Tag Archives: Stem repairs

Gifting my Mentor and Dear Friend, Steve, an Alexander Zavvos Hygrosystem Pipe.

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

When Steve, his brother, Jeff and Dal Stanton, The Pipe Steward, were on a visit to India, I had a desire that there should be a unique pipe which all three of us should have (Mr. Jeff being a non smoker) and had laid down for myself, the following parameters for identifying THAT PIPE!

(a) Both should not be having this pipe in their personal collection (knowing well that this would be a very tall order!!)

(b) The pipe must have some historical significance and should have made a contribution to the world’s pipe history.

(c) It must come from a well-known carver or manufacturer.

I began this selection with going through my own personal modest collection, rather my Grandfather’s collection to which I have made miniscule additions. Amidst all the WDCs, Charatans, Comoy’s, Barlings, Ben Wades, Stanwells and Kriswills, there was this one pipe which was very different. Very early in my association with Steve, we had discussed this pipe which Mr. Steve had not come across (which was unbelievable!!!) and did not own a pipe from this carver, but was very much interested in it. An oblique enquiry from Dal also confirmed that he did not have this make. Well, this helped me zero in on this pipe to be gifted to my friends during their visit to India. The pipe selected is an ALEXANDER ZAVVOS HYGROSYSTEM, PAT.No 87033, made in the 1970s-80s. What followed was an extensive and prolonged hunt for two such pipes of which the first one was purchased from one seller on Pinterest and the second was on eBay. These pipes were received separately and the last delivery materialized a couple of days prior to the arrival of my esteemed guests. Here are both the pipes as I received them.Since Dal was the first to arrive in India (and being the youngest amongst arriving guests…LoL), he was given a choice between the two. He selected one with an Apple shape and the remaining willy-nilly came to Steve. At that point in time, both Dal and I discussed that it would be the Apple shape that Steve would have selected but… Well after working on Steve’s pipe, am I glad that the Dublin came to Steve as it provided me with an opportunity to present my first ever rusticated pipe to the person who has introduced me to this art and mentored me all along. Thank you Steve for being with Abha and me on this journey.

The stamping on the Dublin is pretty worn out and hard to make out. However, the stampings on my pipe and that on Dal’s is pretty crisp and clear. It reads on the left of the shank as “ALEXANDER” over “HYGROSYSTEM” over a square with letter “Zb” over “GREECE”. The bottom of the shank bears the stamping “PAT No. 87033” over “03/ 89”, which I believe is the date code indicating that the pipe was made in March of 1989. This stamping is visible only under a white light with a magnifying glass and the area around the stampings has bubbled up skin surface, something akin to chipped paint.I researched this pipe on pipedia.org and reproduce excerpts of information on this pipe carver, in his own words, and his immense contributions to the Greek pipe industry in particular and entire world’s pipe community.

I am Alexandros Zavvos, born in Molos, Thermopylae, near Lamia. Since I was a child I had an inclination for art, starting with painting. I studied Radio-electronics, and at age 23 I got involved with commerce with a capital of 150.000 drs. in 1962.

 I entered the pipe business where I met, by total chance, with Mr. Libero G. Albanese, first technician and producer of briar-wood models in Kalabria, Italy. When I told him that I am Greek, he almost prayed, saying that we Greeks have the best briar in the world for pipe-making! From that moment on I understood that this fellow is in love woth his work – and he transmitted that to me instantly!

From mid-1962 to 1963 I searched all over the world for a college or a school in order to be taught the art of pipe-making, but in vain – there were none. Moreover, I wasn’t able to make it through the big European pipe-makers of that time (British, Italian, Danish). I was convinced that only through experience there was a chance of me becoming what I wanted.

In 1964 I started the commercial briar-wood model production, in 1965 I constructed empirically my first pipe and in 1967 I started the vertical production (this is from the briar Greek woods to the consumer) – maybe there is no other factory in the world producing smoking pipes vertically.

In 1970 I started the research, which was accomplished in 1984, on the 1st generation hygrostatic system. In that same period we founded, my brother and I, our factory in Lamia for the production of ebony epistomes.

Today, 40 years later, I have successfully arrived at the production of the 5th generation hygrostatic pipe. I will finish by saying that this pipe, to what concerns the pleasure it provides, has nothing to do with that pipe for peace, offered by American Indians.

Update: Today I am saddened by the news that Alexander passed away on February 10th, 2015. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. We are very thankful for his contributions to the World of pipes. —sethile (talk) 21:00, 12 February 2015 (UTC).

The description given by the seller on eBay was equally informative and I reproduce the same for the readers to get a fair idea of the famed Hygrosystem that has been incorporated into the construction of this pipe.

A patented Hygro-system pipe by the greatest and most known (now deceased) Greek pipe manufacturer Alexander (Zabos / Zavvos). His old pieces are by now becoming rare and sought after, as his son who took over the business is not equal to the father. His stamp (Z with a B lower) comes from the two consonants in his name the way it is spelled in Greek. Very big and well known European pipe makers have purchased top briars from Alexander Zavvos, since the Greek briars are among the best in the world.

A few things about Alexader Zabos’s patent: The hygrostatic system  is the result of 35 years research and experience. It is based on the Bernoulli principle, has been allowed to be patterned (No 87833) by the Greek Ministry of Industry and Energy. Unlike most filter or no-filter pipes, the Alexander Hygrostatic Pipe reduces drastically moisture and other heavy residue (such as tar etc), which otherwise could be inhaled into our lungs and extinguishes a bitterness and a burning on the tongue.

Alexander Zavvos’s Hygrosystem pipes were quite expensive if bought new (the cheapest had a value of 160-170 euros) and have become highly collectible after the death of the manufacturer.

From the above information, it is safe to infer that this pipe is from the first generation of the hygrosystem pipes from Alexander Zavvos and made in March 1989.

DECONSTRUCTING THE PIPE
In my quest to understand the functional principal of the famed HYGROSYSTEM used in this pipe, I began by first dismantling the pipe. The pipe was dismantled in three parts; first the stummel, secondly the aluminum screw-in shank extension which has an aluminum tube to house a filter, probably a 6 mm, and lastly vulcanite stem with a fused briar wood saddle. From my appreciation, it is the shank extension which forms the critical component in the famed Hygro-System, at the stem end of which a smaller aperture pipe protrusion is seen. A similar sized protrusion is seen at the tenon end of the vulcanite stem. The fit of the tenon in to the aluminum shank extension is made air tight with a thin ring of briar wood (not leather, as it is not pliable at all).APPLICATION OF BERNOULLI’S PRINCIPLE IN THE HYGROSYSTEM

Bernoulli’s principle states that an increase in the speed of a fluid occurs simultaneously with a decrease in pressure or a decrease in the fluid‘s potential energy. This is applicable to flow of gases also.

In simple layman’s understanding, the above principle states that “Pressure is inversely proportional to the speed of the liquid or gaseous flow”. So how does this principle work in the hygrosystem of this pipe? To explain application of this principle, refer to the picture of the pipe below that I have drawn:(a) Hot smoke along with heavy particulates of oils, tars and moisture from the chamber enters the mortise and expands due to width of the mortise. As a result, speed is reduced. High pressure is created in the mortise.

(b) Once the smoke enters in to the aluminum shank extension, it is compressed and speeds up considerably creating a low pressure area. Due to the low pressure, heavy particles like oils, tars and moisture settle down and are trapped in the filter in the aluminum tube of the shank extension.

(c) The speed is further increased when the smoke passes through the smaller aperture tube due to further compression, shown in green arrows, further lowering the pressure. When this smoke leaves the smaller aperture tube and enters the wide stem end of the shank extension, there is a sudden increase in pressure. This sudden variation in pressures results in heavy particulates settling down and only smoke, being lighter, propelled ahead.

(d) Similar pressure changes are affected when the smoke passes through the wide tenon and through the smaller aperture tube in the stem, further precipitating the heavy particulates of oils, tars and moisture. The end result is a pure smoke without any oils or tars.

The above understanding is my own reasoning based on my learning of science till Graduation level. Any corrections or clarifications from more knowledgeable readers is always enriching and welcomed.

INITIAL VISUAL INSPECTION
Starting with the rim and rim top surface, there is a slight overflow of lava on the rim top and the surface itself is peppered with numerous dents and dings which should be easy to sort out by topping the rim top. The rim edges are sans any serious damage, save for an odd chip on the outer edge, marked in blue arrow.The chamber however tells a very different story. There is a thin layer of cake which has taken on a grey coloration, which is a first for me, by the way. The way the cake appears to the eye, I suspect a few heat lines in the walls of the chamber towards the back and right side. I just hope that the issue is not a major one and just a bowl coating should suffice. Well, I shall cross the bridge when I reach it. There is strong smell emanating from the chamber which should be addressed to a great extent once the chamber has been reamed and the shank has been cleaned. The stummel surface has signs of accumulated dirt, dust and grime and should clean up nicely. It was surprising to note that these accumulations are in patches, almost following the cross grains seen on the right and front and over the entire shank. The left side, which has some beautiful bird’s eye grain, is clean. There are a large number of dents and dings all around the stummel surface. The shank surface has bubbled up near and around the stampings towards the shank end. Just near to the shank and bowl junction, I could make out a very thin line running all round the shank forming a circle (marked in yellow arrow). This worries me as at this stage, I am not sure about the extent of the depth of the crack. Also along this crack line, I could make out one fill. All in all, this is going to be a challenging restoration to get it back to being smoke worthy. There is a brass ring at the shank end which extends inside the shank with threads on to which the aluminum shank extension is screwed in. This brass ring should add a bit of glitz to the pipe appearance once polished. The mortise is clogged and heavy crust of dried oils and tars are clearly visible. This will take some effort to clean out.   The screw-in aluminum shank extension that houses a filter is covered in oils and tars. Also the smaller aperture pipe protrusion at the stem end is covered in gunk and tars. The briar coating at the top of this extension is chipped at one place (marked in yellow arrow) exposing the underlying aluminum shank extension. At the stem end of this extension, the brass ring is missing (marked in orange). I don’t have any brass rings and hence will have to improvise one that will fit. The vulcanite stem with its fused briar saddle at the tenon end is generally in good shape, save for the broken button end. The stem is very lightly oxidized and has minor tooth chatter on the lower lip surface towards the button end. The lower button itself shows minor tooth marks. Rebuilding of the missing button portion of the upper surface and reshaping of the lower button shouldn’t pose any major issue. The tenon is dirty with all the gunk and dried oils and tars left behind by the previous owner of this pipe. THE PROCESS
Since any stem reconstruction takes the most amount of time what with all the curing, sanding, refilling if needed, shaping and polishing, I always prefer to start with repairs to the stem. Firstly, I sand off all the tooth chatter and the area of intended fill with a piece of 220 grit sand paper. This not only evens out the surface for the fill but also gets rid of the oxidation which would otherwise show itself through the fills as a brown patch after polishing. This was followed by cleaning up the internals of the stem and the tenon with regular and bristled pipe cleaners dipped in 99% pure isopropyl alcohol. With a dental pick, I scrubbed out the dried gunk from the tenon and from along the broken button end edges. I had seen Dal use a folded triangular index card while reconstructing a broken button end whereas I always used a Vaseline coated pipe cleaner inserted in to the air way to keep it open. My method, though effective, was time consuming as I had to completely reshape the slot thereafter. Therefore for this repair, I decided to adopt Dal’s method. I appropriately folded an index card and covered it with a transparent tape which prevents the superglue and charcoal mix from sticking to the card. This is how it appears and fits in to the broken stem.I prepared a thick mix of CA superglue and food grade activated charcoal and applied it over the broken button area. I also applied this mix over the lip edge to make it even and cover the tooth marks. Once this layer had cured, I applied another layer of the mix. The trick here is that this type of reconstruction needs to be done in layers to a thickness more than the adjoining stem surface. This thereafter can be filed and sanded down to match the stem surface. I did exactly as described above and set the stem aside to cure.First layer.Second layer.Third layer.Final layer.

