Tag Archives: Savinelli Nonpareil pipes

A Savinelli Like No Other

by Kenneth Lieblich

Say hello to this beautiful Savinelli Nonpareil 9614 bent billiard! It came to me in a lot of pipes I bought some time ago and it seemed right to bring this one back to life. At first, it seemed like a relatively straightforward restoration, but – wow – this pipe ended up taking an awful lot of work. You can now buy this pipe for your collection and enjoy the fruits of my labours. This pipe promises to be a great smoker, I figure. Let’s look at the markings. The left side of the shank reads Savinelli [over] Nonpareil. Despite Savinelli being an Italian company, the word nonpareil is French and means “without equal” – literally, “not the same”. On the left side of the shank is the lovely Savinelli crown, next to which are the marks 9614 [over] Italy. Naturally, the number refers to the shape. Finally, there are two brass dots on the left side of the stem – very nice touch. Savinelli is one of the most recognized names in pipe smoking and they have a long and storied history. You can read about them from their own website or from Pipedia’s article about them. However, I was particularly interested in learning more about the Nonpareil line. Sadly, Pipedia had nothing on this subject. I checked with Pipephil and they did have a bit of information, which I display below. I learned from Pipephil that old Savinellis used to have four-digit shape numbers, newer ones three. The exceptions to this rule, however, are the Nonpareil and Dry System lines.The stem on this pipe definitely shows signs of use. There were some tooth marks – dents and scratches – and plenty of calcification. Of course, there was also some oxidation, but I didn’t realize just how much until much later. The stummel was tired and drab. There were indications of lava on the rim and plenty of cake in the bowl. Also, the briar had a few little scratches from the years of love of its previous owner. Nothing to worry about – or so I thought. More on that later. Well, the usual cleaning procedures were in order for this pipe. I started on the stem by wiping it down with some Murphy’s on a cotton round. Then, I cleaned out the insides of the stem with pipe cleaners and lemon-oil isopropyl alcohol. At this point, I took a BIC lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame in order to lift the tooth marks. This was moderately successful in raising the dents. Once that was done, the stem went for an overnight soak in the Before & After Hard Rubber Deoxidizer. After soaking, I cleaned off the de-oxidizing fluid with alcohol, pipe cleaners, et cetera. The oxidation had migrated to the surface and I used SoftScrub to work it off. I was surprised at how poorly this worked (as compared with other restorations), so I actually sent it for another soak in the deox fluid and repeated the same cleaning procedures afterwards. Once I got the stem looking vaguely deoxidized (and before I moved on to the Micromesh pads), I built up the tooth damage on the stem with black cyanoacrylate adhesive and let it fully cure. I used my miniature files to take down the majority of the dried glue. I then sanded it down with 400-grit sandpaper to meld seamlessly into the stem. I then used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to bring out the lovely black lustre on the stem. But WAIT! I never made it through all nine pads because I could see that the oxidation was so stubborn, I would need to put in some extra work first. Recently, Steve kindly introduced me to a new type of sanding pad – more aggressive grit for more aggressive jobs. I’m going to refer to them as the ‘grey pads’ since that’s their colour. I used the grey pads to really attack the oxidation on the stem and they worked very well. I don’t have photos of this, but I’m pleased with the results. There are some small wounds remaining on the stem, but they are not an issue at all. Once done with the greys, I went back again to the Micromesh pads. I also used Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil in between each pad scrubbing. This also really made the brass dots pop! Putting the stem aside, I moved on to the stummel. I used the PipNet Reamer (and some sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel) to take the bowl down to bare briar, as I wanted to ensure there were no hidden flaws in the walls of the bowl. Fortunately, there were none. I then proceeded to clean out the insides of the shank with Q-tips, pipe cleaners, and isopropyl alcohol. There was a lot of nastiness inside this stummel and – boy-oh-boy – it took a lot of cotton to get this thing clean! I took a close look at the rim. In order to save as much of the rim as possible, I used a piece of machine metal to very delicately scrape away as much lava as I could. I do this before automatically jumping to my topping board. This worked well and the topping board was not needed.A de-ghosting session seemed like a good idea. This de-ghosting consisted of thrusting cotton balls in the bowl and the shank, and saturating them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused the oils, tars and smells to leech out into the cotton. Finally, a relatively clean and fresh-smelling bowl emerged. I then moved on to cleaning the outside of the stummel with Murphy’s Oil Soap and some cotton pads. What a difference that made! I also cleaned the insides with some Castile soap and tube brushes.I examined the scratches and bumps in the briar. I dug out my iron and a damp cloth to try to raise them. The hot and moist steam can often cause the wood to swell slightly and return to shape. This worked quite well, but alas, I forgot to take pictures. After this, I used all nine Micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to remove the scratches in the wood and make everything smooth. Prior to that, however, I applied some clear hockey tape to the shank extension – it was already lovely and smooth, and I didn’t want to scratch it. This tape is fantastic because it is incredibly resistant to sanding yet comes off with no residue whatsoever. I applied some Before & After Restoration Balm and began to admire my work when my eyes saw something that was uncovered in my restoration: a thin craze line in the valley between the stummel and the shank. It was certainly not visible before, so the cleaning and sanding had revealed it. Even though the line was incredibly thin and seemingly shallow, I needed to address it. My first step was to ensure that the line would not continue to creep after I had repaired it. To that end, I took a micro-drill bit, inserted it in my Dremel, and very carefully drilled a hole in both ends of the line. That done, I carefully applied a tiny bead of cyanoacrylate adhesive to the tiny hole and the tiny line. Finally, I let it cure. This was a great success – I was really pleased with how the repair looked. I had to sand this area again, of course, so I applied my hockey tape all over the place (see photo) and went to work with some sandpaper and Micromesh pads. I then rubbed in some more Before & After Restoration Balm and finally saw the beauty of my work.Off to the bench polisher I went. I applied some White Diamond and a few coats of carnauba wax and they added the finishing touch. This Savinelli Nonpareil 9614 bent billiard was in need of a reminder of its beauty and Italian heritage. I am pleased to announce that this pipe is for sale! If you are interested in acquiring it for your collection, please have a look in the “Italy” pipe section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the Savinelli Nonpareil 9614 bent billiard are as follows: length 4¾ in. (121 mm); height 5⅛ in. (130 mm); bowl diameter 1⅝ in. (40 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1⅞ oz. (55 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this restoration as much as I enjoyed restoring it. If you are interested in more of my work, please follow me here on Steve’s website or send me an email. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Savinelli Nonpareil 9101 Plateau Freehand

