Tag Archives: Soren Pipes

Reborn Soren Hand Carved Made in Denmark Freehand Sitter

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by Steve Laug

This particular Freehand pipe was purchased from seller in Holden Barr, Missouri, USA on 04/20/2021. It really is a Freehand pipe that combines a plateau rim top and shank end with a flat bottom making it a sitter. The bowl is smooth with fluted sides and a few carved feathers on the bowl sides. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Soren [over] Hand-Carved [over] Made in Denmark. The finish is dirty but does not hide the beautiful grain around the bowl and shank. There is a vulcanite shank extension. The pipe had a moderate cake in the bowl some light lava on the rim top and inner edge of the bowl. There is some dust in some of the plateau. There was grime ground into the finish and dust and debris in the carved feathers and the plateau valleys. The fancy vulcanite saddle stem was oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the dust and lava in the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The turned vulcanite stem was oxidized, dirty and had light chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It really is a uniquely shaped pipe with the fluted sides on the bowl. The next photos Jeff took shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear but faint in spots and read as noted above.I went to a previous Soren restoration blog and reread what I had written to reconnect the dots for me https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/12/repairing-and-rejuvenating-a-soren-danish-freehand/. I quote from that blog post:

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus, I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

I was once again working on a pipe made by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen for the US market as it was stamped Soren. I continued to do reading on another of my go to websites, Pipedia. Here is the link for the article there. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Refbjerg. I quote some of the more pertinent information.

Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen founded a company in 1969, which employed an average of 8 – 12 craftsmen in the 1970’s. The semi-freehands they produced were traded under his prename Søren. Rasmussen himself finished only the very best pipes. So, his way of pipemaking closely resembled the ways of Preben Holm, Karl Erik Ottendahl or Erik Nørding. Altogether more than 1,000,000 pipes were sold.

From that I knew that the pipe in my hands came from the 1970s. It bears the Soren signature stamp which also says that it was made for sale in the American pipe market. Armed with that information I turned my attention to restoring the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the plateau rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. The pipe looked very good and I was excited to start working on it. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I brought it to the worktable. I took some photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of them both when the pipe arrived. It looked very good. The stem had some light chatter and tooth marks ahead of the button on both sides. I took a photo of the stamping on the heel of the bowl. It is readable and in great condition. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.I sanded the darkening on the smooth portions of the rim top and the bevelled inner edge of the bowl with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to remove it. The process worked very well and the rim top looked much better.I touched up the valleys in the plateau with a black Sharpie pen to match the other valleys in the finish. It looked very good with the touch up. I polished the smooth portions of the bowl and the high points in the rustication and plateau with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl is starting to look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and into the plateau rim top and shank end with a horsehair shoe brush to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while 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 stem. I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad. Once I was finished it looked much better.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 some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. This is a beautiful Soren Hand Carved Freehand with a fancy saddle stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the mix of plateau, smooth and rusticated finishes and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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 to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The Soren Hand Carved Freehand polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich stains work well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ½ inches x 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.15 ounces/61 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the Danish Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Restoring a Soren Hand Carved Made in Denmark Freehand Sitter

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by Steve Laug

This particular Freehand pipe was purchased as part of a lot from seller in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA on 09/26/2018. It really is a Freehand pipe that combines a plateau rim top and shank end with feet like the fins of a rocket on the bottom making it a sitter. The front of the bowl is smooth and the back is sandblast. The blast carries through the shank as well. It is stamped on a smooth panel on underside of the shank and reads Soren [over] Hand-Carved [over] Made in Denmark. The finish is dirty but does not hide the beautiful grain around the bowl and shank. There is a vulcanite shank extension. The pipe had a moderate cake in the bowl but the rim top and inner edge of the bowl looked good. There is some dust in some of the plateau. It is heavier toward the back half of the bowl. There was grime ground into the sandblast finish and dust and debris in the plateau valleys. The fancy vulcanite shank extension and the saddle stem was oxidized and had light tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button.  Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his work on it. Jeff took photos of the rim top and the stem to show the condition of the pipe when we received it. You can see the moderate cake in the bowl and the dust and debris in the plateau rim top and inner edge of the bowl. The turned vulcanite stem was oxidized, dirty and had light chatter and tooth marks on both sides near the button. He took photos of the sides and the heel to give an idea of the shape and the condition of the briar around the bowl. It really is a uniquely shaped pipe with the pedestal base on the bottom front of the bowl.The next photos Jeff took shows the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is clear but faint in spots and read as noted above. I went to a previous Soren restoration blog and reread what I had written to reconnect the dots for me https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/12/repairing-and-rejuvenating-a-soren-danish-freehand/. I quote from that blog post:

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus, I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

I was once again working on a pipe made by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen for the US market as it was stamped Soren. I continued to do reading on another of my go to websites, Pipedia. Here is the link for the article there. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Refbjerg. I quote some of the more pertinent information.

Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen founded a company in 1969, which employed an average of 8 – 12 craftsmen in the 1970’s. The semi-freehands they produced were traded under his prename Søren. Rasmussen himself finished only the very best pipes. So, his way of pipemaking closely resembled the ways of Preben Holm, Karl Erik Ottendahl or Erik Nørding. Altogether more than 1,000,000 pipes were sold.

From that I knew that the pipe in my hands came from the 1970s. It bears the Soren signature stamp which also says that it was made for sale in the American pipe market. Armed with that information I turned my attention to restoring the pipe.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe following his normal cleaning process. In short, he cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the lava and debris on the plateau rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs, shank brushes and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the stem with Soft Scrub and cotton pads to remove the debris and oils on the stem. He soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He rinsed it with warm water and dried it off. The pipe looked very good and I was excited to start working on it. I forgot to take my usual photos of the pipe.

I started my work on the pipe by sanding the vulcanite shank extension with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to remove the residual oxidation that remained. I was able to remove it for the most part and what remained would come off with the micromesh pads and the Before and After Pipe Stem polish. It was a pretty pipe. I polished the vulcanite shank extension and the smooth portions of the bowl on the front and heel. I dry sanded it with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the sanded portions of the bowl off with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris. I wiped down the shank extension with an Obsidian Oil cloth. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to get into the plateau and the sandblast. The product works to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The following photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I am very happy with the results. I set the bowl aside and turned to the stem. I used 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the roughness on the surface of the vulcanite and remove the tooth marks and chatter. I wiped the stem down with an Obsidian Oil cloth after each sanding pad.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad Obsidian Oil. I finished by polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish both fine and extra Fine and then wiped it down with a final coat of Obsidian Oil. This is a beautiful Soren Hand Carved Freehand Sitter with a vulcanite shank extension and a fancy saddle stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape of the bowl, the mix of sandblast and smooth finishes and the cut of the briar work well to highlight the grain around the bowl sides. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish 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 to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The Soren Hand Carved Freehand polished up pretty nicely. The grain took on life with the buffing. The rich stains work well with the polished vulcanite stem. The finished pipe has a rich look that is quite catching. Have a look at it with the photos below. The shape, finish and flow of the pipe and stem are very well done. The dimensions are Length: 6 ½ inches, Height: 2 ¼ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.43 ounces/69 grams. It is a beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store shortly in the Danish Pipemakers Section if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Thanks for walking with me through the restoration.