Once the mix had cured hard, I went about matching these fills with a flat head needle file and followed it up with a piece of 220 grit sand paper. As expected, I observed a couple of air pockets and also that one of the lip edge had been filed down more than the other and was dotted with many air pockets. I addressed these issues with a layer of superglue and charcoal powder mix. However, in this mix, the percentage of superglue was higher than the charcoal powder. I set the stem aside to cure. After the stem fills had cured, I repeated the process explained above to match the filled surface with the stem surface using needle files and sand paper. Now the lip edges are even, however, the air pockets persist. It’s very frustrating, I know but you have to be equally persistent. I applied a layer of clear CA superglue (would have ideally applied black CA glue, but……don’t have it) and set it aside. To take my mind off the troublesome stem repair, I decided to tackle the issue of missing brass band from the stem end of the shank extension. Working with limited spares, materials and tools has its advantages. It forces you to think out-of-the-box for ways around the hurdle, many a times with startling and successful results but you pay the price in terms of time penalties. Well, time I have aplenty!!! I decided to fabricate a brass ring of adequate thickness. My fabricator informed me that it would not be possible to make one with this width as he had only wires and not strips of brass. No issues, I had two rings made!! These rings fit perfectly and add a nice unique touch. These should polish up nicely. I shall fix these rings towards the end of the restoration process. Moving ahead, I reamed the chamber with size 1 and 2 head of the PipNet reamer. Using my smaller sized fabricated knife, I further reamed out the cake from places where the PipNet reamer could not reach. I gently scrapped out the lava overflow from the rim top surface. I followed it with sanding the chamber walls with a 220 grit sand paper. How I miss my younger daughter, Pavni, who specializes in smoothing the chamber walls and removing every trace of the old cake. Steve, hope I have come close to her finesse!! Once the cake was taken down to bare briar, my initial fears of heat fissures/line were confirmed, with the only difference being that these were not linear but pits, another first for me. These pits were only on the right side of the stummel and marked in yellow.  To use J B Weld or only a bowl coating (which I prefer) would suffice, shall be decided later. Removing the overflow of lava from the rim top revealed a surface that is peppered with numerous dents and dings. Other than these issues, the walls of the chamber are even and solid. I still did not have the inclination to work on the stem (actually it’s the fear of unknown result of the last fill!!) and continued with cleaning of the stummel. I worked the mortise using the dental tool first to scrap out the dried out gunk, oils and tars left behind by the previous steward. The amount of grime scrapped out is a testimony to the efficacy of this HygroSystem, I say. A few pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol later, the shank is clean. Now that the chamber and shank internals are clean, the smells though reduced, is still prevalent.Staying with the stummel, I cleaned the externals with Murphy’s oil soap and toothbrush. Rinsing under tap water (remember, I am in India and its hot here and even tap water is equally warm!!!!) was the start of my nightmare and prolonged conversations with Steve and on our FB messenger group. Here are the pictures first; description of my observations will follow subsequently. Just follow the arrows… As I had noted during my initial inspection, the hairline crack towards the bowl end is now prominently visible and marked with yellow arrows in each picture. This hairline crack runs all around the shank and is joined end-to-end. This still was okay as I had anticipated it, but what surprised me, or rather rocked my feet, was the thick fill of putty running all around the shank end. The same is marked with blue arrows. This fill runs in a more perfect circle than the one near the bowl shank joint and right through the middle of all stampings!! Aargh……There goes the stampings… Sorry Steve, hope you understand.

As if the hairline crack and the all-round fill at the shank end was not enough, the right side of the stummel is…. Actually, I am lost for words and the words that come to my mind are most definitely unprintable and I definitely have no desire for a rap on my knuckles from Steve. Have a look at the pictures and please decide for yourself a suitable description. There is not an inch on the right side of the stummel and shank that is free of any fills. Undaunted, I began the arduous journey of removing the old fills and preparing the stummel for a fresh fill. Using my newly acquired dental tools which were procured when Steve, Jeff, Abha and I had gone around the town shopping for tools for pipe resto work, I progressed to removing the fills. This is how the pipe appeared after the old fills were removed, a cheesecake pipe!!!! The fills were large and deep. The only saving grace was the crack near the bowl shank joint was only superficial and the fills on it would act as counter hole, what am I writing!! It’s a complete circular crack. The long and short of it is that the crack is stable and going nowhere damaging the structural integrity of the pipe. At this point in the restoration, I decided to address the issue of old odors in the chamber and shank by subjecting it to a cotton and alcohol bath. I wrapped some cotton around a folded pipe cleaner, keeping the tip of the pipe cleaner free of wrapped cotton as this would be inserted through the draught hole in to the chamber. This would form the wick for the shank. I tightly packed the chamber with cotton balls and filled it with 99% pure isopropyl alcohol using a syringe and set it aside. Immediately a few seconds later, the alcohol started oozing out of all the fills. The pipe appears to be shedding tears at its present condition, and so am I. I shared these pictures with my FB messenger group friends inquiring whether to discard the pipe or continue and ways to progress ahead with the restoration. The unanimous reply was to continue and rustication was the way ahead. Well I moved ahead with my work on the pipe but was not sure about the rustication part. Here is how the pipe appeared at this stage in restoration: By next day, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out the tars and oils from the chamber and max from the shank.I let the stummel fills dry out completely and after all the alcohol had evaporated, proceeded to fill the deep gouges with CA superglue and briar dust using the layering technique. I my part of the world, the moment briar dust came in to contact with the glue it becomes rock hard even after trying every trick that Dal had shared with me and Steve when we were together in India. Therefore, I adopted the layering technique where I put down a thin layer of superglue in to the fill and press briar dust over the glue. I continue with this till the fill rises above rest of the stummel surface. Believe you me readers, I spent an entire evening working well past midnight, to get all the gouges filled up. I set the stummel aside to cure for the next 24 hours. Still working on the stummel, I file the raised mounds of the patched fills with a flat needle file. The only drawback of the layering technique is that a number of air pockets are revealed after the filing. This time was no exception and I refilled the exposed air pockets only with superglue and set it aside to cure. Since there was still time before I hit the bed, I decided to address the stem. I sand the fill to match the surface of the stem. For a better blending, I further sand the entire stem with 220. I topped the slot on a piece of 220 grit sand paper to even it out. The repairs looked good at this stage. With the stummel fills nicely cured, it was time again to work on it. Using a flat head needle file, I sanded the fills and followed it with further sanding with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. Again the same sordid story, the fills revealed numerous air pockets through which the briar dust was seen. In my quest to make this restoration as perfect as possible, it refilled these air pockets with superglue and briar dust. This time around, I mixed a minuscule amount of briar dust with superglue and surprise! The mix remained pliable for just enough seconds in which I could apply it over the fills. Again I set the stummel aside to cure. This sure is trying my patience and stubbornness. I shall prevail, is what I have decided. Since the glue and briar dust mix had hardened immediately, but not hard enough to use a flat head needle file on it, I decided to address the issue of the numerous dents, dings and scratches on the rim top surface. To do this, I spread out a patch of 220 grit sand paper on my work table. Firmly holding the patch in my left hand and the stummel in my right, I gave a few firm rotations to the rim top over the sand paper patch. I continued the process, checking ever so frequently, till I was satisfied with the result. The rim no appears pristine and even. This was the only uneventful part in the entire restoration, LoL!!The fills on the stummel having sufficiently cured, I went ahead and filed the fills with a folded worn out piece of 150 grit sand paper and followed it up with sanding with a piece of 220 grit sand paper. My reasoning for not using a flat head needle file was that maybe the hard abrasiveness of the file is causing the fill to come out exposing the air pockets. But no, the air pockets still showed themselves in all their ugliness. I decided to press on with the process, even though Steve was still gently prodding me to take the rustication route. This was followed up with micromesh polishing cycle. I wet sanded the stummel going through with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. Intermittent wiping of the stummel with a moist cloth helps firstly, to remove the sanded dust and secondly, gives an idea of the progress being made and areas which needed more attention. The stummel has taken a beautiful sheen where there are no fills, but the right and front of the stummel and the shank tells a different story, it does not look presentable to put it mildly. While going through with the micromesh polishing cycle, I extend this care to the brass band at the shank end. The now nicely shining brass band adds a touch of class to the pipe and some bling too!!I shared the above pictures with Steve and asked for suggestions for the way ahead. He suggested applying some “Before and After” restoration balm as it may also help in further blending the fills. As he was suggesting this, there was a ping on my mobile and there were some pictures of beautifully rusticated pipes that Steve had done over the years. I just smiled and went ahead with applying the balm and see the results. The results were not encouraging at all to say the least. To be honest, the thought of going the rustication route to salvage this pipe had started taking roots in my head, mind you head and not the heart! Disappointed with the stummel appearance at this stage, I turned my attention back to the stem. I had sanded the stem, including the briar insert at the tenon end with a 220 grit paper. I picked it up from there and progressively sanded the entire stem with 600 and 800 grit sand paper. I expected a clean and neat looking stem to stare back at me, but what I saw made me cringe. The top of the button showed some beautiful white spots of air pockets (marked in circle)!! Why, why can’t this restoration progress without any hiccups? I decided to take a break and cleaned out my work table. I loaded my large W. O. Larsen bent brandy pipe with my favorite G. L. Pease Virginia blend, Telegraph Hill (thanks Steve for this pipe and the tobacco, though my gift to you is testing my endurance and determination!) and went out and sat down in the lawns closing my eyes. I thoroughly enjoyed my smoke and came back refreshed. I rubbed a little Extra Virgin Olive oil in to the stem surface to hydrate it and set it aside to be absorbed in to the vulcanite.I had undertaken restoration of two of the three parts of this pipe, the stem and the stummel, and this had proved to be tedious and frustrating. I left them aside in various stages of progress and now turned my attention to the third and last part, the aluminum shank extension. The only issue that I had seen in my initial inspection was that of the chip and bubble in the surface of the briar coating over the aluminum insert. I picked out the bubble and lo, behold, the small chip instantly transformed itself in to larger than life sized!!!! The thickness of the coat was very thin, a few microns, maybe, and instantly peeled of like wall paint. I immediately realized that I am in for a long haul on this one too. Here is what happened and for comprehension, reproducing the picture taken during the initial inspection.It was interesting to note that the aluminum shank extension had a nice design, indicated with a yellow arrow, below the briar finish coat and the coat was pressed on to it. That the coat is heated and wrapped around is evident from the fact that this design can be seen on the intact coat surface. I decided to address the issue of chipped coating by filling it with a mixture of briar dust and superglue. I set the shank extension aside to cure after applying the mix. I missed out on taking pictures of the fill.While fill on the shank extension was curing, I decided to complete the stem repairs. I completely gouged out the area with air pocket for a fresh fill. With a black marker I darkened the fill and thereafter spot filled it with a mix of charcoal powder and superglue, superglue being more than charcoal and set it aside to cure. The mix hardened immediately and I continued with sanding and shaping the button. The fills and stem reconstruction came out good and I was satisfied with the way the stem has now turned out. I followed it up with sanding the entire stem with a folded piece of 220, 400 and 600 grit sandpaper in that order. I finished the stem reconstruction with a polishing with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I applied a small quantity of Extra Virgin Olive oil to the stem and set it aside. The fill on the shank extension had cured and I progressed with filing it with a flat head needle file followed with a sanding with a piece of 220 grit sand paper. I further matched the fill with the rest of the surface by sanding the entire wood coating on the shank extension with folded pieces of 400 and 600 grit sand papers. In the pictures below, one may think that there are air pockets in the fill; however, the fill is solid without any air pockets. I also evened out the edges over the aluminum extension in preparation for fixing the two fabricated brass rings, described above. Staying with the shank extension, I cleaned out the aluminum tube protrusion and the threading with a brass wire brush. I further polished it with a 0000 grade steel wool. The aluminum tube is now clean and shining. I finished the cleaning regime of the tube and threads in the shank extension by polishing it with a multipurpose liquid polish.Now it was time to affix the two fabricated brass rings. I applied a little superglue over the exposed aluminum protrusion of the shank extension towards the stem end and fixed the rings over it. I polished the shank extension, the aluminum tube and the two brass rings included, with micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. The shank extension now has a nice shine and the aluminum tube looks like new. The fill does show through in all its awfulness, but this will blend in nicely when I stain and subsequently polish it further. I applied a little “Before and After” restoration balm and buff it with a microfiber cloth after 20 minutes.I cleaned out the wood gasket which makes the fit of the tenon in to the shank extension airtight with cotton buds dipped in alcohol. I applied a little Extra Virgin Olive oil to this gasket, inside and out, to hydrate the wood and set it aside to be absorbed in the wood. When I had initially dismantled the pipe, this gasket came out attached to the tenon. However, close observation of the outer surface of the gasket points to the fact that the gasket was stuck inside the shank extension towards the stem end. I did not sand the outer surface to a smooth finish as I wanted to keep the surface rough when I applied superglue and reaffixed it inside the shank extension.Now that I had completed the restoration and reconstruction of the shank extension and stem respectively, I turned my attention back to the stummel with all its imperfections. Even at this stage, while on Face time with Steve he suggested that I rusticate the stummel. However, when he saw the reluctance, he suggested that I should try to blend the fills, which were standing out like sore thumbs, with a darkest stain available to me. I decided to stain the stummel and the rim top surface with black stain first and later with a dark brown stain in the hope that the contrast would help in a nice blend. I heated the stummel surface with my heat gun to open up the pores on the stummel so that the stain is well set. I mixed black stain powder with isopropyl alcohol and liberally applied it over the heated surface, flaming it with the flame of a lighter as I went ahead to different self designated zones of the surface. This helps in the setting of the stain in the grain of the briar. Similarly, I applied the black stain over the wood of the shank extension. I set both the stummel and shank extension aside for the stain to dry and get completely absorbed in the surface. The next evening, approximately 18 hours later, as Dal describes, I began to unwrap the stain in the hope to see beautiful grains. I mount a felt cloth buffing wheel (for the first time I admit, as I had only recently purchased these) on my hand held rotary tool. Setting the tool at its slowest speed as Dal had explained to me that a felt cloth wheel generates tremendous heat, I began to peel of the stain from the stummel surface first. But, hell there was no unwrapping at all!!! Not an iota of stain was buffed out. Therefore, I decided to increase the speed of the rotary tool a notch higher and still no result. I further upped the ante and took the speed regulator to half of the full power. Now the stain was peeled out gradually. This was followed with wiping the stummel with a cotton swab and alcohol to lighten the stain a little as it was too dark for my liking and this also helps in cleaning the surface of all the residual stain. But as soon as I reached to the right side of the stummel, I started seeing the dreaded patches where the fills got removed. Same for the shank extension!!! Here are the pictures as I saw the after effects of this buffing. Following are my observation on the stummel at this stage:-

