Tag Archives: shaping a stem

Restoring a beautifully grained Dunhill Bruyere 41041 Taper Stem Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that we picked up in the lot from our contact in Copenhagen, Denmark on 08/09/2024. The Bruyere finish and the Dunhill stamping is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads 41041 next to the bowl/shank union followed by Dunhill [over] Bruyere. On the right side it is stamped Made in [over] England21. It has a classic Bruyere smooth finish that is a stark contrast to vulcanite, diamond taper stem. The finish has some scars that are a part of the pipe’s story particularly on the rim cap. The bowl appears to be moderately caked. The inner edge and the top show some lava overflow and what looks like knife damage from reaming on the inner edge. The stem is very oxidized and tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside ahead of the button and on the button surface itself. The classic white spot is on the left top side of the taper, diamond stem and 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. You can see the lava on the rim top and edges as well as part of the cake in the bowl. 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 finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain around the bowl and shank. It is a great looking piece of briar. He took some photos of the stamping on the sides of the bowl and shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. As is my regular practice, before I started my work on the pipe, I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Bruyere Pipes to get a refresh the information I know regarding the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill_Bruyere). I quote:

Initially, made from over century-old briar burls, classified by a “B” (denoted highest quality pipe); “DR” (denoted straight-grained) and an “A” (denoted first quality), until early 1915. After that, they became a high-end subset to the Dunhill ‘Bruyere’. The DR and B pipes, a limited production, they should be distinguished as hand-cut in London from burls as opposed to the Bruyere line which was generally finished from French turned bowls until 1917, when the Calabrian briar started to be used, but not completely. Only in 1920 Dunhill took the final step in its pipe making operation and began sourcing and cutting all of its own bowls, proudly announcing thereafter that “no French briar was employed”.

Bruyere pipes were usually made using Calabrian briar, a very dense and hardy briar that has a modest grain but does very well with the deep red stain.

“Before the 1950s, there were three possible finishes for Dunhill pipes. The Bruyere was a smooth finish with a deep red stain, obtained through two coats, a brown understain followed by a deep red. The Shell finish was the original sandblast with a near-black stain (though the degree to which it is truly black has varied over the years). Lastly, the Root finish was smooth also but with a light brown finish. Early Dunhill used different briars with different stains, resulting in more distinct and identifiable creations… Over the years, to these traditional styles were added four new finishes: Cumberland, Dress, Chestnut and Amber Root, plus some now-defunct finishes, such as County, Russet and Red Bark.”[1]I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a superscript suffix 21 after the D in England it points to the 1960 line on the chart below. To date it just add 1960 +21 for a date of 1981. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent section in the chart.I now knew that I was working on a Bruyere that came out in 1981. The shape of the pipe is called a smooth straight Bulldog with a 41041 Shape number on the left side of the shank/ bowl.

I turned to Pipephil’s shape list (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html). At the bottom of the list of shapes (with the 04 being a Billiard) is a key for interpreting the digits in the stamp I have included that below.

Dunhill pipes are stamped with a four digit code.
Digit 1: (from 1 to 6) denotes the size of the pipe (the group).
Digit 2: denotes the style of the mouthpiece (0,1=tapered, 2=saddle)
Digit 3 and 4: denote the generic pipe shape (in yellow in the chart on top) 

Example: 5102
(5 = size | 1 = tappered stem | 02 = Bent)

When 5 digits occur, the meaning of the 4 first remain the same

The 41041 was thus a Group 4 size, with a taper mouthpiece, and in an 04 or straight Bulldog shape.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The rim top shows some damage on the top and the inner edge of the bowl. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on 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 damage to the rim top and the inner edge is very visible in the photo below. The stem was clean and the light tooth marks and chatter can be seen in the photos.I took a photo 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 started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage to the rim top. I used some 220 grit sandpaper and a round wooden sphere to clean up the bevel on the inner edge of the bowl. It looked much better once finished. I touched up the sanded inner edge and top with a cherry stain pen to match the surrounding briar. It is looking very good.I polished the Bruyere bowl and shank 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. 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. The stem surface looked good other than some deeper oxidation. It showed up in the bright lights of the photos. There were some deep tooth marks in the middle of the button surface on both sides of the stem. I filled them in with black CA glue and set it aside to cure. Once it had cured I recut the button edge and flattened it with a small file. I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I continued the sanding process with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The repairs began to disappear into the surface of the vulcanite and the stem began to take on a smooth new look. Progress for sure.It was ready for the next step. 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. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to seeing the 1981 Dunhill Bruyere 41041 Bulldog put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the grain really pop with the wax and polish. The repaired and polished vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of stains on the bowl and shank. This Dunhill Bruyere 41041 Bulldog was a lot of work to bring back to life. The pipe is light weight, comfortable in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 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 1.34 ounces/38 grams. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section soon. Let me know if you wish to add it 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.

