Tag Archives: sanding a stem

Restoring a Tom Howard Rhodesian Scoop

Blog by Steve Laug

This pipe is stamped Tom Howard on the left side of the shank and Imported Briar on the right side. A friend of mine emailed me and asked if I would clean it up for him and bring it back to life. He said the stem tasted awful. He said he had tried to clean it up a bit but was not happy with the results. He dropped it by the house before he left on a short trip. Here is what it looked like when it arrived. There was a pretty thick cake in the bowl and the rim had overflow on the top. The grooves and worm trails were pretty much filled in with grime. The stem was badly oxidized and there were some deep scratches in the surface. There was tooth chatter on the top and bottom of the stem near the button.I reamed the bowl in stages. I began with a Savinelli Pipe Knife to take back the inner edge of the bowl.I used a brass bristle wire brush to clean off the top of the rim and get rid of the buildup.I scrubbed the bowl with a tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the buildup of tars and oils that darkened the bowl and shank. It did not take too much to get the briar clean. I rinsed the bowl with running water and dried it off with a towel. The cleaned exterior is shown in the photos below. I did the second stage of reaming the bowl with a PipNet Reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up that reaming with the Pipe Knife again.I used the dental spatula to scrape out the mortise and then scrubbed it with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until it was clean.I decided to scrub the surface some more with a cotton pad and acetone. I was able to remove more of the finish on the bowl and lighten it even more. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the inner edge of the rim and smooth out some of the damage that was there.I cleaned out the inside of the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol.I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation that was on the surface of the saddle, the groove where the saddle joined the bowl and the area around the button.Before continuing on the stem I stuffed a cotton ball in the bowl of the pipe and also the bowl of a second one I was working on and filled it with alcohol. The alcohol pulled the tars and residue from the bowl and shank into cotton ball.I let it sit in the bowl for several hours while I worked on the stem. You can see the oils and tars that are being drawn into the cotton ball in the next photo.The underside of the stem near the button had one deep tooth mark in the surface that I was unable to sand out. I cleaned it up and then filled it with some black super glue. Once the glue had dried I sanded the patch back to blend it into the surface of the stem.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I sanded and polished the stem. I 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 set it aside to dry. I stained the bowl with some medium walnut Danish Oil and then buffed it with Blue Diamond on the wheel. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. The pipe is clean, the smell and bad taste are gone and to me the pipe looks better than when I started the process. The bowl smelled clean. The pipe is ready to go back to its owner once I get the second pipe finished. Thanks for looking. Theo if you see this – your first pipe is ready for you when you return.

A Clean and Restore of a Viggo Nielsen Handmade Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

My brother Jeff is developing quite an eye for beautiful pipes. He came across this freehand on eBay and sent me the photos. He bid on it and soon received it in the mail. It is a stunning piece that Viggo made in such a way that the shape absolutely maximizes the grain. It is stamped with Viggo’s normal stamp Viggo Nielsen in a circle over Handmade in Denmark on the left side of the shank.Its finish is a combination of smooth and what looks like sandblast but I am not sure it is not just a well done rustication made to look that way. The colours of the stains are a rich medium brown on the smooth portions that accentuate the grain. The colour on the rustication shows both a medium and dark brown stain that is repeated on the plateau on the rim of the pipe and small bit of plateau that peeks out on the top edge of the shank. The stem is a custom cut square piece of vulcanite that is carved with a square ring and a round one just before the tapered tenon. The finish was dirty with thick wax and grime from years of use. The bowl had a light cake. The rim edges were in perfect condition and the plateau top look new under the grime. The rustication/blast on the front of the bowl also looked to be in great shape. There were no dings or nicks in the finish. The stem was oxidized and had tooth marks on the top and bottom sides near the button.