1 Reply

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe is another one that has been here for a long time – so long in fact that I cannot remember where I picked it up. I know it came to me from a trade or my own hunt because it had not been cleaned or reamed by Jeff. There was a thick cake in the bowl and lava overflowing on to the plateau and the smooth portion of the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The exterior of the pipe was dirty but the grain really shone through the grime. The pipe was stamped on the heel of the bowl and read Savinelli [over] Nonpareil. The left side of the shank is also stamped and had a Savinelli S shield followed by the shape number 9101 [over] Italy. The vulcanite taper stem had a single brass dot on the left side. Here is the pipe! I took close up photos of the rim/bowl and stem. The cake in the bowl was thick and there was a thick coat of lava overflow on the rim top and edge. The valleys of the plateau were quite filled in. The stem was dirty and had light tooth marks on the top and underside near the button. I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and the left side of the shank. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a picture of the pipe. It is quite an attractive shape and should clean up well. I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-savinelli3.html) to get a quick view of the Nonpareil Line. I did a screen capture of the site’s information and have included that below. I am also including a screen capture of the Shape and code chart introduction that is link in the above capture.It appears that the Nonpareil 9101 that I am working on is made before 1970 so it is at least 50+ years old. It is in great shape. I am not sure what the exception noted above is about.

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Savinelli) for a quick read. The site is worth reading the history of the Savinelli brand and it philosophy of pipemaking. There was nothing specific on the Nonpareil line however so it was time to work on the pipe.