Resurrection of a Well-Loved, Tired Old Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

Sometimes when we get around to working on a pipe I am struck with asking why we picked this one up. That is the case with the next poor old Dunhill. It has been either well loved or abused depending on your perspective. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. Probably the Shell finish and the Dunhill stamp is what caught our eye. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads 4106F on the heel of the bowl. That is followed by Dunhill Shell [over] Made in England25. It has a classic Shell briar dark brown/cordovan/black finish sandblast that is a stark contrast to the two silver coloured inlaid rings in the stem. From the side view it is a great looking sandblast pot. However, when you turn it over and examine it from the top down that can begin to see the abuse or love. The bowl appears to be moderately caked at first glance but it is actually quite thick at the bottom half of the bowl and hard as aged concrete. The inner edge and the top show lava overflow and it is hard to know if there is rim damage at this point because of the lava. And let’s talk about that stem. It is oxidized and calcified which is quite normal for what I see. However, the deep tooth marks and chomp marks on the stem surface and button edges are deeper than they first appear. You can picture the old pipe man (or maybe a young one though I doubt it) chomping down on the stem while concentrating on whatever his hands were doing in the shop. Cleaning it up will truly reveal the depth of the mess but first impressions are not good! There were two inlaid metal rings in the taper stem – sandwiching a piece of vulcanite. This is something I have not seen before on a Dunhill stem. The classic white spot is on the top of the stem and 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. What are your impressions? Would you have bought it or left it? 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. You can see the lava on the rim top and edges as well as part of the cake in the bowl. It is thicker starting about half way down the bowl. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is actually far worse than even the photos show. Jeff took some photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed a great sandblast. It is a great looking piece of briar at least on the outside at this point! He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the bowl and shank. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. There was some faintness to the stamping of the shape number on the heel of the bowl but it was still readable.As is my regular practice, before I started my work on the pipe, I turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Shell Pipes to get a refresh the information I know regarding 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.

There was also a link to a catalogue page that gave examples and dates that the various finishes were introduced (https://pipedia.org/wiki/File:Dunnypipescatalog-1.png).I turned to Pipephil’s dating guide to show how I arrived at the date of manufacture for this pipe (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). I am including the chart that is provided there for the dating a pipe. I have drawn a red box around the section. Since the pipe I am working on has a superscript suffix 25 after the D in England it points to the 1960 line on the chart below. To date it just add 1960 +25 for a date of 1985. I have drawn a red box around the pertinent section in the chart.I now knew that I was working on a Shell that came out in 1985. The shape of the pipe is called a Pot with a 4106 Shape number on the heel of the bowl.

I turned to Pipephil’s shape list (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shapes.html). At the bottom of the list of shapes (with the 06 being a pot) is a key for interpreting the digits in the stamp I have included that below.

Dunhill pipes are stamped with a four digit code.
Digit 1: (from 1 to 6) denotes the size of the pipe (the group).
Digit 2: denotes the style of the mouthpiece (0,1=tapered, 2=saddle)
Digit 3 and 4: denote the generic pipe shape (in yellow in the chart on top) 

Example: 5102
(5 = size | 1 = tappered stem | 02 = Bent)

When 5 digits occur, the meaning of the 4 first remain the same

The 4106 was thus a Group 4 size, with a taper mouthpiece, and in an 06 or Pot shape.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good but there was a thick ring at the bottom of the bowl. The question was whether it was more cake or damage to the bowl bottom. The airway appears to be drilled at the bottom. This will take some more work. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. Now the damage to the stem was very clear. Overall, the pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took close up photos of the bowl, rim top and stem to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was clean but if you look closely you can see the thick ring toward the bottom of the bowl. The stem was clean but the tooth damage is very visible on both sides of the stem and button. The pipe has potential but it will be a lot more work to bring it back.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable even though it is faint in spots. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts.It did not take long to decide where I would start with this pipe. I tried to raise the tooth marks as much as possible by “painting” the surface with a lighter flame. It did very little to lift the marks in the stem. I forgot a photo of this but you have seen them before. I filled in the deep marks by layering in the rubberized black CA glue. Once it had cured I flattened the repairs and recut the button with a small file. I reshaped the button top and edges and further flattened and blended in the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was a big improvement but still more work to go! I continued the sanding process with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. The repairs began to disappear into the surface of the vulcanite and the stem began to take on a smooth new look. Progress for sure.It was ready for the next step. 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. I fit the polished stem with a Vauen Dr. Perl Junior 6mm filter in the tenon. It fit perfectly and as normal the filter reduced the draught on the pipe. The pipe can easily be smoked without the filter.I set the stem aside and worked on the bowl. I worked on the thick “concrete” like build up at the bottom of the bowl. It was very hard and thick. I used a PipNet Reamer to work on it a bit and a lot came out of the bowl. I chipped away at it with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to remove the build up until the bottom and walls were clean.I cleaned the shank and the bowl again with alcohol and pipe cleaners to remove the dust and debris from the work on the bowl bottom. The exterior of the bowl was in excellent condition. I did not need to sand or do anything in preparation on the pipe. I set the stem aside and worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair 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 am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to finally seeing the 1985 Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The repaired and polished vulcanite stem is a beautiful contrast to the combination of Shell stains on the bowl and shank. This Dunhill Shell 4106 Billiard was a lot of work to bring back to life. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 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 1.31 ounces/ 38 grams. I will be putting this one on the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section soon. Let me know if you wish to add it 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.