(a) The stain had not set in over certain fills. These stood out like red blisters and are gory to look at.

(b) The fills had come out at certain spots. This was due to my mistake. I had either heated thestummel too much prior to staining or could be that I erred in my handling of the newly acquired felt cloth buffing wheel. Unknowingly, I got the stummel overheated, ditto for the shank extension.

It was extremely frustrating to say the least. Now I had option of either refilling the spots or “RUSTICATING” the stummel and the shank. To the readers, I would like to inform that during the process of filling and subsequent sanding of the stummel there were numerous, or countless I say, times when I had to spot fill small pockets and repeat the sanding of these small spots. I really had no desire to go that route as it would have literally meant starting from square one!! And it has already been nearly 25 days that I have been working on this pipe (and simultaneously on Dal’s pipe too with its own share of challenges!). I decided to go the path pointed by my mentor and rusticate the stummel. I messaged Steve about this decision and his first response was a terse “Good”!!! Before I could forward a message lamenting further about not having suitable tools, he sent me a link on rebornpipes.com about how to make rustication tool from a Philips screwdriver. From the speed and swiftness with which he forwarded the link, it appeared as if he had anticipated this. Here is the link and is a must read for all new exponents of this art. https://rebornpipes.com/2012/11/03/making-a-rustication-tool-out-of-a-phillips-screwdriver/

The article is worded very simple and articulate enough for anyone to follow and make a rustication tool for oneself.  Lucky for me, I had ordered a DIY rotary tool kit with complete accessories and this kit included all the tools that were essential to make myself a rustication tool. Shown below are a few pictures of the tools used and the completed rustication tool. With this, I geared myself for the first ever rustication of a pipe amidst a lot of trepidation. It was after a lot of effort that I had laid my hands on a pipe from this maker with this system, was meant to be a gift for someone I admire and as such did not want to ruin it. However, if you do not take a step further, you never progress and never learn and so I began the process of rusticating the bowl and shank.

I first wiped the stummel with a cotton pad and isopropyl alcohol to clean the surface and lighten the dark stain. The rim and about half an inch below the rim was in decent shape and I decided to maintain a smooth ring atop the rustication. Since I did not have a masking tape, I used a transparent tape to demarcate the area that I wanted to keep smooth that is the rim top and about half an inch below the rim outer edge. Similarly, I covered whatever little that remained of the stamping. This is a very essential step as I realized during rusticating that it is very easy to lose track and transgress over the areas and stampings which you wish to preserve. To rusticate, I firmly held the stummel in my left hand and with my right hand and began gouging out the briar. The technique is to firmly press the pointed four prongs of the modified Philips screwdriver in to the surface, rotate and pull out the removed chunk of briar. During the entire process, I kept sharing pictures of the progress that I was making, with Steve. As Steve suggested, I was pretty aggressive in my rustications. Once I had completed the rustications over the intended areas, I removed the transparent tape and cleaned the entire stummel with a soft bristled brass brush to remove all the debris from the rusticated surface. Here is how the stummel appeared after the cleaning process. I am happy with the way the stummel appears at this stage. I wanted to smooth out the jagged edges left behind by the screwdriver. I decided to scrub the entire stummel with a hardwired bristled circular brush mounted on my rotary tool. I hoped that this would thoroughly clean the rustications, smooth out the rough edges, and remove the chipped surface which could not be removed by the soft wired brass brush while adding a new dimension to the rusticated surface. Well, honestly I am not sure about the last aspect that I had hoped to achieve, but the other objectives we successfully achieved. I cleaned the smooth and rusticated surface with a cotton swab dipped in isopropyl alcohol to remove the sticky mark left behind by the tape and clean the rusticated surface in preparation for application of black stain. Once satisfied with the cleaning, I heated the stummel with my heat gun and applied a coat of black stain as described above. I set the stummel aside to set the stain in the surface. Once the stain had dried, I did observe a few spots that missed the application of the stain. However, I am not overly concerned with this, as these spots would eventually get stained when I apply the second coat of dark brown. Once the stain had set in well, I again warmed the stummel with my heat gun. This helps the stain to be absorbed and set further in to the briar. This heating also helps in reducing/preventing the stain from bleeding onto one’s hands while smoking or that is what I have read. I mounted a felt cloth buffing wheel on my rotary tool and gently buffed the entire stummel surface. Not wanting to repeat my previous mistake, I kept the speed of the rotary tool at its minimum. It took some time before I was finally able to remove the crust formed by the black stain. I wiped the stummel with a cotton swab and alcohol to remove any excess stain and followed it up sanding the raised rustication with a folded piece of 220 grit sand paper. This was followed up by carefully dry sanding of the entire stummel, especially the raised rustications with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads. This not only lightened and highlighted the rustications, but would also provide a smooth surface for the next coat of dark brown stain. I was contemplating either a cherry red or oxblood stain apart from the dark brown as suggested by Steve, for the next coat. Also the present look of the stummel was equally beautiful. So there I was, at cross roads for deciding stain or no stain for the second coat. I decided to go by Steve’s suggestion as he is more experienced and as also this was to be his pipe. Here is how the pipe appeared before I applied the second coat of dark brown stain. I buffed the stummel with a horse hair shoe brush to remove any sanding dust resulting from the micromesh sanding. I applied a small quantity of “Before and After” restoration balm to rehydrate and rejuvenate the briar and set it aside for some time. Thereafter, I buffed and cleaned the stummel with a microfiber cloth. I applied a second coat of dark brown stain over the stummel and the shank extension, going through the same method as described above and set them aside for the stain to set. However, in my exuberance to cross the finish line, which by the way was now within sight, I completely missed out on taking pictures of this stage. Once the stain was set, I wiped down the stummel with a cotton swab and alcohol to remove any excess stain and lighten it from the raised rustications. Mounting a felt cloth buffing wheel on my rotary tool, I went about removing the crust formed by the stain over the raised rustication. The second coat of brown stain has added another layer of texture to the appearance of the stummel and aluminum shank extension. I like the way the stummel now appears to the eye. Now, the fear that besieged me was the stain running down Steve’s hand as he smoked the pipe and I shared this anxiety with him. He suggested that I should set the stain by again heating the stummel surface with the heat gun and this is exactly what I did. Next, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel and setting the speed to ¼ of the full power, I applied a coat of carnauba wax over the stummel, aluminum shank extension and the stem. I worked the complete pipe to a beautiful and lustrous shine.I followed this wax polish by a mounting a clean cotton buffing wheel on the rotary tool and cleaned the stummel surface to remove any excess wax that had lodged itself in the rustications. The last issue that remains unaddressed is the thin chamber wall on the right side of the stummel. I had an option of either applying JB Weld or using plain bowl coating. I decided to go with the latter as, in my appreciation, this should suffice and also, in case my appreciation goes awry, I know Steve would apply JB Weld to make it functional again. Had this pipe been for anyone else, I would have applied JB Weld followed by a layer of bowl coat, just to be sure.Before re-assembling the pipe, I once again thoroughly cleaned the internals of the shank, aluminum shank extension and the stem airway with pipe cleaners and ear buds dipped in isopropyl alcohol. I also fixed the wooden gasket with superglue in to the stem end of the shank extension. I checked the draw to make sure that the airways in the shank, extension and stem are open. The draw is nice, smooth and open and somewhat similar to the draw experienced on a Peterson’s P-lip stem. I also applied a little Vaseline over the threads of the aluminum shank extension and the wood gasket to protect and keep it soft.To finish, I reassembled the complete pipe and gave it a final buff with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. This dude has come a long way from being on the verge of being discarded, to be my first ever attempt at rustication, to being my first gift to my Guru and mentor, Steve. I am pleased with the way this pipe has turned out and I sincerely hope that Steve likes it too. This pipe will soon be on its way to another part of the world, Vancouver, Canada to be precise, to be enjoyed and to serve my dear friend while he reminisces about his visit to me, Abha, Mudra and Pavni. I sincerely thank all the readers to have spared their valuable time in going through this long, and at times repetitive, write up. P.S. This project has been a great learning, with its fair share of frustrations and moments of euphoria, both of which are memorable to me. I enjoyed researching and understanding the working principle employed in this pipe. Any input and suggestions are always valuable to me and most appreciated as they help me grow and improve.

