Tag Archives: Stem repairs

New Life for a 1961 Dunhill Shell Briar 252 Billiard 4S

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a sandblast Dunhill Billiard. It had a taper, vulcanite stem with a white spot. We purchased it from a seller in Copenhagen, Denmark 02/02/2024. The pipe is stamped on the heel of the bowl and on the underside of the shank. On the heel of the bowl it is stamped with the shape number 252. That is followed with stamping on the shank Dunhill [over] Shell Briar. That is followed by Made in [over] England1. There is a 4 in a circle and an S which speak of the size of the pipe being a Group 4 and the finish S a Shell Briar. The rim has a thick lava coat filling in the sandblast. It is from the overflowing cake in the bowl. It is hard to assess the condition of the inner edge of the rim due to the cake and lava overflow. There were oils and grime ground into the bowl sides gives the finish a flat look. There is a deep sandblast showing through the grime. The vulcanite stem is oxidized, calcified, and dirty with grime and grit on the surface. There were scratches and some deep tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava coat overflowing onto the top. It is another dirty pipe. He also took photos to capture the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the rugged sandblast around the bowl and the amount of grime ground into the surface of the briar. He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint in spots but still readable as noted above. I wanted to unpack the Dunhill stamping on the shank and work to understand each element of the stamp. I generally use the Pipephil site to gather as much initial information as possible (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/shell-briar1.html). The stamping is interpreted as follows: The number 252 is the shape number for a taper stem Billiard. The Shell Briar stamp refers to the finish. The superscript 1 following the D of England would give the date the pipe. The 4S is the size of the pipe and the finish. The photo below is of the stamping on a Don shape but the stamping is similar on this one.Pipephil also has some helpful dating keys on the site that are basically flow charts that you can walk through to date your pipe (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1.html). I turned to Part 1 of the Dating Key and followed the chart. This pipe has a superscript 30 following the D in England. There was no patent number so that took me to the section on the chart below (column one) which instructed me that the pipe could be dated as being made “posterior to 1954”. I followed the link under “Your pipe is posterior to 1954. Narrow down your dating”. That took me to Page 2 of the dating key (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/dunhill/cledat-en1a.html). The second column (suffix 1…4) or (11…39) led me to the section with a 1 after the D in England. There was a directive for dating the pipe spelled out as follows: 1960 + suffix 1 which gives the pipe a date of 1961.I then turned to Pipedia’s section on Dunhill Shell Briar to get a bit of background on the Dunhill finishes (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Dunhill#Root_Briar). I quote:

Shell

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

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

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

I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done an amazing cleanup of the pipe. He reamed the light cake with a PipNet reamer and cleaned up that with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. He scrubbed the internals of the bowl and stem with alcohol, cotton swabs,pipe cleaners and shank brushes. He scrubbed the externals with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and rinsed the bowl off with running water. He soaked the stem in Briarville’s Pipe stem Deoxidizer and once it had soaked rinsed it off with warm water to remove the residual solution. He dried it off and rubbed it down to remove any oxidation that was still on the stem. The pipe looked very good when I received it. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. It looks pretty good with the tars and oils removed from the rim top. The inner edge of the bowl was slightly damaged and out of round. The bowl itself was very clean. The stem came out looking quite good with deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides ahead of the button. I took a photo of the underside of the shank to show the stamping. The photo shows the stamping and is actually more readable in person. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with. It is a nice looking pipe.I sanded the inside of the rim top with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the damage to the edge. I stained the sanded edge with a Walnut stain pen to blend it into the surrounding briar surface. It looked much better. I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the sandblast finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned to address the stem issues. I “painted” the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter. I was able to lift the marks on the stem top leaving light marks but the ones on the bottom side were much deeper and the flame lifted them slightly but they still remained. I filled in the marks that remained with clear CA glue. Once the repair cured I flattened the repair with a small file. It looked much better. I cleaned up the repairs with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. I was able to flatten them and blend them in very well with the surface of the vulcanite. I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. By the final 3500 grit sanding pad the rim top had a shine.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. This 1961 Dunhill Shell Briar 252 Billiard Vulcanite taper stem has a beautiful, unique Dunhill Sandblast finish that is very deep and craggy. The Shell Briar mixed brown finish highlights some great grain around the bowl and shank. It has a unique sandblast that Dunhill specialized in making. The polished vulcanite taper stem adds to the mix. I put the stem back on the bowl and buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel being careful to not buff the stamping. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel and followed that by buffing it with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Dunhill Shell Briar 252 Billiard is quite nice and feels great in the hand. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.23 ounces/.35 grams. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the English Pipe Makers Section. Thanks for your time.

Restoring a Nicely Grained Churchill 999 Imported Briar Pot

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last week I received a text from Robert about restoring three pipes his brother had found in Eastern New York. There were two Kaywoodies and a Churchill. The Kaywoodies included a small apple stamped Campus and an octagonal pipe stamped Kaywoodie Standard. The Churchill was a 999 Pot shaped pipe. He sent along two photos of the pipes. You can see the condition of the three pipes. They are dirty and worn. The last pipe in the photo, the Campus has what appears to be a broken shank and a potential repair. It looks to be poorly done. Robert said that he was fairly certain that the stem was glued onto the shank with the repair. On Saturday he brought the pipes by for me to look at. I now had three more pipes to clean up and repair. The Churchill 999 Pot and the Kaywoodie Standard Oxagonal 44 Apple were dirty but were in good repair. I had finished the little KW Campus repair and the pipe looked good (https://rebornpipes.com/2024/04/21/repairing-and-restoring-a-kaywoodie-campus-apple/). I also cleaned up the second Kaywoodie, the Octagonal Apple and it looked good. Here is the link to that blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2024/04/22/restoring-a-kaywoodie-standard-octagonal-44-apple/). There was a moderate cake in the bowl with tobacco debris. There was a coat of lava on the rim top that was quite thick and the inner edge showed some damage. The outer edge looked very good. The finish was dirty but otherwise showed some nice grain underneath. The stamping on the pipe is very simple. On the left side of the shank it is stamped Churchill’s arched over 999 with Imported Briar underneath. The stem was very oxidized and there was light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button. The stem was also plugged with tars and debris in the slot and airway was narrowed down.

I have worked on several Churchill pipes over the years and have done research on the brand when I worked on them. Here is a link to one of them that I had worked on. Here is the link to the blog (https://rebornpipes.com/2013/09/08/churchills-bent-pot/). I am including that information below.I am fairly certain that the pipe came from Churchill’s Tobacco Shop in Norwich, England. I found the following information on the Pipes and Logos website http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c4.html On the site there is a small paragraph which I have copied as follows: “Churchill’s Tobacco shop is situated in St Andrew’s Street at the corner of Bridewell Alley in Norwich, England. The shop was next to a church and at the bottom of two hills, and that’s how it became “Churchill’s”. Former manager: John Elvin (retired on May, 31 2008). Current owner (2008): Keith Garrard.” I have included these pictures from that website as they show the stamping on both the shank and stem that is identical to the pipe that I have just refurbished.According to the Churchill’s website it is the last remaining specialist tobacconist in Norwich, originally standing at 32 St Andrews Street for over 23 years. http://www.churchillsofnorwich.com/index.php?_a=viewDoc&docId=1 The site also notifies the shop’s clients that Keith Garrard, who had a wealth of knowledge and was an avid pipe and cigar smoker himself, passed away on 23rd March 2012. His wife Coral continues to maintain the business in his honour.

I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable. I wanted to show the general condition of the pipe before I started my work on it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The rim top appears to be good under the lava. The stem is dirty and heavily oxidized as noted and light tooth marks are on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show the condition of both more closely. The rim top and the inner and outer edges of the bowl heavily cake in lava and you can see the marks on the inner bowl edge. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the oxidation and the light tooth marks on the stem surface. I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank and it is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. I removed the stem for the shank and took a photo of the bowl and stem to give a picture of what it looked like. Now it is time to clean up the pipe. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and the second cutting head. It cleaned up most of the cake. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and cleaned up the remaining cake leaving bare briar. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grip sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I smoothed out the bowl walls and they looked very good. There was no heat damage or checking on the walls. I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It works exceptionally well to remove unwanted oils from the briar and also the grime on the rim and the bowl sides. I rinsed it in warm water while scrubbing with the tooth brush. The pipe looks very good at this point. The rim top is clean enough to know the condition it is in and what I need to do to deal with it. There are scratches and nicks on the rim top and they are very visible now that the lava has been removed. I scrubbed out the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol.
I gently topped the bowl to remove the damage on the rim top and to minimize it on the rear edge where the most damage was. I used a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper.There was some damage and wear on the front outer edge of the bowl. Built it up with CA glue and briar dust to fill in the damage. I smoothed out the damage with 220 grit sandpaper and reshaped it to follow the flow of the bowl. I sanded it further with 320 grit sandpaper to smooth out the repair. It really started to look very good.I touched up the stain on the rim top and on the front of the bowl with a Walnut stain pen. It is a little streaky at this point. It will work better when I finish the sanding and polishing of the rim and bowl.I sanded the bowl and rim top to clean up the damage and repairs to the edge and start the polishing of the bowl. I used 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. It really began to take on a shine. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris on the surface. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it 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 and shoe brush to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to address the stem issues. I scrubbed the stem oxidation with Soft Scrub and cotton pads. I was able to remove the majority of the oxidation. Then, I sanded it with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better at this point. To remove the remnants of oxidation from the vulcanite I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. By the final 3500 grit sanding pad the rim top had a shine.The stem was in good condition so I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Churchill 999 Imported Briar Pot cleaned up really well and looks very good. The Before & After Restoration Balm brought the colours and grain out in the smooth finish on the pipe. It works well with the polished vulcanite taper stem. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel using a light touch on the briar. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Churchill 999 Pot fits nicely in the hand and I think it will feel great as it heats up with a good tobacco. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¼ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.13 ounces/32 grams. I know Robert is going to enjoy this last pipe of the three once I return them to him. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

Restoring a Kaywoodie Standard Octagonal 44 Apple

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Blog by Steve Laug

Last week I received a text from Robert about restoring three pipes his brother had found in Eastern New York. There were two Kaywoodies and a Churchill. The Kaywoodies included a small apple stamped Campus and an octagonal pipe stamped Kaywoodie Standard. The Churchill 999 Pot shaped pipe. He sent along two photos of the pipes. You can see the condition of the three pipes. They are dirty and worn. The last pipe in the photo, the Campus has what appears to be a broken shank and a potential repair. It looks to be poorly done. Robert said that he was fairly certain that the stem was glued onto the shank with the repair. On Saturday he brought the pipes by for me to look at. I now had three more pipes to clean up and repair. The Churchill 999 Pot and the Kaywoodie Standard Oxagonal 44 Apple were dirty but were in good repair. I had finished the little KW Campus repair and the pipe looked good (https://rebornpipes.com/2024/04/21/repairing-and-restoring-a-kaywoodie-campus-apple/). I looked second Kaywoodie, the Octagonal Apple over carefully and this is what I saw. There was a thick cake in the bowl with tobacco debris. There was a coat of lava on the rim top that was quite thick but the inner edge looked very good. The outer edge had some damage on the back side above the shank bowl union. The finish was dirty but otherwise showed some nice grain underneath. The stem was dirty with light tooth chatter on both sides ahead of the button.

