B.C. Millesime for the special and individual taste of pipe lovers. Those who appreciate their pipe will be able to savour this new B.C. shape and start a new collection.

The distribution has been intentionally limited and great attention has been given to it production.

This has made this B.C. Millesime 1986, with the No. 215, a pipe that caters to the pipe smoker’s enjoyment.

This certificate which accompanies this pipe guarantees its authentic and unique character and justifies its prestige.

Jacques et Jean-Paul Berrod, Maitres Pipiers a Saint-Claude. The certificate bears his signature below the name and title.I took the pipe to the work table and took some photos of it before I started to clean it up. The first four photos show the various views of the pipe. The grain on the pipe is quite a stunning mixture of flame, cross grain and birdseye. The pipe had obviously been lightly smoked as the tobacco chamber still the bowl coating on the bottom two-thirds of the bowl. I think that the most disturbing feature of this pipe to me was that the sanding marks were still visible on the rim and bowl. I am not sure if those were original or if the entire pipe had been brushed with a coat of varnish. In the close up photos you can see the marks that I am talking about. Each of the photos shows a different portion of the pipe from the rim to the stamping on the sides and bottom of the shank. I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until they were clean.The Lucite stem had scratches and small nicks in the surface so wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and dry sanded it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cotton pad between each set of three grits. I sanded the briar with the same sequence of micromesh pads to remove the scratches. The more I worked with them the more convinced I became that the surface had a brushed on coat of varnish or shellac. I don’t think it came that way originally but had probably been done by the eBay seller to make the pipe look shiny.When I finished sanding it with the micromesh sanding pads I buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. The sanding pads and the buffing wheel took out the scratches and polished the finish. The grain really stands out after the buffing. I gave the pipe and stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The Lucite stem looks great with the newly polished bowl and shank. The silver inlaid disk engraved 1986 also shined up nicely with some silver polish.

A Nice Looking Drucquer & Sons Berkeley DRUKE 187 Pipe

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother sent me an eBay link that had a few pipes from Drucquer & Sons Ltd, Tobacconists for sale. We bid on several of them and this was one of the ones we won. It is a lot like the Pipo shaped pipes that are still made today. This one is English made and I have no idea what to call the shape. The photos taken on top of the pipe sock came from the seller.The pipe is stamped on the underside “DRUKE” over Drucquer & Sons Ltd. Underneath that it is stamped Berkeley with a shape number 187 below and toward the stem. Next to the shank/stem junction it is stamped Made in England. I have done some searching but cannot find either the shape or the number on the various English pipe brand charts. When the pipe came to my brother he took some photos to capture the condition of the pipe before he cleaned it up for me. The next photo shows that the overall condition of the pipe is quite good. The finish is not too bad though there are some sand pits or nicks on the back side of the bowl. The rim is dark and oily. The bowl had a thin cake. The stem was oxidized and there was some tooth chatter on the top and bottom sides near the button. He took a close up photo of the top of the bowl that shows the cake and the condition of the rim. It was covered with lava over flow but there appeared to be little rim damage other than a few shallow nicks on the outer edge of the rim.He reamed the pipe and scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He was able to remove the majority of the rim darkening and all of the cake. The soap took off the grime on the finish so that when he sent me the pipe it was clean. The stem oxidized a bit more after the cleaning but it was not too bad. The pipe has some excellent grain around all sides of the bowl and shank. The next photos show the pipe as it was when it arrived in Vancouver. I took a close up of how the rim looked after my brother had cleaned it up. It was in decent shape with just some darkening and a few pieces of tar stuck to the surface.I wiped down the rim with a cotton pad and alcohol to remove the remnants and then sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded it until the rim was clean and the bevel was smooth to touch. I sanded it with 1500-3200 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove any scratches left behind by the sandpaper.I wiped the pipe down with a light coat of olive oil and polished it by hand. The grain began to really stand out and the virgin finish looked good (the pipe had never been stained so the oil approximated what would have been there when the pipe was new).I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of oil. I set the stem aside to dry. I buffed the entire pipe with Blue Diamond on the wheel to polish the stem and the bowl. I gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax to protect and give it shine. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to shine it and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Does anyone know what to call this shape? Does anyone have a similar pipe or even the same one from Drucquer’s & Sons Ltd.? Thanks for looking.

Restoring an Old Bruyere Extra Floral Carved Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

This interesting old pipe is unique in many ways. The first and most obvious is the floral pattern carved on the bowl sides and bottom. It is well carved and the petals and the leaves flow around the bowl. They sit against a rusticated finish in the gaps of the leaves and around the top of the bowl. There was one burn spot on the bottom of the shank where it looked as if the pipe had been set down in an ashtray and was burned. The second visible uniqueness is the horn stem with the orific button on the end. It had a little damage on the right edge of the stem but it was fixable. The third unique feature was not visible until I removed the stem. The stem had a large chamber in the saddle portion as did the shank. There were also two tubes at the end of the mortise and a collecting chamber or sump. The pipe was in pretty decent shape for its age. I can only hope that when I reach that age, if I am still around I will look as good.My brother Jeff had reamed the bowl and done the initial clean up. He had scrubbed the surface of the bowl and the shank. It is great that he is doing that part of the job for me as it speeds up the process that I do in the restoration. The rim had some hard cake built up on the surface. There was a burn spot on the bottom of the shank that is visible in the second photo below.I took some close up photos of the areas that needed work. The first photo shows the burned spot. Fortunately the burn had not softened the wood too much. It was hard when I probed it with a dental pick. The second photo shows the hard cake on the rim. It is quite thick but the rim appears to be undamaged and the inner and out edges of the rim are in great shape. The third photo shows the damaged portion of the right edge of the stem. I have seen these often on horn stems and have always wondered if it was not damage done by a worm eating the horn.I took several more close up photos. The first photo shows the two inner tubes that enter the bowl in two spots at the bowl bottom. It is a twin bore airway. The second photo shows the stamping on the left side of the shank – it reads Bruyere Extra. The right side of the shank is stamped with the shape number 6185. The band has three hallmarks and EP in a diamond. The hallmarks are letters, each in a car-touche. My guess is that these signify the maker.

