Tag Archives: shaping a stem

Restoring a Father’s Legacy of 10 Brigham Pipes Gathered throughout his life

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by Steve Laug

Early this month I was contacted by Donna to see if I knew anyone interested in purchasing her father’s pipes. She wrote as follows: “I am wondering if you would be interested in my father’s collection of Brighams.” She further spelled out what he had in the collection. He had 1 – 2 dot pipe, 3 – 3 dot pipes, 2 – 4 dot pipes and 4 – 5 dot pipes. There was a total of 10 pipes. I asked for a photo of the pipes and she sent the photo below. I was very interested.We emailed back and forth and the short story is that I paid for the collection and she shipped the pipes to me. On Tuesday after Easter the box arrived and I was happy to be able to see them up close. They were obviously well-loved pipes and in varying degrees of needing work. I wrote her and told I received them and that I was pleased with the lot. I was looking forward to working on them. She asked me to send her photos along the way as I finished the pipes. I will be sending her the links to the blog so she can see the work and the process of bringing them back to a semblance of their original beauty. Thanks Donna for the opportunity to work on your Dad’s pipes.

The first of the pipes I have chose to work on from the lot was the first one at the top of the left column in the photo above. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads 429 followed by Brigham in script over Canada. The stamping will help me date the pipe. From the cake in the bowl and the other pipes I could tell her Dad love aromatic tobaccos. This pipe was heavily caked with an overflow of lava on the rim top and on the inner and outer edges of the bowl. The shank end was rounded and even that had a coating of tar build up. The stem did not sit all the way in the shank so I assumed it was very dirty in the shank. I removed the stem and found that the Hard Rock Maple Distillator was frozen in the aluminum tenon. The shank was black, tarry and oily. The stem was oxidized, calcified and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The left side of the taper stem bore four brass pins in a triangle format. That would also help with identifying the pipe. I took some photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a photo of the bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top looked to have a coat of lava overflowing down the crown with some possible damage around the inner edge. I took photos of the top and underside of the stem showing the tooth chatter, scratching and oxidation on the stem surface and wear on the edges of the button.The stamping is very clear and it reads as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to show the look of the pipe. I have captured the pattern of the four brass dots on the stem.For the needed background I am including the information from Pipedia on Brigham pipes. It is a great read in terms of the history of the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes). Charles Lemon (Dadspipes) has written book on the history of the brand. This article is a good summary. I have included it below.

Roy Brigham, after serving an apprenticeship under an Austrian pipesmith, started his own pipe repair shop in Toronto, in 1906. By 1918 the business had grown to include five other craftsmen and had developed a reputation across Canada for the high quality of workmanship. After repairing many different brands of pipes over the years, Roy noted certain recurring complaints by pipe smokers, the most common referred to as “tongue bite”. Tongue bite is a burning sensation on the smoker’s tongue, previously thought to be due to the heat of the smoke (i.e. a “hot smoking pipe”).

He soon began manufacturing his own pipes, which were lightweight, yet featured a more rugged construction, strengthening the weak points observed in other pipes. The problem of tongue bite intrigued him, and he decided to make overcoming it a future goal.

About 1938, Roy’s son Herb joined him to assist in the business. The business barely survived the great depression because pipes were considered to be a luxury, not a necessity, and selling pipes was difficult indeed. In approximately 1937 [1], after some experimentation, Roy and Herb discovered that tongue bite was in fact a form of mild chemical burn to the tongue, caused by tars and acids in the smoke. They found that by filtering the smoke, it was possible to retain the flavour of the tobacco and yet remove these impurities and thereby stop the tongue bite.

Just as Thomas Edison had searched far and wide for the perfect material from which to make the first electric light bulb filaments, Roy & Herb began experimenting with many materials, both common and exotic, in the quest for the perfect pipe filter. Results varied wildly. Most of the materials didn’t work at all and some actually imparted their own flavour into the smoke. They eventually found just two materials that were satisfactory in pipes: bamboo and rock maple. As bamboo was obviously not as readily available, rock maple then became the logical choice.

They were able to manufacture a replaceable hollow wooden tube made from rock maple dowelling, which when inserted into a specially made pipe, caused absolutely no restriction to the draw of the pipe, yet extracted many of the impurities which had caused tongue bite. The result was indeed a truly better smoking pipe…

I then turned to a second article by Charles Lemon called, “A Closer Look at the Dots, Dates, and Markings of Brigham Pipes” to be able to pin down the time frame that the pipe was made in and to help interpret the stampings and shape number on the pipe. Here is the link to his article (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Brigham_Pipes_%E2%80%93_A_Closer_Look_at_Dots,_Dates_and_Markings).

I have dubbed the decades between 1980 and 2000 the Late Canadian Era, a period that saw several changes at Brigham that are of note to the collector. First, the traditional 8-grade pinning system (the famous Brigham “Dots” which denoted the quality of the pipe) was changed to a 7-grade system to simplify pinning (more on this below), and the Norsemen and Valhalla series were merged to form the President Series, which represented the very finest pipes coming out of the Toronto factory. Early pipes from this era (left, below) are stamped with a shape number and “Brigham” over “Canada”; later pipes (late 1980s+, on right below) are stamped simply with a shape number and the Brigham logo.

I read further in the article to the section entitled Revised Dot System 1980. I quote from that below.

Brigham changed the Dot system in 1980, adding a 7 Dot at the top of the line, dropping the names of each series and eliminating the confusing vertical and horizontal 3 Dot configurations. The Norsemen and Valhalla series were combined to form the President series of freehand pipes, which adopted a 3 Dot pattern with a larger dot on the right as shown below. The 7- grade pinning system stayed in place from 1980 to 2001.