I Really Love the form and shape of Older C.P.F. Meerschaum Pipes

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Blog by Steve Laug

Not too long ago Jeff was contacted by a fellow who we have bought pipes from in the past. He has always been a good source of pipes for us and sold us some great pipes including a few C.P.F. pipes. He wrote to say that he had a few more pipes to sell and wondered if we were interested. He said that one of them was a small cased meerschaum pipe with a Redmanol stem. The pipe had been smoked and was worn but in otherwise good condition. The case had a stamp in the cover that read Warranted Genuine Meerschaum in and oval with a star. The shank had a silver band with the C.P.F. in an oval logo over Sterling. Jeff had him send us some photos of the pipe so we could have a look at it before making an offer. I have included a collage of those photos to give a general idea of what the pipe looked like and what attracted us to it. We made a deal – need you have doubted when you saw the C.P.F. oval logo on the Sterling shank band. We had the pipes shipped to Jeff in Idaho. When it arrived Jeff unpacked the pipe and did a quick examination of the pipe before he cleaned it up. He took photos of the case and the pipe. The logo on the inside of the case shows that it is a Meerschaum and warranted as such. The Star on the case is similar to others we have seen on C.P.F. pipes. The photos of the pipe in the case show the general external condition of the bowl. Jeff took the pipe out of the case and took a photo of the exterior of the pipe from above. It shows the cake in the bowl and the wear on the rim top as well as the slight darkening on the rim.Jeff took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to show the cake and the darkening in the meerschaum. He also took a photo of the underside of the bowl and though it is a bit out of focus it is nonetheless clear enough to show the general condition of the pipe. He took a photo of the stamping on the band showing the C.P.F. oval logo over the Sterling stamp. You can also see the chipping on the Redmanol stem next to the shank band. The alignment of the stem to the shank is perfect so that we can assume that the tenon is in very good condition.The next photos show the condition of the Redmanol stem. There is tooth chatter on both sides near the button and some chipping in the surface of the button.This afternoon I was going through one of the bags of pipes I brought back from Idaho with me on my last trip. It was the same group of pipes that had contained the unsmoked and smoked C.P.F. pipes. In the bag I found a small brown leather covered case. I had forgotten what was in it so I took it to my desk and opened it up. Inside the case was the small C.P.F. pipe that I had seen when I was visiting with Jeff. It was time for me to work on it.I took the pipe out of the case and examined it. Jeff had done his usual thorough work in cleaning up this pipe. He had reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to scrape out the cake. He scrubbed the exterior and interior with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime filth on the meerschaum. He cleaned the internals with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners until the inside was clean. The pipe looked very good and other than a little rim colouring was in excellent condition. The stem was in good shape other than the chips along the shank band and the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem that would need to be dealt with in the restoration. I took photos of the pipe before I started my part of the restoration work. I took a close up photo of the meerschaum rim top and bowl to show the condition of the meer bowl after Jeff had cleaned it. The finish looked really good and there was only a very little colouration on the rim top. The silver band looked really good and the C.P.F. Logo and the Sterling stamp were very readable. The photos of the Redmanol/Bakelite stem show its general condition. It was very clean but had some chipping on stem at the junction of the band and the stem. There were tooth marks on both sides on button edges. The bone tenon was in very good condition and just a little darkening.The next photo shows the stamping on the left side of the band. It is clear and readable. The stamping reads as noted above. The band is stamped with the C.P.F. in an oval logo over STERLING.I have included the following information with each of the blogs on C.P.F. pipes because I always want to keep the historical context in mind as I work on these. The link to the blog follows (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/04/14/some-reflection-on-the-historical-background-on-cpf-pipes/). I quote a pertinent part of the blog below:

From my reading and research it seems to me that C.P.F. brand was discontinued sometime in the 1910-1920 range. Again, turning to Bill Feuerbach I found that he notes the following, which pins down the time frame of the discontinuation of the brand more specifically, “I have a C.P.F. Chesterfield in our office display that has a nametag from way before my time that says 1900 C.P.F. Chesterfield. It looks like most other Chesterfields you’ve seen, including the military type push stem, except this stem is horn and not vulcanite. As far as I have gathered the C.P.F. brand was phased out sometime around 1915.” Interestingly, he noted that the Chesterfield name and style was later introduced in the KB&B, Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole lines. He says that the 1924 KB&B catalog shows KB&B Chesterfields…

… From my research I believe that we can definitively assert that the C.P.F. logo stands for Colossus Pipe Factory. The brand was purchased by KB&B sometime between 1884 and 1898 and that it continued until 1915. That time frame gives help in dating some of the older C.P.F. pipes you or I might find. It can be said that prior to the dual stamping it is fairly certain that the pipe is pre-1884 to 1898. After the dual stamping it can be placed post 1898 until the closure of the brand line in 1915. C.P.F. made beautiful pipes.

From that information I can tentatively date the pipe to the period prior to 1884-1898 when KB&B bought the brand because of the single C.P.F. stamp on the band. At any rate it is another old meerschaum pipe that is lightly smoked. The story of its journey to Jeff and me this long after the date it was made is another mystery. This is another of those pipes that makes me wish that it could share its story with us. I can only imagine the journey it has had even minimally from the bits that I do know. It traveled from the Colossal Pipe Factory in New York City to Florida and then on to Idaho Falls in journey that began in the 1880s and ended in 2019. Now it is has further traveled by air to Vancouver, Canada, as far west as it can go and remain on the same continent… what a well-traveled pipe. Armed with that information it was not time to work on the pipe.

I decided to begin with the stem damage at the junction of the band and stem. There was chipping in the Redmanol/Bakelite at that point that needed attention. The first photo below shows the chipping. I built up the edge with clear super glue. At the same time I filled in the tooth marks on the button with super glue. I set the stem aside to let the glue cure. I polished the meerschaum bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads and wiping the bowl down after each pad. The bowl began to take on a real shine after each set of pads. I set the bowl aside and went to work on the stem. The repairs had cured so I sanded them with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the surface of the repairs and blend them into the stem material – Bakelite or Redmanol. I polished it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper to smooth out the scratches and begin the polishing process.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil after the final sanding pad and set it aside to dry. By now if you have read rebornpipes for very long you will have figured out that I love these old C.P.F. pipes. There is some serious thought that they were carved by European trained craftsman who were skilled pipemakers. These pipemakers were brought to the US by the Colossal Pipe Factory to make pipes. Many of the shapes, bands and stems have such high quality workmanship involved that I really think there is truth to this story. This is little bent Meerschaum with a Redmanol/Bakelite stem is a real beauty.

I screwed the bowl back on the base and carefully polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel carefully avoiding the stamping on the shank. I gave the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand rubbed the bowl with some beeswax. 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The pipe really alive with the buffing. The rich contrasting white of the meerschaum on the bowl works well with the polished red of the 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: 3 3/4 inches, Height: 1 1/2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. This is another one that I will be adding to my collection. It fits in the C.P.F. niche group that I have been building. The shape and feel in the hand is perfect. Since this one is already well smoked it will be an easy pipe to load and fire up. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I restored and reworked this old bent meerschaum from 1884-1898. It is always a treat for me to work on a piece of pipe history especially when I have learned a bit of the story behind it.

Restoring another Schoenleber Hand Made – A 5 Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe in the queue is another pipe from the batch of pipes I am cleaning up for Alex – this one is another Schoenleber Hand Made – a straight shank Pot shaped pipe with some beautiful grain around the bowl and shank. The pipe does not appear to have been stained but sports the same look as the Malaga pipes that I have been working on. The carver did a great job utilizing the block of briar to maximize the grain. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Schoenleber over Hand Made. On the right side of the shank it is stamped Imported Briar. On the right side next to the bowl/shank junction there is a number 5 which is either a shape number or size designation. The taper stem is vulcanite and has no marking or stamping. This is another nice looking piece much like many of the pipes Alex is picking up. The bowl had a thick cake and lava flow and some darkening on the rim top. The exterior of the briar was dirty with grime and dust. The stem had deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The stem was oxidized and there was a thick coat of calcification on the stem for the first inch ahead of the button. The photos below give a glimpse of the pipe before clean up. I took a photo of the bowl and beveled rim top to capture the condition of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. There was significant darkening on the top of the inwardly beveled rim at the back of the bowl. The bowl had a thick cake that flowed over the rim top. The inner edge appeared to have some damage but the outer edge of the bowl appeared to be in excellent condition. The stem was in rough condition with deep tooth chatter and deep tooth marks on both sides of the stem near the button and on the button. I also took a photo of the right side of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photo below and is as noted above – Schoenleber over Hand Made. On the opposite side it reads Imported Briar. There is also a 5 at the shank/bowl junction on the right side. When I was working on the other Schoenleber pipes in Alex’s collection I had looked up information on the brand. I am quoting that information once again on the blog for this pipe. I quote the article in full (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Schoenleber).

Louis Schoenleber lived in North Arlington N.J. and was an Austrian immigrant and skilled artisan in pipe making. His hand carved pipes were available in his shop, ‘Schoenleber’s Newark Pipe Shop’, at 26 Branford Pl., Newark NJ, thought to open in the 1920’s. Schoenleber’s carried a full line of tobaccos as well as related pipe smoking accessories. It’s thought the shop operated until the late 1960’s, and Louis Schoenleber died in 1976. It’s also fairly certain they may have sold to other brands such as Jelling, also in Newark and are very similar in design and finish.

There was also an advertising card on the site that I have included below. It speaks to my assumptions about the curing process and the finishing process on the pipe. It also connects the pipe to Schoenleber’s Newark Pipe Shop in Newark, N.J. It also has a comment on the fact that pipes were made to order.I started the restoration by reaming the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and took the cake back to bare briar. I sanded the interior walls with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel.I scraped the rim top with the sharp edge of a pen knife to remove the thick lava coat. I sanded the remaining lava and darkening to the rim top rim with 220 and 400 grit sandpaper. I was able to remove the darkening and smooth out the rim top. I cleaned the mortise and the airway in both the shank and the stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I scrubbed the mortise and airway until it was very clean and the pipe cleaners and cotton swabs came out clean.I polished the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth pad after each pad to remove the sanding debris. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips 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. With the bowl finished I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I painted the tooth marks in the stem with a Bic lighter to try to raise the deep marks. I scraped the surface with a knife and removed the buildup of calcified spittle and oxidation. I sanded it with 220 grit sand paper and wiped down the tooth marks and chatter with a cotton swab and alcohol. I dried it off with a cotton swab. I filled in the remaining tooth marks with black super glue and set it aside to dry.Once the repairs cured, I used a needle file to file the button edge to redefine it and give it a sharp edge. I lightly filed the button top and bottom to give it a smoother definition. The filing made the sanding a bit simpler as it took the excess material down to the surface.I sanded the filed stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the filing marks on both sides of the stem. I am happy with the stem surface once that was done. I started the polishing of the surface with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth after each pad. I further polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it down with a coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With both parts of the pipe finished I put the pipe back together and polished the bowl and the stem 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich oil cured finish and the grain came alive with the buffing. The finish on the briar works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe is a well-proportioned, nicely grained ¼ straight Pot shaped pipe. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 1 1/2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/2 inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. This Schoenleber Hand Made 5 Pot will be going back to Alex soon to join his growing collection of American made pipes. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on another of Alex’s pipes.

Recommissioning a Sharp BBB Classic London England 106S Chimney

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Blog by Dal Stanton

This very classy looking BBB I acquired with the French Lot of 50 that I won on the French eBay auction block along with several other treasures that I’ve enjoyed restoring for new stewards benefiting our work here in Bulgaria with the Daughters of Bulgaria.  Along with a few other pipes commissioned by my friend in India, Paresh saw this BBB in the For “Pipe Dreamers” Only! collection and was interested in adding it to his BBB collection.  I’ve marked the BBB in the pile of pipes that I acquired.  I love looking at ‘pipe piles’ 😊.With the pipe now on my worktable here in Sofia, Bulgaria, I take more pictures to show what got Paresh’s attention.  In prototypical English style, the pipe is on diminutive side measuring, Length: 5 3/8 inches, Height: 1 7/8 inches, Rim width: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber width: 3/4 inches, and Chamber depth: 1 3/4 inches. The left side of the shank is stamped with the classic ‘BBB’ ensconced in the rhombus [over] ‘CLASSIC’.  The right side of the shank is stamped, ‘LONDON, ENGLAND’ [over] 106S – what I’m assuming is the BBB shape number designation.  The shape of the stummel I would label as a Chimney sporting a saddle stem.  In my research I could unearth no BBB Shapes Chart that corroborates my designation matching the 106S.I love the look and feel of this pipe and its distinctive brass rondel embedded on the topside of the stem placing this ‘Best British Briar’ Classic in the 1950s and 1960s.  Below is pictured the evolution of the BBB stem markings which is included in an extensive article on the History of BBB Pipes by Fiona Adler that Steve reposted in rebornpipes after translating from the original French.Pipephil provides a very brief description of ‘BBB’:

BBB: ” Best British Briar” is now a brand of the Cadogan Company (Oppenheimer group). American rights to use the brand name were sold to Wally Frank in 1980.
Founder of the brand in 1847: Louis Blumfeld. The oldest pipe brand name in the UK has been registered in 1876 (Blumfeld Best Briar)
Grading (ascendant): Own Make, Bold Grain, Best Make, Rare Grain

With the dating of this pipe giving it a 50s/60s vintage, I was hopeful to find the ‘Classic’ line in some of the catalogs that Steve acquired from Victor C. Naddeo who is the administrator of the FB Group, Pipe Club of Brasil. I enjoy it when catalogs are posted but unfortunately, I found neither the ‘Classic’ line mentioned or the shape number 106S in the 60s catalog (See: Best British Briar Catalog to see the whole posting).The Chimney stummel is in very good condition – the grain pattern shows great promise after the stummel is cleaned of normal dirt and grime buildup.  The chamber has a thick cake and the lava overflow matches the fact that this pipe was well smoked and served his steward well.  I will remove the cake to give the briar a fresh start and to inspect the chamber walls for heating problems.  The saddle stem has heavy oxidation but very little tooth chatter on the bit.  I’m looking forward to seeing how the very nice-looking BBB Classic Chimney cleans up.