Dal had worked on a Kaywoodie Standard, but shape 33 and done a fair bit of research on the pipe (https://rebornpipes.com/2020/03/23/new-life-for-a-kaywoodie-standard-apple-for-a-special-pipe-woman/). I have included the link above if you would like to read it. I have copied the pertinent portion on the 2 digit shape numbers and dating of the pipe below.

The next picture in this set shows the Kaywoodie shape number ‘33’ on the right flank of the shank which points to the designation of a ‘Large Apple’ from the US production of Kaywoodie pipes (LINK).  According to this discussion on Tapatalk.com, the 2-digit system, employed from 1927 to 1972 when the system was changed to a 3-digit system, was when pipe production (for Kaywoodie, Yello-Bole and Medico) was moved to the Medico factory in Richmond Hill Queens NY as plans for new plant were in process.  The 3-digit numbers was used during this period for all Kaywoodie and Medico pipes, from 1972 to 1980.  The same article indicated that the 2-digit numbers were only for Kaywoodies produced in the US – that Kaywoodie of London (Cadogan) had their own three-digit system.  Putting all the information together, this Kaywoodie Apple is most likely a 1960s vintage.  According to the Kaywoodie Discussion at MyFreeForum the ‘Standard’ line of Kaywoodie started in the 1950s, but with the 2 digit shape number and the 3 hole stinger, the evidence points to the 1960s dating.

I included a portion of the shape number chart from Pipedia and the link to the chart as well (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kaywoodie_Shape_Numbers). I did a screen capture of the section with the shape 44 number. It is interesting in that the shape was available for only a few years – 1965 to 1970. That helps narrow down the date on the pipe I am working on. It also identifies it as an Octagon Apple.I also have included a portion of a chart with the pipe line names and the approximate date of manufacture below (https://pipedia.org/images/3/3d/Kaywoodie_Pipe_Names.pdf). It identifies the date of the Standard line production between 1950 and the present.I learned that the line was introduced in 1950 and the specific shape I had in hand was made between 1965 and 1970. The tenon/stinger was a typical Drinkless type and was threaded to screw into the fitment in the shank. From that I knew that I was working on an older pipe.

I took photos of the pipe when I brought it to the worktable. I wanted to show the general condition of the pipe before I started my work on it. You can see the cake in the bowl and the lava on the rim top. The damage on the back edge of the rim top is also visible. The stem is dirty and lightly oxidized as noted and light tooth marks are on the top and underside ahead of the button. I took some close up photos of the rim top and the stem surface. I wanted to show the condition of both more closely. The rim top and the inner and outer edges of the bowl heavily cake in lava and you can see the marks on the back outer edge. I also took close up photos of the stem to show the general dullness of the stem and the light tooth marks on the stem surface. I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank and it is clear and readable. It is stamped as noted above. The right side has the shape number but it is almost filled in with dirt. It is still readable but I could not capture it in a photo. I removed the stem for the shank and took a photo of the bowl and stem to give a picture of what it looked like.Now it is time to clean up the pipe. I reamed the bowl with a PipNet pipe reamer and the second cutting head. It cleaned up most of the cake. I used a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife and cleaned up the remaining cake leaving bare briar. I sanded the bowl walls with 220 grip sandpaper wrapped around a piece of dowel. I smoothed out the bowl walls and they looked very good. There was no heat damage or checking on the walls. I scrubbed out the shank and the stem with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol. I cleaned up the stinger with pipe cleaners, cotton pads and alcohol.I scrubbed the exterior of the bowl and shank with a tooth brush and undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap. It works exceptionally well to remove unwanted oils from the briar and also the grime on the rim and the bowl sides. I rinsed it in warm water while scrubbing with the tooth brush. The pipe looks very good at this point. The rim top is clean enough to know the condition it is in and what I need to do to deal with it. I gently topped the bowl to remove the damage on the rim top and to minimize it on the rear edge where the most damage was. I used a topping board and 220 grit sandpaper.I repaired the outer edge of the rim at the back with clear CA glue and briar dust. I sanded it smooth with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to start blending the repair into the rest of the briar. It was smooth to touch and did not stand out as a dark repair.I sanded the bowl and rim top to clean up the damage and repairs to the edge using 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. It really began to take on a shine. I polished the briar with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth to remove the sanding debris on the surface. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it 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 and shoe brush to raise the shine. I set the bowl aside and turned to address the stem issues. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter. I filled in the deep tooth marks with black CA glue. Once it cured I sanded it flat to the stem surface with a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper. It looked much better at this point. To blend the repairs into the surface of the vulcanite I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. By the final 3500 grit sanding pad the rim top had a shine. The stem was in good condition so I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I gave it a final coat of Obsidian Oil and set it aside to dry. This Kaywoodie Standard Imported Briar 44 Octagonal Apple cleaned up really well and looks very good. The Before & After Restoration Balm brought the colours and grain out in the smooth finish on the pipe. It works well with the polished oval vulcanite taper stem. I put the stem back on the bowl and carefully buffed the pipe with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax on the buffing wheel. I followed that by buffing the entire pipe with a clean buffing pad. I hand buffed the pipe with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The finished Kaywoodie Standard 44 Octagonal Apple fits nicely in the hand and I think it will feel great as it heats up with a good tobacco. Give the finished pipe a look in the photos below. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.34 ounces/38 grams. I know Robert is going to enjoy this second pipe of the three once I return it to him with the other pipes he dropped off. Thanks for reading this blog and my reflections on the pipe while I worked on it.

New Life for a Pipe Pub France 1985 297/350 Bent Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a great looking Bent Billiard with great grain around the bowl. It has a well shaped vulcanite taper stem. We purchased it from an estate sale in Spring Branch. Texas, USA on 02/29/2024. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads 1985 [over] 297/350 setting this pipe aside as #297 out of 350 Pipes made in 1985. On the right side it is stamped Pipe Club (separated by a pipe) [over] France. There was a thick cake in the bowl and some darkening and lava on the inner edge of the bowl and some spots of lava on the rim top. It was hard to know for certain the condition of the inner edge though it appeared to be in good condition. There were oils and grime ground into the bowl sides gives the finish a flat look though there is some great grain. The shank has a slight curve to it giving the pipe a Bent Billiard shape. The taper stem matches the curves of the bowl and shank. It has what looks like a pair of bands on the end of the stem – green acrylic and brass. The vulcanite stem is a dirty with some calcification, oxidation, grime, grit on the surface and also light tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl, the darkening on the inner edge and the spotty lava coat overflowing onto the top. It is another dirty pipe. He also took photos of the stem to capture the oxidation, calcification and the light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the rich grain around the bowl and the amount of grime ground into the surface of the briar.   He took photos of the stamping on the sided of the shank. It is clear and quite readable. It reads as noted above. He also took a photo of the twin bands on the stem end – the brass and green acrylic band. I remembered that Dal had worked on a Pipe Pub pipe so did a quick search of my site and found the blog (https://rebornpipes.com/tag/pipe-pub-pipes/) that I remembered that Dal had written on the brand. What was fascinating was a conversation that he and I had via email that led him to some helpful information. I quote the majority of his research section from the blog below:

To learn more about the provenance of the Pipe Pub name I started my search in my regular go to sites – Pipedia.com and Pipephil.eu and came up with absolutely nothing.  I broadened my search on the internet by simply searching ‘Pipe Pub’ and ‘Pipe Pub Brigade’.  My initial findings had more to do with bagpipers, bagpipe brigades, Irish pubs and pipes…, all of these go well together!  Yet, I wasn’t finding anything that helped me with the Canadian looking back at me on my worktable.  I looked in my copy of Wilczak and Colwell’s ‘Who Made that Pipe?’ and found nothing giving me a direction.  Usually, when I face the brick wall my response is to send Steve an email.  With all his vast rebornpipes experience, surely, he’ll know something.  Steve’s response was quick and helpful:

Hi Dal

I have heard of it. Here is a link to one on Smoking pipes.com

https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/england/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=200834

I would try to ferret out the shape number. For instance, on the one from Smoking pipes it is a 124… which interestingly is a GBD shape number for a Billiard. I wonder if the brand was not made by special order for pipe shops and stores. — Steve

I looked at the link and saw my first example another Pipe Pub pipe – a very nice classic Billiard.  I immediately looked again to see if I missed a shape number on the Canadian – I still saw no number.  But the other piece of information that Steve gave was helpful – the brand was perhaps a special order for pipe shops and stores.  I went back to Google not looking for pipes but for places named ‘Pipe Pub.’  I hit pay dirt and the dirt was surprising!  With the COM of the Canadian stamped indicating London, England, I had been expecting to find something that was UK based but instead, I found a reference for Pipe Pub that was based in the great US state of Texas – who would have thought?  Through several iterations of search parameters, I came across a Google Group chat stream that started in 1998 entitled, “Pipe Pub?” .  The question posed was about a Pipe Pub “almost Canadian” pipe that had the same nomenclature and stem ‘PP’ as mine, but the COM was stamped, ‘Italy’.  The questioner in the stream proposed a correlation with the Italian Savinelli name wondering if Pipe Pub might be a second of that well-known Italian pipe house?

The next response to Bro. R from Larry introduced the Texas connection:

Bro. R,

Back in the 70’s the mall tobacconists here in Austin, TX, were named Pipe Pub; they became Pipe World a little later.  I don’t know if, then or now, these businesses were strictly local or part of a larger chain.  I’m pretty sure they sold a store brand with their name on the pipes.  Today, Pipe World’s store brand pipes *are* made by Savinelli.

Larry

With these two entries, I knew that we were talking about the same pipe name – the ‘PP’ on the stem was the clincher.  Pipe Pub is a local Texas tobacconist which had pipes manufactured with the Pipe Pub name.  But there was more information that perhaps should be submitted to Pipedia!   The next entry I’m including in its entirely because it brings in much of the historical context with much color and the source of the information is a Jon Carter, who is described by Don Schram as a manager of Pipe Pub in the 80s.