With the information from article and the chart above I knew what I was dealing with in terms of the stamping and the age of this pipe. I learned that this Late Canadian Era was made between 1980-2000. The pipe is a Brigham (4-Dot) 429 Bent Apple. The stamping pins it down to pre-1990 when the stamp dropped the Canada portion of the stamping. Now it was time to work on the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by reaming the bowl with a PipNet reamer. I used the first and second cutting heads and took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and removed all the remnants of the cake. I sanded the walls of the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped in 220 grit sandpaper. The walls looks very good at this point in the process. While I worked on the bowl I dropped the stem in an alcohol bath to loosen the Distillator from the aluminum tenon. It was solidly stuck in the metal. When I removed it from the bath after working on the bowl I was able to remove it easily. It was dirty but at least it was free of the metal. I cleaned out the shank, the airway and the deep mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs, hard bristle and soft bristle pipe cleaners. It was a very dirty pipe which just meant that Donna’s Dad had really enjoyed and used this pipe. I cleaned the inside of the aluminum tenon and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners in the same way as I did the shank. It also was very dirty.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I scrubbed the lava on the rim top and overflow on the outside of the bowl with the soap. I rinsed the briar with warm water to remove the grime and debris of the scrubbing. It looked significantly better after the scrubbing. I sanded the smooth portions of the bowl and rim with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the marks, scratches and darkening on the rim top. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1200-15000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. The grain really started to rise to the surface as I polished it. I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm to deep clean the finish on the bowl and shank. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it in with my fingers to get it into the briar. I used a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the sand blast. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I wiped it off and buffed it with a soft cloth. The briar really began to have a rich shine. I took some photos of the bowl at this point to mark the progress in the restoration. It is a beautiful bowl. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I scrubbed the stem down with Soft Scrub Cleanser and cotton pads to break through the oxidation on the stem. It looked much better than when I began.I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded the surface of the vulcanite with the 2 inch sanding pads – 320-3500 grit pads. I dry sanded the surface until I have removed all of the oxidation and the stem started to really shine.I refit the aluminum tenon with the Brigham Rock Maple Distillator. It is a unique and cool smoking experience. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a coat of Obsidian Pipe Stem Oil. It works to protect the stem from oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. The final steps in my process involve using the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the light scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I have found that I can get a deeper shine if I follow up the wax buff with a buff with a clean buffing pad. It works to raise the shine and then I hand buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is always fun for me to see what the polished bowl looks like with the polished stem. It really is a nice pipe. The rusticated finish around the bowl sides and shank looks great with the vulcanite stem. The Brigham Canada Apple 429feels great in my hand. It is a well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.41 ounces/41 grams. It is a beautiful pipe that I will soon be adding to the rebornpipes store in the Canadian Pipemakers Section. If you would like to add it to your collection let me know. It should be a great smoking pipe.

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

Cleaning Up a Terrific Jobey Stromboli 200 Bulldog

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Ah, there’s something awfully satisfying about a really rugged rustication – the craggy, rock-like formation is a very fine thing. This Jobey Stromboli 200 bent bulldog has that great rustication in spades. The pipe had a precise diamond shank and a beautiful acrylic stem with a Jobey link system screw tenon. I acquired this pipe in a lot, where most of the pipes had been very well cared for. This was no exception and looked like a fun pipe to restore. On the underside of the shank were the markings. They read Jobey [over] Stromboli [over] 200. To the right of that, at a 90-degree angle from the other text, was the word France. Finally, on the stem was the Jobey logo in a brass oval. Regarding Jobey, Pipephil tells us that “These pipes are made in St Claude (France) by Butz-Choquin (Berrod-Regad group) since 1987. Before this date some were manufactured in England and Denmark (Jobey Dansk).”This Jobey was in very good condition and didn’t require much work – as the photos attest. The stem had only minimal wear and was hardly dirty. The stummel was equally clean, but the rim had been lit a bit aggressively. Perhaps a cigar lighter was foolishly used – who knows? Moving on… Since the stem is acrylic, there is no issue with oxidation. I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down to provide an initial cleaning before moving on to the next steps. The primary cleaning comes next. I cleaned the inside of the stem with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. I scrubbed thoroughly to make sure the interior was clean. Actually, it was quite clean to start with. Holding the stem to the light, you can see how clean it is – if it was heavily smoked, this would be very dark. Now that the stem is clean and dry, I set about fixing the few marks in the acrylic. This is done by filling those divots with clear cyanoacrylate adhesive. I left this to cure and moved on. The penultimate step for the stem is sanding. First, with my set of needle files, I reduce the bulk of the cyanoacrylate repairs. I want to remove the excess adhesive as near to the surface as possible, without cutting into the acrylic. Following that, I use all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws and provide gentle polishing of the finished surface. I also apply pipe-stem oil while using the last five micromesh pads. There was a wonderful shine to the stem when I was done. Now that the stem is (nearly) complete, I can move on to the stummel. The first step for me is to ream out the bowl – that is to say, remove all the cake inside the bowl. This accomplishes a couple of things. First (and most obviously), it cleans the bowl and provides a refurbished chamber for future smoking. Second, when the old cake is removed, I can inspect the interior walls of the bowl and determine if there is damage or not. The pipe was so seldom used that I only used a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. This ensured that all the debris is removed.My next step was to remove the lava on the rim. For this, I took a piece of machine steel and gently scraped the lava away. The metal’s edge is sharp enough to remove what I need, but not so sharp that it damages the rim. This work revealed that some minor scorching had occurred. It wasn’t serious, but I would have to repair it. Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol.To tidy up the briar, I also wiped down the outside with some oil soap on cotton rounds (and a toothbrush). This does a good job of cleaning any latent dirt on the surface of the briar.The last step of the cleaning process is to scour the inside of the stummel with some soap and tube brushes.In order to lessen the burns on the rim, I ‘topped’ the pipe – that is to say, I gently and evenly sanded the rim on a piece of 220-grit sandpaper. This effectively minimizes the damage, without altering the look of the pipe. I used all nine micromesh pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) on the rim to finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. After that, the bare wood needed to be tinted in the same colour as the rest of the stummel. I used some of my furniture pens (which is simply dye in pen form) to match the colours. I rubbed some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar and let it sit for 20 minutes or so. The balm moisturizes the wood and gives a beautiful depth to the briar. I then buffed it with a microfibre cloth and a horsehair brush. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it with three coats of conservator’s wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Jobey Stromboli 200 Bulldog looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its next owner. 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 ‘French’ section of the store here on Steve’s website. You can also email me directly at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5⅔ in. (144 mm); height 1½ in. (39 mm); bowl diameter 1⅔ in. (42 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¼ oz. (37 g). I hope you enjoyed reading the story of this pipe’s 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.