I turned to Pipedia to learn about Viggo Nielsen. I had memory about him being somehow connected to Kai Nielsen but I was not sure of the relationship of the two. In Pipedia I learned that Viggo, now deceased, was born in 1927. I believe that during World War II he worked for Stanwell making pipes out of birch due to a shortage of briar. In 1948 he opened the Bari pipe factory and in 1951 began to make briar pipes. He carved both classic and freehand pipes.

In 1978 Bari was sold to a company in Germany and he and his two sons, Jorgen and Kai started making Faaborg pipes. Now I knew the connection between the two names that I remembered. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen,_Viggo

I scrubbed the surface of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap on cotton pads to remove the old wax and accumulated grime. Once the pipe was cleaned I rinsed it under running water and dried it off. The grain just stood out and showed how well Viggo laid out the shape to the grain. I cleaned out the internals of the mortise and airways in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol until the pipe was clean.I reamed the light cake back to bare briar with a Savinelli Pipe Knife – a tool that I am using more and more often since I purchased it. It works exceptionally well to pare back light cake and clean up remnants in a bowl after I have used my other reamers.The oxidation on the stem was stubborn so I soaked it in an Oxyclean solution for a day and a half to soften the oxidation. After I removed it from the solution I scrubbed it dry with a coarse towel to remove as much of the softened oxidation as possible. I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the tooth marks on both the top and bottom sides at the button. There were tooth deep tooth marks on the top edge of the button that needed attention. I cleaned off the stem surface and then used clear super glue to repair the two deep tooth marks. I sanded them back to the surface with 220 grit sandpaper and later with the micromesh sanding pads.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil. In the photo below you can still see the battle I am having with the oxidation on the turned stem. It was a bear to get it off.I repeated sanding with 220 grit sandpaper and repeated the wet sanding with the 1500-2400 grit pads. I was beginning to conquer the issue. I dry sanded the stem with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads to bring out the shine and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond and worked on the tight areas on the stem – the grooves in the stem. I buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond – lightly on the rusticated/blast and plateau portions and more heavily on the smooth portions. I gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to finish polishing the finish. I have found that this last step adds some depth to the shine. I am pleased with the finished look of the pipe. Thanks for looking.

An Everyman London Pipe Un-dinged

A Beautifully Grained Jobey Designer Cauldron Lay Under Thick Varnish

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Blog by Steve Laug

When I was visiting in Idaho my brother Jeff pulled out this Jobey box and handed it to me to look at. I had no idea what to expect once I opened the box. I have cleaned up a lot of Jobey pipes over the years and have really liked the rusticated Jobey Stromboli pipes with their colourful stems and deep rough surfaces. I have seen others that were pretty but nothing spectacular. I turned the box over in my hands to see if there were any hints on the outside what was hidden under the lid but there was nothing – just the classic red box with the Jobey Pipe logo on the lid.I opened the box to have a look and was surprised. What was inside was actually a really nice looking pipe at first glance. It was stamped on the left side of the shank Jobey over DESIGNER and on the right side of the shank D80 over HANDMADE. The stem was Lucite with a variety of brown tones that ran at an angle across the stem. The finish looked funny to me in that for a handmade pipe it was rough textured. I expected it to be silky smooth but it was rough to the touch and there were brush marks all over the surface. It looked to me like someone had brushed on a thick coat of varnish to give the pipe a perma-shine. The box also had the red pipe sleeve and a Jobey Polishing Cloth in the lid.Inside the polishing cloth package there was also a cloth for treating the stem. Both were Jobey specialty products. The Jobey sock is slightly worn.I took the leaflet out of the top of the box to have a look and it was a fun read. It reads: “The Jobey Pipe Guarantee, Limited Warranty. Should any Jobey pipe burn out within 90 days of normal usage, a new bowl will be furnished by us without charge. Shanks and mouthpieces are not guaranteed, but may be repaired for a moderate charge. This warranty gives you specific legal rights and you may also have other rights which may vary from state to state. Return the burned out bowl with a request for bowl replacement to: – Hollco International Repair Department, 37 Warren St., New York, NY 10007.”