Here’s the skinny on Pipe Pub, as related to me by Jon Carter, former manager of Pipe Pub from 1983 to 1987, who isn’t online as of yet. (Messages will be relayed to him through me at: dsc…@bigfoot.com ,however.)

Pipe Pub was started in the Houston area of Texas in the early 70’s with a single downtown store.  It was joined a short time later by a store located in the Austin, TX, area, which was owned and operated by a brother-in-law of the original founders (whose name escapes Jon for the moment).  While Pipe Pub wasn’t nationwide, they owned approx. 14 stores throughout Texas, primarily in the Houston area, and were much in competition with Tinderbox. (Comparable to Churchill’s in the S.E. Michigan area.)

The Pipe Pub pipe in question was confirmed by Jon to be a pipe from this chain.  The letters ‘PP’ in script on the stem indicate that the bit is original, and you are correct in that it stands for Pipe Pub.  As far as the age, there is no definite method of dating this pipe, however; Pipe Pub only carried their own line of ‘Private Label’ pipes between the early 70’s and 1983 when they were phased out in favor of higher grade (and higher priced) pipes, to coincide with the Texas oil boom of the 80’s.  Jon was not able to confirm positively that the pipe is indeed of Savinelli make (second or otherwise), however, he did point out that Pipe Pub did have an excellent relationship with the Savinelli company, as they were allowed to carry and sell the rare Savinelli 0000 (Quadruple-ought) Autograph, of which only 3 have been produced in the last century.  Jon also pointed out that he and another manager sold it to a gentleman who worked for the telephone company to complete a collection of Savinelli Autographs.  (He went to the bank and took out a $5000 loan for it.  The bank, initially thought he was purchasing ‘oil drilling pipe’, but gave him a personal loan for the tobacco pipe anyways.  He kept it in a lock box for a while, then finally broke it out and smoked it for the first time during the 1986 or 1987 Superbowl.)

To round out the history of Pipe Pub, the chain was bought out, save one store, in 1985 by a family, by name of Kowalski, who turned the tobacco chain into a chain of mall knick-knack stores.  (Sound all-too familiar Churchill’s customers?)  The one store, Pipe Pub in Austin, run by the brother-in-law, was not included in the deal, but it was agreed that he would change the name of the store.  Jon commented that the lone store may have changed its name to Pipe World, but wasn’t really privy to such information, as it was, more or less, operated as a renegade store.  The Kowalski’s opened one additional store in Louisiana, their home state, and promptly ran the chain right into the ground after one Christmas season, due to poor ownership and product focus.  Jon pointed out, “They carried vibrating pillows, for God’s sake!”  Forcing the company into bankruptcy, the Kowalski’s sold the chain back to the original owners, whom to his knowledge, still own it today.

For more information, Jon recommends calling down to Houston and asking information for their main office, which was on Mitchelldale.  [A search of Yahoo Yellow Pages came up empty, however there is a Carol’s Pipe Pub in Bacliff, TX, a suburb of Houston.  Phone (281) 488-7300.  It’s unknown if they’re related.]– DS (Don Schram.)

This information-filled post is dated, 1998.  On a hunch, I google the name of the offshoot store characterized as the ‘renegade’ store that wasn’t part of the reported 1985 Pipe Pub acquisition described in stream above.  As part of the legal agreement this store was required to change the name without further association with the Pipe Pub name.  Pipe World, based in Austin, and run by a “brother-in-law” family member came into existence – or, more accurately, carried on the original legacy of Pipe Pub under a different name because it seems that the new owners of Pipe World ran the company off the rails.  I found http://pipeworld.com/ with different locations in Texas and wondered if this was the same ‘Pipe World’ referenced above.

As I’ve done in the past with surprising success, I go directly to the front door and knock.  I went to the ‘Contact Us’ section on the Pipe World site and sent an email asking if anyone had been around long enough to know something about the history of the former, Pipe Pub Tobacconist out of which Pipe World came.  You never know what will happen! 

I received a reply to my email the same day from Pipe World – from Kyle who asked me to call directly if I had any questions.  Thankfully, I have an internet phone from Bulgaria and I called Kyle in Texas.  Kyle answered the phone and was extremely helpful.  His grasp of the history was amazing – he had been there during the whole transition.  I was totally taken off guard when I discovered through our conversation, that he was the owner of Pipe World.  His name is Kyle Haas.  He was the ‘brother-in-law’ referenced above who opened the new Pipe World and held firm to the values that had been true historically of Pipe Pub.

I enjoyed talking with Kyle, his recall of the events and his grasp of all the many moving parts of the tobacco industry fascinated me.  He was able to answer the primary question I had about the origin of the Pipe Pub pipes.  Definitively according to Kyle, during the 70s and early 80s, GBD/Comoy’s was producing the English line of pipes with the Pipe Pub name out of the London factory.  Pipe Pub pipes marked ITALY were all produced by the well-known Italian house of Savinelli.  He said that he doubted that Savinelli continued to do sub-contract work because they sell enough of their own pipes today to make it worthwhile.  He said that they had to order a lot of each shape as part of the requirements – I believe he said that they introduced a new shape each year.  He mentioned that the pipes that were produced in England and Italy with the Pipe Pub label were done with higher quality in mind.  I said that I could attest to this as I looked at the GBD/Comoy’s factory made Pipe Pub Canadian on my worktable.

Armed with Dal’s helpful information I now knew that my pipe was made for Pipe Pub as one of the yearly pipes for the shop. In this case it is a 1985 pipe and was #297 of 350 pipes which also fits the information above. In the last paragraph above Dal mentions that Kyle said that during the 70s and early 80s GBD/Comoy’s which I assume is Cadogan produced the English line of Pipe Pub pipes out of the London Factory. The Pipe I am working on definitely looks like a Comoy’s shape and I would bet that the France Stamp ties it to the Chacom factory (Chapuis-Comoy) in France.

Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with shank brushes, pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it.  I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim show some darkening, nicks and scratches. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are light tooth marks and chatter on both sides of the stem.I took photos of the stamping on the sides of shank. The stamping is clear and readable (much clearer in person than the photos show). I took a photo of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. I polished the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The bowl took on a rich glow. I rubbed the bowl down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for 10 minutes 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. I set aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem issues. I painted the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift all of them enough that sanding would finish blending them. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend them in and smooth out the surface of the stem. I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I put the stem back on the Pipe Club 1985 Bent Billiard France and took it to the buffer. I worked over the smooth portions with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax on the wheel and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really well and the rim top and edge looked good. I was happy with the look of the finished pipe. The photos below show what the pipe looks like after the restoration. The oxblood stained Bent Billiard that is a beautiful and unique take on a classic shape. The polished vulcanite taper stem with the twin bands of brass and green acrlyic looks really good with the rich reds of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.94 ounces/55 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Making Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. This Bent Billiard looks and feels great in the hand. This one should be a great smoker. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Restoring a Huge Cellini Original Pickaxe Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a Freehand with some rustication at the shank/bowl joint and plateau on the rim top.  It has a well shaped thick vulcanite taper stem. We purchased it from an estate sale in Idaho Falls, Idaho, USA on 09/16/2023. The pipe is stamped on the left side of the shank and reads Cellini [over] Original. There is no other stamping on the bowl or shank. There was a thick cake in the bowl and some darkening and lava on the inner edge of the bowl and the first part of the plateau rim top. It was hard to know for certain the condition of the inner edge though it appeared to be in good condition. There were oils and grime ground into the bowl sides gives the finish a flat look though there is some great grain. The shank is thick and has a slight curve to it giving the pipe the appearance of a pick axe. The shape of the taper stem also matches the curves of the bowl and shank. It is a dirty stem with calcification, oxidation, grime and grit on the surface. There were also light tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below.He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl, the darkening on the inner edge and the lava coat overflowing onto the top. There are some oil stains on the rim top in various spots among the plateau finish. It is another dirty pipe. He also took photos to capture the oxidation, calcification and the light tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain around the bowl and the amount of grime ground into the surface of the briar. He took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is clear and quite readable. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-c3.html) for a summary of the information he had gathered on the brand and perhaps some photos. I have included both the information from the sidebar as well as a screen capture of some photos. I quote:

The shop in Chicago, Illinois, USA (opening: April 27, 1929)  was exclusively devoted to pipes. These generally were imported and Brebbia was the most important supplier. The shop closed down on February 28, 1991.From there I turned to Pipedia where as usual there was a great history of the brand to read about (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Cellini). I quote several pertinent paragraphs to whet your interested. Make sure to go to the site and read it in its entirety.

Cellini, or better, the Cellini Pipe Shop as it became known for its brand “Cellini” from its company name, Victory Pipe Craftsmen, was located in the heart of downtown Chicago, Illinois: 170 N. Franklin St, Chicago IL, 60606. Ideally for those who liked short ways, one of Cellini’s locations was across the street from Zimmerman’s Liquor Store. The company got it’s start in 1927 aided by a friendship between Arthur (Art) Silber and Tracy Mincer(??) who went for Custom-Bilt fame in 1934.

Art Silber (also known as the “Art” of pipe smoking) made Cellini a full service Pipe and Tobacco Shop offering tobacco blends and a complete line of accessories as well as an extensive and varied line of pipes ranging from Indian Peace Pipes to porcelain, cherrywoods, meerschaums and hefty sculptured freehands. The Catalogues were nearly 100 pages long – including some cigars, but absolutely NO cigarettes! – primarily pipes and pipe-related products! Cellini Pipes have Good Collectible value of their own commanding good prices on auctions today, developing somewhat of a Cult Following among Collectors.

Art was joined by his wife Ruth, daughter Bobbe (short for Barbara, also an established artist) and his 2 sons Stuart (who created the Cigar Pipe, crafted various Cellini pipes and freehands, became a cigar aficionado, was an antique and Meerschaum repair expert and more),and Elliot (who also worked as a physicist and an organic chemist).