Breathing New Life into Dunhill Shell Briar RF F/T Pot

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 08/09/2024. The Shell Briar Sandblast finish on this English made Pot shaped pipe and the white spot on the topside of the taper vulcanite stem are what caught our eye. It is stamped on the heel of the bowl and shank and reads RF followed by F/T followed by Dunhill [over] Shell Briar. That is followed by Made in [over] England with an underlined superscript 11 after the D. A circle 4 S is at the end of the stamping. It has a classic Shell Briar mixed brown/oxblood/black stain on the sandblast finish that is a stark contrast to the black vulcanite taper stem. It has a lot of grime and dirt in the sandblast finish on the bowl and straight shank Pot. The bowl was heavily caked around the top third of the bowl and the inner edge and the top were covered with a light lava coat in the sandblast. The vulcanite stem was heavily oxidized and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The white spot logo on the topside of the taper stem looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. The inside of the bowl is heavily caked around the top 1/3 of the bowl and there was lava on the inner edge and in the sandblast on the rim top. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the rusticated finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank even with the grime in the finish. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl and the underside of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. I wanted to unpack the Dunhill stamping on the shank and work to understand each element of the stamp. I generally use the Pipephil site to gather as much initial information as possible (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shell-briar1.html). The stamping is interpreted as follows: The shape is defined as RF is the shape reference for a taper stem Pot. The F/T is the designation for a Fish Tail stem. The Shell Briar stamp refers to the finish. The underlined, superscript number 11 following the D of England would give the date the pipe. The circle 4S tells me that the pipe is a group 4 sized pipe and the S is for the Shell finish. The photo below shows a pipe with similar stamping to the one I am working on. It is the same date stamp so I think the one I have is also a 1971 pipe. I will verity that.Pipephil also has some helpful dating keys on the site that are basically flow charts that you can walk through to date your pipe (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1.html). I turned to Part 1 of the Dating Key and followed the chart. This pipe has 16 following the D in England. There was no patent number so that took me to the section on the chart below (column one) which instructed me that the pipe could be dated as being made “posterior to 1954”.I followed the link under “Your pipe is posterior to 1954. Narrow down your dating”. That took me to Page 2 of the dating key (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). The second column – suffix [1…4] or [11…39] led me to the next section. Since the 11 after the D in England the date of the pipe spelled as 1960 + 11 making the date 1971.I then turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Shell Briar to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Shell

A deep craggy sandblast with a black stain finish (usually made using Algerian briar) – the color of the stain used has varied over the years. Although there is some doubt as to them being the first to sandblast pipes, Dunhill’s Shell pipes, and the sandblasting techniques developed to create them are considered one of Dunhill’s greatest and most lasting contributions to the art of pipe making.

The documented history of Dunhill’s inception of the Shell is largely limited to patent applications — there are no catalog pages or advertisements promoting blasted pipes at the time. The preliminary work on the English patent (No. 1484/17) was submitted on October 13, 1917. The patent submission was completed half a year later, on April 12, 1918, followed by the granting of the English patent on October 14, 1918. This was less than a month before the end of The Great War on November 11th.

In 1986 Dunhill released a line of premium Shell finish pipes – “RING GRAIN”. These are high-quality straight grain pipes which are sandblasted. Initially only Ring Grain, but now in two different finishes. In 1995 the “Shilling” was introduced with Cumberland finish – it is an extremely rare series. These pipes exhibit a deeper blast characteristic of that of the 1930’s – mid-1960’s (and the limited ‘deep blast’ pipes of the early 1980s) and show a fine graining pattern. These are considered the best new Dunhills by many enthusiasts today and are very rare. The finish is sometimes described as tasting like vanilla at first, with the taste becoming more normal or good as the pipe breaks in.

I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and shank brushes. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. His scrubbing removed the varnish on the bowl with just a few spots remaining. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The soak did not penetrate the varnish on the stem at all but it certainly looked better. Other than the shiny spots in the finish where the varnish remained, the pipe looked very good when I received it. You can also see the sunken state of the white spot on the stem surface. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge look good. The stem was clean and the tooth marks and chatter though not visible in the photos are still present.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is very clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.The exterior of the bowl was beautiful. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I sanded the it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil on a cloth. The shine is coming back beautifully.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to finish this step. This 1971 Dunhill Shell Briar RF F/T Pot with a vulcanite taper stem has a beautiful, unique Dunhill Sandblast finish that highlights the grain. The Shell Briar mixed brown finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank. The polished vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Dunhill Shell Briar RF F/T Pot is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.31ounces/37 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for your time.