Replacing a tenon, restemming and restoring another Mixed Finish Soren Hand Carved Freehand

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by Steve Laug

I am taking a break from the last two of the four pipes I am working on for Jack to clean up and match a stem with a nice freehand pipe that I have here in my box. It is another quick cleanup and restore and gives me a break from the heavier restoration work on Jack’s next pipe. This bowl has a mixed smooth and rusticated finish with a plateau rim top and shank end. The finish was a bit dull and lifeless. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Soren [over] Hand-Carved [over] Made in Denmark. The bowl had a thin cake and some lava overflow on the smooth and plateau areas of the rim top. The bowl also had some dust and debris in rusticated patch on the right side of the bowl as well as in the crevices of the plateau on the shank end. I took some photos of the bowl before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl to give an idea of what I had to work with. The bowl was very dirty and had a moderately thick cake. The smooth portions of the rim top have a lava coat the plateau portions are also almost filled in with lava. I also took a photo of the plateau on the shank end to show its condition – dirty but in good shape.I took a photo to try and capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is present and is readable in person far more than the photos show. It is stamped as noted above.I went through my cans of stems here and found a nice vulcanite fancy saddle stem that would fit quite well ONCE I REPLACED THE SNAPPED TENON. It was dirty and needed a thorough cleaning but I think it will look good.I have worked on quite a few Soren pipes over the years and turned to one of the blogs that I wrote  on another interesting Soren Freehand Sitter (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/02/26/this-interesting-soren-hand-carved-freehand-turned-out-to-be-more-work-than-expected/). I quote from that blog below.

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus, I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

It was time to work on the pipe! I decided to start with refitting the new tenon to the stem I had chosen. Hmmm…I thought I was done with that for a while but this stem just worked with the bowl. I flattened the broken tenon remnants on the stem end with a Dremel and sanding drum and then further smoothed it out with a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper. I wanted a smooth surface for my drilling.I learned a helpful trick on the last batch of six tenon replacements. I use a small pen knife to give the airway in the stem end a slight chamfer to guide the drill bit into it and keep it straight. Once I did that I used a series of drill bits to open the airway to receive the threaded portion of the tenon. I choose to use threaded replacement tenons as they provide a rough serrated surface for the glue to bind to the drilled hole in the stem. It has worked well for me a for a long time.Once it fit well in the stem I needed to reduce the diameter of the portion that went in the shank mortise. I use a Dremel and sanding drum to work it until it fits well in the shank of the pipe. I took photos of the look of the tenon when it was finished and put it in the shank and put the stem on it and took photos. I think it will work very well! I checked the fit of the stem to the tenon, the tenon to the shank repeatedly and once it was proper I glued it in place with black CA glue.I set the stem aside to allow the glue to cure. While it dried I took a photo of the stem and the bowl together to give a sense of the look of the pipe and stem. Proportions and look just work together in my opinion. While the glue cured I turned my attention to the bowl. I reamed it with a PipNet Pipe Reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the bowl by sanding the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls looked very good. I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. It was quite dirty.I cleaned up the plateau areas on the rim top and shank end with a brass bristle wire brush. I worked on it until the groves were clean. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove all the debris. I sanded the smooth portions on the rim top with a folded piece of 200 grit sandpaper. It was looking better each step!I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I worked it into the grain on the sides, the plateau on the rim top and shank end and the rusticated patch on the right side of the bowl with the tooth brush. I rinsed the soap and grime off with warm water and dried it off with a soft towel. I looked much better at this point. The grain really stands out. I sanded the smooth part of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to start the polishing process. I wiped down the bowl with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I followed that by polishing the smooth portions of the bowl sides with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. With the briar polished I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and into the plateau rim top, shank end and rustication with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works 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. While the Balm did its work, I worked on the “new stem”. I sanded the tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was starting to look better.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further polish the stem. I wiped it down between sanding pads with a damp cloth. I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This beautiful Soren Hand Carved Made In Denmark Freehand with a fancy, turned vulcanite saddle replacement stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Soren Hand Carved Freehand fits nicely in the hand and feels great. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ x 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 58 grams/2.12 ounces. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Restemming and Restoring a Mixed Finish Soren Hand Carved Freehand

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by Steve Laug

I am taking a break from the four pipes I am working on for Jack to clean up and match a stem with a nice freehand pipe that I have here in my box. It is a quick cleanup and restore and gives me a break from the heavier restoration work on Jack’s next pipe. This bowl has a mixed sandblast and smooth finish that was a bit dull and lifeless. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Soren [over] Hand- Carved [over] Copenhagen [over] Denmark. The bowl had a moderate cake and some lava overflow on the smooth and plateau areas of the rim top. The bow also had some dust and debris in the flaws on the smooth portion of the bowl as well as in the crevices of the sandblast and the plateau on the shank end. I took some photos of the bowl before I started my work on it. I took a close up photo of the bowl to give an idea of what I had to work with. The bowl was very dirty and had a moderately thick cake. The smooth portions of the rim top have a lava coat the plateau portions are also almost filled in with lava. I also took a photo of the plateau on the shank end to show its condition – dirty but in good shape.I took two photos to try and capture the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is present and is readable in person far more than the photos show. It is stamped as noted above.I went through my cans of stems here and found a nice smokey grey and tan variegated acrylic saddle stem that would fit quite well with a few adjustments. It was dirty and needed a thorough cleaning by I think it will look good. I put the stem in the shank and took a few photos to get a sense of the look of this stem. I have worked on quite a few Soren pipes over the years and turned to one of the blogs that I wrote  on another interesting Soren Freehand Sitter (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/02/26/this-interesting-soren-hand-carved-freehand-turned-out-to-be-more-work-than-expected/). I quote from that blog below.

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus, I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

It was time to work on the pipe! I reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer using the 2nd and 3rd cutting heads to remove the cake. I cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I finished the bowl by sanding the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. The bowl walls looked very good. I scrubbed out the internals with pipe cleaners (normal & bristle), cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils in the shank between the mortise and the entrance of the airway into the bowl. It was quite dirty. I repeated the process with the stem as well.
I cleaned up the plateau areas on the rim top and shank end with a brass bristle wire brush. I worked on it until the groves were clean. I wiped it down with a damp cloth to remove all the debris. I sanded the smooth portions on the rim top with a folded piece of 200 grit sandpaper. It was looking better each step!I touched up the plateau on the rim top and shank wend with a black stain pen. I used a brass bristle wire brush to knock of the black on the high spots.I stained the smooth portions on the rim top with a Maple stain pen to match the rest of the bowl and shank. It looked good with the contrast of the black in the plateau areas.I sanded the smooth part of the front half of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to smooth out the flawed spots and the scratched. I forgot to take photos of the work – I apologize. I followed that with polished the smooth portions of the bowl sides with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad (Again no photos).