Victory Pipe Craftsmen became the largest pipe repair shop in the country (probably in the world), repairing up to 2000 pipes per week for some 1200 pipe shops in the U.S., from replacing and customizing stems (mouthpieces) to Meerschaum and antique repair. Art Silber innovated many developments in the pipe industry. He invented a keyless 4-jaw chuck for nearly instant mounting of almost every shape mouthpiece. The result was finely crafted, custom-fitted complete stem replacement (including sanding with 3 grades of sandpaper, proprietary custom staining to match, bending if needed, and polishing on 2 different polishing wheels) in 8 1/2 minutes!! Cellini was famous for while-u-wait pipe repairs, which of course allowed the customer to browse the thousands of Cellini pipes on display…

…Although Cellini offered a very small variety of brands by other makers, their primary business was selling their own pipes made in their Chicago factory. Art Silber (also known as the “Art of pipe smoking”), who made pipes himself once upon a time, employed his own pipemakers (with “Primo Polidori”, former factory supervisor of the Chicago Dr. Grabow/Linkman factory, being the most recognizable name). The company was Victory Pipe Craftsmen, (Victory Pipe Craftsmen Inc. was the actual corporate name for “Cellini of Chicago”) The most experienced pipemaker there was Primo Polidori…

After the death of it’s founder Art Silber, The Cellini Pipe Shop survived until the late 1980’s, run by Art’s oldest son Stuart, Bobbe and Elliot, ending a significant chapter in American pipemaking history. Art Silber’s sons Stuart (sometimes called “The Legend”) and Elliot are still liquidating the residue of the shop’s inventory. The charismatic Bobbe and their mother Ruth Silber have since passed on. All those interested should be aware that some of the Cellini Pipes seen on today’s online auctions may be flawed or rejected pipes that were not offered for sale while the company was in operation. Be sure to ask the seller to distinguish their pipes. Cellini specialized in natural finish, no lacquer, no varnish, no fills or wood putty. If flaws were found, the shape was changed, carving was done, or the pieces were used for repair of broken pipes…

From that information I knew that the pipe that I was working on was carved by one of the in house carvers at Cellini Pipe Shop in Chicago. I also knew that it was made before their closing in 1991. I had no idea how old it was as the shop started in 1929. Now it was time to work on the pipe on my end.

When I received it from Jeff this past week it did not look like the same pipe. It was clean and the finish had life. He reamed it with a PipNet pipe reamer and got rid of the cake. He cleaned up the reaming with a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife so that we could see the walls of the bowl and assess for damage. It was in good condition. He cleaned the internals of the shank and stem with cotton swabs, pipe cleaners and alcohol. He scrubbed the exterior with undiluted Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush. He rinsed the pipe under warm water. He dried it off with a cloth and then let it air dry. The stem was scrubbed with Soft Scrub and soaked in Briarville’s Stem Deoxidizer. It came out looking very good. The finish on the bowl and the rim top cleaned up nicely. I took pictures of the pipe to show how it looked when I unpacked it.  I took some photos of the rim top and stem to show the condition of them both when the pipe arrived. Overall it looked good. There is some darkening and damage to the inner edge of the bowl. The stem had some light tooth chatter and marks ahead of the button and on the button surface on both sides.I took a photo of the stamping on the left side of the shank. It is readable and in great condition. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe to show the look of the pipe.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the stain spots and darkening on the rim top. I decided to stain the rim top with a black stain pen. I worked the stain into the valleys of the plateau as much as possible. Once it dried I would sand off the stain on the high spots giving a real sense of contrast.I polished the briar on the bowl as well as the high spots on the plateau top with the 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I worked over the rim top and bowl with each pad and then wiped it down with a damp cloth. The pipe really began to take on a shine and the rim top began to match the rest of the briar. I polished the bowl with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped the briar down after each pad with a damp cloth. The bowl is starting to look very good. I worked some Before & After Restoration Balm into the surface of the briar with my fingertips to clean, enliven and protect it. I let the balm sit for a little while and then buffed with a cotton cloth to raise the shine. The photos show the bowl at this point in the restoration process. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift the majority of the marks but there was a deep one that remained on the to on the right side of the bit ahead of the button and on the underside. I filled them in with clear CA glue and set it aside to cure. I flattened the repairs with a small needle file and then sanded the stem with 220 grit sandpaper to blend them into the surface of the stem. I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. By the final 3500 grit sanding pad the rim top had a shine.I polished the stem with micromesh sanding pads – wet sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with some Obsidian Oil. I finished polishing it with Before & After Pipe Stem Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine and buffed it off with a cotton cloth. This is a large hand made Cellini Original Freehand Pickaxe with a plateau rim top made by the Cellini Pipe Company with a bent vulcanite stem. It has a great look and feel. The shape fits well in the hand with the curve of the bowl and shank junction a perfect fit for the thumb around the bowl when held. I polished stem and the bowl with Blue Diamond polish on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up pretty nicely. The rich combination of browns in the smooth finish and the black and brown of the plateau rim top and rusticated patches on the shank bowl union took on life with the buffing. The rich colour of the briar works well with the polished hard rubber stem. I like the grain and finished look of this Cellini Bent Plateau Freehand. 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: 7 ½ inches, Height: 3 ½ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 2 ¼ wide, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 86 grams/ 3.03 ounces. This Danish style Freehand is a real beauty. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me as I worked over another beautiful pipe. This one will be going on the rebornpipes store in the American Pipe Making Section shortly if you would like to add it to your collection. Thanks for your time.

Repairing a Broken Tenon and Cracked shank on a Rusticated Kriswill Bernadotte Design 1210

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Blog by Steve Laug

I decided to put my hand to something different this afternoon. I have been working on a lot of pipes that Jeff and I have purchased. The one on the table this after was a pipe that I received for repair from a fellow in Toronto. We had been chatting via email and phone about a nice Kriswill Handmade Bernadotte that he had purchased. When it arrived in Toronto the stem was stuck in the shank and in trying to remove it he had managed to snap the tenon in the shank. He wanted me to repair the tenon for him so I told him to ship it my way. He did a thorough cleaning of the bowl, shank and stem so it was in good condition. It arrived this week and I brought it to the work table and looked it over and put it back in the box. Today, Sunday afternoon I was ready to tackle the task. I took some photos of the bowl and the stem to give a sense my first impression as I looked at quickly.

Here are my thoughts as I turned it over in my hands. The pipe has a conical shaped bowl that is pretty clean. There was little or no cake on the walls. The rim top was rusticated and quite clean. There was an inward bevel on the rim edge that was also clean and excellent condition. The shank was triangular with a smooth band on the shank end. There was a smooth panel on the underside of the shank that was stamped Kriswill [over] Handmade [over] in Denmark. That is followed by Bernadotte in script [over] Design in block letters. There is the shape number 1210 stamped on the end of the shank right along the edge. The tenon was snapped evenly in the shank leaving just a little bit of debris on the stem end. The tenon was stuck and I would need to do the freezer trick to remove it. The stem was lightly oxidized and there was debris and sticky marks from price tags on the stem surface. There were light tooth marks on both sides just ahead of the button. It really is a beautiful little pipe. I took a photo of the stamping on the smooth panel on the underside of the shank. It is clear and really readable as noted above.To start my work on the pipe I decided to pull the broken tenon from the shank. I used a screw and tuned it into the airway and it was very tight. I put the bowl in the freezer for 30 minutes and when I took it out the screw easily removed the broken tenon from the shank. I took photos of the process. Before I went any further in the process I decided to do a bit of background work on the pipe. I turned to Pipephil’s site first (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-k3.html). I did a screen capture of the section on the Kriswill Bernadotte Handmade in Denmark pipe. I have included it below and the pertinent sidebar information below that.Kriswill is a brand of Kriswork Briar Trading, in Kolding (Denmark) established about 1955.

Some of Kriswill pipes were designed by Sigvard Bernadotte, Swedish prince and brother to the late Queen Ingrid of Denmark. He collaborated with his Danish partner Acton Bjørn.

At the end of the quote above there was a link to the photo below. It is a series of portraits of Sigvard Bernadotte the designer of the pipe that I am working on.

I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Kriswill) for more detailed information. There is a great writeup there on the history of the brand that is fascinating. I have quoted the pertinent section below. I have also highlighted the connection to Sigvard Bernadotte in red in the last paragraph. He is one who designed his own series of pipes for Kriswill.

Kriswill began immediately after World War II. Karl Robert Kris, an engineer for the shipping company AP Møller at the time, was in port (undoubtedly in the Mediterranean) when he encountered a shipment of briar. The briar blocks awakened his curiosity and he took some home. About this time the the shipping trade become difficult due to the war, causing Kris to consider other business opportunities. In 1947, Kris (then 47 years old) established himself as a pipe maker in his hometown of Kolding.

Kriss started his pipe making operation in a house located at Haderslevvej 115 in Kolding, and was soon joined by 3-4 employees. The pipes were sold under the name Rocky and supplied the domestic market. Within 6 months the company had grown, more employees hired, and their sales expanded to markets abroad.

Due to increasing production and marketing, Karl Robert Kris decided in the mid-1950s to expand. An entirely new factory was built at Sdr. Ring road on the outskirts of Kolding. At that time the pipes were branded Kriswell. That name did not last long, however, as Stanwell believed that name was too close to theirs. The compromise was to change the name to Kriswill. Kriswill soon grew to become a serious competitor to Stanwell, especially in the export markets. The Kriswill factory logo, stamped on the stem, became the stylized compass rose – as a reference to the manufacturer’s maritime background.

Kriswill pipes excelled in design and craftsmanship. Karl Robert Kris was not afraid of new designs and had a good eye on the US market, where larger and more innovative designs were increasingly popular. Craftsmanship was given top priority throughout Kriswill’s production. A local designer / architect had designed the first models. Later, the famous architects Sigvard Bernadotte (Swedish prince and brother of Queen Ingrid) and Acton Bjørn designed their own series, which were known as Bernadotte designed.