I start by trying something that I haven’t tried before.  The oxidation in the stem is a lot and very deep.  My experience with Before & After Deoxidizer is that it is not able to remove very strong oxidation fully.  It can address some of the issue, but not thoroughly – in my experience.  I try to break up the oxidation by using a small felt buffing wheel mounted on the Dremel set to the lowest speed.  I start first with simply the felt wheel, but I’m concerned that it is too hot on the vulcanite.  I add paraffin oil to the mix.  I wet the felt wheel with the mineral oil and buff the stem trying to break up the oxidation in anticipation of putting the stem in the B&A Deoxidizer soak.After buffing, I wipe the stem down with a cloth and put it aside and allow it to dry.  After drying, the next two pictures show that the buffing did help, but there is still oxidation.I continue by cleaning the airway of the stem with a pipe cleaner wetted with isopropyl 95%.  Once clean, I add it to a bath of Before & After Deoxidizer with other pipes in the queue.  I’m hopeful that the Deoxidizer will now be more efficient after the aggressive buffing I did. After some hours in the Deoxidizer soak, I fish out the BBB saddle stem and after draining off the excess Deoxidizer, I use cotton pads wetted with isopropyl to wipe off the raised oxidation.  I also run a pipe cleaner wetted with alcohol to clean the airway of the fluid.  The pictures show improvement, but I’m not satisfied.Next, I employ Mr. Clean Magic Eraser to address the oxidation further.  I’m satisfied with the results – the vulcanite appears to be free of the oxidation.To rejuvenate the stem, I apply paraffin oil to the vulcanite with a cotton pad and put the stem aside to absorb and dry.  I’m pleased with the results.Turning now to the BBB stummel, I take a few pictures to show the heavy build up both in the chamber and the rim.  I use only the smallest of the Pipnet Reaming Kit’s blade heads to ream the carbon cake out of the chamber. This will give the briar a fresh start.  I transition to the Savinelli Fitsall Tool to do the fine tuning by scraping the chamber walls more, and then wrap 240 grade paper around a Sharpie Pen and sand the chamber to clean it further of carbon cake residue.  Finally, I wipe the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with alcohol to rid the chamber of carbon dust.  I take a final picture of the cleaned chamber and after inspection, I see know problems in the chamber with heating cracks or fissures. Turning now to the external briar cleaning, I use undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap with a cotton pad to scrub the surface.  I also work on the rim using my thumbnail to scrape the rim to remove the buildup and then with a brass wire brush.  I then take the stummel to the sink and using a bristled toothbrush I brush and further clean the surface under the warm water.  Using shank brushes and anti-oil dish liquid soap as well I clean the internals of the stummel rinsing with warm water.Next, using pipe cleaners and cotton buds wetted with isopropyl 95%, I continue the internal cleaning.  I also scrape the mortise walls with a small dental spoon.  This does a great job removing the thicker tars and oils that are hanging on.  After a time, the cotton buds begin to emerge cleaner.To continue the internal cleaning process, I use the kosher salt and alcohol soak.  To form a ‘wick’ to draw out the tars and oils, I twist and pull a cotton ball to form the wick.  A stiff wire helps to insert and push the wick into the mortise.  Then the bowl is filled with kosher salt, which leaves no aftertaste and freshens the bowl, and I set the stummel in an egg crate to keep it steady.  A large eyedropper is used to fill the chamber with isopropyl 95% until it surfaces over the salt.  After a few minutes, I top the alcohol off after it has absorbed into the internals. I set the stummel aside for it to soak through the night.  It’s late, I also turn out the lights! The next morning, the kosher salt and isopropyl 95% soak has done the job.  The wick and salt are soiled having drawn more tar and oils from the internal cavity.  I thump the expended salt into the waste and wipe the chamber with a paper towel as well as blow through the shank to remove expended salt crystals.  To make sure the internals are clean, I use a few more cotton buds dipped in isopropyl 95%.  As hoped and expected, they come out clean and I move on.With the cleaning complete, I turn my attention to the rim’s condition.  The cleaning did a great job removing the grime and lava over the rim, but the discoloration and skins and nicks on the edge of the rim remain.  I take a couple close-ups picturing both sides of the rim and nicking is evident.To address the rim condition, I bring out the chopping board and put 240 grade paper on it to serve as a topping board.  I top the stummel very lightly – just enough to clean the rim and allow me to erase the rim edge nicks with a simple, inconsequential beveling.After a few rotations on the board I take a picture.After a few more rotations, I’m satisfied with the 240 topping.  On the lower right of the rim you can see the remaining rim edge issues that I’ll rectify with a gentle beveling or sanding.To smooth the rim further, I exchange the 240 paper for 600 grade paper and go a few more rotations.Next, I introduce outer and inner edge bevels to erase the remaining damage and to give the Chimney’s top a smoother softer appearance.  I use 240 grade then 600 grade papers rolled to do the beveling.  I think it looks great.With the rim repair completed, I take the stummel through the full regimen of 9 micromesh pads.  First, I wet sand using pads 1500 to 2400 then dry sand using pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  I take a picture between each set of 3 pads to mark the change in the briar.  It amazes me how the grain emerges.  This BBB Classic’s grain is striking.  As I track the grain around the bowls, the horizontal grain gradually transitions to bird’s eye grain as the stummel position pivots.  There are no fills in the stummel that I can see – a beautifully crafted block of briar! Before returning to the stem to catch it up with the stummel, I’m anxious to apply Before & After Restoration Balm to this BBB Classic Chimney stummel.  I place some Balm on my fingers, and I work it into the briar thoroughly.  The Balm starts with a cream-like consistency but then thickens into more of a wax-like consistency.  I like the Balm because it seems to draw out the deeper tones of the briar – nothing earth shattering, but the subtle enhancement of the natural briar grain is what I like most.  After applying the Balm, I put the stummel aside for about 20 minutes before wiping off the excess and then buffing it up with a micromesh cloth.  The picture shows the Balm at work.Next, I turn back to the BBB saddle stem.  The tooth chatter is minimal, but the button has some compressions.  The skin of the stem is rough as well.I begin by refreshing the button lips using a flat needle file.  I also work on the bit with 240 grade paper sanding out the imperfections. The slot is also a bit out of shape.  I use a sharp needle file to file the edges to balance the slot.While sanding, I see a pit on the edge of the stem that I didn’t see before.  I try sanding it out, but soon realize is too deep.  I remedy the situation quickly using a spot-drop of regular CA glue on the pit after cleaning it with a cotton pad and alcohol.  I use an accelerator to quicken the curing process and then sand it with 240 grade paper. I then wet sand the entire stem with 600 grade paper and follow by applying 000 steel wool to the whole stem.  The next step is applying the regimen of micromesh pads to the stem starting by wet sanding using pads 1500 to 2400.  This is followed by dry sanding with pads 3200 to 4000 and 6000 to 12000.  Between each set of 3 pads a coat of Obsidian Oil is applied to further enrich and condition the vulcanite.  The freshly sanded pop of the vulcanite contrasted with the embedded BBB Rondel is great!  While trying to reunite the stem and the stummel before applying Blue Diamond compound, it becomes evident that the cleaning of the stummel has expanded the briar making the fit of the tenon in the mortise a bit too tight and forcing the issue could easily result in a cracked shank!  Nothing desired at this point.  To remedy this, utilizing a combination of filing the mortise with a half-circle needle file and sanding the tenon down by wrapping a piece of 240 grade paper around the tenon and rotating the paper does the trick.  The combination approach now allows the tenon fit to be snug but not too tight.With the BBB Classic stem and stummel reunited, after mounting a cotton cloth buffing wheel onto the Dremel, and setting the speed at about 40% full power, Blue Diamond compound is applied to the stem and stummel.After the application of Blue Diamond compound, I wipe the pipe with a felt cloth to remove the compound dust in preparation of applying the wax.  Then, after mounting another cotton cloth buffing wheel on the Dremel, and maintaining the speed at 40%, carnauba wax is applied to the stem and stummel.  The restoration is finished with a hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine.

I’m very pleased with results.  This BBB Classic London, England Chimney is a beautiful pipe.  The block of briar is exquisite, with no fills and a landscape of grain transformation as you track it around the bowl.  There is a striking tight patch of bird’s eye grain on the right flank of the bowl that holds the eyes.  As a 1950s/60s vintage BBB, even though the ‘Classic’ line could not be fully identified, there is little doubt as to the quality of this BBB Classic Chimney.  Paresh commissioned this pipe which benefits the Daughters of Bulgaria – women and girls who have been trafficked and sexually exploited and he will have the first opportunity to adopt this BBB from ThePipeSteward Store and bring it home.  Thanks for joining me!

New Life for a Rich Era Custombilt Carved Figural Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

I am not much of a figural pipe guy – whether meerschaum or briar. So I have left a lot of figurals behind on my hunts – bull pipes, horses, elk etc. So when I saw this one sitting in the display case, if you knew my predilection you would have expected me to leave it and walk away. But why didn’t I walk away? Well the answer is kind of complex. It truly has nothing to do with aesthetics because my dislike of figurals has not changed. But when I saw the stamping on the shank – Customobilt over Imported Briar and I saw the carved front of the bowl I knew I was dealing with a pipe that I had not seen before. In all the years that I have been hunting for pipes and restoring them I have never run across one of these. The “rarity” for me was the first thing that caught my eye. I knew nothing about the carver and to be honest I was not sure of the era of the pipe. I just thought, “Hmmm not seen that before” and grabbed it.

Here is what I saw with the pipe. The finish was dirty and oils and grime were deep in the rustication around the bowl. The carving on the front was dirty with dust in the crevices. The bowl had a thick cake and there was lava overflow on the back side of the rim top. There were some nicks and lava on the front portion as well. The finish had a bit of shine left to it, particularly on the shank – almost like a shellac or varnish coat. The stem did not fit all the way into the shank due to the tars and oils built up on the walls of the mortise. The stem was in good condition with just a few small tooth marks on the top and underside. It was dirty but not oxidized. I took some close up photos of the rim top, bowl and stem to show the condition of the pipe before I started the cleanup work. The bowl has a thick crumbly cake in it and the lava overflow is very thick. You can also see damage on the front inner edge of the bowl. The stem is not oxidized but is dirty and has some tooth marking on the top and underside near and on the button surface. The carving on the front of the bowl is very nicely done. It is a hunting dog with a duck in its mouth. The carving has enough detail to be interesting but is not over done.I also took a photo of left side of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photo below and is as noted above – Custombilt over Imported Briar. On the underside there is a small diamond at the shank/stem junction.I decided to pause and do a bit of research on the pipe to figure out when the figurals were carved and what era of Custombilt pipe making this one was made. It was a pretty simple project really as I have worked on quite a few over the years. I went first to a friend of mine from Holysmoke pipes from New York. He is a great resource on these 20th Century pipes. Here is what he said about the pipe:

During the Rich era, CB had a carved animal line. The diamond as well as other figures is one of the CB mysteries. Presumably, they were earlier pieces. Actually, the carved animal line was a bit cheaper in price than the regular CB line, costing in those days $7.50, while the regular ones were $10 or more. Most of these carvings were done by Hetzer Hartsock, who also did the super expensive special order carved ones. He was a famous carver in those days.

There was the lead I needed. A potential date and a name to check out. I turned to Pipedia to check out the stamping and confirm the era of manufacture (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Custom-Bilt). I quote from the pertinent section of the article.

In 1946, the name was changed to Custombilt after Mincer began an association with Eugene J. Rich, Inc. There were some big changes in advertising and distribution. The slogan “AS INDIVIDUAL AS A THUMBPRINT” began at this time as well.

This confirmed the information from Holysmokes Pipes and also gave me a starting date for the making of this pipe. It was made after 1946. Now it was time to get a read on the figural carvings. In the same article there was a great paragraph giving more information on Hetzer Hartsock.