The other side reads: “This Pipe has the “Jobey Link” U.S. Pat.No. 3537462. The unique “Jobey Link” is the first big breakthrough in high quality pipe mounting. There is no metal. Easy to repair – just ask your dealer for an economical replacement “Jobey Link” it keeps your pipe permanently mounted without loosening up. The “Jobey Link” is precision threaded into the briar, but is still adjustable within the stem so that it always lines up straight. If the “Jobey Link” becomes difficult to unscrew use a coin in the convenient unscrewing slot (X). The “Jobey Link” comes in 4 sizes, small, medium short, medium long and large.”I took some photos of the pipe to show how the varnish coat had muddied the finish and hid the grain as well as hopefully captured some of the brush strokes. Under the varnish on the rim on the back inner edge of the bowl there was also some tar that had been painted over. I took some close-up photos of the rim and the stamping on the shank. In those photos you can clearly see the tar on the rim, the clear stamping on the shank and the brush strokes of the varnish on the pipe. I was hopeful that the shiny coat on the bowl was not urethane but merely varnish. The muddiness of the finish and the way it felt in the hand made me hopeful. I scrubbed the bowl with acetone on cotton pads and was amazed at how easily it came off. I was really happy that I was not dealing with a plastic coat. I scrubbed it repeatedly until the grain clearly showed. The bowl was still rough under the varnish so I wet sanded it with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I scrubbed the internals of the mortise and airway in the shank to clean out any build up in the threads and airway. I used cotton swabs and alcohol and found that it was really quite clean. I remove the Jobey Link from the end of the stem and cleaned out the airway in the link and the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol.I threaded the Jobey Link into the end of the shank and set it then pushed the stem in place on the other end of the link.I reamed the bowl back to bare briar with the Savinelli Pipe Knife.I wet sanded the Lucite stem with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads and wiped it down with a cotton pad. I sanded 3200-4000 and wiped it down again. I finished sanding it with 6000-12000 grit pads to finish polishing it. I gave the bowl a light coat of olive oil and then buffed it and the stem with Blue Diamond. I gave the bowl and stem multiple 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. Personally I have never seen a Jobey quite like this one. The carver who did the work captured the lay of the grain extremely well with it flowing up the shank. The new oil and wax finish really went well with the brown striated Lucite stem. Thanks for looking.

Restemming and Restoring a Hardwicke’s Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