There was also a catalogue page on the Bernadotte Design line that shows the various pipes in the line. The second pipe down is the Hand carved 1210 which was made in black and in brown.I repaired chip and crack in the underside of the triangle shape stem with black CA glue. I wanted to do this prior to drilling the airway and opening it up for the new tenon end. I set the stem aside to let the repair cure.While I waited for the stem repair to cure I went through my tenons and found one that was very close in diameter to the shank. I reduced the diameter of the portion that would go into the stem with a Dremel and sanding drum. I repeated the process on the end of the tenon that would go in the shank. It was ready for the fit once the repair on the stem had cured and I was able to drill out the airway.I was a bit nervous drilling out the thin walled stem with the repair on the underside. I envisioned it splitting and ruining everything. I used a thin pen knife to begin the process of opening up the airway. I opened it to be large enough to take the first of the drill bits. I put the drill bit in my cordless drill and slowly turned it into the airway. I opened it up with several drill bit until the new tenon end fit in the stem. I cleaned up the airway with a set of needle files to make the airway the same diameter the depth of the drill. The fit in the stem was perfect. I painted the end of the tenon with black CA glue and pushed it in place in the airway. I set it aside to let the glue cure.I set the stem aside to allow the glue to cure. I wanted the tenon to be set in the stem so that once I put it in the shank it would not come out of the stem. I turned my attention to the bowl and shank. The shank had two small hairline cracks in in on the right side of the triangle. It would need to be glued and banded to accomplish a tight repair. I shaped a round brass band into a triangle and sanded it against a sanding board to thin the depth of the repair band. I fitted on the shank and put the stem in place to get a sense of what it would look like. I sent a few picks to the trustee in Toronto to show him what was going on. He approved of the repair.
I glued the band on the shank with some all purpose white glue. I painted the surface of the shank with the glue making sure to get into the cracks. I pressed the band on the shank and wiped off the excess glue with a damp cloth.I rubbed the briar down with Before & After Restoration Balm. I worked it into the briar with my fingertips and a horsehair shoe brush to work it into the nooks and crannies of the rusticated finish. The product works to clean, enliven and preserve the briar. I let it sit for 10 minutes then I buffed it with a cotton cloth to deepen the shine. The briar really comes alive with the balm. I set the bowl aside and turned to finish the stem. To address the scratches and marks in the surface of the vulcanite I sanded it with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down after each sanding pad with a damp cloth. By the final 3500 grit sanding pad the rim top had a shine.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I always look forward to this part of the restoration when all the pieces are put back together. I put the Kriswill Bernadotte 1210 pipe back together and buffed it with Blue Diamond on the buffing wheel. I gave the bowl multiple coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem multiple coats of carnauba wax. I hand buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. It is fun to see what the polished bowl looks like with the new brass band on the shank end. The combination of grain and the thin band add some elegance to the pipe when combined with the polished black vulcanite stem. This royalty designed Kriswill Bernadotte 1210 Skater is nice looking and feels great in my hand. The pipe is another light weight that could be clenched and smoked while doing other things as it is very well balanced. Have a look at it with the photos below. The dimensions are Length: 5 ¾ inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: ¾ of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.06 ounces/30 grams. This one will be heading back to Toronto soon. I am looking forward to what the pipeman who sent it thinks of this restoration. Lots more to do in this lot! Thanks to each of you who are reading this blog. Remember we are not pipe owners; we are pipemen and women who hold our pipes in trust until they pass on into the trust of the next pipeman or woman.

Restoring a Beautiful Ropp Pneumatic Brevete S.G.D.G # 9105

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

This pipe now on my work table came to me from a lot of 40 pipes that I had purchased from a French seller on etsy.fr just before the outbreak of the pandemic. It’s a beautiful classic billiard shaped pipe with a bone stem and beautiful flame grains along the sides of the stummel and bird’s eye grain over the rim top and the foot of the stummel.

This perfectly proportioned light weight pipe has a medium sized bowl, equivalent to a size 4 Dunhill. The piece of briar is without a single fill and oozes very high quality. The copper band at the shank face adds a classy bling to the appearance of the pipe. The stampings on this pipe is one of the most elaborate that I have come across with “PNEUMATIC” over “BREVETE S.G.D.G” stamped across the left side of the shank at an upward angle. This is followed by “ROPP” in an oval towards the shank end. The right side of the shank is stamped as “RACINE” over “DE VIEILLE SOUCHE” in a downward incline. The shape code “9105” is stamped at its end on the right surface of the shank. The shank opening is lined by a metal ring that extends inside the mortise and is stamped on the metal face as “ROPP” over the upper portion and the lower surface bears the stamp “BREVETE S.G.D.G.”.I had worked on ROPP pipes before and had a fair idea of this French marquee. But it was the stampings which intrigued me and I also knew that I was working on a very early era ROPP and had to know more specific details of this line from ROPP.

I searched the internet and came across this site that had the exact same pipe for sale. The information I got from the description with a link to the website is reproduced below:

https://www.delcampe.net/en_US/collectibles/tobacco-related/pipes-accessories/heather-pipes/tres-rare-pipe-ropp-pneumatic-brevete-s-g-d-g-virole-en-argent-date-1897-ou-1898-a-loccasion-de-linstallation-a-baume-1103869216.html

VERY RARE PIPE ROPP PNEUMATIC patented S.G.D.G silver ferrule dates 1897 or 1898, on the occasion of the installation in Baume

This “Pneumatic” model dates from the very last years of the 19th century: 1897 or 1898, on the occasion of the installation in Baume.

I decided to break down my search parameters to get a better understanding of the stampings as seen on the pipe. I searched for BREVETE S.G.D.G and this is what Wikipedia revealed:-

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brevet%C3%A9_SGDG

Breveté SGDG was a French type of patent that ceased to exist in 1968. The name was a common abbreviation for “Breveté Sans Garantie Du Gouvernement“ (patent without government guarantees).

In France, the law of 1844 states that patents are issued “without prior examination, at the risk of the applicant and with no guarantee of function, novelty and merit of the invention also in terms of precision or accuracy of the description”.

I also visited various forums to know more about this line of pipes from ROPP. Here is an interesting conversation that I chanced upon on placedelours.superforum.fr and contained a thread discussing a ROPP pipe with similar stampings that were stamped in the exact same way as seen on the pipe currently on my worktable. I have reproduced an English translation of the thread below:-

http://placedelours.superforum.fr/t33004-pipe-ropp-pneumatic

vidu52
Hello to all of you,
For a long time I have been looking for this ROPP brand pipe, marked : PNEUMATIC patented S.G.D.G and with a diamond-shaped punch.

The ROPP brand I find many, but not a single marked “PNEUMATIC” ??
Long : 14 cm approx High 4.5 cm approx, Weight: 42 Grams
I turn to you to try to help me identify this pipe and if possible its degree of rarity.
In advance Thank you….

Nucingen
Very nice pipe, with silver ferrule

this “Pneumatic” model dates from the very last years of the XIXe century: 1897 or 1898, on the occasion of the installation in Baume.
You will know everything about the “Pneumatic” by reading pages 21, 29 and 34 of this very beautiful and interesting book :
https://issuu.com/romainbassenne/docs/ropp_livre_maquette_issuu

However, the link is either no longer active or may not be accessible from my location. In any event, if anyone is able to access it, it is requested to share the information therein on Pneumatic line of pipe from ROPP for info of readers.

https://pipedia.org/wiki/Ropp

Eugène-Léon Ropp (1830 – 1907) had acquired a patent for a cherrywood pipe (wild cherry, lat.: Prunus avium) in 1869. In 1870 he established a workshop to manufacture such pipes in Büssingen (Bussang, Vosges mountains). Around 1893 the business moved into the former mill of Sicard (part of the community of Baume-les-Dames – Département Doubs, Upper Burgundy – from 1895 on).

The pipes were a big success in the export as well. Shortly before 1914 Ropp designated A. Frankau & Co. (BBB) in to be the exclusive distributor in the UK and it’s colonies.

Probably in 1917 a workshop in Saint-Claude in the Rue du Plan du Moulin 8 was acquired to start the fabrication of briar pipes. In 1923 a small building in the environment of Saint-Claude, serving as a workshop for polishing, was added.

Even though cherrywood pipes were the mainstay of Ropp until the company finally closed down in September 1991. The company was taken over by Cuty-Fort Entreprises (Chacom, Jeantet, Vuillard, Jean Lacroix…) in 1994.

I was still not satisfied with the research of this pipe. This pipe has some of the most detailed stampings that I have seen on any pipe. I have deciphered the stampings of ROPP, PNEUMATIC and BREVETE S.G.D.G. The stampings of RACINE, DE VIEILLE SOUCHE yet remains to be understood. Now, my French is what my mother tongue Marathi is to you. I searched the internet for translation and this is what I found.

(a) RACINE: – Root.

(b) DE VIEILLE: – Old stock.

(c) SOUCHE: – Stump.

These stampings together do make sense implying that the briar used to carve this pipe is an old stock briar root stump.

Though the discussion thread and description of the similarly stamped pipe stated above places this pipe to be from the period 1897/ 98, the lack of pictures of the tenon on that pipe and being unable to access the link leading to the book on the PNEUMATIC line of ROPP, I cannot conclusively place the pipe on my work table to be from the period 1897/ 98.

The aluminum tenon in a bone stem with an elliptical slot makes me inclined to place this pipe from during the WW II era, which is from 1940 to 1945/ 6.

That said this pipe is definitely an old timer and is being added to my personal collection.

Initial Visual Inspection
The pipe, as it sits on my work table, is dirty with a thin layer of cake in the chamber, a stummel that is covered in dust and grime and a tapered bone stem that has tooth indentations on either surface in the bite zone. Here are a few pictures of the pipe before I proceed with a detailed visual inspection of each part of the pipe. Detailed Visual Inspection
A thin layer of cake lines the walls of the chamber. There is no accumulation of overflowing crud over the rim surface but slight darkening is seen to the aft of the rim surface. The rim edges, both outer and inner, are sans any dents and dings. The rim top surface, however, shows a number of dents and dings likely caused due to either strikes against a hard edge or due to uncared for storage of the pipe.The stummel surface has attracted dust and dirt giving it a dull lackluster and lifeless appearance. There are a few scrub marks over the surface but these should be easily addressed during the polishing process. The briar wood has taken on a nice dark patina from the years of handling and smoking. It will be my endeavor to preserve and highlight this aspect. The stampings on the shank surface are all crisp and clearly discernible. The shank end of the stummel is adorned with a copper band. The unique feature of this pipe is a metal spacer that is stamped on the face as BREVETE and S.G.D.G as mentioned above. This spacer extends in to the mortise and is lined with cork extending up to an inch or so. The mortise is relatively clean with minor traces of residual ash and oils/ tars. The horn stem has a nice light and bright appearance with bite marks and tooth indentations on either surface in the bite zone. There are a couple of superficial cracks over the stem surface and should be addressed once the stem is sanded and polished. I think these superficial cracks are primarily the result of drying of the bone material. The long aluminum tenon is tapered and cinched at the tenon end to match the mortise opening. The tenon surface is clean but would benefit from some cleaning and polishing. The elliptical slot and tenon end shows traces of old residual oils and gunk. The button edges show a couple of minor teeth marks and would need to be sharpened. The Restoration Process
Whether to start with stem or the stummel refurbishing has always being a source of conflict for me as stem repairs and refurbishing almost always takes the longest time and efforts and hence prudent to be worked on first while the allure of unrevealing the beautiful grains of the briar weighs in favor for its refurbishing first. Well in ibid case, the lovely patina and straight grains won and I decided to start working on the stummel.