Breathing new life into a BBB Own Make Made in London England 636 Billiard

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a BBB pipe with a silver shank band and a vulcanite taper stem. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads BBB in a Diamond with Own on the left side of the Diamond and Make on the right side. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Made in London [over] England [over] 636. The silver band is stamped Sterling Silver under BBB in a Dimaond on the left side of the band. It is oxidized and scratched. The finish is a reddish-brown colour that really highlights the grain around the bowl and shank. The bowl colour is a stark contrast to the silver band and the black taper stem. There is a BBB Diamond brass logo inlaid on the top of the stem. The bowl was moderately caked and there was some lava on the inner bevelled edge of the rim and the top. The vulcanite stem had some oxidation and some chatter and light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. It also looks like it had a softee bit on the stem at one time as it left a defined line. 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. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim edge and top. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is oxidized and appears to have had a Softee bit on it at one time. Jeff took photos of the sides of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed some great grain. It is a pretty piece of briar. He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the Sterling Silver band. The stamping was clear and readable on both shank sides and the band as noted above. He also took a photo of the BBB logo on the topside of the taper stem. Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was very clean and showed that the inner tube sitting in the bottom of the bowl. The stem looked good with very light tooth marks and chatter. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. I decided to start my work on the bowl by polishing the rim top and the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad to remove the dust and debris. I gave the bowl and shank a coating of Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it 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 polished the silver band with a jeweller’s cloth to remove the tarnish and oxidation. It took some elbow grease but the cloth works to clean and protect the silver from further tarnishing. It looks significantly better than when I started. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit sanding pads and water to wet sand the stem. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil on a cotton rag after each sanding pads. After finishing with the micromesh pads I rub the stem down with Before & After Fine and Extra Fine stem polish as it seems to really remove the fine scratches in the vulcanite. I finished polishing the stem with a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set the stem aside to let the oil absorb. This process gives the stem a shine and also a bit of protection. This BBB Own Make 636 Made in London England Billiard turned out to be a great looking pipe. With polishing, the grain shines through clearly. The black vulcanite stem is in excellent condition and works great with the polished briar. The polished silver is a touch of class. 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 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 BBB Own Make 636 Billiard 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: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 43 grams/1.52 ounces. It is a great looking pipe that I will soon be adding it to the rebornpipes store in the British Pipemakers Section. If you are interested in adding it to your collection let me know Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a Beautiful and Bountiful Ropp Altesse 284 Billiard

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by Kenneth Lieblich

Here is another pipe I’ve restored for a local family – and I’ve been drip feeding the restoration stories over a stupidly long time. However, after that bit of self-deprecation, let’s have a look. This is a really handsome, solid Ropp Altesse 284 billiard. It’s a lovely shape and a big bowl. Gosh, when my friend selected this pipe, I thought to myself, ‘Good choice’. This is an older Ropp and the markings are definitely worth examining. On the left side of the shank, we see (inside an oval) the word Ropp [over] Altesse. The French word ‘altesse’ means ‘highness’ in English. The right side of the shank reads 284, which is the shape number. Finally, the stem has the Ropp logo, which is very familiar – however, this time the logo is in brass, rather than the normal nickel. This is significant because the brass version of the logo was reserved for higher quality pipes. From Pipedia, here is a very brief history of the Ropp company:

Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830–1907) acquired a patent for the cherrywood pipe in 1869. In 1870, he established a workshop to manufacture such pipes in Bussang, in the Vosges mountains. Around 1893, his business moved into the former mill of Sicard (part of the community of Baume-les-Dames in Upper Burgundy. The pipes were a big success in export as well. Shortly before 1914, Ropp designated A. Frankau & Co. (BBB) to be the exclusive distributor in the UK and its colonies. Probably in 1917, a workshop in Saint-Claude in the rue du Plan du Moulin was acquired to start the fabrication of briar pipes. In 1923, another small building in Saint-Claude, serving as a workshop for polishing, was added. Cherrywood pipes were the mainstay of Ropp until the company finally closed down in September 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises in 1994. What sort of condition is this pipe in? Quite frankly, it looks as though someone in the past has made some elementary steps to cleaning or restoring this pipe. The stem has been thoroughly chewed and someone has clearly tried to scape off something in the path – you can the see scratch marks. The stummel has lovely feel to it. Not too dirty, but the rim has – like the stem – been scraped or cleaned in some way. The photos show how different the rim looks from the rest of the pipe.I used a disposable lighter and ‘painted’ the stem with its flame. The gentle heat of the flame can cause the dents in the vulcanite of the stem to expand back into shape. In this case, not much happened. Alas. This pipe also had an unusual metal and acrylic innertube. As the photos of this restoration show, I initially started cleaning it, but discovered that it was badly cracked – and so I elected to remove it altogether.I used oil soap on a few cotton rounds and wiped the stem down to provide an initial cleaning of filth 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. I used a lot of pipe cleaners and cotton swabs, as it was pretty dirty.The goal of the next step is the removal (or minimization) of oxidation. Going to my sink, I used cream cleanser, cotton rounds, and a toothbrush, and scoured the stem to remove as much surface oxidation as possible. As the photos show, the result is a hideous brownish mess – but better off the stem than on it.Once the stem was reasonably clean, I soaked it overnight in some Briarville Stem Oxidation Remover. This solution works to draw oxidation in the stem to the surface. This is a major aid and an important step in ensuring a clean stem. The following day, I drew the stem out from its bath and scrubbed the lingering fluid with a toothbrush.Now that the stem is clean and dry, I set about fixing the marks and dents in the vulcanite. This is done by filling those divots with black cyanoacrylate adhesive, impregnated with carbon and rubber. 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 vulcanite. Following that, I use all nine of the micromesh sanding pads (1,500 through 12,000 grit) to sand out flaws, even out the vulcanite, 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, deep black 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. I used a reamer, a pipe knife, and a piece of sandpaper taped to a wooden dowel. Collectively, these ensure that all the debris is removed.Similar to the stem, I then cleaned the stummel with both pipe cleaners and cotton swabs dipped in 99% lemon-infused isopropyl alcohol. With a pipe this dirty, it took quite a while and much cotton to get clean.I then decided to ‘de-ghost’ the pipe – that is to say, exorcize the remaining filth from the briar. I filled the bowl and the shank with cotton balls, then saturated them with 99% isopropyl alcohol. I let the stummel sit overnight. This caused any remaining oils, tars and smells to leach out into the cotton.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. This is the culmination of a lot of hard work in getting the pipe clean.The rim is a bit more rugged than I would like. In order to lessen the nicks etc. 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 outside of the stummel to finish it off. This sanding minimizes flaws in the briar and provides a beautiful smoothness to the wood. After that, the bare wood on the rim 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. For the final step, I took the pipe to my bench buffer and carefully polished it – first with a white diamond compound, then with three coats of carnauba wax. This procedure makes the pipe look its best – the stummel sings and the stem glows.All done! This Ropp Altesse 284 billiard looks fantastic again and is ready to be enjoyed by its new owner. It was a pleasure to work on. The approximate dimensions of the pipe are as follows: length 5¾ in. (146 mm); height 1⅞ in. (48 mm); bowl diameter 1½ in. (39 mm); chamber diameter ¾ in. (19 mm). The weight of the pipe is 1¾ oz. (52 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 at kenneth@knightsofthepipe.com. Thank you very much for reading and, as always, I welcome and encourage your comments.