New Life for a Castello Sea Rock Briar KK32 Canadian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up in the lot from an eBay seller in Harrison Township, Michigan, USA on 08/22/2024. The Sea Rock Rusticated finish on this Italian made Canadian shaped pipe and the faux diamond inset on the left side of the oval taper stem are what caught our eye. It is stamped on the heel of the bowl and reads Castello [over] Sea Rock Briar. That is followed by KK 32 and to the right it reads Made in Cantu [over] Italy. That is followed Carlo Sciotti in an oval next to the stem/shank junction. It has a classic Reddish Black stain on the rusticated finish that is a stark contrast to the black acrylic taper stem. It has a deep rusticated finish on a straight oval, long shank Pot. The bowl was heavily caked and the inner edge and the top were covered with a thick lava coat in the rustication. The acrylic stem was dirty and had tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The faux diamond logo on the left side of the taper stem looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the pipe to show the general condition of the pipe before he started his clean up. He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. The inside of the bowl is heavily caked with lava on the inner edge and in the sandblast on the rim top. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the rusticated finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank even with the grime in the finish. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl and the underside of the shank. It was clear and readable as noted above. As usual I cannot seem to retain the details on Castello pipes in my head for long for some reason. The stamping on this one – Castello and the Carlo Scotti stamp left me with some questions that I need to answer before I began to work on the pipe. I turned first to the Pipephil site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-castello.html) because of the general quick summary of information I get there. I quote:

Castello PIPA CASTELLO di Carlo Scotti & C. was founded in 1947 by Carlo Scotti († 1988). Franco Coppo (AKA “Kino”) who married Carlo Scotti’s daughter Savina, manages (2012) the corporate since 1985.

The site also gave a good summary of the grading and sizes of the pipes. I quote that in full.

Sizes (ascending):

1K to 4K, G (Giant) and GG (Extra large)

Rusticated grading: SEA ROCK, OLD SEA ROCK, NATURAL VERGIN,

Sandblasted grading: ANTIQUARI, OLD ANTIQUARI

Smooth grading (ascending): TRADEMARK, CASTELLO, COLLECTION

Other stampings: Great Line (Non-standard or freestyle) Fiammata (Straight grain)

Production (2012): ~4000 pipes / year

I also found a note on the page that the Rhinestone logo was originally on pipes for the US market. It is occasionally used now.

I turned then to Pipedia for more information on the brand (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Castello). The majority of the information was what was already quoted above in abbreviated form. However there was a link to an article by Bob Hamlin that gave some interesting bits of information that I found helpful (http://www.pipes.org/BURST/FORMATTED/196.016.html). I quote in part from that article.

SEA ROCK [Carved Black or dark brown]:  This is the lowest grade of the Castello line and is the most common in the USA.  Sea Rocks are produced by taking a smooth bowl that has not been “final finished” and surface carving the finish with tools. This “carved” finish is then evened out using a steel wire brush, stained and then waxed. The Natural Vergin carved finish is left unstained and unwaxed as a rule, although we have seen waxed and partially waxed “Vergins”.

All carved Castello pipes are graded by the number of K’s that are stamped on each piece and are K-graded by SIZE.  1K is the smallest and fairly rare, 2K is small to medium, with 3K or 4K being the most common and ranges from medium to medium large. Large pieces are stamped “G” for giant and extra-large pieces are stamped “GG” for double giant.  In addition to the number of K’s on a carved Sea Rock piece the shape number is almost always added. As a rule a Sea Rock Castello is stained Black, although recently there have been quite a few coming in stained deep brown and still stamped “Sea Rock”.  American Logo’d Sea Rocks are all priced the same to the consumer, although most are 2 or 3 K’ed models. G/GG models are charged at a higher price on American pieces and are basically the same as their European counterparts.

The Castello Sea Rock Briar KK 32 I was working on was definitely one made for the American Market with the Rhinestone in the stem. It had the dark finish or black stain.

Pipedia also gave a link to Mike’s Briar Blues site for help in dating and determining shapes (http://www.briarblues.com/castello.htm).

Shape numbers. Shape numbers are all 2 digits. A 2 in front indicates a “fancy” interpretation, a 3 in front means that the carving is somehow unique. I don’t know when the change was made, but currently, a π symbol is used instead of the 3xx. I’ve only seen this on Sea Rocks, but that doesn’t mean anything…

Now I had more information to work with. The Castello Sea Rock Briar in my hands was 2K graded. That told me that it is a mid-sized pipe. The number 32 makes it a unique and a Canadian shape.

I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and shank brushes. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. His scrubbing removed the varnish on the bowl with just a few spots remaining. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The soak did not penetrate the varnish on the stem at all but it certainly looked better. Other than the shiny spots in the finish where the varnish remained, the pipe looked very good when I received it.
I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge look beautiful. I would need to touch up the stain but it was very clean. The stem was clean and the chatter is light and hardly visible.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is very clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.I touched up the rim top with a black stain pen to match the rest of the bowl sides and top. Once it is polished and buffed the match will be perfect.The exterior of the bowl was beautiful. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I sanded the it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped the stem down after each pad with some Obsidian Oil on a cloth. The shine is coming back beautifully.I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I polished it further with Before & After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it another coat of Obsidian Oil to finish this step. This Castello Sea Rock Briar KK32 Canadian with an acrylic taper stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. The beautifully deep rusticated finish really works well with the shape and the polished finish is stunning. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the bowl and the stem with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax 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 Castello Sea Rock Briar KK32 Canadian 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: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams /1.38 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Italian Pipe Makers Section shortly. Let me know via email or a message if you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection.