With the smooth portion of the briar polished I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and into the plateau rim top, shank end and sandblast with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works 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. While the Balm did its work, I worked on the “new stem”. I sanded the tooth chatter and marks on the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It was starting to look better.I sanded the stem surface with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further polish the stem. I wiped it down between sanding pads with a damp cloth.I polished the acrylic stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This beautiful Soren Hand Carved Copenhagen Denmark Freehand with a fancy, turned grey/tan variegated acrylic replacement stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Soren Hand Carved Freehand 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: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 74 grams/2.61 ounces. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email to slaug@uniserve.com. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Restoring well repaired Soren Hand Carved Made in Denmark Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe I chose to work on came is another one from the lot of 11 pipes I purchased from a lady in Regina, Saskatchewan. She had found them in a house she bought and wanted to know if I wanted them. We struck a deal, I paid for the pipes and shipping and the box arrived while I was traveling in Europe. In the box were 4 Stanwells, 1 Danmore Bowl, 1 Soren Freehand, 1 Calabash with a Briar Bowl, 1 Nording Freehand, 1 Italian Made Bertenetti, 1 Rhodesian with a banded cracked shank, and 1 Brigham. I have restored the Nording, the snapped Stanwell, the Brigham, the Gourd Calabash with the briar bowl, restemmed and restored the Danmore bowl and a Stanwell Ivarsson design 11 Pot. There are blogs on each restoration available. The next pipe on the table is one of the dirtiest pipes in a box full of very dirty pipes. It is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Soren [over] Hand Carved [over] Made in Denmark. There is no visible model name or shape number stamped on the pipe. The shank had been snapped through the last line of the stamp but it was faint. There was a thick cake in the bowl, debris in the bottom and on the bowl walls and some remnants of tobacco. The airway was plugged and there was no draught on the pipe. There was a heavy lava overflow on the plateau rim top. It was hard to know the condition of the inner edges of the bowl for sure because of the cake. The outer edge actually looked quite good under the grime. The finish was dirty and dusty and there was glue from the shank repair along the repaired shank. The vulcanite shank extension was filthy and oxidized. The stem looked to be in decent condition underneath the calcification and oxidation. The tooth marks and chatter looked minimal. I took photos of the pipe before I started my cleanup work on it. I took a close-up photo of the bowl and the plateau rim top to show the cake in the bowl. The rim top shows some lava on the smooth area around the inner edge of the bowl. The outer edges of the bowl looked good. I took photos of the vulcanite shank extension and the top and underside of the stem surface and button to show its general condition. It looked very good under the spotty oxidation.I took some photos of the repaired crack around the shank. You can see it clearly in the photos below. In spots the glue is higher than the repair and in spots it is lower. I will need to rework the repair surface but the repair itself is very well done. The stamping on the underside of the shank is faint but readable as noted above. You can barely make out the third line of the stamp on underside of the shank but it is present. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to give a sense of the proportion of the pipe.I needed to refresh my memory on the history and background of the Soren pipes so I went to a previous blog and reread what I had written. https://rebornpipes.com/2016/09/12/repairing-and-rejuvenating-a-soren-danish-freehand/. I quote from that blog post: I looked up the brand on pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

It looked like I was once again working on a pipe made by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen for the US market as it was stamped Soren. I continued to do reading on another of my go to websites, Pipedia. Here is the link for the article there. https://pipedia.org/wiki/Refbjerg. I quote some of the more pertinent information.

Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen founded a company in 1969, which employed an average of 8 – 12 craftsmen in the 1970’s. The semi-freehands they produced were traded under his prename Søren. Rasmussen himself finished only the very best pipes. So his way of pipemaking closely resembled the ways of Preben Holm, Karl Erik Ottendahl or Erik Nørding. Altogether more than 1,000,000 pipes were sold.

There was also a note from Soren himself regarding the Danbark line of pipes that he made. I think that it is interesting to note that even on these he used the finest Corsican and Grecian briars. I assume that is also true of his other lines as well. I quote the note in full.

“A note from the carver:

I am very proud to introduce my new (!) series of hand-carved Danbark Pipes by Søren. These pipes are crafted from the finest Corsican and Grecian briars. I take a great deal of pride in crafting the Danbark Pipes to be highly functional and so they will provide the smoker with many years of dedicated service. The Danbark Pipes by Søren are available in several different styles and finishes with my personal touch and inspirations. At this time I favor making classic shaped pipes with a slight touch of my own hands and feelings. I do not produce many pipes today but the pipes that I do make available are individually crafted from the finest Corsican and Grecian Briars available to me. I still make free-hand pipes but not as many as I once made. For the past 35 years I have always tried to make good smoking pipes in my workshop located near Copenhagen, Denmark. I have always tried to craft my pipes in such a way as they will be long lasting and best friends with the owners. I take great pride in the shape of my pipes, the drilling of the pipes, and the overall dimensions of the pipes. I enjoy spending my spare time on the very long, rugged coasts of Denmark. I derive much relaxation from being on the coast while angling for Sea Trout with my own hand-tied flies. I find this environment is a great inspiration to me for making pipes. Many times I think to myself, “Inspired by nature, made by me”.  — Happy puffing, Søren”

From that I knew that the pipe in my hands came from the 1970s. It bears the Soren signature stamp which also says that it was made for sale in the American pipe market. Armed with that information I turned my attention to restoring the pipe.

I decided to start my work on the pipe by working on the shank repair issues. I filled in the repair area with clear CA glue and pressed some briar dust into the glue. It took a few layers to smooth it out but the touch up on the repair was effective. I sanded the repaired area on the shank smooth with 220 grit sandpaper to blend it into the surrounding briar. I also sanded the burn mark on the side of the bowl. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth to remove the sanding dust. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer using the third cutting head to take the cake back to bare briar. I cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. I sanded the walls with a piece of 180 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel to smooth them out. I used a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the debris in the plateau on the rim top. It took some work but it cleaned up well. I used a folded piece of sandpaper to clean up the inner edge of the rim and to sand the darkening off the smooth area around rim top. I sanded the vulcanite shank extension at the same time to break the oxidation on the surface. I scrubbed the exterior of the briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I rinsed it off with warm water to remove the grime and soap. It looked much better and the dust and debris was gone. I dried it with a cotton towel. I touched up the sanded areas on the shank and the bowl spots using a Maple Stain Pen to start the process of blending them into the rest of the bowl. The colour is very close and once I restain the bowl it will work very well. I stained the bowl and shank with a light brown stain wash. I applied it to the surface of the briar with a wool dauber. I flamed it with a lighter flame to set it in the grain. I repeated the process until I was satisfied with the coverage. I polished the vulcanite shank extension and the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding it with 1500-12000 git sanding pads. I wanted to make the new stain coat a bit more transparent. I wiped it down with a cloth and some Obsidian Oil. I scrubbed out the internals of the pipe with 99% isopropyl alcohol, pipe cleaners and cotton swabs. I cleaned out the airway in the stem as well. I worked on these areas repeatedly until the shank and the airway in all the parts was clean.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. With that done, the bowl was finished other than the final buffing. I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I wiped it down with some Soft Scrub to remove the oxidation.I touched up the “S” stamp on the top of the stem with white acrylic nail polish. Once had dried I sanded out the excess with a worn 1500 micromesh sanding pad.I polished the oxidation and tooth chatter on 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 finished polishing the stem with Before & After Pipe Stem polish (both Fine and Extra Fine) then wiped the stem down with another coat of Obsidian Oil. I polished finished Soren Hand Carved Danish Freehand with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple 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. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The plateau on the rim top and shank end and the smooth Dark and Medium brown contrast finish work very well with the black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. I have worked on several Soren pipes by Soren Refbjerg Rasmussen and several Refbjerg pipes over the years and I have always been impressed by his craftsmanship and ability to work a pipe to follow the grain of the briar. He does great work and is quite innovative in terms of shapes, flow and finishes on his pipes. The Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 inches. The weight of the pipe is 73 grams/ 2.57 ounces. I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipemakers Section if you would like to add it to your rack and carry on the previous pipeman’s legacy. This is an interesting estate to bring back to life.