I started the process of refurbishing by reaming the chamber first. Using reamer head sizes 1 and 2 of the PipeNet pipe reamer, I took the cake down to the bare briar. The amount of carbon that was dislodged from the chamber was really surprising as I had appreciated a thin layer of carbon and the quantity of carbon that was removed was anything but a thin layer. With my fabricated knife, I removed all the cake and took it down to the bare briar. I further sand the chamber wall with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper to smooth out the wall and remove the last bit of stubborn carbon that remained stuck to the chamber. To finish the reaming process, I wiped the chamber walls with a cotton swab dipped in alcohol to clean the last traces of residual carbon dust. I was happy to note a clean and well seasoned solid chamber.Next, I cleaned out the shank internals. Early on, I realized that I could not pass a pipe cleaner trough the draught hole due to blockages in the shank airway. I used a modified poker tool to push through and dislodge this block of dried oils and gunk. I further scraped out all the dried and crumbly oils and tars from the walls of the mortise with my dental tool. I cleaned out the mortise and shank walls with pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol. I shall continue further cleaning of the shank and mortise while going through the other processes.Now on to de-ghosting the pipe…. I packed the chamber with cotton balls and drew out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner, inserted it into the mortise and through the draught hole into the chamber. I tightly packed cotton balls in to the remaining portion of the mortise. Thereafter, I soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils and tars from the chamber and mortise. I removed the cotton balls and ran pipe cleaners through the mortise and draught hole to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk that was lodged in the draught hole and mortise. The chamber and mortise now smelled clean, fresh and looked it too. I set the stummel to dry out naturally.With the night still being young and not wanting to break the momentum of work as the stummel soaked in cotton and alcohol bath, I decided to use the time to address the stem issues. I first ran a few pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol through the stem airway and they came out very dirty. To conserve pipe cleaners, I put off further cleaning of the airway and would continue the internal cleaning using shank brushes and oil soap under warm water. With a sharp dental tool, I scraped out the dried oils and gunk from the slot end and tenon face. I also cleaned the aluminum tenon surface with a cotton swab wetted with isopropyl alcohol.Continuing with the stem cleaning, I followed the internal cleaning of the stem with cleaning the airway using thin shank brushes and anti oil dish cleaning soap. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners to clean and dry out the airway. Using Scotch Brite pad and oil soap; I cleaned out the entire gunk from the aluminum tenon, elliptical slot end and the stem surface.The last agenda for the day before I turned in for the night was to address the bite marks on either surface in the bite zone. I cleaned the surface with alcohol on a cotton swab in preparation of the surface for a fill. I filled the deep tooth indentation in the bite zone on the upper stem surface with clear medium CA superglue. Once the fill had hardened sufficiently, I similarly filled the tooth indentation in the lower stem surface. I set the stem aside for the fills to cure.By the time I again sat at my work table the next evening, the alcohol and cotton had leached out all the old oils from the chamber walls and the stem fills had cured too.

Next, I proceeded to clean the exterior of the stummel. I used a hard bristled tooth brush, Scotch Brite pad and Murphy’s Oil soap to scrub the stummel and rim top. For this stummel cleaning, I used Murphy’s Oil soap as I wanted to preserve the old patina that had developed on the stummel and this product really helps in cleaning the briar surface. After the scrub with oil soap, I washed the stummel under running warm water with anti oil dish washing detergent till the stummel surface was clean and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. I simultaneously cleaned the shank internals with the detergent and hard bristled shank brush and set the stummel aside to dry out. That the shank end is internally lined with cork is now apparent after the cleaning and this further restricts the cleaning process, adding caution to the equation while further cleaning the shank internals. I was fortunate that the alcohol bath has not loosened and removed this cork lining. To aid in the drying process, I heat the stummel under a 100 watt filament bulb as it is very important that the briar is completely dry as presence of slight moisture leads to growth of fungus over the surface subsequently.With the stummel set aside for drying, I used a needle file to sand the stem fill to achieve a rough match of the filling with the rest of the stem surface. To achieve a better blend, I sand the fill with a folded piece of 180 grit sandpaper. I also worked the button edges to a crisp edge with the file. By no means is the blending complete and shall be continued with during the sanding and polishing process.To bring a deep shine to the horn stem, I went through the complete set of micromesh pads, wet sanding with 1500 to 12000 grit pads. I wiped the stem with moist cloth after each pad and rubbed it down with Extra Virgin Olive oil to rejuvenate the horn which is very prone to drying and developing cracks over the surface. The finished stem is shown below.Remember the stummel that had been set aside to dry out under the bulb? Well, in the while that I completed the repairs and initial polishing of the stem, the briar had completely dried out and was ready to be worked on further.

The issue that needed immediate attention was the number of dents and dings over the rim top surface. To address it, I topped the surface over a piece of 220 grit sandpaper till these damages all but disappeared. I am quite pleased with the appearance of the rim top at this stage.I followed it by wet sanding the entire stummel with 1500 to 12000 grit micromesh pads, wiping frequently with a moist cloth to check the progress. I really like the looks of the stummel at this point in restoration. The grains and the clean lines of this piece of briar is really appreciable. Next, I rubbed a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” deep in to the briar with my finger tips and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works its magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful grain patterns displayed in their complete splendor. I further buffed it with a horse hair brush. The contrast of the dark browns of the Bird’s eye and straight grains with the dark natural patina of the rest of the stummel adds an interesting dimension to the appearance of the stummel that cannot be insufficiently described in words and be rather seen in person. I have now reached the homestretch in this restoration project. To complete the restoration, I mounted a cotton cloth buffing wheel on to my hand held rotary tool and polished the stummel and stem with Blue Diamond compound. This compound helps in polishing and also in removing the minor scratch marks that remained from the sanding process. I mounted another cotton buffing wheel that I have earmarked for carnauba wax and applied several coats of the wax. I finished the restoration by giving the entire pipe a rigorous hand buffing using a microfiber cloth to raise the shine further. The finished pipe looks amazingly beautiful and is ready to join my collection. I only wish it could share with me its life story of the past years while I enjoy smoking my favorite Virginia blend in it or maybe an English blend or maybe just keep admiring it!!!! Big thank you to all the readers who have joined me on this path by reading this write up as I restored and completed this project. P.S.: I came across an interesting flyer/ advertisement bearing the stamp  “RACINE, DE VIEILLE SOUCHE” in French language. I have included the same here and would be happy to receive any information on the pipe in English for the sake of enhancing my knowledge on this pipe.Thank you once again for your time and assistance.

ADDENDUM – Pages 21,29 and 34 of the French Ropp Book (Ropp, ça ne fume plus). Kenneth Lieblich scanned the pages and translated them for Paresh.

Translation of the highlighted parts of page 21

Trademarks were registered for each of his creations: La Cosaque, La Pneumatic and La Norvégienne appeared at the beginning of the century, between 1904 and 1908. According to the INPI records, these brands were intended to be affixed to the pipes, smoking accessories and other handmade items as well as cases, boxes, packaging of pipes… The reasons for choosing most of these names are unknown.

Regarding La Pneumatic, we can see a link with current events. In fact, the tire was invented in 1888 by Irishman John Boyd Dunlop and the removable tire by Michelin in 1891. Its use became widespread at the beginning of the 20th century. Another pipe was named Pipe des aviateurs (1909) when, on July 25, 1909, Louis Blériot succeeded in crossing the Channel by plane for the first time.

Each pipe had several varieties of shapes, sizes and ornaments. La Pneumatic could be fitted with a fancy band: gold, silver or other metal; in straight or bent models; of medium to very large size; and with oval or round bowls. Then, the types of briar evolved with the appearance in 1910 of Cum-mer root, Cum-mer briar, blood briar and blood root, recalling both the raw material used and its particular red grain.Translation of the highlighted parts of page 29

To explain the changes, Ropp cited three main reasons: moving towards thinner pipes, the choice of raw materials and the improvements made to the different systems. These developments had made the pipe a “clean, practical and elegant” accessory. The fact that the brand sought to constantly modernize itself, while paying attention to consumer demand, was also an important selling point. The ads spoke of “the important technical research” which allowed the factory to frequently employ new manufacturing processes or new models. La Pneumatic system, developed when the company set up in Baume-les-Dames, was one of the manufacturing processes most appreciated by smokers.Translation of the highlighted parts of page 34

At the start of the 20th century, system pipes and other inventions aimed at better health were very popular with French smokers. Concerns about the harmful effects of tobacco and nicotine were in vogue, as were concerns about hygiene: pipes were sometimes difficult to clean and maintain. These were different from filter pipes since the piece inserted into the stem did not absorb the condensation but only stopped it. These system pipes, with different variations, appeared healthier and more hygienic. La Pneumatic is one of the system pipes that Ropp put on the market and patented. A separate ferrule was housed inside the stem while a piece of cork, providing friction, made it easier to separate the stem from the stummel and also made cleaning easier.

Restoring a Lovely Frasorteret Hand Made in Denmark Freehand

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a rugged, sandblast Freehand with a smooth rim and plateau shank end. It had a fancy, turned saddle vulcanite stem. We purchased it from a seller on eBay from Jordan, Minnesota, USA on 01/22/2024. The pipe is stamped on the underside of the shank and reads Frasorteret [over] Hand Made [over] In [over] Denmark. The rim was in good condition other than lava overflowing from the thick cake in the bowl onto the smooth rim top. It is hard to assess the condition of the inner edge of the rim due to the cake and lava overflow. There may be some darkening or damage at the back of the bowl but I cannot be sure. There were oils and grime ground into the bowl sides gives the finish a flat look. The fancy saddle stem is dirty, with grime and grit on the surface. There were also tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava coat overflowing onto the top. It is another dirty pipe. He also took photos to capture the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the grain around the bowl and the amount of grime ground into the surface of the briar.   He took photos of the stamping on the underside of the shank. It is faint but still quite readable. I had a memory that Frasorteret pipes came from the creative carving of Preben Holm so I wanted to do some checking. I turned to Pipephil’s site (http://www.pipephil.eu/logos/en/logo-f4.html). It tied the line to Preben Holm but there was not too much more information at this point.I turned to Pipedia (https://pipedia.org/wiki/Frasorteret) to gather further information. There the information was a bit clearer about the tie. Here is the information.