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

Restoring a “Malaga” Bent Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a medium sized Bent Billiard. The stem is a vulcanite taper. We purchased it recently as one of two pipes from eBay from a seller in Aurora, Colorado, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this oil cured pipe makes the grain stand out. It was stamped left side of the shank and read “Malaga”. On the right side it is stamped Imported Briar. The pipe was lightly smoked. The bowl was moderately caked there was a spotty coat of lava on the rim top and inner edge. The condition of the rim and top look very good. The black vulcanite stem was in good condition other than being dirty and having light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. There were no stampings or logo on the stem itself though it is certainly the original. Malaga stems were well fit but never bore any identifying marks on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The moderate cake in the bowl and the light lava on the edges and rim top are visible. The next photos show the stem surface. There is light oxidation and light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and wear on the button surface and edges. He also took a photo of the bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. The photo is a little out of focus but it does show the general condition of the bowl and wear on the finish. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe.He took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. They are clear and readable on the whole though the photos are a little out of focus.I am including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. I have written an earlier blog to give a little history of the Malaga Brand and the pipemaker, George Khoubesser. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/.That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also including a flyer “The Pipe of True Smoking Enjoyment” that Malaga sent with each pipe they made. The language of the brochure is well written and gives a clear picture of how Malaga sees the process of breaking in their pipes. Take time to read it as it is very much written in the language of the times.Now it is time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils, tars and lava on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the flat surface of the rim looked very good. The inner edge of the rim looked very good. The outer edge looked very good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it with hot water. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were light tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable on the left side but the stamping on the right is faint on the left side of the stamp. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with great grain. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge and sand the logo. It worked well on the tooth marks but did little on the logo on the stem top.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I put the stem back on the “Malaga” Imported Briar Bent Billiard and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful “Malaga” Bent Billiard with a smooth finish and the vulcanite taper stem has a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼  inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.38 ounces/39 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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

Restoring a Well Smoked “Malaga” Small Straight Rhodesian

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe I have chosen is a medium sized Rhodesian. The stem is a vulcanite taper. We purchased it recently as one of two pipes from eBay from a seller in Aurora, Colorado, USA. The contrast of the brown stains on this oil cured pipe makes the grain stand out. It was stamped left side of the shank and read “Malaga”. On the right side it is stamped Aged Imported Briar. The pipe was heavily smoked. The Rhodesian shape has a crowned rim cap separated from the bowl by a pair of matching twin rings. They are dirty and clogged with grime. The bowl was heavily caked there was a heavy coat of lava on the rim top and inner edge. It was hard to know the condition of the rim due to the thick lava coat. The black vulcanite stem was in good condition other than being dirty and having tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem ahead of the button. There were no stampings or logo on the stem itself though it is certainly the original. Malaga stems were well fit but never bore any identifying marks on the surface. Jeff took photos of the pipe before his cleanup work. They tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe. Jeff took close up photos of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before he started his cleanup work. The heavy cake in the bowl is overflowing onto the rim top. It was too thick so see if there was damage to the edges of the bowl. The next photos show the stem surface. There is light oxidation and calcification on the stem. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button and wear on the button surface and edges. He also took photos of the sides and bottom of the bowl and shank to show the beautiful grain around the bowl. The photos show the general condition of the bowl and wear on the finish. It is very dirty but this is another beautiful pipe. Jeff took a photo to capture the stamping on the shank. The photos show the stamping “MALAGA” on the left side of the shank and Aged Imported Briar on the right side. The stamping is very readable. I am including the link to a blog that I wrote that gives some of the history of the Malaga brand and the Malaga Pipe Shop in Royal Oak, Michigan in the USA. I have written an earlier blog to give a little history of the Malaga Brand and the pipemaker, George Khoubesser. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/tag/malaga-pipes/.That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. Follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also including a flyer “The Pipe of True Smoking Enjoyment” that Malaga sent with each pipe they made. The language of the brochure is well written and gives a clear picture of how Malaga sees the process of breaking in their pipes. Take time to read it as it is very much written in the language of the times.Now it is time to work on the pipe itself. Jeff reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and followed up with a Savinelli Fitsall pipe knife to remove the cake. He scrubbed out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl, rim, shank and stem with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap to remove the oils, tars and lava on the rim and the grime on the finish of the bowl. He rinsed it under running water. He dried it off with a soft cloth. He was able to remove the lava build up on the rim top and the flat surface of the rim looked very good. The inner edge of the rim looked very good. The outer edge looked very good. He soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer and rinsed it with hot water. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition before I started my work on it. I took close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show how well it had cleaned up. The rim top and edges looked very good. I took photos of the stem to show the condition it was in. There were tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. You can see that it is stamped as noted above. It is clear and readable on the left side but the stamping on the right is faint on the left side of the stamp. I took the pipe apart and took a photo of the pipe. It is a good looking pipe with incredible grain. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. By the end of the process the pipe bowl looked very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect the briar. I let the balm sit for 15 minutes and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the vulcanite stem. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the tooth marks and chatter against the button edge and sand the logo. It worked well on the tooth marks but did little on the logo on the stem top.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I put the stem back on the “Malaga” Aged Imported Briar Rhodesian and took it to the buffer. I buffed the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish the briar and the vulcanite. Blue Diamond does a great job on the smaller scratches that remain in both. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. I am amazed at how well it turned out. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. This is a beautiful “Malaga” Straight Rhodesian with a smooth finish and the vulcanite taper stem has a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.23 ounces/35 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting on the rebornpipes online store in the American Pipe Makers and Pipemaking Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

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

Restoring a Unique Old Weber The Scoop Squat Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