What a mess – a Georgetown Made in London, England Canadian

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Blog by Steve Laug

The grain on this old Georgetown Canadian really spoke to me when I took it out of the box of pipes from my brother. The mix of diagonal cross grains on the sides of the bowl and the birdseye on the front and back of the bowl and the top and bottom of the bowl and shank are really quite stunning. The bowl itself was incredibly dirty and the finish had rubbed and baked in grime all over. The rim was thickly caked with an overflow of lava the came from a bowl that was so caked that there was hardly room for any more tobacco. The stem was oxidized and there was a thick white build up of what I call calcification that comes from saliva and use. The slot in the end of the button was almost closed off with merely a small space mid slot. It was truly a mess that caused me to wonder what I would find once I cleaned and reamed the bowl. I took some close up photos of the rim and bowl as well as the stem to show the extent of work that would have to be done to clean it up. I also took a photo of the stamping on the shank to try to capture how it looked. It read MADE IN LONDON on the top line and under that ENGLAND. Stamped high and touching the bottom of the letters of the England stamp is the GEORGETOWN stamp.I reamed the bowl with the PipNet reamer starting with the smallest cutting head and working up the third head. The cake was harder toward the bottom of the bowl so I worked on smoothing it out with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and finished with the third cutting head of the reamer. You can see the rim damage on the inner edge of the rim at the back of the bowl in the photo below.I topped the bowl on the topping board until the damaged areas were minimized on the rim surface and the thick hard lava build up was gone. You can see the out of round areas on the inner edge of the rim in the second photo below.I scrubbed the surface of the bowl with acetone and cotton pads to remove the grime and the waxes on the finish. If you look closely at the pipe you will see a multitude of fills that are well placed in the grain of the pipe and barely visible. I worked on smoothing out the damage to the inner rim by beveling it with the Dremel and sanding drum and then sanding it with a folded piece of 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. I smoothed out the scratches with 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads.I started cleaning out the shank and the airway with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol but found that I would need to use too many of them to be effective. I put the stem in place on the shank and set up the retort to boil alcohol through the pipe. I used five test tubes of alcohol before finally I was able to get one that was clear after boiling it through. I cleaned out the airway in the shank and the stem as well as the mortise with a few pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the remnants of alcohol and debris left behind by the retort. I used the light brown stain pen to touch the area on the rear side of the bowl where I had done some light sanding and repair as well as the area around the shank stem junction that was lighter.I wet sanded the stem with 1500-2400 micromesh sanding pads and gave the stem a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded it with 3200-4000 grit pads, gave it another coat of oil and finished sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and then gave the bowl and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and then hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I am still trying to figure out who made the pipe. I know that the Made in London, England stamp was used by Barling and in the pre-Cadogan era by GBD. If anyone can give me more definitive information regarding the maker of these pipes for the Georgetown Tobacconist please contact me in the comment section. Thanks ahead for your help and thanks for journeying with me on this refurb.

Bringing a FILTO SYSTEM Pipe Back to Life

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Blog by Steve Laug

I have had this pipe sitting in a parts box for a while now. It was missing a few parts – notably the end plug. It had a copper coloured barrel and a black vulcanite mouthpiece that was oxidized. There were no tooth marks on the stem. The bowl was painted with a dark brown paint and had a shine. The rim was dirty with lava from the overflow of the bowl. The bowl had a thin, uneven cake on the walls. There was a screw in the bottom of the bowl that was similar to Kirsten screws. It had a hole in the centre that allowed the air to be pulled from the bowl into the barrel. It was stuck in the bottom under the cake that held it in place. The inside of the barrel on the end that was missing the end plug was thickly caked with tars and oils. There appeared to be something in the barrel part way down that closed off the barrel. The side of the barrel is stamped FILTO over Burgaw, NC over PAT. MADE IN USA. Filto1 Filto2

I took the pipe apart so that I could look at the pieces. The next photos show the barrel, bowl, stem and screw. The screw is interesting in that it had a collar that kept it lifted above the bottom of the bowl. There seemed to be a build-up of something on the top of the barrel where the bowl sat. Filto3

I did a bit of hunting on the web to see if I could figure out what was missing in the barrel. I knew that the end cap was missing and that it was a pressure fit. I also wanted to know what the card board piece was that seemed to be in the middle of the barrel. When I took the above photo I had not removed it from inside the barrel as I did not know what it was and did not want to damage it. I checked the Smoking Metal Website which is my first stop when seeking information on metal pipes. The site not only had the pipe listed but a variety of photos of the internals and of the models that were available. I have included the link and the short text that was included on the site. http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=213

“Made by Filto Pipes Inc. of Burgaw, North Carolina, inventor Robert L. Smith, US Patent #33170468 23^rd Feb. 1965. The stem, sealing ring and filter holder design mentioned in design by Aristocob. The bowl and stem are in a great variety of colours, all interchangeable.The spring clip in the bit assists in holding the filter in place. There are two version of the stem one with a spun front end and more common with a plastic push fit end cap.”