I used a PipeNet pipe reamer (first 3 cutting heads) to strip back the cake to bare briar. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife. I sanded the bowl with a dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the walls. I worked on the lava in the rim top plateau with a brass bristle wire brush. I was able to remove much of the lava with that. Scrubbing it would remove the rest. I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and rim top with a tooth brush and some undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water and dried it off with a soft cloth. Now it was time to scrub the inside of the shank and rid it of the tars and oils. I scrubbed the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and 99% isopropyl alcohol. There was some stain in the inside of the shank that came out. I polished the briar on the rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. The briar really took on a rich shine with the polishing. I rubbed the bowl down with some Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horse hair shoe brush on the plateau rim top to clean, revive and preserve the wood. It really brings the grain alive once again. I let it sit for 15 minutes then buffed it off with a soft cloth. The grain really pops at this point in the process. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I smoothed out the tooth marks on the stem and button surface with 220 grit sandpaper and started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. It was starting to look better. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down between each pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to deepen the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil. I put the Savinelli Nonpareil 9101 Plateau Freehand back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and hand buffed it to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the grain popping around the bowl and shank. Added to that the polished acrylic variegated brown stem was a beautiful touch. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 65 grams/2.29 ounces. It is a beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipemakers section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over this pipe. Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. I want to keep reminding us of the fact that we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next trustee.

Restoring a Savinelli Nonpareil 9412 Freehand

6 Replies

Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table came to us from a pipe hunt that Jeff and his wife recently did in Utah, USA. The pipe is an interesting almost Danish looking Savinelli pipe with a faux horn shank extension that has a metal cup in the shank to stabilize the extension. The pipe is well shaped and has nice sandblasted grain around the bowl. The pipe is stamped on the heel of the bowl and reads Savinelli [over] Nonpariel [over] 9412 (shape number) [over] Savinelli S shield followed by Italy. There was a grime and dust in the nooks and crannies of the sandblast on the briar. The bowl was moderately caked while the top and inner edge of the rim were dusty but otherwise quite clean. The inside edge looks like it may have burn damage on the front right. The outer edge has a lot of nicks and chips. The faux horn shank extension looked very good and the metal insert was snugly in the shank end. The fancy vulcanite stem was oxidized and had tooth chatter and marks on the top and underside near the button and on the button edge. The pipe showed a lot of promise but it was very dirty. Jeff took some photos of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and tobacco debris as well as the relatively clean inner edge of the rim. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem as well as the horn shank extension. The photos show the overall condition of the stem. The stem had two brass dots on the left side of the taper just past the saddle portion of the stem. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the briar looked like. It truly has some nice sandblasted grain – birdseye and cross grain around the bowl and shank. The faux horn shank extension is quite nice looking. The stamping on the underside of the shank is clear and readable and read as noted above. I turned to Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-savinelli3.html) to get a quick view of the Nonpareil Line. I did a screen capture of the site’s information and have included that below. I am also including a screen capture of the Shape and code chart introduction that is link in the above capture.It appears that the Nonpareil 9412 that I am working on is made before 1970 so it is at least 50+ years old. It is in great shape. I am not sure what the exception noted above is about.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet pipe reamer and removed the rest of it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He soaked the stem in a Before & After Deoxidizer bath and rinsed it off with warm water. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. The rim top cleaned up really well. The rim top, inner and outer edge of the bowl is in excellent condition. The stem surface looked very good with a few tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. I removed the stem and took a photo of the pipe to give a sense of the whole. The fancy saddle stem is nice and the photo gives a sense of what the pipe looks like. The bowl was in such great condition after Jeff’s cleanup that I did not have a lot to do with it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for about 10-15 minutes and buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The grain came alive and the fills while visible look better than when I began. I set the bowl aside and turned to work on the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter and was able to lift out all but one deep tooth mark on the top surface ahead of the button. Once the repair cured I used a file to flatten it out and then sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper. I started polishing the stem with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub All Purpose cleanser to remove the remaining oxidation. I have found that a good scrub with this product removes the oxidation left behind by the other methods. You can see it on the cotton pads underneath the stem.I still found that the stem had some oxidation that was quite deep in the vulcanite. I put it in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Oxidation Remover and let it soak for 2 ½ hours. When I took it out of the bath I rubbed it down with a paper towel remove the oxidation and the product. It came out significantly darker.I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This Savinelli Nonpareil 9412 Freehand is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The sandblasted finish gives the shape an elegant look. The flow of the bowl and stem are well done make for a great hand feel. The faux horn shank extension has a metal insert in the shank end to keep it from splitting. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Savinelli Nonpareil 9412 fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 50grams/1.8oz. It is a great looking and light weight pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!