Last Fall I received an email from a lady in Pasadena, California, USA. We bought it from her on 11/08/2024. She sent me a series of photos to give me a sense of the condition of the pipe. The first photo showed the damaged box. The old box was definitely a Weber Box but it was for a Billiard not a Bulldog. The Box says Hand Turned from Genuine Imported Briar on the top of the box cover. On the end of the box it is labelled Billiard [over] the Weber logo [over] Synchro Standard. The box was in very rough condition with the paper label torn and falling apart. Inside there was mould on the bottom and one end of the box. It was a mess and to my mind was not worth keeping. Here are her photos.She also sent photos of the pipe so I could see it as she had described it. This particular Weber was a shape that he made famous. I have had several different versions of this pipe – mostly straight or ¼ bent and all were rusticated with Weber’s recognizable rustication. This one was different – it had a unique rustication style that set it apart. The first is a side and top shot that gives a sense of the rustication on the bowl side and the inset rim top. The stem was also quite clean. The second and third photos below show the top and the heel of the bowl. The top is smooth and inset a little bit. The rim edges look quite good. The sides and heel of the bowl are heavily rusticated with three odd shaped smooth spots on the front and the sides.The rusticated finish on this pipe and the Weber Scoop stamping are what caught our eye. The pipe has something about it that just grabbed me. I have worked on many Weber pipes and even a scoop in the past. But never have I seen one like this one. It is stamped on the left topside of the shank and reads Weber in an oval (logo) [over] The Scoop. On the right underside of the diamond shank it is stamped Hand Made [over] Imported Briar. It has a classic combination of Brown stains on the smooth and rusticated finish that is a stark contrast to the vulcanite saddle stem. It is a squat Bulldog with a vulcanite stem. The bowl is smooth on the rim top and rusticated everywhere else. There was a light cake in the bowl and spots of lava on the edges of the rim top. The inner edge and the top look good other than that. The stem is oxidized and very dirty at this point. It does not show any tooth marks or chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button. There is no logo on the diamond saddle stem and other than being dirty looks to be in good condition. Jeff took some photos of the box to confirm what I thought of the condition from the above photos. He removed the lid from the box and took photos of the inside of the box. It is very dirty and the inside had a lot of mould build up on the bottom of the box and ends. The pipe itself was very dirty and smelled mouldy.Jeff took the pipe out of the box and took photos of the pipe to show its condition. It is dirty, dusty and mouldy smelling. You can clearly see the unique finish that I spoke of above.He took some photos of the rim top and bowl from various angles to give me a clear picture of the condition of the rim top and bowl. It a light cake on the inside of the bowl and the rim top is spotted with lava that is heavier on the back side. He included photos that show the top and underside of the stem. It is as described above. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a sense of the carving and rustication on the bowl. It is quite unique and strangely beautiful. He captured the stamping on the sides of the shank. It read as noted above and is clear and very readable.I decided to do a bit of reading on Weber pipes in general and also see if I could pick up specific information on Weber The Scoop. I looked on Pipedia and found the following interesting historical information (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Weber_Pipe_Co.).

Carl B. Weber was a German from Bavaria. Aged 21 he immigrated to the USA in 1911. In 1938 he established Weber Briars Inc. in Jersey City, New Jersey – later renamed the Weber Pipe Co. The firm grew to be one of the giants of American pipe industry focusing itself in the middle price and quality zone. Trademark: “Weber” in an oval. Beside that Weber – especially in the years after 1950 – was a most important supplier for private label pipes that went to an immense number of pipe shops. In New York alone for example, exactly the same pipes were found at Wilke’s, Barclay Rex, Trinity East, Joe Strano’s Northampton Tobacconist in Ridgewood, Queens, Don-Lou in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn. Nearly all pipes for Wilke were unstained and many models, for example the “Wilke Danish Bent”, could hardly deny originating of Weber. Among others well reputed pipemaker Anthony Passante worked for Weber.

Weber Pipe Co. owned and manufactured Jobey pipes – when mainly sold in the USA by The Tinderbox from 1970’s – 80’s. In addition Jobey / Weber bought Danish freehands from Karl Erik (Ottendahl). These pipes were offered as Jobey Dansk. Ottendahl discontinued exports to the United States in 1987 and in the very same year – obviously only as a ghost brand – Jobey was transferred to Saint-Claude, France to be manufactured by Butz-Choquin. Carl B. Weber is the author of the famous book “Weber’s Guide to Pipes and Pipe Smoking”.                                   

There was also a sales poster on the site that had an inset about The Scoop so I have included a copy of that poster below. Make sure to have a look at the photo and information. Armed with that information I turned my attention to the pipe itself. Jeff had cleaned the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness that I really appreciate. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed out the internals with alcohol, pipe cleaners, shank brushes and cotton swabs until the pipe was clean. He scrubbed the exterior of the bowl with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime and grit on the briar and the lava on the rim top. The finish looks very good with good looking grain around the bowl and shank. The musty smell of the ruined box was no longer and issue. Jeff soaked the stem in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation on the rubber. When the pipe arrived here in Vancouver for the second stop of its restoration tour it looked very good. I took photos before I started my part of the work. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean and the rim top and the inner edge look beautiful. The cap on this pipe was smooth with a ring around the inner and out edge and a rim top that is slightly inset. It is unique among the Weber Pipes that I have worked on. The stem was clean and did not show either tooth marks or chatter.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It is very clear and readable and read as noted above. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I sanded the rim top with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the light scratching on the edges and surface of the rim. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the debris.I polished the smooth rim top with 1500-12000 grit micromesh sanding pad – dry sanding it with the pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. It began to take on a deep shine. The exterior of the bowl look better after sanding. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a shoe brush to get into the nooks and crannies. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with Obsidian Oil and it began to look very good.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. I am excited to be on the homestretch with beautiful Weber The Scoop Squat Bulldog. This is the part I look forward to when it all comes back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together. I polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish out the scratches in the briar and the vulcanite. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The unique rusticated finish looks really good with the interesting patterns standing out on the shape. The richly stained briar and the polished black vulcanite went really well together. This Weber Scoop has a recognizable shape and look that catches the eye. The brown stain really makes the rustication depths pop. It is another comfortable pipe to hold in the hand. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 39 grams/1.38 ounces. This one will soon be on the American Pipe Makers Section of the rebornpipes store. Let me know if you are interested in adding it to your rack. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Another pipe dropped off for repair and restoration