The photo below shows the parts that are enumerated in the above quote. There are two different barrel designs shown as well. The top one seems to show that the end is rounded and closed like a cigar cap. The red pipe below shows a plastic ridged endcap. The close up of the two bowls at the bottom show both ends. It is obvious that the one I had was like the pipe on the left side. Filto4

The photo below shows many different models of the same pipe. There are obviously two different styles of stems – a saddle stem like the one I have and a tapered stem. Filto5

Now I understood the shape of the end cap and also what the cardboard in the barrel was. I took a photo of the stamping on the barrel. It is clear and easy to read. Filto6

I reamed the bowl with the PipNet reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with the Savinelli Pipe Knife. Filto7

I pushed the cardboard out of the barrel and it was marked FILTO filter. The cardboard was a filter that allowed the air to flow around the edges and caught the tars and oils on the end of the filter. This one was unused. Filto8

I cleaned out the inside of the barrel by pushing rolled cotton pads soaked in alcohol through the shank. I also used cotton swabs and alcohol to further clean out the barrel. I scraped the cardboard gasket from the top of the barrel where the bowl sat using the dental spatula. I cleaned the outside of the barrel with alcohol and cotton pads. Filto9

I cleaned out the inside of the tenon on the mouthpiece insert with cotton swabs and alcohol. I ran alcohol soaked pipe cleaners through the mouth piece and tenon to clean out the tars and oils. Filto10

I decided to make and end cap or plug out of briar. I had a piece of briar that was next to the bowl. I had cut it off a while back to use for other purposes. Since it was drilled with an airway I needed to also make a round plug for the airway in the centre of the briar piece. I rounded out the shank piece and the small chip with a Dremel and sanding drum to make the end cap/plug. I round the chip until it fit perfectly into the drilled airway on the briar. I pushed it into the airway and glued it in place with super glue. I used the Dremel and sanding drum to smooth out the end that would go inside the barrel and the end that would stick out. Filto11

I used the Dremel and sanding drum to shape the end of the plug to be shaped like a cone. It continued to shape it until it would pressure fit into the end of the barrel. Filto12

I shaped it like a cone and rounded the end. I cut a small band around the diameter of the end that would sit in the barrel. There was a step down inside that the cap sat against. I pressed it into place and continue to shape it with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper. Filto13

Once I had it shaped correctly I stained it dark brown with a stain pen and buffed it until it shone. I sanded it with 3200-4000 grit micromesh to give it some polish and thin down the opacity of the stain. Filto14

Looking at the spring clip that held the filter in place in the shank I made one that was similarly shaped out of a paper clip. I bent it to fit into the cardboard filter and to sit in the metal tenon of the stem. Filto15

I sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the calcification that was built up on the mouth piece at the button. There was some light oxidation on the saddle portion as well. 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 sanding 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. Filto16 Filto17 Filto18

I buffed the stem with Blue Diamond on the wheel and gave it several coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine and hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth. I put the bent paperclip in the filter and in the end of the tenon. Filto19

I lightly polished the bowl and barrel on the buffer using Blue Diamond. I gave both a coat of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean pad to polish it. The bowl had a few dents and dings that I left as I found them because of the painted finish. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The first four photos show the finished pipe as a whole. The last three show it in pieces. Filto20 Filto21 Filto22 Filto23 Filto24 Filto25 Filto26

Restoring a Kirsten Generation 1 Medium Straight Pipe

3 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother continues to look for Kirsten estate pipes. He picked up this Kirsten because it looked like an old-timer. When I received it I could see that he was right about it being an older one. All the signs were there. The bowl was threaded directly on the barrel of the pipe and bottom cap that is on new models was not present. When the stem was removed there were no O rings on the end of the insert. The valve cap was stuck in the end of the shank and it could not be turned. The rim had a lava overflow on it and there was a heavy cake in the bowl. The screw mount in the bottom of the bowl was caked over to the point that it was stuck in the bowl. The metal barrel was oxidized and pitted. It had no shine left but looked like a well-worn pipe. The stem was oxidized and a dirty brown colour. There were tooth marks next to the button on the top and the bottom sides of the stem. The rod that ran through the barrel was dirty and coated with tars and oils that had hardened. The left side of the barrel is stamped Kirsten in script. The underside is stamped Pats. & Pats. Pend. USA M. The stamping along with the absence of O rings, the bowl screwed directly on top of the barrel pointed to a Generation 1 Kirsten which dated it between the years 1936-1958. In a previous blog I spelled out the features of each generation of Kirsten pipes that were released. https://rebornpipes.com/2012/11/03/kirsten-generation-1-1-5-2-3/ I quote the following from there: The wooden bowl on this generation connects directly to the metal barrel and there is no metal cup spacer. It is a pretty flush fit that goes flat against the barrel. On the underside of the metal barrel it is stamped with one or more of the following “Pat. Appl. For” (1936-38) and “Pats. & Pats. Pending” (1938-1958) over “Made in USA” – S” (or applicable size – S, M, L). There are no O-rings on the bit or metal shank insert. The M stamp on the pipe identifies it as a Medium sized pipe.