Restoring a Made in Ireland Peterson’s of Dublin Irish Harp 150 Straight Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is another Peterson’s pipe with a red and black swirled acrylic stem. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the left underside of the diamond shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] of Dublin [over] Irish Harp. To the left of that it is stamped Made in Ireland and to the right the shape number 150. The Sterling Silver band is stamped on the left topside of the diamond shank and reads Peterson [arched over] a Harp with Sterling Silver arched underneath. On the right underside it bears the Peterson silver Hallmarks. It reads Peterson [over] the first hallmark, Hibernia seated arm on a harp for the country of manufacture. That is followed by .925 which help to date the pipe as after 2003 and designates the sterling quality. The final Hallmark is the date stamp and in this case is an italic upper-case I which dates it as made in 2019. The finish is a rich reddish-brown sandblast that is a stark contrast to the silver band the red and black streaked fishtail stem. The bowl had been recently reamed and there was tobacco debris in the bottom of the bowl. It was also lightly smoked. The fish tail stem was red acrylic with black swirls and was a tapered. The stem was lightly soiled and had light chatter on both sides There was an inlaid silver Peterson’s “P” logo on the left topside of the diamond taper. 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. You can see the tobacco debris in the bowl and the light cake. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is looks very good. Jeff took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed a great sandblast. It is a pretty piece of briar. He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the silver band and its hallmarks. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the “P” logo on the left side of the taper stem. Before doing my part of the work on the pipe I turned to see what I could find out about the line. I turned first to the Peterson’s website to see what they had listed. I quote below from that site (https://www.peterson.ie/pipes/premium/irish-harp/moreinfo.cfm?pd_product_Id=950).

One of the warmest finishes in our portfolio, the Irish Harp debuted in 2002 and combines an array of our Classic range shapes with deep, ruby-tinged walnut stains, cumberland-patterned acrylic fishtail stems, and bright bands of sterling silver, applied by the hands of our most experienced silversmiths.

I then turned to La Pipe Rit – St. Claude for their description of this particular Peterson’s line of pipes (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/new/peterson/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=608936). I quote from the description by Truett Smith l below.

Peterson’s “150” straight Bulldog is a pert, upright rendition that fits in perfectly with the Irish firm’s characteristically muscular shaping style. It’s quite the forthright take on the classic English shape, but in keeping with the marque’s tradition, it features an incredibly robust, crisp diamond shank… Marked by a concise sandblast, dark walnut stain, and acrylic stem to match, the Irish Harp line from Peterson poses an elegant aesthetic, the bowl and mouthpiece separated by a generous band of sterling silver. Peterson’s craftsmen spend years training under the factory’s senior smiths, and the Irish marque is esteemed for its use of sterling silver. In the Irish Harp series, Peterson pays tribute to one of Ireland’s most iconic symbols: the Celtic harp or cláirseach in Irish. The traditional instrument is here emblazoned on the silver accent, celebrating Peterson’s Irish origins while simultaneously showcasing their superlative silverwork.

Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was very clean and showed that the pipe was very lightly smoked. The stem looked good with no tooth marks or chatter. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable. I also took a photo of the stamping on the shiny nickel band. It was readable and clear. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. The bowl was in excellent condition. I did not need to sand or do anything in preparation on the pipe. I set the stem aside and worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair 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 polished the silver with a jeweller’s cloth to protect and polish the silver and keep the tarnish at bay. It looks very good at this point. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. There were no deep tooth marks and very little chatter on the stem surface so I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I am excited to finish this one and look forward to seeing the 2019 Made in Ireland Peterson’s of Dublin Irish Harp 150 Bulldog put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny red and black swirled acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the rich brown/red stain on the bowl, thick shank and Sterling Silver Band. This Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Apple was a fun pipe to work on. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.69 ounces/48 grams. I will be putting this one on the store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. Let me know if you wish to add it 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.