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by Steve Laug

On Sunday afternoon a fellow stopped by with a bag of parts from one of his first pipes. It was in pieces and he was thinking perhaps it needed a new stem. As I looked at the parts I could see what happened. It also seemed things were missing. The 9mm filter tenon had come loose from the stem and in the process, he lost one of the metal spacers. The spacers were originally an acrylic ring sandwiched between to steel washers. With one missing it made the fit of the stem to the shank crooked as the acrylic spacer was not uniform in its depth. Work would need to be done on the spacer pieces to correct the issues. The pipe appeared to be a basket pipe from Italy and bore the stamp Angelo on the left side. It was not a brand I was familiar with. It had a thick varnish coat that was bubbling all around the sides and would need to be removed. The finish was smooth with small hash marks around the surface of the bowl and shank. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of lava on the rim top. The top and inner edges looked good as far as I could tell through the grime. The stem had tooth marks and chatter on both sides and was dirty and scratched from sitting around. I put the stem in the shank part way to have a look at what I had to work with. The order of the rings on the stem as it is in the following photos appears wrong to me. The missing ring changes the sandwich look. I think the washer needs to go against the stem face and the acrylic against the shank to have the right feel. I will need to set those in an order that minimizes the break in the flow of the stem and shank. Here are some photos of the pipe as it was initially fit together. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the current look of the pipe. I think there is potential to improve the look as it has some charm and the sitter base is very balanced and functional.Before I started my reworking of the stem and bowl on this problematic pipe I wanted to have a bit of information on the Angelo brand. I personally like to have the background so that when I am working on a pipe I know who carved or made it originally. Then as I work on it I can carry on a dialogue with them (at least in my mind) about my changes. I turned to PipePhil’ site for information (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-a6.html#angelo). I have included a screen capture of the pertinent section and the sidebar information below the photo.Second brand used by the Rovera family (Angelo and Damiano) who produces Ardor, Roverart and Rovera.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by addressing the puzzle of the stem. I took it apart and found that the rings were not glued and could be slipped up and down the tenon. This was a plus in this case so I removed the rings and reversed the order so that the metal spacer separated the vulcanite stem from the acrylic spacer. I fit it in the stem and in the shank for a look. Because the shank is very dirty it is hard to press the stem into the shank all the way but this gave me a sense of the look of the pipe with the rings reverse. I liked it and was pretty sure that the missing metal spacer would have been on the other side of the acrylic. With the order of the spacers to my liking I cleaned out the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs to remove the grime in the airway and int seat of the tenon. I cleaned out the tenon at the same time. I coated the tenon end that it in the stem with black CA glue using a tooth pick. Once it was ready I pressed the parts together and set the stem aside to let the glue cure. I like the overall look of the stem at this point. I did not anchor the acrylic ring as there were going to be issues with the fit as it was not round or flat on the face.While the glue cured on the tenon I move to address the bowl. I reamed the cake in the bowl using a PipNet pipe reamer with the second and third cutting heads to take back the cake. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape the remainder of the cake out of the bowl and clean up the bottom of the bowl. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. With the bowl cleaned out I was able to see that the bowl walls and bottom were in great condition. There was no checking or damage. I used the edge of the Fitsall knife to scrape the lava from the rim top. I decided to remove the bubbling varnish coat next. I used acetone and cotton pads to scrub the thick bubbling varnish coat off the bowl. I was surprised by the way the briar looked with the shiny coat gone. It was a nice looking piece of wood and once cleaned and polished would be quite lovely. I sanded the bowl and shank (carefully avoiding the stamping) with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust and debris from the sanding. The briar really was taking on a rich shine. After the sanding and stem work I cleaned out the airway in the shank, mortise and the stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I was surprised by how much more gunk came out of the tenon particularly. The pipe was clean now.I polished the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each pad with a damp cloth. It took on a deeper shine with each pad. I decided to fit the stem to the shank end before I gave it a rub down with Restoration Balm. The shank was cut at and angle and the stem would not fit flat against it. I put the stem in place and marked it with a pencil to clean up the angle. The top half of the shank needed to be reduced in depth to match the bottom half. I used a folded piece of 220 sandpaper to do the work. I constantly rechecked the fit until I had the face flat and the stem sat correctly. The picture below shows the sanded shank end. I stained the sanded briar with a walnut stain pen to match the rest. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips to work it into the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the marks. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. The bands and the stem work very well.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. I used a replacement tenon to make a 9mm converter to fit a stem to be a non-filter stem. I slipped it into the tenon and it fit well.This reworked Angelo Bent Sitter has a beautiful finish now that the varnish coat has been removed and the stem refit. It truly has a new lease on life. The medium brown/black finish gives depth to the grain around the bowl and shank. The rebuilt and polished black vulcanite acrylic stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Angelo Bent Sitter is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/48 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. The fellow who dropped it off will pick up his pipe on the weekend. I am looking forward to seeing what he thinks of it.