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 Mixed Finish Soren Hand Carved Pedestal Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table came to us in a group of pipes that we picked up from an auction in 2018 in Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, USA. It has a mixed sandblast and smooth finish that was a bit dull and lifeless. It showed promise under the grit and grime of the years. On the underside of the shank it was clearly stamped Soren [over] Hand Carved [over] Made in Denmark. When I received it from Jeff somehow the bowl and stem had separated and I had the bowl in hand but no idea what stem fit the shank. I tried a variety of stems that I had but not one of them fit well.

Jeff had cleaned up the pipe with his usual penchant for thoroughness. He reamed the pipe with a PipNet Pipe Reamer and cleaned up the remnants with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife.  He scrubbed the bowl with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a tooth brush. He worked over the debris in the plateau on the rim top and shank end and was able to remove it. He rinsed it under running warm water to remove the soap and grime. He cleaned out the inside of the shank and the airway in the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. When I took it out of the box it did not have a stem in the shank. I wrote Jeff and sent him photos of the bowl and asked him if he had photos that showed what the stem looked like. Jeff did a bit of hunting on his hard drive and found the pictures of the pipe with the stem that it had when he started his work. He sent me the following photos of the pipe. The pipe was very dirty with grime and grit ground into the sides of the sandblast and the rim top. The bowl had a thick cake and an overflow of lava on the rim top that obscured the edges of the rim and the plateau finish. To me the stem just did not look like the right one for this kind of freehand pipe. It looked like a replacement stem that was just stuck in the shank. Now I had to see if I could find it in the boxes that he sent. That would be a bit of a treasure hunt. He took photos of the rim top and bowl to give a clear picture of the thickness of the cake and the lava on the plateau finish of the rim top. There is dust and debris stuck to the walls of the bowl clearly visible in the photos. He also took photos of the top and underside of the stem that came with it to show the chatter and tooth marks. Jeff took a photo of the sides and heel of the bowl to give a picture of what the sandblast on the briar looked like. The pedestal on the heel of the bowl is a unique feature of this pipe.He took photos of the stamping on the shank. It reads as noted above and is clear and readable. I found the stem that was pictured above in the photos in one of the bags of stems that I had put together in the bottom of one of the boxes. I took photos of the stem to give an idea of the appearance. Jeff had done a great job cleaning it. The tenon was very short and stubby and there were casting marks on the side of the stem blade. I put the stem on the bowl and took a photo of the stem that Jeff had sent with the pipe. I have worked on quite a few Soren pipes over the years and turned to one of the blogs that I wrote  on another interesting Soren Freehand Sitter (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/02/26/this-interesting-soren-hand-carved-freehand-turned-out-to-be-more-work-than-expected/). I quote from that blog below.

I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

I decided to set the stem aside and see what I could find in my cans of stems here. I found an interesting turned stem that had a lot of potential. It had some oxidation, calcification and deep tooth marks on the surface. The tenon was a perfect fit in the shank so I would just need to clean it up and repair the tooth marks. Here are some photos of the stem as it looked before I worked on it.   I put the stem on the pipe and took some photos of the look of the “new” stem on the bowl. I think that with some work this was the right stem for the pipe.  I took a close up photo of the bowl and the stem to give an idea of what I had to work with. The bowl was very clean and it would polish up nicely. There was still some darkening in the plateau on the back side of the bowl that would need to be dealt with. The stem photos show the oxidation, calcification and deep tooth marks on both sides near the damaged button surface. It was badly damaged but showed a lot of promise. I removed the stem from the shank and dropped in a bath of Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer to soak while I worked on the bowl. I figured the soak would bring the oxidation to the surface and clean the surface so that I could do the repairs to the stem surface once it was clean.While the stem soaked in the deoxidizer I worked on the bowl. I scrubbed the rim top with a brass bristle brush to remove the darkening and deep grime. Once it was finished it looked much better. I stained it black with a black stain pen. I used the wire brush again to clean up some of the high spots leaving the stain in the grooves. I also lightly sanded the rim top with a 1500 grit micromesh sanding pad to further highlight the high spots. I like the look of the rim at this point though with more polishing and Balm it would come alive. I polished the smooth portions of the bowl sides with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. With the smooth portion of the briar polished I rubbed the bowl and shank down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the bowl sides and shank with my fingertips and into the plateau rim top and sandblast with a horsehair shoe brush. The product works 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. While the Balm did its work I worked on the “new stem”. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I removed it from the Deoxidizer bath and rubbed it down with a coarse cloth to dry it out. It had brought oxidation to the surface and made it easier to deal with but it had not removed it. The good news for me was that it had done a great job removing it from the tooth marks. I “painted” the surface of the vulcanite with the flame of a lighter to lift the dents as much as possible. I was able to lift them significantly. I filled in the remaining divots with black super glue. I chose to use black glue this time just in case there were some remaining spots of oxidation in the tooth marks. The black would take care of that. Once the repairs had hardened I scrubbed the remaining oxidation in all of the grooves of the fancy stem with Soft Scrub all purpose cleaner. I was able to get into the grooves with the product and the cotton pads that I used to scrub it. It was beginning to look better.   I cleaned out the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners to remove the tars and the debris that was loosened by the deoxidizer bath.I smoothed out the repairs and recut the button edges with a rasp and a file. The stem was taking shape.  I smoothed out the remaining repair marks and the file marks with 220 grit sandpaper. I started the polishing with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the vulcanite stem with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem.  This beautiful Soren Hand Carved Pedestal Freehand with a fancy, turned vulcanite replacement stem is a great looking pipe now that it has been restored. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Soren Hand Carved 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 ½ inches, Height: 2 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¾ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 72grams/2.54oz. I will be adding it to the rebornpipes online store in the Danish Pipemakers section. If you are interested in adding this pipe to your collection send me a message or an email. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it. There are many more to come!