A most interesting discussion in this chapter is the discussion of Hetzer Hartsock’s carved pipes, which included a special ‘Stalin/Roosevelt’ pipe. Hartsock also did carved heads and other figures. Carved head and other such pipes were very popular at the time. One 5 pipe set of Hartsock special carvings was “valued” at $5,000. Also during the Rich era, Custombilt had a carved animal line which were relatively inexpensive at $7.50 as compared to the regular line. There were also special orders available that cost up to $500.00. One wonders what difference could have caused such a radical change in price.

I am also including a few of the pipes that were shown as carved by Hartsock. They are unique and well carved. With that information in hand I was ready to start on this Hetzer Hartsock carved Custombilt Billiard. It is a hefty pipe and interesting to work on. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer to take the cake back to bare briar. I sanded it smooth with a piece of 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a dowel.I used the Savinelli Fitsall Knife and a sharp pen knife to scrape the thick lava coat off of the rim and try to assess the damage.I used a small folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the inner edge of the rim and work on the remnant of lava on the rim top. Finally to remove the remaining lava I topped the bowl very gently on a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper then polished it with some 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I scrubbed the rough briar with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. I worked it into the nooks and crannies – the crevices of the carving on the front of the bowl until the entire pipe had been scrubbed. I rinsed it under warm water and scrubbed as I removed the soap and the grime with it. I wiped down the spots of shiny varnish and white paint flecks on the briar with acetone on a cotton pad. At this point the bowl was looking pretty clean on the outside. With the externals cleaned and ready to work on further I took a break and cleaned out the interior. I scraped the inside of the mortise with a dental spatula to remove the tarry buildup on the walls. I scrubbed the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. With both the inside and outside clean it was time to move on to rubbing the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips and 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 and shoe brush to raise the shine. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. I set the bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. The stem still did not fit correctly against the shank. In examining the mortise it appeared that it had a slightly different taper than the nozzle end on the tenon. I had to sand the tenon down at the step down to make it fit tight against the end of the mortise. I filled in the tooth marks on the top side of the button and the tooth mark on the underside near the button with clear super glue. When the repairs had cured I recut the edge of the button with a needle file. I sanded the repaired areas with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface. I started polishing using 400 grit sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth after each pad. I further polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it down with a coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.  With both parts of the pipe finished I put the pipe back together. It really is an interesting old pipe carved around 1949 by Hetzer Hartsock. He did an amazing job capturing the dog holding the downed duck in its mouth ready to deliver it to the hunter. Very nicely done! I polished the stem and the majority of the briar (minus the carving) with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I carefully gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed the carved area with a shoe brush and the rest of the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich finish and the grain came alive with the buffing. The finish on the briar works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe is a well-proportioned, large billiard with the unique carving on the front. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 6 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/2 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. This Custombilt carved figural is staying with me for a little while so I can take in and enjoy the carving. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this piece of Custombilt history. 

Rebirthing another Schoenleber Hand Made – A Petite Straight Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe in the queue is another one from the batch of pipes I am cleaning up for Alex – this one is another Schoenleber Hand Made – a petite straight shank Apple with some beautiful grain around what appears to be an oil cured bowl and shank. The entire pipe has some beautiful birdseye, straight and flame grain around the bowl and shank. The pipe was filthy with overflowing lava but the grain peaked out under the grime. The carver did a great job utilizing the block of briar to maximize the grain. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank. It reads Schoenleber over Hand Made. On the right side next to the bowl/shank junction there is a number 3 which is either a shape number or size designation. The tapered stem is vulcanite and has no marking or stamping. This is another nice looking piece much like many of the pipes Alex is picking up. The bowl has a thin cake inside the bowl but the tars cover the thin rim top and run down the sides of the bowl. There some darkening on the rim top. The exterior of the briar was dirty with grime and dust. The oxidized vulcanite stem tooth marks and chatter on both sides near the button. The photos below tell the story and give a glimpse of the pipe before clean up. I took a photo of the bowl and rim to capture the condition of the pipe before I started my cleanup work. There was significant darkening and damage on the rim top and a thin cake in the bowl flowing over as lava on the thin top edge. The outer edge of the bowl appeared to be in good condition I would only be sure once I removed the lava. The stem was in decent condition under the thick oxidation and calcification on the surface. There was also some tooth chatter and tooth marks on both sides of the stem near the button. The button is also damaged by tooth marks.I also took a photo of left side of the shank to show the stamping. The stamping is readable in the photo below and is as noted above – Schoenleber over Hand Made. On the opposite side there is a 3 at the shank/bowl junction.I remember working on a Schoenleber pipe in the past and had a memory of the pipe being made for a shop in the New York area but could not remember much more than that. I quickly googled the brand to see what I could learn and found a link on Pipedia. Here is that link. I quote the article in full (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Schoenleber).

Louis Schoenleber lived in North Arlington N.J. and was an Austrian immigrant and skilled artisan in pipe making. His hand carved pipes were available in his shop, ‘Schoenleber’s Newark Pipe Shop’, at 26 Branford Pl., Newark NJ, thought to open in the 1920’s. Schoenleber’s carried a full line of tobaccos as well as related pipe smoking accessories. It’s thought the shop operated until the late 1960’s, and Louis Schoenleber died in 1976. It’s also fairly certain they may have sold to other brands such as Jelling, also in Newark and are very similar in design and finish.

There was also an advertising card on the site that I have included below. It speaks to my assumptions about the curing process and the finishing process on the pipe. It also connects the pipe to Schoenleber’s Newark Pipe Shop in Newark, N.J. It also has a comment on the fact that pipes were made to order.I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife to take the cake back to bare briar. The cake was thin but the lava over flow on the rim and down the bowl was heavy and dark. The rim top looked pitted and damaged. I sanded the internal walls of the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel.I lightly topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the damage to the rim top and smooth out the thick lava coat. It did not take too much sanding to remove the damaged briar. I still need to smooth out the inner edge of the rim but the bowl looks pretty good.The filthy exterior of this pipe was perfect for me to continue experimenting with a new product from Mark Hoover of Before & After Products. This one is a product he labels briar cleaner and it has the capacity of absorbing grime and dirt from the surface of briar. I rubbed the bowl down with some of his Briar Cleaner to see how it would work in this setting. In speaking to Mark he noted that the product is completely safe to use. The main product is even FDA approved edible. I rubbed it onto the bowl and rim top with my finger tips and worked it into the grime and grit on the bowl. I let it sit on the pipe for about 5 minutes before I rubbed it off with a microfibre cloth. I rinsed it under warm running water to remove the residue. I was pleasantly surprised by how clean the surface on the bowl looked when I was finished. The mortise and the airway in the shank was filthy. There was a thick build up of tar and oils on the inside of the shank. I scraped the shank walls with a thin bladed knife until the briar was bare. I scrubbed the walls of the mortise and the airway in the shank and stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol until they were clean.I turned to polishing the bowl and rim with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad to remove the sanding debris. My goal was to further remove the darkening on the both the rim top and the first half inch of the bowl. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips 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. Mark Hoover’s Balm is a product that I have come to appreciate and one I use on every pipe I have been working on. With the bowl finished I set it aside and turned my attention to the stem. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to remove as much of the oxidation as possible. I was also able to remove much of the damage to the surface of the stem on each side. There was a remaining tooth mark on the top and underside of the stem. The button surface also had some tooth marks. I forgot to take photos of the stem after sanding and before repairing. I wiped the stem surface down with a damp cloth and then filled in the tooth marks with clear super glue. I also rebuilt the top and underside of the button surface with clear super glue. Once the repairs cured, I sanded the filed stem surface with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into surface of the stem. I am happy with the stem surface once that was done. I started the polishing of the surface with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with a damp cloth after each pad. I further polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I wiped it down with a coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. With both parts of the pipe finished, I polished the bowl and the stem 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich finish and the grain came alive with the buffing. The finish on the briar works well with the polished black vulcanite stem. The finished pipe is a well-proportioned, nicely grained Classic Apple. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 1/2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. This Schoenleber Hand Made Classic Straight Apple will be going back to Alex soon to join his growing collection of American made pipes. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on another of Alex’s pipes.

Restoring a Dainelli Silver Lovat with a Horn Stem

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the work table was also in the bag with the C.P.F. pipes that I brought home from Idaho recently. This one is an interesting little Lovat. It is briar with a horn stem. The briar is in decent condition, just dirty from use and sitting. The stamping on the shank reads Dainelli over Silver. There is no other stamping on the shank. The bowl had been reamed previously by the seller but a thick coat was on the bottom of the bowl. The rim top was clean but was dried out. The grain was an interesting mix of straight, swirls, flame and birdseye. There were a few nicks in the briar on the sides of the bowl. The stem was horn and dried out. There was tooth chatter on both sides and a few deeper tooth marks just ahead of the button. The tenon on this one is aluminum and from my experience it is probably a pipe from the 40s war period. Horn stems made a reappearance during the vulcanite shortage in the war years. I took close-up photos of the bowl and rim top to capture the condition of the pipe when it arrived. The rim top look dried out but clean. The outer and inner edges of the rim look good but there are a few nicks in the outer edge. I took photos of the horn stem surface to show the oxidation and the chatter on both sides near the button. The tooth marks are visible next to the button on both sides.The next photo captures the stamping on the left side of the shank. It reads Dainelli over Silver. I took the stem off the shank and took a photo to show the metal tenon.This is the first pipe with this stamping that I have ever worked on. I am unfamiliar with the brand so some research was in order. I checked on Pipedia and Pipephil to see if there was any information on the brand. There was nothing listed on either site. I checked in “Who Made That Pipe” and once again came up empty. I turned to Lopes, “Pipes, Artisans and Trademarks and again the trail was dead. I broadened the search on Google to look for the brand and even associated it with pipe shops or tobacco companies and still there was not a link at all. It looked like I was not the only one who had never heard of the brand.

Given that information was not forthcoming I put a photo of the pipe on several Facebook Groups hoping someone might recognize the brand and give me a lead. I turned my attention to cleaning up the pipe. I wiped the bowl down with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the grime from the briar. It was not a bad looking pipe. I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and scraped the cake out of the bottom of the bowl. The buildup on the bottom was thick and heavy. The pointed end of the knife allowed me to remove the remaining cake. I sanded the bowl walls with a piece of dowel wrapped with 220 grit sandpaper.I scrubbed out the internals of the pipe with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. It was a very dirty shank and mortise. I have found that stems with metal tenons seem to draw moisture and tars around the shank walls. I cleaned out the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I used a cotton swab and alcohol to clean out the end of the tenon.I polished the bowl and rim top with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the sanding debris. After the final sanding pad I hand buffed it with a cotton cloth to raise a shine. I am still experimenting with Mark Hoover’s Briar Cleaner to see what I think of it as a possible replacement for my usual Murphy’s Oil Soap scrub. I rubbed it onto the briar, working it into the grain. I wiped it off with a clean cloth. There was still a residue from the cleaner left behind and no matter how I rubbed it off it was hard to remove. I ended up rinsing it with warm water to remove it and dried it with a microfiber cloth. I am still not sure if this is will replace Murphy’s for me. I am committed to working with it. I took photos of the pipe at this point in the process. I really like Mark Hoover’s Before & After Restoration Balm for its restorative properties with dry briar. I worked it into finish of this Lovat with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it as I usually do at this point in the process. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The Restoration Balm really makes the grain stands out beautifully. After rubbing it down I noticed some deep dings and nicks in the briar on the right side of the bowl near the rim. I filled them in with clear super glue. When the repairs had cured I sanded them out with 220 grit sandpaper, polished them with 400 grit sandpaper and 1500-2400 grit micromesh sanding pads. I stained the area on the bowl with a Walnut and Cherry stain pen. Once it had cured I polished it with a 3200 grit micromesh sanding pad. I was able to blend the repair into the rest of the bowl. I set the finished bowl aside and turned my attention to the stem. I filled in the tooth marks and the areas where the horn was dry and delaminating. I set the stem aside to let the glue dry.Once the repairs had cured I used a needle file to reshape the button edge and flatten out the repairs. I sanded the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth them out. I started the polishing with a folded piece of 400 grit sandpaper to smooth out the scratches. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wetsanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil after each pad. I polished it with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and gave it a final coat and set it aside to dry. I put the stem and bowl back together and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I polished the briar and the stem until there was a rich shine. This Dainelli Briar Lovat has a classic shape and a rich finish that highlights the grain around the bowl. Once I buffed the pipe the grain popped. The striated horn stem had a rich glow after polishing. The finished pipe is actually quite a beauty in my opinion. The shape does not quite match a British shaped Lovat and has almost a French look to it. It is a beautifully grained Lovat that fits well in the hand and sits right in the mouth. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 inches, Height: 1 1/2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 inch, Chamber diameter: 5/8 of an inch. If any of you have heard of the brand before let me know in the comments section below. I thank you ahead of time for any info you may give. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as it was a pleasure to work on.