A Refresh of a Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Bent Apple

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table is a Peterson’s pipe with a red and black swirled acrylic stem. We picked the pipe up from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA on 12/12/2024. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Peterson’s [arched over] Dublin [over] 03. The bright nickel band is stamped Dracula in a banner on top with a Bat before and after the name as well as underneath it. The finish is a dark coloured, almost black sandblast that is a stark contrast to the silver band the red and black streaked fishtail stem. The bowl was lightly caked and there was a tobacco debris in the bottom of the bowl. The fish tail stem was red acrylic with black swirls and was a tapered. The stem was very clean with no tooth damage. There was a white or silver Peterson’s “P” logo on the left side of the taper. 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. You can see the tobacco debris in the bowl and the light cake. The next photos show the top and underside of the stem. It is looks very good. Jeff took a photo of the side of the bowl to show the condition of the finish on the pipe. The photos showed a great sandblast. It is a pretty piece of briar.He took some photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank and the nickel band. The stamping was clear and readable as noted above. He also took a photo of the “P” logo on the left side of the taper stem. Before doing my part of the work on the pipe I turned to see what I could find out about the line. I turned first to the Peterson’s website to see what they had listed. I quote below from that site (https://www.peterson.ie/pipes/classic/dracula-sandblasted/moreinfo.cfm?pd_product_Id=303).

The Dracula line started as a special commemorative line of pipes, first released in 2012, celebrating the death centennial of fellow Irishman and esteemed author Abraham “Bram” Stoker. Characterised by jet-black sandblasted finishes, bright nickel bands, and black-and-red-swirled acrylic fishtail stems, the Dracula Sandblasted appeals not only to fans of gothic horror, but of quality classic pipes in bold presentations.

I then turned to La Pipe Rit – St. Claude for their description of this particular Peterson’s line of pipes (https://www.pipe.fr/en/peterson-dracula-pipes-417). I quote in full below.

Peterson must be the most famous pipe brand in the world. Since the late 19th century, the company began to hire and train Irish men and women (whereas some other manufacturers used to hire French craftspeople from Saint-Claude). Nowadays, Peterson pipes are made with a real know-how thanks to a team of passionate craftspeople that share their expertise. The company “Kapp & Peterson” creates traditional pipes of great quality. On this webpage, we present you the incredible “Dracula” collection. First released in 2012, this series was designed to pay tribute to the Irish writer Abraham “Bram” Stoker to mark the centenary of his death. With the red and black stem, this must be one of the favorite pipes of horror stories readers, and more generally Peterson pipe enthusiasts. To stick to the spirit of the novel, the pipe is designed with a black finish (lacquered or sandblasted), a “bloody” acrylic stem, and is decorated with a nickel band (on which is stamped “Dracula”)…

Jeff did his usual thorough job cleaning the pipe which I really appreciate because of the freedom it gives me in dealing with pipes. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with alcohol, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and had a soak in Before & After Deoxidizer to remove the oxidation. One it was rinsed off, it came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it. I took a close up photo of the bowl and rim top to show how clean the pipe was. The bowl was very clean and showed that the pipe was very lightly smoked. The stem looked good with no tooth marks or chatter. Overall the pipe is a beautiful looking piece.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above. It is very clear and readable. I also took a photo of the stamping on the shiny nickel band. It was readable and clear. I also removed the stem from the shank and took photos of the pipe to show the look of the parts. The bowl was in excellent condition. I did not need to sand or do anything in preparation on the pipe. I set the stem aside and worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair 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 my attention to the stem. I touched up the “P” logo with some white acrylic nail polish. I applied it with the brush and once it cured sanded off the excess with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad.There were no deep tooth marks and very little chatter on the stem surface so I polished it with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the surface down after each sanding pad. It is really shining. I am excited to be on the homestretch and look forward to seeing the Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Bent Apple put back together, polished and waxed. I put the bowl and stem back together and lightly polished the bowl and stem with Blue Diamond to polish them. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe on the wheel with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The depths of the sandblast really pop with the wax and polish. The shiny red and black swirled acrylic stem is a beautiful contrast to the black stain on the bowl, thick shank and Polished Nickel Band. This Peterson’s Dublin 03 Dracula Apple was a fun pipe to work on. The pipe is tactile in the hand and should feel great as it is warmed up when smoking. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 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 1.80 ounces/ 50 grams. I will be putting this one on the store in the Irish Pipemakers Section soon. I remember reading Dracula in High School so I had to pause and think about letting this one go, before putting on the store. Let me know if you wish to add it 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 1923 cased Finest H.G. London Quality Briar Bulldog