This Interesting Soren Hand Carved Freehand Turned Out to be More Work than Expected

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Blog by Steve Laug

On a recent trip that Irene and I took with Jeff and his wife to the Oregon Coast we managed to do some pipe hunting. We found a few interesting pipes. I was in the mood today to work on a couple of them as a break from the restorations I am doing for others. The second of these is a pipe marked Soren over Hand Carved over Copenhagen over Denmark on the underside of the shank. It is a Freehand with a mix of sand blast and smooth finish on the bowl and shank. There is also plateau on the rim top and shank end. The pipe has a pair of fins on the underside of the bowl that allows the pipe to stand on its own. The bowl was a mess with a thick cake and tar overflow filling in the plateau rim top. There was a lot of dust and grim in the sandblast and buildup on the smooth portions. There were some chips missing on the ends of the fins but they did not detract from the unique beauty of the pipe. At first glance the stem was okay though it has some tooth marks and chatter near the button. There was some calcification and heavy oxidation in all of the turnings and smooth parts of the stem. When I removed the stem there was an issue – the tenon was ragged looking and probably half of it was missing. I took this one home as I decided I wanted to work on it. I took photos of the pipe before starting my cleanup work. I took close up photos of the rim top and bowl to show how clean it was. There is some nice cross grain on the rim top. I also took photos of the stem to show their condition. You can see the oxidation and tooth chatter on it but otherwise it is a pretty straight forward cleanup.I took a photo of the stamping on the underside of the shank. You can see it below and it read as noted above. I looked up the brand on Pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.

With that information I was clear on the maker of the pipe and I turned to work on the pipe itself. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamers using the first three cutting heads to take the cake back to bare briar. I like to have a clear idea of the condition of the inside walls of the bowl before I consider a pipe finished. This one looked very good. I cleaned up the remnants of cake with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and sanded the walls with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel. I scrubbed the briar with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap, a tooth brush and a wire brush to clean out the grime and dust in the grain of the sand blast and in the plateau on the rim top and shank end. I rinsed soap off the bowl with warm running water and dried off the briar with a soft cloth. I cleaned the surface further with Mark Hoover’s Before & After Briar Cleaner – the Extra strength version. I rubbed it into the surface of the briar with a tooth brush and rinsed it off to remove the grime that it had trapped. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage on the fins. Both sides had small chips in the finish on the end of the fins.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush. I let it sit for about 10 minutes. I buffed it off with a cotton cloth. You can see how well the product works to clean and enliven the briar and as a bonus it protects it as well. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. While I was with Jeff in Oregon I picked up some of the Soft Scrub that he has found very useful in removing oxidation and calcification. I rubbed down the stem with it on a cotton pad. You can see the results on the pads in the photo below.I cleaned out the airway in the shank and stem and the inside of the mortise with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It was a dirty pipe. The photo of the bowl came out pretty good but the stem photo is out of focus. You get the idea though on how dirty both were.I cleaned off the surface of the stem, painted it with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks and filled in the remaining tooth marks with black super glue. I set the stem aside to let the repair cure overnight. While it cured I mulled over what I was going to do about the short, broken tenon on the stem. I had two options – I could cut off the remaining tenon and replace it or I could replace the stem. I like the fancy stem that was on the pipe so I was more prone to replace the tenon… I would let it sit and make a decision in the morning.When the glue cured and the repair hardened I recut the edge of the button on both sides with a needle file. I gave it more definition and flattened out the repaired areas on the top and underside. I smoothed out top and underside with 180 grit sandpaper.I smoothed out the sanding marks and worked on the oxidation with 220 grit sandpaper. I wiped the stem down afterwards with a damp cloth. Finally I feel like I am making some progress with the stem.I cleaned the stem with cotton swabs, cotton pads and Soft Scrub to remove more of the oxidation on the surface of the rubber. At this point the stem was looking pretty good.I paused at this point and thought about a third option for the tenon – not a replacement and not a new stem. There was another way that I thought might work. I used a needle file to reshape the broken tenon and take away some of the first disk of the turned stem. The photos below show the stem after I had removed some of the material and bought some more length on the tenon. I still need to smooth out the tenon and flatten the end but the fit is much better in the shank and actually looks better. I cleaned up the tenon and the fit is very good now. All that remains is to polish it.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down after each sanding pad with a cotton pad to remove the sanding debris.  I have to tell you I am not sorry to see this restoration come to an end. Generally it is fun to see the part all come together. This time I was glad that I could move on to work on another pipe! I had seen enough of the many issues that came with this pipe. I put the pipe 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 hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It was good to see what the polished bowl looked like with the smooth portions, sandblast portions and the plateau on the rim top and shank end. They contrasted well the polished black vulcanite stem. This Soren Hand Carved in Denmark Freehand is nice looking and feels great in my hand. The pipe has the advantage of being a sitter as well as a Freehand. The fins on the front of the bowl act like legs that hold it upright. It is a very light weight and well balanced pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 3 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ½ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This is a well-traveled pipe – Made in Denmark for an American Market, somehow ending up in Astoria, Oregon in the stall of a seller who bought it at an estate sale and now up to Vancouver, British Columbia in Canada. While the pipe had a lot of challenges they were fun to work on for the most part! Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.

Refurbishing my Inherited Large “Soren” Pickaxe Freehand

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

It’s been two months since I had worked on a free hand pipe that was made in Denmark, the last being a “Soren” sitter. The next pipe that I decided to work on from my grandfather’s collection is again a “SOREN”, but this pipe is a monster sized Pick Axe with a humongous bowl!!

The large pick axe stummel has a combination of smooth and rusticated surface covering the bowl. The cascading water flow like hand carved rustication extends from the front left side of the bowl to the back while the smooth surface covers most of the front and complete right side of the bowl. Beautiful swirls of grains can be seen on the smooth surface interspersed with flame grains extending upwards from half way of the front of the bowl. The plateau shank end is flared towards the shank end and boasts of lovely flame grains on the right side of the shank. The flared shank end bears the only stamping seen on this pipe. It is stamped as “Soren”, name of the carver in script hand over “HAND-CARVED” over “MADE IN DENMARK” in block capital letters. The fancy vulcanite stem is devoid of any stampings.

While working on my Soren sitter free hand, I had referred to pipedia.com for information on this famous pipe carver from Denmark. I reproduce the information available on pipedia.com for a quick read.

 “Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen founded a company in 1969, which employed an average of 8 – 12 craftsmen in the 1970’s. The semi-freehands they produced were traded under his prename Søren. Rasmussen himself finished only the very best pipes. So his way of pipemaking closely resembled the ways of Preben Holm, Karl Erik Ottendahl or Erik Nørding. Altogether more than 1,000,000 pipes were sold.