So I armed with that information I knew that the pipe I had, came from the time period of 1936-1958 and the lack of O rings on the mouthpiece and I assumed on the valve once I was able to remove confirmed that. I was ready to get to work on the pipe. I heated the valve insert with a heat gun to loosen the tars that held the cap in place. It did not take too long and I was able to insert a screw driver in the barrel and tap on the valve.The next photo shows the pipe taken apart. The condition of all of the parts is clear – dirty but functional. The knurled edges on the valve were damaged by previous attempts by someone else to remove the valve with pliers. In the photo above there are pliers present but I did not use them on the end cap.The screw in the bottom of the bowl was held in place by the cake in the bowl. The photo also shows the condition of the bowl and the rim. The other close-up photos show the stem and the tooth marks on both sides near the button. I sanded the stem with 180 and 220 grit sandpaper to remove the oxidation and the tooth marks. I was able to blend the tooth damage into the flow of the stem because fortunately they were not deep.I lightly topped the bowl on the topping board to remove the damage to the rim and the build-up.I reamed the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the inside of the bowl with a piece of sandpaper to clean out the remaining cake.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with cotton pads and acetone to remove the grime and the remaining finish. I scrubbed the rod on the stem unit with acetone to remove the tars and oils. I did the same with the exterior of the valve.I cleaned out the tarry build-up in the valve/end cap with cotton swabs and alcohol.I cleaned out the barrel with cotton swabs and rolled cotton pads and alcohol pushed through the opening with a screw driver. I also pushed a rolled piece of 0000 steel wool through the barrel to polish the inside. I used pipe cleaners to clean out the threads in the opening on the top of the barrel.I cleaned up the screw and the airway through the screw with a dental pick, pipe cleaners and alcohol. I cleaned the threads on the screw with cotton swabs and alcohol.I polished the aluminum barrel with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 and cotton swabs.I restained the bowl with a dark brown stain pen. I put the bowl on the barrel buffed them with Blue Diamond on the wheel to polish the stain and even out the coat on the bowl as well as polish the aluminum. The next photos show the bowl and barrel at this point in the process. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol and then worked on the stem with micromesh sanding pads. I wet sanded with 1500-2400 grit pads and gave it a coat of Obsidian Oil. I dry sanded with 3200-4000 grit pads and gave it another coat of oil. I finished sanding with 6000-12000 grit pads and gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil. I set the stem aside to dry. I gave the pipe and stem multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed the barrel, bowl and stem with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to add depth to the shine. The photos below show the finished pipe. This one will also go on the store soon. If you are interested in it let me know. Thanks for looking.