The Frasorteret line of pipes were made by Preben Holm and were nearly identical to his normal line of pipes but for fills and pits and the like. The pipes were stamped Frasorteret Made in Denmark. I took a photo of the rim top to show the condition. You can see the clean bowl. The bowl is in excellent condition and is clean. The rim top and the inner edge shows a lot of damage and burn marking on the bowl. The stem came out looking clean. There were definitely deep tooth marks and chatter on both sides. I took photos of the stamping on the shank. It is faint but still very readable. I removed the stem from the shank and took a photo of the pipe parts to show what I was working with.I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the roughness. I then used 220 grit sandpaper and a wooden ball to give the inner edge of the bowl a slight bevel. It looked much better at this point in the process. I sanded the briar rim top and the sides of the bowl with 320-3500 grit sanding pads. I wiped the bowl down with a damp cloth after each pad. By the time I finished with the 3500 grit pad the briar had taken on a rich glow.I went over the sandblast finish on the bowl and shank with a brass bristle wire brush to knock off the debris in the grain. Once finished it looked much better. It was ready for the next work on the rim and shank end. I worked over the plateau shank end with the wire brush to prepare it for the traditional black stain. I touched it up with a black stain pen making sure that all the grooves and surfaces were evenly stained. Once the stain cured I sanded it with a 320 grit sanding pad to knock the stain off the high spots on the plateau to give a sense of contrast to the plateau. It looked very good once I had finished doing that. I polished the smooth rim top with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The crowned rim top took on a rich glow. I rubbed 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 10 minutes 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 aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem. I “painted” the stem surface with the flame of a lighter. I was able to lift the tooth marks significantly. There were still some deep marks. I filled them in with a coat of clear CA glue and spread it across the surface with a dental spatula.Once the repairs cured I flattened them with a small file. I started the process of blending them into the surface of the surrounding vulcanite. I sanded it with 220 grit sandpaper to clean up the file marks and smooth out the surface of the stem. I moved on to further smooth out the surface of the vulcanite. I sanded it smooth with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend them into the surface of the stem.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with Obsidian Oil after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. It really took on a shine and I knew that once it was buffed it would look amazing. I put the stem back on the Preben Holm Hand Made in Denmark Frasorteret Sandblast Freehand and took it to the buffer. I worked it over with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl and the stem several coats of carnauba wax and buffed the pipe with a clean buffing pad to raise the shine. I hand buffed it with a microfiber cloth to deepen the shine. The pipe polished up really well and the rim top looked good. I was happy with the look of the finished pipe. The photos below show what the pipe looks like after the restoration. The Frasorteret Sandblast Smooth Rim Top Freehand is a beautiful and very Preben Holm take on a Freehand shape. The polished vulcanite fancy saddle stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 7 inches, Height: 2 inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1¾ inches x 2 inches, Chamber diameter: 1 inch. The weight of the pipe is 2.26 ounces/64 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Makers Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. The long shank and tall bowl look and feel great in the hand. This one should be a great smoker. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!

Revisiting an Iconic American Pipe Carver John Bessai and Restoring One Of His Creations.

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Blog by Paresh Deshpande

Just last year, while surfing etsy.fr, I came across a pipe lot that contained some interesting pipes and included this John Bessai Zulu shaped sandblasted pipe. I had worked on a John Bessai pipe about six years ago and had also studied its history. In order to refresh my memory and reacquaint myself with John Bessai and his work, I browsed through rebornpipes.com. Given below is the link to the write up that I had done on John Bessai pipe about 6 years ago.

https://rebornpipes.com/2018/12/09/a-fresh-breath-of-life-for-a-unique-creation-by-john-bessai/

This and other article on John Bessai make for an interesting read. I now recollect that he was a pipe maker, repairman and tobacconist from Cleveland, Ohio, USA who opened his shop in 1898. He died before 1969.

All John Bessai pipes were stamped with large letters “JB” either on shank or stem or both. The pipe on my work table is stamped as above on the stem.Pipes made by John were stamped on the shank or on the stummel with small “JB” since 1950 and the same is missing on this piece. However, “JOHN BESSAI” in full in block capital letters is stamped over the flat smooth surface on the bottom of the shank.The bull’s-eye stamping was abandoned since pre-1960s whereas the same can be clearly seen on the pipe that I am working on in the above picture.

Thus, based on the above information, with an amount of certitude, I can place this John Bessai creation to be from pre- 1950s.

Initial Visual Inspection
The shallow sandblasted Zulu shaped pipe looks clean and solid with no outwardly apparent damage/ issues. There is a thick layer of even cake in the chamber. The rim top surface appears darkened with small amounts of ash and oils accumulated in the 6 ‘O’ clock direction. The stummel surface is dull and dirty with hand oils and dust ground in to the shallow sandblast. The stem has minor tooth chatter in the bite zone with a couple of tooth indentation/ bite marks to both the button edges. Pictures of the pipe, as it sits on the work table, are shown below: Detailed Inspection
There are few pipes that I get to work on that are in such a decent condition and well looked after by the previous pipe man/ woman and this is one such pipe. There is a thick layer of cake in the chamber and it appears that it has been reamed to maintain it at the thickness of a dime. The rim surface flows inwards ever so slightly with a bevel to the inner rim edge and shows minor accumulation of lava overflow and darkening at 6 o’clock direction (encircled in yellow). The damage to the inner bevel here will be ascertained when the cake and rim surface is all cleaned up. The rim top is smooth and even with no signs of mishandling. The outer rim edge is also in good condition with a couple of very minor dents that were probably caused during the course of handling of the pipe. Presence or absence of heat fissures/ lines will be evident once the chamber walls are rid of all the cake.The stummel has some beautiful shallow sandblast with mixed grains visible over the surface. The stummel appears dull and lackluster as the hand oils had attracted some dust and grime that has accumulated over the surface and in to the grooves of the shallow blast. The stummel surface is solid to the touch and hence I do not anticipate any damage to the chamber walls. The mortise shows traces of accumulation of old oils and tars and would need to be cleaned. The smells from the shank and chamber are very strong and pungent. The high quality vulcanite stem has minor tooth chatter in the bite zone on either surface. Also a few tooth indentations (encircled in red) over the button edges on either side are discernible and would need to be rebuilt. Some dried gunk is seen over the tenon and in the horizontal slot. All in all, this is a clean stem with no major issues.The Restoration Process
I started the restoration with cleaning of the stummel as I was keen to know the condition of the walls of the chamber. I worked on the stummel by first reaming the chamber with size 1 PipNet reamer head. With my fabricated knife, I further scraped the chamber walls to remove the remaining carbon deposits and also from areas inaccessible by the reamer head. I also scraped out the lava overflow from the rim top surface. Once the cake was reamed back to the bare briar, I used a 150 grit sand paper followed by 220 grit sand paper to remove all the traces of remaining cake and also to smoothen out the inner walls of the chamber surface. Finally, to remove the residual carbon dust, I wiped the chamber with a cotton pad wetted with 99.9% pure isopropyl alcohol. As expected the chamber walls are solid with no damage whatsoever.Next, I cleaned out the internals of the shank and mortise. Using my dental tool, I scraped out all the dried oils, tars and gunk that had accumulated in the draught hole and on the walls of the mortise. I finished the cleaning by running a few pipe cleaners dipped in isopropyl alcohol through the mortise. I shall continue with further cleaning of the shank internals using the cotton and alcohol bath. I had expected that after this initial cleaning of the chamber and shank internals, the ghost smells would have been greatly reduced, but that was not so. I decided to subject the chamber and mortise to cotton and alcohol bath. I packed the chamber with cotton and drew out a wick from the cotton and along with a folded regular pipe cleaner, inserted it into the mortise and through the draught hole into the chamber. I tightly packed cotton balls in to the remaining portion of the mortise. Thereafter, I soaked the cotton balls with isopropyl alcohol up to the brim. About half an hour later, the level of alcohol had gone down, having being absorbed by the cotton. I topped it up once again and set it aside overnight. By next afternoon, the cotton and alcohol had drawn out all the remaining oils and tars from the chamber and mortise. I ran pipe cleaners through the mortise and draught hole to clean out all the loosened tars and gunk that was lodged in the draught hole and mortise. The chamber and mortise now smelled clean, fresh and looked it too. I set the stummel to dry out naturally.With the bowl internals clean, I moved to clean the exterior of the stummel. I used a hard bristled tooth brush and Murphy’s Oil soap to scrub the stummel and rim top. I rinsed the stummel under running warm water with anti oil dish washing detergent till the stummel surface was clean and dried it using paper towels and soft cotton cloth. The surface is now clean but appears bone dry.I simultaneously cleaned the shank internals with the detergent and hard bristled shank brush and set the stummel aside to dry out naturally. The strong ghost smells are history and the stummel now smells clean and fresh.While the stummel was drying out, I worked on the stem. I began the refurbishing process by scraping out the dried gunk from the tenon end using a thin sharp knife and dental tool. I then ran a couple of pipe cleaners dipped in alcohol through the stem airway to clean it up. I shall be continuing the cleaning of the airway subsequently. This cleaning has revealed remnants (indicated by blue arrows) of an aluminum stinger that was cut during it’s time with the previous owner. I fail to understand the reason for this as the previous owner could have completely removed this stinger instead of cutting it at the tenon end. Well, there is no way that I can remove the remaining embedded portion of the stinger and since it does not interfere with either the smooth and effortless passage of a pipe cleaner or airflow through the airway, I let it be. However, I did open up and smooth out the cut face of the stinger with a round needle file.Next, I cleaned the stem airway using thin nylon shank brushes and anti oil soap. This helps in conserving pipe cleaners which are hard to come by here in India. I further scrubbed the stem surface with a Scotch Brit pad and soap to remove superficial oxidation from the surface. I rinsed the stem airway and surface under running tap water.I continued with external cleaning of the stem surface by dunking the stem into “Before and After Deoxidizer” solution developed by my friend Mark Hoover. The solution helps to draw out heavy oxidation to the surface making its further removal a breeze, while the minor oxidation is eliminated to a very great extent. I usually dunk stems of couple of pipes that are in-line for restoration and the Bessai is marked in green arrow. I generally allow the stems to soak in this solution overnight for the solution to do its work.With stem soaking in the deoxidizer solution, I turned my attention back to the stummel refurbishment. I lightly topped the rim surface on a piece of 220 grit sandpaper. This helped to address the few minor dents over the rim outer edges, address the darkened rim top in 6 o’clock direction as well as further define the inner edges and bevel edges.Using a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper pinched between my fingers, I sand the inner rim edge to remove the slight darkening seen in the 6 o’clock direction.I rubbed a small quantity of “Before and After Restoration Balm” into the briar with my finger tips and let it rest for a few minutes. The balm almost immediately works it’s magic and the briar now has a nice vibrant appearance with the beautiful sandblast patterns on full display. I have been using this balm ever since I embarked on this journey and it is this part of restoration that I always look forward to. I further buffed it with a horse hair shoe brush. This pipe really oozes of a very high quality. Now that the stummel refurbishing was nearly done and also the stem had now been soaking for more than 24 hours, I removed the stem from the solution. I first scrubbed the stem surface with a Scotch Brite pad, always being mindful of the stem logo on the left side. I followed this scrubbing with a nice cleaning of the surface using a 0000 grade steel wool. I rinsed the stem under running water to rid the stem of the thick solution. I ran a couple of pipe cleaners to remove the deoxidizer solution from the airway.In order to address the tooth chatter in the bite zone on either surface, I flame the bite zone with a Bic lighter. The heat helps the vulcanite to expand and raise the chatter to the surface. Thereafter, through the sanding process, the surfaces will be matched with the rest of the stem surface. This step was able to address 90% of the tooth chatter and those that are not addressed here will need to be rebuilt.Continuing with the stem repair, I mixed superglue and activated charcoal powder and generously applied it over the bite zone on either side, including over the buttons and set it aside to cure.Using a flat head needle file, I reshaped the button and roughly matched the fills in the bite zone with the rest of the stem surface. I sand the bite zone in the stem surface with a piece of folded 220 grit sandpaper to even out the fills as well as remove the oxidation from the stem surface.I wet sand the stem progressing through 400, 600, 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sand paper. I wiped the stem after each grade of sandpaper to view the progress being made and also identify areas on the stem surface that were still covered with traces of oxidation. I wiped the stem with EVO at the end of 2000 grit sanding and set the stem aside.Using a soft white graphite pencil, I freshened up the stem logo of JB.A polish by wet sanding using all 9 micromesh pads (1500 to 12000 grit pads) brought out the deep black shine of the vulcanite. I rubbed a small quantity of EVO to hydrate the stem and deepen the shine.I have reached that stage in this project which can be considered as the home run. I polished the rim top and the entire stem with blue diamond using a cotton wheel mounted on to my hand held rotary tool. The blue diamond compound helps to eliminate the minor scratches that remain after the use of micromesh pads.I completed this project by hand polishing the stummel with Halcyon II wax. I rubbed this polish deep into the rustications and after a couple of minutes, vigorously hand buffed the stummel with a microfiber cloth to a deep shine. I polished the stem with carnauba wax using my hand held rotary tool. This is a gorgeous classic looking Zulu and I consider myself fortunate to have the opportunity to work on this beauty and, as my Guru Steve says, carry forward the trust in this pipe till it is time to pass it on to the next pipe man or pipe woman. Here are a few pictures of the completed pipe for you to appreciate while I take the opportunity to thank you each of you for sparing your valuable time in joining me on this journey.