Today he works alone as Refbjerg and manufactures only a small number of pipes in his workshop in DK-2860 Søborg, which are considered to be tremendously precisely executed. The dimensions mostly range from small to medium sized, corresponding to his personal preferences. The shapes adhere to the classical models, but often he gives them a touch of Danish flair. Refbjerg accepts minor faults but never uses any fillings. “Straight Grain” is the only grading, used for his very best pieces. He likes stem decorations made of exotic woods or metal rings.

As Rainer Barbi once stated “Refbjerg uses only briar from Corsica and more than that, he’s the one and only to import it from there, at least in Europe. He’s supplier to the vast majority of the Danish makers”.

From the above, it can be safely assumed that this pipe was made in the 1970’s as it bears the stamp of the carver’s prename “Soren”!!

INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION
There is a thick layer of cake in the bowl. The external surface of the stummel feels solid to the touch and I think there are no issues with the condition of the chamber. However, there are always surprises when you least expect them!!! I have learnt my lessons!!! Thus, condition of the inner walls of the chamber will be ascertained once the chamber has been reamed and the cake is taken back to the bare briar. There is a strong sweet smell of tobacco which may reduce once the cake has been reamed out and chamber has been cleaned with isopropyl alcohol.The plateau rim top and shank end is covered in the overflow of lava, dirt and grime. This will have to be cleaned. The condition of the inner edge will be determined only after removing the cake. The air way in the shank is clogged with oils and tars and will require a thorough cleaning. The stummel is covered in a thick layer of dust, dirt, oils and grime. The stummel looks dull and lackluster. The grains on the smooth surface and the sandblast rustications are all covered in tars, oils and grime. To be able to appreciate these grains and rustications, the stummel will have to be cleaned. However, there is not a single fill to be seen on this large briar estate. A few minor dents and dings are seen on the stummel surface, a result of uncared for storage over a prolonged period. This issue can be sorted out by sanding the stummel surface with a sand paper, followed by micromesh sanding and polishing. The fancy quarter bent vulcanite stem is heavily oxidized and two deep bite marks can be seen on the lower surface of the stem. The lips on both upper and lower surface show significant damage due to bite marks and are out of shape. I hope to address these issues by simple heating of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter. The air way in the stem appears to be clogged and the air flow is laborious to say the least. This will be addressed by thorough internal stem cleaning with pipe cleaners and alcohol. There is calcification seen on either surface about an inch from the button end. The bottom of lip edge shows significant deposition of dirt and oxidation. This will have to be cleaned.THE PROCESS
I started this project by reaming the chamber with size 2 and followed it up to size 4 head of PipNet reamer. I used a 220 grit sand paper, pinched between my thumb and forefinger, to sand the inner walls of the chamber of the pipe. Once I had reached the bare briar, I wiped the chamber with a cotton pad dipped in isopropyl alcohol. This removed all the residual carbon dust but this time not the ghost smells. This cleaning revealed the first (and pray it to be the last!!) surprise. There are a few very thin webs of line seen along the front and left side of the chamber walls and one slightly larger gash on the left side. This gash is highlighted in a red circle. I shall address this issue at the end of the restoration by coating the walls with a mixture of activated charcoal and yogurt. This coating will aid in quicker formation of a fresh cake.I followed up the reaming by cleaning the mortise and air way of the pipe using hard bristled, regular pipe cleaners and q-tips dipped in alcohol. The mortise and the draught hole was so chock-a- block with all the dried tars, oils and gunk that I had to use my fabricated spatula to scrape out all the muck from the mortise and the draught hole!!!! I gave a final clean with shank brushes dipped in alcohol and dried the mortise with a rolled paper napkin. The shank internals and the draught hole are now nice and clean with an open and full draw. The issue of sweet smells of old tobacco was also reduced to a very large extent.I cleaned out the internals of the stem using hard bristled and regular pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol. I scraped the dried oils and tars from the tenon with the sharp edge of my fabricated dental spatula. The deep bite marks on the stem and lip edges were flamed with the flame of a Bic lighter.  This helps to raise the bite marks to the surface. However, this did not work. From my experience, I have learnt that getting rid of the oxidation from and around the surface to be filled helps in subsequent better blending of the fill with the stem surface. With a folded piece of used 150 grit sand paper, I sand the area that is required to be filled. I cleaned the sanded portion of the stem with cotton pad dipped in alcohol and spot filled the damaged area with a mixture of activated charcoal and clear superglue. I set the stem aside for the fill to cure. Now, it was the turn of the stummel of the pipe to get cleaned up. Using a hard bristled tooth brush dipped in undiluted Murphy’s oil soap, I very deliberately scrubbed the stummel, cleaning the surface thoroughly. Special attention was paid to scrub out all the dirt and dust from the crevices in the rustication on the sides and front of the stummel as well as the plateau rim top and shank end. I was surprised to note that while rinsing the pipe under tap water, the water ran a bright orange color. Residual orange color can be seen on the stummel, probably due to a coating of shellac!!! I do not like it and will have to get rid of it, period. The stummel, plateau shank end and rim top were dried using paper napkins and soft cotton cloth. The cleaning of the stummel revealed the second surprise!! There was a sticky and soft spot present in the rusticated portion on the stummel; this has been marked in a red circle below. When I scrubbed the stummel, it was revealed that this fill had gone soft. I dug out the old and soft fill with my fabricated sharp knife. The alignment of this fill roughly matched with that of the larger gash observed on the left side of the chamber wall. I discussed this issue with my guru, Mr. Steve, after he had seen the pictures of the damage. It was decided that the fill would be refreshed and the inner walls of the chamber should be coated with a layer of activated charcoal and yogurt. There were three other very minor fills; two on the shank end and one in the rusticated portion of the stummel at the back of the bowl. These have been circled in red. Before progressing ahead with any further restoration, I decided to address the issues of “fills” in the stummel!!!!! I completely removed the old fills using a sharp, pointed and thin fabricated knife. I press a little briar dust and realizing what a precious commodity it is, I was very careful not to waste even a microgram. I packed it in to the gouges on the stummel, pressing it tightly with the back of a toothpick and spot applied CA superglue over it with the pointed end of the toothpick. I spot filled the shank end fills with only CA superglue as they were not large and deep. With this, I set the stummel aside for the fresh fills to cure.After the fills had cured, I sand these fills using a flat head and a round needle file to achieve a rough match with the surrounding surface. With a folded piece of 180 grit sand paper, I sand the fills in the rusticated portion to match it with the worm trails in the rustication. I wiped the entire stummel with a cotton swab soaked in acetone to remove the coating of shellac, but without the expected results. The stummel still has that orange coloration. I further sand the entire smooth surface of the stummel with a piece of folded 150, 220, 440, 600 and 1000 grit sand paper to perfectly match the fills with the rest of the stummel surface and also to achieve my aim of completely removing the shellac coating, but the coloration still persists. Hopefully, remnants of the shellac coat will be addressed during the micromesh sanding and polishing process. This use of sand paper, however, addressed all issues of the dents and dings from the stummel surface!! I wanted to remove the coating of shellac while highlighting the grains seen on the smooth portion of the stummel. To achieve this aim, I sand down the stummel using micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200 to 12000 grit pads. I wiped the stummel with a moist cloth to clean the surface of all the dust after wet sanding. The orange coloration on the stummel can be gauged by the color of my hand. I was still not happy with the results of the micromesh sanding. Using a dark brown stain pen, I darkened the worm trails in an attempt highlight and add contrast against the raised portions in the rustication. I was not satisfied with the way the pipe looked at this stage. It was still “loud” and appeared gaudy. I rub a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” in to the briar and let it rest for a few minutes. I took some extra efforts to work the balm in to the hand carved rustications on the bowl. I hand buffed it with a horse hair brush to a deep shine. I had assumed that this would help improve the look of the stummel. Alas!! That was not to be the result. The bowl still appeared ugly and definitely did not measure up to my standards. I was lost for ideas when I shared pictures of the stummel with my guru, Mr. Steve. This is what he saw. In his characteristic style, Mr. Steve suggested that “I would first get rid of the dark stain in the worm trails by wiping the entire stummel and then re-staining it”. This is exactly what I did. I wiped the stummel with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol and removed all the stain. Mr. Steve had sent me sachets of easy-to-use stain powder which just needed to be mixed in isopropyl alcohol and applied to the stummel surface. I chose the Walnut stain. Since this was the first time that I would be using a stain, I was a bit apprehensive. I mixed a little quantity of the stain powder and mixed it with a little quantity of 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol to a liquid consistency. I have purposely not mentioned any specific quantity of each as I had mixed the two just by relying on feel and visual confirmation. I was fortunate that I got the mix spot on in the first attempt. There is a lot of leeway in this process in that if the stain appears too dark after application, desired transparency could be achieved by wiping the stummel with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol!!!! I folded a pipe cleaner and evenly applied the stain over the complete stummel, plateau rim and shank end. This was followed by burning excess of alcohol with the flame of a Bic lighter. This also helps the stain to set on the stummel surface. Just a word of caution to all first timers like me, please wear either plastic or latex rubber gloves if you wish to avoid the struggle of removing the stains from your hands later!!! I wiped the stummel surface with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol as the stain was slightly darker and unevenly applied than I would have liked. This helped in bringing more transparency and evenness in the stain application. Once the stain had set, I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my local machine which is similar to a Dremel.  I set the speed at about half of the full power and applied White Diamond compound to stummel of the pipe. I wiped/ buffed the pipe with another clean cotton cloth buffing wheel to clear it of any leftover compound dust. I then mounted another cotton cloth wheel on to the polishing machine and applied several coats of carnauba wax over the stummel. I finished by giving the stummel a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The grains on the stummel now look beautiful and peek through the stain. I shared the pictures of the stummel with Mr. Steve who appreciated the look of the stummel at this stage. With the stummel nice and clean and attractive, I worked the stem of the pipe. The fill on the stem had cured nicely and I sand it down with a flat head needle file. I sharpened the lip edges using a needle file and sand the entire stem with 220 followed by 400, 800 and 1000 grit sand paper. This helps to reduce the sanding marks left behind by the more abrasive 220 grit paper, while this process eliminated the deep oxidation seen on the vulcanite stem of the pipe. To bring a deep shine to the vulcanite stem, I went through the complete set of micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200 to 12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem with alcohol after each pad and rubbed it down with Extra Virgin Olive oil. The internals of the stem was cleaned out using alcohol and pipe cleaners. The pictures of the process and final results are shown below. The only issue remaining to be addressed, before I could proceed with the final polish, was the deeper gash seen in the walls of the chamber. I mixed activated charcoal and yogurt to a consistency which would enable an even spread and applied it on the inner walls of the chamber and set it aside to cure it overnight.To finish, I re-attach the stem with the stummel. I mount a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my local machine which is similar to a Dremel. I set the speed at about half of the full power and applied White Diamond compound to stummel of the pipe. I wiped/ buffed the pipe with a soft cotton cloth to clear it of any leftover compound dust. I then mounted another cotton cloth wheel on to the polishing machine and applied several coats of carnauba wax over the stummel and the stem. I finished the restoration by giving the pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The completed pipe, with the dark brown hues of the stummel contrasting with the shiny black stem, looks lovely, fresh and vibrant; the photographs speak for themselves. The beauty, size and shape of this pipe make it one of my favorite and will find a place of pride in my modest collection. If only the pipe could tell some of the stories and incidents that it has witnessed while my grand old man puffed away.…………… Cheers!!! PS: The oversized and shape of the stummel coupled with an equally proportionately long stem, posed a challenge while taking pictures of the complete finished pipe!!!! This is one of the many areas where I need to make a lot of progress. If I am unable to capture the beauty of the finished pipe and present it in an attractive manner, I feel my efforts are in vain.