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by Steve Laug

One of the things I love about pipe hunting – whether in person in a shop or online at a sale. This is one of those interesting pipes that we picked up on 12/09/2024 from a seller on Facebook Pipe Exchange. It came from Wellsville, Kansas, USA. It is a smooth Bulldog with a Sterling Silver Band on the shank. It is faintly stamped on the top left side of the diamond shank and reads H.G. in an oval [over] London. The silver band is stamped H.G. in a lozenge followed by three hallmarks. The first cartouche holds an anchor which is the mark for Birmingham. The second cartouche holds a rampant lion which is the mark for Sterling Silver. The third cartouche holds a lower case y which gives the date of the pipe. The pipe was in good condition in terms of the finish on the bowl. The bowl had been reamed quite recently and there was some slight checking on the bowl walls. The rim cap was quite clean with some wear around the top and on the inner edge. Otherwise it was a beautiful pipe. There vulcanite saddle stem had light oxidation on the surface and some tooth marks and chatter on the surface. Jeff took photos of the case which bears a stamp that reads Finest Quality Briar in the outer ring of the oval. On the inside of the oval it is stamped H.G. He also took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up to capture the condition of the pipe when it arrived. It is a real beauty. He took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the damage on the top and inner edge of the bowl. It looks like a combination of burn damage and over reaming damage on the front and back mid bowl. The stem was very dirty with grime and sludge build up from the button forward on both sides of the stem. Jeff captured the smooth finish around the bowl sides of the bulldog and it is stunning. There are twin bands below the rim cap. The bowl shows some great grain. He captured the stamping on the top left side of the shank. The stamping is faint but readable. It read as noted above.  He took a photo of a the silver band on the shank with the hallmarks that I noted above.I did some checking online on Pipedia and Pipephil for the HG brand and could not find anything about the stamping. I did however, find a silver Hallmark chart. I have included that below. I drew a red box around the section that includes the year stamp “y” on the band. It identifies the date as 1923. This is an old timer.Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim show the damage that I mention above. It definitely has burn damage and also reaming damage on the front and back inner edge. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. The tooth marks and chatter are clear in the photos of each side ahead of the button.I took photos of the stamping on the top left side of the shank – it was faint but it read as noted above. I removed the stem from the shank to show the look of the pipe.I set the stem aside and started working on the bowl. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the nicks on the inner edge of the bowl and the top of the cap. It was looking better when I finished.I sanded briar bowl with 320-3500 sanding pads. I wiped the briar down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. It began to look very good. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. The grain of the briar began to shine. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface 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 wood while giving it a deep glow. It is a product I use on every pipe I restore. I set the bowl aside and worked on the stem. I “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them. They come up very little. I filled in the remaining two deep marks with black rubberized CA glue and set it aside to cure. I recut the button edge with a small file and sanded the repairs smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I continued to sand the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. The stem looked better at this point. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I buffed the stem with a soft cloth to raise the shine. I gave it a final wipe down with Obsidian Oil to protect the stem from UV and slow down future oxidation. I don’t know what it is about finishing a restoration but I have to tell you that it is my favourite part of the process. It is the moment when everything that I have worked on comes together. I can compare it to where I started and there is always satisfaction that it does indeed look better than when we picked it up. As always, I put this Cased 1923 H.G. London Finest Quality Briar Bulldog 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 along with the polished clear acrylic stem. This 1923 H.G. London Bulldog is a great looking pipe and I am sure that it will be comfortable in hand when smoking as it is light and well balanced for a pipe of this size. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 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 .92 ounces/26 grams. It is another beautiful pipe and one that will be on the rebornpipes store soon. You can find it in the section of Pipes by British Pipe Makers. 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.

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 Dunhill Tanshell Quaint Tomato

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by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is one that came to us from the group of pipes that Jeff and I purchased from a seller of an estate collection in Superior, Montana, USA on 12/28/2024. It is another Dunhill sandblast that is in good condition. It is stamped on a smooth panel on the heel of the bowl with the Group size of the pipe 4 in a circle. Underneath is a Dunhill in an oval [over] Tanshell. Under that it is stamped Made in England with the date number 05 after the D in England. The stamping is clear and readable as noted above. The original box bears the label Tanshell 4 QNT. The pipe has a mix of tan and brown stains on a sandblast finish and some amazing grain that the shape follows well. The finish was dusty around the nooks and crannies of the sandblast but otherwise fairly clean. The rim top was in excellent condition with a little darkening around the inner edge. The bowl had a moderate cake and there was lava on the sandblasted rim top or edges. The taper stem was lightly oxidized, dirty and had light chatter ahead of the button. It came with the original double box, a pipe sock and original paperwork that came in the box. Jeff took photos of the pipe to show what it looked like before he started working on it. Jeff took photos of the bowl and rim top to show the condition. There is a moderate cake in the bowl and darkening around the inner edge of the bowl. He also captured the condition of the stem when it arrived. There is a tooth mark on each side ahead of the button. He took photos of the sides of the bowl and the heel to show the beautiful grain in the sandblast around the bowl. It really is a beautiful piece of briar that has a shape that follows the grain. The finish is nice but it also dirty with dust ground into the finish.Jeff took photos of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It is clear and readable and reads as noted above.One of the first things I like to do is to unpack the stamping and understand each element in it. I turned to Pipephil helpful site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/tanshell1.html). The stamping is interpreted as follows: The pipe has no shape number on it but the box is stamped with QNT which means QUAINT. The Tanshell stamp refers to the finish. The size of the pipe is given by the 4 in a circle making it a Group 4. The 05 following the D of England gives the date the pipe. 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 a superscript 05 following the D in England. The chart below (column one) instructed me that the pipe could be dated as being made posterior to 1954. I followed the link following the “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 fourth column (suffix 00, 01, 02…) led me to the section with a 0 followed by a number after the D in England that is the raised above the D. It is a 05. There was a directive for dating the pipe spelled out as follows: 2000 + suffix which gives the pipe a date of 2005.I then turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Root Briar to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Tanshell

The first lot was distributed in 1952 (usually made using Sardinian briar). The prototype was called “Root Shell “, produced in 1951. The Tanshell is a light tan sandblast. Sardinian briar was used for this sandblast. There is a distinct contrast in the sandblasts using Sardinian as opposed to Algerian briar. The Sardinian is much denser and much harder. The resulting pattern, when blasted, is far more even and regular both in terms of the surface texture and the finish.