The letters are JBF and look like the ones I have pictured to the left.

The inside edge of the briar was thin in several spots. The two that were the most problematic can be seen on the bottom edges of the shank on the right side of the photo below. I have circled the two spots in red. The top one was missing a wedge of briar and the bottom was a half circle of briar. Both were repairable with briar dust and wood glue.I decided to work on the stem repair first. I cleaned the area on the horn with alcohol and a cotton swab and then filled it in with clear super glue. For some reason this time around the repair turned white. That has never happened for me. Generally the glue dries clear and the underlying colour of the horn shines through. I set the stem aside to let the glue cure.The tars and oils were almost petrified on the top of the rim. I had soaked the rim with alcohol to try to soften them with no success. I decided that the best option was to lightly top the bowl until the hard tars were gone. I used a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the buildup. I sanded the burned area on the bottom of the shank at the same time to remove the surface damage to the briar. I sanded it until the briar was darkened but solid.Once the rim was clean I sanded it with 1500-3200 grit micromesh sanding pads to smooth out the scratches left behind by the topping of the bowl. I scrubbed out the sump and the open mortise with cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean. I cleaned out the twin bore tubes with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I used an all purpose wood glue and briar dust to build up the two spots on the inside of the shank and sanded them smooth. They are circled in red in the photo below.I sanded the repair to the horn with 220 grit sandpaper and sanded the tooth marks and chatter on the top and bottom of the stem until it was smooth. I cleaned out the chamber in the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean. I had to do two full cleanings remove the tars in the chamber. The first photo below shows the stem after the first cleaning. The second photo shows the second cleaning. It took a lot of cotton swabs to clean out the chamber. I don’t like to boil hot alcohol through horn stems with the retort as I do not want to damage the stem.With the inside of the stem clean I sanded the exterior with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I polished the Electro-Plated silver end cap with silver polish to remove the tarnish and restore the shine. I stained the rim with a light brown stain touch up pen to match the colour of the rest of the bowl.I gave the bowl several coats of Conservators Wax and hand buffed it with a shoe brush. I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and then gave the bowl and stem several coats of carnauba. I had a light touch on the bowl so it did not clog up the carvings. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to shine it and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Have any of you seen a pipe with plumbing like this one? Do you recognize the hallmarks or the brand or shape number? Let me know as I am curious. Thanks for looking.

Cleaning up a Butz-Choquin Chombord Rhodesian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The Rhodesian is one of my favourite shapes and recently I stumbled on the BC 1025 that really captures the Rhodesian shape well. It is right up there with the GBD 9438 and the Peterson 999. So when my brother and I saw this one on Ebay we of course were smitten with PAD. I wanted that pipe. The Cumberland stem is definitely a plus because I like that as well and to have the two combined in one pipe was bonus. This one is stamped on the left side of the shank Butz-Choquin over Chombord. On the right side it is stamped St Claude in an arch over France over the shape number 1025. The silver band is stamped Sterling Silver. It was dirty – the rim had a tarry top coat and there was a cake in the bowl. The silver was tarnished and the Cumberland stem was oxidized. It also bore some calcification on the stem where it looked as if the stem had borne a softee bit. The good thing about the softee bit is it often prevents tooth marks or in some cases hides them. The stem bore the BC logo encased in clear resin and set in the left side. This pipe came with the box, the original pipe sock and a BC brochure. When the pipe arrived in Vancouver it came in its original box and sock. I couldn’t wait to open it up and check it out.Inside the lid was the brochure that gave the variety of BC pipe shapes along with a simple guide on pipe care called “The Minor Art of Pipe-Smoking”.I took the pipe sock out of the box and took the pipe out to see it. Once again my brother did an incredible job cleaning and reaming this one. It came to me in really great shape. The finish was actually pristine on the bowl after the clean up. The stem was clean and lightly oxidized. The silver was tarnished. All of these were minor clean up issues. The rim had a very light coat of tar that had not come off in the scrubbing. The next two photos are close up pics. The first is of the bowl and stem separated and shows the tarnish on the silver. The second photo shows what is left on the rim top. Neither issue would actually take a lot of work.I used 1500 grit micromesh sanding pads and also a cotton pad and alcohol to remove the remaining tars.I cleaned off the tarnish with some silver tarnish remover and a cotton pad. I scrubbed it until the silver shone.I wet sanded the Cumberland stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and rubbed it down with Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit sanding pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding the stem with 6000-12000 grit sanding pads, gave it a final coat of oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and by hand with a microfibre cloth. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. Thanks for looking.