 

Restoring a Soren Hand- Carved Sitter Pipe

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

This Soren is the last of the freehand pipes that I had purchased on eBay. Well, this pipe is definitely the smallest of all the four, but it is also the only sitter of this lot!!!!! The medium size of the bowl, angle between the stummel and shank with a fancy stem, lends this pipe a look which is both very attractive and functional at the same time.

The pipe has a combination of smooth surface and sandblast finishes.  These sandblast portions are seen along the entire length of the shank, save for a small smooth portion on the lower surface at the shank end. This smooth portion bears the only stamping seen on this pipe, “Soren” over “HAND-CARVED” over “MADE IN DENMARK”. The upper portion of the stummel shows irregularly designed straight grained smooth surface while the lower portion and the shank, less the stamped portion,  is sandblasted which give this pipe its unique appearance!!! The plateau rim top has a smooth thin surface very close to the inner edge. I absolutely loved this pipe. I searched the internet for information on this pipe. Pipedia has some interesting snippet of information on the carver of this pipe, which I have reproduced below:

“Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen founded a company in 1969, which employed an average of 8 – 12 craftsmen in the 1970’s. The semi-freehands they produced were traded under his prename Søren. Rasmussen himself finished only the very best pipes. So his way of pipemaking closely resembled the ways of Preben Holm, Karl Erik Ottendahl or Erik Nørding. Altogether more than 1,000,000 pipes were sold.

Today he works alone as Refbjerg and manufactures only a small number of pipes in his workshop in DK-2860 Søborg, which are considered to be tremendously precisely executed. The dimensions mostly range from small to medium sized, corresponding to his personal preferences. The shapes adhere to the classical models, but often he gives them a touch of Danish flair. Refbjerg accepts minor faults but never uses any fillings. “Straight Grain” is the only grading, used for his very best pieces. He likes stem decorations made of exotic woods or metal rings.

As Rainer Barbi once stated “Refbjerg uses only briar from Corsica and more than that, he’s the one and only to import it from there, at least in Europe. He’s supplier to the vast majority of the Danish makers”.