Cleaning up the last of the Sofia, Bulgaria Finds – a Heibe Dublin 430

Breathing new life into a Kirsten S with a Unique Bell Bowl

6 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

My brother picked up this Kirsten because he really liked the look of the bowl. I have never seen a Kirsten bowl this shape so I don’t know if it is an aftermarket bowl or one of Kirsten’s own. In the long run it does not matter because not only is the shape attractive but the briar is stunning. The rim has a slight bevel inward and the curve into the metal base cap looks great and feels great in the hand. The bowl had a heavy cake and the screw mount in the bottom of the bowl was caked over to the point that it was stuck in the bowl. The metal barrel was oxidized and pitted. It had no shine left but looked like a well-worn pipe. The stem was oxidized but there were no tooth marks or chatter on the stem. The rod that ran through the barrel was dirty and coated with tars and oils that had harden. The adjustable valve on the end of the barrel was stuck and could not be turn or adjusted. It was actually stuck closed so there was no airflow through the barrel. I put the pipe in an alcohol bath to let it soak for a day while I was at work. When I came home in the evening I was able to take it apart. The alcohol had softened the tars and the stem came out easily and I was able to use a screw driver and a light tap on the handle to knock out the stuck valve. The bowl came off the barrel but the screw was still stuck in the bottom of the bowl. When I had it apart I realized I was dealing with a Generation 2 Kirsten. It was made between 1958-1985. I quote from a previous blog on the site with the information that leads me to the conclusion that I was dealing with a Generation 2. “Markings on underside of metal shank “Made in USA XL” (or app. size) and “Pat. & Pats. Pending”. The presence of O rings on both the valve and the mouthpiece and the metal cup spacer under bowl are the biggest thing that separates the Generation 1 from the Generation 2 pipes. These O rings help provide a tighter seal when the stem and apparatus are inserted into the radiator stem. Instead of “O” rings, the machining of the Generation 1 pipes was so precise the fit was exact.” https://rebornpipes.com/2012/11/03/kirsten-generation-1-1-5-2-3/ The blog also identifies the S stamp on the bottom of the shank as the Sportsman Model from that era.

So I knew that the pipe I had, came from the time period of 1958-1985 and that the O rings on both the valve and the mouthpiece confirmed that. The S stamp also fits the pipe squarely within that date range. Armed with that information I began to work on refurbishing the Kirsten.I reamed the bowl with the Savinelli Pipe Knife and was able to clean out the cake enough that I could use a flat blade screwdriver to loosen the screw from the bottom of the bowl. Once the screw was removed I cleaned out the bowl with sandpaper to take the cake back to bare briar.I scrubbed the rim with a cotton pad and saliva and was able to remove the majority of the tars and oils. I used micromesh sanding pads to further clean up the rim top. The briar was beautiful once the grime was removed. I wiped down the outside of the bowl and rim with alcohol and the finish was in very decent shape.I scrubbed the oxidized finish with Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 and cotton pads and cotton swabs and was able to remove the worn and oxidized build up on the surface. Underneath the oxidation was a shiny metal finish. It would not take too much scrubbing to remove all of the damage.I soaked some cotton pads in alcohol and pushed them through the barrel and also scrubbed the inside of the barrel with cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils there. I cleaned out the inside of the valve and the outside of the insert end. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. I sanded the metal rod with micromesh sanding pads to remove the build up and tars on the metal surface. I scrubbed it with alcohol to clean it and polished it with the Meguiar’s.With the internals cleaned, the bowl reamed and cleaned, the barrel polished and cleaned it was time to polish the stem. I scrubbed it with Soft Scrub cleanser to remove the oxidation. Once I broke through it I used the Meguiar’s Scratch X2.0 to further polish the stem. I decided to try to see if I could successfully use Charles’ method of cleaning oxidation with the Meguiar’s. I was pretty amazed with the results. The finish glowed and the polish actually removed all of the oxidation. It just took repeated scrubbings and polishing until finally no more oxidation came off with the polish. I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the wheel to polish the briar, barrel and the stem. I gave the pipe multiple coats of carnauba wax and buffed it with a clean buffing pad to polish it. I hand buffed it with a microfibre cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe looks like new and it just glows with warmth and a shine that must have originally graced the pipe. It is a beautiful Kirsten and should grace someone’s pipe rack for years to come. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. If you are interested in this pipe let me know. Thanks for looking.