The TanShell was Dunhill’s fourth finish and its first major post-war line addition. Introduced in 1951/1952 the TanShell was a naturally stained sandblasted pipe made exclusively from Sardinian briar through the 1960s. The TanShell apparently was not simply a light stained Shell but rather was also the product of “certain processes [unrevealed] not previously employed.” Initially, it appears that the pipe was to be named the Root Shell and a stamp to that effect was ordered and received by Dunhill in May 1951. Ultimately, however, the name TanShell was settled upon but the stamp for the TanShell name was not received by Dunhill until the beginning of December. Thus while the Tanshell was in production in 1951 it appears that most if not all TanShells made in that year did not enter into retail distribution until 1952 and were given a 1952 date code. Loring, J. C., The Dunhill Briar Pipe, The Patent Years and After (self-published, Chicago, 1998).

I have also included a chart from the site from Dunhill spelling out the Standard Pipe Finishes and giving short information and a timeline. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. The photos show the box within the box and the pouch and pipe itself it is a beauty. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim look very good. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are two tooth marks – one on each side of the stem ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. The stamping is clear and readable. I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. The pipe was in excellent condition with a deep blast around the bowl. It was clean and free of debris. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. It is a paste/balm that works to deep clean the finish, enliven and protect the briar. I worked it into the briar with my finger tips and a horsehair shoebrush to make sure that it covered every square inch of the pipe. I set it aside for 10 minutes to let it do its work. I buffed it with a cotton cloth. The briar really began to have a deep shine. The photos I took of the bowl at this point mark the progress in the restoration. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the two deep marks on the stem surface with black CA glue. I set it aside to cure. Once cured I smoothed out the repairs with a small file. I sanded it further with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to break up the remaining oxidation. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with an Obsidian Oil impregnated cloth. It began to look good.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 it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. Once I had finished the polishing I gave it final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This 2005 Dunhill Tanshell QNT Group 4 Tomato with a Taper Stem has a beautiful, unique Dunhill Sandblast finish that was deep and craggy and crisp. The Tanshell finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank through the depths of the blast. It has some great rugged sandblast that Dunhill specialized in making. The 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 Dunhill Tanshell QNT Tomato 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: 1 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/38 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I have a friend who has the right of first refusal for this pipe. It is totally in his wheelhouse.

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 Strangely, Unique Metal Pipe – a Regal Poker

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by Steve Laug

In the latest box of pipes, I received from Jeff was interesting and somewhat strange Pipe to work on. The pipe on the table has a briar bowl with the shank going through it. The shank has cooling fins and the briar bowl has rustication. It is a shape that I would call a Poker with a crowned rim top and unique rustication pattern. We purchased it on 12/12/24 from a seller in Ogden, Utah, USA. The grain on the smooth portions of this pipe is beautiful on the crowned rim top and the heel of the bowl. It was obviously a favourite of the previous pipeman. It is stamped on the left side of the shank and read Regal. The finish was dirty and worn. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a moderate cake that flowed over the top of the rim top. There was lava flowing over the inner edge. It was hard to clearly assess the damage to the inner edge. The condition of the rim edge and top would become clear in the cleaning process. The vulcanite fancy saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and there was chatter and heavy tooth marks on the top and the underside of the stem ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up on the pipe. You can see the condition and the uniqueness of the pipe in the photos below. Jeff took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a sense of the thickness of the cake and the lava overflow on the rim top. It should clean up well as the edges do not seem damaged. The stem photos also show the tooth chatter and marks on the stem. I think it is vulcanite but I am unsure. He took photos of the rustication around the Poker shaped bowl sides. Both the rim top and heel of the bowl were smooth. The rustication is almost “Tracy Mincer” like in it patter in each groove. It is a unique finish. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the metal shank Barrel of the pipe. It is readable though the RE are a bit faint. The next two photos show the part of the pipe. It has some unique plumbing. There is a plunger tube not unlike the plunger in Kirstens. However, the end of the plunger has a fitting that serves to close off the shank and has two rubber o-rings around it. It is quite different. The plunger and o-rings are very tarry and grimy.Before I started my clean up work on the pipe I wanted to know more about the brand. I turned to my go to site on metal pipes – Smokingmetal to see if they listed it and what information they gave on it (http://www.smokingmetal.co.uk/pipe.php?page=137). I have included the photos and the information below.

REGAL – Department : METAL STEM & Plug in bowls

Whilst not strictly speaking an easily replaceable bowl pipe, the principle is the same for cooling the smoke, a two cycle radiator stem of machined Dural with cooling vanes. The pipe is cleaned after the manner of the Spiral Kool, i,e, the bit is pulled out and with it comes a plunger with neoprene wedge shaped piston rings, cleaning the cylinder in one movement.