Examples and nomenclature, courtesy Doug Valitchka Initial inspection of the pipe revealed the following
There is a thick layer of cake in the bowl. The external surface of the stummel feels solid to the touch and I think there are no issues with the condition of the chamber. However, there are always surprises when you least expect them!!! I have learnt my lessons!!! Thus, condition of the inner walls of the chamber will be ascertained once the chamber has been reamed and the cake is taken back to the bare briar. The plateau rim top and shank end is covered in the overflow of lava, dirt and grime. This will have to be cleaned. The condition of the inner edge will be determined only after removing the cake. The air way in the shank is clogged with oils and tars and will require a thorough cleaning.The stem is firmly stuck to the shank and will not budge. However, other than heavy oxidation, there are no other issues noticed on the stem. The stummel is covered in dust, dirt, oils and grime. The stummel looks dull and lackluster. The grains on the smooth surface and the sandblast are all covered in tars, oils and grime. To be able to appreciate these grains and sandblast, the stummel will have to be cleaned. THE PROCESS
Before I could start the work of cleaning the pipe, I kept it in the freezer for a couple of hours so as to separate the stem from the shank. I removed the pipe from the freezer and tried to remove the stem, but it still did not budge! I let it rest outside for an hour and after applying considerable force, the stem came free. I had followed a YouTube video where the stem was soaked in a solution of hot water and Hydrogen Peroxide in the ratio of 2:1. The stem oxidation had risen to the surface and was much easier to remove. I cleaned the insides of the stem with pipe cleaners and hard bristled pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol. Once the internals were clean and dry, I wiped the stem surface with magic clean sponge and followed it with polishing with micromesh pads. I applied extra virgin olive oil on the stem surface and set it aside to be absorbed by the stem. I am afraid, in my enthusiasm to try out new technique of using Hydrogen Peroxide; I just missed out on taking pictures of each step. Using a Kleen Reem pipe reamer, I removed all the carbon cake from the chamber. This was followed by sanding the inner walls of the chamber with 220 grit sand paper. The internal walls of the chamber were flawless and solid. Thereafter, using Murphy’s oil soap ( undiluted ) and a hard bristled toothbrush on the exterior of the bowl, shank and rim, the pipe was thoroughly cleaned and rinsed under running tap water. I immediately wiped it down with a soft cloth. The sandblast and the smooth surface were now clean and the briar looked clean and solid. I then left the briar to dry out. Once the briar had dried out completely, I rubbed in Before and After Restoration Balm deep into the sandblast as well as the rim top. The bowl was then wiped vigorously with a soft cloth and buffed with a horse hair shoe brush. The result is very pleasing and satisfying to the eyes! I am happy with this progress. This balm is a fantastic product for infusing a nice shine into the briar and giving it a new lease of life.The finished pipe is as shown below. I enjoyed working on this lot of four freehand pipes and each of these pipes has its own individuality and each is beautiful in its own way. I hope you too enjoyed joining me on this wondrous journey of exploring the freehand pipes!!!!!  Thank you for your patience and as always, any suggestions and/ or improvements will help me in learning this art of restoration.

Repairing and Rejuvenating a Soren Danish Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

soren1aThe fifth pipe I am working on for Steve in Dawson Creek, British Columbia is a beautiful freehand that is stamped Soren Hand Carved over Made in Denmark on the underside of the shank. The finish is not bad. There were two cracks in the plateau rim top with one of them just on the rim and the other one coming down the left side about ¼ inch. These would need to be repaired. The bowl had a light cake and there was overflow onto the plateau top. This would need to be scraped clean. The shank end was also plateau and it had a lot of dust in the grooves. The finish on the bowl was dirty and there were some small nicks on the sides. It has a diamond-shaped freehand stem that was lightly oxidized and had tooth marks on the top and the underside near the button.soren1I looked up the brand on pipephil (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-s10.html) and found that the brand was carved by Søren Refbjerg Rasmussen. Pipes that he made for the European market were mostly stamped “Refbjerg” while those made for the US market were stamped “Soren”. Thus I knew that one I was working on was imported into the US market.soren2I took a close up photo of the rim and the bowl to show the condition of the pipe when I took it out of the box. The thick cake on the top of the bowl rim filled in much of the plateau surface. You can see the thickness of the cake in the bowl. In the photo you can see that it is thicker at the top than at the bottom of the bowl.soren3I took photos of the stem to show the light oxidation and the scratching and wear to the stem. There were small tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button.soren4I took some photos of the condition of the bowl and the finish before I started cleaning the pipe. I wanted to be able to track the difference in the cleanup of the briar. In the second photo below I used a dental pick to try to pick at the thick cake on the rim. It would not be the way to clean up the rim.soren5I reamed the cake back to bare briar using the Savinelli Pipe Knife. In the photo below you can see the crack on the left side near the rim. I have circled it with red to highlight the crack.soren6I used a microdrill bit to drill a cap hole at the end of the crack to keep it from spreading further down the side of the bowl. The crack was not long so it was an easy fix.soren7I cleaned the top of the rim with a brass bristle brush to clean out all of the grooves and the areas of plateau on top of the bowl. It worked far better than the dental pick to clean off the thick cake on the bowl top. In the photo below you can see the two small cracks. I have circled both of them. I cleaned them out with a dental pick so that they were open. The crack did not go down into the interior of the bowl.soren8I pushed briar dust into the crack and the end cap hole and the put super glue on top of the dust. I put more dust on top of the glue. The three photos below show the repairs.soren9 soren10I sanded the repaired areas with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess briar dust and super glue and blend the repairs into the surface of the briar.soren11After sanding the repairs I wiped down the bowl with alcohol to remove the grime on the surface of the briar. I carefully wiped down the area of the repairs.soren12 soren13The next photo shows the repaired area on the side of the bowl toward the top.soren14I touched up the repaired areas with a medium stain pen to blend those lighter areas on the side and on the rim with the colour of the stain.soren15I buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel and gave it multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed it with a clean buffing pad. I took the next photos of the bowl after buffing.soren16The photo of the top of the bowl shows the newly stained and contrast finish on the rim. I used a black Sharpie pen to colour in the grooves in the top of the rim and the end of the shank. I used the stain pen over that. On the bottom of the bowl the birdseye grain shows some dark stain in the grain.soren17 soren18I cleaned out the mortise and the airway in the shank and the stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol until they were clean.soren18aI polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding with 3200-12000 grit pads. I rubbed the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each set of three grits. I set the stem aside to dry.soren19 soren20 soren21I buffed the bowl and stem together with Blue Diamond polish and gave it several more coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad and with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished pipe is shown in the photos below. It is ready to go back to Steve in Dawson Creek. It is the fifth of the pipes I have been working on for him. I am looking forward to hearing what he thinks of them when he has them in hand. Thanks for looking.soren22 soren23 soren24 soren25 soren26 soren27 soren28 soren29