Another Study in Opposites – Restoring an NOS unsmoked C.P.F. Stack

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Blog by Steve Laug

After the last batch of very clean pipes that I brought back from my trip to Idaho in a small bag of unsmoked C.P.F. pipes this is another pipe that was a big change. It was in rough shape with a split band, nicks and marks in the briar and a shattered stem. Other than the unsmoked condition of the bowl and base it was hurting. The bowl was a screw in briar bowl with a single airway in the bottom of the bowl like a calabash. It is dusty and dirty but the bowl was clean. The bowl exterior had been coated with a thick shiny coat of varnish and the base was varnished as well. It gave the pipe a spotty shiny look that had lasted through the years. The left side of the shank is stamped with gold leaf and reads Pullman over C.P.F. in the oval logo. There were deep gouges in the top of the shank and on the underside of the bowl. There is a brass/silver spacer between the bowl and the base. There was also a brass/silver ferrule on the shank end that was split, oxidized and also loose. The amber stem had was shattered was clean but epoxied in the remainder of the stem. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition at the start of the process. The next photo shows the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is clear and readable. The stamping reads as noted above. The band is loose and is stamped with the C.P.F. in an oval logo with the faux hallmarks that are on all of the metal banded C.P.F. pipes.I unscrewed the broken stem from the pipe and took photos of the parts – the briar base and bowl as well as all the adornments. The ferrule is split and will need work and the separator on the base is also oxidized and dirty. I have included the following information with each of the blogs on C.P.F. pipes because I always want to keep the historical context in mind as I work on these. The link to the blog follows (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/04/14/some-reflection-on-the-historical-background-on-cpf-pipes/). I quote a pertinent part of the blog below:

From my reading and research it seems to me that C.P.F. brand was discontinued sometime in the 1910-1920 range. Again, turning to Bill Feuerbach I found that he notes the following, which pins down the time frame of the discontinuation of the brand more specifically, “I have a C.P.F. Chesterfield in our office display that has a name tag from way before my time that says 1900 C.P.F. Chesterfield. It looks like most other Chesterfields you’ve seen, including the military type push stem, except this stem is horn and not vulcanite. As far as I have gathered the C.P.F. brand was phased out sometime around 1915.” Interestingly, he noted that the Chesterfield name and style was later introduced in the KB&B, Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole lines. He says that the 1924 KB&B catalog shows KB&B Chesterfields…

… From my research I believe that we can definitively assert that the C.P.F. logo stands for Colossus Pipe Factory. The brand was purchased by KB&B sometime between 1884 and 1898 and that it continued until 1915. That time frame gives help in dating some of the older C.P.F. pipes you or I might find. It can be said that prior to the dual stamping it is fairly certain that the pipe is pre-1884 to 1898. After the dual stamping it can be placed post 1898 until the closure of the brand line in 1915. C.P.F. made beautiful pipes.

From that information I can tentatively date this pipe to the same period as the other pipes I have been working on – prior to 1884-1898 because of the single C.P.F. stamp on the shank, ferrule and stem. At any rate it is another old pipe though this one is well smoked. The story of its journey to Jeff and me this long after the date it was made is another mystery. This batch of pipes has made me wish that even one of them could share its story with us. I can only imagine the journey it has had even minimally from the bits that I do know. It traveled from the Colossal Pipe Factory in New York City to Idaho Falls in journey that began in the 1880s and ended in 2019. Now it is has further traveled by air to Vancouver, Canada, as far west as it can go and remain on the same continent… what a well-traveled pipe. Armed with that information it was not time to work on the pipe.

I unscrewed the bowl from the briar base. I removed the loose ferrule and the loose spacer and cleaned the surface with alcohol on a cotton pad. I glued the spacer in place on the base with clear super glue. I filled in the nicks and divots on the top and underside of the shank with super glue. I sanded the repaired spots on the top and underside of the base with 220 grit sandpaper to blend the repairs into the briar. I spread some white glue on the shank end and pressed the ferrule in place. I held the break in the ferrule together until the glue set. I filled in the crack with clear super glue until it was smooth and set it aside to cure.  The internals were clean and a quick pipe cleaner and alcohol run through the shank and bowl to clean out the dust. I polished the brass ferrule on the shank end with Hagerty Tarnish Preventative Silver Polish to remove the tarnish and wear. I used it on the space between the bowl and base as well. You can see the effect of the polishing – the metal shone.I wiped the bowl and base down with isopropyl alcohol on a cotton pad to remove the varnish coat on both the bowl and the base. The briar looked very good. There was a fill in the back side of the bowl and a little one on the underside of the shank. I am continuing to experiment with Mark Hoover’s Briar Cleaner to see what I think of it as a possible replacement for my usual Murphy’s Oil Soap scrub. I rubbed it onto the briar bowl and base and worked it into the grain of the briar. I wiped it off with a clean cloth. There was still a coat of grime and grit from the cleaner left behind so I rinsed it with warm water to remove that and dried it with a microfiber cloth. I am really not sure if this is any better than the Murphy’s but I am committed to working with it. I rubbed the briar bowl and shank down with a coat of Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. The old briar was dry and it drank up the balm. I buffed the bowl with a soft cloth to raise a shine. I like how the pipe looks as this point in the process. I set the bowl aside and went through my can of stems and found a Bakelite stem with the same diameter and length as the original one. It had a push tenon that I would need to sand down a bit to get a good fit in the threaded shank. I tried to remove the bone tenon from the original stem but it was stuck and breaking the old stem would likely damage the tenon. I started working on the stem. I used a needle file to reduce the diameter of the tenon. I heated the stem with a heat gun until it was softened and then bent it to match the angle of the bowl and shank. I sanded out the small ripple marks from bending the stem using 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded out the scratches with 400 grit sandpaper. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry.   By now if you have read rebornpipes for very long you know that I love these old C.P.F. pipes. There is some serious thought that they were carved by European trained craftsman who were skilled pipemakers. These pipemakers were brought to the US by the Colossal Pipe Factory to make pipes. Many of the shapes, bands and stems have such high quality workmanship involved that I really think there is truth to this story. This little bent Briar Stack is a real beauty.

I screwed the bowl back on the base and carefully polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel carefully avoiding the stamping on the shank. 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The mixed grain on the base and shank really began to stand out; it seemed to take on life with the buffing. The rich contrasting brown stain on the base and bowl works well with new golden Bakelite 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: 5 1/4 inches, Height: 2 1/8 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. This is another one that I will be adding to my collection. It fits in the C.P.F. niche group that I have been building. The shape and feel in the hand is perfect. Since this one is another unsmoked pipe it too will be in line for a break in with some rich aged Virginia. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I restored and reworked this old Stack from 1884-1898. It is always a treat for me to work on a piece of pipe history especially when I have learned a bit of the story behind it.

A Study in Opposites – Restoring a Hard Used C.P.F. Briar Calabash

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Blog by Steve Laug

After the last batch of very clean pipes that I brought back from my trip to Idaho in a small bag of unsmoked C.P.F. pipes this pipe comes as a big change. It is the first of the smoked ones from that bag that I am working on. I have to say working on NOS time dusty pipes is a breeze and a pleasure in comparison to this dirty little calabash. The bowl is another screw in meerschaum cup that is almost tulip or funnel shaped. It is dirty and sports a thick cake in the bowl. It has some thick lava on the back side of the rim top and some darkening around the rim and in the bowl. There are no deep chips or nicks in the meer which is unusual in a pipe this age but the bowl is almost grey from use. The base is briar with a brass/metal between the bowl and base. The finish on the briar had a coat of varnish or possibly shellac over it so it had a spotty shiny look to it even under the dirt and grime of years. The left side of the shank is stamped with gold leaf and reads Belmore over C.P.F. in the oval logo. The right side of the shank reads French Briar. There is a brass/silver ferrule on the shank end that is oxidized and also loose. The vulcanite stem had some tooth chatter and light marks near the button. It was oxidized as well. The stem had lost some of its bend over time. The tenon has a chip out of it as well that will need to addressed. I took photos of the pipe to show its condition at the start of the process. I took a close up photo of the meerschaum rim top and bowl to show the condition of the meer bowl. It was heavily caked with lava overflow and darkening on the rim top. The airways are at the bottom of the bowl much like a gourd calabash though in this case there are three openings. The metal ferrule is oxidized and dirty. The photos of the vulcanite stem show its general condition. It was oxidized and dirty. There was tooth chatter and marks on both sides near the orifice button. The tenon had a chip on the topside that will need to be addressed.The next photo shows the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is clear and readable. The stamping reads as noted above. The band is loose and is stamped with the C.P.F. in an oval logo with the faux hallmarks that are on all of the metal banded C.P.F. pipes.I unscrewed the bowl from the pipe and took photos of the parts – the briar base and the meer bowl as well as all the adornments. It looks good on the inside. The threads in the base and on the meerschaum bowl are in good condition. I have included the following information with each of the blogs on C.P.F. pipes because I always want to keep the historical context in mind as I work on these. The link to the blog follows (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/04/14/some-reflection-on-the-historical-background-on-cpf-pipes/). I quote a pertinent part of the blog below:

From my reading and research it seems to me that CPF brand was discontinued sometime in the 1910-1920 range. Again, turning to Bill Feuerbach I found that he notes the following, which pins down the time frame of the discontinuation of the brand more specifically, “I have a CPF Chesterfield in our office display that has a name tag from way before my time that says 1900 CPF Chesterfield. It looks like most other Chesterfields you’ve seen, including the military type push stem, except this stem is horn and not vulcanite. As far as I have gathered the CPF brand was phased out sometime around 1915.” Interestingly, he noted that the Chesterfield name and style was later introduced in the KB&B, Kaywoodie and Yello-Bole lines. He says that the 1924 KB&B catalog shows KB&B Chesterfields…

… From my research I believe that we can definitively assert that the CPF logo stands for Colossus Pipe Factory. The brand was purchased by KB&B sometime between 1884 and 1898 and that it continued until 1915. That time frame gives help in dating some of the older CPF pipes you or I might find. It can be said that prior to the dual stamping it is fairly certain that the pipe is pre-1884 to 1898. After the dual stamping it can be placed post 1898 until the closure of the brand line in 1915. CPF made beautiful pipes.

From that information I can tentatively date the pipe to the period prior to 1884-1898 because of the single C.P.F. stamp on the shank, ferrule and stem. At any rate it is another old pipe though this one is well smoked. The story of its journey to Jeff and me this long after the date it was made is another mystery. This batch of pipes has made me wish that even one of them could share its story with us. I can only imagine the journey it has had even minimally from the bits that I do know. It traveled from the Colossal Pipe Factory in New York City to Idaho Falls in journey that began in the 1880s and ended in 2019. Now it is has further traveled by air to Vancouver, Canada, as far west as it can go and remain on the same continent… what a well-traveled pipe. Armed with that information it was not time to work on the pipe.

I decided to begin with the bowl. I unscrewed the bowl from the briar base. I carefully scraped the rim top to remove the lava build up. I finished it up with a 1500 grit micromesh pad. I reamed the bowl with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe knife to scrape away the cake on the walls. I wanted to avoid cracking or damaging the meer in any way so I chose this method. Once it was reamed, I sanded the internal walls with 220 sandpaper wrapped around a dowel until it was smooth. I wiped down the bowl with a damp cotton pad to remove the surface dirt. I cleaned out the sump area in the base with cotton swabs and alcohol. I worked on the airway in the bowl and shank and the mortise with alcohol, cotton swabs and pipe cleaners. I scrubbed until the airway was clean. I cleaned out the airway in the stem with pipe cleaners and alcohol. I am still experimenting with Mark Hoover’s Briar Cleaner to see what I think of it as a possible replacement for my usual Murphy’s Oil Soap scrub. I rubbed it onto the briar portion of the pipe and worked it into the grain of the briar. I wiped it off with a clean cloth. There was still a coat of grime and grit from the cleaner left behind so I rinsed it with warm water to remove that and dried it with a microfiber cloth. I am really not sure if this is any better than the Murphy’s but I am committed to working with it. I forgot to take photos of this point in the process.