The Sportsman, in the lower image advert is a version that incorporates its own lighter. Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. 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 from around the bowl sides. It looked better but the rim top and outer edge was darkened and burned. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The stem looked better but there were a lot of tooth marks on both sides were still visible and would need work. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and edges looked very good. The stem looked better, though there were many tooth marks and much chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I removed the stem and plunger and took photos of it from various angles. It is truly unique with the rubber o-rings on the end of the plunger. It is very clean now. The barrel has some darkening and wear on the inside but is clean. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the bowl. I sanded the rim top and inner edge with 320-3500 sanding pads. I wiped the briar down after each sanding pad. By the end it looked very good and the rim top really had some great grain. I polished the bowl sides and the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down after each pad. It really began to be beautiful. 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 worked it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a shoe brush to get deep in the valleys. 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 sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the stem.I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the remnants of oxidation on the vulcanite. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was able to remove the majority of the oxidation on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good.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 did a final hand polish of 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 further oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem and plunger back on the Regal Metal Poker with a rusticated Briar Bowl 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 beautiful smooth finished Regal Metal Poker, the metal barrel, and vulcanite saddle stem combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.55 ounces/44 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 Magnum Sized “Malaga” Custom Carved Freehand

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by Steve Laug

In the latest box of pipes I received from Jeff was a large Malaga Freehand Pipe to work on. The pipe on the table is an interesting Malaga I would call a large Freehand with a plateau finish on the shank end and rim top. We purchased it on 10/23/2024 off eBay from a seller in Madison, Indiana, USA. The grain on the smooth portions of this pipe is beautiful and there are some small rustications on the heel of the bowl and the underside of the shank. It is a pattern of rustication that I have seen before on the Malaga pipes that I have worked on. It was obviously another favourite of the previous pipeman. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and read “MALAGA” [over] Custom Carved. The finish was dirty and worn. There were tars and oils ground into the surface of the briar. The bowl had a moderate cake that flowed over the top of the plateau rim top. There was lava flowing over the edges down the first 1/4 inch of the bowl. It was hard to clearly assess the damage to the inner edge. The condition of the rim edge and top would become clear in the cleaning process. The vulcanite fancy saddle stem was oxidized, calcified and there was chatter and tooth marks on the top and the underside of the stem ahead of the button. I have included photos that the seller provided on the pipe that caught our attention. You can see the condition and the amazing grain around the bowl. When the pipe arrived, it was in pretty much the condition that we expected and as I noted above. Jeff took photos of the pipes before he started his clean up work. It is even bigger in person than in the photos.Jeff took photos of the rim and bowl to show the cake and lava on the rim top and edges. The inner edge of the rim showed thick cake coming up to the top and flowing over the edge. The pipe was a dirty one but still a beauty. The vulcanite fancy saddle stem had tooth marks and chatter on the top and underside of the stem ahead of the button. The photos of the sides and heel of the bowl hint at the damage around the bowl sides from the rim top downward. The briar is quite nice all around the pipe. The oil curing/finish makes the grain really stand out on the bowl and shank. Jeff took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It read as noted above “MALAGA” [over]Custom Carved. The stamping was faint but still readable. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the brand, I am also 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. Here is the link – https://rebornpipes.com/2013/02/09/george-khoubesser-and-malaga-pipes/. That blog also includes links to a catalogue and the history of the pipemaker George Khoubesser. If you are interested to learn more then I invite you to follow the link to get a feel for the brand and the pipemaker.

I am also am including a link to some printed material on the Malaga brand that came to me from the daughter of George Koch (we purchased George’s pipes from his daughter) to help identify the particular stamping on the pipe. The link takes you to the entire collection of materials that were sent to me (https://rebornpipes.com/2019/02/27/malaga-pipes-catalogue-of-pipes-and-tobaccos/).

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe using his usual procedure. 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 from around the bowl sides. It looked better but the rim top and inner edge was darkened. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. The stem looked much better and the light tooth marks on both sides were still visible and would need a little work. I took photos of the pipe once I received it. I took a photo of the rim top and the stem to show their condition. Jeff was able to clean up the cake and the lava overflow that was shown in the rim and bowl photos above. The rim top and edges looked very good and the plateau was very clean. The stem looked better, though there were tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button.I took a photo of the stamping on the shank to show that the clean up had not damaged it at all. It looked was faint but still readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the parts to give a sense of what the pipe looks like. To try and capture a sense of how large this pipe is I put a Rhodesian next to it. The Rhodesian is an average Group 4 sized pipe. It is dwarfed by this large Malaga. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth and sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the surface scratches in the finish. I carefully avoided the stamping so as not to damage it. The briar began to have a rich shine and the bowl looked very good. I polished the bowl sides and the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit micromesh pads. I wiped it down after each pad. It really began to be beautiful. 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 worked it into the plateau on the rim top and shank end with a shoe brush to get deep in the valleys. 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 “painted” the tooth marks with the flame of a lighter to lift them. I was able to lift them significantly. Even the ones on the button surface and edges lifted. I reshaped the button and sanded the stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them further into the stem. I sanded the stem with the 2 inch square 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the remnants of oxidation on the vulcanite. I wiped down the stem after each sanding pad with Obsidian Oil. I was able to remove the majority of the oxidation on both sides with the pads. The stem looked very good.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 did a final hand polish of 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 further oxidizing. I set it aside to dry. I put the stem back on the Magnum Sized “MALAGA” Custom Carved Freehand 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 beautiful smooth finished “MALAGA” Custom Carved Freehand and the fancy vulcanite saddle stem combine to give the pipe a great look. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 8 ½ inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 4.30 ounces/122 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.