Restoring a much loved Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL25

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by Steve Laug

Sunday afternoon Auke stopped by with a pipe he wanted me to work on for him. It was obviously a favourite pipe of his. It was a Peterson’s shape that I have worked on before and one that was in the Sherlock Holmes series and labelled as a Strand. This one however was stamped on the underside of the shank in a smooth band and read Peterson’s [over] of Dublin [over] Kinsale. To the right of that it was stamped with the shape number XL25. It is a large rusticated pipe that is quite beautiful. This one was dirty with a moderate cake in the bowl smelling of the aromatics that Auke smoked. There was a lava build up on the rim top covering the smooth surface. The finish was a bitty sticky with the grime and dirt. Otherwise it was in good shape. The three stacked bands were a little tarnished on the shank end. The stem was very tight from the build up of tars and oils in both. Auke said the draw was quite constricted and was hard to pull air through – a symptom of a dirty, gummy airway in the shank and stem. The vulcanite stem is also very dirty. There was oxidation, calcification and some light tooth damage on both sides ahead of the button. The gold “P: stamp on the left side of the stem was in good shape – just a bit tarnished. I took photos of the pipe before I started my work on it. I took a closeup photo of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the dirty condition of the pipe and the thickness of the cake and lava on the bowl top. The rim top and edges look to be under the lava coat but the cleanup will reveal the facts. I also took photos of the stem to show the top and underside ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It was readable through the grime and debris. It read as noted in the above paragraphs. I also took the stem off the shank and took a photo of the look and proportion of the pipe.I turned to a Catalogue I have on the blog that has a section on the Classic Range Kinsale Smooth and Rustic finishes. It says that it is based on the Sherlock Holmes collections. A quality briar in a smooth burnt orange or rustic finish. Here is the link (https://rebornpipes.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/peterson-cataloguecomp_page_30.jpg). I have included a copy of the page below.I started my work on the pipe by reaming the cake in the bowl. I used a PipNet pipe reamer with the second and third cutting heads to take back the cake. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape the remainder of the cake out of the bowl and clean up the bottom of the bowl. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. With the bowl cleaned out I was able to see that the bowl walls and bottom were in great condition. There was no checking or damage. I cleaned the airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol. Many pipe cleaners later that airway was clean and once again wide open.I scrubbed the externals of the bowl and shank with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. I rinsed it with warm running water and repeated the scrubbing and rinsing process until the pipe was clean and looked better. I polished the rim top with micromesh sanding pads to clean up the darkening on the smooth surface and inner bevelled edge. It looked much better. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. Once again, I wiped it down between each pad with Obsidian Oil. I further polished it with Before and After Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. It looked very good. This Rusticated Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL25 with an oval Taper Stem has a beautiful rusticated finish that has a new lease on life. The medium brown/black/mahogany finish gives depth to the rustication around the bowl and shank. It has a classic look of a Peterson’s pipe. The rebuilt and polished black vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Peterson’s of Dublin Kinsale XL25 is quite nice and feels great in the hand. 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 ¼ inch, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.83 ounces/52 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. Auke will pick up his pipe on the weekend. I am looking forward to seeing what he thinks of it.

Restoring an Odd Pipe Stamped Old England Genuine Briar

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is the first of three pipes sent to me by a fellow pipeman near Vancouver for restoration. It reminds me of the Caveman Pipes that I have worked on in the past. This one is basically a roughly cut Panel that is somewhat Dublin shaped. There is no real shank on the pipe but rather kind of a nipple that the stem was inserted into. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the bowl and reads Old England in an old English script [over] Genuine Briar. The bowl had a moderate cake in it and an overflow of lava on the rim top and inner edge that left it looking rough and out of round. The finish on the bowl was oily and there appeared to be a small hairline crack on the left side mid bowl. The stem was a long vulcanite taper that was oxidized and had some deep tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button. Both the stem and bowl were dirty. It should be an interesting and straightforward clean up. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. (I missed a photo of the heel of the bowl prior to cleaning). I took a close-up photo of the rim top to show the condition of the bowl and inner edge of the bowl and the stem. You can clearly see the cake in the bowl and the damage on the inner edge. The stem photos show the tooth marks on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the bowl toward the heel. It is clear and readable as noted above. I removed the stem and took a photo of the parts of the pipe. It is a unique and strangely pretty little pipe.I did a bit of hunting on the brand and did not find any information on it. I did find a Sasieni Second brand with this stamping but the stamping was quite different from that on this one. The similarity is in the name of the brand. Nothing definitive was found but this could be something.

Now it was time to work on the pipe. I reamed the pipe with a PipNet reamer using the first and second cutting head. I took the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the remnants. I sanded the bowl with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better at this point. I moved on to clean up the internals. The airway into the bowl was plugged so I broke it through with a paper clip. I cleaned out the airway and mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I cleaned out the airway in the stem at the same time. It was a dirty pipe but after this cleanup it was much better.I scrubbed the externals of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime in the finish and on the rim top. I worked on it until it looked much better and then rinsed it off with warm water. I dried it off with a soft cloth. I smoothed out the inner edge of the bowl and worked on the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was beginning to look much better.After I cleaned the bowl I found a small hairline crack on the left side of the bowl just below middle. I have circled it in the photo below. I put a bead of clear superglue on the crack to seal it. Once it cured I smoothed it out with 220 grit sandpaper.I sanded the exterior of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to blend in the repair and clean up the surface of the bowl. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the sanding dust. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down between pads with a damp cloth. It really began to take on a deep shine. The exterior of the bowl looks better after sanding. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips. I let it sit on the bowl for 10 minutes and then buffed it off with a paper towel and soft cloth. The product is a great addition to the restoration work. It enlivens, enriches and protects the briar while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them. The heat helped lift them but not enough. I filled in the tooth marks with black CA glue put in place with a tooth pick. I set it aside to cure. Once the repair cured I used a file to flatten out the repair and clean up the edge of the button. I sanded it further with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surrounding vulcanite. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads and wiped it down with Obsidian Oil to remove the sanding dust.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil to further protect the vulcanite surface. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped the stem down a final time with Obsidian Oil and a cloth. It really looks very good. It was great to finish the repairs and reshaping on this Old England Genuine Briar Freehand Panel Sitter. I put the pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with deep sandblast all around it. Added to that the polished black, vulcanite, taper stem was beautiful. This Old England Panel Sitter is great looking and the pipe feels great in my hand. It is light and well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 29 grams/1.02 ounces. It is the first of three pipes sent to me by the fellow near Vancouver. I have two more of his pipes to finish before I send them back to him.

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