Restoring a Stanwell Sandblast 1993 POY Huber Nobleman Billiard

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Blog by Steve Laug

The next pipe on the table is a sandblast finish Billiard with a silver rim cap, band on the shank and a vulcanite stem. We purchased it from a seller on eBay from Jordan, Minnesota, USA on 01/22/2024. The pipe has a silver plaque identifying it as a 1993 pipe. It is stamped below that plaque and reads Huber [over] Nobleman. The shank has a silver, decorative band on it. The rim was in good condition other than a lot of lava overflowing from the thick cake in the bowl onto the smooth rim top It is hard to assess the condition of the inner edge of the rim due to the cake and lava overflow. There may be some darkening or damage at the back of the bowl but I cannot be sure. There were oils and grime ground into the beautiful sandblast on the bowl sides gives the dull, flat look. The vulcanite taper stem is a dirty stem with grime and grit on the surface. There were also tooth marks on both the top and underside of the stem just ahead of the button. It appears that there may be some small pin hole bite through marks on the underside ahead of the button. Jeff took photos of the pipe before he started his clean up work. I have included them below. He took photos of the pipe’s bowl and rim top to show the cake in the bowl and the lava coat overflowing onto the top. The silver rim cap/edge is also oxidized and dirty. This really is another dirty pipe. He also took photos to capture the tooth marks on the top and underside of the stem near the button. The stem is also oxidized and calcified. He took photos of the sides and heel of the bowl to show the interesting sandblast grain around the bowl and the amount of grime ground into the surface of the briar.   He took photos of the stamping on the silver plague and the stamping below that on the left side of the shank. It is clear and quite readable. I knew from other pipes that I have worked on with the HUBER stamp (Peterson’s, Oldenkott and other) that the pipe was made for the Pfeifen Huber 1863 pipe shop in Munich, Germany. I found a great photo of the shop on Yelp. I have included that below. It is definitely a shop that I want to visit soon (https://www.yelp.ca/biz_photos/pfeifen-huber-m%C3%BCnchen-2?select=Fs5BlKOLDYfhjIM-3lhiAw).I turned to the Pfeifen Huber website (https://www.pfeifen-huber.de/pfeifen-ratgeber/chronik-pfeifen-huber-jahrespfeifen-teil-1). On the site was a section, written in German, regarding the annual pipe, made for Huber by various pipe making companies. I translated it with Google and have included it below.

The idea of an annual pipe in limited quantities was not really new in 1988. Dunhill was considered a pioneer, followed by Stanwell and Georg Huber in Munich at the end of the eighties. The idea came to him to produce a small, fine series of pipes in limited quantities, only in “First Quality”. The problem was finding a suitable manufacturer who was prepared to implement the high quality requirements in the desired quantities. This idea began to take shape with the German importer for Peterson and Savinelli, Detlef Seiffert. They hit it off straight away and at the end of 1988 the first annual pipe saw the light of day in Tal 22 in Munich. At that time it was a Hungarian from Peterson, with a silver top and ribbon on the handle. The edition of 300 copies was quickly sold out and the idea became reality. In order to be able to offer something for smaller budgets, Huber also launched a second series, the Nobleman. This series continues to this day. It is priced below the annual pipe and has no consecutive numbering, but is also limited. While the first models were still available with a normal bore, the 9mm filter bore became popular over the years. Today’s Nobleman are consistently designed for 9mm filters; an adapter for filterless smoking can be used if desired.

The portion in red above is very pertinent to the pipe I am working on. It is part of the second series by Huber designed for smaller budgets and was priced at less than the annual one. It is also a limited edition pipe issued in 1993. It has a stem made for a 9mm filter and is also fitted with an adapter making it a normal bore. It can be smoked either way.

Smokingpipes   has several Stanwell pipes made for the Georg Huber Pipe Shop in Munich, Germany on their webstore. Here is a link if you would like to have a look at a similar pipe (https://www.smokingpipes.com/pipes/estate/denmark/moreinfo.cfm?product_id=602399).

There was also an interesting post on Facebook made by a fellow using the handle Pipe & Lighter in Hanoi, Vietnam. He posted this in 2019 and it is in Vietnamese. I translated it on Facebook and quote that below.

Huber München : Is an old pharmaceutical company in Munchen, Germany founded by Georg Huber in 1863 and is a major supplier of Pharmaceuticals & Cigars in Germany. Every year to celebrate, Huber München has hired some of the famous brands on TG exclusively for limited and finest products. In companies that were hired like Paul Winslow. Peterson…. Stanwell

The pipe featured today is a Huber München model that made by Stanwell’s finest workers as a commemorative edition in 1996. The shank with 9mm airway diameter is typical of the German market…. Armed with that information I turned to work on the pipe itself. Jeff had done a great job cleaning up the pipe as usual. He cleaned up the inside of the bowl with a PipNet reamer and a Savinelli Fitsall Pipe Knife. The bowl walls looked very good. He scrubbed the interior of the bowl and shank with pipe cleaners, cotton swabs and alcohol to remove the tars and oils. He scrubbed the exterior of the pipe with Murphy’s Oil Soap and a tooth brush to remove the grime from the finish. He worked on the rim top lava and darkening with the soap and tooth brush. He scrubbed the inside of the stem with alcohol and pipe cleaners. He scrubbed the exterior with Soft Scrub and then soaked it in Briarville’s Pipe Stem Deoxidizer. He washed it off with warm water to remove the deoxidizer. The pipe looked far better. I took photos of the pipe when I received it before I started working on it. I took photos of the bowl and rim top to show how clean it was. The top and the inner edge of the rim show some darkening, nicks and scratches. The inner edge of the bowl is thinner toward the front. There was some debris in the gap between the silver rim edge and the briar. The stem looks clean of debris and grime. There are tooth marks and chatter on both sides. There are also tooth marks on the underside of the stem.I took photos of the stamping on the left side of shank. The stamping is clear and readable (much clearer in person than the photos show). I took two photos of the pipe with the stem removed to show the overall look of stem, tenon and profile of the pipe. The first photo shows the stem with the adapter removed and the second photo with it in place in the tenon. I started my work on the pipe by addressing the damage on the inner edge of the rim. I used a folded piece of 220 grit sandpaper to smooth out the roughness. I then used 220 grit sandpaper smooth out the damage to the rim top of the bowl.I polished the smooth rim top and the smooth parts of the briar bowl and shank with micromesh sanding pads – dry sanding with 1500-12000 grit sanding pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each pad to remove the debris. The smooth portions of the bowl took on a rich glow. I rubbed 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 10 minutes 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 aside the bowl and turned my attention to the stem issues. I painted the surface of the stem with the flame of a Bic lighter to lift the tooth marks. I was able to lift them significantly. I filled in the remaining one with clear CA glue. Once the repairs cured I smooth them out with a small to start blending them into the surface. I sanded the file marks and smoothed out the surface with 220 grit sand paper. I sanded the stem with 320-3500 grit sanding pads to further blend them in and smooth out the surface of the stem.I polished the vulcanite with micromesh sanding pads – 1500-12000 grit pads. I wiped it down with a damp cloth after each sanding pad. I used Before & After Pipe Polish – both Fine and Extra Fine to further polish the stem. I put the stem back on the Stanwell 1993 Huber Nobleman Billiard and took it to the buffer. I worked over the smooth portions with Blue Diamond to polish out the remaining small scratches. I gave the bowl several coats of Conservator’s Wax and the stem several coats of carnauba wax on the wheeland 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 really well and the rim top and silver rim edge looked good. I was happy with the look of the finished pipe. The photos below show what the pipe looks like after the restoration. The long shank tall Canadian is a beautiful and unique take on a classic shape. The polished vulcanite taper stem looks really good with the browns of the briar. The dimensions of the pipe are Length: 5 ½ inches, Height: 1 ¾ inches, Outside diameter of the bowl: 1 ¼ inches, Chamber diameter: 7/8 of an inch. The weight of the pipe is 1.83 ounces/52 grams. This is another pipe that I will be putting it on the rebornpipes store in the Danish Pipe Making Companies Section shortly, if you are interested in adding it to your collection. This sandblast billiard looks and feels great in the hand. This one should be a great smoker. Thanks for walking through the restoration with me on this beauty!