I sanded the old glue and dirt off the shank and then I spread some Weldbond white glue on the shank end. I spread it evenly on the shank end with a tooth pick. I pressed the brass ferrule on the shank end and aligned it so that the C.P.F. oval logo and the faux hallmarks lined up with the stamping on the left side of the shank. I rubbed the briar bowl and shank down with a coat of Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar. The product works to clean, enliven and protect the briar. The old briar was dry and it drank up the balm. I buffed the bowl with a soft cloth to raise a shine. I like how the pipe looks as this point in the process. I glued the metal spacer on top of the base plate making sure all was aligned properly before I pressed them into place.I polished the meerschaum bowl with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the bowl down after each pad with a damp cloth to remove the dust. Each successive sanding pad brought more shine to the meerschaum. There was a scratch in the meerschaum on one side of the bowl about 1/3 up from the bottom of the bowl. It appears to look like a crack but it is not one. If I had continued to sand it I would have changed the profile of the bowl. I put the meerschaum cup back in the briar bowl and buffed it with microfiber cloth to raise a shine. The scratch at the front of the bowl is visible but it is still a beautiful pipe.I set the bowl aside and started working on the stem. I filled in the damaged area on the tenon on the top side with clear super glue. Once the repair cured I used a needle file to smooth out the repaired area. I smoothed out the tenon repair and sanded out the tooth chatter and marks with 220 grit sandpaper. I sanded out the scratches with 400 grit sandpaper. I wiped the stem down with Obsidian Oil.I heated the vulcanite stem over a candle until the rubber had softened and bent the stem to the proper angle to match the curve of the base.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-2400 grit pads and dry sanding it with 3200-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. By now if you have read rebornpipes for very long you know that I love these old C.P.F. pipes. There is some serious thought that they were carved by European trained craftsman who were skilled pipemakers. These pipemakers were brought to the US by the Colossal Pipe Factory to make pipes. Many of the shapes, bands and stems have such high quality workmanship involved that I really think there is truth to this story. This is little bent Meerschaum stacked Calabash is a real beauty.

I screwed the bowl back on the base and carefully polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel carefully avoiding the stamping on the shank. 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 pipe polished up pretty nicely. The grain on the base and shank really began to stand out; it seemed to take on life with the buffing. The rich contrasting brown stain on the bowl works well with the polished Meerschaum bowl that is also beginning to take on colour. The black vulcanite stem also provides contrast. 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: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 2 1/4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 3/8 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. This is another one that I will be adding to my collection. It fits in the C.P.F. niche group that I have been building. The shape and feel in the hand is perfect. Since this one is already well smoked it will be an easy pipe to load and fire up. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I restored and reworked this old meerschaum stack Calabash from 1884-1898. It is always a treat for me to work on a piece of pipe history especially when I have learned a bit of the story behind it.

Cleaning up an Unsmoked Gutta-percha Pistol Pipe with a Flawed Bowl

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Blog by Steve Laug

One of the great packages I brought back from my trip to Idaho was a small bag of C.P.F. pipes smoked and unsmoked. Some have horn stems; some have Gutta-percha bases and stems. I went through the bag and chose the next pipe I wanted to work on. It was an unsmoked Gutta-percha pistol pipe with a wooden bowl. I say wooden as it did not appear to be briar. There is no stamping on the barrel (shank) or on the body of the pistol. The maker is thus unknown. The shank had been snapped off and repaired – sloppily with what appears to be epoxy. There was a lot of residue left all over the barrel. The joint seemed solid and was pretty well aligned but would need to be sanded smooth and polished. The bowl was unsmoked but had a lot of dust and debris inside. It had a large flaw in the rim top extending down into the bowl from the rim to the bottom edge. There was a crack on the outside of the bowl at that point as well. A large flaw in the wood was in wood opposite the crack. The finish was a poorly varnished red over the flaws. The finished needed to go to make the repairs. I took photos of the pipe before I began my work. I took a close up photo of the rim top and bowl to show the condition of the unsmoked bowl as well as the flaw on the top. The flaw is very visible at the bottom of the photo and on the left side of the bowl. It was clean but dusty and grimy. The photos of the pistol shaped base show its general condition and the poor repair to the broken off barrel. There was a lot of dust and grime in the small casting features on the base. It still should clean up well.The next photo shows the details of the casting of the pistol. It is a well cast model that has great detail in the parts of the pistol. The grips and barrel as well as the cylinder in the middle are well cast (incidentally you can also see the repaired crack in the barrel).Because I was once again working with a Gutta-percha cast pipe I went back and read a previous blog that I had written to reacquaint myself with the material and the variety of cast products that were sold. I remembered that I had included a photo in the blog of a trio of pistols that this one reminded me of. Here is the link to the blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2017/12/08/59256/). I quote a pertinent part of the blog below:

That led me to do some research on the web to see what I could find out about the material. (Honestly, I don’t know what I would do without Google. I don’t know how I survived college and graduate school without it.) The first link I found and turned to was on Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gutta-percha). I quote large portions of that article below to set the base for understanding the material’s composition and origin.

Scientifically classified in 1843, it was found to be a useful natural thermoplastic. In 1851, 30,000 long cwt (1,500,000 kg) of Gutta-percha was imported into Britain. During the second half of the 19th century, Gutta-percha was used for myriad domestic and industrial purposes, and it became a household word. In particular, it was needed as insulation for underwater telegraph cables, which, according to author John Tully, led to unsustainable harvesting and a collapse of the supply.

According to Harvey Wickes Felter and John Uri Lloyd’s Endodontology: “Even long before Gutta-percha was introduced into the western world, it was used in a less processed form by the natives of the Malaysian archipelago for making knife handles, walking sticks and other purposes. The first European to discover this material was John Tradescant, who collected it in the Far East in 1656. He named this material “Mazer wood”. Dr. William Montgomerie, a medical officer in Indian service, introduced Gutta-percha into practical use in the West. He was the first to appreciate the potential of this material in medicine, and he was awarded the gold medal by the Royal Society of Arts, London in 1843.”

…In the mid-19th century, Gutta-percha was also used to make furniture, notably by the Gutta-Percha Company (established in 1847). Several of these ornate, revival-style pieces were shown at the 1851 Great Exhibition in Hyde Park, London. When hot it could be molded into furniture, decorations or utensils.

It was also used to make “mourning” jewelry, because it was dark in color and could be easily molded into beads or other shapes. Pistol hand grips and rifle shoulder pads were also made from Gutta-percha, since it was hard and durable, though it fell into disuse when plastics such as Bakelite became available. The material was adopted for other applications. The “guttie” golf ball (which had a solid Gutta-percha core) revolutionized the game. Gutta-percha remained an industrial staple well into the 20th Century, when it was gradually replaced with superior (generally synthetic) materials, though a similar and cheaper natural material called balatá is often used in Gutta-percha’s place. The two materials are almost identical, and balatá is often called Gutta-balatá.

When I reread the blog I found the photo that I had remembered with three pistol pipes with wooden bowls and Gutta-percha bases. I include copy of that photo below. The one that I have is very similar to these with the expected variations.From that information I can give a potential date for the pipe as having been made in the late 19th to early 20th century – the period when Gutta-percha was in vogue. During that period many items were cast of the material because it could easily be cast with detail and because of its durability. For me the interesting fact is the old pipe remained unsmoked for this long. That may well be the result of the flaw in the bowl and the desire to not make it worse. The story of its journey to Jeff and me this long after the date it was made is another mystery. This is one of those times that I wish an old pipe could speak and share the story of its journey. What a well-traveled pipe and one that I will never really know the story about the nature of the journey. Armed with that information it was now time to work on the pipe.

I decided to begin with the bowl. I took it off the base so that I could address the horrible finish and then work on the flaws in the wood. I took a photo of the crack on the outside of the bowl and the flaw on the top and inside. I also took a photo of the pipe taken apart before beginning my restoration. I started the clean up on bowl with working to remove the varnish or shellac coat. I wiped it down with acetone on a cotton pad to break down the shiny top coat and had very minimal success. I would need to resort to more intrusive measure to truly remove the finish. I topped the bowl on a topping board with 220 grit sand paper to break through the thick shiny coat on the rim top. I sanded the bowl with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the thick shiny coat and get down to the wood. I repeatedly washed the bowl down with acetone on a cotton pad during the sanding process to see how it was progressing. It was clearly not a piece of briar that I was working on so I wanted to be sure to clean it off before restaining. I examined the crack on the outside of the bowl and it appeared to actually be a grain line. I examined it with a lens to double check. There was a small hairline crack for the first ¼ inch from the rim top. I ran a bead of clear super glue down the line and let it seep into the crack. I held it tight until the glue set. For the flaw on the inside of the bowl I filled it in with clear super glue and briar dust to rebuild the damaged area of the wall.Once the repair had cured I sanded the inside and outside of the bowl smooth again with 220 grit sandpaper and polished it with 400 grit wet dry sandpaper. I polished it with 1500-4000 grit micromesh sanding pads to remove the scratches. All of this was done in preparation for the first coat of stain. I had decided to stain it with a base coat of Fiebing’s Tan stain as it has a red tint to it. I applied the stain, flamed it and repeated the process until I was happy with the coverage. I generally put a cork in the bowl which allows me to manipulate the bowl and a candle stand to let the stain cure. I took pictures of the bowl after the stain had cured overnight. I noted that the inner edge of the rim needed a bit more work before the next stain coat that I had chosen. I filled it in with more super glue and briar dust until the edge was filled in. I sanded it and the spot on the rim top smooth. I decided to use a Mahogany stain pen for the next coat. Because the grain was vertical I stain the bowl vertically with the pen. The next photos show the bowl after the stain coat has been applied. I lightly, cautiously buffed the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave it a coat of carnauba wax and buffed it with  a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I took the following photos after that. There is a bit more polishing to go but you can see where I am heading with the stain coat.I set the bowl aside at this point and went to work on the base and “barrel”. Because of all the nooks and crannies in the casting it was very dusty and dirty. I scrubbed the base with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to get the debris and dust out of the crevices and valleys. I rinsed it under warm water and ran a pipe cleaner through the airway. The pipe looked really god at this point and it was ready from the next step of sanding the “barrel”. Now that the grime was cleaned off it was time to address the sloppy repair on the cracked “barrel” and clean up the excess glue around the repair. I sanded the “barrel” with 220 grit sandpaper to remove the excess glue that was around the repaired area of the broken shank. I sanded the “barrel” and the mouthpiece end to remove not only the glue but also the casting marks that were left behind from when the pipe was made. I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding it with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I finished the polishing with Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. Over the last few years I have come to appreciate the workmanship that went into creating the molds for these Gutta-percha pipe bases. The combination of design and skill that went into the molds is reflected in the cast Gutta-percha pipe bases. The creativity exceeds even the most ornately carved clay in terms of the minute detail that can be cast into the Gutta-percha material. I have yet to find as much care going into the pipe bowls as I have seen them made from a variety of woods and showing less craftsmanship in shaping or finishing them. Almost all of the ones I have worked on used a dark stain that hides the grain and a heavy varnish coat that covers a multitude of flaws. Nevertheless, these pipes have endured for over 125 years and look much like they did when they were made – at least underneath the grime and grit of use and time. This little revolver really captures the look and feel of a pistol in the details of the casting. Though this one was unsmoked (in part due to the flaws in the bowl) even the smoked ones that I have seen have lasted a long time.

I finished my restoration and put the base and bowl back together and gently polished with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to raise the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The contrast between the newly stained wooden bowl and the dark Gutta-percha base looks really good. 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: 5 1/2 inches, Height: 2 3/4 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 1/4 inches, Chamber diameter: 3/4 of an inch. This one will be joining my collection as it fits in the American Made Pipe niche group that I have been building. The shape and feel in the hand is perfect. Now I have to make a hard decision – do I leave it unsmoked or do I load it up with some aged Virginia and break it in. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I restored and reworked this old Gutta-percha Pistol Pipe from late 19th Century. It is always a treat for me to work on a piece of pipe history especially when I have learned a bit of the story behind it.